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Toronto Breweries, Brew Pubs, Bottle Shops

Folly brewpub just re-opened (at the same location on College by Dovercourt) with new management and a new brewmaster.
 
This is the 4th change in brewer and 3rd in management I can recall - this is the biggest pivot so far. Leaving the the farmhouse-heavy tap list behind for a more trendy menu. So far only their College 506 and Dovercourt Pale Ale have made the cut.
 
Napalm Frog said:
This is the 4th change in brewer and 3rd in management I can recall - this is the biggest pivot so far. Leaving the the farmhouse-heavy tap list behind for a more trendy menu. So far only their College 506 and Dovercourt Pale Ale have made the cut.
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They had a really fantastic one on occasion called Velvet Dreams. I even liked their dill pickle IPA!
 
Shacklands Brewing Co has a beer named after the Davenport neighbourhood:

shacklands.com

Saison Davenport

6.4% ABV355 ml canTraditional SaisonCan conditioned Our flagship Saison, and one of our long time favourites. We've been brewing it from day one with Alsatian hops and our house Saison yeast. Clove, black pepper, and a touch of iced tea and red berry -- this is a complex yet easy drinking beer...
shacklands.com shacklands.com


IMG-20210217-WA0002.jpg
 
Towered said:
I welcome new craft breweries, but this one sounds rather unambitious.
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I'm curious if they'll be able to make an impression on the area or end up falling by the wayside. This stretch of St. Clair doesn't really have a good bar outside of DeSoto's for many years. As a resident along Davenport who can either head north to St. Clair or south to Bloor, I pretty much mainly go to Bloordale nowadays or elsewhere when wanting to go grab a drink nearby.
 
www.junctioneer.ca

Junction Craft Brewing Inc, in a dire financial state attempts to stay in existence. Hopefully it can.

Junction Craft Brewing Inc., a Junction craft beer brewery, filed an Notice of Intention to make a Proposal as allowed in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to maintain the business as a goin…
www.junctioneer.ca

Junction Craft Brewing Inc., a Junction craft beer brewery, filed an Notice of Intention to make a Proposal as allowed in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to maintain the business as a going concern. Stating approximately $3.8 million in liabilities.

The company was founded in 2011 by Tom Paterson and Doug Pengelly with a mission to create high-quality, hand-crafted beers, and was and is a instrumental business business n the the Junctions economic renewal.

In 2018, the business moved to its current location in a former City of Toronto 1930’s art-deco incinerator, affectionately known as ‘The Destructor”, which was decommissioned in the 1980s and used for raves in the 1990s.
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AlbertC said:
www.junctioneer.ca

Junction Craft Brewing Inc, in a dire financial state attempts to stay in existence. Hopefully it can.

Junction Craft Brewing Inc., a Junction craft beer brewery, filed an Notice of Intention to make a Proposal as allowed in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to maintain the business as a goin…
www.junctioneer.ca
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Where there's smoke, there's fire. I've been following the local craft beer scene for many years, and Junction got an early head start. Their Conductor ale seemed very popular several years ago. It was offered on tap in many locations, and well stocked at the LCBO. However, it seemed to start getting scarcer in the last 2 years. Then at some point, I noticed that their branding and logo changed. To me, these were all warning signs of either an ownership change, mismanagement, or confused direction from company leadership. To my eyes as a consumer, it came across to me that they had become unfocused and that things were not well behind the scenes. So now the truth comes out - I knew it all along!!!
 
Towered said:
Where there's smoke, there's fire. I've been following the local craft beer scene for many years, and Junction got an early head start. Their Conductor ale seemed very popular several years ago. It was offered on tap in many locations, and well stocked at the LCBO. However, it seemed to start getting scarcer in the last 2 years. Then at some point, I noticed that their branding and logo changed. To me, these were all warning signs of either an ownership change, mismanagement, or confused direction from company leadership. To my eyes as a consumer, it came across to me that they had become unfocused and that things were not well behind the scenes. So now the truth comes out - I knew it all along!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, that sounds similar to how Duggans in Parkdale lost the plot. They used to have a bottleshop, also had beers were available at some LCBO locations, and seen on tap at some bars in the city. The bar used to be pretty well frequented around 6-7 years ago on most nights, and held trivia events weekly.

But the owner kept tinkering around with different concepts as they gradually faded in popularity. Relegating themselves to the back basement space seemed like a nail in the coffin move. And the short-lived partnership with Doomie's for the Vegandale Brewery was too little too late to turn things around.
 
AlbertC said:
Yeah, that sounds similar to how Duggans in Parkdale lost the plot. They used to have a bottleshop, also had beers were available at some LCBO locations, and seen on tap at some bars in the city. The bar used to be pretty well frequented around 6-7 years ago on most nights, and held trivia events weekly.

But the owner kept tinkering around with different concepts as they gradually faded in popularity. Relegating themselves to the back basement space seemed like a nail in the coffin move. And the short-lived partnership with Doomie's for the Vegandale Brewery was too little too late to turn things around.
Click to expand...

That whole Vegandale Brewery thing was bizarre. Throwing away all momentum that had been established by the Duggan brand in the craft scene trying to cash in on what became a flash-in-the-pan neighbourhood trend? Not smart. One time when I went in there I asked the cashier if Vegandale beers were made by Duggan's, she coyly smirked and admitted, "yes, all of our beers are brewed by Duggan's in the basement but marketed as Vegandale". I thought that was very strange. Never went back. Then sometime later the space hilariously changed back to Duggan's again. It came across like an unserious clown show to a casual observer like myself. Also there were rumours floating around regarding questionable behaviour by Duggan himself. All those kinds of BS shenanigans will sink you eventually.
 
I think Junction was just outpaced by all the better breweries that have come along since it was started. Their beer tends to be on the bland side, so if you're looking for Ontario craft beer, most people would be looking elsewhere for the last five years.
 
evandyk said:
I think Junction was just outpaced by all the better breweries that have come along since it was started. Their beer tends to be on the bland side, so if you're looking for Ontario craft beer, most people would be looking elsewhere for the last five years.
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No argument from me. I never thought their beers were particularly notable or innovative. You're dead in the water in the craft scene with those attributes. Look at Bellwoods and Indie Ale House - both started around the same time as Junction (2012), yet both are still going strong and have maintained a level of quality and creativity that keeps them near the top of the local darlings. They're doing it right.
 
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