It's no secret that Toronto is home to a breadth of excellent breweries turning out award-winning beer. And though they were once relegated to certain areas of the city — the Junction Triangle and the east end in particular — you can now find Toronto's breweries in every corner of the city.
For at-home sipping, there are a lot of options. A small number of cans and bottles from Toronto breweries are available at LCBO locations across the province. Head to the breweries' bottle shops to pick up a pack from a larger selection or even have them delivered to right your door. But there's something about spending a sunny afternoon sipping a cold one on a magnificent patio (perhaps even a dog-friendly one) that just hits different.
Many of these Toronto breweries offer special, limited-edition rotating brews on tap that you won't find anywhere else. Plus the opportunity to pair them with some of the best food in Toronto, expertly curated to go with their brews. Spots like Henderson opt for being dog-friendly over having an onsite kitchen, but they make up for it with food trucks and pop-ups. And at a lot of these Toronto breweries, beer isn't the only beverage served — some of them double as excellent bars serving cocktails and wine, too. In addition to beer, Collective Arts makes rum, gin, canned cocktails and even sparkling water, so non-imbibers can also have a great time.
Bring your date, your friends (beer-drinkers, or otherwise) and your furry pals to hit up the best breweries in Toronto.
16 Toronto breweries for delicious brews and chews
1. Bellwoods Brewery
124 Ossington Ave.
Warm summer days are made for sitting at a picnic bench on Bellwoods Brewery’s white-picket-fence-lined patio. You’re not a true Torontonian unless you have an affinity for Jelly Kings, the dry hopped sours that Bellwoods Brewery is known for. At the cozy brewpub, you can slurp them straight from the source and try their rotating fruit iterations. They have other brews too, of course, like aromatic, hoppy serves and crisp lagers.
Unexpected dishes like roasted bone marrow, Hokkaido scallop crudo and an Ontario lamb burger appear alongside more basic bar bites like a cheeseboard, herbed fries and sourdough bread. You can’t go wrong with anything you order here — it’s all done exceptionally well. Inside, they’ve recently expanded into a large, modern space that looks more like a rustic-chic wine bar.
2. Bandit Brewery
2125 Dundas St. W.
Once you spot the giant racoon, you'll know you've made it to Bandit Brewery. While we love their logo featuring Toronto's unofficial mascot, we're obviously here for the brews and patio views. Grab a sunny seat on a picnic bench and take in the surrounding Roncy energy. Even on cloudy, chilly days, you can enjoy Bandit's beer garden-inspired patio thanks to retractable glass walls that enclose the whole area. Enjoy a range of craft brews from juicy and funky IPAs to sours and limited barrel releases every month.
3. Great Lakes Brewpub
11 Lower Jarvis St. Units 5-8
One of Toronto’s leading craft breweries for the better part of four decades, Great Lakes Brewery describes themselves as “fiercely independent.” Chances are their bright and cartoon-ish can designs have caught your eye in the LCBO before. There’s no better way to enjoy one of their iconic pale ales or IPAs than at their Lower Jarvis brewpub, though, which hides a microbrewery in the back. On the menu are mean, Detroit-style deep-dish pizza slices, pillowy char-siu glazed BBQ pork baos and grilled octopus tostadas topped with peanut and date salsa matcha.
4. Left Field Brewery
36 Wagstaff Drive
Beer and baseball is one of our all-time favourite pairings, but bank balances don’t take kindly to the prices for a pint at the Rogers Centre. Thankfully, Left Field, a baseball-themed brewery in the Leslieville neighbourhood, has created a safe haven for Blue Jays fans to swing and sip (batta batta) on game day and beyond. Beer lovers, babies and furbabies pack the brewery, which serves a collection of juicy goses, punchy IPAs and bourbon-barrel aged stouts. There are also seltzers and limited-edition sips to be sampled, so grab a flight and work your way through the delicious range on offer.
5. Burdock Brewery
1184 Bloor St. W.
With its white brick walls, colourful tiles and hanging plants, Burdock’s Bloordale restaurant will charm you before you’ve even sipped your first beer. In warmer weather, the adorable wooden side patio adorned with string lights is just as enticing, if not more so.
Sip on easy-drinking, crushable brews; juicy ales; and fruit-forward sours paired with seasonal salads and smash burgers. Next door, their music hall hosts everything from concerts to comedy shows. If you’d rather take their cans to-go, visit their larger Kensington Market production facility and beer shop.
6. Mascot Brewery
220 King St. W.
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Shielded from King West foot traffic, Mascot Brewery’s back patio is one of our favourite west-end spots for after-work drinks. Their juicy, fresh pours wash away any stress about the countless emails you’ve got to reply to tomorrow. Cozy up at the neat bar tucked inside of a turquoise shipping container, then tuck into one of their legendary, 16-ounce pilsners on tap. On Friday and Saturday from 9–11 p.m., select brews are only $5, and snacks are $6. Grub is typical brewpub fare with a few twists, like a half-beef-half-mozzarella Korean “corndawg,” and five-hour-braised lamb birria tacos.
7. Collective Arts
777 Dundas St. W.
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Collective Arts may have started as a craft brewery in Hamilton turning out a handful of different beers, but over the last decade it’s grown into so much more. You don’t have to be a beer drinker to enjoy their Toronto taproom on Dundas West — in addition to their core lineup of brews, they make unique small-batch beer, cider, gin, rum, canned cocktails and even sparkling water. Snack on chicken wings and jerk chicken sliders from The Heartbreak Chef while you sip on any of their beers on tap or cocktails made with their spirits. Supporting the arts has always been a big part of their ethos, and they feature different local and international artists on their cans and bottles.
8. Henderson Brewing Co.
128A Sterling Road
Henderson has always had plenty of space at their 9,000-square-foot facility in The Junction. However, their recent expansion at the tank-end of the brewery is a real game changer for busy weekends when brewery fans (both human and furry) pack the popular space to share a glass (or bowl) together. There’s no kitchen here, but Henderson regularly schedules food pop-ups so you can pair their catalogue of award-winning beer with oysters, fried chicken or pastrami sandwiches, depending on the day. Don’t miss their Ides Series, a monthly small-batch beer release that brings the stories of local Toronto legends and lore to life in your glass.
9. Rorschach Brewing Co.
1001 Eastern Ave.
The hardest part about visiting this brewery west of the beaches is pronouncing Rorschach (it’s raw-shack for the record). Once you get acquainted, choose from their rotating selection of beer brewed onsite. From tiki sours and cherry chocolate milk stouts to lighter lagers (we loved High Light Premium, a cheeky nod to a certain beer brand), there’s something for everyone from craft newbies all the way through to seasoned hopheads. Grab a table in the dining room or on Rorschach’s sprawling rooftop patio. Feeling peckish? The sourdough pizza and spicy fried chicken sammies (served Wednesday to Sunday) are always a good idea.
10. Blood Brothers Brewing
165 Geary Ave.
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This brewery, located inside a renovated 100-year-old horse stable in the Geary Avenue arts district, is the kind of place where you could swing by for a midday pint and end up getting kicked out come closing time. With ample seating inside, and out on their patio in warmer weather, plus typically 19 beers on tap, there’s plenty to keep you occupied. You might recognize bottles like Shumei IPA from the LCBO, but sampling its roster of sour and funky beer is a fun way to dip your toes into the brewery’s diverse catalogue. When your stomach grumbles, let Beast at Blood Brothers answer the call with its casual but eclectic menu of tacos, Mexican pizza and crispy pig’s ears, all of which showcases local farmers and producers.
11. Radical Road Brewing Co.
1177 Queen St. E.
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At this Leslieville gem, the aesthetic is less industrial facility, more cozy brewpub with seasonal craft beer and satisyfing snacks. Snag a table or hop up at the bar to try Radical Road’s selection of draught beer (Cucumber Mint Kolsch), canned beer (Yuzu Pale Ale), classic craft cocktails or wine. Right now, the brewery is doing a collaboration with Mean Bao, so you can dig into pork belly, jerk chicken, braised brisket and more between pillowy white buns. Most radical of all is the brewery’s beer and bao lunch special happening Wednesday to Friday from 12–4 p.m., where guests can order a 16-oz pour of lagered ale plus any bao bun for $14.95. In this economy? We’ll see you there.
12. Black Lab Brewing
818 Eastern Ave.
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We dare you not to have a good time at Black Lab Brewing. First of all, it's full of dogs. There's no second of all. This pooch-friendly brewery in Leslieville is jam-packed with joy, lots of good boys and girls, and treats for humans and four-legged friends. You can bring in your own food (dog-friendly venues can't sell food) and sip on bright saisons, toasty lagers and lip-puckering sours. On weekends, they usually have local food pop-ups serving delicious no-fuss snacks.
13. Northern Maverick Brewing
115 Bathurst St.
We wish we could be as cool as Northern Maverick’s aviator-clad polar bear mascot. At this sprawling Bathurst Street spot, it’s business in the back, party in the front. Beer is brewed in the 10 hectolitre brewhouse tucked away behind the 400-seat restaurant and retail storefront. Suspended wooden barrels decorate the space around the jaw-dropping bar. There’s even an oyster bar here; a couple bivavles with brews never hurt anyone.
14. Beaches Brewing Company
1953 Queen St. E.
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Feel like you're on a mini vacation inside this sunny spot in the heart of The Beaches. In the warmer months, the glass garage door at the front opens up and the entire airy space feels like one big summer party. Sip on refreshing brews like a passionfruit guava New England IPA, or classic cocktails like a painkiller and one of our favourite caesars in the city. The food is inspired by snacky bites you'd find beachside like calamari and cod tacos with pico de gallo and guac.
15. Rainhard Brewing Company
100 Symes Rd.
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In the middle of The Stockyards, Toronto’s semi official beer HQ, sits Rainhard Brewing Company, a gorgeous facility located inside a 1940s-style manufacturing plant. “We brew the beer we want to drink,” proclaims the brewery on their website — and if you love Munich-style helles lagers, citrusy hopped pale ales and punchy West Coast IPAs, it might be the kind you want to drink as well. The previous incarnation of their patio consisted of picnic benches on gravel, but a pandemic spruce has resulted in a charming deck to while away the summer. If you’re a fan of strong beer and live music, you owe it to yourself to plan a weekend around exactly that at Rainhard this summer.
16. Folly Brewpub
928 College St.
Originally opened in 2015, Folly Brewpub had already changed hands before being acquired by Aidan Hospitality (Prohibition Social House, Grace O’Malley’s) in 2021. But while it may belong to a restaurant group, Folly is anything but corporate. Settle into the relaxed brewpub atmosphere and soak in the smell of the brewing process — you can see all the equipment from behind a glass enclosure. The beer ranges from crushable, approachable brews to more funky styles, and they serve plenty of wine and cocktails, too. Expect pub fare like brisket poutine and crispy fish tacos. The beer finds its way into the food program as well, with dishes like beer-battered fish and chips.
