'Brunswick Bierworks' - Brew Pub Review

Brunswick Bierworks
25 Curity Avenue, Toronto

Only a couple blocks from Muddy York Brewing but a long way from the city centre or anything else (unless you live near St. Clair and O'Connor), it seems pretty sensible when you get out there that they only open on Saturdays. If you're in the area, Muddy York is open all week, although not late in the evening. And I enjoyed Muddy York - but I was surprised and pleased to find that Brunswick has a really nice space, a very welcoming attitude, and a number of games for you to play (we tried the ping pong table and the - eminently Canadian - crokinole).

Brunswick Bierworks is a contract brewer similar to Common Good - but at Common Good people staying and drinking seems to have been an afterthought. At Brunswick they made sure they have a pub-like atmosphere and that drinking is a good experience. Their food supply is limited (cheese and meat trays I'm not entirely sure I'd trust when they're only open once a week), but they kept us well supplied with better-than-average bar snacks, free of charge. And the beers ... they had 20 on tap. When we were there, they had products from Ace, Omnipollo, Lost Craft, Woodhouse, Lake of the Woods, Gananoque, La Trappe, Dugges Bryggeri, and even(!) Muddy York - plus a couple of their own. It was a wide selection, much of it quite good. They sell flights at $10 for four samples - I was so interested in their beer selection that I ended up going through two full flights.

I think the most interesting (perhaps not the best, but definitely interesting!) was Dugges Bryggeri's Orange Vanilla Mango IPA: mild for an IPA and very good. I think I also need to register a complaint about Omnipollo. This is the second stout of theirs I've had (the other was from the LCBO where they've started cropping up in the last year ... probably because of Brunswick). And I like sweet stouts. But there's a limit, which their "Deep Fried Graham Cracker Chocolate Chunk Caramel Bar" stout is ... way past. Ironically, the guy who likes sweet stouts found it overwhelming and nasty while most of the people I was with thought it was quite good, so it's evidently something you need to try for yourself ...

The heart-breaker is they're only open Saturdays from 11 to 8 ... and they're in a part of Toronto that's particularly awkward for me to get to. This is really unfortunate because I had a blast there and would go there often if only it were convenient ...

None of these photos are great art, but I wanted to give a feel of the place.

photo: The front of the building

big sign, big building

photo: my flight

four beers in a classic flight paddle with grease pencil numbering on the paddle for each beer

photo: the worst of the photos, but at least you can get some sense of the interior space

big wood tables and benches, big open space, a nice bar with 20 taps