FAQ

Just like we show current availability for our Ossington retail shop here, and our Hafis shop here, we have a section of our website designated for the online shop. Right over here.

Yes! Select Pick Up and your prefered pickup location at checkout.

Occasionally inventories differ slightly.

No. We store the beer in optimal conditions, our distribution company stores the beer in optimal conditions, and then it makes a fairly short jaunt across the province. Beer is commonly shipped across oceans and continents, and fairs A-okay — best practice is to refrigerate your hoppy beers upon arrival, and cellar the bottle conditioned styles however you prefer. 

Absolutely!

Get in touch with us immediately! Send us a photo to help us figure out what happened, and we’ll be happy to send you a replacement or give you a store credit. 

This is something our delivery partners take care of. Every shipment of alcohol legally requires a signature and ID check before being released.

Get in touch! We are very reasonable people committed to making people happy. If you’ve experienced any manner of strange issues with your shipment, feel free to shoot an email to onlinesales@bellwoodsbrewery.com. We’ll sort out a solution ASAP.

Hafis Rd. and Ossington Ave. shop availability can be slightly different at times. For Ossington availability please see the Ossington Ave page, and for Hafis availability please see the Hafis Rd page.

The website is very accurate and updated at least once a day, but often even more. However, if a beer sells out midday the website can be off for a half an hour or so. In cases of special releases that sell quite rapidly, we also do our best to give updates on social media.

We began brewing in the tail end of 2016, and after a series of small pop ups, opened to the public in 2017.

The Ossington brewpub is just too small to accommodate tours, but almost every seat in the place provides a great view of the brewing action. The Hafis production facility certainly isn't too small, but the constant rate of brewing, moving barrels, and packaging creates an environment that isn't very conducive to traveling groups. (Word on the street is that if things are calm, and Gord's in a good mood, he can show you a thing or two).

Even though the production facility allows us to create slightly larger volumes of your favourite styles, we likely won’t have every Bellwoods banger on offer at all times. If it’s a special release or barrel aged beer you’re after, it might only come out once a year. Most other beers will make appearances quite frequently, and a great way to get the heads up that [your favourite beer] is coming down the pipeline, is by subscribing to our newsletter or Instagram account.

You sure can. Available here. Be sure to check back often as we update new swanky merch regularly. 

We don’t have the facilities, equipment, or space to process used bottles (it’s a more complicated issue involving increased water usage, urban space constraints, and storage logistics, but luckily you can return your empty Bellwoods Brewery beer bottles to any Beer Store for a deposit refund.

At this time, no. We're still working through our licensee waiting list for kegged beer, so we estimate it could be a while before we have surplus for one-off events. We'll be sure to update you if our supply changes.

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that we have a love/hate relationship with them. On one hand, beer drinkers enjoy them so much. On the other, there’s our lack of space, the reduced fill quality to contend with, and the fact that we can’t force people to drink them in one sitting (beer in a growler doesn’t stay good for long). Back in the dark ages of 2012 we used to make employees clean them out by hand but then there was an uprising and a lot of tomatoes were thrown at us. So we had to put an end to them (the growlers, not the employees). If we find a superior, convenient filling option, and stumble upon lots of storage space, perhaps we’ll reintroduce them one day.

The amazing design team at Doublenaut! We cannot say enough great things about these talented guys. In the retail store we sell posters, sweatshirts, tees, and patches with their designs.

We do! Reservations can be made here. Reservations are available for our dining room only and therefore not pet-friendly (although well-behaved dogs are welcome on our patio!). We do not accept reservations for our patio, however if a table is available upon arrival we would be more than happy to seat you outside.

For large group dining, semi-private, or fully private events, contact our events coordinator at events@bellwoodsbrewery.com. We can accommodate groups of up to 100 people in our newly renovated bar and dining hall, upper mezzanine or harvest table.

No worries, we’ve got you covered! We offer a fantastic selection of bottled wine and ciders.

Yes! In addition to beer we offer cider, wine, and non-alcoholic options. A full list is available on our menu.

