Out Inn the Wide World

Real Ale in Canada

Ontario

Before you go, check out a local website, Cask

Guelph

Woolwich Arms and Arrow web site

176 Woolwich St.
(corner of Yarmouth and Woolwich)
Guelph, Ontario N1H 3V5

Tel;519/836-2875

A charming spot set in a suburban street in a pleasant town in Ontario within an easy drive of Toronto or the Falls.

Three hand pumps (pictured here) grace the bar front, and on my visit in September 2008 these boasted Maclean's Pale Ale (a score of 3.0 on the CAMRA scale), flanked by Arkell Best Bitter (2.5) and Original County Ale (3) from the Wellington brewery.

The friendly and helpful barman told me that
the beer engines had been built by the brewer
himself. The commitment to local produce and
a green approach to "beer miles" was much in
evidence.

Food is, of course, served and my
Bison Burger was excellent.

Hamilton

Augusta's Winking Judge web site
25 Augusta Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Phone: (905) 524-5626 Fax (905) 524-5883

Two beer engines here and a promising reference to "Cask Aile" on the web-site.

Much to my chagrin, when I visited mid-week there was no real beer to be had. I guess that calling ahead would be a good move if availability may be intermittent.

The pub itself was very pleasant and the British pub-user would feel entirely comfortable here. There is a small drinking area outside on what I suspect would be a pretty quiet street.

Kingston

Kingston Brewing Company web site
34 Clarence Street, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 1W9 Canada
Telephone & Fax 613.542.4978

Ontario's oldest brew pub, established in 1986 and set downtown in a brick-built former telegraph office close to the Market Square and lakefront in an attractive historic town. Kingston makes a good stop on the long drive between Montreal and Toronto.
A patio at the front is a pleasant spot, while the interior is cosy and rambling with a massive amount of brewery memorabilia covering every surface. A single hand pump dispenses a rotating range of house-brewed real ales under the Dragon's Breath branding.

I have been to this pub on three occasions so far and on the first two visits the beer was absolutely fine. Sadly, on my most recent trip, the Stout was virtually undrinkable. I feel that if you only stock a single cask ale, you really do need to monitor quality assiduously. There is nothing like putting people off your flagship product! Obviously, more tastings are needed!

Kitchener

Castle on King web site
1508 King E., Kitchener, ON N2G 2P1, Canada
Tel; +1 519-578-0015

Grand River Brewing is apparently not far from the pub and on my visit I was delighted to see that the solitary hand pump offered a real cask mild, and a dark mild at that!

Mill Race Mild from Grand River has an easy drinking gravity of 3.5% alcohol by volume and scored a very good 4.0 on the CAMRA scale.

If you can appreciate the fairy tale castle decor, this is a good spot to call in.

A later report suggests that this is now closed, possibly permanently. Can someone let us know, please?

Toronto

Real Ale in Toronto
There is a remarkably good scene in Toronto, with a number of establishments boasting hand pumps. Strange to the eyes of a British beer lover is that the beer engines are often hidden away against a back wall, rather than proudly fronting the bar.
A word of caution; the outlets need to be sought out, and advance research is essential. Some outlets have discontinued cask beer in recent times. Lots of internet research is handy, and a reasonably current list of pubs offering cask ale in the city can be found at casktoronto.
In September 2008, a visit enabled me to check out the following spots;

C'est What web-site
67 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1B5
Phone: 1 416 867 9499 )

The back bar has a row of five hand pumps with Ontario-brewed beers. The house beer is brewed by Bruce Halstead of the County Durham brewery.
The house beer, Al's Cask Ale is brewed at County Durham.

On my first visit they had
Al's Cask Ale (5%) (a score of 4.5 on the CAMRA scale)
Durham Hop Head (5%)
MacLean's Pale Ale (5%) (a score of 3.5 on the CAMRA scale)
Granite Best Bitter (4.5%)
Neustadt Double Fuggled (4.5%)

For the Toronto cask lover this may well be ground zero - five handpumps dispensing delicious ale, including the very sessionable house brew, Al's Cask Ale, which appears to be the only mainstay in the lineup. A more recent visit found that County Durham's Hop Head provided a wonderful burst of grapefruit while maintaing a balanced character and Grand River's Curmudgeon IPA benefits nicely from the cask format. We returned the next day to try the Ploughman's Ale and Black Oak Double Chocolate Cherry Stout with some friends, and the Black Oak offering was in fine form, full of roasty flavours, bittersweet chocolate, and rounded cherry notes.

Café Volo web-site
587 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 1Z4
Phone: 1 416 928 0008

This is a committed convert to real ale.

They have two hand pumps and often a small cask on the bar serving beer by gravity. They rarely have more than one cask ale on at a time, however, except during their periodic beer festivals.
I had Hop Head from the cask (a score of 3.5 on the CAMRA scale)

Bar Volo has an outstanding reputation as a fine beer establishment, and in recent years has become a mecca for cask lovers due to its choice selection of local casks, and its annual fall festival in honour of the great elixir. On a more recent visit the MacLean's Country Organic Ale was a good choice to start, full of lemongrass and herbal flavours; it struck me as a great candidate for a summer patio. As a follow-up, C'est What's Chocolate Hazelnut Ale made a rare appearance on cask, and would appeal to lovers of nutella with its rich milk chocolate base and strident hazelnut bouquet. The clear winner was Neustadt's Texas Tea Stout - a rich creamy beer, full of roasted coffee, chocolate and cream. This beer is truly a remarkable achievement from a brewery who has hit their stride. The grand-daddy of them all (and an appropriate finisher) is Grand River's Russian Gun Imperial Stout, a high octane beast of a beer that hides its alcohol well, and goes down a little too easily for something so strong. Grand River has become somewhat of a darling in the local beer scene, and their imperial stout should help cement their reputation.

