TORONTO, ON – Henderson Brewing has announced details of the latest in its Ides Series of monthly limited edition beers, with this month’s release paying tribute to the first ever business to use “Toronto” in its name.
Ides of December: Toronto Coffee Shop (9.5% abv) was brewed in honour of an establishment of the same name that opened in December 1801 at the corner of Jarvis and King Streets near St. Lawrence Market.
Owned and operated by William Cooper – who was also the town coroner, hence the corpse and toe-tag on the label – the Toronto Coffee Shop was more of a tavern than a café, offering a selection of alcoholic beverages, light food, tobacco and groceries, as well as lodging.
Henderson’s Toronto Coffee Shop is an Imperial Pale Ale with Coffee described as “a complex, high alcohol coffee-forward beer balanced by substantial New World hop character.”
For more details, see the release announcement, as well as a history of the original Toronto Coffee House on blogTO.