Radical Road Brewing Company
Shared experience…
I was welcomed into the very homely and comfortable Radical Road Brewing Company by Andrew Machete, their operations manager. We shared a table bottle of Radical Road’s “Three Kings” saison (which is an incredible brew, I must say) as we sat at a table near the back to chat. “Craft beer lifestyle is becoming pop culture,” Andrew told me. “It’s starting to have this ‘Have you tried this beer yet?’ doucheeness to it, but it is a very down to earth culture as well.
“It’s really about a shared experience between the brewers and the public. It’s a social experience that brings people together.”
Opening in October of 2016 at the base of Jones Ave on Queen St East in Leslieville, Radical Road Brewing Company has indeed been brewing its own social experience with their community. (See the full Radical Road photo gallery here.)
…with the community
Leslieville, like Riverside, it’s neighbour to the west, is going through a revitalization. Local breweries like Radical Road Brewing Company, along with Black Lab Brewing and Rorschach Brewing Company, all play a significant role in developing the neighbourhood. The social experience that Andrew speaks about is precisely the sort of bridge that joins communities and establishes growth within them.
When I speak of “revitalization,” the moment that spurred this (I theorize myself here) may have been April 4, 2007. It was on this day when the largest Hells Angels clubhouse in the country – on Eastern Ave, on the south-west end of the Leslieville area – was raided.
With the notorious biker gang kicked out of the neighbourhood, this provided an opportunity for the community to start redefining its identity. The addition of large, “Hollywood North” film studios just south of the area around the same time, also played its role, I believe, bringing an influx of capital into the local economy.
These ‘big’ moments though merely set the stage for small, local businesses to do what they do best: bring the community together.
Radical Road Brewing Company’s Community
Radical Road Brewing Company has become apart of their community quickly. Partnering with Culture Athletics next door to them, Radical Road hosts their Wednesday night running club for their social gathering at the end of every run. They’re are also involved in the sports apparel shop’s “Brews Cruise,” a brewery tour that makes Radical Road a regular stop.
Descendant Pizza, a Detroit-style pizza restaurant across the street, not only sells Radical Road beer, but also utilizes the brewery as a sort of waiting room for the busy pizza joint that often has lineups out the door.
Andrew’s own friends, Matt and Spencer, operate the Bespoke Butchers, a butcher shop just down the road from the brewery. They deal in locally-sourced meats, and include sausages that they make with beer, including some of Radical Road’s own brews.
Radical Road Brewing Company’s Beer Community
Radical Road Brewing Company joins Eastbound Brewing Company (read my blog post on Eastbound here) and eight other east-end breweries as part of the Toronto East Brewery Collective (TEBC). The TEBC is a group of breweries from the east side of Toronto that work together to produce craft beer events. Having their own beer community provides the sort of support for those involved that allow them to produce events that they would otherwise not be able to accomplish on their own. It’s strength in numbers.
The Leslieville Beer Festival, hosted by neighbouring cafe and bar, Dundas and Carlaw, brings many of those breweries and others, along with local businesses, together every August to celebrate the craft beer culture now inherent to the neighbourhood.
Radical Road is also keen to use as many local ingredients in their recipes as possible. They source malts from BSG Craft Brewing in Guelph or from Barn Owl in Belleville. Their hops come from all over the world, obviously, but they often try to source hops from Pleasant Valley in Prince Edward County. As Andrew was clear to tell me, “If we can go local, we always do.”
The Radical Road Brewing Company Family
Radical Road Brewing Company is owned by a number of partners that all play their own unique roles. Julian Holland works the marketing and sales side of the business, while also running his own beer import company, Craft Brand Company. Simon Da Costa and John Hood are the brewmasters. All three play hand-on roles at the brewpub.
I had a chance to catch Lily Stiles, a bartender, and Jon Bratt, a “I work any position” sort of member of the Radical Road team, when I visited, and had some fun hearing about their own pairing ideas.
