View Our Complete Beer Book
Transcription
View Our Complete Beer Book
We like beer (and cider) Try these favourites brought to you by beerbistro’s kitchen and floor staff. Achel Extra....................................................................Jon S Anchor Steam Beer.................................................Nathan C Brooklyn Monster Ale....................................................Alisha Cheval Blanc..............................................................Reanna Czechvar.......................................................................Grace De La Senne Taras Boulba.......................................Sarah C Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodite................................................Natalie Dieu du Ciel! Péché Mortel........................................Michelle Engelszell Gregorious Trappistenbier..............Greg & Jeff M La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged.............................Burgundy Maudite........................................................................James Nickel Brook Immodest Imperial IPA..............................Holly Orval................................................................................Kyle Pêche Mel Scaldis.......................................Ché & Jennifer F Rochefort 8....................................................................Jeff B Rodenbach Grand Cru.....................................Beth & Cayley Shillow Beer Co. Sass on the Side................................Jen B Sierra Nevada Pale Ale........................Charles, Erik & Isaiah Stiegl Pils.......................................................................Lydia Thomas Hardy’s Ale 2006.............................................David Tripel Karmeliet..............................................................Emily Urthel Hop-It................................................... Bethune & Zoe Table of Contents: On Draught Quenching: Lighter-bodied wheat beers Blanche de Chambly....................................................5 Hopf Helle Weisse.......................................................5 Samuel Adams Summer Ale........................................5 Crisp: Pilsners and other light blonde lagers & ales Hacker-Pschorr Edelhell..............................................5 Pilsner Urquell..............................................................5 Appetizing: Ales ranging from sweet-tart to sour Rodenbach Grand Cru.................................................6 Sociable: Light to medium-bodied lagers and ales Gales Seafarers...........................................................6 Shillow Beer Co. Sass on the Side.............................. 7 Bold: Hoppy beers with mild to bracing bitterness Collective Arts Ransack the Universe..........................7 Nickel Brook Immodest Imperial IPA...........................7 Publican House Square Nail Pale Ale..........................8 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale............................................... 8 Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale.........................................8 Satisfying: Porters and stouts St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout........................................ 9 Spicy: Ales with spices or lively spicy character La Trappe Tripel...........................................................9 Robust: Big-bodied, sometimes assertive ales Maudite........................................................................9 Fruity: Fermented or finished with real fruit or juices Mort Subite Kriek.........................................................9 Cider: Not beer, but still nice Ontario Cider Rotational Tap..................................... 10 The Beers of the Moment........................ 10 Bottles or Cans Looking for a specific beer? Check out the index at the back of this menu Quenching: Lighter-bodied wheat beers Cheval Blanc, Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse, Schneider Weisse......................................................11 Crisp: Pilsners and other blonde lagers Czechvar....................................................................11 Collective Arts Saint of Circumstance, Singha Lager, Stiegl Pils, Zywiec......................................................12 Appetizing: Ales ranging from sweet-tart to sour Bockor Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge, Le Trou du Diable L’Ours, VanderGhinste Oud Bruin..........................................13 Sociable: Light to medium-bodied lagers and ales Anchor Steam Beer....................................................13 Black Oak Nut Brown Ale, Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, Hobgoblin, Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer, Left Field Eephus Oatmeal Brown Ale.......................14 Köstritzer Schwarzbier, Samuel Adam’s Boston Lager, Side Launch Dark Lager, St. Peter’s English Ale.......15 3 Bottles or Cans (Con’t) Looking for a specific beer? Check out the index at the back of this menu Satisfying: Porters and stouts Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodite, Guinness, Mill Street Coffee Porter, Muskoka Winter Beard Chocolate Cranberry Stout, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout...................................16 Bold: Hoppy beers with mild to bracing bitterness Anchor Liberty Ale, Black Oak Break of Dusk, Cameron’s Rye Pale Ale, Central City Red Racer IPA..17 Collective Arts Rhyme & Reason, De la Senne Taras Boulba, Dieu du Ciel! Disco Soliel, Dieu du Ciel! Moralité....................................................18 Fuller’s ESB, Goose Island Goose IPA, Great Lakes THRUST! An IPA, New Holland Michigan Awesome Hatter.......................19 New Holland Rye Hatter, Nickel Brook Headstock IPA, Nickel Brook Naughty Neighbour, Thiriez Étoile du Nord....................................................20 Robust: Big-bodied, sometimes assertive ales Aventinus, Chimay Première, Dragon Stout, Kwak, Rochefort 6....................................................................21 Rochefort 8, Sinha Stout, St. Paul Double, Traquair House Ale, Trois Pistoles................................22 Vander Ghinste Brasserie LeFort, Westmalle Dubbel......................................................... 23 Smoky: Like the name says Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Freigeist Abraxxxas.......23 Spicy: Ales with spices or lively spicy character Brigand Belgian Ale, Chimay White, De la Senne Zinnebir, Delirium Tremens......................24 Duvel, La Fin du Monde, Le Trou du Diable La Buteuse, Mikkeller Texas Ranger.................................................25 Orval 2011, Stillwater Stateside Saison, Tripel Karmeliet.............................................................26 Urthel Hop-It, Wild Beer Ninkasi, Westmalle Tripel.......27 Soothing: Deeply potent, malty dark ales Achel Extra Bruin...........................................................27 Chimay Blue, Dieu du Ciel! Péché Mortel, Engelszell Gregorious Trappistenbier, Kasteel Donker.28 Les Trois Mousquetaires Grand Cuvée Porter Baltique, Mikkeller Monk’s Brew, Smuttynose Imperial Stout, St. Bernardus Abt 12.....................................................29 X.O. Beer.......................................................................30 Fruity: Ales fermented or finished with fruit or juice Früli Strawberry, Mort Subite Framboise, Pêche Mel Scaldis, Stiegl Radler Grapefruit................. 30 Gluten-free: Pretend that you can drink beer BSG Glutenberg Pale Ale Américaine, Lakefront New Grist...................................................... 31 Cider: Not beer, but still nice Spirit Tree Draught Cider...............................................31 Alcohol-Free: What. Erdinger Weissbier Alkoholfrei......................................31 The Beer Cellar............................................33 - 38 Everything Else............................... Look in the tunk On Draught Quenching Softly spicy and fruity German- and Belgian-style wheat beers Blanche de Chambly Québec, 5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian White Québec’s Unibroue produces what is commonly considered the finest Belgian-style wheat beer brewed in Canada. Making use of a centuries-old tradition of spicing ales with gruit: a melange of flavourings that predate the use of hops; Belgian whites always have coriander seed and orange peel in the recipe. In this beer, you’ll find both in the refreshing aroma and citrusy palate. Hopf Helle Weisse Germany, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Hefeweizen Hopf, which is apparently someone’s last name, is the maker of what may be your new favorite weissbier. Bright, light and refreshing, it carries mild flavours of vanilla, banana and bubblegum with every silken sip. Even if you aren’t normally a fan of German wheat beers, this one is worth a second chance, and probably a third and a fourth. Samuel Adams Summer Ale Massachusetts, 5.3% alc./vol. Style: American wheat Brewed with lemon zest and grains of paradise (an African spice related to cardamom), this clean-tasting wheat beer is a great choice to beat the heat. Remarkably citrusy, also present are light cereal notes and an understated pepperiness in the background. Crisp Dry, refreshing lagers ranging from moderately bitter to appetizingly hoppy Hacker-Pschorr Edelhell Germany, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Helles This beer is only one of two that has constantly been on our menu from the very first day we opened. For those dedicated to more mainstream tastes, this blonde lager is the finest interpretation of what is the most popular family of beers in the world, and is dry, not too bitter, and driven by malt. Pilsner Urquell Czech Republic, 4.4% alc./vol. Style: Czech pilsner It took over one and a half centuries to get draught Pilsner Urquell pouring in Canada, but we’re proud to have been the bar that served it first. The world’s most popular style of beer was born with this brand, originating from the Czech town for which the style is named: Plzeň. Local Bohemian Saaz hops add not only a floral note, but a delicate bitterness that is kept in perfect balance by the presence of sweet, bready malt. 5 On Draught Appetizing Ales with a varying balance between tart and sweet, with fruitiness and mouth-wateringly dry malt Nickel Brook Über Berliner Weisse Ontario, 4.2% alc./vol. Style: Berliner weisse Known as “the worker’s sparkling wine” back in its native Berlin, this traditional style of tart wheat beer has been gaining enough interest in North America to get a bunch of craft brewers here making their own. Nickel Brook’s Über is such a welcome addition to the Ontario beer scene, you almost have to wonder why no one around here was brewing a Berliner weisse until only a few of years ago. While closely related to the better-known acidic lambics of Belgium, it differs by being much cleaner tasting, without the earthen musty notes present in that style. Light bodied and perfect for a hot day, it’s sour and refreshing with flavours of lemon and tart apple. And if you want it the way it’s served in Germany, ask for a shot of our homemade green Woodruff syrup to make your pint sweet and herbaceous. Rodenbach Grand Cru Belgium, 6% alc./vol. Style: Flemish sour ale “You love it or you hate it” is the advertising slogan for Rodenbach’s prized sour ale. And true to those words, the extraordinarily tart and sweetly refreshing flavour of this beer can surprise even that guy over there with the 'beeriodic table of elements' t-shirt. Matured for up to two years in the same uncoated oak vats the brewery has used for over a century and a half, this is an assertive, wine-like and satisfying ale that stretches the boundaries of what a beer can be. Sociable Ales and lagers with moderate strength, medium body and near-perfect balance Gales Seafarers England, 3.6% alc./vol. Style: Bitter In the early 2000s, Fuller’s Brewing bought the 150 yearold Gales Brewery, along with all the secrets hidden in George Gale’s notebooks. Those pages held the inspiration for Seafarers: a 100% English malt bitter brewed with the Gale house yeast strain for a mild, toasty and toffee-touched session ale. And maybe the name itself demanded the use of Admiral hops, which contribute a satisfying woody and citrus profile. Brewed in tribute to Gale’s association with local mariners, a portion of every sale goes towards Seafarers UK, Britain’s leading maritime charity. 