March CASK! Social

From the folks at CASK! Toronto:

March CASK! Social
Date: Saturday March 31st
Time: 3:00pm to 6:00pm
Location: Cloak & Dagger, 394 College Street, Toronto

Greetings CASK! Members,

This month's Cask Social takes place on Saturday March 31st from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at the Cloak & Dagger pub, 394 College Street, Toronto. There will be four different cask ales available, specially selected for our Social. Join us next Saturday for our first Social at this location and lend your support to yet another cask ale pub.

Looking forward to seeing you on the 31st.

CASK! Toronto - Beer For A Cure 2012

From the folks at CASK! Toronto:

Beer For A Cure - St. George's Day Festivities
Date: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Time: 7 PM
Location: Granite Brewery, 245 Eglinton Ave East, Toronto

CASK! is holding its annual fundraiser, Beer for a Cure, in support of Prostate Cancer Canada. As a perfect accompaniment to the St. George’s Day festivities, a delicious curry dinner featuring four cask IPAs will be served. Plenty of vegetarian options are available.

Celebrate all things English with MC Robert Hughey, guest speaker Nick Pashley, auctioneer Julian Mulock, fancy hats and door prizes.

Tickets are $65 per person, which includes a partial donation receipt. Please call Caroline or Robert Hughey at 416 462 3788 to purchase tickets. Have your credit card and address details ready. Email: robert.hughey@sympatico.ca

Beer For Boobs T.O. - Series Begins March 25th

The first event in which will be an ongoing Beer For Boobs T.O. series of one-off beers brewed by nine female brewers for Breast Cancer Research will take place at barVolo on March 25th. 

You can get all the information in the press release posted below, it should be noted that the females brewed the first of the beers yesterday (a sour) with House Ales. 

Beer For Boobs: An event in support of Breast Cancer Research

9 Female brewers collaborate to produce one off beers for charity

February 6, 2012 - (Toronto, ON): A group of passionate female brewers from Toronto have come together to produce a series of one-off beers for “Beer For Boobs”, an event at Barvolo on March 25th with the proceeds benefiting the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

During the hours of 2pm-8pm on that day, every beer on tap at Bar Volo will have been brewed by a female member of Toronto’s brewing industry. The Granite Brewpub, Amsterdam Brewery, Black Oak Brewery, Cheshire Valley, and Bar Volo’s House Ales have all generously donated their time, ingredients and pilot systems to collaborate on a special one-off beer to be served only at this event.

Furthermore the 9 females, representing 6 of Toronto's craft breweries, have all come together to collaborate on one special beer to be featured at the event. Truly a one of a kind event, and one of a kind beers, as nothing like this has ever been done in the Canadian beer scene before.

Other local breweries, as well as businesses, who do not have access to or own a pilot system, but still believe in this great cause have donated prizes to be raffled off. This is a ticketed event, and is $20 dollars at the door. All of the cost of the door, as well as the cost of the kegs and the raffle prizes is being donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The event will be catered by Alli’s Fresh Baked.

The Beer For Boobs Name is being used in affiliation with, and under permission from, a non-profit group of the same name based out of San Diego, California. This is inaugural event of what will become a series of events known as “Beer for Boobs T.O.”

For more information, to set up an interview or seek comments regarding the beers being brewed please contact:

Tracy Phillippi
 tmphill@gmail.com or TracyP@blackoakbeer.com
416-364-9643
twitter @craftbeerlady

twitter @beer4boobsTO

The Only Cafe Winter Beer Fest, Feb 3rd & 4th

I'm looking forward to this event.

On February 3rd and 4th (Friday and Saturday), Toronto's The Only Cafe on Danforth Avenue will be hosting a Winter Beer Fest on their outdoor patio. The event already has a number of terrific Ontario breweries who will be participating, and I'll be there representing TAPS The Beer Magazine - handing out issues, and chatting about the beer industry.

If you don't have anything scheduled for that weekend, mark this into your calendar. It's cheap too! For a 5oz sample of any of the following beers (see below), you'll only have to fork over $1! Solid deal (no cover charge).

