Steelback Closes Their Doors?

It appears Steelback Brewery has closed up shop.

I received an email from someone in the industry earlier this week hinting that the Tiverton, ON brewery was about to close for good. The brewery had been laying people off recently and rumours were swirling about the brewery's demise. The person that contacted me had it on good authority that the closing was going to happen soon, so I started making some phone calls to get a confirmation from anyone at the brewery. No dice. Everyone's answering machines are full - messages can't be left. Calls to President. Jonathon Sherman went unanswered today, yesterday, the day before, so I couldn't get a confirmation from him. But here is the email I received today (used with permission from the author):

Yes, they closed the doors officially yesterday. The staff were told late day Thursday. Jonathan is a good guy, but he was ill-advised and he had the D'Angelo legacy ruining anything that he did.

As of twenty minutes ago the Kincardine Newspaper hadn't heard anything from the brewery, but an employee did mention that there wasn't many people left working there.

The brewery, which has been around in one shape or another since 2002 when opened by the colourful, and not to pleasant, Frank D'Angelo. Steelback had tacky commercials, plastic bottles, 11 or more beers in their regular line-up, and a President who was brass, cocky, and outspoken. D'Angelo spent more on advertising than the brewery was bringing in with beer sales and eventually Frank was shown the door in 2008.

Stepping in as President was the young son of billionaire owner Barry Sherman - Jonathon. At 25 years old he was controlling the brewery and his intention was to steer it in another direction. One mistake I think he made was keeping the Steelback name. The years of bad beer, D'Angelo's antics, and images of plastic bottles, never did leave the beer drinkers psyche and it went downhill from there.

I'll be sure to post more information once it becomes available.

Friday Night Cask Night at Mill Street - Starting Feb. 5th

*Please note this starts next Friday*

So I was in attendance at last night's Mill Street Brewmaster's Robbie Burns Dinner down in the Distillery District, and Joel Manning, Mill Street's Brewmaster, let me know that starting next Friday (Feb. 5th) Mill Street will introduce a new weekly initiative down at the brewpub.

"Every Friday we will showcase a brand new beer on cask, something that we've played around with, had fun with," Manning said. "Each beer will be different. Dry hopping here, extra malt there, different ingredients, unique ingredients - we will have fun with this and the beer will be great."

The first cask conditioned offering will be an extra dry hopped Scotch Ale, something that Manning is already excited about. "We will have the beer served via gravity, on the bar, and once the beer is gone - it's gone. I can't wait to start whipping up these beers," he said.

Manning informed the 70+ people in attendance of the new Friday Night Cask Night (I don't know if that is going to be the actual name, I just made it up) plan and stated that there will be cask versions of Tankhouse, Coffee Porter, and many others, including special one-offs (I'm hoping to see a dry hopped Betelgeuse). Manning also mentioned that somes casks will be brewed using whole hops as he just received some English and American varieties.

No word on what time the cask will be tapped, but like I mentioned, the first one will be on Feb. 5th.

*****
In other Mill Street news, Manning let me have a taste of the new Imperial Chocolate Stout straight from the tank that he's currently working on and he hopes to release it for Valentine's Day. The beer is projected to hit between 7.5 - 8% (not 10.5% as I had mentioned earlier today) with big chocolate notes with a nice thick body. The sample I had was a little young and needed some more chocolate, which Manning said would eventually be added, but I could already tell it will be a beauty.

CB Subscription Form

Great Lakes Morning Glory Breakfast Stout

Last night I came home from a long day at work and poked my head in my beer fridge. A bottle of the Morning Glory Breakfast Stout that I helped brew back at the end of November stood up front and centre and I decided it was time for it to succumb to my thirst.

I was going to write notes and do a review, but after plying off the cap and pouring it into my glass I decided it would be better enjoyed with my feet up, glass in hand, watching tv and drinking it without thinking about it. I can say that the coffee came across rather strong and the cocoa was now harsh and bitter on the tongue, but still completely drinkable.

LCBO Spring 2010 Release

Spring 2010 Submissions

LCBO No/Product Name/Retail/ML/Country

67173 Trafalgar Oak Aged Rye $4.25 650ml CANADA
106237 Doppel Hirsch Doppel Bock $3.95 500ml GERMANY
157552 Christoffel Dry-hopped Nobel $3.30 330ml NETHERLANDS
157560 Hog's Back Traditional English Ale (TEA) $3.95 500ml UNITED KINGDOM
157651 Schneider's Organic Wiesen Edel-Weisse $2.95 500ml GERMANY
157834 Gouden Carolus Ambrio $3.10 330ml BELGIUM
468660 St. Louis Gueuze Lambic $4.85 375ml BELGIUM
615633 Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale $4.95 650ml CANADA
909770 Rogue Brutal Bitter $6.95 650ml UNITED STATES
Railway City Brewing Dead Elephant $3.50 500ml CANADA
174532 Grand River Brewing Russian Gun Imperial Stout $4.50 500ml CANADA

The beers included in this Spring Release could start appearing on store shelves as early as March 1 and are subject to change.

Steam Whistle Looking For A Brewer

Toronto's popular Steam Whistle brewery is on the lookout for a new brewer to join their team.

Sybil Taylor, Steam Whistle's Communications manager, sent me an email this morning letting me know that they have a job posting on Monster.ca for those interested in reading through the qualifications Steam Whistle will be looking for in the successful applicant.