6 On Draught Sociable Ales and lagers with moderate strength, medium body and near-perfect balance Shillow Beer Co. Sass on the Side Ontario, 5.6% alc./vol. Style: American brown ale Too bad we sold that trumpet, because this beer deserves some fanfare. Exclusive to beerbistro is this offering from Ontario’s newest craft brewery, helmed by our very own Jamie Shillow and her husband Ben. Sass on the Side is their first of what we think will be many excellent, regularly produced beers. This American brown ale has layers of flavour from start to finish. Smooth chocolate and delicately roasted malts are at the forefront of a beer that gently converts to an earthen and lightly astringent hoppy bitterness, and then to a quenching offdry finish. Pairing with a wide variety of dishes, it’s exactly what a beer cuisine restaurant could ask for. Bold Hoppy ales with a moderate to full bitterness and a naturally fruity character Collective Arts Ransack the Universe Ontario, 6.8% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale Collective Arts calls this their “Hemisphere IPA”, because they sourced hops from opposite sides of the planet. In this beer, you get the juicy collision of Australian Galaxy hops and Mosaic hops from Yakima, Washington. Both of these hops are just flavour monsters, characterized by Jolly-Rancher-levels of tropical fruitiness. The beer is named after a vintage oddities store in The Junction, and at 85 IBUs, it has layers of taste as eclectic as the selection you’ll find over there. Nickel Brook Immodest Imperial IPA Ontario, 9% alc./vol. Style: Imperial India pale ale Nickel Brook has found a new home in the Science wing of Hamiton’s Arts & Science Brewing Company (the other half is Collective Arts Brewing). Here, they’re taking their precision to new heights with beers like this bitter and savoury Imperial IPA. Simcoe hops have been around for most of the recent upsurgence in craft brewing, but rarely in such a prominent form. In this beer, they provide an intense earthiness that’s like walking through a forest after a rainstorm. Combined with the fruit bomb that is the Citra hop, you’ll feel a burst of sunlight through the trees. All this amounts to a super strong beer that is dangerously gulpable, all thanks to the genius of science. 7 On Draught Bold Hoppy ales with a moderate to full bitterness and a naturally fruity character Publican House Square Nail Pale Ale Ontario, 5.9% alc./vol. Style: American pale ale Peterborough’s The Publican House Brewery opened its doors to thirsty locals in late 2008, and they did us a great favour back in 2010 by personally driving some of their kegs over to us in Toronto. Now it's back, and we think they even hired a delivery guy. Dominated by Cascade hops, the aromas are the classic one-two punch of grapefruit and pine, but the taste is restrained, with toasted malt, nuts and fruit backed by moderate bitterness. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale California, 5.6% alc./vol. Style: American pale ale It's so common in The States that you can pretty much get a six-pack at every 7/11 in the country. That's why Americans sometimes struggle with our excitement over Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It's a long story, but it involves the government, a barrel, and a good amount of bending. But that's all over now, because our overlords have finally allowed the sale of draught Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in Ontario, a mere 35 years after the beer was first brewed. Winner of an astonishing 7 GABF Gold Medals, this is simply what an American Pale Ale is all about. Cascade hops give this beer its bright citrus aroma and delectable hop bite, serving as the standard-bearer for Pale Ales across the continent. Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale California, 7.2% alc./vol. Style: American strong ale Rob Ford’s favorite beer is finally available in Canada. Stone’s Arrogant Bastard was born during a brewing renaissance in the mid-90s when a few intrepid brewers really started to test their limits. In fact, the entire nebulous style known “American strong ale” may owe its continued existence due to this big angry fella right here. Layered with melding flavours, Arrogant Bastard is tremendously hoppy but tastes nothing like an IPA. Sit down for a sip and experience bursts of grain, dank woody spice, grapefruit and chewy cookies. Since we don’t have an “Aggressive” category, we’ll just slip this one in the Robust section. Try a flight of 3 draught Samples for $6 8 On Draught Satisfying Ales, porters and stouts with gentle bitterness and chocolaty or roasty character St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout Québec, 5% alc./vol. Style: Stout Richer than your typical dry Irish stout, St. Ambroise’s Oatmeal stout is perhaps the finest example of the style. Oats lend a silken texture to this beer that drinks with notes of mocha, fruit, and a bitterness that’s perfectly balanced between roast and hop. Spicy Malty, well-rounded ales with a natural spiciness either from fermentation, a spice addition, or both La Trappe Tripel The Netherlands, 8% alc./vol. Style: Tripel (Trappist) When all you do is pray and brew, you're generally good at both. The monks at La Trappe do in fact produce a pretty mean tripel spiked with coriander. A staple spice in the brewing world for wheat beers and Belgian blondes, when it's added to this richer style, you get something like this: golden and slightly sweet, it tastes at once bready and fruity, with an invigorating alcoholic punch. Robust Rich and warming ales with a full maltiness and impressive complexity Maudite Québec, 8% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale La Maudite (the damned one) is a dark, coriander-spiced ale from what is now the most successful Québec brewery in existence. Effervescent with aromas of ripe fruits, it drinks slightly sweet with warming spice, caramel and more fruity notes. Enjoy it on its own or with tomatobased pastas or red meats. Fruity Beers fermented or finished with real fruit or juices Mort Subite Kriek Belgium, 4.3% alc./vol. Style: Lambic, fruit From the not-quite undisputed masters of sweetened lambic comes a fruit beer flavoured with dark cherries native to Brussels. Traditionally brewed, spontaneouslyfermented beer forms the tangy base for this drink that is further enlivened by the addition of fruit. A sweet kriek like this one is great as either a starter or a dessert, and comes with the side-effect of impressing that table of rubberneckers watching you drink a glass full of deep ruby-red deliciousness. 9 On Draught Cider Not beer, but still nice Market Price Hard to believe that as recently as 2008, Ontario had only one craft cidery. Now there’s over 20. The popularity of apple cider has exploded in recent years, and it’s not all just because of the gluten-free movement. In Ontario, it’s because we make a damn fine apple, thanks to our amazing soil and miserable winters. It’s estimated that by 2018, 10% of all the apples grown in the province with find their destiny in a cider. Come enjoy this burgeoning industry with our curated selection of Ontario’s best. Ontario Cider Rotational Tap And... Market Price Now with twice the taps! Two! With so much happening in the local beer scene, we had to open up our taps to take in all the variety. Ask your server or check out the chalkboards to see what’s pouring. The Beers of the Moment Quenching Last call Grab a bottle from our limited stock list Aventinus Eisbock 2013 (Germany; 12% alc.). - Tangy dried fruits, rum, port, banana and molasses. De Ranke Saison de Dottignies (BE; 5.5% alc.)l - A farmhouse ale brewed with lots of whole leaf hops. DeuS 2012 (Belgium/France; 11.5% alc.).l - The champagne/beer hybrid. Perfect for celebrating. Freigeist Hoppeditz (Germany; 7.5% alc.). - Almost savoury, a historical style of dark lagered ale. Stillwater Cellar Door (Connecticut; 7.4% alc.). - A hoppy wheat beer finished with white sage. 10 The Bottle List Softly spicy and fruity German- and Belgian-style wheat beers Cheval Blanc Québec, 5% alc./vol. Style: Witbier Les Brasseurs RJ took home two of Canada’s seven medals at the 2014 World Beer Cup, considered the Olympics of beer by people who don’t consider competitive chugging to be the Olympics of beer. This Belgian style wheat beer took silver, beating out 60 other entries from around the world. Brewed with orange zest and coriander, Cheval Blanc is milder and lighter than many of the style, making for a lean, fruity, fresh and clean patio refresher. Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse Germany, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Hefeweizen The most popular beer from this brewery located in the centre of Munich is a mild rendition of the classic Bavarian wheat beer. Medium dry with a light citrusy character, also along for the ride are the signature banana and clove notes that exemplify the style. Schneider Weisse Germany, 5.4% alc./vol. Style: Hefeweizen The fact that the original Bavarian weisse is darker and spicier than most is testament to the fact that its recipe has remained unchanged for more than a century. Look for notes of clove and black pepper, supported by a soft fruitiness and a satisfying character. Crisp Dry, refreshing lagers and ales ranging from softly bitter to appetizingly hoppy Czechvar Czech Republic, 5% alc./vol. Style: Czech pilsner Even though this Czech lager is known through the rest of the world as Busweiser Budvar, please, please, please don’t think for a moment that it has anything to do with American Bud. This is a pilsner that can easily beat Budweiser into submission—with solid, clean malt and hop flavours making for a refreshing beer that actually tastes like a beer. In the Bottle or Can 11 Crisp Dry, refreshing lagers and ales ranging from softly bitter to appetizingly hoppy Collective Arts Saint of Circumstance Ontario, 4.7% alc./vol. Style: Golden ale This new outfit from Burlington has yet to have their own brewing facilities, but that hasn’t stopped them from making a big impact on the Ontario beer scene. In fact, they’ve become so popular so quickly that they’ve had to rent time at three breweries (one of which had to add extra tanks in their parking lot) just to keep up with demand. This is a light and spritzy blond ale that’s been infused with the zest of seasonal citrus fruits. The lemon and lime flavours are perfect for folks that like a wedge squeezed into their beer, or really for anyone who enjoys that perfect moment in time cooling down on a patio. Singha Lager Thailand, 5% alc./vol. Style: Premium Lager Bangkok is hot. And wet. I mean come on, the entire city exists on converted swampland. And when it’s this hot and wet, a person’s choice of beer is going to be as uncomplicated as possible. For maximum refreshment, the brewers of Thailand’s most successful beer have kept the malt and hop profile to a minimum, leaving the lightest spice note in the body just to remind you that you’re still drinking a beer. Stiegl Pils Austria, 4.9% alc./vol. Style: German pilsner A 500-year long brewing tradition has resulted in a fine, golden lager with a spicy bouquet produced by Bohemian Saaz hops. If you’re looking for a new beer but fiercely dedicated to familiar flavours, you can’t go wrong with this one. Zywiec Poland, 5.3% alc./vol. Style: Premium Lager Not only a fantastic scrabble word, Zywiec is also one of the most popular native beers in Poland, and easily the most recognizable Polish brand in Canada. And if you don't speak Polish, chances are you're pronouncing it wrong. So say "je-vi-ets" when you're looking for a blond lager that's slightly sweet on the nose with a straightforward, uncomplicated palate. In the Bottle or Can 12 Appetizing Ales with a varying balance between tart and sweet, with fruitiness and mouth-wateringly dry malt Bockor Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge Belgium, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Flemish sour ale Rather than adding a carefully-selected pure strain of laboratory yeast, this brightly sour red ale is fermented by exposing the batch overnight to the native airborne flora outside this west Flemish brewery. As such, it’s produced like a lambic, but marketed as a Flemish sour ale probably only due to geography. In the end, who cares, because the cuvée is a delectably sour and not overly aggressive addition to our “Appetizing” category. It drinks with a whiff of Welch’s and tart cranberries, and is less oaky than the others of the style. Le Trou du Diable L’Ours Québec, 6% alc./vol. Style: Sour ale “The Bear” is a blended beer, comprised of 20% sour rye ale aged on Banyul barrels for two years, and 80% young farmhouse saison. The upshot of this smooshing of styles is that it has made for a lively and fresh sour ale. There is the unmistakable Brettanomyces mustiness in the nose alongside a cider vinegar aroma, which then opens up to a lovely layering of