Bellwoods Brewery

We got there right after they opened on a Monday night which proved to be a good choice since the waiting list developed quickly. The place is fairly small and I'd guess they could easily double in size and still fill up every seat. Not a huge tap selection but everything we tried was excellent from their sours to the hoppy offerings. Great outdoor patio with friendly Toronto crowds on hand.

 

Exceptional spot for a night out. Real destination.

 

Interesting place. Very hip feeling but not quite hipster. Outdoor patio "beer garden" with hanging lights and various plants and vines. Very old wooden tables and bar. Inside various paintings on the wall, and exposed brewery. Upstairs has an old pub feel overlooking the rest of the place. Overall fairly small though. Very new wave hipster like music playing fairly loud.

Staff is in their own world, doing all their prep and talking to each other. But they are friendly.

Eight of their own beers and a few guest taps on. Various nice bottles as well, including a bunch of Drie Fonteinen, even hommage. Also a bunch of their own vintage bottles. Their beers on draft are all pale ales, iPad, and sours. The very hipster modern beer list. Nothing unique or classic unfortunately (except a code which I could argue is also the modern hipster retro style). Not even a single dark beer when the weather is very cold.

It would be a cool place to hang out with friends for a late night bottle share, less so for a quick couple of beers at lunchtime.

Food options for lunch include a couple snacks, two sandwich options, a single salad, and very expensive assorted cheeses. Very meh. But I didn't try anything they made, just bread from a local bakery.

 

 

 

kinda like a beer nerd gloryhole. metal door. Anonymous. In & out. I like.

Very solid brewery. Staff was passionate about beer and brewing, and they had a solid selection of well priced bottles and pours. Environment was chill with lots of super nice people.

 

If you go here for the beer, you have to fight the people who want to be there for selfies or to say they were there. The service is 'cool' bordering on aloof, but friendly. They certainly know their stuff and will help if asked, but otherwise are a little standoffish. Food is clearly an afterthought, but not bad. The main reason to go IMHO is the beers, and they are excellent. The selection is often limited, with gaps in the popular beers, as to be expected I guess, but disappointing. Expensive with small portions but if you're there for the beer, that's par for the course. What you can get, is almost always excellent and worth ant hassle of crowds, fanboys, and the like. Always worth it.

The open air concept of this brewery really sets it apart. It just feels like your in a different place. Very farm to table. The beer is very good and they were the spot I was most looking forward to in Toronto. It didn't let me down.

 

 

this place is so rad, as good as i hoped it would be. a direct cab from the airport brings me to a mellow place on a sunday night, open seats at the small and welcoming little bar. they have candles burning in jars, but otherwise low light, and a cool vibe, with a terrace up top, a frozen patio out front that i could see popping off in the summer, and a vertically oriented brew house. bottle shop next door as well. i couldnt believe how small the place is for how famous their beer is, at least in my circle, so upscale humble, which is a wonderful vibe to cast, i super dig it, woody and rustic in here, reclaimed wood and neat artwork, relaxed lighting, and so much less seating than expected. the beer is amazing, had the barn owl brett pale with apricots and the coconut and coffee variants of the rum barrel aged skeleton key, all were epic, and the bottles i got to go were special too! food was wicked too, seriously next level, so so good, adventurous and european while the service was good but maybe too relaxed to be expert. the beer and vibe though, unbeatable, maybe the best around, although i am not a toronto veteran. i really love bellwoods now, and their beer is just unreal. i cant recommend this place enough. i could have spent all night in here, sipping and tasting and appreciating and relaxing. just loved it!

edit: enjoyed it so much i had to go back right away and drink through some more of the beers. all equally awesome. maybe my favorite beer stop in toronto this week!

Visited here last night after class in Toronto. Great music, good vibe, and kind servers. Centrally located, and a popular place for a Saturday night out. There was a line up still after 11pm.

 

 

A very busy spot with great brews. Love the separated bottle shop "express line" Can get really busy, especially with nice weather. A good selection of draughts and take home brews.

 

 

 

 

Visited on a beautiful warm Saturday afternoon and there was about a 20 minute wait for a table for two. The beer was good although there were only about five beers on tap. Service was slow since the place was packed.

 

 

The beer was interesting, the food (designed for sharing) great. The service was a little slow which was not entirely surprising given that the place was heaving.

 

 

Went here on a beer tour with 5 other New Englanders doing the Toronto circuit of fine beer establishments. This place was our favorite out of the 13 that we visited over the two days. You feel a bit like you are in a patio/garage but the ambiance works. It's a bit snug and there is definitely lots of people trying to get in. The beer on tap is quite good, but we were literally swooning over the discontinued beers that are bottled. 3 Minutes to Midnight and Donkey Venom were outstanding and the best beers we had in Toronto, and we sampled just about all of them from the top brewpubs in the city. Even the hop head in the group was swooning over these beers. They were just that good and wonderfully complex. An absolute must. The food was a bit limiting. I had the duck meatballs and the lentil salad. I was disappointed that the chicken pot pie had bacon in it - what's up with that. I'm definitely not a organ meat type but the other 5 guys in the group were in love with the chicken liver spread over toasted bread. Not for me, but they all loved it and their arteries are no better for it. Overall, if you are going to visit the brewpubs in Toronto, this one is top of the list. Amsterdam and Indie Ale House were also notable and worth seeking out.

Overall an amazing place. The beer is authentic and varied. There is a true focus on quality and appreciation for beer. Great staff and a short but well thought out menu.

 

 

A really great neighborhood just West of downtown Toronto, easily accessible by trolley (Take either the 505 from Dundas, or the 501 from either Queen or King St heading West), sits Bellwoods. Excellent outside patio and partially covered inside. The bottle shop is just next door as well, much of the bottle work and artwork decorates the place from the hired artist which makes a nice touch.

Real solid brews, and the bottle list is where things really shine. Make sure to check something out from there, but the regular taps are also very solid brews as well.

Really nice and attentive service as well. The food menu looks also very thought out and put together, but I had very little of it.

A must stop place while in Toronto for any beer fan.

 

Always a chilled, friendly place to hang out where you're sure to see some people you know, drink some fantastic beers, and have good conversation. The street noise can sometimes be a bit much, and sometimes I wish they had more "beer" food to keep you there longer, but the food in general is decent. I just find it's a bit too far into the realm of eating out / bistro food, when most of the time I'm there to just enjoy a few pints with my wife and friends.....