Seven flights over Canada

Seven beer flights over the space of a 3-week holiday in Canada (Ontario & Quebec) in June/ July 2015 - this was my baptism into the world of the beer flight. No turning back now!

Amsterdam Brewery (Weds 24th June) - we came across this on our first day in Toronto wandering along the newly rejuvenated water front. Our very friendly server, & beer expert, Nicole guided us to our first beer choices. I opted for one of the hoppier 'Flight Tours' - four 5oz samples for C$8 - Big Wheel Amber Ale (5% ABV), Cruiser All Day Pale Ale (4.9% ABV), Boneshaker IPA (7.2%) and instead of Fracture Imperial IPA (9% ABV), which had run out, I had Starke Pils (5.8% ABV). My favourite was Cruiser All day pale ale which had the classic citrus hoppy taste with just the right amount of bitterness. This place reminded me of 'The Lucky Shag' bar in Perth, Australia - with the beer reminiscent of the IPA from Little Creatures Brewing in Fremantle.

Mill Street Brewery (Sat 27th June) - with the weather on the turn it was time to think about undercover beer exploration! After sampling a Peameal Bacon roll at St Lawrence Market, we went to Mill Street Brewery in the Distillery District. My beer flights included 100th Meridian Amber Lager (5% ABV), IPA (6.1% ABV), Tankhouse Ale (5.2% ABV) & Tankenstein (5% ABV) - my favourite beer of the day was Tankenstein, a classic American-style IPA.

Amsterdam Brewery (Tues 30th June) - a day spent touring the bookshops of Toronto. Took the 5pm Amsterdam Brewery Tour. Afterwards had a Flight Tour in the bar - Boneshaker IPA (7.2% ABV), Fracture Imperial IPA (9%ABV), Orange Weise Summer White (5% ABV) and Leaf Hop Saison (6.2% ABV). From the look of the photo below I was enjoying them all rather too much !

Old Port area of Montreal (Thursday 9th July) - a Boréale brewery beer flight including IPA (6.2% ABV), Rousse (5% ABV) & Monark (7% ABV) at a pizza restaurant. My favourite being Monark IPA, brewed with Citra hops for that classic citrus hoppy taste.

Le Saint-Bock (Fri 10th July) - found the best craft beer pub in Montreal - Le Saint-Bock on Rue St.Denis. This is the starting point for many beer tours of Montreal. They had 43 draft beers on tap with digital displays around the bar listing all of them. I had a beer flight with 6, each a 4oz glass, probably the best and most feasible way to try a wide selection. This meant I had a few beer styles I've never been brave enough to try before! The beers I tried were mostly from the Saint-Bock brewery: Trinite (4% ABV Session IPA), Pénitente (5% ABV Blanche Épicée), Evcensoir (4% ABV Rauchbier), T'Amere Équinox (6.5% ABV SMaSH, (Single Malt (Maris Otter) and Single Hop (Équinox)), Tombee de la Nuit (4.5% ABV Espresso Stout (Azote)) and Hickson IPA (6.5% ABV Brasserie de la 2 Fevre brewery). My favourite being T'Amere Équinox.

Bar Hop (Sun 12th July) - penultimate full day in Toronto, we walked west along the shore of Lake Ontario. Later went for a beer in Bar Hop (391 King Street West) - I had a beer flight (4 x 4oz) - Canuck (5.2% ABV Great Lakes Brewery - N American Pale Ale), Headstock (7% ABV Nickel Brook Brewery - N American IPA), Wheat Ale (5.4% ABV Side Launch Brewery - Hefeweizen) and Blak Katt (4.8% ABV County Durham Brewery - Stout). My favourite being the Wheat Ale.

Mill Street Brewery (Mon 13th July) - our last full day in Toronto. Went back to the distillery district, a lot drier and sunnier than our first visit just over 2 weeks ago. With lunch at the Mill Street Brewery I had a beer flight, 4 x 6oz - all of them brewed by Mill Street - Ginger Beer (5% ABV), Tankhouse Ale (5.2% ABV), Tankenstein (5% ABV) & Cobblestone Stout (4.2% ABV) - also had a sample of Lemon Tea Beer (5% ABV). My favourite was Tankenstein.

That's all folks!

Clive Mitchell, Beer Flights Blogger, 1st August 2015  

Twitter @beerflights

Beer Flights 101

What is a beer flight? Essentially 3, 4 or more small glasses of beer (typically a third of a pint or 4/6/8oz depending where you're from) from the draught beer selection available in the pub or bar. This might seem like a lot of messing about with small drinks but, as I've discovered, its a great way to try new beers or some of those beer styles that you have encountered but never tried. After all who wants to be stuck with a pint of a beer that you discover turns out to be pretty nasty or just not your cup of tea (yes you guessed it I'm British!).

Here I am with a typical beer flight - they often come with wooden paddles (easier for serving I guess) - each of these glasses held 4oz (Imperial) which is about a fifth of a pint (114mls).

After a recent holiday in Canada (where there are beer flights everywhere it seems) I came home with the vague plan of seeking out more beer flights and then spreading the word - hence this blog (and twitter @BeerFlights). As beer flights appear not to be that common in the UK this may turn out to be a very short lived venture or, hopefully as I'm a glass half-full sort of guy, a voyage of discovery (they are called flights after all!).

If you have discovered a beer flight in the UK (or anywhere for that matter) please let me know at BeerFlights@outlook.com or on twitter @BeerFlights - hopefully I'll get to try them out on my travels and tell you how it went.

So watch this space for the occassional BeerFlights blog.....

Clive Mitchell, BeerFlights Blogger, 18th July 2015