Hi all, I'm from Australia, coming over to Toronto for Christmas/NYE period and I'm gonna head down to a Bills game. What's the best place to pick up suds, and good bars to go to near to the stadium? I've heard of premiere gourmet and consumers, any more stores I should be checking out? Help with the bars would be much appreciated. Cheers for any help you could give me!
I'll be in town that weekend as well for the Bills-Cowboys game. If you can, head a few towns over to East Aurora (about 15 minutes) and check out Aurora Brew Works. In addition, they just opened a brewery in that area called 42 North Brewing. Really great town (partial as my wife is from there, and in-laws still live there) for brew and food.
My in-laws live in East Aurora and I will second those suggestions. Closer to the stadium look at Consumers in Orchard Park. If you head into town then Blue Monk is a must hit.
You really need to do yourself a favor and take a tour of the shit show of Buffalo tailgating in the parking lots surrounding the stadium. It's awesome and disturbing all at the same time. Just grab some cans if you can because they started cracking down on glass bottles a few years ago. Have a lot of fun, but remember to dress warm since it is usually a frozen tundra that time of year.
Really, Premier is pretty amazing. Buffalo gets awesome distribution. I haven't been to Aurora, but I've heard really good things. Premier is also near a Consumers, which is on Sheridan. The selection is no where near as good as Premier, but they usually have random layover hard to find beers.
Yeah, I'm heading to the Dallas game also. Had originally planned to go to the Jets game but my flight home is the next day, and I'm betting I'm gonna get pretty sauced haha. I've heard great things about the tailgate scene there, so I'm super pumped! Beer prices/availability down in Oz is woeful, so I'm sure that the selection available will be really great for me regardless. This is the country where you pay $50 for a case of bud, and $25 for a sixer of SNPA. Thanks so much guys, keep the recommendations coming, I really appreciate it.
Village Merchant is great, and really not that expensive, it's like a 10% mark up. Premiere is my go to, but Village Merchant is top quality. I've also noticed, that if you don't come across as a snob/hoarder, they tend to treat you better and give recommendations to when beer is released.
Bottles - Premier or Aurora Brew Works (Bonus points to aurora brew works for allowing you to drink pints while you shop) Avoid village beer merchant. Even though it's in the top 3, Premier and ABW blow it away and are wayyyy cheaper. Draft/Food - Blue Monk - Best beer selection ABV - Great beer selection, great burgers, a few blocks from Blue Monk but a little pricey Moorpat - Great beer selection, out of the way if you are going to the stadium Resurgence brewery - Great vibe, okay beers, crowlers of everything they sell, awful food Community Beer works - No food, good beers
While you're in Toronto be sure to go to Bellwoods Brewery. Most of their day to day offerings are better than what you'll find at premier and if anything barrel aged is released during the time you're there it will be a real treat! There's a handful of other breweries in the city, but Bellwoods is the unquestioned top of the game there. Some good bars in Toronto are bar volo, bar hop, and wvrst.