Here are just some of the roles the new brewer will perform, along with the rest of the Good Beer Folks brewing team when producing Steam Whistle's signature Pilsner:
1. Brewing the beer from the start, combining the grain, water and hops, and ensuring that all processes are documented.
2. Transferring the beer to fermenters, adding the yeast and taking daily gravity checks and recording the information.
3. Clean all tanks and equipment.
4. Strictly follow the company’s health and safety policies at all times.
5. Operate any brewing, filtering and packaging equipment or perform any production duties as are needed to meet beer demand.
6. Working a three pattern shift rota, that includes night shifts and weekends.
7. Brewing beer that is consistent with the company’s standards and quality.

Head over to the job posting on Monster to apply online or contact the brewery for more details.

Two New Ontario Based Beer Blogs

Back in October of 2007 Greg Clow (beer,beats,bites) put togehter a post about me starting up my blog. I was thankful for the exposure he gave me and I remember it gave me some extra encouragement to continue what I set out to do - write about everything beer touches.

Clow mentioned in that post that he wrote another piece in 2006 wondering where all the other Canadian beer bloggers were, other than himself and Alan at a Good Beer Blog. Fast forward to today and there are a number of beer bloggers from all parts of Canada getting into the game, even brewers have taken up the fun with various brewmaster blogs popping up.

Which brings me to two new blogs that started this month, both based here in Toronto: Andrew Bartle's Hops, Sticks and Junk blog and Chris Schryer's Toronto Beer blog. I know both guys personally so it's good to see them getting involved.

Bartle has only posted a handful of times; a couple of beer reviews and a review of Volo's Biere et Compagnie that took place yesterday. It's good stuff and I hope he continues.
http://highhops.blogspot.com/

Schryer is the manager at Castro's Lounge in the Beaches and a self-confessed beer geek. He started his blog on January 11th and has posted eleven time to date. The blog will focus on the Toronto beer culture with reviews of places, beer, and events.
www.torontobeerblog.com

Welcome gentleman and happy blogging.

Happy Birthday Mr. Bowden

My good buddy John Bowden over at Great Lakes Brewery is celebrating his birthday today. Well, he actually celebrated on Saturday night with a good ol' fashion pub crawl through the streets of Toronto after attending Georgeapalooza, but today is the offical day.

Bowden has been with Great Lakes for almost four years now doing a number of roles around the brewery, including the handling LCBO sales, licensee sales, looking after the various marketing initiatives and promoting events at Great Lakes, help out with deliveries, and pretty much anything else that needs to be done. Bowden is also taking advantage of the small pilot system the brewery has in the brewhouse as he's been involved in creating a number of one-offs with other staff for sampling at Project 'X' nights, something I've been able to take part in.

I haven't seen him since Saturday, so here's hoping he survived. Happy birthday John.

Georgeapalooza - Happy Birthday Mr. Eagleson

For the past seven years George Eagleson throws a party at Toronto's Cloak and Dagger pub to celebrate his birthday. The longtime head brewer at F&M calls the party Georgeapalooza and it brings together friends, brewers and brewery representatives from all over the province for a day of beer, food, and good company...and to help celebrate his birthday in style, which happened to be back on Jan. 21st.

Eagleson is crazy, there's not doubt about it. Crazy about the entire beer industry. His passion is unparalleled and everyone that knows him feels it when he opens his mouth. He lives and breaths beer and an afternoon of drinking with him is always memorable.

He also dabbles in recycled art with his terrific little company called CraftBrewers Recycled Art Project (CRAP). Head over to their website to see some of the cool items he has for sale.

Happy birthday George!

*George is the one with his head in the hops*

Garrett Oliver Discusses Beer & Food Pairings

From all the stories I've heard about Rhino's beer dinner that was hosted by Garrett Oliver on Thursday night, it seems I missed out on an exceptional night. Prior commitments forced my hand in passing on purchasing tickets for the dinner but I was glad to hear that the Rhino, who are not known for hosting beer dinners, pulled it off with great success, and managed to sell all the tickets.

Fortunately I had the chance to hear Oliver speak yesterday at the Master Brewers' Association of the America's (MBAA) -District Ontario - Technical Conference out by the airport. Oliver was the keynote speaker at the conference, speaking about his passion - beer and food. The day before, Thursday, Oliver delivered a session on Bottle Conditioned beer that I heard was very educational for the brewers in the room.

The MBAA is comprised of brewers, brewing technicians, and industry suppliers, and they gather once a year for a two day conference that includes topics like the ones presented this year: Mashing and Starch conversion, Milling, Wort Production, Filtration, Cellaring, and more. There were many brewers in the room from the smaller Ontario craft breweries who sat alongside brewing representatives and masterbrewers from the big national breweries. For a guy like me, with little to no brewing experience, I couldn't keep up with the Cellaring presentation, which was done immediately after Oliver finished his hour long speech.

For those of you who have never had the chance to listen to Oliver talk about all the pleasures of beer and food, you're missing out. He is thoroughly engaging, well spoken, and knows his stuff. A strong advocate of the small breweries, Oliver usually spares no punches when it comes to poking criticism at the big boys, but because there was a very diverse crowd of brewers he kept his speech civil, even praising some of the new initiatives AB InBev is working on in terms of beer and food pairing such as their new iPhone app.

Oliver, who was introduced by Paul Dickey, provided a bit of history about himself and his brewery (Brooklyn) before getting into the good stuff. He spoke about the assimilation of food cultures in America during the 50's (steamed bread, processed cheese, box this, box that) and how, just now, it's starting to change back to its original diversity, and beer is here to welcome it with open arms. He thinks that now is the time for breweries to get more involved in beer dinners focusing on their core brands, learn the cheese market, play around with flavours. He thinks that for breweries to grow the way they could then brewers have to learn food and find the right 'flavourhook' that would make customer's eye's pop.

