Roland & Russell Imports Hosting Southern Tier Bus/Brewery Tour

Roland and Russell, the Ontario based import agents for Lakewood, NY's Southern Tier Brewing Co., have put together a cross border brewery tour that will take passionate beer drinkers from Toronto to Lakewood to check out one of America's most diverse breweries.

On April 30th, for $65 per person, individuals will be able to hop on a bus that will be departing Toronto's Union Station at 8am sharp which will take them to Southern Tier. People will have the opportunity to meet Phin DeMink, Southern Tier's owner, and the rest of the team that produce a number of highly popular beers sold here in Ontario.

Included in the $65 price tag, along with transportation, are six beer samples, a pulled pork sandwich, a private tour of the brewery and the opportunity to try all the available Southern Tier beers from their rotating draught list.

The bus will then depart the brewery at 4pm for the journey back to Toronto.

"It promises to be a wonderful way to spend a Saturday in spring and try some tasty beers on draught and tickets are selling briskly so please don't delay, contact us asap to reserve your seats," said Liliana Pavicic, one half of the Roland and Russell team. "Payment may be made by cheque, money order or email money transfer (contact us for details).Thank you for supporting this great brewery and making Southern Tier beers such a hit in Ontario!"

Seating is limited, so contact R&R to RSVP soon! (sales@rolandandrussell.com)

When: April 30, 2011
What: One day brewery tour
Where: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY
Why: To meet Phin DeMink and his team and to sample some great beers.
Price: $65.00 pp
Other details: Departing Toronto at 08:00 AM

Canuck Brewer...

Some of you may know him, others may not, but a good friend of mine has decided to make a change in his life, getting out of the beer industry for the time being to travel across Canada. And he's started a blog to record his adventure so I thought I'd share that with you.

John Bowden, a former long-time employee of Etobicoke's Great Lakes Brewery and co-founder of Toronto Beer Week, decided to pack up his things and hit the Trans Canada highway to see all that Canada has to offer between Ontario and B.C., and you'll be able to follow his progress on his Canuck Brewer blog. Bowden will be stopping in little towns and villages, trying to find good beer bars and breweries along the way.

The trip started yesterday with his first overnight stay in Sault St. Marie, but not before visiting the Laughing Buddha in Sudbury, a beer bar that is receiving some good chatter over on Bar Towel.

www.canuckbrewer.wordpress.com

Back From Europe...and full of beer!

I'm back on Canadian soil after spending two great weeks in Europe, making stops in Amsterdam, Belgium and Paris.

My wife and I departed Toronto on October 2nd for our first trip across the Atlantic and things didn't start off on the right foot. Flying over Newfoundland & Labrador it was announced that the plane would be turning around and heading back to Montreal due to issues with the right engine. Three and a half hours later we were back in the air to Amsterdam.

We spent three days touring the canals, sitting in cafe's along the canal edge, tasting beer from the local Brouwerij 't IJ, taking part in the Heineken Experience, browsing through the wonderful Cracked Kettle beer shop, and visiting the museum's and historical properties. It was a fun filled, albeit packed, three days. Then it was off to Bruges.

Bruges

After settling in to our hotel room at the beer-centric, Hotel Erasmus, we strolled over to the famous Markt to get a glimpse of the wonderful old buildings. Cobblestone roads, horse and buggies, chocolate shops and  small cafes all line the Markt and make for some interesting people watching.

When the clock struck 4pm we found the small alleyway that is home to 't Brugs Beertje. We found Daisy (the owner) behind the bar pouring beers for a number of American's and locals alike. We found a table and settled in for a long session, which included a in-depth conversation with Johan Brandt, owner and brewer of the Brouwerij Smisje, and Daisy herself. After saying our goodbye's we staggered off to Cambrinus before heading back to hotel for a nightcap that included numerous glasses of 2008 Orval at the hotel bar. The next morning I interviewed Daisy for the winter issue of TAPS and I found her love of good beer has truly shaped her path in life. She is an exception woman, and one hell of a publican.

We visited a number of other brasserie's in Bruges over the next two days, including a great visit to De Halve Maan brewery and a number of bottle shops, and loved every minute of it. I would go back in a heartbeat! Unfortunately we had a train to catch to Mechelen.

Mechelen

20 minutes after getting off the train we were standing in the lobby of the famous Het Anker Brewery Hotel. This historic brewery consumes a huge lot on the corner off a busy street and is home to the brewery, a hotel, brewery offices and as of two weeks ago - a brand new brewery restaurant with a great retail store. We had some lunch and I made my way through a number of their products before heading out to see the old town.

