Toronto Festival of Beer 2005

Below is my review of the Toronto Festival of Beer in the summer of 2005.  At that time, it was kindly printed in The Boiler, the newsletter for the Minnesota Home Brewers Association.  I've reprinted it here exactly as it was printed originally except for updating my email address.  In July of 2011, I returned to Toronto to visit my niece Regan, and I was able to get to Beerbistro plus a few other downtown locations that I'll review another day.  Smokeless Joe's is closed now, sadly; the rumor in Toronto and on BA says it may re-open at a later time.  

TORONTO’S FESTIVAL OF BEER

by Cal Vande Hoef

At the U.S.-Canadian border, the customs officer asked my purpose for visiting Toronto. “Pleasure,” I said, “attending the beer festival in downtown Toronto.” He just laughed and waved me through to my next beer hunt - eight hour days tasting central Canada’s finest beers at the 10th Annual Festival of Beer (FOB) on August 5th-7th.

Arriving at the FOB is easy, a short mile walk from my hotel.  Along the way, street food - pizza by the slice, Greek, Thai, and myriad ethnic fare - is available en route to historic Fort York. Built in 1793, Fort York is the birthplace of modern Toronto and the location of the Battle of York in 1812.

Once inside, drinkers are greeted by three large beer tents surrounded by many smaller tents, some for beer and others for food. Food is on a much grander scale at FOB compared to the carnival-style food normally offered at festivals. Many of the local restaurants have booths serving up their best, including a lobster sub. Also, a “Q” tent (short for BBQ in Canadian) features television personalities like Ted Reader from Food Network Canada.

The FOB is expensive, but you have plenty of opportunity to sample. Tickets are $25 (Canadian) a day plus a dollar token for each 4 oz. sample. The plastic glass technically held 8 ounces at the rim, and could be filled for two tokens. Brewers often overfilled the single token sample, so I didn’t see the point of pouring doubles. A local drinker said the tokens are a necessary constraint on Canadian drinking habits - free beer for one price would cause them all to imbibe to oblivion.

On the website (www.beerfestival.ca), FOB advertised 200 brands of beer. With lines rarely more than a few persons deep, getting a beer was easy, even on the sold-out Saturday. As a veteran of Great Taste and other festivals, this should have been the perfect beer festival. However, security made everyone dump all water bottles at the gate, and not enough of the $2 bottled water was available. While I did appreciate the clean and nearly lineless portable toilets, the resulting dehydration made it difficult to spend the evening in downtown Toronto. As a result, I had only one single Belgian ale at Smokeless Joe’s—the best beer bar in

downtown, according to one brewer. And, due to recovering too long in the hotel room, I missed eating at the famous beer cuisine restaurant Beerbistro - a great disappointment.

The sampling on Friday was disheartening. Unlike the very efficient line at Great Taste, the gates opened nearly 45 minutes late. At the FOB, many of the brewers have portable bars to enhance presentation. Many larger breweries like Labatt, Molson, Tuborg, and Guinness, and mid-range brewers like Alexander Keith’s and Robert Simpson Brewing, had bars to belly up to that were bigger than Smokeless Joe’s. Unfamiliar with the breweries, I was distracted by the flashy displays and, possibly, by the commercial-clad girls serving macrobrew samples.

Saturday was much more successful. I started the day with Amsterdam Brewing, a downtown brewpub. A sample of Nut Brown Ale was good, and close to style. The Framboise was well done. However, compared to the beers offered at the pub, only the lightest were served at the festival. Moving on, Black Oak Brewing served a Double Chocolate Cherry Stout that really lived up to its name. Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery was consistently good, serving a Cream Ale, Premium Lager, Premium Dark Ale, and Honey Brown Lager.

The Scotch Irish Brewing Company was delightful. St. Majors IPA (a “massively hopped” IPA at 68 IBUs) was properly bitter and satisfying. Captain Cascade, a cask American Pale Ale was smooth, hoppy, and well balanced. In the land of Euro lagers, a cask ale seemed an almost unreal find. While there had been some bright spots earlier in the day—a really interesting Eisbock by Niagara Brewing Company from the Canadian side of the falls, a true to style Classic India Pale Ale from Magnotta Brewery, and Upper Canada Brewing Company’s Pale, Red, and Dark Ale offerings were all full bodied—nothing matched Scotch Irish Brewing for quality, and, frankly, for tasting like an American brewpub.