He said that just after he said the following, "I keep telling small craft brewers that if the big breweries wanted to start making the beers we're making they could do it tomorrow and do it well. It may take them a couple of days to get the recipe right, but they could do it, make it taste the same. They have more resources." His overall message - pairing food with craft beer gives the small breweries a slight advantage over the big guys, so get out there and start spreading the word.

**Here is an interview I did with Oliver last year after a beer dinner in Toronto. The interview appeared in TAPS winter '09.

Half Pints Private Order Set To Close February 1st

If you've been sitting on the fence debating with yourself whether or not to get in on the Half Pints private order through HMH Negotiants (see logo on left) you should know that the 1st order will be closing on Monday February 1st, as indicated in an email I received from Tomas Morana of HMH yesterday.

He also mentioned that the beers are selling quickly, which is great to hear for their first private order, and marks a good sign that another order could occur again in the future.

To get in on the order head to HMHnegotiants.com. All the product listed below is available in 24x341ml bottle format.

Burley Wine is listed at $118
Little Scrapper IPA at $66
Stir Stick Stout at $68.40

Great Lakes New Beer - Canuck Pale Ale

****NAME CHANGE AND LOGO CHANGE****

Turns out Great Lakes hit a couple of snags after their initial post, but all is good now and the LCBO will even be selling some for a limited time. This post originally appeared back on January 8th, which has been updated but I thought it was worthy even to re-post today.

I was out at the Great Lakes Brewery this afternoon to drop off some TAPS magazines, and to catch up with John Bowden, who had just finished posting some exciting news on the Great Lakes blog.

Months ago I was teased by some of the brewery staff that they would be introducing a new beer for retail in the new year, which would be based on a recipe discovered during the brewing of a beer for a Project 'X' night. However, they wouldn't mention which one, and they continued to play around while tweaking the recipe. Then I was able to help brew a couple of beers on their pilot system with Bowden and Mike Lackey (another Great Lakes staff member) in November and I got the impression that the new beer the brewery was talking about was a Pale Ale, something I would try that day.

So back to today. John just finished a post informing everyone that the new beer would indeed be a Pale Ale that they're calling Canuck Pale Ale, and before I left the brewery I was able to head to the back of the brewery for a sample Bowden drew from the aging tank.

I also ran into Peter Bulut Jr., the President of the brewery, who mentioned that they are just waiting for the bottles to arrive before bottling it for retail sales in their on-site store, retailing for $4.95. Some will also be kegged for various pubs/restaurants.

And if your wondering if some will show up on LCBO shelves soon, don't hold your breath. Bowden mentioned that bottles could be retailing in Manitoba before they get a listing with the LCBO, joining some of the other Great Lakes product already being sold there. (Well, I guess this has changed - so some will be found in Manitoba and the LCBO)

The taste? I didn't take any notes (either today or in November), and I only had a small sample each time, but I found it real nice. Straw gold in colour, hop forward, nice lingering bitterness (35 IBU's), citrusy American hop notes with some toasted malt, light to medium body, terrific hop aroma from the cascade dry hopping, and quite crisp with a bitter finish. Similar to the Anchor Liberty Ale maybe, a little lighter in body. It will be slightly filtered when it's bottled, but the brewery is hoping to get some of that unfiltered goodness to slip though.

Good job and it's nice to see Great Lakes introduce another seasonal that both hopheads and newbies can enjoy together.

Canuck Pale Ale
5.2% abv
$4.95 - 650ml
Available at the brewery retail store, pubs, and LCBO's soon

Wanna Sell Some Beer?

The crew at Cameron's Brewing Company are currently looking to fill two Toronto area sales positions.

The Oakville based brewery produces four beers (Auburn Ale, Cream Ale, Premium Lager, and Dark 266 Lager) and was the first brewery in Ontario to host 'Cask Nights', a monthly event where the brewers whip up something new and exciting for one night only.

The job ad, as advertised on Monster.ca, states the brewery is seeking two individuals to look after sales in their Toronto and North Toronto territories.

If you are driven to exceed expectations, love the thrill of closing the sale and enjoy the diverse personalities and hours of the hospitality industry keep on reading. Cameron’s Brewing Company is growing their group of craft beer connoisseurs responsible for spreading the news of great beer and expanding our customer base.

You can apply online through the Monster website.

** Jon Graham, a longtime sales representative with Cameron's, has recently accepted a similar position with the Muskoka Cottage Brewery based in Bracebridge, ON, which opened up one of the positions at Cameron's.

Happy Birthday Mr. Brauch AKA - Thirsty Traveler

It was Kevin Brauch's birthday yesterday and I didn't get around to putting together a post, but better late than never.

Brauch is the man behind the Thirsty Traveler, a television show that takes him around the world in search of beer, wine, and spirits. The show is currently on hold but Brauch is keeping himself busy with a new show he's hosting for the Food Network called Chef Off. One of the episode's was filmed at the in-laws place and my wife and I were able to be a small part of the show.

He was the master of ceremonies for the 2007 Canadian Brewing Awards and speaks at a number of beer dinners in Toronto. He also helps local pubs/bars with cocktail creations. He is a great entertainer and I for one hope to see The Thirsty Traveler back on air, sharing new beer related experiences with us from around the globe.

Happy birthday Kevin!

Boxer Lager Gets A Call From the AGCO

I had this written yesterday but for some reason it didn't post?? So, what's old today was new yesterday.

I am not a fan of their beer and I'm not a fan of their branding and marketing, but I'm standing in their corner today.

Boxer Lager, a beer from the Minhas Creek Craft Brewing Company (craft term used loosely) based out of Alberta, received a letter back in December from Ontario's Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO). The letter, as the Toronto Sun indicated, has to do with the name of their beer, Boxer, and a complaint the AGCO received from a member of the public (or from another major brewery) who thinks the name is using sports to promote their beer, something that is banned under Ontario liquor laws. Or is it?

