Toronto’s largest winter beer festival is returning next weekend
Published February 13, 2026 at 3:15 pm
Toronto’s largest outdoor winter beer festival is coming to one of the city’s most historic sites.
Steam Whistle Brewing — known for its Czech-style pilsner — has called the famous John Street Roundhouse home for the last few decades.
The roundhouse itself (built a century ago by Canadian Pacific Railway) sits perfectly in the shadow of the CN Tower and has become a main stop for those passing through downtown Toronto.
Next weekend, to help the city break through the final stretch of the cold season, the Roundhouse is launching its outdoor Winter Craft Beer Festival.
The event, which has become something of an annual occurrence, takes place on the roundhouse grounds and is overflowing with campfires, food vendors, and, of course, cold drinks.
While it’s hosted by one of the largest beer makers in town, it is, in truth, used as a platform to spotlight brewing masters from across the province; as this year alone, over 40 brewers, wineries, cideries and distillers will be showcasing the best of their respective casks and barrels.
View this post on Instagram
“There has always been this market of summer beer festivals, and we wanted to do something that is just about embracing this weather and saying, just go for it — have a beer in a blizzard,” T.K. Palermo, digital marketing and communications manager at Steam Whistle, told yourcitywithIN.com.
Even though Toronto is (thankfully) coming out of a month-long cold snap, dominated by snow and wind, the Winter Craft Beer Festival has always made it something of a tradition to lean into the ‘winter’ part, just as much as the ‘beer’ part of its title.
That’s why each year, it has become something of a tradition for guests to show up fully decked out in retro ski gear.
[Photo courtesy of Steam Whistle]
“It’s just bananas, I mean, last year, there was practically a blizzard, and there were still over 1,000 people just outside dancing. I mean, it’s just peak Canadiana, everybody is a few beers deep, I don’t know what else you could ask for,” says Palermo.
In terms of the talent at this year’s event, some heavy hitters include Blood Brothers Brewing, Casa Del Ray, Cave Springs Vinyard, Civil Pours, Founder’s Original, and many more.
“Just in leading this festival over the past couple of years, I feel like I have had the privilege of getting to meet so many amazing people in this industry,” says Palermo. “Beyond that, there is just a fleet of food trucks that are grilling burgers and handing out pretzels; there’s just all sorts of good stuff happening here.”
Palermo concluded that, beyond the fires, food and festivities, the event itself is equal parts a celebration of Ontario craftspeople, all while using the downtown core of Toronto as the perfect podium.
The Roundhouse Winter Craft Beer Festival is set to kick off next week, on Saturday, Feb.21, at the Steam Whistle Roundhouse grounds.
Tickets are available online.