During my trip to T.O. a couple weeks back, I made a point of visiting Beer Academy, the brewpub/restaurant/beer tasting room opened last year by Six Pints Specialty Beer Company, the Molson spin-off that houses Granville Island and Creemore Springs.  I wanted to stop by because I wanted to see for myself whether the place was just a facade to give Six Pints street cred, or if it really took beer seriously.

I had a visit with one of Six Pints media representatives and sample a number of the Beer Academy offerings with on of their beer sommeliers (unfortunately the Beer Academy brewer was out of town the day I popped by). In short, I left convinced that they are indeed taking beer seriously and are not just trying to muscle in on a growing craft scene (there is a bit of that, too, but that is fair game).

Beer Academy took over the old Duggan’s brewpub, including their 10 hectolitre brewhouse. They revamped the space (in fact it has two distinct spaces – one a casual tasting room, the other for formal events, with the brewhouse in the middle). They brew 3-4 times a week, offering a line-up of 3 in-house beer (plus Creemore) and release a new seasonal every month. The focus of the Academy is education. They offer regular “tasting tours” where they walk participants through the world of beer (ingredients, process, styles, ets.). They also do gourmet tasting tours where they pair food and beer, often partnering with local restaurants.

What I found intriguing is the logic behind the beer they make in-house. The three regular beer include a Kolsch, a black lager in the Schwarzbier range and an IPA. They picked all three intentionally to offer an entry into beer education; showing that an ale can be light and refreshing, that lagers can be dark and the effects of hops on beer. For their seasonals they aim for traditional styles, rather than experimentation, to highlight the classics of beer. When I was there they had a maibock and a hefeweizen on tap.

The place did not feel like a big corporate entity. It was sparsely, but attractively designed, with lots of raw wood and low-key fixtures. Of course, you can only purchase Six Pints products, but they told me that if a customer expresses interest in a style of beer, they regularly highlight other breweries for them to explore (I did see that in action later on, so I think they are being truthful).

As for the beer, in general they were decent to very good examples of their style. None pushed the style’s boundaries, and sometimes were a bit timid, but I think that reflects the mandate of the place. Their beer is not meant to knock your tastebuds out of your mouth, but to introduce you to a style by accenting its basic characteristics. As I look back on my tasting notes, I find my critiques are fine points, rather than broad criticisms. For example the Kolsch had an enticing pear and light fruit accent with grainy sharpening of the finish. I just found it a bit heavy for the style. Similarly the Black Lager reflected what I know about schwarzbier, but came across slightly too roasty. Overall, I appreciated their attempts.

They also have a label called Mad and Noisy, which is a sub-brand of Creemore, where they do kegs and large bottles of one-time beer that is a bit more “out-there” than Creemore’s mainline product. I had a sample of their India Pale Lager, which wasn’t particularly IP-like, but an interesting beer nonetheless.

Overall, I left convinced that Six Pints is taking this project seriously. Part evidence of that is their claim of having no plans of opening other locations of Beer Academy. They see this as a unique coming together of opportunity, location and focus. On that score, we will wait and see.

I can say that if this is an example of where the corporate brewers want to take their craft beer segment, the future may not look so bad after all.