I tried searching the Liquor Licence Act, but couldn't come up with anything that suggests using a 'sporting' term in the name of a product would be prohibited. I did however look under Section 87 of the Licences to Sell Liquor Regulation O.Reg 719 (Advertising Liquor and its Availability for Sale) and this is what it says:

87. (1) In this section,
“public service advertising” means any advertising carrying a strong message against irresponsible use of liquor where the message does not contain any direct or indirect endorsement of liquor, the brand name of liquor or of the consumption of liquor. O. Reg. 247/02, s. 27.

(2) Except for public service advertising, the holder of a licence to sell liquor may advertise or promote liquor or the availability of liquor only if the advertising,
(a) is consistent with the principle of depicting responsibility in use or service of liquor;
(b) promotes a general brand or type of liquor and not the consumption of liquor in general;
(c) does not imply that consumption of liquor is required in obtaining or enhancing,
(i) social, professional or personal success,
(ii) athletic prowess,
(iii) sexual prowess, opportunity or appeal,
(iv) enjoyment of any activity,
(v) fulfilment of any goal, or
(vi) resolution of social, physical or personal problems;
(d) does not appeal, either directly or indirectly, to persons under the legal drinking age or is not placed in media that are targeted specifically at people under that age;
(e) does not associate consumption of liquor with driving a motorized vehicle, or with any other activity that requires care and skill or has elements of physical danger;
(f) does not depict motorized vehicles in motion in advertising showing the consumption of liquor, unless the motorized vehicle is a form of public transportation;
(g) does not suggest any illegal sale, illegal purchase, illegal gift, illegal handling or illegal consumption of liquor; and
(h) is in compliance with guidelines related to advertising issued by the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming. O. Reg. 247/02, s. 27; O. Reg. 284/02, s. 3.

(3) When premises to which a licence applies are used as a setting for a film or television production, the licence holder may show the name of the establishment if the licence holder complies with the requirements set out in subsection (2). O. Reg. 247/02, s. 27.

Am I missing something here? I know the brewery (who just got into the province 3 months ago) uses a boxing commercial to advertise here in Ontario but how different is it then the commercial with four guys sitting around watching a hockey game getting beer out of a fridge with a curved hockey stick (Molson Canadian), or a spontaneous road hockey game that shuts down Bay Street (older Labatt Blue)? Maybe I am missing something in the Act and Regulations; maybe I didn't see the right section, but if I'm reading Section 87 correctly, Boxer Lager is not advertising athletic prowess or irresponsible use.

The poster (above) featuring cans of the Boxer Lager and an athletic looking female with boxing gear on does not, in my opinion anyway, suggest that you require alcohol to obtain or enhance athletic prowess as an AGCO spokesperson stated in an article yesterday. What if the poster featured an overweight male with a cigar in his mouth with boxing gear on. What would the AGCO have to say about that? Would anyone complain?

The beer is sold in cans at the lowest legal price, which tells you enough about the brewery and gives you a good indication about the quality of the beer, but this, in boxing terms, is a low-blow.

Cask, Fire, Skating Rink, Peat Smoker - In Toronto?

I've written about the Ceili Cottage a number of times back when owner Patrick McMurray was working on the building it now resides in. I posted a review of the place after it was up and running, after spending many a long nights at the bar soaking up the atmosphere, along with pints of real ale.

I was back yesterday for the 4th CASK! Social that was held at the Cottage between 3pm and 6pm, and let me tell you, there is no other drinking establishment in Toronto quite like the one McMurray has created.

From the very start McMurray has been attracting customers with his oyster shucking prowess. Then they started offering traditional sessions every Tuesday evening with local performers. They smoke peat moss in a little smoker behind the bar that fills the air with a pleasant aroma and it takes you back to the country, for me, the farm. In the summer on hot nights some of the Irish dancers that occupy the back portion of the building would show up on the patio and do a number of dances for the crowd.

Then it started getting cold and no one was sitting out on the large patio. The chairs and tables were put away until the spring and McMurray threw down some plastic wrap and started flooding the area with water, creating a skating rink. Every person that showed up yesterday for the social thought it was pretty cool to see a local with a skating rink (although the last couple of days featured warm warmer which melted away much of the rink). McMurray stated that his plans are to have people show up with their skates, grab a pint from inside and go for a skate (drinks won't be allowed on the ice surface).

To go along with the skating rink McMurray has also started having contained fires on the patio and the campfire smell can be detected blocks away from the Cottage. "We've only had the fire department called once on us and I think it was a passerby who didn't understand what was going on," McMurray told me yesterday. "We've actually received a lot of positive remarks from people in the area, and our customers love it."

Yesterday, during the CASK! Social, a bunch of people decided to stay outside huddled around the fire while drinking pints of County Durham's Triple XXX IPA on cask while others were sitting in the old church pew inside drinking ESB. It was a beautiful day and the company was good, so I stood by the fire for over 2 hours and enjoyed every second of it.

Where else in Toronto can you do this? Where else in Ontario can you do this? I certainly don't know of any other place. Skating (when the ice is back), outdoor fires, oyster shucking champion working his magic, traditional Irish music sessions, and cask conditioned ales - all found in the city of Toronto at the Ceili Cottage.

The Roy Public House Pint and a Pie Deal

Andy Schnurr, the publican of Leslieville's The Roy Public House, forwarded me an email about a new deal the pub has going that will run every Tuesday night until the end of February.

For $15 bucks you can get choose from one of the Roy's handmade pies that will come with a pint from Guelph's Wellington Brewery.