Lily served up a couple of obvious, yet clearly perfect pairings for her favourite Radical Road brew, the “Three Kings” hibiscus saison. A “cheery holiday beer” gets a cheery, Christmas movie in Will Farrel’s “Elf,” and there isn’t a more suitable attire than an ugly Christmas sweater to wear while watching the film. That’s a spot-on excellent evening without a doubt, Lily: it’s as fun as that beer tastes.
Jon provided more of a story when he claimed that “Beer®” was his favourite Radical Road brew. The light-bodied, crisp flavour of the beer, Jon claimed, alluded to the lightness he has on his feet: “I’d pair that with tights, because I have dancer’s legs.” His story continued, stating that he would enjoy Beer® best in St. Thomas because “it’s safer than the water there.”
I liked Jon’s answer when I asked him about what “craft beer lifestyle” meant to him: “I didn’t choose the craft beer life, it chose me.” Not exactly a proper answer to my question, but boy did he get lucky to get picked with that life…
Getting variety on the ground
Of course, I had a more extended discussion with Andrew. He did, first though, provide a fantastic pairing with his favourite Radical Road brew, the “Yuzu Pale Ale.” Andrew suggested pairing it with Wes Anderson’s “Grand Budapest Hotel,” because the quirky movie complements the quirky pale ale. Both are refreshing changes from the usual, in other words.
He provided further insight into how the “social experience” of craft beer lifestyle is something that is born out of the motivation behind being a craft beer drinker. As Andrew said, “Craft beer lifestyle is a lifestyle with variety; of trying new things; and of getting it on the ground.”
The craft beer drinker is typically someone who likes to experiment with tastes and flavour. The way to do this best, of course, is to be “on the ground,” speaking to other craft beer drinkers and to brewery staff and brewers. That’s where you’ll be pointed in the right direction. That’s where you’ll find new tips.
And that’s what encourages discourse and social engagement. The craft beer experience is one that is a “shared experience:” everyone’s a friend when you drink craft beer.
Andrew proved to be a very good friend to me on my visit. While we shared an experience with a bottle of Three Kings, Andrew also set me up with a few other offerings he wanted me to sample. And I wasn’t going to stop with a mere sample: I wanted to have some fun using them for my own pairings as well.
Pairingwith… Radical Road Brewing Company’s “Beer®“
The “Beer®” from Radical Road Brewing Company is a crisp pale lager made to be drunk for any occasion, and is good for any palette. The offering is one that Radical Road makes available year round.
The easy-going, typical flavour profile of Beer® is an excellent pairing with a game of poker. The malt-forward, sweet bread taste and medium-carbonated beer is the sort of familiar beverage one needs while concentrating on figuring out what your opponents have – especially in a situation where you have top pair with the ace kicker and there’s been a raise and then a re-raise in front of you.
Trying to think through what those at the table have been doing in the previous hands to determine whether or not they’re really as strong as their betting suggests here is the exact type of moment that one needs a Beer® for.
The advantage of the pairing is contrast: the comfort of the clean taste is the exact sort of non-distraction one needs while focusing on the nuances of the game in front of you.
And whether you win big or lose hard, tell me the first thing one wants to do after the game isn’t going to be to ‘crush a Beer®‘?!
Yes, as the side of the can says, “Sometimes, you just want a beer.” This situation is certainly one of those times: take a gulp; go all in.
Texas Hold ‘Em Poker
“Texas hold ’em” poker is a version of poker that is developed in Robstown, Texas, in the early Twentieth Century. It arrives approximately one hundred years after the birth of poker itself.
I’m familiar with Texas hold ’em because of the sudden boom of the game that occurred through the 2000s. During that boom, the NHL lockout of 2004-05 took place, which I consider as lending an assist to my affinity for poker. Without hockey for me to watch, I had more time for other games.
Really though, I’m sure I would have fallen in love with the game without the NHL lockout. I was, to be sure, already interested in poker before then. It is an incredibly intelligent and engaging game that takes unbelievable focus. While luck is involved, success is often skill-driven.
