Toronto brewpub known for its holiday-themed bar shuts down after 8 years

A Toronto brewery and brewpub that was open for nearly a decade has quietly shut down, and people are sharing their theories about it online.

Ever since opening its doors in 2016, College Street's Folly Brewpub not only gained a name as a local watering hole, but as a place to go to celebrate the holidays for their annual Christmas-themed Jolly Brewpub.

Folly also gained a reputation for their seasonal brews and funky, creative creations, winning over many craft beer fans in the city.

While the craft brewing scene in Toronto continues to thrive, though, it appears as though Folly's heyday is behind it, as their brewpub, where you could pair their pint with a selection of tavern staples, have closed its doors for good.

If you weren't aware that the brewery shut down, there's good reason for that — they did so with little fanfare or formal announcements, ceasing operations entirely in the early spring of 2024.

While the brewery did not return blogTO's request for comment on the closure, a small contingent of local brewing fanatics took to Reddit when news broke of Folly's impending closure to espouse their own theories on the reasons behind the closure.

A strong consensus among contributors to the post suggests that they believe Folly's quality had been in decline for some time, with ownership of the brewery changing hands a number of times over the years.

According to the brew sleuths in the post, the boundary-breaking, creative beers the brewery made its name on were the calling card of Folly's original brewing team, who have since dispersed to other ventures across Canada, like Burdock and Newfoundland's Landwash Brewery.

Whatever the reason behind Folly's unceremonious departure from the Toronto landscape really is, any fallen soldier on the food and drink scene is a disappointing tale indeed.

On the bright side, though, Toronto continues to produce scores of micro- and craft breweries that are pumping out innovative and, most importantly, tasty brews.

Folly Brewpub was located at 928 College Street.