The Roy Public House
894 Queen Street East
Leslieville, Toronto
416.465.3331
www.TheRoy.ca

The Monk's Table - Robbie Burns Dinners

From Saturday, Jan. 23rd through Monday, January 25th, The Monk’s Table: A Gourmand House will be holding a number of three-course Robbie Burns dinners which will all be hosted by the Toronto Star's beer writer, Josh Rubin.

There will be a different menu each night (see below) and tickets will set you back $40 (thought beverages are not included in that price). Reservations can be made by calling 416-920-9074.

Here are the menu's as I received them from Adam Grant, the owner of The Monk's Table.

Saturday 23rd
Cock a Leekie Soup with
Haggis Millefeville Parsnip
Black Pudding Mouse
-Or-
Fisherman’s Pie, Scalloped Cheddar Potato with
Cranachan Strawberries and Ginger Bread

Sun 24th
Cauliflower and Cheese Soup with
Haggis & Salmon Duo
Leek & Ginger Bullion Horse Radish Potato
-Or-
Dundee Lamb Chops Colcannon with
Peach Oatmeal Crumble & Caledonian Cream

Monday 25th
Oxtail & Onion Soup with
Haggis & Kedgeree Duo Neeps & Tatties
-Or-
Venison Strip Loin Dalwhinnie Scotch Sauce with
Raspberry & Drambuie Cheese Cake

No word on which beers Rubin will use for the pairings as of yet.

$40.00 Beverage Pairings Not included
Please reserve in advance for the special menu
1276 Yonge St, Toronto, ON
416-920-9074

Cask Social #4 @ The Ceili Cottage

The next Cask Social, hosted by the Toronto CASK! group, has been set for this Saturday at The Ceili Cottage in Leslieville.

From 3pm - 6pm come out to one of the newest Toronto locations that serves cask conditioned ale and chat with others who share your enthusiasm for the drink.

The Ceili Cottage opened in June of last year and has attracted a very loyal fan base that continue to pack the local nightly. Since opening, owner Patrick McMurray has stuck with the cask ale from the County Durham Brewing Company (produced by Bruce Halstead) and it has been very popular with customers, sometimes selling out in days (not bad for a brand new establishment in a area with no other venues offering cask).

This is the 4th such 'Cask Social' and each time it is held at different Toronto locations were customers can ask for a pint of real ale any day of the week. There is no fee for admission.

Cask Social!
Saturday Jan. 16 3pm - 6pm
The Ceili Cottage - 1301 Queen Street East,
(just East of Leslie Street)

Mill Street to Release Betelgeuse Today

Mill Street's popular Betelgeuse Belgian Tripel is back, according to brewmaster Joel Manning, who sent me an email this morning letting me know it will be released today down at the brewpub.

"Our Belgian Tripel Betelgeuse is being released this morning at the brewpub and it's as nice as last year, yet slightly stronger at 9.1%abv," wrote Manning. "We have used our Belgian Wit Beer yeast to ferment the Betelgeuse and it has carried forward some similar flavours to our Wit, but you'll also find flavours of tinned fruit with pear, peach, apple, citric, clove and bubble gum notes both on the aroma and the palate. It has a definite warming alcohol character perfect for winter."

I was a big fan of this release last year, sharing a couple of growlers to myself over a weekend, and it seemed that others shared my feelings as it sold out extremely fast.

No word yet on when it will be available at the retail store in growlers, so call ahead before heading down there. Once its gone its gone.

Happy Birthday Mr. Mistry

Jamie Mistry, the brewmaster for Toronto's Amsterdam Brewing Company, is celebrating a birthday today.

Mistry started off his brewing career 17 years ago with a lab position at the Upper Canada Brewing Company before eventually moving onto Steam Whistle, helping them get up and running. From there Mistry brewed for the Cool Brewing Company for a number of years before leaving to steer the ship at Amsterdam in August 2008 where he currently is today, pumping out a number of new beers while tweaking some of the regulars.

Mistry received some good press this year for his work with a local homebrewer, Derek Hyde, re-creating Hyde's personal Doppelbock recipe on a large scale. That beer went on to win a gold medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards and won a Editor's Choice award at the Golden Tap awards.

Happy birthday Jamie!

*Pic. - Mistry on left, TAPS President Rob Engman on right @ the 2009 Canadian Brewing Awards gala.

Half Pints Ontario Private Order

HMH Negotiants are pleased to announce their first private order with Manitoba's Half Pints Brewery.

Ontario residents have the chance to order three Half Pints products: Burley Wine 2009, Little Scrapper IPA, and Stir Stick Stout in cases of 24x341ml bottles.

Burley Wine is listed at $118
Little Scrapper IPA at $66
Stir Stick Stout at $68.40

Contact HMH for more information on getting in on the order.

Who Else Is Heading To The Olympics?

There are 31 days to go before the grand opening and lighting of the Olympic flame at BC Place in Vancouver, and two Altantic Canadian breweries have announced that they will be sending beers out west for the Atlantic pavilion.

Andrew Cooper from the Propeller Brewing Company posted a feed on Twitter earlier today that confirmed that Halifax's oldest independent brewery will be suppling some of their gold medal beers for the east coast athletes. propellerbeer -Taking Gold to the Olympics - Propeller is proud to supply our gold medal beers to Atlantic Canada House #vancouver2010

Then Picaroon's let their fans know that they too will be sending some of their product out to the games in a post on their blog: Picaroons was very proud to be honored recently when asked to send out some beer for the Atlantic Pavilion at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver this February. Go Canada Go!

**UPDATE**

The Garrison Brewing Company was also asked to participant and they've obliged by sending out bottles of their Tall Ship Amber, Irish Red, Nut Brown & Martello Stout.

Toronto's Mill Street Brewery will be sending out their Tankhouse Ale and Organic Lager for the Ontario pavillion.