Victory Café web-site
581 Markham St.
Toronto
Ontario

Set on a quiet street with a tree in the front yard.

County Durham XXX IPA (a score of 4.0 on the CAMRA scale)
The Victory Cafe, is the location of a wildly successful winter cask festival, and has two cask ales available. The owners are also committed cask ale lovers, and their beers are always in great shape. The bar's very own Compass Starlight (Nickelbrook) is the perfect session ale, full of citrus notes, and balanced by a biscuit background. The County Durham Signature would also make an excellent choice for an evening's drinking, mixing citrus with caramel and floral hints. While not advisable in winter, the patio is one of the nicest spots to relax with a drink in the city.

Cloak & Dagger
394 College Street Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1S7
Phone: 1 416 921 8308
Wellington Arkell BB (a rather poor score on this occasion of 1.5 on the CAMRA scale) More visits needed.

Granite Brewery web-site
245 Eglinton Avenue East Toronto, Ontario, M4P 3B7
Phone: 1 416 322 0723

Toronto's only brewpub. The room on the right as you enter is lined with bookshelves. Two hand pumps dispense the house beers;

Granite Best Bitter Special (4.5%)
Granite IPA (%)
but I understand that a third cask beer is sometimes available

A new American Pale Ale called Hopping Mad is also occasionally available. The food here is consistently good (they mean it when they say the hot wings are hot), and extremely filling. Unfortunately, I find the ambience leans towards the sterile side. Part of the bar feels like a stuffy restaurant and the other half feels like a newly constructed attempt at an old looking bar. Still highly recommended for the beer though.

Mill Street Brew Pub web-site
55 Mill Street, Building 63

A really nicely done pub in the Distillery historic conservation area. Exposed brick walls, and copper kettles, with a nice patio out front and back.

A lone hand pump dispenses cask beer brewed on the premises. Small batches of speciality beers are brewed, and have included an IPA and a dry hopped version of their popular Tankhouse Ale, which is not usually found on cask.

Duke of Kent, web-site
2315 Yonge St.
Advertises itself as a British pub and had hand pumped Fullers London Pride. A few North American pubs have casks of ale imported in shipping containers from the UK.

The Bow & Arrow web-site CLOSED (and not a bad thing either)
1954 Yonge St M4S 1Z4 Phone: 1 416 487 2036
had no cask ale on its three hand pumps when I looked in. The staff seemed ill-informed and the general impression was that cask ale appeared only intermittently. Despite the mission statement on their website, this is hardly a good advertisement for the style.
A more recent report suggests that the pub has closed and is looking for a new tenant. Let's hope the new proprietors make a success of it.

The Woolwich Arrow in Guelph (see above) is part of the same empire and was thriving on my visit in September 2008

Quebec

Montreal

Le Saint-Bock web site
Le Saint-Bock Microbrasserie Artisanale Resto-Bar

1749 St-Denis, Montréal, Qc., H2X 3K4
tel; 514-680-8052

A lively city centre pub, popular with a young crowd.

I had Ange Noir, a hand-pumped cask oatmeal stout from the in-house micro-brewery (a score of 4.0 on the CAMRA scale). I recall only one hand pump, but it was placed in a prominent position on the bar.

Dieu du Ciel! web site
29 Laurier Ouest, Montréal, Québec H2T 2N2
Phone: +1 514-490-9555

A little away from the city centre and close by a really good bottle shop (Beer Paradise; Supermarché Rahman - Le Paradis de la Bière 151 Laurier W. 514.279.2256 ...see a review),

Le Dieu is a great place, with a single hand pump. I tasted an ESB (Extra Special Bitter) which looked and tasted wonderful. Pity I only had the time for one.... Dieu du Ciel! bottle condition a number of their offerings, which have a fervent and dedicated following. If you can't find a bottle in Montreal they are also poured at Volo in Toronto.

L'Amère à Boire web site

2049 rue Saint-Denis Montréal, QC H2X 3K8, Canada
tel; +1 514-282-7448

Just a few minutes walk up the street from Le Saint-Bock, but be careful how you cross the road! This makes for a rare example of a Canadian pub crawl.

Two hand pumps are in prime position on the bar. I tasted a 5% Pale Ale.

In a bizarre twist, pricing of the beer changes somewhat throughout the day, being at its cheapest before 5 and most expensive after 8. Despite this, even after 8pm, the cost was very reasonable.

Le Paradis de la Bière 151 Laurier W. 514.279.2256...A neat little beer store minutes away from Dieu du Ciel!. The whole place is geared more to beer than the average depanneur, although you can still expect to find the odd grocery item lurking. The aisles are chock full of beer cases and navigating them can be quite precarious. It is worth it though, to find bottled conditioned beer such as the entire range of DDC, as well as noted local breweries like Bieropholie. There is also a few bottles of harder to find beers (including Unibroue 16 and 17) above the cooler to the left of the entrance. There is a good selection of glasswear by the cash. Service is quiet but efficient and friendly.