First, the bad news for Toronto craft beer aficionados: Bellwoods Brewery’s planned expansion to Dupont is crawling along at a snail’s pace, the brewery’s owners have announced, and their much-anticipated second facility is now set to open in mid-2017.
Now, the good news: They’ve decided to open a third brewing facility in North York, which is on the fast track to open this year.
The new spot, at 20 Hafis Rd., has been in the works since last year, and brewing equipment (including a top-of-the-line bottling machine) is set to begin arriving by the end of April. Though the Hafis facility won’t include a brewpub, there will be a bottle shop on-site, and there is the possibility for a tasting area.
The first beers from the new location will be ripe for the pouring this summer. But don’t expect them to turn up in the LCBO anytime soon: “Our goal was to shoot for a size that would allow us to keep up with local demand, but not produce so much that our distribution channels would change dramatically, meaning that you’ll still only find our beers in our retails store(s),” the owners write. “Changes you may notice by the end of 2016 include: a more consistently varied bottle shop line up, and a slightly increased draft presence around the city.”
In the meantime, their original Ossington tap room is still open, brewing up magic in the back and pouring it in the front. And those lines out the door and down Ossington will be back once the snow melts, so get drinkin’!
food@nowtoronto.com | @nataliamanzocco
