Follow beer writer, Troy Burtch, as he explores the wonderful world of craft beer and the pubs that serve it. Great Canadian Beer is a place to come to catch up on beer news, read tasting notes, check out event listings, and for pub previews and reviews.

PLANNING AN EVENT? GOT A NEWS TIP? INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? SEND A MESSAGE TO troy (at)greatcanadianbeerblog(dot)com

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Garrison Imperial IPA Finally In Ontario

I can remember drinking this beer for the first time ever back in 2007. Some beers stick out in memory more than others when factors like - your experience consuming it, the flavours presented in it, the company your shared it with, etc., stand out.  The Garrison Imperial IPA (used to be called Imperial Pale Ale) is one of those beers for me. I even named it my favourite beer of 2007!

I remember getting the package in the mail from Halifax and I remember the release of that great hop aroma the minute I opened it (the beer, not the box). A few weeks later the beer won Beer of the Year at the 2007 Canadian Brewing Awards and former Garrison brewer, Greg Nash, drove from Halifax with a trunk full of cases, some of those had my name on them. We drank some at the location the CBAs were being held at, in the company of many brewing industry representatives, and the discussion between everyone, while drinking the beer, added to an already excellent night. (The beer was also named Beer of the Year at the 2008 CBAs)

But this isn't about me. Fast forward three years and a bit. Cass Enright of Bar Towel.com has become an agent for Garrison Brewing Co. in Ontario and it was with great pleasure that Enright could finally post the following message on his website (Bar Towel):

From Enright
As part of the LCBO’s Autumn Ales beer release, we are thrilled to say that Garrison Imperial I.P.A. from Halifax, Nova Scotia is rolling out to the shelves for purchase. The Bar Towel, through our partner Cecktor Limited, is the agent for Garrison in Ontario and has been documenting the experience of importing through the Free Our Beer project. You can find which LCBO stores currently have stock here.

It has been nearly a year in the works to get this beer to LCBO store shelves and we are very happy it is here. It is truly a fantastic beer, a two-time Canadian Beer of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards and one of the most regarded IPAs in Canada.

Garrison Imperial I.P.A. has started hitting the store shelves this week and will sell for $4.25 per 500 mL bottle. It is joined in this seasonal release by Orval Trappist Ale, Trafalgar Smoked Oatmeal Stout, Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier, Dieu du Ciel! Peche Mortel, Southern Tier Choklat, Belhaven Scottish Stout, Dark Star Espresso Stout, Cannery Brewing Blackberry Porter, Wychwood Wychcraft, Innis & Gunn Limited Edition Highland Cask, Lakes of Muskoka Harvest Ale and Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider. All of the beers should be hitting the store shelves now.

P.S. as mentioned above, and for full disclosure, The Bar Towel is behind the importing of this beer. And we can tell you from our dealings with the LCBO that if you want to see more Garrison in Ontario, please buy some. You can find after the break the complete list of LCBO stores that will be receiving Garrison IIPA (plus the other Autumn Ales releases).

*Congratulations, Cass!

Europe Bound For Two Weeks

The time has finally come for me to board a flight to Europe. Yes, I've never been to Europe before.

My wife and I are preparing for two packed weeks that we'll be spending in Amsterdam, Belgium, and Paris respectively.  We've got a bunch of things lined up that just happen to involve beer (fancy that!), including trips to Cantillon, Delirium, Cafe Gollem, t' Brugs Beertje, The Brewer's House, Heineken, and more.

What I'm really looking forward to is our visit to Het Anker in Mechelen. We will be staying at the hotel attached to the brewery, and it came to my attention yesterday that there will be a meeting taking place during my stay that involves the Association of Belgian Family Brewers! We'll also be going on an intimate brewery tour, which I'm sure will include sampling their terrific line-up of beers.

In Bruges we've managed to snag a room at Hotel Erasmus, which is well known for their tremendous food and large collection of Belgian beer. It's also nice and central to all the locations I hope to visit.

We leave tomorrow and won't be back until October 17th, so there won't be any new content on here during that time. Should I get a free moment, I may post some pictures during the trip. Maybe. I will schedule some old posts to appear sporadically during the two weeks.

Cheers,
Troy

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Street Fight At Mill Street Brewpub

I'm sure you've heard about this by now, but it's still worth mentioning here, and the event should definitely be worth the ticket price.

On Thursday evening, Mill Street Brewery will be going head to head in a beer vs. wine competition with 13th Street Winery from St. Catherine's down at the brewpub in the Distillery District.

Four courses paired with both Mill Street products and 13th Street products will be sampled and judged by a number of individuals from the industry, including Josh Rubin and myself on the beer side.

Peter Bodnar-Rod from 13th Street and Mill Street Brewmaster, Joel Manning, will introduce each course and comment on the wine/beer paired with it and discuss reasons why the particular pairing offered works. Judges will then sample and evaluate each course before trying to determine winners.

Mill Street Brewpub
55 Mill Street (Distillery District)
6:30pm - Tickets: $89
For tickets call - (416) 681-0338