flavours. Banyul ageing gives it winey characteristics, enhancing the tart fruity edge of purposeful souring, while both the saison and rye add cereal notes. The finish is dry, peppery and refreshing. VanderGhinste Oud Bruin Belgium, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Flemish brown ale If you’re a fan of Duchesse de Bourgogne, you’ve likely been lamenting its absence ever since you helped obliterate our stock of it in 2014. Well, here’s something that just might make you forget that old sour inbred. The Omer Vander Ghinste Brewery’s interpretation of this ancient style is a blend of two different beers: 35% is their barrel-aged lambic, Cuvée des Jacobins, while the remainder is a caramel-maltforward brown ale. What you get from that mix is a beer not as intensely mouth-puckering as a true lambic, with a sweet, fruity tang and lightly sour background Sociable Ales and lagers with moderate strength, medium body and near-perfect balance Anchor Steam Beer California, 4.9% alc./vol. Style: California Common The secret of this classic Californian brew is a hybrid fermentation that combines a lager yeast with ale-type conditions, yielding a deliciously complex beer with both the round fruitiness of an ale and the appetizing crispness of a lager. In the Bottle or Can 13 Sociable Ales and lagers with moderate strength, medium body and near-perfect balance Black Oak Nut Brown Ale Ontario, 5% alc./vol. Style: Brown ale Black Oak recently moved from Oakville to Etobicoke, but since no one wanted to drink a beer called “Black Coke”, they kept the old name. All that really matters to us is that they’ve been able to adapt their new brewing facilities to replicate their Nut Brown Ale, the multiple award-winning beer that put them on the map a scant ten years ago. This is a great beer for pairing with hamburger and other grilled meats, with a solid nutty maltiness that stays away from the sweet side. Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel Germany, 5.6% alc./vol. Style: Dunkelweizen Can a drink so dark really be refreshing? When it's a dunkel weiss, you bet it can. Erdinger's dark wheat beer drinks with a wisp of roasty caramel sweetness backed by a soft fruitiness that finishes clean and smooth. Hobgoblin England, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: English Brown Ale Funny name aside, this is one serious ale. Expect fragrant currant notes on the nose and a full, rich and chocolaty-fruity body. A touch of dryness on the finish makes this a fine ale to complement stews and braised meats. Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer Scotland, 6.6% alc./vol. Style: English strong ale This beer was born through one of the best accidents ever. To create a unique whiskey, virgin oak barrels were filled with beer so the wood could soak up all the malt and hop flavours. Once the beer was discarded, the casks were filled with whiskey and aged. Turns out the workers responsible for emptying the casks were drinking the beer themselves and liking it a whole lot. As a result, the whiskey was forgotten, and Innis & Gunn has been brewing beer like this ever since. The oak, and further aging on stainless steel gives the ale a smooth blend of vanilla, citrus, woody malt and tropical fruits. Left Field Eephus Oatmeal Brown Ale Ontario, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: American brown ale The launch of Left Field Brewery just might have been the only thing that went right for Toronto baseball in 2013. And this, their first readily-available release, impressed us so much that we thought we’d try out a whole season of Eephus now that it's available in the can. A solid, nutty, leathery and roasted malt aroma lets you know what it’s going to taste like, with an added layer of light brown sugar that dries out with a mild bitterness at the end. In the Bottle or Can 14 Sociable Ales and lagers with moderate strength, medium body and near-perfect balance Köstritzer Schwarzbier Germany, 4.8% alc./vol. Style: Schwarzbier Köstritzer brewery was founded way back in 1543, and it isn’t even considered one of the older breweries in Germany. It is, however, one of the oldest producers of schwarzbier, a style that a lot of beer newbies have trouble wrapping their noodles around. That’s because it pours out pitch black, but doesn’t drink at all like a big-bodied stout or porter. Part of the reason is because it’s a lager, not an ale, and so carries a style-defining crispness of character. The dominant flavours are a mild roastiness and a drying cherry edge. Samuel Adams Boston Lager Massachusetts, 4.8% alc./vol. Style: Premium Lager Since the 2008 takeover of Anheuser-Busch by InBev, The Boston Beer Company has become the single largest American-owned brewery, and Samuel Adam’s Boston Lager is their flagship beer. This is something of a coup, because for the first time in modern history, the best selling 100% American beer is actually something that doesn’t make you want to kill yourself. With just a wisp of fresh floral hop aromas, this premium lager carries moderately bitter and light caramel flavours. Side Launch Dark Lager Ontario, 5.3% alc./vol. Style: Dunkel The brewery formerly known as Denison’s started from humble beginnings right around the corner to produce two of the most highly regarded beers in the world. This dunkel, rebranded and produced at Side Launch’s shiny new digs in Collingwood, is one of them. Dunkels are German-style dark lagers, and Denison’s is a prime example with rich malt aromas and a clean palate carrying notes of nuts and cocoa. St. Peter’s English Ale England, 4.4% alc./vol. Style: English ale So many folks ask us for organic beers that we had to find one of the best to pour at the restaurant. Made entirely of organic malt and hops, deep well water and St. Peter’s proprietary strain of yeast, this beer is mild, woody, and easy-drinking as hell. In the Bottle or Can 15 Satisfying Ales, porters and stouts with gentle bitterness and chocolaty or roasty character Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodite Québec, 6.5% alc./vol. Style: Flavoured stout Lots of brewers like to add chocolate to their stouts, but when Dieu du Ciel! brought out this vanilla and cocoaflavoured Canadian masterpiece, those same brewers spent many nights crying themselves to sleep. “Why didn’t we think of this?” they whimpered to their mothers. “Don’t worry honey,” she replied while taking a slow sip of silken and roasty vanilla goodness, “I still love you.” But the brewers looked deep into their mothers’ eyes, and knew she was lying. Guinness Ireland, 4.2% alc./vol. Style: Stout The world's most famous stout might no longer have quite the same tart edge that once made it so purely dry and appetizing, but it's still a fine pint of the black. Mill Street Coffee Porter Ontario, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Porter Wake up! Mill Street Brewery takes the coffee taste of a robust porter one step further by flavouring theirs with actual coffee beans from our Distillery District’s Balzac's Coffee Roastery. The result is a delicate melding of coffee and beer with notes of chocolate and raisin. Muskoka Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout Ontario, 8% alc./vol. Style: Flavoured stout Two years ago, Muskoka Brewery gave us the gift of Christmas in the form of their Imperial Stout flavoured with 70% dark chocolate, cocoa and fresh cranberries. What they didn’t tell us is that they saved quite a lot of it for themselves and cellared it in house for 14 months. Well now we know, and they’ve done it again for us this year. Through ageing, The chocolate and cranberries have moved in next door to each other for a more rounded experience, rather than the ‘first-cranberry-next-chocolate’ taste profile found in the younger version. Muskoka’s successful experiment in cellaring is again proof that this is a brewery that continues to dare others in Ontario to do better. Young's Double Chocolate Stout England, 5.2% alc./vol. Style: Flavoured stout Chocolate and stouts go together like, well, chocolate and stouts. So it comes as little surprise that this offering from one of England’s most prolific breweries presents a hedonistic combination of flavours. Not overly sweet, the melding of real dark chocolate, chocolate essence and the dark-roasted barley malt (not coincidentally) also known as chocolate creates here an easy-drinking excuse to enjoy chocolate with dinner. Chocolate. In the Bottle or Can 16 Bold Hopped-out ales with a moderate to full bitterness and a naturally fruity character Anchor Liberty Ale California, 5.9% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale Oftentimes, someone will come around the bar and bellow “How can you call yourselves beerbistro if you don’t even carry [insert name of any beer that you can find in every single other bar in the city]?” We can let that slide. But when someone asks why the hell we aren’t carrying the very first post-prohibition IPA that sparked a brewing revolution without which we wouldn’t even exist, you bet your bony old behind we take notice. We’re proud to bring back to our shelves this benchmark IPA, brewed with 100% whole leaf Cascade hops just the way grandma used to brew. Black Oak Break of Dusk Ontario, 4.4% alc./vol. Style: Black pale ale A limited release from Etobicoke’s own Black Oak Brewery is this paradoxically-styled black pale ale. While it pours out looking like a porter, it carries with it all the bright hop aromas and bitterness of a west-coast pale. Add to that the charred astringency of roasted malts, and you get a remarkably flavourful lower-alcohol offering. Cameron's Rye Pale Ale Ontario, 6.6% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale Local brewery Cameron’s made a huge splash in 2011 when they released their “Rye.P.A” at the Bar Volo IPA challenge. The following year it went on to take gold at the Ontario brewing awards, and then silver at the Nationals. This means that it’s really good. Dry hopped for fresh aromas, this beer drinks like a hybrid between a British and an American IPA with a good helping of rye for a peppery hit that sets it apart from the rest. Central City Red Racer IPA British Columbia, 6.5% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale The American IPA claims its roots in 1975s San Francisco, and from there it grew like the best plague ever to eventually take over the USA. To the north, Canadians could only stay immune for so long, really only getting into the game some 25 years later. In the Ijust-made-this-up category of classic Canadian IPAs, Central City’s stands out as one of the first in our country to get it right. Four different breeds of hop provide flavours of grapefruit pith and peach, with a long bittersweet finish that doesn’t threaten to completely obliterate your tastebuds. In the Bottle or Can 17 Bold Hopped-out ales with a moderate to full bitterness and a naturally fruity character Collective Arts Rhyme & Reason Ontario, 5.7% alc./vol. Style: American pale ale Bordering somewhere between an IPA and a pale ale, Rhyme & Reason has already made a big impact in its short existence, earning Collective Arts the title of Best New Brewery in Ontario by Ratebeer.com. It pours out like the palest of pale ales, and is bright and lemony with a good burst of bitterness that won’t resurface your soft palate like some hoppy beers tend to do. You’re fully going to want a second pint right after the first, and at 5.7%, it’s just on the right side of the edge of sessionability for you to justify it. De la Senne Taras Boulba Belgium, 4.