![]() Just east of high park in Toronto between Keele St/Parkside drive and Ossington Ave is a number of breweries. Today's post is on one of those breweries; Bandit Brewery. Bandit is located in an old auto shop and it actually has an auto shop, a gas station and, a beer store as neighbors. In fact, the beer store is a direct neighbor. If that wasn't unique enough, the patio sure is. It's a very nice outside space in an area where most of the "outside" is the sidewalk and road. The patio has a very German beer garden feel to it and they'll tell you that is on purpose. Bandit was started by Shezad Hamza (who worked for a manufacturing company) and Stephane Dubois (formally a mechanical engineer). The 2 met in 2012 and Stephane, who had been home brewing for 10 years, introduced Shezad to making beer. As many of these stories go; they bonded over their love of beer and decided one day to quit their jobs and start a brewery and, in 2016 that became a reality. One of the things I really like about Bandit is that they straight up say (on their website) "we make beer that we like". Why the heck not, right? While this is not unique to Bandit, one of the things they do that I like is changing their recipe. For example; the YY* milkshake series see a change in hops or fruits used to give you a different experience. I like getting to try something new but still get the comfort of knowing there is some familiarity thus knowing it will likely be very good. Bandit also offers a full food menu. They have brunch, a large selection of snacks, salads and, sandwiches. Something I rarely talk about when mentioning a brewery is social media engagement. Truth is, social media is a great tool for breweries. We've seen a debate on a certain "chunky" beer (I don't want to get into that) all over social media. I need to being social media up with Bandit, as someone who's created dedicated accounts that are associated with this site (and have kept my personal social media separate) I've seen what it's like to jump into a world that is already alive and well and how easy it is to get lost in the shuffle as someone who is new to the scene. While I'm not "hunting for likes", it still can be intimidating to just jump in. Bandit have always been great at engaging with me and I've noticed they do so with others too. While I wouldn't think less of them if they didn't, it's one of those small extra things I appreciate about this brewery. Just wanted to give them props. Speaking of giving them props, how can you not love that logo? To date, I've tried 7 of their beers in my 3 trips. There has not been one that I thought was a "pass" for me, all were very good. That made Jer's picks really hard to do but I narrowed it down to 3. Jer's Picks: YY*-->WLG: This is one beer from the milkshake IPA series that Bandit does. If you've read my previous entries, you know I love milkshake IPAs. This one features blackberry puree and galaxy and citra hops. The Bandit milkshake series are a little creamy, which I love. They also include vanilla. This one has a little hint of sour and the sweetness from the vanilla balances it out. YY*-->GRU: Another entry from the milkshake series. You'll notice they are named in the format of YY*--> then another airport code. The reason for the YYZ (Toronto airport code) being depicted as YY* is a bit of controversy with naming issues but the idea is that each beer in the series is inspired by different parts of the world. This one is Brazil. The fruit used was guava and strawberry, vanilla and pectin are used in this one as well. This was the first Bandit beer I tried and my love affair for Bandit started with this tasty treat. Cloud: This beer is a New England Style IPA. Yeah, I know, I'm being really predictable here. Juicy, hazy, stonefruit, a bitter back. Features galaxy, gitra, summer and, el dorado hops. This is a well crafted NEIPA that I could easily keep going back to.
