World Renowned Beer, Brewed Fresh for Ontario - The Craft Brand Company
Since 2013, the Toronto based Craft Brand Company has been partnering with brewers from around the world to bring their beers to the Ontario market. The breweries they partner with “have unique and intriguing branding and are powered by good people that they enjoy drinking beer with.” They’ve brought such notable beers as Omnipollo’s Zodiac IPA and the opinion splitting Prodromus Imperial Stout to LCBO shelves. In 2016, they partnered with Brunswick Bierworks to brew their partner beers here in Ontario so their customers could get access to their partners’ product as fresh as possible. Today, all of the beer sold by Craft Brand Co. is brewed out of Brunswick in Toronto.
When founders Chris Goddard and Mike Laba started Craft Brand Co., their dream was to open an independent bottle shop, which Ontario alcohol laws still don’t technically allow (although the recent law change allowing delivery and shipping of alcohol with food has blurred the lines on that a little). So in October 2019, Craft Brand Co. opened The Bodega, “Toronto’s Finest Independent Bottle Shop” online. Now all the beers brewed in partnership with Craft Brand Co. are available for shipping across Ontario, as well as onsite at the Brunswick biershop.
Some of Craft Brand Co’s partners most recognized in the province these days are Stockholm, Sweden’s Omnipollo, and Copenhagen, Denmark’s Mikkeller, but they also include Stavenger, Norway’s Lervig, Denver, Colorado’s Great Divide Brewing Company, and most recently Vancouver, BC’s top-rated Superflux Beer Company, to name just a few.
Craft Brand Co. recently hosted their first Bodega Sessions event, where they hosted beer media and Instagrammers in a virtual gathering for a guided tasting of some of their spring/summer lineup. The session was hosted by Western Ontario Market Manager Craig Nelson, owners Mike and Chris, and featured guest speakers from some of their brewing partners.
Here’s a look through the breweries and beers that were featured in the session.
Superflux Beer Company - Vancouver, BC
One of the most recent additions to Craft Brand Co’s lineup is Vancouver’s Superflux. With their colourful and eye-catching labels, they’re a highly recognizable brand on the BC beer scene. They are IPA-focused, until very recently contract brewed out of Strathcona Beer Company, and happen to be among the top-rated Canadian breweries on Untappd. Adam Henderson from Superflux was the first guest speaker of the session, and he kicked off the guided tasting.
Colour & Shape
Superflux Beer Company - IPA 6.5%
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
Superflux’s flagship all Citra IPA has a gorgeous hazy, yellow pour. The nose is bright and tropical with a slight dank vibe. On the palate, it’s mango and pulpy orange with a slightly earthy mineral quality. Medium-bodied, juicy and tropical. Great stuff!
Pretty Much Yeah
Superflux Beer Company - IPA 6.5%
Photo by IllNote Studios.
A collaboration with Gigantic Brewing Company out of Portland, OR, Pretty Much Yeah is a Galaxy IPA with lactose. It’s a more restrained lactose beer than a full-on milkshake IPA. It just adds a nice creamy mouthfeel without much additional sweetness. There’s a clean milky haze with a bright yellow colour. Papaya and mango are the dominant fruit flavours. The Galaxy is not as punchy as it can often be, but it does still give a good bitter bite, some hop burn and a nice acidic guava zip.
Superflux was certainly a welcome site in Ontario, as when it was launched on the Bodega, it sold out in a single day! Here’s hoping they keep brewing their stuff! This is probably the freshest BC beer that’s ever been available to the Ontario market. I’m here for it!
Mikkeller - Copenhagen, Denmark
The second guest speaker was Colin Banting, head brewer of Craft Brand Co’s brewing partner, Brunswick Bierworks. He led us through the tasting of a new Mikkeller beer called Fresh Start, brewed for the Ontario market and “signifies a fresh start for their bar and restaurant partners as they navigate their re-opening, and Craft Brand’s commitment to supporting them when they kick their doors open.”
Fresh Start
Mikkeller - NEIPA 6.4%
Photo by IllNote Studios.
This is a collaboration between Colin and Mikkeller Founder Borg Bjergsø using the experimental hop BRU-1 paired with Simcoe. Colin described BRU-1 as having great fruity aromas making it ideal for IPAs, and wanted to pair it with Simcoe to give it some complexity by adding a resinous pine component. I found it had flavours of juicy pineapple and grass. The Simcoe definitely delivered the intended piney contrast. It’s got a good balance of flavour with great drinkability.
Omnipollo - Stockholm, Sweden
Sweden’s Omnipollo are world renowned collaborators. They have unique, eye-catching branding and are fearless with adjunct usage and flavour combinations. The third guest speaker slot was filled by Omnipollo founder Henok Fentie and brewer Carlos de la Barra. They led us through a tasting of three Omnipollo beers including a non-alcoholic beer, a returning favourite, and a brand new Ontario exclusive.
