Batch

I've attempted to get into Batch at least twice previously: 1900 on Thursday definitely requires a reservation. But apparently if you come at 1300 on Saturday it's very easy to get in - the place was about 1/4 full.

Flights are $15 for four, but they're 7oz - so that's 28oz of beer, a little short of two pints. Fairly expensive as flights go, but they're giving you plenty to sample. The only food I had was a scotch egg (good), so I can't say much about the food.

Here's what I tried:

  • Munich Dunkel ("Cocoa, hazelnut and light finish"): fairly dark, quite mild.
  • Canadian Brown Ale ("Smooth toffee, walnuts and malt sweetness"): sweet up front, definitely a hops bite in the middle of the taste.
  • Black Lager ("New Zealand hops, espresso, dark fruit, rye bread"): I'm getting the notes of coffee, but no bitterness - and hardly any hops bitterness (certainly less than the Brown Ale), I sort of get the "dark fruit." I like this one.
  • Imperial Porter (too new to be on menu so no description from them) - classic chocolate and coffee notes, and despite the "Imperial" tag the alcohol content seemed mild (turned out to be 8.6%, higher than I thought). Not bad but not a favourite either.

The space is huge: two large rooms upstairs, a large party room downstairs, and of course the vats that go through both floors. They had TVs all over the place in the biggest room, all showing sports ... at zero volume. I don't know if that's the same in the evening, but that would definitely be my preferred volume.

The general manager Nate was making the rounds, checking in with all the patrons - so I quizzed him about the ownership. I knew Batch was owned by Creemore, but apparently Creemore has a parent company called "Six Pints" which is now owned by Molson. Nate was quick to say "Creemore is still a small town company and has changed NOT AT ALL."

They have a bottle shop at the front door - as I recall, their beers are around $7 for ~500ml, fairly expensive. But the selection is reasonably good.

photo: The bar (and its TV's) at Batch

a bar with multiple TVs behind it and fancy beer-dispensing taps

photo: My flight, and the menu (sorry, not really meant to be read)

a flight of four beers and an difficult-to-read beer menu