Drinking at this tiny barn just outside Toronto is the ultimate fall day trip
Fun day trips don't have to end just because of crisper weather and shorter days, and in true Toronto-style we should have a few warm days left.
So, what better way to toast to the change of seasons than with a local beer? You could pick one up at your local shop, but visiting this tiny bottle shop housed in a shed with its own adjacent beer garden is way more awesome.
Located in Caledon, Badlands Brewing opened their bottle shed in spring of this year. It may only measure 10' by 10', but what it lacks in size it majorly makes up for in cuteness and character. The brewery specializes in hoppy craft beers like IPAs, DIPAs and saisons.
So, what made Badlands decide to sell beer out of such unconventional (and cramped) digs? "I have no idea how we came up with it," says Troy Baxter, owner and head brewer.
"We just kind of do stuff. We're entirely self-funded and we all still work full time jobs so honestly a lot of it is just creative ways of spending as little money as possible to make things work."
Bottles of their craft beer are retailed out of the shed to take home or enjoy in the beer garden on nice days, a collection of picnic tables with umbrellas for shade. Of course, pups are welcome.
But that's not all Badlands has in the works. They're currently constructing a production space in a retrofitted calf barn on the same site as the bottle shed, and are gutting a school bus to use as a tap room once the weather gets colder.
"We don't have an opening date for the bus yet, but essentially one day it will just be ready for one of our regular Saturdays 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The whole point of the bus honestly is to make an indoor-ish space for the colder weather ahead. January beer garden probably isn't the most comfortable experience," says Baxter.
"So the bottle shed and beer garden will be open year round. If people want to sit outside in the cold, they are definitely welcome to, but we will have the bus ready before it's freezing cold and we will be heating it to essentially make it our indoor space."
You can visit the bottle shed every Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. There are typically up to six beers on tap and up to eight options for bottles to go. In addition to beer, they also sell glassware and shirts, and accept debit, credit and cash.
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