The difference between Canadian and American brewpubs became clear - our extreme and individualistic beer consumer attitude in the lower 48 allows brewers to offer a wide range of ales and lagers while pushing the limits of style. Several Canadian brewers - Alexander Keith’s, Robert Simpson Brewing, and Steam Whistle Brewing sell only one beer (IPA, Cream Ale, and Premium Lager, respectfully). Steelback Brewing is representative of this narrow Canadian beer vision, in which the strongest beer is a Heineken Dark or other Euro import imitation. Steelback’s festival offerings included Bruce County Wild (Bavarian Pilsner), Chain (Euro Lager), Link Light (Euro Lager), Steelback Red (Amber Lager), Steelback Silver (American

Lager), Tango (South American Style Lager), Tiverton Bear Dark Lager (Euro Dark Lager), and Tiverton Bear Honey Brown (Amber Lager). In spite of having its own problems with bland beer in the U.S., our microbrew industry is fighting the trend much more vigorously than the Canadian breweries I tasted at FOB.

While it is quite possible that Double IPA and barrel-aged barleywine have distorted my taste, Canada, or possibly just Toronto, is afraid of hops and strong beers in general. They seem to prefer Euro-styled beers that taste like the imported versions.  As I was out of tokens, a young couple named Ivan and Neema bought me my last sample of the day, Glengarry 90 Shilling, a strong, malty, Scotch cask ale. We continued praising the beer from Scotch Irish Brewing as I gave them tips on how and where to find similarly interesting beer across the border to satisfy a growing Canadian thirst for beer stronger than a cream ale.

After a few more of my favorites from the day before, I left early on Sunday because of the heat and lack of new brews. In spite of drinking nearly every beer in the place over three days, my notes showed just 93 new beers. If you’re in Toronto in August, stop for one day at the festival. Spend the rest of your time enjoying the incredible diversity of downtown Toronto and drinking more than a couple beers at Smokeless Joe’s. Don’t miss dinner at Beerbistro down the street.  Cheers, eh.

About the author: Cal Vande Hoef is a full-time high school English teacher and part time beer evangelist, spreading the good beer news. Feel free to email him at cvandehoef@gmail.com.  Or, better yet, stop by during Town Hall’s pint club - he’s the large bald guy reading poetry.

Le Saint Bock Brasserie Artisanale (Montreal, QC)

7/11/09

Le Saint Bock is a very good brewpub with an interesting, well-brewed line of beers. The Envieuse, a porter, was my clear favorite. My wife liked the porter as well as the brune called Aportre.  In addition, the pub touted a range of Quebecois guest taps from La Nafrageur on the Gaspe Peninsula to Unibroue.

We tried the frites (french fries), which came in a bowl shaped like an oversized bomber bottle cut out, served with herbed mayo (like most places in Quebec).  A fan of frites in general, we found these more than satisfactory. Very hot in the pub on a rainy afternoon, something we didn't think about, but most places in Montreal seem to lack air conditioning, choosing to suffer along until the cold winter temps return.  So, we moved on; unfortunately, we should have stayed to try some of the guest taps rather than going to either of the other two pubs down the street (Les 3 Brasseurs and L'amere a boire). If in Montreal, I'd make Le Saint a fairly high priority.

L'Amere a Boire (Montreal, QC)

7/11/09

We hit L'Amere a Boire to get out of a pouring rain storm, wishing we were back at Le Saint Bock down the street.  I don't understand the high rating of this pub compared to others in the area.  Not a single beer inspired me to want to have a draft of any of them--in fact, we didn't even finish a single sample of any of the beers.  Each sample seemed to be very light bodied for each style and had a unpleasant taste that was consistent through each beer, though I'm unsure what it was about.  It seemed like a nice place: we were served quickly by nice bartenders and local patrons were attempting to be helpful in between sips of their drafts.  But, the beer was just not very good. This place seems to be very overrated, and, for us, not worth the effort of walking down the street a few more blocks.

In posting this review (11/29/12), I took a look at the BA rating again.  While the overall rating seems to be down, the most recent review is unusually enthusiastic with phrases like "highest recommendation" and "one of the best brewpubs anywhere" that seems out of sync with my experience.  My sampling was short and disappointing, so I didn't bother to explore the food or further into their beer; maybe there's a silver lining to this brewpub that I was unable to find.

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel (Montreal, QC)

7/10/09

Not going to be much of a surprise for this review--Dieu du Ciel! is possibly one of the best brewpubs I've ever visited. Food, service, atmosphere and beer are all excellent. 

While normally I order samples at a brewpub stop, I couldn't help myself and ordered drafts. Seventeen beers on tap plus a couple of casks.  Histoire Dun Soir #2 was a fantastic Imperial Brown Porter (according the board). Not sure what it was exactly, but I really enjoyed the beer. My wife's favorite was Rosee de Hibiscus, a Belgian wit with hibiscus flowers that was a beautiful bright rose colored ale that smelled of flowers and spice. So inspiring, I brewed a version of it at home, though mine was paled in comparison.  I unfortunately didn't try the Peche Mortal or any casks, and we didn't get back before flying out. 