The next day my wife and I were led on a personal tour of the grounds. The history surrounding the brewery is astounding and they've done a great job to preserve it. Throughout the grounds you can see old equipment, bottles, the malt house, the cooper cooling tank on the roof of the brewery, the secure part of the brewery that houses the valuable Scotch barrels (under lock and key), and images of year's past. For two hours we climbed steep stairs, poked our heads into the brewing tanks, spoke with the brewing staff and heard the interesting history behind the names of each beer.

We finished the tour, had lunch, then headed off to climb the highest tower in Mechelen before catching another train to Brussels.

Brussels

Our hotel, Metropole, was magnificent. I would recommend it to anyone planning a visit to Brussels. We made sure to visit during the weekend when the prices of hotels are significantly cheaper (from 400 euros during the week to 115 on weekends!).

We did a lot during our three days in Brussels. We visited the Brewer's Museum, Delirium Cafe (which I was disappointed in), a la Becasse (lambic pub - lambic served in ceramic jugs), a la Mort Subite, Beer Planet, and Cantillon.

Cantillon was something that will be remembered for years. Jean Van Roy was there to chat with me over some of his beer and the place was busy with tourists taking tours. The brewery is a special place, almost out of place in the bustling Brussels. The city grew up and built itself around the old brewery.

On our last night in Brussels, before heading off to Paris, we found a great establishment off a busy street, tucked away down a dim light alleyway called Au Bon Vieux Temps - I didn't want to leave. The building dates back to 1695 and it feels as though you're drinking in the basement of a church, with the stained glass windows on each side of the place. Locals and tourists drinking together in harmony!

Here are some pictures from the trip. I'll eventually get to posting more in-depth profiles of some of the places visited in the upcoming weeks.

Deus at 2BE

't Brugs Beertje

Old Bottles at Het Anker in Mechelen

Cantillon

Mondial de la Biere - Days 4, 5, 6, 7

I left off my last Mondial post at the end of day three so I'll pick it up at the beginning of day four (my day four), the third full day of the festival (Friday).

Day 4
This was the day that the MBiere Contest awards were to be handed out to all the winners of the 5th edition of the tasting.  A group of international judges gathered on days 1 & 2 to judges numerous beers available at the festival and shortly after 4pm the winners where announced in the media tent:

Platinum:
A la fut - Trippe à 3 a la Brett
Gold:
Benelux - Congo
Benelux - Cuda
Broadway - Sein d'esprit
Hopfenstark - Saison Station 55
Le Saint-Bock - Malédiction
Le Saint-Bock - R.I.P.
Le Saint-Bock - Sacrilège
Le Saint-Bock - Sacrilège ultime
McAuslan - St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Trou du Diable - La Saison du Tracteur

Le Saint-Bock was the big winner with four gold medals (all four beers are big and bold, strong in strength) and A la fut received the Platinum award for their Brett infected Trippel.  **Starting next year the MBiere Contest will be named in honour of the late Greg Noonan**

We had more help in the TAPS booth from Jordan St. John again and we had another busy afternoon.  By this point my voice started to go and my legs felt like cement...but my energy remained high with each new subscription the magazine received.  There were a lot of people stopping by the booth, including Gerry Heiter, the founder and organizer of the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria, BC.  Great guy!  Really passionate about good beer.  We chatted for a long time about his festival and how alcohol regulations in BC limit him from throwing a festival similar to Mondial.  

Another Toronto TAPS reader, Rob Symes, arrived on Friday night to volunteer in booth for the entire weekend and when day three came to an end we headed out to Le Cheval Blanc to drink some sours.  We started off with a couple bottles of their single hop Warrior IPA, 100% fermented with bretts, bottle conditioned.  Unfortunately it was for us and we ended up sharing the bottles with the large contingent of Toronto people who were also there.  A bottle of Boon Mariage Parfait ended up on our table and got us back in the game.  Delicious.  There were also glasses of a Saison aged for five months in Chardonnay Oak barrels and more.

Hungry and tired we headed down the road to Le Saint-Bock for some dinner and a night-cap.  Back to the hotel.

Day 5

Saturday morning.  Getting close to the end.  Close to some rest and relaxation.  Saturday was not the day for rest, though.