Saturday, September 25, 2010

8th Annual Canadian Brewing Award Winners

I was too busy last night giving out the following awards and posting information on Twitter and our other sites (TAPS blog, Canadian Brewing Awards site) that I forgot to post the results from the 8th Annual CBAs here.  
It was a great night celebrated with good friends from across the country and great beer! Congratulations to all of the winners.
2010 Canadian Brewing Awards Winning Entries
North American Style Lager
Gold: Red Baron Premium Blonde Lager, Brick Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Laker Lager, Brick Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Molson Dry, Molson Canada
North American Style Premium Lager
Gold: Molson M, Molson Canada
Silver: Premium Lager, Muskoka Cottage Brewery (ON)
Bronze Island Lager, Vancouver Island Brewing (BC)
European Style Lager (Pilsner)
Gold: King Pilsner, King Brewery (ON)
Silver: Pilsner, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Okanagan Spring 1516, Okanagan Spring Brewery (BC)
North American Style Amber Lager
Gold: Red Leaf Lager, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Silver: Barking Squirrel, Hop City Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Clancy’s Amber Ale, Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
North American Style Dark Lager
Gold: Dark 266 Lager, Cameron’s Brewing (ON)
Silver: Waterloo Dark, Brick Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Hermann’s Dark Lager, Vancouver Island Brewery (BC)
Light (Calorie-Reduced) Lager
Gold: Brewhouse Light, Great Western Brewing Co. (SK)
Silver: Great Western Light, Great Western Brewing (SK)
Bronze: Moose Light, Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
Bock – Traditional German Style
Gold: Captivator Doppelbock, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Amsterdam Spring Bock, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Centurion, Le Saint-Bock (QC)
Kellerbier
Gold: Denison’s Dunkel, Denison’s Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Kellerbier, Les Trois Mousquetaires (QC)
Bronze: Bohemian Pilsner, R&B Brewing Co. (BC)
Porter
Gold: Coffee Porter, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Silver: Two Fisted Stout, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Nutcracker Porter, Black Oak Brewing Co. (ON)
Strong Porter (Baltic)
Gold: Porter Baltique, Les Trois Mousquetaires (QC)
Silver: Brewmaster’s Black Lager, Okanagan Spring Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Grand Baltic Porter, Garrison Brewing (NS)
Cream Ale
Gold: Sleeman Cream Ale, Sleeman Breweries
Silver: Cream Ale, Muskoka Cottage Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Cream Ale, Cameron’s Brewing Co. (ON)
Kolsch
Gold: Lug Tread Lagered Ale, Beau’s Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: High County Kolsch, Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Harvest Moon Organic Hemp Ale, Nelson Brewing Co. (BC)
North American Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold: Yukon Red Amber, Yukon Brewing Co. (YT)
Silver: Fire Chief’s Red Ale, Pump House Brewery (NB)
Bronze: Irish Red, Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)
North American Style Blonde/Golden Ale
Gold: Molson Export, Molson Canada
Silver: Red Cap, Brick Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Natural Blonde, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Brown Ale
Gold: County Ale, Wellington County Brewery (ON)
Silver: Naramata Nut Brown, The Cannery Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Stonehammer Dark Ale, F&M Brewery (ON)
Scotch Ale
Gold: Squire Scotch Ale, The Cannery Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Wee Angry Scotch Ale, Russell Brewing (BC)
Bronze: Scotch Ale, Pump House Brewery (NB)
English Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: KLB Pale Ale, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Red Devil Pale Ale, R&B Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Wisharts ESB, Clocktower Brewpub (ON)
North American Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: Canuck Pale Ale, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Silver: Hopyard, Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)
Bronze: Duggan’s #9, Duggan’s Brewery (ON)
Wheat Beer – Belgian Style White/Wit
Gold: Dominus Vobiscum Blanche, Microbrasserie Charlevoix (QC)
Silver: White Bark, Driftwood Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Paresseuse, Le Saint-Bock (QC)
Wheat Beer – German Style Hefeweizen
Gold: Hefeweizen, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Duggan’s #13 Weiss, Duggan’s Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Summer Wheat, Bushwakker Brewing Co. (SK)
Wheat Beer – North American Style
Gold: Sungod Wheat Ale, R&B Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Silver Wheat, Wellington County Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Dooryard Summer Ale, Picaroons Traditional Ales (NB)
Strong or Belgian Style Ale
Gold: La Fin Du Monde, Unibroue (QC)
Silver: Trois Pistoles, Unibroue (QC)
Bronze: Gros Mollet, Microbrasserie du Lac St-Jean
Barley Wine
Gold: Thor’s Hammer, Central City Brewery (BC)
Silver: St. Ambroise Vintage Ale, McAuslan Brewing (QC)
Bronze: Barley Wine, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Stout
Gold: Dark Star Oatmeal Stout, R&B Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Malediction, Le Saint-Bock (QC)
Bronze: Timber Hog Stout, Picaroons Traditional Ales (NB)
Imperial Stout
Gold: Black IPA, Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)
Silver: Russian Imperial Stout, McAuslan Brewing (QC)
Bronze: Imperial Russian Stout, Wellington County Brewery (ON)
English Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Nasty Habit IPA, Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Brockton IPA, Granville Island Brewing (BC)
Bronze: India Pale Ale, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
American Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Red Racer IPA, Central City Brewery (BC)
Silver: Hop Rock Candy Mountain IPA, Hart & Thistle Brewpub (NS)
Bronze: My Bitter Wife, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Imperial India Pale Ale
Gold: Red Racer Imperial, Central City Brewery (BC)
Silver: Cuda, Benelux brasserie artisanale et café (QC)
Bronze: Ten Bitter Years, Black Oak Brewing Co. (ON)
French and Belgian Style Saison
Gold: Farmhand Ale, Driftwood Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Saison, Black Oak Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Blonde de Chambly, Unibroue (QC)
Fruit & Vegetable
Gold: Coconut Porter, Swans Buckerfields (BC)
Silver: Quelque Chose, Unibroue (QC)
Bronze: Frambozen, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Special Honey/Maple Lager or Ale
Gold: Enigma, Le Saint-Bock (QC)
Silver: Holiday Honey, Old Credit Brewing (ON)
Bronze: Mackroken Flower Grande Reserve, Bilboquet Microbrasserie (QC)
Brewery of the Year – Central City Brewery (BC)
Beer of the Year – Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine, Central City Brewery (BC)

Friday, September 24, 2010

Toronto Beer Week - Day Five

Wow, this week is flying by. Many of the licensees I've spoken with over the last four days have been extremely happy with the turnout of their events, which is great news for us at Toronto Beer Week.

What are you going to get up to today/tonight?

C’est What
67 Front Street East
5:00 – 10:00 pm
22nd Annual Festival Of Craft Breweries, $1 per sample for most beers.

10:00 – 1:00 am
Indie Beats & Beer, Free admission
Adam Faux spins indie-centric tunes about beer and drinking.

The Monk’s Table
1276 Yonge Street - (416) 920-9074
7:00pm
The Luxuries of Life - Hosted by Toronto Star Beer Expert Josh Rubin
A Five Course Tasting Menu paired with the highest calibre European imports available

Bar Volo
587 Yonge Street
10:00pm
Collaboration Cask Night - 4 barVolo / Biergotter House Conditioned Casks will be released. @10:00pm w/ Les Trois Mousquetaires

Trevor Kitchen and Bar
38 Wellington Street East
4pm - Close
Beer and Food Pairings
All week long we'll be running a bar feature, an order of kobe beef burgers and a pint of Mill St. Tankhouse Ale or a Salt Cured Foie Gras Club Sandwich and a bottle of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA for $23.

Betty’s
240 King Street East
French Canadian Night – Blanche de Chambly and poutine tasting with a chance to win something big…

BQM
Ossington & Diner on Queen West
Burger and Beer Promotion – For the entire week, at both BQM locations, you can enjoy a Bacon and Blue Cheese Burger with a Blanche de Chambly for $10.

Bier Markt
600 King Street Wes & 58 The Esplanade
Big Bier & Ze Big Brat - $19 plus HST
Oktoberfest comes a little bit earlier - Enjoy a 10 inch Thüringer bratwurst with all ze trimmings (Bavarian bread dumplings, Weissbier kraut) paired to your choice of (22 oz) Erdinger Weissbier or (22 oz) Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier.

The Only Café
972 Danforth Avenue
A McAuslan Brewery Guided Tasting – Join Ian Starke of Montreal’s great McAuslan Brewery where you can sample their seasonal Pumpkin Ale: $10

Cloak & Dagger
394 College St
Finger Food Friday presented by Creemore Springs - Come indulge your hunger and thirst. Free food sampling
all day with purchase of any Creemore product. $12.00 Pitchers and $4.00 Pints. Prize Giveaways.

Spirits Bar & Grill
642 Church Street, 416 967-0001
6:30pm
Nightly sampling - Sample beers from Guelph’s Wellington Brewery

The Paddock
178 Bathurst Street
Discover Europe with McClelland Premium Imports - Learn about McClelland's European Portfolio and take a Blindfolded tasting of Affligem blonde, Fruli, Erdinger's Dunkel & Weissbiers, Delerium Tremens and Stiegl, in 8oz glasses, and Guess correctly to get a chance to win a grand prize package for only $21!

Tranzac Club
292 Brunswick Avenue
5pm
Cask Night at the TRANZAC - We will be tapping casks of cask conditioned real ale from Great Lakes Brewery - don't miss out! Check our calendar for concert listings.

Dakota Tavern
249 Ossington Avenue
6:00 - midnight
Steam Whistle Friday - Enjoy a crisp, refreshing Steam Whistle Pilsner along with a moist Ontario fish sandwich. Great value. Then, from 10:00pm to 2:00am, music from Bradleyboy with Tarantula, $7 cover.

beerbistro
18 King Street East
4:30 - 6:00pm
German Beer Tasting - Join Brewmaster Bill White for an informal sampling of Weihenstephan Hefeweiss and Dunkel. Come discover these unique German Wheat Beers from The World's Oldest Brewery.

