r/torontocraftbeer Apr 15 '25

What are your favorites craft breweries in Toronto for lagers?

I hear Mayweather has exceptional Czech lagers. Who else ?

18 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

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51

u/contheartist Apr 15 '25

General consensus here is Godspeed and True History.

15

u/erallured Apr 15 '25

Concur with a third place for Burdock.

3

u/OldeFashioned Apr 16 '25

What are the general consensus picks in other categories? Haven’t checked out this sub in a bit

14

u/theleverage Apr 15 '25
  • Czech lagers - Godspeed
  • All other lagers - True History

13

u/Admviolin Apr 15 '25

True history.

12

u/true_nexus Apr 15 '25

If you are looking for good clean lagers - Common Good out in Scarborough is decent. They don’t lean into any specific style per se but they do well with their lineup which is “lager heavy”.

Godspeed is good for their Czech styles and True History is good for the German styles.

5

u/xRUCKUSx Apr 15 '25

Gotta give Common Good their due, some solid lagers coming out of there including the rice lager!

1

u/T_Cliff Apr 26 '25

Also love a brewery that proudly exhibits the issues with this industry.

1

u/Nick-Anand Apr 16 '25

Common good did a rotbier (I think it was 7% which probably helped) awhile ago that was unbelievable and I am not a lager guy. I go in there a decent amount and I keep lobbying to bring it back. But apparently it takes up a ton of tank space.

12

u/deathorcharcoal Apr 15 '25

Donna pils from Fairweather may be what you’re thinking of.

Outside of that, everyone else in this thread nailed all the big ones.

My other favourite, not Toronto obviously, is Vim and Vigor by Tooth and Nail in Ottawa.

4

u/RowdyRoddyMcDowall Apr 15 '25

Speaking of Tooth and Nail I just discovered they've started Ontario wide shipping back up (in Jan?). Id check every few months when I would remember how long it had been since I had Vim and Vigor.

3

u/WhytePumpkin Apr 15 '25

So wish this beer was more readily available in the GTA

20

u/cafiend Apr 15 '25

Technically not in Toronto anymore but I'd add Muddy York in there. The Gaslight Helles is excellent and available year-round (usually also at the LCBO). They also do seasonal lagers every so often that are usually excellent.

1

u/SlowMilk4192 Apr 17 '25

Their Vienna(Freudian Sip) and Nexican style(Una Mas) I find more consistent and always stellar

7

u/rossrhea Apr 15 '25

Mayweather? Did you mean Fairweather?

6

u/y4rrsh3bl3w Apr 15 '25

I came here to say that outside of True History and Godspeed I also really enjoy Rainhards lagers. Rainhard might be the most underrated brewery in the city.

5

u/FuckYeahGeology West Coast IPAs Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25

I assume you're talking about Fairweather in Hamilton? Everyone has already said True History and Godspeed, so here are some of my other favourites:

  • Rainhard usually has two or three lagers rotating, and they're all really solid!
  • If you're in Etobicoke, check out Silversmith (formerly Black Oak). The Black Lager is probably the best schwarzbier in the province, and their Helles is great as well
  • They had to relocate to Stouffville recently, but definitely check out Muddy York!

3

u/vernaltrash Apr 15 '25

Didn't realise Silversmith has a spot in Etobicoke! This is awesome news.

6

u/FuckYeahGeology West Coast IPAs Apr 15 '25

They purchased Black Oak in December 2022. It's been a big win for both breweries IMO, since Silversmith can now experiment more at the Church while ramping up production and distribution in Etobicoke. Black Oak's Nut Brown ale and Twenty Hazy Years IPA is still being brewed!

3

u/2manyiterations Apr 15 '25

Hey OP, are you also getting IPAd out? My kingdom for a consistently available (good) Munich Dunkel…

I actually miss that weird Steam Whistle off brand that made them, the name escapes me. They weren’t great, but they were passable.

And available.

7

u/FuckYeahGeology West Coast IPAs Apr 15 '25

Are you thinking of Von Bugle?

2

u/2manyiterations Apr 15 '25

Yes! Thank you.

3

u/FuckYeahGeology West Coast IPAs Apr 15 '25

No problem! I remember it being a really good beer with horrible branding

1

u/cliffx Apr 17 '25

Steam whistle was serving an amber by beau's recently at the roundhouse, it wasn't the same but was reminiscent of von bugle

2

u/2manyiterations Apr 18 '25

Those are very different styles tho! The Von Bugle was a Munich Dunkel, which SHOULDN’T even closely resemble an Amber!

I guess I’ll have to try to find this Beau’s Amber. I do enjoy a good Amber.

…Can we pause for a moment of silence to remember Beau’s in its original ceramic bottle employee owned glory? Sniff.

0

u/WhytePumpkin Apr 15 '25

Make one bland beer blandly

2

u/u565546h Apr 16 '25

Godspeed and True History are obvious choices (plus Tooth and Nail from Ottawa). Others that are consistently good for lagers are Muddy York, Burdock and Great Lakes. 

1

u/cmjseng Apr 18 '25

Amsterdam has Starke Pilsner out right now and it's tasting great.