Top 10 Breweries in Ontario for 2025
The second of our two biggest and fave podcasts of the year, Cee and Nate sat down to celebrate Ontario craft beer in 2025. It's always super dope to reflect on the year that was - we talked about some of our favourite Ontario experiences, beers and taprooms. We also showed extra love via the awards, including Hidden Gem, Glassware, Community, Gone But Not Forgotten, and the coveted Best New Brewery. Just like 2024, we leveraged the points system - #1 gets 10 points, #2 gets 9 points, etc. We've enjoyed having a new Brewery of the Year for each Top 10 to date, and we're stoked to continue the run. We say it every year, but 2025 was the hardest batch of decisions to date - it's safe to say that Ontario craft beer has never been better. Let us know if there are breweries we need to check for in 2026. Cheers to Ontario beer! 🍺
Listen to the episode audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app, watch the full video below, or read on!
Third Moon Brewing
Milton
This one is likely going to be the biggest shock of the year. Third Moon has become a staple in Ontario and globally, in fact. They’ve perched blisteringly close to Brewery of the Year almost every year that we’ve been doing the Ontario Top 10, and this year they landed in at #10. Why, I hear you scream? Two main reasons. Firstly, I just didn’t have enough of their beers in 2025, definitely significantly less than I usually would. Secondly, as we pointed out on the podcast, we felt that Third Moon’s haze game wasn’t consistently up to their usual blow-your-face-off level. This is by no means shade or a dis or anything negative whatsoever - it could have just been the ones we got our hands on. And the ratings were still slapping for the most part, so it could be us. On the flipside, their barrel program is bonkers, their smoothies are the funnest, their crispies are getting better with each batch, and their Westies (shout out our 10th anni collab, Withered Corpose) are criminally underrated. Always will be one of our faves in the province.
FINE BALANCE Brewing
Kingston
The Quiet Underachievers of Ontario, Fine Balance still, to this day, don’t get the shine they deserve. They’re knocking out some of the finest crispies, haze, Sours and beyond in Ontario, they’re collaborating with some of the best breweries in the country, and they’re one of the most consistent out there. Personally, as with Third Moon, I just didn’t get enough of them in me in 2025, which sucks. It’s the worst part of all of this - you can only rank on what you drink, otherwise, this may as well just be the Top Rated Breweries on Untappd list. I’ve made it my goal to have significantly more FB brews in 2026, because these legends deserve to be way higher. I hope y’all got to try BOATS & Cream, our Triple IPA 10th anni collab!
Dune Hopper Brewing
West Lake
Yet another quiet achiever, Dune Hopper was our Best New Brewery of 2024, so I’m stoked to see them land themselves nicely in the Top 10 for 2025. Colin and Steph are absolute gems of humans, as is evident by the passionate drinkers in their cozy taproom who gush over them. Colin’s beers are just bonkers, and everything slaps. From their killer haze (my fave), their immaculate crispies, to their fun Seltzers, Stouts and Sours, they just can’t miss. Our 10th anniversary collab, a 6.5% haze bomb called Tramping, was a genuine banger, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before they become much more sought after. We’re telling everyone we meet to make sure they include a Dune Hopper stop in The County. Excited to see where they take it in 2026.
Slake Brewing
Picton
It’s a County party, clearly! Nick of Slake is such a legend - they’ve become a staple in PEC, both for the beers and their epic view (arguably the best of any brewery in the province). Slake are known for their delicate Lagers, crushable haze bombs (our 10th anni collab, Whoop Whoop, was insane) and killer farmhouse, and it feels like they’ve been experimenting and really ramping things up in 2025. They dropped some more Westies, their first couple of Double IPAs (which were awesome), they’ve collaborated with some of the best in Ontario and Quebec, and really seem to be slowly getting the respect they deserve. This all just makes me feel like a PEC trip rn.
All My Friends Beer Co.
Bloomfield
Oh come on - another PEC brewery on this list? BACK TO BACK TO BACK?! All My Friends have gone from strength to strength in 2025, arguably becoming the most consistent NEIPA brewery in the province, or at least in the Top 3. Rob’s beers have been lauded far and wide, with collabs coming in from around ON, QC and south of the border. In just a few short years, they’ve gone from frisky upstarts to haze killers that deserve to be mentioned with the best of them. They did more smoothies, Soda Sours and crispies in 2025, which I loved, and we did a little nail pull from a barrel last April, so I’m hoping to see a gang of BA goodness dropping in 2026. If you haven’t checked AMF out, you gotta do yourself a favour, mate.
BADLANDS Brewing Company
Caledon
The IPA Factory That Sometimes Makes Other Beers has had a super strong 2025, with their two major summer events - #SELECT and their anniversary - absolutely POPPIN’ on their Badio. Badlands have continued their run of impeccable, world-class haze, along with their underrated crispies and insane Stout program, and they’ve done a ton of fire collabs that keep their name in the glasses of the most intense of haze hunters. The most exciting thing about Badlands for 2026 (aside from the beers) is their insane campus being built as I type, with a full kitchen, mezzanine, and massive patio that will easily become an Ontario Tree House-type of destination brewery. That’s expected to be ready by the end of the year, and personally, I cannot wait. GOATED.