KONX
Omnipollo - Non-Alcoholic Mini Pale Ale 0.3%
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
I’m not well versed in non-alcoholic beer. In fact, this may actually be the first one I’ve ever tasted. What I have noticed on Ontario shelves is that variety is pretty slim, both in brands and even more so in style, though there has been SOME slow development on that front from brands like Partake Brewing in Ontario and Microbrasserie Le Bockale in Quebec. From the conversation with Henok and Carlos, I learned that North America lags significantly behind Europe when it comes to non-alcoholic beer, and if KONX is anything to go by, that would certainly seem to be true. It has a hopping rate inline with that of their IPAs, and they describe it as a lemonade-like pale ale. It’s got very high carbonation like you’d find in most session IPAs. The dominant flavour is lots (and I mean LOTS) of citrus, specifically lemon and orange with significant acidity and notable tartness. I find the heavy citric acidity and high carbonation to be quite sharp for my personal taste, but I’m betting there’s no other non-alcoholic beer with this level of flavour on the market in Ontario. It’s undoubtedly refreshing and would make a great summer crusher. It’ll be coming to the LCBO this summer!
Bianca
Omnipollo - Mango Lassi Gose 6.0%
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
I first tasted this beer on tap at Bar Lupulus last year and it was divine. It’s a lactose-infused gose with a heap of mango purée, made to taste exactly like a beery mango lassi. Henok and Carlos explained that there were some tweaks made with this year’s batch, one of which being the saltiness was made more prominent. It’s got a thick, juicy pour with a dark, hazy orange colour. The mouthfeel is less creamy than I remember it. The body is lighter and the carbonation is higher. To me this version drinks a bit more like a sparkling mango juice with a twist of salt than the thicker, creamier mango lassi that I remember. I personally prefer last year’s version, but this one is certainly refreshing and drinks like a summer cocktail.
This is the Bianca being brewed in Ontario, but it is in fact only one of a series of Omnipollo lassi goses. There are MANY other Bianca variations brewed around the world including such decadent creations as Peanut Butter Jelly, Blueberry Maple Pancake, Lemon Coconut, and Peaches and Cream Wild Wild Bret. Needless to say, Omnipollo is not shy about getting creative with adjuncts, and I love them for it.
Aura
Omnipollo - IPA 5.9%
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
Stock photo by Craft Brand Co.
This is a new Omnipollo beer brewed exclusively for Ontario, due to hit LCBOs later in the summer. Henok and Carlos described that they wanted this to be a beer that “punches above its weight, satisfying the hop urge without a crazy ABV”. It’s brewed with “a healthy amount of oats giving it a soft mouthfeel and lower carbonation”, and late addition Citra and Galaxy hopping. At 5.9% it does land around the middle of IPA ABV territory. There’s citrus zest and a thick dankness on the nose. Of all the IPAs we tasted during the session, for me this one had the best balance of pine to tropical flavours. It’s got a citrusy zip of juicy grapefruit and lemon contributing some acidity alongside earthy notes of pine and grass. I think it could have used a bit of sweetness or maybe a sticky resinous quality to balance the slightly sharp citrus bitterness, but overall it’s really good!
Experiment: During the discussion there was an Omnipollo beer cocktail recommendation of ⅓ Prodromus (Deep Fried Graham Cracker Chocolate Chunk Caramel Bar Imperial Stout) and ⅔ Aniara (Lemon Raspberry American Pale Ale). If you’re brave enough to try it, let me know what you think!
Florida Orange Radler
The Bodega - 3.5%
Photo by Nathan Does Beer.
This was a bonus beer! The Florida Orange Radler is currently a Bodega exclusive, coming soon to the LCBO. It was brewed with a ton of orange which is evident pretty much immediately. The feel is thick and pulpy. It’s got a tingly effervescence and lots of spritzy orange and grapefruit flavour with a bitter twist of orange peel. There’s a notable sweetness on the mid-palate which nicely balances the tingle up front and the bitterness on the finish. This straight up drinks like a mimosa. I could drink this on the beach or with brunch all summer long.
Since its inception, Craft Brand Co. has grown by leaps and bounds, bringing world-renowned beer fresh to the Ontario market. Keep an eye out for the spring/summer LCBO releases, check them out at the Brunswick Bierworks retail store, or online at The Bodega for shipping province-wide.
PROMO: On your next order from The Bodega, use the promo code #NATHANDOESBEER to receive a free 4-pack sampler!
Find The Craft Brand Company online:
Find Craig Nelson, Western Ontario Market Manager, online:
Nathan
Nathan is a craft beer enthusiast from Ottawa, ON. He is the Co-Founder of @TeamLactose, he’s passionate about travelling for beer and he loves talking about beer from Ontario, Quebec and beyond.