Ides 20: Toronto Coffee House

Right around the time Robert Henderson was brewing his first beer, a man named William Cooper opened Toronto’s first coffee shop. Cooper was a real jack-of-all-trades who, among other things, was a preacher, teacher, auctioneer and, despite having no qualifications in the field, the town coroner (his coffee shop doubled as a morgue).

The Toronto Coffee House was the first business ever to use the word “Toronto” in its name when it set up shop opposite the St. Lawrence Market in December of 1801. Though it was called a ‘coffee house’, no one is really sure if it actually sold coffee. Gin, sure. Beer, definitely; but the term ‘coffee’ might have just been used as shorthand for a place to meet for conversation. To this day, there remains a place to gather for drinks and conversation across from the market.

To toast the 216th anniversary of Toronto’s first coffee shop, we present this Imperial Pale Ale with coffee. It’s big and bold, just like Bill Cooper. And whether it’s beer or coffee that gets your conversations going, this one’s got you covered.

A complex, high alcohol coffee-forward beer balanced by substantial New World hop character. Limited to 912 bottles