Address: Brewhouse– 245 Queens Quay West, South Building, Toronto, ON., M5J 2K9; Brewery– 45 Esandar Drive, Toronto, ON., M4G 4C5; Barrel House– 87 Laird Drive, Toronto, ON., M4G 3T7
Next up on our Canada brew tour (eatingwithlittlemariii) and I hit up Amsterdam Brewing Company!
Just to be clear, there is the “Barrel House”, the “Brewery” & the “Brewhouse”; Marilyn and I went to the “Brewhouse”, so this review is based on that experience, I cannot say anything about the “Brewery” or the “Barrel House” as we did not visit them. But what was really funny, was the fact that it was located on the lake right next to a police station!
*[Their story begins back in 1986, with a vision of bringing unique beers, full of flavour to the city of Toronto. It’s a combination of good people, good ideas and good beer that has brought us to where we are today. We put just as much craft and care into our beer, as all the things that happen around it. We’ve enlisted only the most dedicated employees who are relentlessly committed to bring fresh and flavourful beers to local and like minded beer drinkers.
We’ve also refused to stop trying, bettering ourselves and bettering our community. And to brew beer that others wouldn’t even think of. It’s a combination of fearless innovation, uncompromising individuals and deep-rooted pride in the city of Toronto that has allowed us to create a different type of beer company. And a DAM GOOD one at that.]
*(Note: This description is from their website, we didn’t get a brew tour or get to hear the story from one of the owners or the servers of how they came to be).
So while we were there, it was Friday night and It. Was. Poppin. There was not an empty seat in the house, music was blaring and everyone was having a great time as it seemed.
They were even filming up on the second floor of the building for either a tv show or just a gathering of friends filming their night out, wasn’t too sure.
But what I do remember is the service was kind of lacking. This wasn’t exactly a brewery; honestly, it kind of reminded me of an “Ale House”; my peeps in Miami know what I’m talking about. It was called a brewhouse, but it seemed more like a restaurant that served a specific type of beer, that beer being Amsterdam Brewing Companys beer.
We only tried a flight each, they had four different flights to choose from, you couldn’t choose your own beers for your flight. We got the “King & Portland” Flight which came with the
Here are the explanations from the brewery:
Boneshaker India Pale Ale (7.1% Alc/ 80 IBU): Copious amounts of hops balanced with over 4 different malts, unfiltered and naturally carbonated. The result? A truly unique taste experience and an award winning IPA! Expect fresh grapefruit & pine aromas followed by massive hop flavours!
3Speed Lager (4.2% Alc/ 14 IBU): 3Speed Lager is perfect for any occasion whether it’s a hot summer day, watching the baseball game or enjoying a nice meal. It has been brewed using a true lager yeast and aged for 26 days for a smooth taste and finish.
Blonde Lager (5% Alc/ 15 IBU): We’ve brewed this beer fresh daily since 1986 using all natural ingredients. It is never heat pasteurized and always cold filtered for that refreshing clean, crisp taste, and smooth mellow finish.
Big Wheel Amber (5% Alc/ 23 IBU): Our award winning amber was created out of a desire for the perfectly balanced beer combining all the qualities of a rich traditional pale ale with the drinkability of a modern lager.
Pale Rider Dry Hopped Lager (4.2% Alc/ 30 IBU): Pale Rider is the perfect match of a smooth crisp lager with a robust IPA.
Cruiser All Day Pale Ale (4.9% Alc/ 40 IBU): A smooth Golden Pale Ale that has a refined drinkability and rich tropical flavours. We use a bounty of Canadian Pale Malts and slowly add Citra and Sorachi Ace hops, giving the beer a crisp, refreshing taste with a big citrus punch.
Fracture Imperial India Pale Ale (9.1 % Alc/ 105 IBU): Our ode to hops! Fracture Imperial India Pale Ale is brewed with Centennial Citra, Columbus & Simcoe Hops, then dry hopped twice for aroma. Experience layers of citrus and pine flavours with a long, resiny finish. This is our most hop forward beer yet! Please enjoy fresh.
Downtown Brown Nut Ale (5% Alc/ 17 IBU): A true classic! Crisp, yet subtle in character, our british style brown ale is brewed with a unique blend of malts, including chocolate malt, and a variety of continental hops that combine to deliver an uncommon smoothness and distinct drinkability.
KLB Raspberry Wheat (4.5% Alc/ 14 IBU): An all natural, unpasteurized smooth full-bodied Wheat beer brewed with toasted wheat malts & Nugget hops finished with Raspberry flavour. Crisp with a unique raspberry aroma & a satisfying wheat finish.
Spotted Cow White Wheat (5% Alc/ 12 IBU): A refreshing flemish style white beer brewed with two types of orange peel, coriander, and a touch of anise. A truly unique flavour combination of citrus and light spice. All natural ingredients, unpasteurized.
Rotating Adventure Brews (N/A% Alc/ N/A IBU): Visit us in-store for a rotating selection of Adventure Brews and growlers available only at Brewery Retail Stores. Sizes available are 650ml and 2L Growlers.
Here’s what I thought:
Boneshaker India Pale Ale: Hoppy. Crisp. Refreshing. Not overly hoppy like a super strong IPA.
3Speed Lager: Did not try.
Blonde Lager: Did not try.
Big Wheel Amber: This had a rich/sweet aftertaste, but the sweetness was not overbearing. Gorgeous golden colour.
Pale Rider Dry Hopped Lager: Did not try.
Cruiser All Day Pale Ale: Did not try.
Fracture Imperial India Pale Ale: This was a dangerous one. For being as bitter as it was, especially with its high alcohol content, it was extremely light, crisp and refreshing. Would definitely get you drunk fast if you kept throwing them back.
Downtown Brown Nut Ale: Extremely light. Went down super smooth. Refreshing with a slight nutty aftertaste.
KLB Raspberry Wheat: Did not try.
Spotted Cow White Wheat: Did not try.
Rotating Adventure Brews [True Story IPA (No description available)]: Verbatim from my notes on the beer, “it was good, but meh.” The beer had an aftertaste of a hint of peach and cream, but like it had gone sour. Like old peaches and cream.
So I had high hopes because I heard good things about this brewery, but I was let down. We usually try every beer on the menu of a brewery to get the full experience, but that didn’t happen this night. Apparently after our server took our order (mind you, we were sitting at the bar) she went on break and no one covered her patrons. We literally waited for 20 minutes to get our beers, AND WE WERE SITTING AT THE BAR. Same thing happened with our food, when we finally got our food it was lukewarm. Again, I felt the same thing happened with our beers; our server went on break, no one covered for her, and we got food that would have been better if we got it fresh and hot.
So all in all with the food they offered, ambiance of the brewery and the beers we were served I would give Amsterdam Brewing Company 3 out of 5 piggys!
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Website: Amsterdam Brewing Company
Facebook: Amsterdam Brewing Company
Instagram: @amsterdambeer
Twitter: @amsterdambeer
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