It was raining a bit in the morning which thinned the early morning crowd but it picked up again early afternoon.  All the Quebec brewers who stopped by the booth kept saying, "You haven't seen anything yet.  Wait till 5pm."  Well, by 3pm the place was packed.  And I mean packed.  Each time a glass was dropped the entire crowd let out a deafening cheer, something that would continue all day and all night.

At 5pm we had another volunteer show up which provided Symes and I the opportunity to head to Dieu du Ciel for some pints.  Penombre and Isseki Nicho were my selections and both were damn nice.  I could drink the Nicho everyday.  We sat beside a dj from LA who was in town for work and decided to stop in to try all the beers.  On the other side of us was a couple from New York who came into town just for the festival.  It was fun to rub it in that the Jays just beat the Yankees in 14 innings!

Back out to the street and off to the famous Schwartz's restaurant for some smoked meat.  Simply amazing.  If you haven't been before - go.  We grabbed a spot at the counter (after waiting outside in line for 15mins) and soaked up the atmosphere.....and the meat.  

After finishing up the food we headed back to the festival to work the rest of the night.  When we got back the noise was crazy.  The last two hours of the festival flew by and we even managed to sell a few subscriptions, even though reading was the last thing on most people's minds.  Our t-shirts were pretty hot sellers though.

Numerous trip to the exhibitor bar area and our previous session at Dieu du Ciel, plus the previous nights, were catching up to me.  It was back to the hotel and off to bed.

Day 6

The last day of the festival.  Rain, lots of rain.  The crowds were thin until about 4pm or so.  The exhibitor fridge was running low and many of the breweries, and the petit pubs, were slowing running out of certain products.  However, we had many, many coupons left and because it was the last day we had to take advantage of them (we really did).  

My day started and ending with beers from MicroBrasserie Le Trou Diable.  The Saison de Tractuer, which one a gold medal, was/is a beautiful beer.  I did a small video interview with Andre Trudel who was thrilled with winning a medal.

I also did an interview/beer tasting with a reporter from Belgium who was interested in how Canada's perceived Belgian beers.  We sampled some beers from Brasserie du Boco (Blanche de Namur) and Brasserie la Binichoise (Blond) while he asked me about Canadian beers, Belgian beer labels and what I tasted in each sip.  

Over in the media tent Mirella Amato (Beerology) was leading a blind tasting of Ontario and Quebec beers and individuals were tasked with voting on each beer - either from Ontario or Quebec.  Amato was shocked, as was I when she told me, that 18 people thought that the Stout from Ontario's Hockley Valley brewery was the St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout while only 3 people got it right.  Interesting...

The day was coming to a close and we started tearing down our booth.  Loaded and packed in the TAPS trailer we headed out to dinner.  We found a Polish restaurant in Old Montreal that served Unibroue and Polish coffee.  Back to the hotel after dinner to polish off the beers we accumulated over the course of the week.  3:30am - day over.

Day 7

Up at 9am.  Sore head.  Got the vehicle and headed off to Chambly for some cheese.  Got some cheese.  Drove home.  The end.

Mondial was a great experience - everything I thought it would be.  I'm looking forward to attending again next year and I'm excited to see the new location.

In Pictures - Neustadt Brewery: Neustadt, ON

I was able to get out of the city for the weekend, heading to Elmwood for a wedding. Looking at Google maps to get a sense of its location, I noticed it was very close to Neustadt, home of Val and Andrew Stimpson's Neustadt Springs Brewery. It was determined that a slight detour was in order to stop in and take a tour of the cellar/tunnel beneath the historic brewery.

The brewery, built in 1859 by Henry Huether, is situated just off the main street in the small village and sits atop on a natural clear spring of water that still flows underneath the brewery to this day. The Stimpson's moved here from the UK in 1997 and purchased the old brewery, which hadn't seen beer produced on-site since 1916 due to the brewery closing because of prohibition.

Due to the timing of the wedding, I couldn't afford to stay at the brewery for too long, but I did manage to get in a self tour of said cellar/tunnels, where Huether once stored his beers to keep cool. The tunnels, as people in Neustadt said, used to run all over the downtown area to supply the local Inns and Taverns; however, they have since been blocked and no there is now no access past the brewery.

Here are some pictures.

After walking down a set of stairs and rounding a corner, this is the first room in the cellar that you enter. Notice the chandelier hanging from the ceiling? It dates back to the start of the original Crystal Springs Brewery - 1859.

This was the entrance to one of the tunnels (turn left at end). Some of the rooms had adequate lighting; this one did not. The girls I was with were a bit nervous about walking through.