Dinner was also very good, and, as vegetarians, that's not always the case in a brewpub. Nachos were simple but with an exceptional white cheese on top.  After eating local cheese and bread on the trip through Gaspe for a week, it tasted similar to the local cheeses we'd been sampling.  Our sandwich was simple but very good with chips and pretzels on the side. I would go here eat regardless of the beer. 

Dieu du Ciel! means "God in Heaven" or similar as an exclamation.  For me, it's simply a number one priority for any visit to Montreal because it is truly Oh My God good.

Jasper Brewing Co Brewpub & Eatery (Jasper, AB)

Jasper Brewing is right on the main street coming into town via Jasper National Park, an absolutely beautiful drive through Banff NP past the Columbia Ice Field. We asked how to get to the pub from a local shopkeeper, which responded with another recommendation for better food though she didn't know what the beer was like. The food was good, though was ate french fries since there wasn't anything else vegetarian on the menu. The sampler came with 5 or 6 oz pours of all six beers. The Honey Bear Ale and the Rockhopper IPA weren't good and I didn't finish the samples. The rest were ok with the 6060 Stout being easily the best, a good Irish Stout that still lacked a bit in the body.

If you're interested in walking on a glacier, taking a magnificent drive in the Canadian Rockies or hiking in the less crowded Jasper NP, a stop at Jasper Brewing is warranted, but I won't go too far out of the way just for the beer. But, if you want to be there anyway, it was a pleasant stop with lots of touristy stores and opportunities in the area.

A block north and a block west was Jasper Liquors which had a great beer selection in a walk in cooler. I meant to go in the Wine Cellar next door, but walked into the smaller one by accident and walked out with a case of beers.

Brewsters Brewing Co & Restaurant (Calgary, AB)

Brewster's is a Canadian chain that does a pretty good job. In the downtown location, it's pretty much a sports bar with several large and small screen TVs on the walls. We watched a preseason Canandian football game, which was fun even though we didn't know the teams. Overall, clean, fun, and possibly a meat market for younger types at night.

With no veggie options except pizza and nachos, we opted for the Brewhouse Nachos, which were very good. Waitress was friendly and fairly fast, seemingly knew a bit about beer. No air conditioning, which probably isn't much of a problem in Calgary, but it was the day we were there. Very hot. On a cool evening, the fireplace inside the door would've felt better.

All the beers were well done and very respectable. The standard Canadian style Original Lager was crap, but it's supposed to be, just like a standard American ale/lager in an U.S. pub. But all of the other beers were very drinkable. Stand outs included the Flying Pig Lager that had a nice clean hop bite balanced w/ a bit of malt. An unexpected surprise. The Blueberry Wheat Ale was well done and my wife had a draft that came with real blueberries in the bottom. Unlike most fruit beers that taste like syrup poured down the center, this fruit taste was well integrated, which, in my experience, is difficult to do with blueberry.  The Shaughnessy Stout was my favorite, an Irish Stout that was very smooth, a little thin, but very solid.

4th Street Liquor & Wine (Calgary, AB)

The guys at 4th Street Liquor were very helpful finding beer when I simply asked "What shouldn't I miss?" Ended up taking a variety pack from Big Rock brewery that I would have missed. According to the staff, Big Rock is credited with turning beer around in British Columbia.

Also a nice range of beers not available in Minnesota from St. Peter's (England) to Innis & Gunn (Scotland) to Fruli (Belgium) to Tree Brewing (British Columbia). While the selection doesn't match the 1000 beers of my local liquor store, it is very good compared to what I've found elsewhere in Canada.

All of the beers I sampled were fresh and tasted good going down. Most of the beer was in a walk in cooler, so it is well taken care of.  Also, 4th Street Liquor is only a few blocks drive from the downtown Brewster's Brewpub in Calgary.  Nice combination stop on the way to Banff that affords an excellent chance to pick up some quality quaffs for the cooler while visiting the parks.

The Grizzly Paw Brewing Co (Canmore, AB)

On the gondola to the top of Sulpher Mountain, my wife and I rode to the top with a local who worked in the souvenir shop. Her description of Grizzly Paw was to my point: only tourists who don't know better go there—locals never do.

We had lunch there right when it opened before heading out to check out the natural scenery—it has sort of a Hooters/sports bar feel: under dressed waitresses, big patio, and everything is shiny. Didn't see the brewery. I had a veggie burger that sounded great, but was very bad.  My wife's food was ok, but we never returned in spite of being in town for five days.

The beer isn't worth the trip either. The Brewing Badger Light was the worst, no surprise in a pub line up, but this was nearly undrinkable. The rest were very hard to tell apart, similarly bad with little distinction between the light beers. The best of the lot was the draft Root Beer that my wife ordered. Never got past the samples to have a pint of anything else.

It's the only brewpub in town, so stop if you have to. I did.