by Patricia Noonan
Before the weather takes a wintery turn, take an afternoon walk or TTC it along Queen Street East for the ultimate brewery crawl. Or, divvy up the brewpubs for two separate days, because they are sprouting up fast in this part of the city. [Photo courtesy of Eastbound Brewery]
At Broadview and Queen Street east, check out Eastbound Brewing Company. This recently opened resto-pub has a sleek modern look, with plenty of floor to ceiling tanks brewing up suds towards the rear of the brewpub. There are six beer styles available, including two in cans. There’s also an option of ordering an Eastbound beer flight of four beers for $11.00. The kitchen serves up a menu of small and big plates, great for sharing and all suited to match the beer produced on site.
A short walk away towards Queen Street east and Boulton you’ll see the sign for Saulter Street Brewery. Head south on Saulter Street, and take a short laneway to the brewery, which is tucked away with some other industrial buildings. Brew master Peter Kufeldt is primarily focused on Pilsner, however, he does do a weekly feature beer launched most Thursdays. He produces one keg, and it’s usually sold out by Saturday. Leslieville Cheese supplies charcuterie boards to order, and guacamole with chips from La Carnita can be had from Thursday to Sunday. Customers are free to order in or bring their own food. How awesome is that?
About fifteen minutes further east on Queen, you’ll arrive at Radical Road Brewing Company, a cozy Franco-Belgian feeling resto-brewpub. You’ll find a variety of seven beer styles, all food friendly. A holdover from the summer is the Blind Melon, a watermelon sour lager, which is so popular, the brewery might keep it on the menu year-round. A full shareable menu changes to complement the beers on tap, from a house made charcuterie board and Jamaican jerk pork back ribs to mains like Piri Piri chicken dinner or spicy pan-fried squid.
If you keep going east on Queen Street and take a short walk south on Woodward, you’ll see the big old house on Eastern Avenue where Rorschach Brewing Company has been opened since March 2017. The brew masters have a house culture of mixed fermentation they’ve been aging in two of the fermentation tanks for six months now, and they’re getting ready to release it shortly. It’s a tapas food menu, that sees some new additions and removals on the first Monday of every month.
Godspeed is north of Queen street east, south of Gerrard and it’s been opened by the former brew master, Luc Lafontaine of Dieu du Ciel, in Montreal’s Mile End neighborhood. Soaring ceilings and an ultramodern look highlights the chef table seating around the kitchen. Brews on tap can range from five to seven options and all are available in cans to takeaway. A Japanese kitchen is open late afternoons and Chef Ryu Suke refers to his menu as Japanese comfort food, suited to the beer culture it’s designed for at Godspeed.
Cheers!