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian pale ale When a few of us took a trip to Belgium, this was the session beer. The name comes from a Nikolai Gogol story of a forbidden love affair between a couple from rival houses. The name fits, because Taras Boulba drinks like an ancient grudge breaking to new mutiny. On one side, there are the spicy, fruity notes that only Belgian yeasts can provide. On the other, you have a full hop bitterness that’s historically been shunned throughout Belgium. And from forth the fatal loins of these two foes has sprung a torrid romance of a beer unlike any other. Dieu du Ciel! Disco Soleil Québec, 6.5% alc./vol. Style: Fruit beer It was only a matter of time before someone brewed an IPA with kumquats, so it’s hardly surprising that the party responsible would be the weirdos over at Dieu du Ciel. Otherwise known as the tiniest orange you’ve ever seen, the kumquat tastes more like a cross between a mandarin and a lime, which here serves to bolster the citrus elements already present in the style. Dieu du Ciel! Moralité Québec, 6.9% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale Montreal brewpub Dieu du Ciel! doesn’t do anything half assed. They use their whole ass. And this time they added even more ass in the form of The Alchemist Brewery out of Vermont. You may recognize The Alchemist as the folks behind Heady Topper, the bucketlist double IPA that made them famous. Here these two craft breweries have developed an unfiltered IPA that pours out bright in the glass, almost announcing its fresh accents of pineapple and lemon, with the sharp, resinous hop bitterness that The Alchemist has apparently mastered. In the Bottle or Can 18 Bold Hopped-out ales with a moderate to full bitterness and a naturally fruity character Fullers ESB England, 5.9% alc./vol. Style: Extra special bitter The brand for which the style is named, this perennial Campaign for Real Ale award-winner has been described as a “beer for Bacchanalia”. Apparently that means it’s good for getting your drunk on. With a robust maltiness balanced by plenty of spicy hop character, it’s a great beer for cooler nights on the patio. Goose Island Goose IPA Illinois/Québec, 5.9% alc./vol. Style: English India pale ale It’s hard to fault Chicago’s Goose Island for going corporate. If Anheuser-Busch handed you a sack filled with $40 mil, you’d probably do the same. To Budweiser’s credit, they’ve done a pretty bang-up job of keeping the craft beer flavour in what is decidedly not a craft beer company anymore. No better is this exemplified in their IPA, which does the European roots of the style proud. Rather than just a bitter hop assault, it’s spicy and toasty with a drying effect that keeps the hops alive on your palate long after each swallow. Great Lakes THRUST! An IPA Ontario, 6.5% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale The Canadian Brewing Awards’ gold medal winner of 2014 is proof that Etobicoke’s Great Lakes Brewery is angling to be crowned the king of hops in not just Ontario, but maybe the entire country. THRUST is another winner to emerge from the brewery’s fabled Tank #10, the fertile loins from which also burst out the amazing IPAs known as Robohop and Karma Citra. This one pours out beautifully cloudy and resinous, and has profoundly fruity tones of melon, lychee and orange peel. New Holland Michigan Awesome Hatter Michigan, 5.8% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale “Michigan Awesome” is a movement borne from statewide pride to highlight the best the mitten-shaped state has to offer. Focusing entirely on locally-sourced ingredients, New Holland brewery has created a brother to their famous Mad Hatter IPA. Leelanu Penninsula Centennial hops and Michigan-grown 2-row barley are the only solid ingredients before fermentation here, and that makes for a straightforward and unpretentious IPA, just the way the Great Lake state likes it. In the Bottle or Can 19 Bold Hopped-out ales with a moderate to full bitterness and a naturally fruity character New Holland Rye Hatter Michigan, 6.1% alc./vol. Style: American pale ale Rye pale ales have become increasingly popular as of late, probably because the addition of this grain gives a peppery kick that suits the hoppiness of the beer. New Holland’s version has that spiciness upfront with an added dose of toasted pumpernickel and juicy citrus. Nickel Brook Headstock IPA Ontario, 7% alc./vol. Style: India pale ale Unofficial winner of the Ontario Comeback of the Decade Award is Nickel Brook Brewing, who saw fit in 2010 to hire brewer Ryan Morrow, responsible for producing a string of winners ever since. One of his first creations was Headstock IPA. Nugget hops offer a sustained bitterness along with wood and grassy elements that dominate over a modest citrus background. Nickel Brook Naughty Neighbour Ontario, 4.9% alc./vol. Style: American pale ale Brewed, named and labelled to celebrate the craft brewing revolution emanating from the USA, Naughty Neighbour is an American style pale ale in every respect. Easily a beer that somebody could drink several times a day, the fresh orange and grain notes might make you feel that it’s actually good for you. True to style, the hop bitterness is just present enough to let you know it’s there, but not so strong that it rips the enamel off your teeth. Thiriez Étoile du Nord France, 5.5% alc./vol. Style: Farmhouse ale Despite all the wine, there is a thriving craft brewing movement in France. And of the breweries to make a worldwide impact, Thiriez is near the top. The “North Star” is something of a hybrid style—brewed in collaboration with an English brewery—making full use of Kentish Bramling Cross hops for its unique flavour. This is not a beer for the faint of heart. Within its bitter structure are notes of hay, manure and wet dog; making it closer to the hoppy saisons of yore than what we accept from the style today. Included in its flavour profile are minerally notes and just a dash of fruit. Our beer cellar is filled with some of the most unique vintages around. Check it out on page 33 20 In the Bottle or Can Robust Rich and warming ales with a full maltiness and impressive complexity Aventinus Germany, 8% alc./vol. Style: Weizenbock Officially rebranded as Schneider Weisse Tap6 Unser Aventinus, we’re just going to go ahead and keep calling it Aventinus, if for no other reason than to save on printer ink. This, the first weizenbock ever created has remained relatively unchanged since 1907. This is all the more impressive when you discover that the beer just won gold at the 2014 World Beer Cup. Proof that wheat beers can be just as big-bodied and complex as the other guys, the rich and lively accents of ripe banana, plum and liquorice are what have made this gorgeous beer dominate for over a century. Chimay Première Belgium, 7% alc./vol. Style: Dubbel (Trappist) The flagship ale of the world's most famous Trappist monastery brewery, the beer also known as Chimay Red sports an assertive spiciness and notes of plummy fruit in the body. A natural for sharing at dinner. Dragon Stout Jamaica, 7.5% alc./vol. Style: Foreign Stout When the Irish brought stout to the Caribbean, they fermented their ale to higher strengths to preserve it over the long sea voyage. The style caught on, and even though most are now lager fermented, island stouts like this one from the makers of Red Stripe remain sweet and strong. Kwak Belgium, 8% alc./vol. Style: Belgian Strong Ale Belgians have a fairly relaxed take in regards to drinking on the job, and there is no better evidence for this than Kwak. This traditional strong ale was once a favorite among coach drivers, who drank it so regularly that special glassware was designed to be hitched to the side of the cab, keeping the beer in constant reach. We serve Kwak in its idiosyncratic glass—just the beginning of an experience that is deliciously mellow, very fruit-forward (think plum and caramelized banana) with the softest touch of bitterness at the end. Rochefort 6 Belgium, 7.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale (Trappist) Perhaps the most closed of all the Trappist monasteries, Rochefort has loosened the reins of secrecy a bit over the last decade leading to much greater availability of their beers. But of the beers they produce, the 6 represents a mere 1% of their entire output, making it one of the rarest monastic ales around. It has a soft body with a perfumey, sweetish and herbal palate. 21 In the Bottle or Can Robust Rich and warming ales with a full maltiness and impressive complexity Rochefort 8 Belgium, 9.2% alc./vol. Style: Belgian Strong Ale (Trappist) The Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy is more informally known among beer aficionados as Rochefort, the name of both the nearby town and the beers it produces. The 8 is a masterpiece of malty complexity, and perhaps the finest beer you will ever find to enjoy with dark chocolate. Sinha Stout Sri Lanka, 8.8% alc./vol. Style: Foreign Stout Since its discovery by beer writer Michael Jackson, this rich, slightly peppery brew normally sold under the “Lion Stout” label has become a minor world classic. Expect notes of bitter chocolate and espresso in what is perhaps Sri Lanka’s finest ale. St. Paul Double Belgium, 6.9% alc./vol. Style: Dubbel From the day we first opened in November 2003, St. Paul double has been a fixture on our shelves. Largely ignored in those early years, this gently malty and super smooth brown ale has turned out to be the hidden gem on our roster, slowly emerging as one of the most popular beers we carry. It’s the Munenori Kawasaki of beers. Is it the (now retired) candlestick-shaped bottle? Is it the lack of a viable alternative? Or is it just excellent on its own as well as a pairing for a wide swathe of menu items? Have one and decide for yourself. Traquair House Ale Scotland, 6.9% alc./vol. Style: Scotch ale Traquair House was once famed as a refuge for the Jacobites, and some centuries after that that, somewhat less famed as a brewery, which was the stylish thing to have in your big house with servants in early 1700s Scotland. By the time the 1800s rolled around though, the brewery had closed. A century and a half later it was rediscovered, intact, during renovations. So the family revived their old recipes and started brewing again. Now their Scotch Ale is heralded as one of the better ones around, with a nutty and earthy character that lies more heavily on the caramelly malt side of things. Trois Pistoles Québec, 9% alc./vol. Style: Belgian Strong Ale Another of Unibroue's big, Belgium-inspired ales is this mahogany beauty. Prepare yourself for heavy doses of chocolate, black plum and liquorice palate with a coriander spiciness on the nose. Rich and very robust. 22 In the Bottle or Can Robust Rich and warming ales with a full maltiness and impressive complexity Vander Ghinste Brasserie LeFort Belgium, 8.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale Lovingly named after a long-defunct brewery owned by the Great Grandfather of Omer Vander Ghinste, Brasserie LeFort is itself a revival of the beer first produced by Felix Verscheure in 1854. Suprisingly light for an 8.5% abv dark beer, it has a candy sweetness punctuated with caramel, chocolate and dark cherries. Finishing lively and spicy, it’s kind of like the most adult version of Dr. Pepper ever. Westmalle Dubbel Belgium, 7% alc./vol. Style: Dubbel (Trappist) The beer for which the style is named, this dark ale offers some cocoa notes along with hints of caramel and subtle fruit, but leaves an overall dry impression despite its malty profile. Most dubbels beg for a food accompaniment, but the Westmalle is a treat all on its own. Smoky Ales and lagers with flavours ranging from a wisp of smoke to a roaring campfire Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Germany, 5.1% alc./vol. Style: Smoked Beer If there were ever a beer that could divide households, this is the one. Some folks love the fact that its intense aroma and taste give it an unmistakable flavour of a big ol’ smoked ham, while others feel like some desperate accountant salvaged a batch after the brewery burned to the ground. The barley malt used in this lager is smoked over a beechwood fire prior to brewing, and that’s the dominant taste throughout. Try it and see if you’re a fan or a foe. Freigeist Abraxxxas Germany, 6% alc./vol. Style: Lichtenhainer weisse Freigeist Brewery has taken it upon themselves to revive long-neglected historical styles of German beer, and none may be so rare or unique as the Lichtenhainer weisse. So named after the central-German town where it first gained popularity, the style can be seen as a hybrid between two other obscure German beers: the Berliner weisse and the Gräzter. Well, what the hell does that mean? It means this beer is at once sour and smoky, and truly may be one of the most strangely satisfying beer experiences of your life. Think of a cheese plate with luscious smoked cheddars and exotic compotes, and you’ll have an inkling as to what to expect in a glass of this tart wheat beer. 23 In the Bottle or Can Spicy Well-rounded ales with a natural spiciness either from fermentation or a spice addition, or both Brigand Belgian Ale Belgium, 9% alc./vol. Style: Belgian golden strong ale The medieval archer on the label looks like he should be spray-painted on the side of a van, so feel free to drink this beer with as much hipster cred as you can possibly muster. It has a flavour and strength that gives one of our most popular beers—Delirium Tremens—a run for its money. Blonde, slightly sweet, with background notes of cherry and bubblegum, Enjoy this beer after a long day of pillaging, plundering, and pruning the hedges of many small villages. Chimay White Belgium, 8% alc./vol. Style: Tripel (Trappist) The only ale from the Chimay Trappist monastery brewery with a pronounced hoppiness, this dry-ish, faintly peppery ale has a full palate and dry, modestly bitter finish. De la Senne Zinnebir Belgium, 5.8% alc./vol. Style: Belgian ale Loosely translating to ‘Little Bastard Beer’, this offering from De la Senne drinks somewhere between a pale ale and a saison. What that means is that it has a lively yeast backbone of earthen nutty pepper, a body of apple and pear, and a finish of fresh hop bitterness. A standout in the relatively new field of hoppy Belgian blondes, Zinnebir is a good start to a long day of drinking. Delirium Tremens Belgium, 8.