Highway 61
1620 Bayview Ave
6 pm
Mystery Cask Unveiled - We will be finally unveiling a delicious Belgian Dubbel made at Great Lakes by their own John Bowden and Highway 61's, Matthew Clappison. In an attempt to gain favour with the Highway 61 staff we have left the naming of this cask entirely up to one lucky member, who will reveal the name at 6 pm sharp! Don't miss this one because it will never be made again!

Gladstone
1214 Queen St W
6:30pm- 9:30pm
Cask Tapping: Featuring Great Lakes Brewery Johnny Simcoe American Pale Ale tapped by GLB rep who will answer questions about the brewing process and cask beers ($6.00 a pint or pair with a Cheese Plate for $13.95, or 2 pints and Cheese Plate $23.95). Cheese Plate: Monforte Toscano (Stratford, Ontario); Baluchon, (Quebec); 4 year old White Cheddar (Ontario)

Smokeless Joe
125 John St
Railway City Double Dead Elephant Tapping

La Palette
492 Queen St W
Bar Brawl! - Try any three draughts in a flight (4 ounces each) and the chef will pair it with an amuse-bouche (a made-to-order snack) for $9. Also featuring a week-long beer inspired menu.

Bryden’s
2455 Bloor St W
Tower of Power - Double IPA Madness on tap! Featuring Great Lakes My Bitterer Wife, Black Oak 10 Bitter Years, and Flying Monkey’s Smashbomb IPA

Gladstone
1214 Queen St W
Beer Inspired Dinners: Featuring Muskoka Harvest Ale & Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
- Roasted Onion and Muskoka Harvest Ale soup $5.95
- Cheddar Cheese Rarebit savoury cheese toast served with apple-fennel slaw $9.95
- Mill Street Tankhouse Beef Carbonnade Belgian beef and beer stew served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and market fresh vegetables $14.95
- Chocolate Cream Ale mousse whipped cream $6.95.
- Paired with Mill Street Pints for $5.00

Parts & Labour
1566 Queen St. West.
Nightly food pairings with Duggan's Brewery #9 IPA. Also serving Duggan's Brewery #5 Lager

Allen's
143 Danforth Ave
Noon - $25
A Stand Up Lunch and Tasting with Robert Hughey - Noted beer writer, connoisseur and inner-city hop-grower, Robert will lead a tasting of four beers paired with specially-chosen selections from Allen’s menu.
Crispy Shrimp with Cayenne Aioli paired with Cheshire Valley ESB - Allen’s Manhattan Capon Wings with King Pilsner - Miniature Lamb Hamburger with MacLean’s Pale Ale - Chocolate Guinness Cake with Duggan’s Nº 8 Porter

Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave - Kensington Market
9 - 11pm - $20pp
Pale Ale Tasting & Comaprison – Lake of Bays Brewing Co. - Owner and Brew Master Darren Smith will host a tasting of his beer and explain the brewing process. In addition he will host a pale ale comparison with Black Oak Pale Ale, St. Ambroise Pale Ale and Highlander Brew Company's Pale Ale

Veritas
234 King St E
Lunch & Lounge
Beau’s and a Banquetburger - Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale Pint served with our Classic Banquet Tillsonburger with House Double Smoked Maple Bacon and Aged Cheddar $23

Pound and a Pint - Muskoka Cream Ale Pint served with a pound of our Chili Hot Wings $18

Dinner menu
3 course dinner $35 - with optional beer pairing $45*
Appetizer - St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale Battered Fish & Chips *with ½ pint of St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale
Main - Black Oak Nut Brown-Braised Water Buffalo on Garlic & Chive Spun Mashed Potatoes *with pint of Nut Brown
Dessert - Mill St. Coffee Porter Ice Cream with Shortbread Cookies *with bottle of Mill St. Coffee Porter

The Rhino
1249 Queen St W
7pm
Cost: $10.00 for CABA members, $20.00 for non-members, which includes one year membership to CABA.
Evening With the Brewery - Co-sponsored by the Canadian Amateur Brewer’s Association (CABA) & the Rhino. Meet Mitch LaGoy, brewer at the Rohrbach Brewing Company in Rochester, New York, as he takes us into fall with an Imperial Pumpkin Ale. The Rohrbach Brewing Company has been brewing award winning handcrafted ales and lagers in Rochester for over a decade that are served at over 100 “certified tap houses” throughout Rochester and upstate New York.

The Local
396 Roncesvalles
7pm
Muskoka Harvest Ale Tasting - Sample Muskoka Cottage Brewery’s newest seasonal with their sales rep

Grapefruit Moon
968 Bathurst St
Beau's tractor pull! Win a gorgeous Beau's kolsch glass! Organic Burger special: Cheddar and bacon burger paired with pint of Beau's Lugtread Ale.

Crooked Star
202 Ossington Ave
Great Lakes Weekend: Featuring the newest Great Lakes seasonal, Pumpkin Ale, paired with seasonal food specials.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Toronto Beer Week - Day Four

Here are today's events. What a week already!


C’est What
67 Front Street East
9:30 - 11:30 pm
Music & Beer, $6 or free if wearing Toronto Beer Week shirt.
Monica Schroeder – alt-pop singer-songwriter.

The Monk’s Table
1276 Yonge Street - (416) 920-9074
7:00pm
Hancock and the History of Weiss beer
Michael Hancock regales about the noble history of the Wheat Beer during a three course prix fixe with food pairings by Adam Grant

Bar Volo
587 Yonge Street
7:00pm - Close
A Night With Black Oak Brewery - Every Black Oak Beer on Tap(All year round/seasonals) + 2 Special Casks + Brewers/Founders

Kilgour's Bar Meets Grill
509 Bloor Street West (416) 923-7680
1:00pm
Lunch with Grand River Brewing: Enjoy special recipes that incorporate Grand River's Hannenberg Pils and Mill Race Mild and wash them down with the same beers.

Rhino
1249 Queen St W
6pm
Adventures Of The Gourd: Harvest Beer Festival - Fresh from the Harvest will be two local pumpkin beers, both available in cask and keg- Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale & Grand River Highballer Pumpkin Ale. Experience the interpretations of two different brewers and discover the nuances of keg versus cask! Then check out the 2010 Muskoka Harvest Pale Ale in combination with the award winning “10 Bitter Years Pale Ale” from the Black Oak Brewery. Brewmaster, beer writer and beer aficionado, Bill White, will share his extensive knowledge and passion for beer as he guides us on our journey with beers from Church Key, Denison’s and Scotch Irish rounding out our travels. Bon voyage! Come and help us crown the “King of the Gourds”.

Highway 61 Southern BBQ
1620 Bayview Ave.
Harvest Moon Festival - Free
Come one, come all and celebrate this year’s Harvest Moon with an OCB Taster Flight of Harvest Ales and a live performance from the Sleeping Ruse (A Tribute to Neil Young)!

Trevor Kitchen and Bar
38 Wellington Street East
4pm - Close
Beer and Food Pairings
All week long we'll be running a bar feature, an order of kobe beef burgers and a pint of Mill St. Tankhouse Ale or a Salt Cured Foie Gras Club Sandwich and a bottle of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA for $23.

Betty’s
240 King Street East
Wellington Brewery Tasting – Various beers from Guelph’s Wellington Brewery will be in the spotlight. Work your way through the samples, taking notes along the way.

BQM
Ossington & Diner on Queen West
Burger and Beer Promotion – For the entire week, at both BQM locations, you can enjoy a Bacon and Blue Cheese Burger with a Blanche de Chambly for $10.

