Rochester may be an obscure town in the ass-end of New York State, but at least it’s close to Toronto. What better way to enjoy a weekend than hunting for great beer in a world-class city?

Here’s a quick travel tip: Accommodations in Toronto are cheap in January. Apparently, this isn’t exactly the height of the tourist season. For our $109, we got a great room on the top floor of the InterContinental Toronto Centre, with a view not only of the CN Tower, Skydome, and the waterfront, but also of the converted roundhouse containing the Steam Whistle Brewery. Sure, we risked frostbite every time we stepped out of the cab and yes, the hair in my nose froze, but I believe that some things in life are worth enduring a little biting agony and the occasional minor amputation.

Which brings me to the pilsner of Steam Whistle Brewing. As you know from my prattling on about Czech this and Urquell that, pilsner is one of my favorite styles. It’s not a style many North American brewers get right. That’s usually not a problem because consumers are conditioned to think of pilsner as a catchall name for any light-colored lager; it’s a minority that know it as its own branch of the beer tree.

With a Czech Brewmaster at the helm, Steam Whistle works very hard to get their pilsner right. They have to. It’s the only beer the brewery produces, and it’s not far off from the European stuff. A clean, yet prominent biscuity malt body gives way to a tantalizing saaz hop bitterness that teases the sides of your tongue. Its body, hop character, rich golden color, and sudsy head make this beer a standout equalled by only a few brewers on the continent. I feel the beer is underrated on Beeradvocate.com, probably because pilsner is often considered wuss beer by the majority hophead beer community.
Oh, and they give samples for free. a bunch of them. Really.

Anyway, we did some tourist stuff, dragging our English friend Nigel up the CN Tower, before heading off to dinner at Caffe Volo. You gotta admire a place that makes such a commitment to regional craft beer that it’s the only thing they feature on draft. Coming here really gave me some perspective on people who are new to craft beer. Since we don’t get many of Ontario’s artisan beers on our side of the border, every beer was new, and left me with no preconceptions as to how it would taste, how close to style it would be, or what regional characteristics were in store for my taste buds. I actually found this mildly daunting, but we all got over that in a hurry and ordered a sample flight.

My favorite was actually a lambic-style beer: Nickel Brook Uniek Kriek. Nickel Brook’s interpretation of this open-fermented cherry beer leans toward the dry side, and the finish contains that vaguely creamy sensation/flavor which makes Boon Kriek such a kick-ass beer. I certainly didn’t expect a lambic of this authenticity to come out of Darkest Ontario, and it was a pleasant surprise to say the least. Other favorites: Denison’s Dunkel and Church Key Grains of Wrath(Volo’s house beer), a double IPA which was responsible for my slight headache the next morning.

If you’re going to Toronto, go to Volo. Do it. The food rocks, there’s a bottled beer list that combs Belgium, the UK, France, and the United States for interesting offerings, and it’s pretty close to the center of everything. The owners obviously care deeply about beer, and they elevate the beverage to a level of breezy sophistication usually reserved for yuppie-coveted wine.

But be careful with the Grains of Wrath.

-Mark