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![]() Just over 2 weeks ago I went down to Detroit with 3 friends to go see the Toronto Raptors play the Detroit Pistons. The trip was a day full of beer as we took a bus down and had a few drinks on the bus, before the game and, during the game. In all, I was able to try 11 new beers during the course of the day the majority of those were from Detroit Beer Company. The Detroit Beer Company and it's 10 hectoliter custom brewhouse was established in 2003. They offer up to 9 house brews and have an eclectic American cuisine food menu. The Detroit Beer Company is located in a historic building known as the Hartz Building. Much like Collective Arts and Shawn and Ed's the building itself has an interesting history. The six-story Hartz building was built in 1902; it was named after J. Frederick Hartz, who was Chairman of the Board of the J.F. Hartz Company, a medical and surgical supply company. In 1902, it was estimated that the building would cost $15,000 to build. The Hartz Building was originally built as a three-story brick building articulated as a single bay. A fourth floor was added in 1926/27 for $25,000. The first floor was remodeled in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s the Hartz building underwent a complete renovation with the Detroit Beer Company in mind as a tenant all the while preserving the historic character of the building which is now being considered for the National Register of Historic places. The building is located close to Ford Field and Comerica Park making it a fan favorite on game days. The Raptors lost their game that day, but we had already won the day before the game after enjoying these beers and fresh pretzel sticks (the perfect beer drinking snack). Of the 8 samples I had, all of which I enjoyed, one stood out to me. Jer's Pick Double Impact IPA: It probably comes as no surprise that my beer of choice was an IPA. Honestly, this was well balanced. Slightly malty, a bit sweet with the citrus flavors you'd expect. It's at 75 IBUs and 9% but it's a sneaky 9%. ![]() The 3rd and final stop of in our boys cottage country brewery day was Sawdust City. Admittedly, this was my second stop at Sawdust city during the week. I think that says what you need to know about how I feel about this place. Sawdust City is located on the main drag in Gravenhurst, On (Muskoka Road) and it sure seems to be the hot spot in town. When we arrived on the boys brewery day (my second time visiting) the rain had finally stopped and you could see that people were coming in for lunch or a beer. Lunch, by the way, is from the food truck on site. I noticed that there were a number vehicles from local businesses so this must be a hit spot for lunch locally. When you first walk in to the building you are in the bottle shop which also sells an assortment of local goods like spices, jams, baked goods, ect. It really is like a combo of a brewery/visitor centre/local market. Around the corner is the tap room which has a large bar made of a 100 year old tree. In fact, most of the building has wood as part of the cottage-like feel. Sawdust has 6 core beers and the rest, as the state on their website, is no rules brewing for brewmaster Sam Corbeil and staff. This is backed up by their 2019 project 52 Beer Pick Up Club. Essentially Sawdust is releasing a new beer weekly in 2019. Quiet the project! As this was the last stop of the day, we went for it and got the large flight with 12 samples in it and shared some fries from the food truck. Sawdust was about a 15 min drive from our cottage for the week so we relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere for quiet a while before heading back and calling it a day on our 3 brewery day trip. It was a really fun day bonding with family and I look forward to this July when we can do it again, we're going to Huntsville this year so I think Lake of Bays and Canvas Brewing Company are on the list but if you know of any others in the area, leave a message for me in the comments and I'll be sure to add it to the list! Jer (and Family's) picks: Little Norway: My dad picked up a 6 pack, my uncle said it was his favorite from this location and, I bought more for my dad for Christmas this year. It's an easy drinking pale lager that's right up their alley. When it's nice and cold on a hot sunny day; this hits the spot perfectly. Lone Pine IPA: A core beer for Sawdust. Pine and citrus are the predominant flavours in this 65 IBU that my brother in law really liked. I think Lone Pine is a solid IPA that you can always rely on. Lemon Meringue Pie: This Berliner Weiss was sweet and tart. Lemon, as expected, was the dominant flavor. For a guy who doesn't drink much of this style of beer, this was exceptional. Juicin: Juicin' is right! This is a vermont style IPA, one of my favorites to being with, but with all the juicy peach, you actually think you are drink juice. Far and away, this was my personal choice and I hope that this summer there will be more to be had. ![]() Stop number two in our boys cottage country brewery day was Muskoka Brewery. This stop was one I was really looking forward to and I know my brother in law was too. Muskoka Brewery is one of those I consider to be a big part of my transition from a Coors light drinker to enjoying the world of craft beer. The "survival" packs were an early "go-to" for me when I wasn't sure what I wanted to drink. Muskoka opened their doors in 1996 by Gary McMullen and the late Kirk Evan's. McMullen work in the military and home brewed on the side. He didn't love his job and, when the option came to leave (the military was looking to decrease in numbers) he jumped at the chance and convinced his buddy to start the brewery. It took 2 years of making business plans, finding money (through investors and loans) and creating recipes but on June 15, 1996 Muskoka opened their doors in Bracebridge, Ontario at the corner 13 Taylor Road. Funny enough, that location is set to be a new brewery after a number of failed businesses have occupied a portion of that space since Muskoka left in 2012. Something that's often looked over about craft beer, and why it's exploded in the last 5ish years, is the the fact that the federal tax laws changed in the early 2000s. In 2003 Ontario followed suit and suddenly a brewer like Muskoka had a bunch of capital free up as it was not paying the higher tax rate. Between this and a change in ownership in 2008 helped Muskoka to grow in the early 2000s. Bob Macdonald, a Toronto Business man who was a cottager in the area and fan of the brand came in and bought 40 different shareholders who were needed in the early days to help fund the opening of the Brewery. As time went on, having 40 different shareholders made it difficult to resolve business issues. With this hurdle out of the way Muskoka was able to continue their growth and, in 2012, move to their current home which is a 70,000 square foot facility just north of Bracebridge. McMullen has since moved on but remains an advisor in the industry. Our visit to the brewery was on a rainy day, so the patio was not in use but it really is a cool multi-season space with firepits and muskoka chairs. Inside is a pretty large taproom/bottle shop/retail store area with lots of apparel, a few local snack options (chips, nuts, ect) and, a small seating area to enjoy a flight or a pint. It was incredibly busy the day we went but I was not surprised at all and that's a great sign. I really like that they embrace the small town cottage feel despite having involved into a pretty large brewery that's distributed across Canada. One of the greatest examples of this is their Dockside Draught program where Muskoka will deliver kegs to your cottage's dock (along with glasses and an umbrella). Muskoka has also ventured into making Gin as product for the people who aren't fans of the 6 core beers, 5 seasonal beers or, the one-offs. Jer (and family's) picks: Honestly, it would have been easy to pick 10 for this list but we're picking 4 plus my top sauce. Detour: This is a dry hopped sessionable IPA that has a low ABV (4.3%) and lots of tropical fruit flavor to it. This beer is one that I have offered to many macro drinkers and they generally like it. Depending on who you ask, some get pineapple, some get mango. The hops aren't overly bitter at 38 IBU. Craft Lager: Very drinkable, light at 4.8 ABV, another good beer for those who aren't into big flavors that craft beer can sometimes provide. This is why this ends up on my Uncle's list, who's not a big beer drinker. Some lemony and cracker taste to it with a very slight bitterness. This is probably the one I should have in my fridge for the non craft beer drinkers, my uncle went through about a dozen of these during our week at the cottage and that's why this well crafted lager is one of our picks. Summerweiss Tropical Wheat: This pick, representing my Dad, came as a surprise. My dad is a lager guy through and through. He loves Tiger beer, Sapporo and, Heineken (I'm not even sure if he is aware Heineken makes Tiger now that I think of it) but he was really into this one. For me, I need something extra from my wheat beers otherwise I could take or leave them. Enter this beer. This is a spin on Summerweiss which is the flagship wheat beer from the brewery. They add some passion fruit and mango and it really takes it up a notch. Personally I got some peach from it too. Juicy as can be and it's perfect for a hot summer day. My dad grabbed a few of these to bring back to the cottage....and so did I. Hazed and Confused: Moonlight Kettle is a series of beers that Muskoka created that is beer for employees (and fans of the brand) by employees. 2 employees from any department are matched up with a Muskoka brewer and they develop a beer. It's a limited run beer and could be any style. In 2018 a Vermont Style IPA was developed and, frankly, I wish it would become one of Muskoka's core beers. It's that good! My Brother in law and I are both huge fans of this beer. It clocks in at 7% ABV and 48 IBU. This is an unfiltered beer, juicy, hazy, peachy/orangey, a bit of a lingering bitterness that's not overwhelming. This is delicious and I hope one day it will be back. Top Sauce - Black Raspberry Thunder: So, this one is actually a new release (2019) from Muskoka. This is their second collaboration with Kawartha Dairy and man, did they ever get this right! A raspberry/vanilla milkshake IPA that is very sweet but not to the point that it's too much to handle. It's just so delicious! |
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