Of course, anyone can beat the best; that’s possible. Yet, the best is highly likely to take all of your money if you are only good enough to win because of luck. The game itself can be a rollercoaster. Or a rowboat. It’s utterly amazing when you win, and devastating to lose. And all of this is of course a good thing. Unless you can’t afford to lose.
I’ve been to the casino twice this year, only to play poker. I left up a relatively significant amount on the first visit, and left down by not quite the same amount on the second. So I’m pretty much even, which is boring… How I got there though is the fun story – and, unfortunately, also another blog.
Pairingwith… Radical Road Brewing Company’s “Yuzu Pale Ale”
The “Yuzu Pale Ale” is an easy-going, calming, citrusy pale ale that is a quite quaffable affair. It’s Radical Road’s flagship beer, and is of course available year round.
It’s also a comfortable pairing with JMB Products‘ “Peppermint-Lavender Coconut Foot Scrub.” The light-bodied, lightly carbonated beer is refreshing like the soap scrub brings softness back to one’s worn feet. The way the soap gently scrubs one’s skin is like the way the tiny bubbles of the beer play out in one’s mouth: like a gentle waltz.
Sipping on the pale ale certainly provides a sensation that complements having one’s foot rejuvenated. The peppermint and lavender of the soap breathes a spring-like life back into skin in a way that reminds one of how their tastebuds are tickled with grapefruit, lemon and orange flavours while drinking the Radical Road flagship.
The nose on both, moreover, work to reinforce each item’s push towards relaxation. And indeed, the mild-bitter finish of the beer lingers long enough to encourage more sips in a way that works just as the luxury skincare product seduces you into a longer soak of your feet.
With the luxury brand made for home-use, JMB Products bring a sense of calming comfort that is a perfect partner to enjoying the calming and comfortable Yuzu Pale Ale – especially on a cold winter day like today.
Stay inside with these two, and make your day feel like spring and sunshine a few months early.
JMB Products
Jacquelyn Ferreira is passionate about two particular things: bath products and baking.
Her passion for bath products developed when she got her first job as a teenager. She worked at her cousin’s soap shop, Soap Scope, in downtown Toronto, where she learned all things soap. “I loved that shop, it was colourful and smelled amazing! As a teen, I thought I had the coolest job.”
Jacquie built on that passion as she matured into an adult, expanding her interest from soap into an interest in salts, scrubs, soaks and all things bath. And, perhaps most significantly, she was interested in producing those products using only natural, organic ingredients.
Fast forward to the summer of 2018 where she is working full-time during the day, while working at night to produce her bath products. Jacquie (or “Jaxx,” as her friends call her) then knew how to brand her products: Jaxx Midnight Bath (JMB) Products was born.
Making luxury bath products that are good for your skin, chemical free and organic was important to Jacquie, but so was creating these products for home use. Given her own busy schedule of working during the day only to head home for additional work at night, she wanted to create products that were conducive for downtime at one’s home for the hectic life that many people live. JMB Products, therefore, intends to bring that relaxing and reinvigorating spa feeling to people’s homes.
Jacquie needs some of her own medicine: following her other passion, she also started The Baker’s Bar, a baking company than specializes in baking products made with Ontario craft beer, cider, wine and spirits – also producing these at night!
While her website, JMBProducts.ca, is still in development, you can find her products on Etsy here, or connect with her on Instagram or Facebook – and keep your eye open for JMB Products local pop-ups as well.
Pairingwith… Radical Road Brewing Company’s “Three Kings” Hibiscus Saison
I couldn’t resist ordering pretzels when I visited Radical Road Brewing Company. I’ve had them there before, and they are one hundred percent awesome. Pretzels and beer are a natural pairing, of course, but I wanted to twist this notion a tad by pairing beer, not simply with pretzels, but with pretzels dipped in beer-style inspired mustards.
