Hi, I've recently moved to Toronto from Europe where I was used to drinking some of Belgium's finest beers, such as Chimay, Westmalle, La Trappe, etc. and I'm looking for something with a similar taste, but local, here in Ontario so as to avoid paying the high import prices. I recently went to Montreal and had Siboire's Trappist-style beer, which was amazing and could easily rival some of Europe's best, but I have had no luck, so far, in Ontario. The folks at the Beer Store also didn't know what a Trappist beer was, so they weren't much help. Could anyone help? Bearing in mind it doesn't have to be an exact match. Something with a similar taste to Duvel, Delirium, La Chouffe or Gulden Draak would also be great! Thanks!
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, you’ll likely find that the Belgian imports are cheaper than local offerings. Rochefort 8 and 10 and Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel as well as some Chimay and Orval are either regularly available, or seasonally at the LCBO. And, at prices that are almost as good as you find in Belgium. The Beer Store is, generally speaking, a lousy place to buy beer. As to local brewers that make Trappist styles, there are not many. You should give New Limburg a try. You can get a couple of their beers at the LCBO. Go to the Summerhill location for best selection. Quebec does a much better job overall with Belgian styles. Cheers.
I will second the recommendation of New Limburg. Sadly for the full selection you are making a drink out to Simcoe which from Toronto is likely an hour and a 30-45 minute drive if you are lucky with traffic. I think Sawdust City might have brewed a Quad, so check them out too. That said, you can't go wrong with anything from Unibroue.
Thanks folks. Very helpful. I noticed that the prices for Belgian beers are pretty reasonable here and there's a fairly good offering of some of the better ones. A little taste of home!
One of the few good things about the system here is the buying power of the LCBO. Because it purchases beer in such large quantities, import prices are often very low compared to other markets.
Unibroue La Fin du Monde...which is one of the few decent beers available at yhe Beer Store.....is worth seeking out.
While I can enjoy a trappist, I am far from an expert so I cant say if these are up to par or not, but... 5 Paddles in Whitby (about 20mins east of TO) has made some Dubels/Tripels/Quads that I have enjoyed. Manantler in Bowmanville (about 20mins east of Whitby) has as well. I had a Dub and a Trip from Northwinds in Collingwood (a ways north of the city), but they were both fairly ordinary.
If you venture out of the city there is two killer breweries in Whitby; Town Brewing which does a lot of belgian style ales as well as 5 Paddles which does Brother Ian's Belgian 4, 6, 8 & 3000, and lastly Little Beasts Brewing. I would check them out.
I’m surprised by the 5 Paddles recommendations? Has their stuff improved a lot? I had a couple of those Brother Ian’s beers a few years back and found them to be not very Belgian in character, and not very good overall. Those were the beers that have pretty much kept me from going back the past two years. That said, Town seems like they are on the right track, and Little Beasts makes some enjoyable Saisons.
A recent Instagram post reminded me of Block 3 Dead Now and Dead Later which I remember liking quite a bit a few years back (Dubbels). They just released Dead Now again. Overall, I’d say Block 3 does a decent job with Belgian styles and certainly worth a visit.
