Ken started the brewery back in 1999 in Oakville, Ontario. We then headed east to Etobicoke in 2008 and have been at our current facility ever since. We really, really care about the beer that we produce. We are sticklers for quality and are extremely careful with the production of our beer. We use premium ingredients, traditional brewing processes and lots of hard work to create our award winning beers. We want to provide you with fresh, hand crafted, local beer that matches the best in the world. Not only are the majority of our ingredients Canadian, but we also strive to ensure that the materials used are environmentally friendly.more...See more text
Ask Ken Woods about the craft-brewing process behind Black Oak Brewery’s beer, and he’ll explain it this way: “It’s an art and a science.”
The science is evident in the massive, shiny steel tanks in the Etobicoke brewery. This 20-hectolitre brew house, which has a circular staircase in front and smells like freshly baked bread, is where the malting begins and the hops are added; 40-hectolitre Unitanks and Bright Beer Tanks are where the beer is fermented and aged until it’s ready to be bottled.
But the art comes from the creativity and care Ken and his team bring to their brews. “We use lots of natural ingredients in our beer, and try to source things as locally as possible,” he says. “Whereas say larger breweries ... are big huge manufacturers, they do make a very good product, but it just doesn’t have too much in terms of character and flavour. We’re more about the flavour behind the beer.”
West enders can make the short commute to this craft microbrewery just south of the Gardiner Expressway in Etobicoke. Famous for its Nut Brown Ale with the iconic Toronto squirrel on the can, as well as the weighed-down-by-awards Pale Ale, Black Oak has been in the game since the late 90s. Stop in to the bottle shop or tasting room for lesser-known numbers like the Triple Chocolate Cherry Stout (a wee strong at 5.8%) and the Nox Aeterna Breakfast Stout, brewed with organic coffee for a burst of invigorating flavour.