Over the weekend I got out to three of the city's brew pubs (or maybe five, depending on how you count). Let's go with the two oddballs first: I got take-out from The Granite Brewery, but no beer. It's hard to go wrong with their food. I'm a fan of the Lamb Burger, the Razorback Wrap, and the Pulled-Pork Mac and Cheese. Their "Feature Menu" items (usually only available for a week) are routinely very good too. My only caveat is to recommend you get something other than the fries: their fries are limp and not very tasty. Among their beers (when I'm ordering), I still prefer the Ringberry, which they say is "Ringwood [their blonde ale], but fruited, bursting with Raspberry aroma and flavour."

The other oddball is Brunswick Bierworks which has a lovely event space and used to be open to the public every Saturday afternoon. They were closed this past Saturday, and examining their website more closely I found this: "TAPROOM / BOTTLE SHOP HOURS: Closed to the Public. Thank you for your support over the years!" Well that sucks: it's a nice space and they often had good beers. They continue to function as a contract brewer to other companies.

Saturday afternoon I visited Muddy York with a friend. I'm not going to run through all the beers or anything: they still had a porter and a stout on tap this late in the season, which was nice, and I enjoyed the IPA I tried more than I expected to. They have a lovely patio (and a nice inside space too). Still one of my preferred brew pubs in the city, still awkward to get to by TTC ...

Sunday I had lunch with a friend at Bellwoods. They seem to be maintaining the quality of their food, which has been very good previously and remains so now. The "BOP" stout is the chocolatiest stout I've ever had, it was a thing of beauty.

Bellwoods' bottle shop will hit you hard though: two bottles of BOP and one of Milkshark (a milkshake IPA) set me back $40. Compare this to the new(-ish - it's been open a year or so) Great Lakes Brewpub at 11 Lower Jarvis: I bought eight cans, four of which were their exceptionally potent (11%) "Beard of Zeus" barley wine, and that set me back $32. Yes, smaller sizes, but the price differential is significant even if you calculate that in. Bellwoods probably is the best in the city, but that's one hell of a premium.

The friend I was out walking (and drinking) with on Saturday also pointed out that Burdock Brewery has opened another location in Kensington (their first location is at 1184 Bloor Street West). It's a retail outlet: a store, with nowhere to eat or drink.