Steam Whistle - Steam Whistle Pilsner, Beau's - LugTread Lagered Ale, and Great Lakes - Red Leaf Lager will also be representing Ontario with beer from their respective breweries, joining Mill Street.

Bob Baxter, founder of the Yukon Brewery, let me know that there will be number locations around the Olympic Village to get beers from his brewery.

Pump House Brewing Co. in New Brunswick will also be part of the Atlantic pavilion, sending bottles of their Blue Berry and Cadian Cream Ale.

What other Canadian craft breweries are sending beers west for the Olympics? Shoot me an email (greatcanadianpubs@gmail.com) if you know of a local brewery that is taking part.

Happy Birthday Mr. Clow

Today is Greg Clow's birthday. Clow is the longtime news editor of Bar Towel; the creator/writer of Beer, Beats, Bites blog; the creator/writer of Canadian Beer News; and the co-founder of the Taste TO website. He is also a regular contributor with TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine with his Beer Styles 101 column and he is also one of the six tasters in the TAPS tasting panel.

I first met Clow back in 2007 when I first started this blog and he was one of the first people to notice what I set out to do. He was also one of the first people to welcome me to this small beer blogging fraternity, writing a post on one of his sites about my blog.

Happy birthday Greg!

OCB Discovery Pack No. 4

Anyone remember this post? I originally had this (below) up on the blog on January 11th for about a week. It turned out that I had the information a little to early and the Ontario Craft Brewers weren't ready to launch all the PR stuff yet. I removed the post out of courtesy, but today the OCB launched their material, so here is the original post again.

Check out the picture to the right. This is the 4th edition of the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) Discovery Pack, put together in celebration of the Winter Olympics that are taking place in February.

Just like the first three Discovery Packs, this fourth installment includes six different beers from six different Ontario breweries.

Black Oak Nut Brown Ale (was in Discovery Pack #2)
Flying Monkey's Hoptical Illusion
Old Credit Amber Ale
Cameron's Cream Ale
Mill Street Coffee Porter
Wellington Special Pale Ale (was in Discovery Pack #1)

I'm told that the new six packs will start showing up on LCBO shelves at the beginning of February, just in time for the Olympics (the new Discovery Packs are now starting to appear on store shelves throughout the province at various LCBO stores - LCBO #168351). for $11.95. The design on the box is great, with the red and white with maple leafs scattered throughout the red portion. No word yet if any of the packs will be headed to B.C. for the Ontario camps.

Bière et Compagnie - Bar Volo Jan. 24th

From barVolo:

An afternoon of Québec beer, cheese and accompaniments presented by HMH Negotiants and Cheese Culture.

Experience the diversity and creativity of Québec’s food and drink scene while enjoying beers from three breweries; Dieu du Ciel!, Charlevoix and Les Trois Mousquetaires (2 beers from each) paired with a flight of craft cheeses from la belle province. Linger over your final glass with a selection of treats from Toronto’s Micro-chocolatier, Chocosol.

The event will be held at barVolo
587 Yonge St. Toronto (Corner of Yonge & Dundonald)
Sunday, January 24, 2010 between 2:00pm - 4:00pm

The cost will be $50.00 – 40 available seats
Tickets in advance available @ barVolo


Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Blanche
Peppercorn Raclette (Fromagerie Station) - Raw Cow Milk Washed Rind

Dieu Du Ciel! Rosée d'Hibiscus
Chèvre Noir (Fromagerie Tournevent) - Goat Milk Cheddar

Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Triple
St. Albert 5-year-old (Fromagerie St. Albert) - Cow Milk Cheddar

Dieu Du Ciel! Aphrodisiaque
Le 1608 (Laiterie Charlevoix) raw Canadienne - Cow Milk Washed Rind

Les Trois Mousquetaires Imperiale Weizen
To be Announced!

Les Trois Mousquetaires Porter Baltique
Le Ciel de Charlevoix (Affinage Maurice Dufour) - Raw Cow Blue

For more information please visit
www.cheeseculture.ca
www.hmhnegotiants.com @hmhnegotiants
www.barvolo.com @barvolo
www.chocosoltraders.com

Great Lakes New Beer - Canuck Pale Ale

****NAME CHANGE AND LOGO CHANGE****

Turns out Great Lakes hit a couple of snags after their initial post, but all is good now and the LCBO will even be selling some for a limited time. This post originally appeared back on January 8th, which has been updated but I thought it was worthy even to re-post today.

I was out at the Great Lakes Brewery this afternoon to drop off some TAPS magazines, and to catch up with John Bowden, who had just finished posting some exciting news on the Great Lakes blog.

Months ago I was teased by some of the brewery staff that they would be introducing a new beer for retail in the new year, which would be based on a recipe discovered during the brewing of a beer for a Project 'X' night. However, they wouldn't mention which one, and they continued to play around while tweaking the recipe. Then I was able to help brew a couple of beers on their pilot system with Bowden and Mike Lackey (another Great Lakes staff member) in November and I got the impression that the new beer the brewery was talking about was a Pale Ale, something I would try that day.

So back to today. John just finished a post informing everyone that the new beer would indeed be a Pale Ale that they're calling Canuck Pale Ale, and before I left the brewery I was able to head to the back of the brewery for a sample Bowden drew from the aging tank.

I also ran into Peter Bulut Jr., the President of the brewery, who mentioned that they are just waiting for the bottles to arrive before bottling it for retail sales in their on-site store, retailing for $4.95. Some will also be kegged for various pubs/restaurants.