The fest, which will be the largest that the longtime Toronto beer bar has hosted (20 different breweries) kicks off at 5pm both days and goes until the place closes for the evening. There will also be live music.

Friday February 3rd
Steam Whistle Brewery
Flying Monkeys Brewery
Sawdust City Brewing
Black Oak Brewery
Creemore Springs Brewery
Railway City Brewing
Cameron's Brewing Co.
Wellington Brewery
Beau's All-Natural Brewing
Brasserie McAuslan
Duggan's Brewery
King Brewery

Saturday February 4th
F&M Brewery
Keep6 Imports-representing Central City Brewing, Dieu Du Ciel & Microbrasserie Charlevoix
Better Bitters Brewing Co.
Sawdust City Brewing
Kensington Brewing
Railway City Brewing
Amsterdam Brewery
Muskoka Cottage Brewing

The Only Cafe
972 Danforth Ave
Toronto, ON M4J 1M1
(416) 463-7843

Flying Monkeys Tap Takeover @ Gambrinus Cafe & Bistro

If you find yourself in London, Ontario this Saturday (January 28th), head over to Gambrinus Cafe & Bistro to try a variety of beers from the Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery from Barrie, ON as they are doing a tap takeover at the popular beer bar.

The takeover commences at 6pm and will feature the following 17 beers, most of which were created solely for this event and will take up all of Gambrinus' taps:

Little Red – Late-hopped Red #1
Weizen Doppelbock
Galaxy IPA
Test Batch - Pre-Divinity
Imperial Stout
Big Red – Late-hopped Red #2 (Imperial)
Test Batch - Stereovision
Test Batch - Genius of Suburbia (American Wheat)
Milk Stout #1 for nitro tap
Belgian Pale Ale
Double IPA
Rye PA
Beer Geeks Stout
Smashbomb
Antigravity
Netherworld
Hoptical Illusion

There are no reservations being taken and no cover charges.

Gambrinus Cafe & Bistro
130 King Street
Covent Garden Market
London, ON N6A 1C5
Phone: 519-672-0384

Canadian Beer News Dinner Series #2 Announced

Greg Clow, the publisher of the Canadian Beer News website, has announced the details for the 2nd dinner of his Canadian Beer News Dinner Series.

Scheduled to take place on Tuesday February 21st at Toronto's L.A.B. Restaurant (651 College St.), the 2nd dinner will feature beers from Etobicoke's Great Lakes Brewery, including a number of one-offs, which will be paired with the unique ‘cucina moleculare’ crafted by L.A.B.'s chef Howard Dubrovsky.

Tickets to the six course dinner are available for $95 per person including tax and gratuity by calling L.A.B. at (416) 551-5025. Seating is very limited for this dinner as only 20 are available.

More information about Great Lakes and L.A.B are available on Canadian Beer News.

Brewery Market Back This Sunday - 'Twas the Beer Before Christmas

Twas the Beer Before Christmas
Time: 1 - 5pm
Location: The Stop’s Green Barn-Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie Street

Cass Enright is pretty excited about this Sunday; and with good reason. The founder of the Brewery Market has everything in place to welcome back the popular Sunday event, which has been on hiatus since October 23rd.

"We want to celebrate winter with the Brewery Market events this season. So we're embracing it head on with beers and food to warm you up, and blankets to stay cozy," said Enright.

The 1st 'winter edition' of the Brewery Market welcomes back Jason Fisher and his Indie Alehouse, who have brewed up a special Christmas Spiced Porter (with gingerbread) exclusively for the Brewery Market. Joining the special beer will be Indie's Breakfast Porter, Belgian IPA and Hoppy IPA. There will also be a Chinese Hot Pot, Buddha Dog hot dogs and fire-roasted artisanal marshmallows.

"I'm really hoping that 'Twas the Beer Before Christmas will become an annual holiday tradition," said Enright who has already announced the dates for the January edition (January 15th)

The Brewery Market takes place between 1 - 5pm with proceeds supporting The Stop Community Food Centre.