The “Three Kings” hibiscus saison is a fruity and subtly spicy seasonal offering from Radical Road that is perfectly positioned for its release during the Christmas season. It comes in a 750ml bottle that is really not a large enough conduit for this excellent beer. Purchase as many as possible when it’s available, in other words.
It’s an excellent pairing with Brü Mustard mustards. With the flavours, “Belgian Abbey Ale,” “German Rauchbier” and “Irish Stout,” these mustards were going to elevate my beer and pretzel experience to a whole new level, I was sure.
And I wasn’t wrong.
Starting with the Belgian Abbey Ale flavour, the mild citrus and coriander of the mustard paid complement to the fine orange, berry and coriander featured in Three Kings.
The more intense German Rauchbier flavour, on the other hand, was cut and cleaned by the delightfully light and Christmasy saison. The cranberry, hibiscus and floral flavours of the beer provided a wonderful tartness that refreshed my palette after the strong, thick smokiness of the mustard enhanced the saltiness of the pretzel.
Finally, the Irish Stout mustard, tinged with coffee and muted chocolate flavours, worked to contrast much of the flavours of Three Kings. The light grassiness and strong hibiscus flavours of the beer seemed to use the mustard as a trampoline in my mouth, bouncing on the creamy, yet peppery residue of the Irish Stout mustard on my tongue.
Beer and pretzels is one pairing, but the Three Kings hibiscus saison with pretzels and Brü Mustard flavours is a pairing worth celebrating. It isn’t Christmas anymore, but every sip, dip and bite is like receiving presents from a fat, bearded dude in a red suit, I tells ya.
Brü Mustard
Tonia Wilson is an accomplished chef, wine sommelier, beer sommelier, published author and mustard fanatic. She’s well-traveled, and gained much of her education and experience abroad, in Italy, France and Belgium.
Brü Mustard was born out of her passion for mustard and her beer knowledge. Tonia was invited to lead a beer tasting seminar for a women’s fitness retreat, and encouraged to bring a product to sell to the participants. Without a ready-made product of her own though, all she could think was, “What can I sell?! What’s relevant?! What do I love?!”
After some deliberation, the answer was suddenly obvious: “Mustard!”
Indeed, her love for mustard was the perfect fit. Knowing full-well that the competition for mustard was mostly “goopy,” unnatural products with a few generic beer-flavoured mustards, she was confident she could develop something much better and much more natural.
Her first experiments had her testing various hop varietals, but these turned out far too bitter. She quickly adjusted her approach, switching from an ingredient-based to a final flavour-based focus, attempting – and then succeeding – at creating flavours intent on mimicking classic beer styles. Brü Mustard was then born as all-natural, gluten-free, non-GMO mustards.
The women’s fitness retreat was her first test market, and the test was a huge success, with many of the attendees following up afterwards to find out how they could purchase more of Tonia’s mustards.
The first place to sell Brü Mustard was, appropriately, a brewery: Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke began carrying the product in 2018, and they use it to cook the main event during their Annual Pig Roast. House & Home magazine named the mustards a “Hot New Ingredient” not long thereafter. Today, the mustards can be found in fine food, cheese and butcher shops in southern Ontario, as well as on the Brü Mustard website.
Tonia remains busy, having recently published her first book, Beer At My Table, a beer pairing cookbook. She has written for LCBO Food & Drink magazine as a recipe contributor, and has been a beer writer for twelve years. All this, while now looking to expand the Brü Mustard project to other foods.
Oh – and “Brüno” is the name of the smiley face in the Brü Mustard logo. Obviously, beer-flavoured mustard makes people smile along with him: thanks, Brüno!
See you next week when I’m Pairingwith… Junction Craft Brewery!
Quick Links
- FULL RADICAL ROAD PHOTO GALLERY
- PAIRING PHOTOS OUTTAKES
- Radical Road Brewing Company’s WEBSITE
- JMB Products
- Texas hold ’em Wikipedia entry
- Brü Mustards
Leave a Reply