Bier Markt
600 King Street Wes & 58 The Esplanade
Big Bier & Ze Big Brat - $19 plus HST
Oktoberfest comes a little bit earlier - Enjoy a 10 inch Thüringer bratwurst with all ze trimmings (Bavarian bread dumplings, Weissbier kraut) paired to your choice of (22 oz) Erdinger Weissbier or (22 oz) Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier.

Spirits Bar & Grill
642 Church Street, 416 967-0001
6:30pm
Nightly sampling - Sample beers from Toronto’s Steam Whistle Brewery

Amsterdam Brewery
21 Bathurst St.
4pm - 8pm
Amsterdam Oktubafest - Amsterdam Brewing Co. will be releasing their Fall Seasonal Series Beer'Oktoberfest' in conjunction with Toronto Beer Week and Caplansky's Deli.

The Paddock
178 Bathurst Street
9pm (10pm Jazz)
Creemore Springs Tasting with live jazz music at to drink the beer down with style.

Tranzac Club
292 Brunswick Avenue
8pm
Mill St. Showcase - Come join us for an exclusive tasting session, featuring Mill St.'s new Lemon Tea beer. Live music all night long.

Dakota Tavern
249 Ossington Avenue
6:00 - midnight
Cameron's Thursday - Tonight's beer and food combo features Cameron's Auburn Ale paired with beef short ribs smothered in a special Auburn Ale flavoured barbeque sauce. On stage at 8:00pm, Baby Eagle and Shotgun Jimmie, $10 cover. 10:00pm Jetset Motel with Mark Bragg (cover TBA).

Kilgours
509 Bloor St. West
6pm - 9pm
Oysters and pints of Creemore Lager and Kellerbier for $5

Smokeless Joe
125 John St
Great Lakes Morning Glory Breakfast Stout Tapping

Toronto Beer Week Ladies Night
7:00pm Duggan's Brewery, 75 Victoria Street
8:15pm beerbistro, 18 King Street East
9:30pm Trevor Kitchen and Bar, 38 Wellington Street East
Calling all women who appreciate flavour. Join us for a casual meander around 3 local bars, enjoying craft beer and camararderie along the way. Oh, and men are welcome too! Free Toronto Beer Week t-shirts for the first two females to show up.

The Gladstone Hotel - Melody Bar
1214 Queen St West
7pm - 9pm
Horizontal Tasting with Mill St. Brewery - The better part of the Mill St. lineup will be on offer this evening.

La Palette
492 Queen St W
Bar Brawl! - Try any three draughts in a flight (4 ounces each) and the chef will pair it with an amuse-bouche (a made-to-order snack) for $9. Also featuring a week-long beer inspired menu.

Bryden’s
2455 Bloor St W
Tower of Power - Double IPA Madness on tap! Featuring Great Lakes My Bitterer Wife, Black Oak 10 Bitter Years, and Flying Monkey’s Smashbomb IPA

Parts & Labour
1566 Queen St. West.
Nightly food pairings with Duggan's Brewery #9 IPA. Also serving Duggan's Brewery #5 Lager.

Fermentations!
201 Danforth Ave.
(416)778-9000
7:00-8:00 pm
Beer School – The One Class You Can Pass! - Classic Belgian Wit Beer
What's with that cloudy yellow beer? Come and learn about the brewing of the once forgotten but now popular classic recipe for Belgian Wheat (Wit) Beers and the other countries' version of the wheat ale, while our brewmaster puts together our best version of Pierre Celis's revived recipe. No charge for watching and learning.

Whelans Gate
Thursday September 23rd
7:00 - 9:00pm
Sampling Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion

Gladstone
1214 Queen St W
Beer Inspired Dinners: Featuring Muskoka Harvest Ale & Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
- Roasted Onion and Muskoka Harvest Ale soup $5.95
- Cheddar Cheese Rarebit savoury cheese toast served with apple-fennel slaw $9.95
- Mill Street Tankhouse Beef Carbonnade Belgian beef and beer stew served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and market fresh vegetables $14.95
- Chocolate Cream Ale mousse whipped cream $6.95.
- Paired with Mill Street Pints for $5.00

Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave - Kensington Market
7pm - $10pp
Gluten Free Beer Tasting with Nickle Brook Brewery - We will be tasting Nickle Brooks GF beer as well as New Grist and La Messagère. There will be Gluten free menu items available as well.

Veritas
234 King St E
Lunch & Lounge
Beau’s and a Banquetburger - Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale Pint served with our Classic Banquet Tillsonburger with House Double Smoked Maple Bacon and Aged Cheddar $23

Pound and a Pint - Muskoka Cream Ale Pint served with a pound of our Chili Hot Wings $18

Dinner menu
3 course dinner $35 - with optional beer pairing $45*
Appetizer - St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale Battered Fish & Chips *with ½ pint of St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale
Main - Black Oak Nut Brown-Braised Water Buffalo on Garlic & Chive Spun Mashed Potatoes *with pint of Nut Brown
Dessert - Mill St. Coffee Porter Ice Cream with Shortbread Cookies *with bottle of Mill St. Coffee Porter

Duggan’s Brewery
75 Victoria Ave
Oktoberfest Party with George Kash - German styled beers and food! Sample our #3 German Pils, #4 Kolsch, #13 Weiss and #19 Bock. We also have a special Oktoberfest menu on til Sat Oct 2nd

The Only Café
972 Danforth Avenue
A Great Lakes Brewery Cask Tasting –Great Lakes will be tapping a cask at the bar. 6pm start time - $10

Grapefruit Moon
968 Bathurst St
Wellington Tasting, featuring 25th Anniversary brew, Silver Wheat. Also featuring Amsterdam's Oktoberfest.

Crooked Star
202 Ossington Ave
7pm
Wellington Night: Enjoy fresh oysters with pints of Wellington County, Trailhead Lager or Wellington Best Bitter Cask Ale for only $4.50 a pint.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Toronto Beer Week - Day Three

Troy, Rob Symes (TBW), James Watt (BrewDog), John Bowden (TBW)
I made it out to beerbistro for the BrewDog dinner last night and had the chance to interview James Watt (co-founder of BrewDog) before-hand, adding to the overall awesomeness of the evening. The dinner was exceptional, the beers were terrific, and James didn't disappoint anyone in the crowd as he was very open and ethusisatic when addressing the sold out room.

After the dinner, belly full of beer and rich food, I rolled down the road to C'est What for the Beer Writers In The Round event. We had a great turnout! Bigger than I thought we would get. A bunch of us (beer writers) sat around talking about beer and sharing our own personal beer experiences for two hours, and during the cab ride home I thought to myself that it would be great it the lot of us could do that every six months or so; sit around with some beers and chat.

Anyways, here's what you'll find happening throughout Toronto tonight (27 events). I plan on stopping by the Victory Cafe and Kilgour's myself!


Nick's Pub Crawl
3-6pm
Celebrate what would have been Nick's mother-in-law's 80th birthday with a pub crawl led by Nick Pashley, author of Notes on a Beermat and Cheers.
3pm: Harbord House, 150 Harbord St.;
4pm: Victory Cafe, 581 Markham St.;
5pm: Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave.;
6pm: Kilgour's, 509 Bloor St. West.
Ideal for those going to either the Kilgour's Black Oak event or the Victory's Beau's/Nickel Brook event.