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian golden strong ale Some years back, we took a trip to Belgium to convince Huyghe Brewery to export draught Delirium Tremens to Canada. It started coming in, and now the pink elephant tap handle is a common sight all over Toronto. But we learned something in the process: this potent golden ale is simply better in the bottle. When bottle conditioned, the extra yeasts contribute to a more refined, smooth and lightly fruitier beer than the more assertive draught version. So we’ve gone through the trouble to privately order these bottles, which you won’t find anywhere else in the city. 24 In the Bottle or Can Spicy Well-rounded ales with a natural spiciness either from fermentation or a spice addition, or both Duvel Belgium, 8.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian golden strong ale Best served with a large, fluffy head in an enormous glass, Duvel is a Belgian classic of the first order. Using the same yeast strain that’s been living at the brewery for about a century, one of the only things that hasn’t changed there in a hundred years is the recipe. Duvel Moortgat is now one of the largest brewing groups in the world, and much of its success is due to this bad boy right here. Crisp, clean and aromatic with a ridiculous drinkability considering its enormous alcohol content, you’ll understand why this beer is called “the devil” by the time you finish your glass. La Fin du Monde l Québec, 9% alc./vol. Style: Tripel So it turns out that the world didn't end in 2012 like the Mayans said, which only means you've bought yourself more time to drink this prize winning pepper-and-citrusy kick to the head. Québec's Unibroue has long produced many staff favorites over here, and Fin du Monde has got to be near the top of the list for catching up after work. Le Trou du Diable La Buteuse Québec, 10% alc./vol. Style: Tripel La Buteuse is named for the Jesuit missionary who worked to convert the Native Canadians close to the future site of this brewery. And since his attempts were met with a chest full of bullets and a tomahawk to the head, it’s no wonder that the beer which carries his name is a full on kick to the noodle. One of the highest alcohol content tripels we’ve ever carried, it’s a rich and peppery amber beer with a surprisingly fresh cereal body. Mikkeller Texas Ranger Denmark, 6.6% alc./vol. Style: Chipotle porter How many times have we been asked the question: “How hot are your spicy beers?” to have to reply that well, spicy doesn’t actually mean spicy spicy, but rather spicy in the way that Carmen Miranda is spicy. Never. That has actually never happened. It’s all moot anyway, because here on our menu for the first time is a beer actually made with hot peppers. And this one doesn’t drink like a dare from your older brother (I never forget, James). It’s actually much more fun. A black porter provides an excellent base for the addition of chipotle peppers, which heightens the smoky dark chocolate to an otherworldly experience. 25 the Bottle or Can Spicy Well-rounded ales with a natural spiciness either from fermentation or a spice addition, or both Orval 2011 Belgium, 6.9% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale (Trappist) Brewed by the Trappist monks of l’Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval, this earthy ale cellers in such a complex fashion that it is a point of pride across Belgium to serve multiple bottlings to accommodate everyone’s different tastes. While we have some other vintages kicking around in our cellar, we wanted to feature this particular one on the main menu. As a rule, all the vintages are lively and complex, with true farmhouse character, light fruit, acidity and a delicate whiff of horse-blanket. But, as they age they go through a rollercoaster of changes, best described with the following diagram: (fig. 1: both Orval and I have too much time on our hands) The 2011 is big on the funk, with notes of cheese, earth and soap. And if that sounds good to you, you’re my kind of beer drinker. Stillwater Stateside Saison l Connecticut, 6.8% alc./vol. Style: Saison It’s a real pleasure to be able to offer beers from one of the most noted of travelling breweries, now that it’s seemingly grown semi-permanent roots at Connecticut’s Two Roads. In the short time that Stillwater Artisinal has been on the planet, their steadily increasing range of farmhouse-style beers has launched them to the top tier of American craft brewers. And of those beers, Stateside Saison has got to be the most popular. Doughy, tangy and jumping with pepper and herbs, it has a lemony effervescence with a lingering earthy finish. Tripel Karmeliet Belgium, 8% alc./vol. Style: Tripel From the makers of the champagne/beer hybrid DeuS comes another ingenious concoction: a strong golden ale brewed with wheat, oats and barley. The complexity of this brew’s aroma is apparent in the amazing way that everyone seems to smell something different leaping from the glass. Try it out to see what you can find; and then be rewarded with a taste that’s herbal and spicy. 26 In the Bottle or Can Spicy Well-rounded ales with a natural spiciness either from fermentation or a spice addition, or both Urthel Hop-It Belgium, 9.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian golden strong ale This is the inevitable result when a Belgian brewer goes to America and becomes addicted to the hoppy, bitter beers of the United States. Urthel Hop-It could be described as a hybrid between the blond, sweetly fruity golden ales of Belgium and the fresh and bitter IPAs of the New World. While the flavour is decidedly on the Belgian side, what makes this beer unique is what’s layered on top: a vibrant floral aroma and lasting bitter finish. Wild Beer Ninkasi England, 9% alc./vol. Style: Saison When you have a friend that describes themselves as “weird” or “wild” or something like that, they usually aren’t. More often than not, they’re kind of a pain in the ass. So it was with a raised eyebrow that we tried Wild Beer Ninkasi. Well, the name works. And it’s mostly because “wild” also refers to this brewery’s dedication to harvesting native yeasts and seeing what kind of beers they produce. Ninkasi is so much of a champagne/beer hybrid that the brewery recommends serving it in a fluted glass. A saison brewed with 10% apple juice, it’s fermented with a wild-harvested yeast strain and finished with a champagne yeast to create a deliciously dry, effervescent beer. Westmalle Tripel Belgium, 9.5% alc./vol. Style: Tripel (Trappist) Trappist breweries like Westmalle originated the Belgian custom of denoting the strength of their beers as enkel (single), dubbel and tripel. The latter designation began with this remarkably complex, warming and immensely satisfying golden ale. The original and still the best. Soothing Potent ales with almost sinfully decadent maltiness and profound depth of flavour Achel Extra Bruin Belgium, 9.5% alc./vol. Style: Abt/Quadrupel (Trappist) When Achel Extra first hit the scene about ten years ago, Trappist monks everywhere retreated to a renewed life of solemn contemplation, having just been righteously schooled by the monks of Achel brewery. And when Achel Extra first hit our shelves about ten years ago, it stunned us with its multilayered complexity of rich malt, chocolate, raisins and spices. And then as suddenly as it appeared, it was all gone. Mostly drank by the staff here. Well now it’s finally back after some worthless non-Achel Extra years, and maybe if you can rip it out of a bartender’s hands, you can have some too. 27 In the Bottle or Can Soothing Potent ales with almost sinfully decadent maltiness and profound depth of flavour Chimay Blue Belgium, 9% alc./vol. Style: Belgian Strong Ale (Trappist) This is the strongest and maltiest ale from the Trappist monastery brewery, Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Scourmont. Roundly spicy and winy in character, it's an after-dinner treat that also pairs nicely with chocolate. (Also available in vintage 1.5 Litre Magnums: $60) Dieu du Ciel! Péché Mortel Québec, 9.5% alc./vol. Style: Imperial stout Canadian beer drinkers have long considered Montréal’s Dieu du Ciel! brewpub as the single most important pit stop as they stumble about the country. So how lucky are you now that you can get some of their beers in Toronto? Not only is ‘Mortal Sin’ not for the faint of heart, but it’s also a death sentence for anyone with a coffee allergy. Brewed with fair-trade beans, this opaque black beer is brimming with roasted, toasted and all other kinds of –oasted coffee flavours that lengthen with a slick mouthfeel that then decides to continually dry out long after the last sip is gone. Engelszell Gregorius Trappistenbier Austria, 10.5% alc./vol. Style: Abt/Quadrupel (Trappist) Beer and celibacy. For some of you, it’s a way of life. So why not become a monk and at least give the appearance that you’re doing it on purpose? Within this decade alone, four Trappist monasteries have started brewing beer, joining the seven others whose wares are famous the world over. In 2012, the Stift Engelszell monastery produced the first ever Austrian beer to be labeled with the protected Authentic Trappist Product logo, and Gregorious was the first bottle to roll off their line. Gregorious represents a departure from tradition in its ingredient list alone. Rather than candi sugar, organic honey is used alongside an Alsacian wine yeast to produce a sweet, darkly fruity ale with added punches of roast and chocolate. Kasteel Donker Belgium, 11% alc./vol. Style: Abt/Quadrupel Funny how a brewery known for some of the worst fruit beers on the planet can still knock a strong ale out of the park. The makers of the St. Louis line of fruit beers are to be commended for this monastically-inspired mahogany ale. Sweet and syrupy with a kick of grape juice and rumballs, this is the proper way to do dessert in a glass. The Donker also wins the prize for the longest absence from our shelves before a comeback. It’s been 10 years since we last got our hands on it! 28 In the Bottle or Can Soothing Potent ales with almost sinfully decadent maltiness and profound depth of flavour Les Trois Mousquetaires Grand Cuvée Porter Baltique Québec, 8.3% alc./vol. Style: Baltic porter This Baltic porter may have a ridiculous mouthful of a name, but considering it’s equal to like 20 ridiculous mouthfuls of beer, you’re looking at one of the best exchange rates around. Baltic porters share much in common with Imperial stouts, in that they were both borne of a need to ship across the North Sea some centuries ago. In order to make the journey from Britain without freezing, the beer was brewed with a higher alcohol content, which serendipitously made for a lot of happy Latvians. That aside, this particular Baltic porter has got to be one of the finest modern interpretations around. It’s intensely complex with flavours of vanilla, fig, caramel, port, tar, and, and, ah hell. Just try it. It tastes like a lot of things. I’m drunk. Mikkeller Monk’s Brew Denmark, 10% alc./vol. Style: Abt/Quadrupel Back in Europe this beer is known as “Monk’s Elixir”, so it’s only natural that importers to Ontario would be forced to rename it, for fear that it doesn’t actually grant you magical powers. And they say the Danes are weird. At 10% alc., this is just the kind of beer that fits perfectly in Mikkeller’s wheelhouse, despite the entire absence of bittering hops. Plummy, strong, sweet and slick, it’s immediately apparent that this beer is inspired by the pinnacle of Trappist brewing that is Westvleteren XII. Smuttynose Imperial Stout New Hampshire, 10% alc./vol. Style: Imperial stout Smuttynose is like the Jones Soda of beer, in that each bottle is branded with something only vaguely related to what’s inside, with pictures probably dug out of some grandparent’s attic. Their Imperial stout has a picture of an old nautical chart of Smuttynose Island, likely inspired by a beer style that was originally intended for an ocean voyage. And thank the stars that this beer has finally travelled to Toronto. Rich with waves of burnt caramel, dried fruits and oil-spill slickness, as it warms up in the glass you can pull out all the hidden hop aromas that let you know this is a big, American brew. St. Bernardus Abt 12 Belgium, 10% alc./vol. Style: Abt/Quadrupel This malt bomb has been consistently ranked as one of the top beers in the world, and for good reason. It’s a masterful mix of complexity that can shame even the rarest of strong Trappist ales. Rumor is that this beer makes use of a magical strain of yeast that once fermented the elusive Westvleteren 12. Perhaps that's the source for this beer's character of figs, spice, and that tart part of a plum that's a hair's breadth from the inner skin. Along for the ride is a dark, bready and boozy experience capable of collapsing your soul upon itself. 