Sawdust City Ol' Woody Alt Release Party

Sawdust City Ol' Woody Alt Release Party
Time: 4:00pm
Location: The Monk's Kettle, 3073 Bloor St West

The Monk's Kettle, one of Toronto's newest craft beer bars (and not to be confused with the Monks Table), will be teaming up with the Sawdust City Brewing Co. on Thursday December 15th for the release of Ol' Woody Alt, the second beer commercially produced by Sawdust City.

Recently opened in Toronto's west end (Bloor and Royal York), The Monk's Kettle is a warm and inviting pub with a great beer selection to complement their simple yet enjoyable food menu. The release party will provide you with an opportunity to sample the Ol' Woody Alt, which Sawdust City brewmaster Sam Corbeil describes as, "a traditional Dusseldorf Alt, the quintessential session beer. Malt forward with bunches of bready munich malt flavour, its balanced with German nobel hops that give it a strong bitter kick on the finish. Great with hearty meat dishes or on its own on a crisp fall evening." It will also be paired with an appetizer prepared by The Monk's Kettle.

Samples of their Golden Beach Pale Wheat will also be available, the last of it until the summer.

The Ol' Woody Alt will be available shortly at select bars and pubs across Toronto.

Next up for Sawdust City - Lone Pine IPA

December CASK! Social

From CASK! Toronto

The next CASK! Social will take place on: Sunday December 4th
Time: 12pm
Location: Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street, Toronto, ON

Last Ever CASK! Social (until 2012)
Our friends at the Victory Cafe are holding a cask ale festival this coming Sunday, December 4, and we're all invited! Our last CASK! Social of 2011 will be part of the celebration. Yes, we know our Socials are held on Saturdays, usually from 3-6, but let it not be said that we're inflexible (at least now that some of us are doing yoga). The Victory Cafe Winter Cask Festival will begin at noon, upstairs at 581 Markham Street in the shadow of Honest Ed's. These guys don't think we're capable of drinking more than a dozen casks from nine of our favourite local breweries. They don't know us. The CASK! Social will begin at noon so we can get there before anything has run out, and will continue as long as you like (or until the beer runs out). There will be no admission charge for this very promising event.

We are aware that this is a busy weekend for beer lovers, what with a festival in Buffalo and our pal Ken Woods hosting an event at Black Oak on Saturday, but our funfest is way easier to get to, has a bunch of casks, doesn't require a passport, and you don't have to deal with annoying border guards in both directions (honestly, have you ever tried to go to Etobicoke?). Hope to see you at the Victory.

Canadian Beer News Announces New Dinner Series

Greg Clow, the publisher of the Canadian Beer News (CBN) website, is pleased to announce the start of the Canadian Beer News Dinner Series.

The CBN Dinner Series will bring together some of Canada’s top breweries and beer importers with outstanding chefs and restaurants to create unique and exciting beer and food pairing experiences.

The first such dinner will take place on Tuesday December 6 at The Windsor Arms Hotel (18 Saint Thomas Street, Toronto) featuring beers from Beau's All Natural Brewing Co., which will be paired with gourmet vegan food prepared by Chef Doug McNish.

Schedule for dinner:
6:30 PM – Reception with passed hors d’oeuvre & beer pairing
7:15 PM – 4-course Dinner with beer pairings

The $95 per person ticket will allow individuals to sample a variety of Beau's beers, including a number of their rarer brands from their Wild Oats Series and their Greener Futures Bourbon Barrel Aged Series. Each food course will be paired with a different beer and tasting notes will be presented by Beau’s co-founder Steve Beauchesne.

Clow let me know by email that tickets are moving very well, with less than a 1/4 of the tickets remaining, so you better act fast if you're interested in attending.

(NOTE: Ticketing for this event is being managed by the Windsor Arms Hotel. For any questions or issues related to ticket ordering, please contact Christine Korda at ckorda@windsorarmshotel.com or 416-934-6022.) CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKETS

Beau’s All Natural Brewing is a family-run and totally DIY beer company based in Vankleek Hill, a small town about an hour east of Ottawa. They brew interesting, award winning, tasty beers using the highest quality, all natural ingredients like certified organic hops & malts and local spring water. Best known for their flagship brand, Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, they also brew a number of seasonal and one-off beers, and are well-known for their support of charitable initiatives in their local community and beyond.