Tooth & Nail Brewing Company
Ottawa
Matt Tweedy is a brewing genius. Tooth & Nail turned 10 in 2025, and that means they’ve been knocking out world-class beer for over a decade now, with each batch seemingly getting better and better. Their crispies are out of this world (our 10th anni collab, BrewHead, might just be my fave beer of 2025, period), and I’ve been fortunate enough to keep my fridge stocked with T&N essentially all year. Their wide output of Lagers allows them to really mess around with so many different styles. Matt’s love of Belgian beers is evident in the quality of their drops, and their Oatmeal Stout is one of my faves in Canada. I just love everything they do; it’s a genuine pleasure to drink their stuff so often, and I’m mostly excited about finally getting down there for a meal and some pints in 2026.
Godspeed Brewery
Toronto
How does Bim live in Tokyo and run an internationally lauded brewery in Toronto? I don’t even know how the man does it, but Godspeed have gone from strength to strength, even without his physical presence. I’ve kept my fridge packed with his incredible Lagers in 2025 - they’ve gotta be some of the highest quality beers that you can just crush, it’s such a treat. My newest fave from Godspeed is their iced teas - I’ve just recently bought two cases of the stuff, and it’s become something I’m loving way more than I imagined I would (I’ve never been an iced tea kinda guy, but now I am). I can’t say enough about the man, the beers and the brewery - if you’re ever in Toronto, you absolutely have to get down. Now that WVRST is doing the food (German-style), it’s the perfect pairing for their incredible Czech Lagers (not to mention the only place in the world outside of Czechia that has Pilsner Urquell-made pitch-lined barrels). Best of the best.
Counterpart Brewing
Niagara Falls
Last year’s Brewery of the Year continued to dominate in 2025. So much so, that it was incredibly difficult not to just hand them the crown once again. I’d say that Counterpart would have been my most visited brewery in 2025 - while they’re around 50 minutes drive each way for me, it’s worth it every time. The food program in both the taproom and their next-door sister location, Counterpie, is god tier. Some of the best you’ll ever have at a brewery. But the beer - oh the goddamned beer, it’s just glorious. Their haze has gotta be some of the best in the country, their Lagers are insanely underrated, I’m loving their smoothies, and their barrel program - 🤌. I mean, come on - I can confidently claim that no other brewery in Canada can touch their stuff as far as their BA Stouts and Barleywines. Probably the only beers I scramble for these days are any bottles that CP drop. They cannot miss. Please get some in ya if you haven’t already. Tell Greg we sent ya.
True History Brewing, 2025 BAOS Podcast Brewery of the Year
Toronto
True History has gone from Best New Brewery, to landing in the Top 10, to now Brewery of the Year, all in the last three years! Matt and Adam have truly created something special in Toronto’s West End, with their dedication to the Lore of the Crispy being something to behold. Their German-style pub features bar seating and shared tables, their double banger row of LUKR taps is something that would make the hardest beer nerd melt (pause), and the food - good lord, the food. Beisl, their in-house Austrian-style restaurant, is beyond words. I’ve been to TH three times now, and every time I go, I take someone new specifically to try the devilled eggs. Then we get more food, and it’s just as good, if not better. Then you sip the beer, and you cry. It’s just insanity. I’ve never even had a beer that’s less than a 4.5 on Untappd (IMO) from these mad dogs. I can’t say enough - what they’ve achieved in the short time they’ve been in business is crazy, and they should be incredibly proud of the space they’ve built. Congrats, boys! Can’t wait to come by for a celebratory brewski. Cheers!
Honourable mentions
As with last year, there are so many impeccable Ontario breweries that we had to bring back a few bonus categories so we can shout out some folks over and above the Top 10.
The Hidden Gem / Best Discovery Award
Cold Bear Brewing Company - Arnprior, ON
Quayle’s Brewery - Oro-Medonte, ON
Community Award
Bickford Brewing Company - Toronto, ON
Glassware Award
Zenan Glassware - Toronto, ON
Gone But Not Forgotten
Fogorig Brewing - Campbellford, ON
Saulter Street Brewery - Toronto, ON
Brock Street Brewing - Whitby, ON
Northern Maverick Brewing - Toronto, ON
Hometown Brew Co. - St. Williams, ON
Beaches Brewing Company - Toronto, ON
Mill Street Production Facility - North York, ON
Goose Island Brewhouse - Toronto, ON
Indie Alehouse - Toronto, ON (Junction location only)
Top Five Ontario Podcasts of 2024
For the third year in a row, we’ve put together five of our favourite episodes of the year - and for 2025, it’s a blog exclusive. These are episodes that we felt would be a great introduction to the pod for those new to us, and for our amazing listeners and viewers, they serve as a reminder to check them out in case you missed them.
Business of Beer Episode 17: Mergers & Acquisitions with Sam Corbeil (Sawdust City) + Aaron Spinney (MERIT Brewing)
Business of Beer Episode 16: Wish You Were Beer with Kevin Hurturbise (Orléans Craft Beer Festival) + Jamie White (Broadhead Brewery)
Episode 210: Tableside Romance with Owen Roth of Passage Brewery
Episode 200: It Was SpecTAPular! 10 Years of BAOS
Business of Beer Episode 8: Trust The Fridge with Chris Redmond (Durand Bar & Bottle Shop) + Marc Lecompte (Sidewalk Beer Shop)