2014 Beer Experience Toronto

A couple weeks ago I told you all about the 2014 Beer Experience and we’re back to report that this is still one of my favourite beer events in Toronto. The hubs and I ventured out to partake in the celebrations as part of our date night and so there were no baby bottles, drool or potty runs to distract us as we kicked off Toronto Beer Week. A few of our friends and my brother also joined us so we had other beer lovers to share the evening with.

The Berkley Church and Field House were great venues for this event because there’s many rooms and they’re each spread out throughout the large space. What this means is that there’s less bumping into and rubbing against sweaty angry people trying to get their drink on. Total WIN! Yes there are stairs and sure, there’s line ups at the bathroom but those weren’t bad at all. There was even a tree house room where Crystal Luxmore (yes the one and only Luxy’s Beer School!) offered a private wine and beer pairing course which was not only fun, but also informative.

So let’s talk beer. Samples were quite generous and at only 1$ per sample, you were able to sample, learn and meet with many brewers and breweries. Pay With Tab was on site and if you signed up for their services they offered a couple free samples as well. Definitely an app to check out folks. Dining out in a group just got easier! Most vendors did indeed offer specialty brews or those not available at the LCBO so I was thrilled about that. There was a good representation of Ontario Craft Brewers and I enjoyed chatting with most of them. We sampled quite a few beers but some definitely stood out for us.

Amsterdam Brewery’s Crucible ( A Framboise aged in Cab Merlot Bottles)

Wellington’s Cocoa Beware

Cameron’s Pistols at Dawn

Muskoka Brewery’s Twice As Mad Tom IPA (aged in cognac barrels)

Beer Academy’s Coconut Vanilla Chocolate Imperial Stout

They thought about food this time around and yes it was a bit pricey but that’s usually the case with Toronto events. The dessert bar and sushi looked great but I didn’t try those. The hubs and I each sampled a dish and I must admit that I had the best darn truffle mushroom pop EVER! The hubs meatball was pretty good too but that truffle mushroom pie.. ooo yum! We came home to relieve our babysitter and got some pizza on the way – that was expected right?

The organizers definitely know what makes a good event and I cannot commend them enough for putting on a fabulous event yet again. No crazy lines up, well priced drinks that encourage responsibly sampling a wide variety of brews and eats to help prime our stomachs. If you missed this year’s Beer Experience be sure to plan a date night for next year’s event because no beer lover should miss out on this fab event.