Another room with one light. Old beer barrels are scattered in this room and there are some metal artifacts hanging on the stone walls (not pictured).

A bunch of barrels lined up against the wall. The opposite wall was also lined with barrels.

This is an original barrel with the original 'Huether's Beer' symbol on it.

The water. This is one of Neustadts biggest assets. You can hear the water flowing gently as you enter the last room and pictures of Huether pulling up water for his brews runs through my head.

And back out to the front where Val was busy selling their products to a bunch of locals. The Big Dog Porter was available in cans for $2.65.

**

On Saturday August 15th, Val and Andrew will be opening the doors to the brewery for an open house, leading people on a brewery tour and taking people on the underground adventure to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the oldest operating brewery in Ontario.

Guided tours of the brewery, cellar/tunnels and the spring run from May to September on weekends only and cost a mere $5. Individuals are encouraged to call ahead to book the tour in advance. Group tours for up to 10 people can also be arranged. Call ahead to book.

Halifax: Day 3 - A Visit to RockBottom

You can imagine how we all felt Sunday morning: awful. It was going to be a long day. After managing to awake, we checked out of the Four Points and made our way to the Henry House to meet some old friends for brunch.

As I mentioned earlier, the Henry House makes some great food for terrific prices, and brunch is no different. As hungover as we felt, we ordered some food and watched in horror as our Halifax friends ordered pints of McAuslan Pale and Propeller IPA to help wash down their food. I looked around the Henry House just before leaving and found myself already missing it. It has a calming quality to it, providing you with the comfortableness all pubs should attain to possess. Troubled thoughts and hardships seem to disappear the minute you step foot on the staircase that leads you to the downstairs pub, and a feeling of a serendipity takes hold of you. It truly is a magnificent pub.

Back into the sunlight and off to Garrison for some merchandise. Enright and Kebbel picked up some shirts and wearables, while I stuck to some Ol' Fog Burner Barley Wine. Titus provided us with some terrific pint glasses that have the Imperial Pale Ale logo, along with the 2007 & 2008 Canadian Beer of the Year medals logo, etched on them.

With some hours to kill before our flight we decided to head up Spring Garden road to try out the beers from the new RockBottom Brewery. The new bar is located beneath Your Father's Moustache, right on Spring Garden, and not far from Rogue's Roost. Word of warning - looking for a good craft beer from a brewpub? Stick to the Roost.

It is a very attractive place once you enter. New leather chairs, fake wooden beams running from end to end, a large stone encased fireplace surrounded by chairs, large windows looking out into the brewing (fermenting) area, and a nice long bar with an attractive looking draught system that features no tap handles, just buttons that pour the beer to the desired amount. This is all good, and should attract customers looking for a nice restaurant, but it's not a repeat visit for a craft beer enthusiast. And here's why.

We wanted to try all the beers the Rock Bottom serves up, so we each ordered the sample paddle. Six beers came to our table 15 minutes later: Brown Ale, Stout, Red Amber Ale, Wheat, IPA, and a Pale Ale. They all tasted eerily similar, tart and sweet, flat and watery. The IPA was dull and weak. Most Pilsners have more of a hop bite to them then this one. The Wheat, well, it could have been passed off as a Cider. So tart. Apples and lemon in the mouth gave me the old fish face look. Our server came over to the table to clear the paddles and asked us what we thought of the beers. I think she guessed by our blank expressions that we weren't to fond of them so she actually stated that only two of the beers were fresh and the rest have been around since the first batch - December!

The server also let us know that the beer comes from the Gahan House in PEI, but she thought some others were brewed on site. When asked if all the product came here to ferment, she didn't know, but that is what we expect and that is what we had heard from some other Halifax residents. So, the RockBottom is a ferment pub, not a microbrewery.

Up the stairs and off to the airport for our flight back to Toronto. It was a great visit filled with many a good beer. Thanks to Garrison for taking us out around the town. Thanks to Andrew Cooper and Propeller for supplying us with enough drinks for a month and for getting us into the Seahorse. Big thanks to the folks at the Four Points who took care of us and supplied us with some tasty treats. Thanks to the Bill and Donna from the Henry House, and thanks to the the rest of the pubs who took us in and kept our glasses full.

