Slowly but surely as the days are getting a little brighter and a little warmer, we’re entering the time of year Torontonians love most: Patio season. After all, what could be better than just sitting down on a sunny patio, eating some lovely pub food, sipping on a beer and chatting about life with your best friend?
Except we can’t do that right now! However, while we may not be able to go to a crowded pub patio, we can take a little of the ambience home with us by ordering some of the excellent food and innovative beers from a few of the city’s best pubs for takeout or delivery.
Here’s a 6-pack of the best beers available for delivery and takeout in Toronto right now.
Craft Beer Market
Craft Beer Market is open again and has started a number of initiatives to help those who are hurting. Profits from all Craft gift cards and apparel will go towards staff in urgent need during this time. The chain is also working with charity partners of Mealshare, with a $5 contribution being matched and used to provide meals for the nation’s hungry. The Earl Grey Wheat from Collective Arts is a Belgian Wit made with cornflower petals, bergamot, coriander and Earl Grey tea. Expect a fairly light and sweet flavour with some seriously unique notes from the other ingredients.
$6. Available for pickup (Tuesday to Sunday 2-9 pm, 15 per cent off pickup orders) and delivery (DoorDash). craftbeermarket.ca
Bar Volo
Despite being open for only about six months pre-pandemic, the OG Volo has been doing well, taking orders for high quality foods alongside their massive beer selection in a variety of price ranges under the Bottega Volo banner. On the more affordable side, the Bay Street Bitter is a collaboration between Volo and the Indie Ale House Birroteca located in the recently opened Eataly. The bitter style has been regaining popularity as of late, and with the light fruit notes mixed with biscuit malt sweetness and slight bitter note from the hops, it’s easy to see why the old ways are often the best.
$5 or $20 for a 4 pack. Available for takeout (Tuesday to Saturday 3-8 pm), and Ontario-wide delivery. barvolo.com
Bar Hop
While operations at the Bar Hop BrewCo on Peter have shut down, the original King Street location has put together a selection of snacks and “take & make” food like chicken wings and burgers, as well as opening up their cellar for some truly special beers. The 2015 De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva is a red-wine-barrel-aged, mixed fermentation, Belgian dark strong ale that features notes of red wine, balsamic, leather and dark fruits tied together with a beautifully dry wood note. Wonderfully complex and a bit of a kick at 13 per cent.
$12.95. Available for pickup (daily 5-9 pm call ahead to order at 647-352-7476) and delivery (DoorDash). barhopbar.com
Birreria Volo
Bar Volo’s ever-popular sister bar on College is also open for business, similarly offering foods like lamb speducci, charcuterie, cheese, sausages and other specialty goods alongside their wonderful beers. The Stillwell Campaign is a foeder-fermented saison from the popular Halifax brewery Stillwell. The 750 mL bottle is a bubbly one, with floral notes accompanied by flavours of lemon, leather and spices with a nice woody dryness towards the finish. Perfect to share on a sunny spring day if you’re living with someone. $25. Advance order pickup (Tuesday to Saturday 3-8 pm) and Ontario-wide delivery. birreriavolo.com
Hotmess Tex Mex
One of Toronto’s most fun sources for quality Tex Mex like tacos, truck stop chili and Frito pie has now switched to delivery for their amazing food and have made around 25 of their usually 30 regularly rotated short cans of craft beer available. The Left Field Ice Cold Beer is made with 100% Ontario ingredients and is just what a lot of us may need at this time — a simple, crisp beer good for porch sipping and drinking with a cheeseburger taco or a whole mess of nachos from Hotmess’s DIY nacho kit. $6. Takeout (Tuesday to Saturday 6-10 pm) or delivery (UberEats). hotmesstexmex.com/dinner
Granite Brewery & Tied House
Oftentimes, when the world feels like it’s knocking you down, you just need something that’s going to ground you – and no other place in the city does that quite like the Granite. Keefe’s Irish Stout is a beer practically designed for bringing you back down to earth, with notes of chocolate and coffee and a dry finish that pairs remarkably with Granite’s legendary chicken wings. $3.75. Available for pickup (daily 11:30 am-7 pm to 9 pm Fridays), or delivery. granitebrewery.ca/shop
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