What better place to spend Thanksgiving at while in Toronto on business?
I spent the previous evening searching for some places that had good craft/micro brews with moderate luck so on the second night I decided to explore a bit more.
After trying to locate another place which was full & had no seating, I decided to walk back to my hotel and on the way I spotted some sandwich boards outside of BA that listed some beer specials!
Upon walking in, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Beer Academy was an actual brewery with a tap room and not a brewing school or rental facility. What could be even better? It was literally across the street and around the corner from my hotel!!
So after grabbing a stool at the bar, spent some time pursuing the menu to see they carried about 6 different house beers with around 8 additional brews from other local breweries on tap.
After having some tasters of each house brew, I started with their IPA which was tasty, strong malt character but with a nice subtle floral hop finish and not too bitter (nice blend of Canadian beer with West Coast hoppines).
Then I moved onto the Kolsch, lite, crisp, refreshing, a little hop flavor and a clean mild peppery finish .... this is what I continued to drink for the rest of the night.
The Kelsch paired nicely with their meat and cheese platters which contained some excellent samples of local products.
Staff was great, friendly and certainly willing to talk beer.
Next time I am in Toronto I will be spending more time at the Beer Academy for sure and recommend it highly for any fellow beer lovers who plan to visit.