Doug McNish is one of the foremost vegan/raw food chefs in the world. After losing 100 pounds on a plant based diet, he decided to change his career path and become a professional vegan chef. He is a Consulting Chef at The Windsor Arms, where he has developed vegan options for the hotel’s dinner and brunch menus. Doug is a contributor to health and wellness websites and various magazines, has been broadcast on both local and national television, and is currently writing a raw food cookbook to be published in March 2012.

Consecutively voted the #1 hotel in Toronto by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, the Windsor Arms Hotel is nestled on a quiet street ideally located just steps away from Yorkville, the heart of Toronto’s most fashionable shopping and entertainment district. An aura of warmth, discreet luxury, and the latest technology combined with our exceptional level of service makes Windsor Arms Toronto’s most luxurious boutique hotel. The Windsor Arms is host to the Courtyard Cafe – open for Sunday brunch and special events; Prime Steakhouse – open for breakfast, lunch and dinner; the Tea Room for traditional afternoon tea; and Lounge 22 for tapas and cocktails.

Brewstache Beerfest @ Amsterdam Brewery

There will be an abundance of facial here at the Amsterdam Brewery this Friday night as the brewery will play host to their 1st annual Brewstache Beerfest in support Movember.

As you can see from the advertisement on your left, there is a $20 admission fee to attend, with all proceeds going to prostate cancer research and awareness. Admission includes 2 beer sample tokens. Tickets can be purchased at the brewery's retail store at 21 Bathurst Street, Toronto, or by calling the brewery at 416.504.6882.

There will be a great selection of local Ontario craft beer on tap, along with a number of cask conditioned beers (see list below).

Amsterdam will also have The Toasted Tangerine food truck coming down cooking up a special Movember menu incase you get hungry, and there will be live music throughout the night.

Here's the list of breweries/beers that are participating:
Amsterdam Brewery - Citra Kolsch, TBW Homebrew winner (Black IPA), Barrel Blend, Coffee Mild
Great Lakes - Burt Reynold's Reserve Stache (Belgian IPA)
Stone Hammer - Imperial Oatmeal Coffee Stout
Cheshire Valley - Snidley Stache (IPA @ 50 IBU)
Black Oak - MOstacher in the Rye (Roggenbier)
Denison's - Dunkel
Wellington - County Dark Ale (Cask)
Beau's - Pumpkin Weisse
Nickel Brook - Sir, Your Moustache Tastes Sour (Brown Belgian Sour)
House Ales - Bellwoods cask

Cloak & Dagger Caskfest

The folks over at Toronto's Cloak and Dagger pub have announced that they will be holding a weeklong Caskfest starting next Monday.

From November 21st - 27th, the Cloak and Dagger will be tapping three new casks each day. People will find casks from Granite, Blak Oak, Beau's, Durham, Great Lakes, Flying Monkeys, F&M and more.

The Cloak will also be providing some food samples off of their new menu throughout the week.

Should you find yourself out at the Cloak for Caskfest and you have a Twitter account, try using the #oncask hashtag to let your followers know what's on cask. #oncask was brought about during Cask Days this year as a cool new method to spread awareness of cask ale in Ontario. You can also follow the @OnCask account. (Chris at Toronto Beer Blog has more on that, click here to read it)

*The Cloak also have a website now!

November CASK! Social

From CASK! Toronto

The next CASK! Social will take place on: Saturday November 19th
Time: 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Location: Dominion On Queen
500 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON

Greetings, Thirsty Cask Ale Drinkers,
Our next CASK! Social will be held on Saturday November 19th 3:00 - 6:00pm at the historic Dominion on Queen, 500 Queen Street East, Toronto. The Dominion has been a Corktown landmark since 1889, and is now proudly serving cask conditioned ale. There will be several cask ales available for us, one of which might just be a tasty stout from F & M Brewery. The rear lounge, complete with brewing memorabilia, has been reserved especially for us. See you there!