C’est What
67 Front Street East
9:30 - 11:30 pm
Movies & Beer - Commfest Global Community Film Festival, Free admission, donation requested.
No Good Reason And The Mountain Music Project: A Musical Odyssey from Appalachia to Himalaya

The Monk’s Table
1276 Yonge Street - (416) 920-9074
7:00pm
Malt Magic - Hosted by Stephen Beaumont - Premium beer and spirit pairings with decadent chocolates and gourmet cheeses
Decadent chocolate platters from BOXX Chocolates

Bar Volo
587 Yonge Street
4:00 - Close
Ontario IPA CASK Challenge Final

Cowbell
1564 Queen Street West - (416) 849-1095
Muskoka Beer Dinner: A four course beer dinner featuring four beers from the Muskoka Cottage Brewery, including their new batch of Harvest Ale. Four courses, four beers, all paired for only $40. Call to make reservations. **See full menu by clicking here**

Kilgour's Bar Meets Grill
509 Bloor Street West (416)923-7680
6:00pm till close..
Ken's Kask at Kilgour's: Join Black Oak's Ken Woods and beer author Nick Pashley over a pint of Hop Bomb on cask, while it lasts.

Trevor Kitchen and Bar
38 Wellington Street East
4pm - Close
Beer and Food Pairings
All week long we'll be running a bar feature, an order of kobe beef burgers and a pint of Mill St. Tankhouse Ale or a Salt Cured Foie Gras Club Sandwich and a bottle of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA for $23.

BQM
Ossington & Diner on Queen West
Burger and Beer Promotion – For the entire week, at both BQM locations, you can enjoy a Bacon and Blue Cheese Burger with a Blanche de Chambly for $10.

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
6:00pm
ONE-OFF STAND - OFF
Beau's All Natural Brewing Company and Nickel Brook Brewery will be offering several one offs and some of their regular seasonal beers , including Nickel Brook’s Trillium Pale Ale, Uniek Sour Cherry Ale, Marzen German Red Lager and new Gluten Free Pale Ale. $20/ticket - includes 2 pints or four 5oz samples and food. RSVP only to info@victorycafe.ca

Bier Markt
600 King Street Wes & 58 The Esplanade
Big Bier & Ze Big Brat - $19 plus HST
Oktoberfest comes a little bit earlier - Enjoy a 10 inch Thüringer bratwurst with all ze trimmings (Bavarian bread dumplings, Weissbier kraut) paired to your choice of (22 oz) Erdinger Weissbier or (22 oz) Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier.

beerbistro *SOLD OUT*
18 King Street East
6pm / $25pp / tickets now on sale - (416) 861-9872
The Bar Towel Lost Abbey Tasting - Hosted by Bar Towel founder, Cass Enright, featuring 4 Lost Abbey beers (Carnevale, Red Barn, Avant Garde, and Lost and Found) along with Port Old Viscosity and Port Older Viscosity. Brewer Matt Tweedy will be on hand to guide you through the beers, and share his experiences working at the brewery.

The Only Café
972 Danforth Avenue
7pm
Big Rock Alberta BBQ - Join Kevin Healy of Big Rock Brewery who will be grilling up an Alberta Steak dinner that will be paired and a pint of Big Rock for $20. Limited seating. Guests can expect a very special surprise from Big Rock as well!

BQM
354 Queen Street West
5pm
McAuslan Sampling - We will be sampling McAuslan Brewery products (St Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, St Ambroise Pale Ale and Griffon Red) and offering a "tasting trio" of the three for $5. (a generous 4 oz's of each)

Spirits Bar & Grill
642 Church Street, 416 967-0001
6:30pm
Nightly sampling - Sample beers from Toronto’s Mill Street Brewery

The Feathers Pub
962 Kingston Road
Creemore Night – Come and sample beers from Creemore Springs Traditional Brewery for $5 a pint.

Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave
Sausage Fest with Amsterdam - We'll be pairing Amsterdam Blonde and Oktoberfest beers with 2 types of sausage. $20pp includes 2-1/2 Pints, sausages, rye bread and sauerkraut! Or you can try them individually.

The Paddock
178 Bathurst Street
Spin The Bottle! - Spin our roulette wheel and find out which of our 30 bottled brews you'll drink for only $6.50 (tax incl)! Additional Prizes to be won through spinning!

Dakota Tavern
249 Ossington Avenue
6:00 - midnight
Welly Wednesday - Join us for Welly Wednesday where we will be featuring the full flavour of Wellington County Dark Ale paired with a succulent steak. Music on stage TBA.

The Painted Lady
218 Ossington
6pm
Brew Master and Beer Expert (Bill White) - Sample a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weiss or Dunkel (a dollar off their normal price) with a delicious food pairing from The Painted Lady and experience two unique beers from The World's Oldest Brewery.

Smokeless Joe
125 John St
Muskoka Harvest Ale Tapping

La Palette
492 Queen St W
Bar Brawl! - Try any three draughts in a flight (4 ounces each) and the chef will pair it with an amuse-bouche (a made-to-order snack) for $9. Also featuring a week-long beer inspired menu.

Bryden’s
2455 Bloor St W
Tower of Power - Double IPA Madness on tap! Featuring Great Lakes My Bitterer Wife, Black Oak 10 Bitter Years, and Flying Monkey’s Smashbomb IPA

Gladstone
1214 Queen St W
Beer Inspired Dinners: Featuring Muskoka Harvest Ale & Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
- Roasted Onion and Muskoka Harvest Ale soup $5.95
- Cheddar Cheese Rarebit savoury cheese toast served with apple-fennel slaw $9.95
- Mill Street Tankhouse Beef Carbonnade Belgian beef and beer stew served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and market fresh vegetables $14.95
- Chocolate Cream Ale mousse whipped cream $6.95.
- Paired with Mill Street Pints for $5.00

Parts & Labour
1566 Queen St. West.
Nightly food pairings with Duggan's Brewery #9 IPA. Also serving Duggan's Brewery #5 Lager.

Fermentations!
201 Danforth Ave.
(416) 778-9000
7:00-8:00 pm
Beer School – The One Class You Can Pass! – English Bitters and Ales
Come and learn about the brewing of classic English Bitters and Ales while our brewmaster makes a classic English pub bitter according to the proper style guidelines using our freshly picked local organic hops from Prince Edward County. No charge for watching and learning.

Veritas
234 King St E
Lunch & Lounge
Beau’s and a Banquetburger - Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale Pint served with our Classic Banquet Tillsonburger with House Double Smoked Maple Bacon and Aged Cheddar $23

Pound and a Pint - Muskoka Cream Ale Pint served with a pound of our Chili Hot Wings $18

Dinner menu
3 course dinner $35 - with optional beer pairing $45*
Appetizer - St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale Battered Fish & Chips *with ½ pint of St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale
Main - Black Oak Nut Brown-Braised Water Buffalo on Garlic & Chive Spun Mashed Potatoes *with pint of Nut Brown
Dessert - Mill St. Coffee Porter Ice Cream with Shortbread Cookies *with bottle of Mill St. Coffee Porter

Grapefruit Moon
968 Bathurst St
8-10pm
Release the Flying Monkeys! Chat with the Flying Monkeys rep and sample their brews.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Toronto Beer Week Video Coverage

Global Television came out to our launch yesterday at the Mill Street Brewpub to watch Steve Peters, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, tap the official cask of Toronto Beer Week. They filmed the launch and spoke with a number of people in the industry and the segment aired last night during the 6pm news.

Click here to watch the video.

And here is a video shot by one of the Toronto Beer Week members on their handheld.

Toronto Beer Week - Day Two

I made it out to barVolo, the Granite Brewery and The Monks Table last night. Not bad for the opening day of Toronto Beer Week!

Tonight I'll be hanging out at the BrewDog dinner at beerbistro before heading down the street to C'est What for an event I'll be part of - Not Always In Good Taste: Beer Writers In The Round. It's going to be another great night.