And if your wondering if some will show up on LCBO shelves soon, don't hold your breath. Bowden mentioned that bottles could be retailing in Manitoba before they get a listing with the LCBO, joining some of the other Great Lakes product already being sold there. (Well, I guess this has changed - so some will be found in Manitoba and the LCBO)

The taste? I didn't take any notes (either today or in November), and I only had a small sample each time, but I found it real nice. Straw gold in colour, hop forward, nice lingering bitterness (35 IBU's), citrusy American hop notes with some toasted malt, light to medium body, terrific hop aroma from the cascade dry hopping, and quite crisp with a bitter finish. Similar to the Anchor Liberty Ale maybe, a little lighter in body. It will be slightly filtered when it's bottled, but the brewery is hoping to get some of that unfiltered goodness to slip though.

Good job and it's nice to see Great Lakes introduce another seasonal that both hopheads and newbies can enjoy together.

Canuck Pale Ale
5.2% abv
$4.95 - 650ml
Available at the brewery retail store, pubs, and LCBO's soon

Traditional Robbie Burns Mill Street Brew Master's Dinner: Jan 28th

On Thursday January 28th, Mill Street Brewery will be hosting a Traditional Robbie Burns Day Supper down at their brewpub in the Distillery District.

For $49.99 (plus taxes and gratuitites) you can indulge in five courses of Scottish themed food that will be matched with different Mill Street products. Here is the menu:

Welcome beer: ESB

First Course: Homemade Scotch Egg with Helles Bock

Second Course: Cock-a-Leekie Soup with Cask IPA

Third Course: Haggis with Betelgeuse

Fourth (Main) Course: Filet Mignon topped with Dalwhinnie Scotch sauce, served with Bashed Neeps and Champit Tatties with Black Watch

Dessert: The Bards Ice Cream Sensation & Scottish Short Bread

I attended the last Mill Street Brew Master's dinner and at $49.99, it's a steal of a deal. The food was terrific, and the beers served down at the brewpub are always well done, and do to their proximity to the brewery, they are always served nice and fresh. As with the first dinner, Joel Manning (brewmaster) will be on hand speaking about the various beers and why they were paired with the particular dish.

Call the brewpub to reserve a spot - (416) 681-0338

New Brewery to Open in Edmonton

Earlier today Edmonton Journal Beer Blogger (On Tap), Mark Suits, reported the news of a new brewery that has begun operations in Edmonton with plans to have their beer available by the spring - The Kohler Brewing Company Inc.

From Suits post, The Kohler Brewing Company Inc. sent out a news release announcing its first brew, Kohler lager, should be hitting the shelves this spring. Drinkers will also be able to choose the final recipe at special tastings this Saturday.

The press release mentions that the people behind the brewery searched all over North America looking for the perfect brewmaster and they found him in Eric Buehner, a brewer from the US.

"Our challenge to the brewmaster was to develop a well balanced, PURE, Canadian beer that exceeds the strict criteria of the Reinheitsgebot," stated Todd Gajek, who was hired to head the project of putting the brewery together. (Suits mentions in his post the Gajek had strong connections to the Maverick Brewery that went out of business in 2007)

Buehner brewed up some batches and this Saturday (the 9th) the brewery will be holding public tastings at three Edmonton establishments to get their input into which of the three lagers is best, which will help determine which one to retail.

A new brewery, a craft brewery, and the first beer they come out with is another lager? I asked myself the same question when Moosehead entered the craft beer market with their Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager but after tasting it, and finding it quite enjoyable, I'll wait to pass judgement until trying the new beer.

The Kohler Brewing Company
11263 - 180th Street
Edmonton, AB. CANADA T5S 0B4

TAPS: Winter '09 Issue

The winter issue of TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine was released one week before Christmas and again, like the previous two issues, has over 90 pages full of beer related information from coast-to-coast, with a couple of international stories mixed in for good measure.

Here is a sneek peek into what you'll find in the magazine, although there is a lot more inside the 98 pages, including regional beer news, beer reviews by our Tasting Panel, a profile of the the Scotland's oldest brewery, Belhaven, beer and food articles, and much more.

Greg Clow: Clow's series of Beer Styles 101 has taken a glimpse into Stouts, Witbier, Barley Wines, Porter, and Weissbier over numerous issues and this winter issue features a good read on IPA's.

Stephen Beaumont: In his My Shout Column, Beaumont takes a look back at 2009 and picks some winners for his self-styled achievement awards.

Craig Pinhey: Takes a look at the White and Lime beer trends, explains that "Dark" is not a taste, and discusses the love of local hops in Atlantic Canada.

Bill White: For his Ask the Brewmaster column, White takes readers through the entire brewing process and talks about food pairings in another article.

Mirella Amato: Busy as ever, Amato profiles the Bierbrier brewery in Montreal, provides highlights of the first ever Mondial de la Biere in Strasbourg, France, interviewed Ray Daniels, and she took a close look into the Quebec beer scene.

James Burla: 11 Alberta breweries got together in October at the Grizzly Paw brewery in Canmore, AB to brew a beer together for charity, and Burla was there to document the special day. He also wrote about the beers from Alley Kat brewery in Edmonton.

Connie Proteau: Proteau pays a visit to the Whistler Brewing Company in Whistler, BC and Tree Brewing in Kelowna, BC.

Kristina Santone: Santone reviewed three books: Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada - Beer Lover's Britain - World's Best Beers.

Cary Hyodo: Took a trip to Transylvania, tasted the local beers, visited the local breweries and pubs, profiled and took some great photo's.

Sam Corbeil: Beer and Clothing in Las Munich. Corbeil and a bunch of friends traveled to Munich to soak up (literally) Oktoberfest....and he survived to write about his experience.

Eric Ecclestone: Shared his Scotch Ale recipe in his Homebrewing column.

Chuck Cook: Cook was at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado and he shares his views with readers.