Cheers,

CASK!
Mirella, Maz, Robert & Nick

Great Lakes Project X Movember @ The Rhino

This month's Project X, a monthly event that Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke hosts, will be moving to The Rhino on Queen Street West on Thursday November 10th.

Project X is normally $10 to attend, however this month's party will cost you $15 at the door with $5 going to support Movember. The fee gets you food and samples of 4 unique Great Lakes cask and draught beers.

The event kicks off at 6:30pm and runs until 9:30pm.

From Great Lakes:
The Rhino is one of the city's top craft beer bars and we feel that it's just the place for us to share our wares. There will be several one-off cask and draft beers including our newest addition to the Project X family, Burt Reynolds Reserve Stache! There will also be a tasty food pairing plate prepared by the kitchen at The Rhino.

Black Oak's Crazy Cask Contest

The Black Oak Brewing Co. is getting set to host their 11th anniversary party on Friday November 11th and they've come up with a neat contest for cask ale.

The brewery is looking for a creative recipe, with conditions that they can mimic into a cask ale for the party.

Recipe submission for the "Crazy Cask Contest" must be sent to Black Oak via their Facebook page by November 9th, must use Pale Ale or Nut Brown as the base beer and the recipe can only contain three additional ingredients. The recipe also needs a name.

If your recipe is chosen, and you want to help Black Oak's brewmaster, Simon, make your cask, you can stop by the brewery on Thursday November 10th. If you’ve got any questions, email Tracy at tracyp@blackoakbeer.com.

1st Annual Hastings County Beer Festival

Jed Corbeil and Curt Dunlop, the affable publicans of the Griffin Gastropub in Bracebridge, ON and the founders of Session 99 and Muskoka Craft Beer Festivals, are taking their show on the road.

On Saturday October 15th, during two separate tasting sessions, the two men will bring Hastings County their first every beer festival when they crash the village of Stirling - Hastings County Beer Festival.

There will be many Ontario craft beers available to sample, along with Prince Edward County Wines and Ciders, educational cheese tastings, music and much more. Check out their website for more information - www.hastingsbeerfestival.ca

Session 1 - 12pm-3pm
Session 2 - 5pm-8pm
$40 includes tax, food & 10 beer tickets!

Hastings County Museum of Agricultural Heritage
437 Front Street West
Stirling, Ontario

Homebrewing Demonstration Day At Brew Time (Sept 18th) - Hamilton, ON

I received the following press release this morning from a group of Hamilton, ON homebrewers who will be holding a brewing demonstration in September. The event is open to anyone willing to learn about the joys of brewing your own beer.


August 19, 2011: Brew Time, in cooperation with a group of Hamilton brewers (known to themselves as HOZERs), invite you to spend a day learning about homebrewing on September 18th, 2011 at 1638 Upper James St. (just South of Rymal Rd.). This group of homebrewers will be demonstrating a range of homebrewing techniques and equipment from single-vessel systems through larger 3-vessel breweries. The group consists of novice homebrewers through ex-professional brewers.

"Homebrewers are proud of our craft, and usually take any opportunity we can get to show it off." explained Jason Stranak, one of the event organizers. "We hope to attract members of the public with an interest in craft beer, homebrewing or anyone who enjoys tasting hand-crafted full-flavoured beer."

Victor VanBeek of Brew Time has been generous in hosting this event, and will be participating in the homebrewing session. The Brew Time store will be open, selling the ingredients and equipment needed to start brewing and providing tours and explanations of their brewing equipment and process.

Date: Sunday, 18.September 2011
Time: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location: Brew Time, 1638 Upper James St., Hamilton (just South of Rymal Rd.)

For further information, media may contact:
Jason Stranak, HOZERs, 905-393-7900
jason.stranak@gmail.com

The HOZERs are a group of amateur brewers in the Hamilton area, and their name is an acronym standing for Hamilton Ontario Zymurgy Enthusiast Ring. Zymurgy refers to the biochemical processes involved in fermentation.

Event - Made In Creemore Locavore Lunch: Aug 28th

Every year the Creemore Springs Brewery throws a big one-day street party in the village of Creemore called the Cooper Kettle Festival. It will once again take place this year on Saturday August 27th, but the brewery will be extending their festivities into Sunday with their first ever Made in Creemore Locavore Lunch.