Here are all the events taking place today.

C’est What
67 Front Street East
10:00 - 11:30 pm
Not Always In Good Taste - a beer writers-in-the-round, Free admission.
Writers include: Stephen Beaumont, Greg Clow, Nick Pashley, Ian Coutts, Steve Cameron, Troy Burtch, Robert Hughey, Aonghus Kealy, Josh Rubin

The Monk’s Table
1276 Yonge Street - (416) 920-9074
6:30pm
Raising the Bar - An Hour with Cass Enright, Founder of The Bar Towel
A sit down seminar about marketing and advertising that has raised beer from the layman’s gutter to the Nectar of the Gods

Cloak & Dagger
394 College St
5:00-10:00pm
Sausagefest: Get ready for it! All you can eat for only $12 including one 12oz drink.
Come get your fill on - 10 different kinds of sausages! Featuring Beau's All Natural Brewing Company


Bar Volo
587 Yonge Street
4:00 - Close
Ontario IPA CASK Challenge Final


Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave - Kensington Market


beerbistro
18 King Street East
6pm
BrewDog Beer Dinner - 6 course dinner, paired with beers from Scotland's most progressive brewery. Hosted by James Watt from BrewDog. Tickets are $90, and on sale Wednesday Sept 8th: Call (416) 861-9872


Trevor Kitchen and Bar
38 Wellington Street East
4pm - Close
Beer and Food Pairings
All week long we'll be running a bar feature, an order of kobe beef burgers and a pint of Mill St. Tankhouse Ale or a Salt Cured Foie Gras Club Sandwich and a bottle of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA for $23.


BQM
Ossington & Diner on Queen West
Burger and Beer Promotion – For the entire week, at both BQM locations, you can enjoy a Bacon and Blue Cheese Burger with a Blanche de Chambly for $10.


Bier Markt
600 King Street Wes & 58 The Esplanade
Big Bier & Ze Big Brat - $19 plus HST
Oktoberfest comes a little bit earlier - Enjoy a 10 inch Thüringer bratwurst with all ze trimmings (Bavarian bread dumplings, Weissbier kraut) paired to your choice of (22 oz) Erdinger Weissbier or (22 oz) Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier.


The Only Café
972 Danforth Avenue
A Black Oak Brewery Guided Tasting –Join Black Oak Brewing President, Ken Woods and Brewmaster Adrian Popowycz. Guest Tap: Black Oak Double Cherry Chocolate Stout: $10


The Local
396 Roncesvalles (416) 535-6225
7pm
A Harvest Cornucopia - Savour a fine local and seasonal menu paired with Great Lakes Pumpkin Ale. A brewery representative will be on hand to lead a tasting of their fall seasonal and discuss the brewing process. Attendees will have the option to pair the beer with a select menu with a locally sourced and seasonally focused menu. Oh yeah, and enjoy awesome local talent on stage!!


Spirits Bar & Grill
642 Church Street, 416 967-0001
6:30pm
Nightly sampling - Sample beers from Montreal’s McAuslan Brewery


Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave
Sausage Fest with Flying Monkey - We'll be pairing Smash Bomb and Netherworld beers with 2 types of sausage. $20pp includes 2-1/2 Pints, sausages, rye bread and sauerkraut! Or you can try them individually.


The Paddock
178 Bathurst Street
9pm - Midnight
Live Piano Music with Kevin Quain - Sponsored by Erdinger. Order both of our Erdinger Bottles, the Weissbier and Dunkel, for only $10 together.


Dakota Tavern
249 Ossington Avenue
6:00 - midnight
Creemore Tuesday - Enjoy a tasty Dakota Burger paired with Creemore Springs Lager. Excellent value. Later on stage, Dustin Bentall will be performing, $5 cover.


Gladstone
1214 Queen St W
Beer Inspired Dinner Specials: Featuring Muskoka Harvest Ale & Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
- Roasted Onion and Muskoka Harvest Ale soup $5.95
- Cheddar Cheese Rarebit savoury cheese toast served with apple-fennel slaw $9.95
- Mill Street Tankhouse Beef Carbonnade Belgian beef and beer stew served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and market fresh vegetables $14.95
- Chocolate Cream Ale mousse whipped cream $6.95.
- Paired with Mill Street Pints for $5.00


Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave East
Monday Sep. 20- Sunday Sep. 26 - All week daily draws. Enter your name in the daily draw for a chance to win a Granite growler and a great beer book. The names will then be entered in a final weekly draw for a 15L keg of Granite Ale (small print: you have to return the keg when it is empty!)


Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave East
Monday Sep. 20- Sunday Sep. 26 - Toronto Beer Week Special Feature Menu - Our regular weekly special menu will be replaced with all food made with beer menu. Combine each special with a pint at a great price!


Highway 61
1620 Bayview Ave
6 pm
Meet Darren Smith, Lakes of Bay's President and Brewmaster - Come and joing us at Highway 61 where Darren Smith will talk about his brew and his brewery. We will also be sampling Lakes of Bay Pale Ale, throughout the night! Come check it out and stamp your passport!


Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
Tuesday September 21 @ 6:00pm
Creemore Fest - $5 gets you a pint of unfiltered Creemore Urbock and a Soft Fresh Pretzel.


Smokeless Joe
125 John St
Stout Taste Off with a variety of Stouts - 12 oysters for $12


La Palette
492 Queen St W
Bar Brawl! - Try any three draughts in a flight (4 ounces each) and the chef will pair it with an amuse-bouche (a made-to-order snack) for $9. Also featuring a week-long beer inspired menu.


Bryden’s
2455 Bloor St W
Tower of Power - Double IPA Madness on tap! Featuring Great Lakes My Bitterer Wife, Black Oak 10 Bitter Years, and Flying Monkey’s Smashbomb IPA


BQM
210 Ossington Ave
7pm
Mill St Lemon Tea Tasting


Parts & Labour
1566 Queen St. West.
Nightly food pairings with Duggan's Brewery #9 IPA. Also serving Duggan's Brewery #5 Lager


Veritas
234 King St E
Lunch & Lounge
Beau’s and a Banquetburger - Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale Pint served with our Classic Banquet Tillsonburger with House Double Smoked Maple Bacon and Aged Cheddar $23

Pound and a Pint - Muskoka Cream Ale Pint served with a pound of our Chili Hot Wings $18

Dinner menu
3 course dinner $35 - with optional beer pairing $45*
Appetizer - St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale Battered Fish & Chips *with ½ pint of St. Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale
Main - Black Oak Nut Brown-Braised Water Buffalo on Garlic & Chive Spun Mashed Potatoes *with pint of Nut Brown
Dessert - Mill St. Coffee Porter Ice Cream with Shortbread Cookies *with bottle of Mill St. Coffee Porter

Monday, September 20, 2010

Toronto Beer Week!!

IT'S ON!!!
www.torontobeerweek.com


MONDAY
C’est What
67 Front Street East
7:00 - 8:30pm
Beerology - More Than Meets The Eye: $20, advance tickets at http://www.cestwhat.com/asp/events.asp?ID=1437
Join Mirella Amato for a blind tasting of nine different beers. Taste a range of beer styles side by side and learn what sets each apart.

The Monk’s Table
1276 Yonge Street - (416) 920-9074
7:00pm
Belgium Beer Fest with the White Knight - Please Reserve Seating Limited
Bill White Hosts a Five Course Extravaganza of Belgium Beer and Food Pairings

Bar Volo
587 Yonge Street
4:00 - Close
Pint Night: Top Ten Rated Ontario Beers on Tap (All $4.00) + Ontario IPA CASK Challenge Final Begins (My Bitter Wife v.s Smashbomb IPA)

Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave - Kensington Market
Oktoberfest Celebration! We will be serving a variety of sausages, Marzen styled beers, and some freshly hopped beers made with local hops.

Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill
100 Adelaide Street East - (416) 366-7827
Starfish Presents Malt & Molluscs Monday - Featuring Stephen Beaumont, a fun and arousing evening of beer discovery, bivalve slurping and tall and not-so-tall tales.

Highway 61 Southern BBQ
1620 Bayview Ave
First Annual Lager Taste Challenge- $25/ TICKET
Come out and join us for our first annual Craft Beer Lager Taste Challenge! Where we put your beer palate to the test with 5 different brews. The Top 5 connoisseurs will each be rewarded with great prizes – not to mention that every participate get a bite and a pint to start! So give us a shout if your feeling lucky at 416-489-RIBS (7427)

BQM
Ossington & Diner on Queen West
Burger and Beer Promotion – For the entire week, at both BQM locations, you can enjoy a Bacon and Blue Cheese Burger with a Blanche de Chambly for $10.

Bier Markt
600 King Street Wes & 58 The Esplanade
Big Bier & Ze Big Brat - $19 plus HST
Oktoberfest comes a little bit earlier - Enjoy a 10 inch Thüringer bratwurst with all ze trimmings (Bavarian bread dumplings, Weissbier kraut) paired to your choice of (22 oz) Erdinger Weissbier or (22 oz) Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier.

Spirits Bar & Grill
642 Church Street, 416 967-0001
6:30pm
Nightly sampling - Sample beers from Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery

The Feathers Pub
962 Kingston Road
Oysters With Oyster Boy!! – Price discount off Wellington Cask Ale and Silver Wheat Ale and Oysters with Oyster Boy!

Burger Bar
319 Augusta Ave
Cask Night - We'll be tapping our first Cask (of soon to be many) @ 7pm with David Bieman of Great Lakes Brewery

The Paddock
178 Bathurst Street
Paper Bag Night - Select drafts towers will be covered by paper bags and guests will be able to choose their pints randomly and guess which beer it is for $5!

Tranzac Club
292 Brunswick Avenue
10pm - sign up early!
McAuslan Monday Night Open Mic - The TRANZAC's weekly open mic session, presented by McAuslan. Craft beer specials, prizes, and flights of McAuslan Ales all night.

Dakota Tavern
249 Ossington Avenue
6:00 - midnight
Mill Street Monday - Great value beer and food combos featuring Mill Street Organic Lager and Tankhouse Ale. Later on stage, check out the Rattlesnake Choir (pay what you can).

Gladstone
1214 Queen St W
Beer Inspired Dinner and Lunch Specials: Featuring Muskoka Harvest Ale & Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
- Roasted Onion and Muskoka Harvest Ale soup $5.95
- Cheddar Cheese Rarebit savoury cheese toast served with apple-fennel slaw $9.95
- Mill Street Tankhouse Beef Carbonnade Belgian beef and beer stew served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and market fresh vegetables $14.95
- Chocolate Cream Ale mousse whipped cream $6.95.
- Paired with Mill Street Pints for $5.00

Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave East
New Beer Launch - A new beer will be introduced at the Granite in recognition of Toronto Beer Week. A special brew made in conjunction with the SOB’s (Southern Ontario Brewer’s) “Plan it for the Granite” HomeBrew Competition.

Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave East
Monday Sep. 20- Sunday Sep. 26 - All week daily draws. Enter your name in the daily draw for a chance to win a Granite growler and a great beer book. The names will then be entered in a final weekly draw for a 15L keg of Granite Ale (small print: you have to return the keg when it is empty!)

Granite Brewery
245 Eglinton Ave East
Monday Sep. 20- Sunday Sep. 26 - Toronto Beer Week Special Feature Menu - Our regular weekly special menu will be replaced with all food made with beer menu. Combine each special with a pint at a great price!

Smokeless Joe
125 John St
Stout Taste Off with a variety of Oysters - 12 oysters for $12

La Palette
492 Queen St W
Bar Brawl! - Try any three draughts in a flight (4 ounces each) and the chef will pair it with an amuse-bouche (a made-to-order snack) for $9. Also featuring a week-long beer inspired menu.

Bryden’s
2455 Bloor St W
Tower of Power - Double IPA Madness on tap! Featuring Great Lakes My Bitterer Wife, Black Oak 10 Bitter Years, and Flying Monkey’s Smashbomb IPA

Friday, September 17, 2010

Garrison Brewing Unveils 3 Fields Harvest Ale Today

Press Release from Garrison Brewing Co.

Garrison Brewing Unveils "3 Fields Harvest Ale" this Weekend

Halifax, NS – Sept. 16, 2010 - Three fields. Two provinces. One true Maritime harvest beer!

After two years of research and development, Garrison Brewing Co. will be launching a remarkable new brew this weekend – 3 Fields Harvest Ale.

"This is a real celebration of hops in their freshest form," said Brian Titus, company President. "In one day we picked a ridiculous amount of wet (green) hops and added them right into the kettle." Wet hops impart a more subtle hop fragrance and bitterness, making them a pleasure to brew with. "Just like picking fiddleheads or grapes for icewine, this is something that only happens once a year," added Titus.

Hops were harvested from three local fields: Ross Farm Museum in New Ross, Meander River Farm in Ashdale and Happy Hopyard Farm in Saint John, New Brunswick. Staff from the brewery and hopyards came together to pick, transport and sort the large volume of fresh, local hops. At Meander River Farm it was a family affair with Alan, Brenda and Fraser Bailey all hard at work. Happy Hopyard Farm spent the day picking then drove five hours to deliver the cones!

This is the first wet-hopped beer to be bottled in the Maritimes, representing another step toward a commercially produced all-Maritime beer. It will be available at the brewery and select private stores in bottles as of this Friday. It will also be served during Garrison’s Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, Sept. 25. For more information, visit: www.garrisonbrewing.com.

About Garrison Brewing
Garrison Brewing Company is an award-winning independent microbrewery located in the Halifax Seaport. They produce distinctive, unpasteurized, all-natural ales in small batches. Now in its 14th year, Garrison distributes craft beer throughout the Maritimes in bottled and draught format.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Toronto Beer Week Ladies Night

Maz Bereton of the Victory Cafe, and one of the Toronto Beer Week (TBW) Board Members, has organized a Ladies Night for TBW that is set to take place on the Thursday night (Sept. 23).

From Bereton: Calling all women who appreciate flavour. Join us for a casual meander around 3 local bars, enjoying craft beer and camararderie along the way. Oh, and men are welcome too! Free Toronto Beer Week t-shirts for the first two females to show up.

The 3 local establishments have been chosen and are listed below in the order they will be visited. This is a great way for the women of Toronto who enjoy the complexities of craft beer to get together to mix and mingle, meet new friends and visit 3 great places in the city.

7:00pm Duggan's Brewery, 75 Victoria Street
8:15pm beerbistro, 18 King Street East
9:30pm Trevor Kitchen and Bar, 38 Wellington Street East

Toronto Beer Week Events

A whole week has passed since I last updated the blog! Things have been very buys lately. The judging for the 8th annual Canadian Brewing Awards (CBAs) took place last weekend, over two days, and it was the largest competition in Canada to date. Over 390 beers were submitted by 76 Canadian breweries and the winners will be announced next Friday at the CBA gala.