The Tasting Panel featured the following beers: Salt Spring Porter from Gulf Island Brewery, Dark 266 Lager from Cameron's Brewery, Alberta Crude Oatmeal Stout from Wild Rose, Russian Gun Imperial Stout from Grand River Brewing, Gin Lane Barley Wine from the Granite Brewery (Toronto location), and Ol' Fog Burner Barley Wine from Garrison Brewing.

And I wrote a little story on the Black Oak Brewing Company and their 10 year anniversary, interviewed Beer Wars movie producer Anat Baron, and put together a small last minute gift guide for TAPS readers.

TAPS is available at select Chapters/Indigo nation-wide and at many independent book and magazine retail outlets from coast-to-coast. Subscriptions for the magazine can be purchased by visiting the TAPS website (www.tapsmagazine.com) or by calling 416-536-9100. On-line digital versions of the magazine can also be purchased for the low yearly price of $12. Click here for more details.

Picaroons Pub

Picaroons Brewing Company (see ad to the left) in Frederiction, New Brunswick have a pretty cool new social website that they've cleverly called "Picaroons Pub".

The site appears to have gone live last spring with the intention of bringing fans together to talk beer - This network was developed by Picaroons Brewing Company to talk about beer, make some new friends and have a few laughs!

As I said, the website is pretty cool. There is an online discussion forum, blog postings, event listings, videos, photo galleries, and more. They also let their members contribute by giving them the opportunity to create their own blog posts, add events, and submit their own photos and videos. It's a great way to connect with their fans, while getting some good feedback about their products and new initiatives, such as updating people about their Melonhead beer or giving a sneak peek at the new labels for their new beer - Feel Good Pilsner.

I've always felt that Canadian breweries could do more to increase their online presence whether it be creating and maintaining a free Facebook page (Beau's All Natural Brewery in Vanleek Hill, ON have done a great job with this), getting on the Twitter bandwagon (Wild Rose Brewery in AB and Steam Whistle in ON are both very active with their accounts), or updating their website with greater frequency, it's a great way to do what Picaroons are doing with their site - bringing together fans of the brewery and keeping them up to date with stuff that interests them.

Head over to Picaroons Pub and become a member today.

Magnotta Co-Founder Passes Away

The The Welland Tribune has a story in their paper today about the death of Magnotta Winery Corporation co-founder, Gabe Magnotta. Magnotta had battled Lyme disease for over seven years and according to the article he passed away on December 30th.

Together with his wife Rossanna, Magnotta Winery was born in 1990 and in less than 15 years the company was the 3rd largest winery in Ontario in volume of sales (from their website). In 1996 the husband and wife team announced that a brewery (Magnotta Brewery) would be added to the business, opening in their new Vaughan, ON headquarters in 1997. The brewery produces six beers under the brand name True North (Wunder Weisse, Cream Ale, Strong Ale, Blonde Lager, Cooper Altbier, and India Pale Ale) and has recently started participating in various events featuring cask ale.

Gabe Magnotta was 59 years old.

Garrison Imperial IPA Accepted For LCBO's Autumn 2010 Release

I was on the phone with Cass Enright back on December 24th and he mentioned he had heard some terrific news from the LCBO earlier in the day - Garrison IPA, a beer Enright represents here in Ontario as he represents the Garrison Brewery, was accepted for the 2010 Autumn release.

Back in October Enright and Brian Titus (Garrison Brewing Co. owner) agreed to submit the beer for consideration and it was tasted in November. You see, the LCBO sends out a pdf. file by the name "Product Needs" to breweries and importers for various intake periods and this particular one (Autumn) was calling for single serving format preferred (500 mL), which is exactly how the IPA is sold.

The file also had the terms "proven track record in other markets” and “award winning”, and if you know your beer, you'll know that the IPA was named the Canadian Beer of the Year in 2007 and 2008 at the Canadian Brewing Awards. That's a pretty easy sell. The LCBO would also have had to look at the two private orders Enright put together, which sold out very fast (in fact the first one soldout in 4 days).

Enright and Titus put together the required paperwork and sent it off, and that email Enright received from the LCBO on Christmas Eve was a nice early gift. The price hasn't been set as of yet, but if it comes in under $4.00 a bottle, which could be the case, it should be very popular with the hopheads.

What's really great about this news is how it's come to be. Yes, the beer is fantastic and having it be available at LCBO retail stores, even for a short period, is great. But all this happened because of Enright's drive to document the process for bringing a beer, even if it's from another province, into Ontario for consumer consumption with his Free Our Beer site. What started out as curiosity turned into a small business venture with Ontario beer drinkers reaping the rewards.

Head over to Enright's Free Our Beer site to read his latest post on the acceptance.

Stonch's Beer Blog Calls It A Day

I've taken some time off from writing, soaking up some rest and relaxation, getting ready for the new year of posting news, reviews and interviews. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and ended the year in style.

Today I got up and decided I'd try to do a late submission for the 35th installment of the Session, having it be my first post of 2010, and I just might get around to it this afternoon, but in checking my daily reads I noticed the following title of a post on Stonch's Beer Blog - The Last Post.

It turns out that Jeffrey Bell, the man behind the three year old blog (and owner of the Gunmakers Arms), has decided to call it quits, ending his successful site. You see, this is the blog's third birthday, and I decided a few weeks ago that this would be the day I'd finally put it to sleep.

Bell's site was one of the first blogs I found myself attached to when I set out to create this one, and he was one of the first people to send me an email welcoming me to the beer blogosphere. He offered words of encouragement and paid compliments to my material; something I greatly appreciated and haven't forgotten to this day.

So long Jeff! It's been great tuning in the past over the past years. All the best in your future endeavours and here's to continued success with the Gunmakers.