Halifax - Day 2: Off to Propeller

Andrew Cooper is one of the many born and raised Ontarians who have moved to the East Coast for change of scenery, and is he ever glad he decided to settle in Halifax. Since moving over from Cobourg 4 or so years ago Cooper has climbed the ladder at Propeller, and is now settling into his current position in sales. He started off driving the delivery van, hauling and swinging kegs around town. Then he moved into the retail store and helped out in the brewhouse, essentially doing every job that the brewery needed to be done. Hard work and patience paid off and now he covers the whole Halifax region for Propeller, selling their product to the many fine pubs and bars in the downtown core.

I met Cooper only once when I was living in Halifax, but we frequently email each other when they release a new beer or if there is something new in the works at the brewery. When we made the decision to head to Halifax I contacted Cooper to see if we could get into Propeller for some sampling. Which brings me to Saturday afternoon.

We all woke up with sore heads on Saturday morning, but a greasy breakfast still called our names. After getting some food in us, we headed up the hill to Halifax's oldest craft brewery, Propeller, for a meet and greet with Cooper, and to sample their new Hefeweizen. We arrived right at 12 noon and took our seats in the event room, where tall glasses of the wheat beer was waiting for us. Cooper let it be known that we were in for a good afternoon, offering to pour us samples of all their product and give us a tour of the recently expanded brewery.

As mentioned, we started of with the new seasonal Hefeweizen, which was excellent. Milkshake appearance with a large fluffy meringue like head, with a lot of clove and banana notes on the nose. Clove, bubblegum, and lemony wheat tartness on the tongue, along with a bready yeast profile, nicely carbonated and thirst quenching. The beer weighs in at 5.3% and is available in bottles at select private liquor stores and at the brewery's retail store.

We moved on and sampled the Extra Special Bitter (coming to Ontario soon!), Pilsener (which is now brewed and bottled year round), Honey Wheat (which is back in rotation, slightly altered), London Porter (one of Canada's best), Pale Ale, and their IPA, my personal favourite. We sat and chatted for hours, sampling the whole time. We did go for that brewery tour, with sample glasses, and it was neat seeing the differences between Garrison's brewhouse and Propeller's.

Once the clock hit 5pm, we knew it was time for some food, so Wooden Monkey it was. The Monkey is an all local restaurant with all local beers on tap, plus a gluten free beer called Glutaner that caught my fiancee's attention. It was at the Wooden Monkey that a good source (terrific one actually) informed us that Keith's White is not a white beer, in the Belgian sense. So there you have it.

From here we went to the Lower Deck to catch some local bands. The Lower Deck is probably the most well-known pub in all of Canada. Going to Halifax? Head to the Deck. After drinking a bunch of IPA for two straight days, the Bud Light never went down so easy. But it has its limits. So back out onto the streets and off to the Seahorse Tavern where Cooper was waiting with VIP tickets to see a CD launch concert put on by The Divorcees, a well known hardcore Country group. There was Propeller IPA on draught, so we lubricated ourselves in the hop goodness for hours.

And to end the night, we headed to Maxwell's Plum again because we wanted to get some Pump House brews, and an 80oz dispenser of Special Old Bitter (SOB) was dropped on our table.

Day three to come - RockBottom Brewery (??).

Beers of the World: Rochester, NY

After working two hockey games and visiting an outlet mall, it was time to get over to Beers of the World to peruse the many aisles featuring beers from all over the world (hence the stores name).

I had read the reviews on Beer Advocate and A Good Beer Blog and they provided me with a visual image of what I was to expect (an helped build excitement), but reading about what one person thinks of a place doesn't do justice unless you experience it first hand. And I'm glad I did.

The shop is located in a strip mall not far from the highway and was just 5 mins down the road from where the hockey tournament was taking place. We drove into the mall area after dark and frantically searched through all the florescent lights to guide us in the right direction. I started to get anxious though when we didn't see anything. Were they closed? Did we have the right address? We finally located the faded sign of the store front and noticed the flashing open sign above the door. We were now in business.

Once inside, I grabbed a cart and stood before the thousands of brands available and just took a moment to take it all in. I have never been to a beer store like this before. Not to Consumer's, not to Premier, so you can only imagine my excitement. The store didn't look large from the outside; however, it was long and wide and had rows and rows of shelving holding beers from all over the United States, Belgium, Canada, Germany, England, Thailand, Japan, China, Italy, Scotland and practically any country that brews beer. It was awesome.

What Canadian beers were available? Boy, our representation was just pitiful. With the exception of the great beers of Unibroue and McAuslan's, there was Moosehead, John Labatt Classic brands, Labatt Blue, Molson Canadian, Molson Golden, and Sleeman's. I mentioned this to the big burly dude behind the register and he told me they have problems getting the good Canadian stuff. He said that they used to have a bunch of Dieu du Ciel's stuff but could no longer carry it because of something to do with the State of NY's trade policy (or something related to their area in NY state)? I didn't understand. I asked him if many people come in asking about any Canadian produced products and said, "not that I'm aware of."

One thing that I did notice was the cheaper price of some beers that the LCBO currently carries in Ontario. A bomber of Koningshoven Triple retails for $6.95 here at home, while it cost $10.95 at Beers of the World. There were some other stuff like Chimay Rouge and Westmalle that were more expensive there than at the LCBO, as were a number of gift sets. But I'm not one to complain and really, who cares about the prices when you've found your oasis. Southern Tier IPA was $7.35 for a six pack!

Beers of the World doesn't just sell beer; they sell books, home brewing supplies, glassware, posters, mirrors, beer memorabilia, accessories and more. It was like a Shopper's Drug Mart of beer. The shelves holding the glassware were pretty impressive and I almost left with a boot (a flash back of college). There were steins, pint glasses, mugs, pilsner chutes, chalices and weissbier glasses. Some came etched with logo's of various breweries, some were blank and the pricing was very reasonable. I have never seen so many different styles of beer glasses anywhere. Very cool.

It wasn't terribly busy, but a couple of long line-ups formed at various times at the cash register. I was surprised to see so many young people shopping in the store. And they weren't going for the Budweiser's or the cheap 28 packs of Labatt Blue. No, they were shopping for the same stuff I was looking for: Dogfish Head, Allagash, Cantillon, Victory...and others. It was nice to see. I don't think that the citizens of Ontario are as aware of the beer scene surrounding them as our neighbour's to the south are. Everyone seems to know about the smaller craft beers and are interested in trying as many of them as possible. Hell, even the female front clerk at the hotel knew of the place and said it was the best beer store she's ever been in.

We spent a total of one hour browsing through the neatly categorized aisles and could have easily spent a couple more, but we had to get back to the hotel. We said that we would head back in the morning to grab some other stuff, but as I took the cart back into the store I noticed that they weren't open on Sunday's. Touché! Probably for the best though, as my wallet was already screaming in pain. It was a terrific store and one that I will plan to head back to next time I cross into the US.

Now why is this sort of retail outlet not allowed in Ontario? I already know the answer but it makes me mad as hell thinking about it.

Drinking in Rochester, New York

I am actually staying in Victor, NY but the hockey team I'm travelling with is playing their games in Rochester. I arrived on Friday night and after checking into our hotel we headed out to the closest gas station to see what was in the beer fridge. Sam Adams, a shit load of Budweiser (Bud Light Lime?), and cheap Molson and Labatt products; but also Ithaca Cascazilla Monstrously Hoppy Red Ale.

Handed over $10.00 for a six pack of the hoppy monster. Back at the hotel, feet up, beer in hand and a trip to Beers of the World planned for later. Times are good.

CASK! Toronto Takes Us to Buffalo

The fine folks behind the creation of the group CASK!, are pleased to release the latest information about their fantastic idea for a beer lover's bus trip.

On Saturday December 6, 2008, a luxury coach bus will be departing Front Street (in front of Union station) in downtown Toronto to head south to Buffalo for a visit to the 1st annual Buffalo Cask Ale Festival taking place at Cole's and Mr. Goodbar (just doors down from each other). A $75 ticket includes the cost of the bus (which by the way will have a porcelain throne), admission to the festival, your first pint and lunch at Cole's. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday. On a bus with other beer enthusiasts, sampling from 15 casks and being merry and cheerful before the rush of the Christmas season arrives.

To buy a ticket, please visit the CASK! website and click on the paypal option. The trip will require at least 40 ticket buyers in order to be financially fiscal, and failing to do so will result in the event being cancelled (but I know there are more than 40 cask ale fans in Toronto/GTA who'll step up). All tickets must be purchased by November 25th and can only be obtained by individuals 21 years of age or older (US alcohol legislation). The bus will be leaving Union station at 9:00am and will leave Buffalo at 6:00pm. There will be no beer allowed on the bus, which will limit the trips to the loo, but I would imagine there will be some great stories shared.

Visit the CASK! website to learn more about the great organization and the plans/ ticket information regarding the December 6th event. Hope to see many readers there!