29 In the Bottle or Can Soothing Potent ales with almost sinfully decadent maltiness and profound depth of flavour X.O. Beer France, 8% alc./vol. Style: Fortified Lager If the idea of cognac and beer blended together strikes you as odd, you’re not alone. But incredibly, the combination works in this inspired ale from the cognac company L&L. Anyone who enjoys a good brandy after dinner should be very pleased and satisfied with this fruity, warming nightcap. Fruity Beers fermented or finished with real fruits or fruit juices Früli Strawberry Belgium, 4.1% alc./vol. Style: Fruit Beer This is our most popular fruit beer, and is also in the running to be the most popular bottle that we’ve ever carried. The reason is simple: strawberries and booze work way better than oysters and Spanish fly. Mort Subite Framboise Belgium, 4.5% alc./vol. Style: Lambic, fruit The unique sweet-tart raspberry complexity of Mort Subite has converted scores of people here at the restaurant who swore they’d never touch a beer, and continues to please and surprise on a daily basis. Pêche Mel Scaldis Belgium, 8.5% alc./vol. Style: Fruit beer For some reason, lots fruit beers we’ve found have been pretty light on the alcohol side of things. Guess it took the brewers of what was once Belgium’s strongest beer to raise the bar. Pêche Mel was originally a local beer cocktail made with equal parts of that 12% ale, Scaldis Ambrée, and peach lambic. It got so popular that now the brewery makes a version from scratch. Sweet and strong, this is the dessert to have when you’re not having dessert, and a beerbistro alternative to the after-dinner liqueur. You can almost taste the fuzz. Stiegl Radler Grapefruit Austria, 2.5% alc./vol. Style: Fruit beer Before North Americans were drinking Shandies, German-speaking parts of Europe were mixing Radlers—beer blended with soda pop or lemonade. And when Austrian brewer Stiegl started sending their grapefruit juice-spiked lager over to Toronto, it quickly hypnotized the cooler crowd into drinking a beer. Sweet and fizzy with hardly a hint of its host beer, it’s only second to the Caesar as the perfect brunchtime drink. 30 In the Bottle or Can Gluten-free For those who can’t normally drink beer BSG Glutenberg Pale Ale Américaine Québec, 5% alc./vol. Style: Specialty grain beer With such a high demand for gluten-free beers, it’s fantastic that finally someone is doing it right. That someone is Brasseurs Sans Gluten, the Québécois brewery that just swept the world beer cup in 2012, taking home gold, silver and bronze in the gluten-free category. Here is a beer that tastes like a beer, probably because in place of barley, the brewers have developed a complex and caring grain bill consisting of millet, buckwheat, corn and quinoa. A big hop presence gives Glutenberg the classic grapefruity bitter bite of an American pale ale. Even if you love gluten you’re still going to like this beer. Lakefront New Grist Wisconsin, 5.7% alc./vol. Style: Specialty grain beer You may be gluten intolerant, but we understand. It’s not like gluten used to beat you up when you were a kid— the two of you just don’t get along. But before you curse your pals for dragging you to a place called ‘beerbistro’, just order one of these and hoist up a glass. Brewed entirely with sorghum and rice, New Grist drinks with light sweet notes of green apple and grain. Cider Not beer, but still nice Spirit Tree Draught Cider Ontario, 6% alc./vol. Style: Apple cider Spirit Tree has been producing ciders for only a few years now, but they’re already a multiple award-winning cidery. Formerly known as their Pub Style Cider, their flagship product was a welcome change to the Ontario scene that had for too long been dominated by cloyinglysweet hard apple juices. Spirit Tree is not only dryer with delectable acidic notes, but it also carries farmhouse flavours of hay, cork and wood. Alcohol-free What. Erdinger Weissbier Alkoholfrei Germany, 0.4% alc./vol. So it’s come to this. For reasons we don’t need to discuss, you want an alcohol-free beer. Well we’ve got your back. This half-millennium-old brewery has gone all science on us and figured out how to take the alcohol out of a beer while still leaving the beer part behind. It’s light, drinks with touches of white bread and agave nectar, and is a hell of a lot better for you than Gatorade, so feel free to tank up with this before the big volleyball game. 31 32 Beer cellar Rare, unusual, and carefully aged beers Barleywines Complex ales of high alcohol content, vinous character and concentrated flavours. Bitterness can be non-existent to earth-shattering, and many barleywines evolve as they age to create even more complexity. Brooklyn Monster Ale 2010: 10.1% alc./vol. 2008: 10.3% alc./vol. This lively barley wine brewed under the watchful eye of master brewer and beer author Garret Oliver is an accomplishment to be savored with every sip. A complex nose of toffee and citrus announces the arrival on the palate of a medium-bodied, warm and leafy hop body that stays on the sweeter side and finishes milder than its high alcohol content would suggest. We’ve opened up our cellars to bring out some older vintages, so you can see how the hops mellow out as the beer ages. Try a couple side-by-side. New York Renaissance Tribute Barley Wine 2012 New Zealand, 10.8% alc./vol. This supersmooth barley wine is a great way to finish a night. Save all your ports and grappas for a restaurant that doesn’t have the word “beer” in its name. This is the stuff. Sweet and replete with notes of honey and figs, Renaissance Brewing has proved again that the New Zealand beer scene is filled with amazing strong stuff if you know where to look. Thomas Hardy’s Ale 2006 England, 13.2% alc./vol. Thomas Hardy’s is a world-renowned barleywine treasured for its depth of character and unrivalled capacity for ageing. Most agree that it’s only at its best after several years of proper cellaring, and after three-quarters of a decade in our basement, it’s already starting to astonish. The 2006 carries a potent nose of soy and stewed stone fruit, giving way to a vinous, sweet and savoury body of plums, chocolate and warm alcohol heat. Who would have thought back in 2006 that this abomination of a beer with a clown-car full of angry flavours would morph into one of the best bottles on our list? 33 Beer cellar Rare, unusual, and carefully aged beers Other rare finds Framboise Boon 2012 Belgium, 5% alc./vol. Style: Lambic, fruit A full 25% of the volume of this refreshingly sour beer was once fresh, whole raspberries. Added to young lambic produced in the town for which the style is named (Lembeek, Belgium), the berries help spark a fermentation that eventually consumes almost the entire fruit. Blended with old, tart lambic, the final product pours out like a glass of garnet and tastes like a bright cascade of the mostly sour, slightly sweet and then faintly bitter aspects of raspberry. Omnipollo Hypnopompa Marshmallow Stout Bourbon Barrel Ed. Sweden, 11% alc./vol. Style: Imperial stout Brewed with 100 lbs. of marshmallows and Tahitian vanilla beans the size of cigars, this is an imperial stout unlike any other to ever grace our menu. Hovering somewhere between the definition of “beer” and “sauce”, it’s been intentionally brewed with low carbonation for a slippery oilslick of a mouthfeel. Beyond that first impression is a sweet, creamy, caramel & bourbon sensation that still carries hunks of roasted malt and wood with a biting boozy finish. Incredibly rare, only 1000 cases exist the world over. Gouden Carolus Cuvée Van de Keizer Blauw 2014 Belgium, 9.1% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale Considered one of the finest beers in the world by not just the faceless crowds of critics that get paid to drink and judge, but also by a couple of people that work here who actually do have faces. This big corked bottle is simply a masterpiece of brewing. So wine-like that some of your amateur sommelier pals might not believe that there isn’t a single grape in the entire sweet, rich, and lovingly complex batch. Seriously, some folks have no problem plunking down three times as much for a bottle of moderately crappy wine. How about this: save your money for Christmas presents and enjoy a wine-sized bottle of maybe the best thing ever. Brasserie des Rocs La Montagnarde Belgium, 7.5% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale Sweet enough to be favoured as a dessert beer, this amber ale tastes of brown sugar and apricots, with a light metallic and peppery finish. After trying it, you may be surprised to discover that there’s no added sugar here, which is often a go-to ingredient for strong Belgian ales. All this welcoming sweetness comes directly from the barley, which is very noticeable in the aftertaste, bringing up fantasies of sharing a malted at the drive-in. 34 Beer cellar Rare, unusual, and carefully aged beers Other rare finds Fuller’s Vintage Ale England, 8.5% alc./vol. Style: English Strong Ale Since 1997, the storied London brewery Fuller’s has produced an annual vintage ale. Their intent has been to brew a strong English ale with the finest old-world hops and malts of the season to create a beer that develops with age, replete with all the boozy fruit notes and aromas that define the style. We’ve been cellaring their beers since we’ve opened, and hope to keep doing it until the end of time. If you’re looking for the best day ever, grab some friends and try a vertical tasting of all the vintages we have left. 2006: Super Styrian hops and floor malted barley. Only 100,000 bottles produced. 2007: 10th Anniversary edition, we’re carrying some of the lower range of these individually numbered bottles (3000s out of 150,000 produced). Fuggles, Target and Super Styrian hops. 2008: Northdown and Challenger hops, floor malted Maris Otter malt. 2009: Kent-grown Golding hops and East Anglican Tipple malted barley. 2010: Only 125,000 bottles produced. Expected by the brewer to age into a “Classic Vintage”. Goldings and Fuggle hops, Dry-hopped with Golding and Target hops, Tipple malted barley. 2011: Goldings, Organic First Gold and Sovereign hops; organic barley. 2012: Goldings, Soverign and Target hops; family-grown organic barley. 2014: English Goldings hops alongside American Liberty and Cascade. Nickel Brook Winey Bastard 2013 Ontario, 9.5% alc./vol. Style: Imperial stout Nickel Brook Bolshevik Bastard is one of the top locallybrewed Imperial stouts, so it’s pretty exciting to see the brewery try to make it even better. To achieve this, Niagara-region pinot noir barrels served as the temporary home for a batch of chocolatey and roasty jetblack beer. The wine element is not lost beneath the power of this imperial stout. Rather, it’s very much at the forefront. Pulled from the casks were the red berry, earthy and vinous elements of pinot noir, adding layer upon layer of complexity. 35 Beer cellar Rare, unusual, and carefully aged beers Other rare finds Panil Barriquée 2007 Italy, 6.5% alc./vol. Style: Flemish sour ale Our latest experiment in ageing sour ales is this prized Italian beer that’s been sitting at 10°C for the better part of a decade. Panil Birra Artigianale produces two versions of this ale: one for export to North America, and one domestic. This is the true Italian version. Of the three fermentations this beer goes through, it is the second—a three-month maturation in cognac barrels from Bordeaux—that bestows upon it an earthy, sour body with true depth of character. Cellaring has brought the spirituous woody notes straight up to the forefront in astonishing fashion, while the sour aspect has maintained at a constant relative mildness. The result is a sipping sour with fruit, funk and spice. Goose Island Pepe Nero 2013 Illinois, 6.4% alc./vol. Style: Belgian style farmhouse ale Brewed with rye and black peppercorns, Pepe Nero carries a punch to the traditional Belgian saison and then fully kicks it in the groin with the addition of roasted black malt. A sweet nuttiness up front is married to a smoky cola character that dries out with lingering pepper at the end of the sip. Not your grandfather’s saison, multiple sips might have you asking just what style of beer Pepe Nero actually is. Whatever the answer, it’s another successful experiment from the rule-breakers over at Goose Island. Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva 2005 Belgium, 10% alc./vol. Style: Belgian Strong Ale This small family company recently sprouted from nowhere to become one of the most highly sought-after brewers in the international craft market, and their Pannepot Grand Reserva is a perfect example as to why. Dark, spicy and complex, this beer drinks somewhere between a strong Trappist ale and a steak dinner. Brewed with spices, aged for 14 months in French oak and then a further 8 months in reclaimed Calvados casks; the combination of all these courageous techniques has produced an outstanding piece of brewing. 36 Beer cellar Rare, unusual, and carefully aged beers Other rare finds Rodenbach Vintage 2012 Belgium, 7% alc./vol. Style: Flemish sour ale Travelling this deep into the menu can yield huge rewards. So don’t tell anyone else, but here’s a hidden gem. Rodenbach Grand Cru (currently pouring from our taps....holy hell) is a blend of two versions of the same beer: A young, sweet version, and a 2 year-old oak-aged version that’s been allowed to sour. This bottle is just the old stuff, from what the master brewers have judged to be the best barrel of the year. 2012 was a good year. Ripe with balsamic vinegar notes, a good balancing sweetness and hints of trail mix. Samichlaus 2014 Austria, 14% alc./vol. Style: Doppelbock When the original Swiss brewer of Samichlaus stopped producing this winter seasonal in 1997, it was thought that the world’s strongest lager would sadly become the stuff of distant memories and increasingly dwindling cellar supplies. But the spirit of Christmas was resurrected in 2000 by the Castle Eggenberg Brewery in Austria, and it is a miracle to behold. Brewed on only a single day of the year and aged for ten months prior to bottling, this beer is a hearth for the heart, with strong alcohol warmth floating atop a body of cherry brandy, apricots and raisins. Unibroue 17 Grande Réserve 2014 Québec, 10% alc./vol. Style: Belgian strong ale In 2007, Unibroue produced the final of their numbered anniversary beers with #17, which was promptly named “the world’s best dark ale” at the UK World Brewing Awards. So why’d they pull a Michael Jordan and retire when they were on top? We don’t know. But the good news is that they’ve now pulled a Michael Jordan and decided to flog this recipe until the end of time. Presenting Unibroue 17 Grande Réserve: aged on French oak and bottle-conditioned, this beer is an intense malt experience with highlights of mocha and cocoa and a distinct woody finish. 37 Beer cellar Rare, unusual, and carefully aged beers Other rare finds La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged Batch #18 Belgium, 11.6% alc./vol. Style: Quadrupel (Trappist) While you can’t throw a brick in a beer store without hitting some craft brewed something-or-other aged on an obscure kind of oak liquor barrel, Trappist monks have been more purist in this regard. Well, welcome to the 21st century. In 2009, the Koningshoeven (La Trappe) brewery released their first oak barrel-aged quadruppel, and they’ve been making different blends ever since. In Batch #18, The caramel-and-plum base of their strong Quadrupel, is aged on moscatel, brandy, oloroso and new high toast. This adds a vanilla oakiness plus a noticeable sherry and brandy sweetness contributed by the fortified wine extracts. Considering the majority of the batch has been aged on a range of digestif wines, feel free to have this bottle to cap off the night. Chimay Grand Réserve Magnum 2012 Belgium, 9% alc./vol. Style: Belgian Strong Ale (Trappist) This is the strongest and maltiest ale from the Trappist monastery brewery, Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Scourmont. Known as Chimay Blue when served in less comically large bottles, it’s roundly spicy and winy in character and only getting smoother with age. Beer by the shot Rich, rare and potent beers meant to be consumed like a fine spirit. Baladin Xyauyù, Copper Label 2007 Italy, 14.5% alc./vol. Xyauyù (which as far as we can tell is pronounced X-shi-eye-you) has been produced as an homage to purposefully oxidized wines like Madiera. It takes about two entire years to get from boil to bottle, resulting in a still, slick and vinous sip, drinking with the body of an icewine. Prepare yourself for a concentrated blast of raisin, apricot, port and a little bit of smoke. So rich and rare, we only sell it by the shot. This book is written by David Bronfman, who has a degree in molecular biology but refuses to use it properly. It also contains some entries written by internationally renowned beer authority Stephen Beaumont, from like almost 10 years ago when he used to have this job and which David is too lazy to replace. 38 39 White wine ————— Single Serving or Bottle ————— Vineland Estates Pinot Grigio 2013 Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Pear, crisp fall apple and kiwi on the nose, leading to a lemon-citrus acidic freshness. Humberto Canale Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Patagonia, Argentina Citrus at the start and then nuances of pineapple, mango and passion fruit. Round with a balanced acidity and a long finish. Tin Roof Chardonnay 2013 Sacramento Delta, California Bold, smooth and complex. Stainless steel fermentation provides a floral nose and mouth-filling palate of Fuji apple and crème brûlée. —————————— Bottle —————————— Cave Spring Riesling Estate 2013 Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Off-dry with good acidity. Intense grapefruit and slate; long, clean and refreshing finish. Girasole Vineyards Chardonnay 2013 Mendocino, California Organic. Medium bodied and well balanced. Lush fruit complimented by a touch of spicy French oak. Featherstone Estate Canadian Oak Chardonnay 2012 Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Fermented by wild, local yeast. Rich and buttery, with poached pear, vanilla wood spices and brioche notes. Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Marlborough, New Zealand Medium-bodied wine with gooseberry and currant flavours, a hint of herbs and a smooth and long finish. Sparkling wines Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial NV France Predominantly pinot characteristics, very ample on the palate, with lime blossom and a discreet finish. Giró Ribot “Ab Origine” Cava Brut Reserva Catalunya, Spain Rich and balanced. Full, flavourful, fresh, with a touch of red fruits and yeasts. 40 Red wine ————— Single Serving or Bottle ————— Cuvée Jean-Paul Rouge ‘13 (Grenache/Syrah) Vaucluse, France Medium-bodied and soft, with jammy spiced plum, orange peel and baked strawberry tart notes. Five Vineyards by Mission Hill Pinot Noir 2013 Okanagan Valley, BC Medium-bodied. Aromas of wild strawberries and black tea. Earthy tones, plums and toasted almonds on the palate. Soft tannins. Castle Rock Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Paso Robles, California Intense and full-bodied. Aromas of black cherry and spice. Berry and earthy flavours, hints of spice, light chocolate and vanilla. —————————— Bottle —————————— Paula Malbec 2014 Mendoza, Argentina Lovely dark fruit, bramble spice and cigar box aromas: a serious, concentrated wine with a ripe tannic structure. The Velvet Devil Merlot 2012 Columbia Valley, Washington State Smooth with classic Merlot aromas of dark cherries, cedar and pipe tobacco. Hints of anise, stone and cherry blossoms. Echeverria Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Curico Valley, Chile Intense aromas of strawberries, blackberries and cherries blended with coffee and tobacco. Round and silky on the palate with a lingering finish. Ralph Fowler Shiraz 2012 Mount Benson, South Australia Rich with medium acidity. Aromas of ripe cherries and chocolate. Earthy, chocolaty and peppery with tight tannins. Fortified Wine Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Port 2010 Duoro Valley, Portugal . Spicy with plums and dried fruit, elegant and dry. Campbells Rutherglen Muscat NV Rutherglen, Australia Luscious and mouthfilling, raisined fruits combine with the oak flavours to produce a wine of great length. 41 Vodka 1.5 oz. Stolichnaya.................................................................. ... Grey Goose.................................................................. …….. Dillon’s Method 95....................................................... …….. Stolichnaya Elit............................................................. ……. Gin 1.5 oz. Beefeater.......................................................................... Hendrick’s......................................................................... Tanqueray 10........................................................................ Dillon’s Unfiltered Gin 22....................................................... Rum 1.5 oz. Appleton White.................................................................. Gosling’s Dark................................................................... Appleton Estate V/X..................................................... …….. Rye 1.5 oz. Wiser’s.............................................................................. Crown Royal..................................................................... Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve........................... ……… Scotch 1.5 oz. Famous Grouse................................................................. Chivas.......................................................................... …….. The Glenlivet 12 Year.................................................. …….. Glenfiddich 12 Year.............................................................. Johnny Walker Red............................................................... Johnny Walker Black............................................................. Talisker 10 Year........................................................ ……… Oban 14 Year........................................................................ Whiskey & Bourbon 1.5 oz. Maker’s Mark Bourbon.......................................................... Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon............................................. Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Bourbon............ ……… Bushmills Irish Whiskey.............................................. …….. Jameson Irish Whiskey................................................ …….. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.............................. …….. Tequila 1.5 oz. Jose Cuervo Gold........................................................…….. Tromba Blanco...................................................................... Tromba Reposado (9 month)................................................ Tromba Añejo (18 month).......................................... ……… Cognac 1.5 oz. Rémy Martin V.S.O.P............................................................ Hennessy V.S.O.P..................................................... ……… Courvoisier X.O......................................................... ……… 42 Icewine Inniskillin Vidal Icewine 2003 Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Cave Springs Riesling Icewine 2003 Niagara Peninsula, Ontario Iced fruit wine Sunnybrook Farms Iced Pear Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, 12% alc. Sunnybrook Farms Iced Apricot Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, 12% alc. Specialty cocktails and martinis Bourbon Street Blanche: Maker’s Mark, cointreau, lemon and lime juice, finished with Blanche de Chambly Not Sangria: Red wine, Weissbier, Rodenbach Grand Cru, lemon juice and raspberry syrup Tropical Staycation: Tromba tequila, Chambord, lemon and cranberry juice Gold Digger: Vodka, butter ripple, Bailey’s and a splash of Goldschläger Honeydew: Melon liqueur, Vodka, splash of grapefruit and lemon juice Asphalt Jungle Bird: Gin, Campari, splash of pineapple and lime juice Godfather II: Scotch whiskey, Amaretto, lemon juice, grenadine Standard mixed drinks 1.5 oz. With Rail Booze.....………………….................……………… or The Good Stuff............................……................….. ……. Standard martinis 2 oz. House pours................................................................ …….. Premium pours.......................................................... ……… 43 specialty coffees & teas All our specialty coffees come with freshly whipped cream. Blueberry Tea: Amaretto & Grand Marnier Bailey’s Coffee: Baileys Irish Cream B52 Coffee: Baileys, Kahlua & Grand Marnier Irish Coffee: Irish Whiskey Monte Cristo Coffee: Kahlua & Grand Marnier Spanish Coffee: Brandy & Kahlua Tea We carry Mighty Leaf artisinal whole leaf tea pouches: signature blends wrapped in hand-stitched bags. Bombay Chai Chamomile Citrus* Green Tea Tropical Hojicha Green Tea Mountain Spring Jasmine Organic African Nectar* Organic Breakfast Organic Earl Grey Organic Mint Melange* * = Caffeine-Free Coffee Our beans are roasted at Ontario’s own Balzac’s Roasters. We don’t offer decaf espresso drinks. Coffee (decaf available).................................................... Espresso........................................................................... Double espresso............................................................... Cappuccino........................................................................... Americano......................................................................... Latte................................................................................. Café au lait (decaf available)................................................. Soft drinks Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger ale, Sprite, Soda, Tonic, Root beer, Iced Tea..................................... Pellegrino, Sm................................................................... Pellegrino, Lg.................................................................... Organge Juice, Cranberry, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Tomato, Clamato................................................. 44 The world is your bistro fig. 2: Countries and regions represented at beerbistro. The thing we like to do here is carry as many different styles of beer as possible, instead of cramming our shelves full of identical lagers from all over the world. That being said, our current list has almost 120 beers from 18 brewing nations, including 8 American states and 3 Canadian provinces. 45 Beer index (Your favourite of all indexes) on tap page Blanche de Chambly............................................................5 Collective Arts Ransack the Universe.....................................7 Gales Seafarers......................................................................6 Hacker-Pschorr Edelhell.......................................................5 Hopf Helle Weisse..................................................................5 La Trappe Tripel.....................................................................9 Maudite...................................................................................9 Mort Subite Kriek....................................................................9 Nickel Brook Immodest Imperial IPA......................................7 Pilsner Urquell......................................................................5 Publican House Square Nail Pale Ale..................................8 Rodenbach Grand Cru.........................................................6 Samuel Adams Summer Ale...................................................5 Shillow Beer Co. Sass on the Side.......................................7 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale..........................................................8 St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout................................................9 Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale.................................................... 8 in the bottle or can page Achel Extra Bruin................................................................27 Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier.............................................23 Anchor Liberty Ale.............................................................17 Anchor Steam Beer...........................................................13 Aventinus..............................................................................21 Baladin Xyauyù, Copper Label 2007..................................38 Black Oak Break of Dusk......................................................17 Black Oak Nut Brown Ale..................................................14 Bockor Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge...................................13 Brasserie des Rocs La Montagnarde.................................34 Brigand Belgian Ale..............................................................24 Brooklyn Monster Ale.........................................................33 BSG Glutenberg Pale Ale Américaine................................31 Cameron’s Rye Pale Ale......................................................17 Central City Red Racer IPA..................................................17 Cheval Blanc........................................................................11 Chimay Blue.......................................................................28 Chimay Grand Réserve 2012.............................................38 Chimay Première................................................................21 Chimay White.....................................................................24 Collective Arts Rhyme & Reason..........................................18 Collective Arts Saint of Circumstance................................12 Czechvar..............................................................................11 De la Senne Taras Boulba...................................................18 De la Senne Zinnebir..........................................................24 Delirium Tremens.................................................................24 Dieu du Ciel! Aphrodite.........................................................16 Dieu du Ciel! Disco Soliel.....................................................18 Dieu du Ciel! Moralité...........................................................18 Dieu du Ciel! Péché Mortel...................................................28 Dragon Stout........................................................................21 Duvel....................................................................................25 Engelszell Gregorius Trappistenbier.....................................28 Erdinger Weissbier Alkoholfrei...........................................31 Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel................................................14 Framboise Boon 2012........................................................34 Freigeist Abraxxxas..............................................................23 Früli Strawberry.................................................................30 Fuller’s ESB........................................................................19 Fuller’s Vintage Ale...............................................................35 46 Beer index (Your favourite of all indexes) in the bottle or can (con’t) page Goose Island Goose IPA....................................................19 Goose Island Pepe Nero 2013..........................................36 Gouden Carolus Cuvée Van de Keizer Blauw 2014...........34 Great Lakes THRUST! An IPA...........................................19 Guinness..........................................................................16 Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse.............................................11 Hobgoblin..........................................................................14 Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer............................................14 Kasteel Donker...................................................................28 Köstritzer Schwarzbier........................................................14 Kwak...................................................................................21 La Fin du Monde.............................................................25 Lakefront New Grist...........................................................31 La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged Batch #18.......................38 Left Field Eephus Oatmeal Brown Ale................................14 Les Trois Mousquetaires GC Porter Baltique.....................29 Le Trou du Diable l’Ours.....................................................13 Le Trou du Diable La Buteuse...........................................25 Mikkeller Monk’s Brew.......................................................29 Mikkeller Texas Ranger.....................................................25 Mill Street Coffee Porter....................................................16 Mort Subite Framboise......................................................30 Muskoka Winter Beard Chocolate Cranberry Stout............16 New Holland Michigan Awesome Hatter...........................19 New Holland Rye Hatter....................................................20 Nickel Brook Headstock IPA.............................................20 Nickel Brook Naughty Neighbour......................................20 Nickel Brook Winey Bastard 2013......................................35 Omnipollo Hypnopompa Marshmallow Stout Bourb. Ed....34 Orval 2011..........................................................................26 Panil Barriquée 2007.........................................................36 Pêche Mel Scaldis.............................................................30 Renaissance Tribute Barley Wine 2012.............................33 Rochefort 6........................................................................21 Rochefort 8........................................................................22 Rodenbach Vintage 2012...................................................37 Samichlaus 2014................................................................37 Samuel Adams Boston Lager...........................................15 Schneider Weisse...............................................................11 Side Launch Dark Lager...................................................15 Singha Lager.....................................................................12 Smuttynose Imperial Stout.................................................29 Spirit Tree Draught Cider....................................................31 Stiegl Pils..........................................................................12 Stiegl Radler Grapefruit.....................................................30 Stillwater Stateside Saison................................................26 Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva 2005.............................36 St. Bernardus Abt 12..........................................................29 St. Paul Double..................................................................22 St. Peter’s English Ale.......................................................15 Thiriez Étoile du Nord.........................................................20 Thomas Hardy’s Ale 2006.................................................33 Traquair House Ale...........................................................22 Tripel Karmeliet.................................................................26 Trois Pistoles.....................................................................22 Unibroue 17 Grande Réserve 2014....................................37 Urthel Hop-It......................................................................27 Vander Ghinste Brasserie LeFort.......................................23 VanderGhinste Oud Bruin..................................................13 Westmalle Dubbel..............................................................23 Westmalle Tripel................................................................27 Wild Beer Ninkasi...............................................................27 X.O. Beer..........................................................................30 Young’s Double Chocolate Stout......................................16 Zywiec................................................................................12 47 We’re open for weekend brunch And late-nite poutine every night @ 11:00* * Poutine starts at 10:00pm on Sundays, you lucky people. Kitchen open until one hour before closing. Monday to Wednesday: 11:30 am - 1:00 am Thursday and Friday: 11:30 am - 2:00 am Saturday: 11:00 am - 2:00 am Sunday: 11:00 am - 12:00 am There’s a private dining room in the back for your special functions. We’d be happy to show it to you, as long as no one’s having a party in there at the time beerbistro.com Beerbistro beerbistroTO 18 King Street East, Toronto 416.861.9872 Some artisanal beers vary in alcohol content from batch to batch. All alcohol contents are accurate as of the date of this menu printing, but may change without notice. If you’re reading this, holy cow, you’ve actually finished the longest menu of all time. You should really be drinking right now.