TAPS Media, my employer, operates the awards, which eats up a lot of time in preparation. We had some great judges who were very dedicated to the two days and some great volunteers who helped wash glasses, ran beer trays to tables and helped with the tabulation of the scores.

I have been part of the CBAs for four years now (official pourer) and I can honestly say that the quality of beer produced in this country is terrific, and evolving at a healthy pace. I can remember the submissions from three years ago and last weekend's judging proved that much has changed in only a matter of years. Styles that weren't around in Canada three years ago, Kolsch for example, had numerous entries this year, as did Imperial IPAs and Kellerbiers. It was great to see.

Where am I going with this? Oh yes, when the office lights turn off for the night my attention turns to Toronto Beer Week, where as most of you know I sit on the Executive Committee, and let me tell you - It's a lot of work. We have been thrilled with the amount of events that have poured into our inbox. 99% of them have been posted on the TBW website (more posted this morning and listed here), and we expect just a few more to trickle in last minute.

Also, the response for the TBW Homebrew Competition has been phenomenal! We are going to hit 100 entries! 100. A group of us our getting together this weekend (between all the festivities that barVolo has planned with Dieu du Ciel) to start the judging. We never expected that the competition would be this successful, so we are extremely thrilled.

Anyway, head over to the TBW website and click on events. We have 120 events listed as of today at locals all over the city!!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Alpha % Dog - Propeller & Sea Level Breweries Collaborate On New Beer


I was on the phone last week with Andrew Copper from Propeller Brewing Co. who filled me in on the news below. The funny thing about it was that I had already heard about it from Randy Lawrence, the longtime brewmaster at Sea Level Brewing Co., one of the collaborators, who let it slip out in a conversation back in July. 

The collaborative Alpha % Dog Ale is being brewed at the Propeller Brewery tomorrow (thanks to Hurricane Earl who did not wreck the hops in Annapolis Valley). 

Look for some more information in the Fall Issue of TAPS The Beer Magazine.

Nova Scotia’s most successful microbrewery teams up with Nova Scotia’s newest micro.


HALIFAX, NS Sept. 8, 2010 - Halifax’s own Propeller Brewing Company has collaborated with Port Williams’ Sea Level Brewing for the first time to create a one-time release celebrating Nova Scotia’s thriving craft brewing community and Nova Scotia’s emerging hop industry.

The project was born in 2009 when Propeller’s President John Allen and Sea Level’s Owner/Brewer Randy Lawrence joked around over a pint about creating a collaborative one-off beer. The two chuckled a bit over the idea but quickly shifted from a casual pint to the serious business of making this collaboration a reality. The liquid result from their session is ALPHA%DOG Wet Hopped Collaboration Ale.

"We're really excited about this project - two local breweries coming together and using 100% local hops to create something really unique. It's a testament to what the craft brewing movement is all about" says Allen “And Randy is the wet hop beer expert in Nova Scotia” Lawrence has produced wet hop beers for over a decade in the province.

This collaboration is not the first time the two have worked together: Lawrence was brewing for Propeller in the early 2000’s and helped to develop Propeller Brewing Company’s award winning London Style Porter.

The copper coloured beer is brewed with 100% local Cascade and Willamette hops from Lazy Acres and Sea Level hop farms in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. These hops are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops to Propeller Brewery in Halifax where Sea Level brewer Randy Lawrence adds them to the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.

The Propeller/Sea Level collaborative brew will be available late this summer at both the Propeller Cold Beer Store and Sea Level Brewing Company and select private liquor stores in Halifax.

ABOUT PROPELLER BREWING COMPANY: Propeller Brewing Co. is the largest and most successful microbrewery in Nova Scotia. Propeller produces international award-winning, craft brewed beers in small batches with the finest hops and malts, and is brewed using traditional methods.

ABOUT SEA LEVEL BREWING: Sea Level Brewing Co. is the only microbrewery in the Annapolis Valley, located in Port Williams. Owner and Brewmaster Randy Lawrence, has had a passion for hand crafted micro brewed beers, and been creating and brewing them for over 20 years now

Wellington Brewery 25th Anniversary Party

Wellington Brewery is gearing up for their 25th anniversary and to help celebrate their quarter-century of brewing the brewery will be throwing a big bash on September 25th between 1pm and 11pm.

Here are some details from Wellington:
We invite you to Try A Welly On at the Wellington Brewery 25th Anniversary Party. On Saturday September 25th we'll be celebrating 25 years as Canada's oldest indie micro. We're having a huge party featuring brewery tours, food, our award-winning beers, and some amazing music from: THE SADIES, MINOTAURS, THE SPEAKEASIES, KIDSTREET, INNES WILSON & HIS OPPOSITION, GRAND BEND, and HOODIE GOOD.
Admission is FREE and the event is open to the public. We are accepting non-perishable food donations for the Guelph Food Bank. This event is family friendly and happens Rain or Shine. We are running a free shuttle bus from downtown to the brewery, to encourage people to leave their cars at home.
Our 25th Anniversary Party will replace our annual Realist Party. There is no need to RSVP, however we do recommend showing up early to ensure you get in. Brewery tours will run from 1pm to 6pm.
Further details will be available at www.wellingtonbrewery.ca in the coming weeks.
Cheers!
Wellington Brewery
950 Woodlawn Rd. West
Guelph, ON
1pm - 11pm

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Brick Brewing Co. Settle Lawsuit With Jim Brickman

The Financial Post is claiming that Waterloo's Brick Brewing Co. has settled their legal war with founder, Jim Brickman.

Back in June of last year, Brick Brewing Co. launched a million dollar lawsuit against Brickman accusing him of acting as if Brick was a "private company wholly owned by him rather than as a public company with shareholders." Brickman responded with a statement of defence in August and waited for the dust to settle.

The piece in the Financial Post also states that Brick Brewing Co. has said that the two sides have agreed to keep the terms of the settlement private.

Good to see this sad chapter in the Ontario craft brewing industry come to a close.

Toronto City Council Drops The Ball On Patios

There was a particular article in Saturday's Globe and Mail that caught my eye that had me shaking my head in disbelief, well until I woke up and remembered it's Toronto City Council we're talking about.

During Council's last session before the upcoming elections, a harmonized zoning by-law was passed that essentially shuts out new pub/bar owners from having a back patio. What? Did I read that right? City Council voted to ban outdoor patios at the back of an establishment...

This isn't really a new issue. For those of you in Toronto you may remember the fiasco that The Monks Table went through to get a back patio only to be denied due to a number of circumstances. It mostly came down to noise and what the neighbour's wanted. The clientele who frequent The Monks Table are hardly a raucous crowd and the owners of the Yonge and Summerhill establishment were willing to shut it down by 11pm all nights of the week. Still no go.

The Ceili Cottage has one of the best patios in the city (in my opinion) and it's always busy, but at 11pm everyone must vacate their tables for a spot inside the snug local. Reason - noise. Too many homes in the vicinity of the local led to the assumption that the patio would be too disruptive after 11pm. But at least they can have a patio out front. My point, there are already restrictions in place that don't make sense, now they've taken it to the extreme.

But now if you want to open a pub in the city of Toronto, and have a back patio, between Victoria Park and the Humber and south of Bloor and Danforth, you must now apply for an exemption to this new by-law. Too many rules and regulations that have cost thousands of tax dollars for studies, reports, etc.

It's sad, people in Toronto love their patios. It's a known fact. For two/three months a year Toronto patios  are packed when the weather is beautiful; city-wide. It's a great escape from the 400 square foot condo's and apartments that grace this city. Hopefully the next group of council members will take another look at this and throw it out the window.

I can see Montreal and Halifax laughing at us right now.
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