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Toronto Beer Week: The mother of all pub crawls

Toronto Beer Week, now in its sixth year, is a city-wide celebration of local suds and those who brew, pour and drink it. 

“TBW is kind of like a Jane’s Walk for beer,” says co-founder Troy Burtch. “It’s a chance to explore your own neighbourhood, but also a great excuse to get out and explore a new one.” 

There’s no lack of things to do and drink (go to torontobeerweek.com and you’ll see what I mean). The event officially runs from Friday (September 18) to September 26, and there’s little time to waste wallowing in FOMO. So if planning ahead isn’t your forte, don’t sweat it: there are lots of awesome un-ticketed events that cost nothing more than TTC fare and the price of a few pints. 

After all, good beer for the people is what TBW is all about.

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Friday (September 18) 

Junction Octoberfest 

Junction Brewery (90 Cawthra #101, 416-766-1616, junctioncraftbrewing.com

Celebrate the Junction Brewery’s fourth anniversary with Oktoberfest brews, Bavarian snacks and the launch of their new beer, ZOO Berliner Weisse. Runs Sep 17 to 19.

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WVRST

WVRST Craft Invitational 

WVRST (609 King West, 416-703-7775, wvrst.com

The third annual showcase of up-and-coming Ontario breweries kicks off on Friday and runs all weekend. Sip and support 18 new local brewers and vote for you favourite. Winners are announced on Sunday (September 20). Follow @WVRSTbeerhall and check online for details. 

Festival of Craft Brewers 

C’est What (67 Front East, 416-867-9499, cestwhat.com)

Where better to explore a sippable history of local brew than Toronto’s OG brew pub? Free entrance and $1 samples, kicks off at 5 pm Friday and Saturday (September 19).

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David Hawe

Granite Brewery

Saturday (September 19) 

BBQ Cask! Social 

Granite Brewery (245 Eglinton East, 416-322-0723, granitebrewery.ca)

Book it uptown to sample the Granite’s core and seasonal casks alongside barrelled beers from a few other local breweries. Runs from 1 to 5 pm.

The Dannny Does Craft Beer

Think you’ve got what it takes to hit seven bars and a brewery in seven hours? There’s only one way to find out: tag along for the Danforth Pub Crawl organized by Great Lakes Brewery, convening at Left Field Brewery (36 Wagstaff, 647-346-5001, leftfieldbrewery.ca) at noon. The crawl includes contests, beer specials and food. Keep tabs with the official hashtag #CrawlTheDanny.


Sunday (September 20) 

Tap Into East Toronto 

Only Café (972 Danforth, 416-463-7843, theonlycafe.com)

Drink up treats from east-side breweries like Left Field and Muddy York at the Danforth’s craft beer stalwart, which hosts a slew of other tap takeovers during TBW. 

Tacofest

Presented by Amsterdam Brewery at the Cloak & Dagger (394 College, 647-436-0228)

Live Sunday as it’s meant to be lived: with $5 pints from Amsterdam Brewery and a cornucopia of tacos and all the fixin’s. 


Monday (September 21) 

Brewers Open House

Mill Street Brew Pub (21 Tank House, 416-681-0338, beerhall.millstreetbrewpub.ca)

Share a pint and chat with the Mill Street brewers on their own turf from 5 to 7 pm.


Tuesday (September 22) 

A Wren Tap Takeover (GLB x Nickel Brook)

The Wren (1382 Danforth, 647-748-1382, thewrendanforth.com

Great Lakes Brewery and Nickel Brook wrestle six taps each from the east-end local. Prizes, tasty food and the chance to try the only GLB x Nickel Brook collaborative brew, Creepy Bitch, plus a GLB x Wren collabo, Papa Don’t Peach IPA. 

Comedy & Craft Beer on College

Pour Boy (538 College, 647-350-7687, pourboy.ca

Stop by for free craft beer samples (after 6 pm) and stand-up comedy (from 8 pm), plus beer specials all day and night. 


Wednesday (September 23) 

Golden Tap Awards

Beerbistro (18 King East, 416-861-9872, beerbistro.com)

Join the collective cheers for the kings and queens of the local craft brew scene as they collect accolades at the Golden Tap Awards (as voted by you, the public). From 5 to 11 pm.


Thursday (September 24) 

Greatest Hits

Bar Hop (391 King West, 647-352-7476, barhopbar.com)

Soak up 36 amazing beers from some of the province’s best, including collaborations and rarities from Amsterdam, Bellwoods, Great Lakes, Indie Ale House, Nickel Brook, Sawdust City and West Avenue Cider. Best arrive before 5 pm, because this event will be rammed. 

IPA Night

Lansdowne Brewery (303 Lansdowne, 416-588-1641, lansdownebrewery.com)

Don’t be bitter, just hit up this tap takeover featuring a lineup of tasty IPAs from local brewers. 

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David Hawe

Grab a pint at C’est What.

Friday (September 25) 

Great Lakes Brewery Cask Takeover

C’est What (67 Front East, 416-867-9499, cestwhat.com)

Cask fanatics shouldn’t miss this one – a bunch of GLB’s finest barrelled brews are up for grabs from 6 to 9 pm. Get a pint and chat beer with the GLB team. 

Steam Whistle & Dudebox Presents Unsigned 

Roundhouse (255 Bremner, 416-362-2337, steamwhistle.ca

Okay, it’s not free, but $5 (advance or at the door) for a killer concert and a crazy party sounds like an absolute steal. Plus, lots of dough will be donated to the Artists Health Alliance. From 8 pm, dance your face off to Prince Innocence, BizZarh and Marlon James. With flashing lights and sloshed beer, it’ll be a kick-ass time. 


Saturday (September 26) 

RunTOBeer with Great Lakes Brewery 

Stretch your legs and sweat out your Friday-night shenanigans with craft beer running club RunTOBeer. Starting at 11:30 am, routes of 3, 5 or 10k finish at Great Lakes Brewery (30 Queen Elizabeth, 416-255-4510, greatlakesbeer.com), where you can reward yourself with a cold pint and food from an epic pig and corn roast (1 to 6 pm). Check RunTOBeer’s Facebook Group for details.

Spearhead TBW Pub Crawl 

You got your run in for the day, now it’s time to crawl – in the direction of more beer, obviously. Starting at the Victory Cafe (581 Markham, 416-516-5787, victorycafe.ca) at 5 pm, the crawl heads east, hitting bars along the way and shutting it down at the TBW afterparty at Stout (221 Carlton, 647-344-7676, stoutirishpub.ca). Prizes and deals on Spearhead brews. 

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