Featuring a number of highly recognizable Chefs from local Ontario establishments, the lunch will get underway at 2pm at the Mad River Park and tickets are $150 per person. All the Chefs will be using local ingredients from local suppliers and growers and every course will be paired with different Creemore brands. (see list of Chefs in poster below)

A portion of the proceeds will support the Canadian Chefs Congress and the Eager Beaver Scholarship Project, both of which reinforce the passion and integrity of Canadian Food Culture.

Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

I was lucky enough to attend a lunch the brewery hosted a number of years ago that included meals prepared by Michael Stadtlander and his son, and it was simply amazing. Seeing the list of the talented Chefs who will be in Creemore on the 28th makes my mouth water.

Beau's All Natural Brewing Looking For Brand Ambassadors

Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. in Vankleek Hill, ON are ramping up for Toronto Festival of Beer and they are looking for some brand ambassadors to help pour beer in their booth.

This year Beau's will be bringing a number of their brands with them and you could help educate consumers with each pour.

The festival, which kicks off on Thursday August 4th with the opening of the Queer Beer Festival before giving way to TFOB from August 5 - 7th, is situated at Bandshell Park at Exhibition Place.

Interested individuals can contact Steve Beauchense by email at steve@beaus.ca

Halifax Seaport BeerFest - Tickets Now Available

I'll get back to regular posting soon (very busy with TAPS and planning the Canadian Brewing Awards), but in the meantime here is the official press release for the Halifax Seaport Beer Festival that I'll be taking part in this summer.

Atlantic Canada’s largest beerfest celebrates 5 YEARS OF BEER ON THE PIER!

Halifax, NS – Voted “favourite beerfest” last summer by TAPS, Canada's beer magazine, Atlantic Canada’s largest celebration of beer and cider returns August 5th and 6th to the Halifax Seaport, featuring nearly 200 beers and ciders from the Maritimes and around the world.

“For the past two years, evening sessions have sold-out,” said festival co-chair Bruce Mansour. With nearly 5000 expected, highlights include an expanded Quebec pavilion, Baxter Brewing (Maine) and King Brewery (ON). We are also proud to welcome our first Maritime "nanobreweries" (extremely small brewers) and Canada's newest brewer, Spearhead Brewing from Toronto!

It is this growth and excitement that prompted the NSLC (gold sponsor) to launch a new program - Beerfest Limited Selection - bringing eight unique festival beers this August to select stores. Breweries this year include Muskoka (ON), Shipyard (US), Young's (UK) and Gahan House (PEI).

Ladies VIP Brew Tour returns with Mirella Amato (www.beerology.ca), Canada’s top female beer connoisseur! Mirella will lead a fun gals-only VIP tour of the beer world on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. For just $10 beyond regular ticket price, women can skip the line-ups and enjoy a 30 minute talk, sampling and food pairing. No men allowed!

Taste of Nova Scotia returns with member restaurants selling delicious beer-inspired creations to hungry festival goers. Scanway Catering, Saege Bistro, FID Resto, and Brussels Restaurant & Brasserie will serve up mouth-watering sample size treats.

The weekend kicks-off with a one-of-a-kind beer dinner at Brussels Brasserie hosted by Troy Burtch of TAPS Magazine. Served on their fabulous courtyard patio, enjoy four courses paired with five fabulous festival beers, each introduced by a representative of the brewery. Thursday, August 4 at 6:00pm. Tickets reserved by booking at info@brusselsrestaurant.ca or by phone at 406-7737.

New this year, Beer Brunch at Maxwell's Plum Saturday, August 6 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Open to the public, come down mid-festival for a meal and meet some of the great brewers in town for the beerfest.

Tickets available at select NSLC stores, and online at www.ticketatlantic.com, for $40 (+HST) per session or $45 (+HST) at the door. Sessions will run Friday night 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturday afternoon 2:00pm to 4:30pm and Saturday night 7:00pm to 9:30pm. Tickets are limited so buy now and avoid disappointment!

For more information please visit www.seaportbeerfest.com or contact: