Held at Bandshell Park in Exhibition Place, this summer marked the 19th year of Toronto’s Festival of Beer (@TOBeerFestival). It also marked my first year checking it out and you can bet I’ll be back again next year.
The outdoor festival was held at the end of July and featured over 60 brewers with over 200 brands onsite from all over the world.
In order to sample any beer, tokens had to be purchased for $1 each. While there were some brewers which charged more, most brewers charged one token for half a glass (4oz) and two for a full glass (8oz).
There was some great local representation at the festival including the likes of the Hogtown Brewers, Left Field Brewery, Wellington Brewery and Kensington Brewing Company. The festival is a great opportunity to give smaller brewers exposure. There were many I’ve never heard of and the festival was a good chance to sample some of their offerings.
In addition to some local brewers, there were some big names and European brewers like Pilsner Urquell, Stiegl, Erdinger and Krombacher.
There was something for everyone…even for non-beer drinkers! I was impressed by the selection of ciders (including Foundry and Somersby to name a few) and gluten-free options at the festival.
The festival also featured a stage with live entertainment which included performances from the Spin Doctors and Big Sugar over the weekend.
So they’ve got beer and entertainment covered. The last thing you’d need is food and they had that covered too with a roster that included Fidel Gastro, Smoke’s Poutinerie, Pizzeria Libretto, Melt Grilled Cheese and many more.
Here’s a look at a few things we sampled, starting with the Bacon on a Bun – British-style with brown sauce ($6) from Rashers (@RashersTO) which has a bacon sandwich shop over in Leslieville.
Although the bun was on the small side for the price, it was certainly delicious. The bacon had nice crisp edges while a little soft in the centre – just how I like it! Rahshers makes their own brown sauce which they say has over 25 ingredients in it. It tasted similar to HP sauce and went perfectly with the bacon.
Our next stop was the Real Jerk (@RealJerkToronto) who had a whole BBQ going. After mulling over the menu, we decided to go with the ¼ Jerk Chicken ($5).
The rub was tasty and had just the right amount of kick. I washed it all down with some beer and off we were to the next food vendor!
We stumbled along the Rock Lobster (@RockLobsterFood) tent and decided to pick up a Lobster Roll ($5). It’s basically a mini lobster roll which consists of two bites. Trust me, this little tease will leave you wanting more!
Our last food stop was Campagnolo (@Campagnolo_) where they were selling Meatballs – with ragu and bread ($6). Delicious, moist and perfectly seasoned!
Good beer, good company and good food. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon. I’m already looking forward to next year’s beer fest!
We went on the Friday evening … it was fun!
It was so much fun. I can’t believe it was only my first year!