Toronto’s craft beer scene got off to a much slower start than Montreal’s fondness for cozy neighborhood brewpubs. I spent my first few years living in Toronto lamenting the lack of a local craft beer scene, aside from a few notable exceptions. Change was brewing, and in 2014, Ontario’s microbrew scene bubbled to life, spawning frothy golden ales, high IBU IPAs and a renaissance of local hop yards. The industry fell flat after years of pandemic uncertainty, as Jordan St. John explains in his St. John’s Wort blog.
What remained after the grist settled were a few solid options in Toronto. I recently spent a scorching weekend wandering around the city with my poodle in search of that refreshing golden elixir, air conditioning and a space where I could spend time with my canine bestie.
Bickford Brewing Co.
A relative newcomer to the Toronto craft beer scene, Bickford Brewing Co. opened in 2024 on Harbord St. in the residential Bickford Park neighbourhood. This small neighbourhood is sandwiched between Koreatown along Bloor St. to the north and College St. to the south near downtown.
The tree-lined streets are home to an aging Italian community, single-family homes and many University of Toronto students tucked away from the bustling activity on the main drags. When I lived in the neighbourhood twelve years ago, the space was a grungy laundromat.
The snug taproom has several 4-top tables and stools along the pristine bar, as well as a sunny patio with broad umbrellas protecting the south-facing façade from the sun. It was the temperature of the sun’s surface when I arrived in the early afternoon, thoroughly parched from the short walk from Christie subway station so I opt to hide inside a gloriously air-conditioned space with a bowl of cool water for my standard poodle.
Beer menu
Bickford Brewing Co. had a dozen beers on tap, thematically named for the neighbouring streets and geographical features. Ranging in style from two gose options (What Gose Around Raspberry Gose and a dry-hopped gose) is a pilsner (Buried Bridge Pilsner, named for a nearby bridge over Garrison Creek that was buried and incorporated into Harbord St.), an oatmeal stout (Grace Street Stout) and several options on nitro. I settled in with a flight to get a feel for the range of styles.
During my visit, a guest tap of Time Lord IPA from Peter Caira’s now defunct People’s Pint was on tap. Caira missed brewing that particular beer and paired up with Bickford for a guest brew. It was as glorious as I remembered through the lens of nostalgia.
We recommend these four beers:
- Dog Park Pale Ale – West Coast style American Pale Ale
- Buried Bridge Pilsner – German-Style Pilsner
- Foggy Day IPA – NEIPA
- What Gose Round: Raspberry Gose
The beers are simple but true to style without any off flavours. The Beatrice English Amber Ale pours a rich coppery colour with a light tan head, and stands out to me as my favourite option as it is not a common style in Toronto.
The space does a brisk business from the to-go bottle shop and features a small range of non-alcoholic beers from other breweries as well as a selection of hard seltzers. The classic tap room does not offer food, so well-behaved dogs are welcome in the space. This was the least family-friendly space we visited, as well as the least mobility-friendly, as the bathrooms are situated in the basement down a flight of stairs.
Bickford Brewing Co. is situated at 292A Harbord St. https://bickfordbrewing.ca/
Steadfast Brewing Co.
A short jaunt on the College streetcar with my canine companion brought us to Steadfast Brewing Co., situated on Lansdowne Av. Between Dundas St. West and College St. A half hour walk or a short bike ride easily connects Steadfast Brewing Co. with Bickford Brewing Co., but the soles of my shoes were melting to the pavement and I didn’t want to exhaust my dog in the sun.
Slightly off the beaten track, Steadfast Brewing flies under the radar with their large, welcoming tap room. A tiny rotating menu of Mexican street food is artfully crafted by Miguel Garcia of Miguel Is Cooking. Since food is prepared on the premises, dogs are not welcome inside. We take shelter from the sun on the patio under a huge umbrella, away from the bustling traffic of Lansdowne.
I eye a selection of boardgames near the end of the bar, but the sun has thoroughly scrambled my brain and I want to focus on eating blue corn tacos and sipping the cactus juice prickly pear sour, a thirst-quenching sour with a light fruity note. The core lineup here focuses on a few IPAs and pale ales with a satisfying rye lager in regular rotation. I’m a sucker for rye beers with spicy notes. The Caldera hot pepper red ale was not available during this most recent visit but it is one I tend to enjoy at the start of an evening in the backyard from a tall boy can.
