When last I considered Duggan’s Brewery in Toronto, it was in a different area and the context was markedly different. It was something of a valediction. That post, entitled, “So What Can We Learn From Duggan’s” was written nearly four years ago. In the interim period, Duggan’s #9 IPA and #5 Sorachi Lager have continued to be brewed at Cool in Etobicoke. Along with Brad Clifford, Mike Duggan has founded the Ontario Beer Company, which focuses on creating beer with ingredients from within Ontario. If the “100 Mile” brand isn’t completely factually accurate, it can be forgiven because it works towards that goal.

The 75 Victoria Street property is a barn. It had been Growlers before it was Duggan’s. Most recently it had been MolsonCoors Six Pints Beer Academy, which is currently under renovation to become a Creemore Brewpub. It’s a gigantic space and the majority of the problems that have cropped up stem from that fact. Even MolsonCoors, with all their capital didn’t get it right the first time. Basement renovations Toronto company “Tile-on” have done a great job at keeping the integrity intact.

At its nadir, Duggan’s Brewery had significant problems. They had trouble keeping up with demand on their most popular beers (sometimes the lagers didn’t have an optimal amount of conditioning time) and while the place was fairly busy, the cavernous space made it look less full. The walls were bare, and I once joked that it was like a sensory deprivation chamber. Events held in the downstairs area felt a little like a grade seven dance; to add verisimilitude all that would have been needed was crepe paper and REM’s Everybody Hurts. The complete lack of social media presence hurt them during a period that should have seen them boom.

That’s not to say that the place didn’t have its strong points. The beers on tap were of a consistently high quality.

Flash forward to February 2015, and it’s clear that Duggan’s new location at the corner of Queen and Brock has managed to fix the majority of the problems from the old location. For one thing, the size is a great deal more reasonable than the old location. It might seat 100 when full up. The menu, rather than including oysters and pizza in addition to a number of other options, has been pared down to a handful of more interesting apps and entrees. The ambiance is probably more Liberty Village than Parkdale, but the soft industrial feel of exposed girders and bulbs is cushioned texturally by wood plank treatments and broad tiles behind the bar.

The operation makes more sense here than it did at the other location. Much of downtown is closed for business after 7:00 PM and a brewpub was hard to fill. At Queen and Brock, the audience is captive. “People will come in around 7:00 and camp out all night.” While I sat making notes on the beers, a number of young couples took up residence at booths and tables opting for the full tasting flight of beers. Duggan himself isn’t sure of the demographic. “We’ll get maybe a third hipsters. We’ll get three generations of a family with babies.”

The lineup speaks to the amount of time Mike Duggan has spent brewing both in Toronto and internationally. There’s a disparate thought process at work that bespeaks a larger experience of the world and an understanding of a larger audience; that maybe people just want a refreshing drink. He may be the only brewer in Canada who can ask himself, “would this work in Cuba?” As we talk, it’s revealed that the basement is jammed with fermenters full of ideas he’s looking forward to playing with. There’s a nitrogenated Cream Ale in the works and that least trendy of animals, a Maibock. It’s something for everyone from a journeyman who’s not done by a long shot. By the time the new location is fully operation, he intends for there to be 12 taps at any given time.

The beers that are available to taste when I’m there make up the basic lineup. The 100 Mile Lager has a distinct soapiness to its aroma, but the citrus from the Ontario grown Hallertau hops shines through in the middle of the palate. The 100 Mile Ale is much as I remember it from the week it launched. Pine and orange. Toasted grain with a nutty character. Revisiting the #9 IPA for what might be the first time in two years, I’m pleased by the substantial crystal malt, brown bread and straightforward Cascade pine. I’m pleasantly surprised by the #46 Parkdale Bomber and we joke that if you’re going to sell a Malt Liquor it’s practically worth selling paper bags out of the brewery store. The #13 Hefeweizen leans towards Kristallweizen clarity and banana character, making it reminiscent of Erdinger’s Hefe. The #7 Stout is possibly the best beer on offer from an objective standpoint. It’s a full bodied number and the roast comes through without acridity. There’s a chocolate-y tootsie roll tone playing in the distance.

Even with some congestion, I can tell there’s something wrong with the #5 Sorachi Lager. It’s got a more than a hint of brackish standing water. What Duggan does is revealing. Rather than getting the bartender or another member of staff to deal with the problem, he walks over to the bar to scope out the situation. Five or ten minutes pass and I busy myself making tasting notes while he hooks up a new keg and pours pitcher after pitcher of foam to get the beer to where it is supposed to be. Tipping the pitcher into the drip tray, he has the air of a man who would be fine if everyone would just leave him alone to get on with it. It’s the kind of precision I like in a brewer. I’m rewarded for the wait by a quaffable lager with that earthy sorachi dill-herb character at its core.

Duggan’s new brewery fixes nearly all of the problems that were hallmarks of the previous location. Walking out, I’m struck by how well it fits into a rapidly gentrifying Parkdale. There’s a lot of promise here and there’s the potential for the brewery to grow into the bones of its new home in way that it never would have been able to on Victoria street. I find myself cheering the possibilities.