Breweries in Toronto, Ontario

My husband and I have visited the city of Toronto twice now. One of the main things we like to do while on vacation is check out the different breweries. Toronto has plenty of them, so it wasn't easy to narrow down which ones we definitely wanted to visit on both trips. We were only able to go to one brewery on our first trip to TO due to lack of time, so when we went there this past week we knew we wanted to try out some more. I'm going to highlight all of the ones we went to so far (because I know we'll go back to TO again eventually...the city is unreal). 1. Bellwoods Brewery - www.bellwoodsbrewery.com This was the one we visited during our first trip to Toronto and I knew for sure I wanted to come back during our second trip. After being there twice, I can confidently say this is my favorite brewery in TO so far. When I first went, I was immediately drawn to the exterior of the building. I have this thing for buildings with a lot of greenery on them. This place is an absolute dream if you're into that. The greenery compliments the white brick so well. Half of the brewery is a patio that is completely open to the inner part. There is a small upstairs that looks down over the whole place...plants and string lights galore. I'm a big fan of sours and this place knocks them out of the park. Both times I went a got a version of their "Jelly King" sour series. The first one I had was a raspberry flavor and this last time I got an apricot/peach flavor. I enjoyed the raspberry one more (probably because of the appealing color) but would get both of them again. They also have a food menu, so we'll have to try that out next time we go. The ONLY complaint I have about this brewery is that it is always crowded. There is usually a line to get in, but they move people pretty quick. I guess that just means it's really good though!

2. Blood Brothers Brewing - www.bloodbrothersbrewing.com This is one I wanted to get to the first time we went, but unfortunately didn't have time. I'm so glad we were able to make it this time. My husband Jon LOVED this place and it's his favorite brewery in TO so far. He kept saying he was hoping we could go back, but we were only able to go once since we wanted to squeeze some other places in during our stay. I knew he'd like this one. It's got this dark and dreamy vibe. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling has a pentagram and all of the taps have actual tree branches on them. They have a great variety. Jon's a stout guy and I got my sour, which was one made with grapes from Riesling wine. This brewery was a lot smaller and kind of out of the way, which was actually nice since it wasn't super crowded. We got to chat about beers from PA with the bartender, Pete who was super cool. He gave us some suggestions on other breweries in TO as well. We'll definitely be making a trip back next time we're in TO.

3. Black Lab Brewing - www.blacklab.beer I don't know how we missed this one the first time we came to TO since it was within walking distance from our Airbnb! I believe they just opened in 2018 though, so that could be the reason. This brewery is known as "dog friendly," as you can probably guess by the name. It was fantastic. Their slogan is "Sit. Stay. Drink." with a silhouette of a black lab as their logo - seriously in love with the branding on this place. There was a puppy birthday party going on while we were there and it was incredible. This place was very big and open and bright. I wish I got more pictures. They do pop-ups weekly of different businesses in TO. I love when breweries utilize community involvement and team up together. It's also nice to see their food options are always changing. I had an apricot flavored "Kennel Sour"...how innovative. I'd like to come back to this one as well.

4. Halo Brewery - www.halobrewery.com This is one I probably wouldn't come back to. It's not that it was terrible, it just didn't really stand out to me. It was VERY small in there and also very crowded, but I think it was because they had an anniversary party going on that we didn't know about. We didn't care for the flavors of the beers we got as much as the other breweries we've been to. We heard they are known for their sours (and of course I was glad to hear that and got one), but it just didn't impress me. I will say that it is very colorful and modern, which is different than any of the other breweries we usually see on our travels. I just wish there was more to it maybe?