The top 5 neighbourhoods in Toronto for a local beer crawl

Beer crawls in Toronto are easiest when sticking to one neighbourhood where breweries abound. Luckily for us, this city has several different pockets with a concentration of beer-makers, meaning you won't have to travel far to drink pale ales, stouts, and IPAs to your heart's content.

Here is where to go in Toronto for a beer crawl.

Leslieville and Riverside

It's no secret that Toronto's east side is booming with breweries, with a newly opened Avling Brewery just joining the mix, so you can easily group all that Leslieville and Riverside have together.

Bring your dog to Leslieville and try some sours at Black Lab Brewing, then head to Radical Road for their Yuzu pale ale, right from the source, followed by Rorschach with has a sweet patio to try their seasonal brews.

Closer to the DVP,  you'll find Saulter Street Brewery hidden down an alley and Eastbound Brewing just steps from the Broadview Hotel.

Stockyards District

This historic (and slightly foul-smelling) area on St. Clair between Runnymede and Old Weston Road has taken on the nickname the Ale Yards for a reason.

Junction Craft Brewing, Shacklands, and Rainhard Brewing are slowly starting to transform this meatpacking neighbourhood from Slaughter Central into a rugged little area that, while slightly tough to traverse by foot, is still pretty walkable for the adventurous beer-lover.

Don't forget High Park Brewery and People's Pint on St. Clair. 

Bloordale and Junction Triangle

Hop on the West Toronto Railpath for a scenic route between Halo Brewery and Henderson, the Sterling Road stalwart for pints after MOCA.

Head east on Bloor toward Dufferin afterward to catch a show and a glass of saison at Burdock, and maybe end north with a jaunt to Geary Ave. for Blood Brothers.

Brockton Village and Roncesvalles

You can easily group or interchange the breweries in these two neighbourhoods with those in Bloordale and the Junction, given the close proximity.

Maybe start off at the most western option, Bandit Brewery, before heading east and hitting Lot 30 Brewers, followed by Laylow for  German-style beers, then Folly for blends of Saison yeast and Brettanomyces.

East York and Scarborough

Breweries become slim pickin's the more north and east you go, but there is some beer-making activity east of the DVP north of the Danforth.

Mill Street's location on Bermondsey isn't far from the small-batch brewer Muddy York, which is just an eight-minute walk from the build-your-own flights at Brunswick Bierworks.

And if you're in a car, make sure not to miss out on a trip to the impressive Common Good on Ellesmere. If you're up for it, you can even hop on the 404 (bring a designed driver with you) to the Rouge River Brewing Company in Markham. 

by Tanya Mok via blogTO