Brett is a family of wild yeasts that can produce a range of flavours and aromas – but it doesn’t make beer sour. In our experience, both brewing with and tasting Brett beers, we feel it's more accurate to say that Brett produces funky, (sometimes) mildly tart — but definitely not sour flavours. Something to take into consideration is whether or not the Brett was used in primary fermentation or not. When used in primary (meaning it's the first yeast the wort meets) as in our Brettal Head, it contributes soft fruity flavours, with no real detectable funk. Brett funk generally emerges during conditioning and aging, after primary fermentation. In barrel-aging beers with Brett, we seek to produce notes of leather, barnyard, cherry pie, fruity esters, and/or organic acids. Together, or in unique combinations, these qualities contribute to a complex and delicious beer. As you can see, this is a big can of worms to open. If you want to read more on the topic, this response from Chad Yakobson (of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project and The Brett Project respectively) is a great guide.

In addition, the book Wild Brews is a fantastic resource.

Feel free to email us if you have more questions.

We do! Our sour beers utilize the pH dropping prowess of various bacterial strains (lactobacillus, pediococcus, and others). One complicating factor is that you might try a sour beer of ours, that also has Brett in it. Rest assured the sourness comes from the bacteria, the funkiness and layered flavours from the Brett. Certainly though, Brett and bacteria as a team can create highly delicious beers.

This is an excellent question, I'm glad you asked! The use of barrels in aging beer facilitates three main objectives:

1. They can impart flavours of wood and the custom toasts applied to each barrel. These sorts of flavour/aroma characteristics can include: vanilla, marshmallow, oak, coconut, and caramel.

2. They can impart flavours from the previous spirit housed in the barrel. Red wine barrels impart tannic, tart flavours, Cognac barrels impart boozy whiskey-like flavours, etc. But of course, 'old use' oak barrels have been emptied and filled enough times that they no longer impart flavours of their former spirit.

3. The porous nature of the wood can house (good/desirable) bacteria and wild yeast, allowing for long-term souring and the creation of delicate esters. In essence, the wood is a perfect environment for the wild bugs. This case specifically explains why sour or Brett-heavy beers aren't 'barrel bombs.' 

Sometimes the goal is to capitalize on only one of these objectives, other times we make a beer that utilizes a combination of these barrel-aided flavours.

As a general rule, you don't want to cellar any of our hoppy beers, as they're meant to be enjoyed as fresh as possible (AFAP!). That also means that if you buy a Witchshark for a buddy of yours who lives in New York, and it takes you 8 months to reconnect with said buddy, it's highly likely that your double IPA won't put the same skip in your step as you once remember it doing.

Hops are sensitive things, and they just don't age well. Beers that are great for cellaring would be any of our bottle conditioned releases. These beers are carbonated naturally in the bottle (with the addition of champagne yeast and a bit of sugar for that hungry yeast to snack on), and grow more complex with age (just like us, we hope). You might even want to sit on a bottle of Grandma’s Boy or Motley Cru, and then try it in a vertical tasting with next year's release. A lot of these bottle conditioned beers contain Brettanomyces, which continues to perform magic as it ages, adding layers of complex flavour. When it comes to temperature, the general guideline is cooler than room temp but warmer than a fridge.

No worries, ever heard of poppin' bottles? Of course you have. Well, the principle is similar. These beers are conditioned in the bottle with champagne yeast (and sometimes Brett as well), and can therefore attain champagne levels of pressure. That's a lot going on in one 500ml bottle. Treat them like the delicate flowers that they are — don't agitate them, don't store them on their side, and cool them for a good 12 hours before serving. Gushing is most likely to happen if you carried the bottle home in a backpack, open it warm, or store it on its side. People underestimate us when we recommend 12 hours of upright refrigeration, but we’re not joking. Or course, if you followed all the guidelines and still have issues, get in touch and we’re happy to solve the problem.

You sure can. Each month we send out a super informative newsletter with bad jokes, decent pictures, and the very first hints about beer releases, events, and brewery anecdotes. Often times we veer off topic into nonsensical meanderings on construction-related insomnia, inappropriate music choices in a brewery (Shaggy, Nickelback, and whoever sings “Who Let The Dogs Out” are banned, even for comedic value), or fugitive zoo animals set loose in the city. We also send out a weekly retail store availability email, detailing any new additions to the only shop. Sign up here.