November 22, 2024
On Friday November 22nd, 22 Applewood Probus craft beer enthusiasts gathered at Mascot Brewery in Etobicoke.
A good time was had by all. The Mascot’s restaurant is quite large, and we had one zone of it to ourselves, with “cosy” seating on one extremely long and another pretty big picnic table.
We first sampled “Paulies Italian Lager", then a seasonal beer called “Octoberfresh” before the food began to arrive. The Mascot surprised us with a little taste of their take on “Welsh Rarebit “ which was essentially melted beer cheese with chives on toast. The third beer we tried was “Belly Belgian”, a fruity and refreshing wheat beer.
Our prearranged food choices began to arrive at this point. They included a delicious beer bratwurst sausage drizzled with regular and a dollop of an excellent coarse ground mustard. To our surprise the sausages weren’t served in a bun, but came sliced on a plate for sharing. In addition, we were served Brussels sprouts which (thankfully) weren't like the ones our grandmothers used to prepare. These were tossed in a sweet gochhujang (?) sauce, topped with chili flakes, crispy onions and sesame seeds. Very well appreciated by almost everyone.
These food offerings were accompanied by the last two beers sampled. The first was "Beige Panther” a very dark lager featuring coffee and chocolate notes. The final sample was “Juicy J” a New England style IPA which presented the expected fruity hop flavours. All five beers were served very cold - perhaps a detriment to proper release of the distinctive flavour of each brew.
Surprise homemade oatmeal-chocolate chunk cookies provided everyone with a simple but tasty dessert. Finally, on their way out of the pub, each participant was invited to select one can of their favourite beer as a take-home bonus.
The Mascot presents itself as one of only two black owned breweries in Canada. They actively lean into that distinction.
Clicking on the link below goes to their web page which describes the owners’ vision in more detail.