Decor, Vibe and space
This building housing this little Brockton Village gem was home to several breweries over the last decade, but none seemed to have make it last. From memory, the space has previously been known as Lansdowne Brewery, Lot 30 Brewery, and Woodhouse Brewing Co. prior to their merger with Junction Craft Brewing. Steadfast Brewing has been around for three years and regularly pops up at farmer’s markets around the city. The current owner is a McGill University alumnus known for hosting informal mixer evenings for the Toronto alumni members.
The latest brewery revival at this space has made only minimal changes to the interior, a cavernous space lacking much interior design. Averse to crowds, I have rung in my fair share of New Years in the space. It has great potential, and the ample air conditioning is a great option to hide from the heat warning happening in Toronto while I’m writing this article.
The space is all on one level with a large accessible bathroom and change table, a good option for those with mobility challenges or with young ones in tow. Do note that there is a one-inch lip in the floor between the tap room and the bathrooms which can present a challenge to those with mobility devices in our entourage.
We recommend these three beers:
- Caldera hot pepper red ale
- Dog Days IPA
- Hidden Rivers Pale Ale
Steadfast Brewing Co. is situated at 301 Lansdowne Av. https://www.steadfastbrewingco.com/
Henderson Brewing Co.
A well-established option in Toronto’s west end craft beer scene, Henderson Brewing Co. is tucked away in the commercial and industrial area of Sterling Rd along the popular multi-use Railpath. The cavernous space is definitely the largest craft beer option in this area. Situated close to the Hershey’s factory and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Henderson’s originally started as a contract brewery in 2013 before opening the brewery space in the summer of 2016.
The family-friendly space serves as an important cultural hub in the west end, hosting weekly food pop-ups, frequent farmer’s markets, the Toronto West Oysterfest, and my personal favourite, Picklefest Food and Drink Festival in late September. Yes, there is a pickle-themed beer available (can pours only). No, I don’t recommend it even though I’m a pickle fiend.
The space is fully accessible via a ramp to the main entrance with large accessible bathrooms and a changing table, and doubles as an important welcoming space for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Understanding that beer is for everyone, a regular rotation of women and BIPOC small business owners regularly hold food pop-ups, sell artisan wares, and host a variety of thematic events including trivia nights, book launches, euchre nights, and even the occasional wrestling match.
Beer Menu
The core lineup of beers include Henderson’s Best Amber Ale, the Food Truck Blonde, Pearson Express IPA, and the Figo Italian-style Pilsner. The diacetyl off-flavouring from when they first opened is a distant butterscotch-flavoured memory, as Henderson’s now produces clean and true-to-style beers. They have an expanded range of non-alcoholic (0.5%) house draught options that are surprisingly full-bodied in flavour, and a respectable number of low octane offerings for your Saturday afternoon session.
A wide range of board games are available and the space is decorated with kitchy Toronto memorabilia. A large event space back room rounds out the brewery. Dogs are not permitted in the rear event space but more than welcome in the tap room – this is the second pet dog I’ve shlepped to Henderson’s to hide under the tables and flirt with the other dog patrons.
A thunderstorm rolled in off Lake Ontario just as I arrived at Henderson’s, so I hid inside the taproom with a pint of Turn Your Love Light On Light Lager (4%) and ordered some pizza from Defina’s Wood-Fired Pizza on site. Outside food is no longer permitted now that Defina’s pizza soaks up some of the beer, with weekly Sunday pop-ups from Island Oysters offering freshly shucked oysters for $1.50 each.
Clutching the thirst-quenching Figo Italian-style Pilsner, I headed outside to the picnic tables once the storm passed since the space is not air conditioned, and I was struggling in the heat. A cozy spot in the winter and year-round vibrant cultural hub, the lack of AC was challenging during one of the hottest days of the year.
I don’t get out nearly as often as I did a few years ago, and seeing the brewery mature into their core lineup and role in the community over the years has been truly rewarding. A 15-minute walk from Steadfast with a curious but overheated dog, the space is a little further from public transportation options but easy to reach by bike. There is ample parking if you are enjoying one of the many non-alcoholic options available.
We recommend:
- Henderson’s Best Amber Ale
- Pearson Express IPA
- Turn Your Love Light On Light Lager
Henderson Brewing Co. is situated at 128A Sterling Rd. https://shophendersonbrewing.com/
Shawna O’Flaherty is the co-founder and creative director of Toronto Booze Hound. She is certified as a Beer Specialist and a Wine Specialist from Toronto’s George Brown College. She authored several entries in Where to Drink Beer by Jeppe Jarnit-Bjersø.
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