Picture of the Month

George Eagleson, brewer at F&M, dunks his head deep into a bushle of hops at Wednesday's hop information session at the Granite Brewery while beer writer Robert Hughley looks on.

Read about the event here.

Hops Direct Visits the Granite

The smell of hops were in the air on Wednesday night over at the Granite Brewery, and not because Ron Keefe was brewing up anything special. No, it had to do with Bob Latimer, an Ontario hop buyer/importer who hosted a hop information session with his Mabton, WA supplier Hops Direct before a packed house of brewers from all over Ontario.

I've heard from a couple of sources that this was the first time that many seasoned brewers could remember a hop grower traveling to Ontario to speak to industry representatives directly and many brewers were thrilled to be in attendance. Ron Moir headed down from his Heritage Brewery in Ottawa just for the occasion and was one of the first brewers to get his hands into the various samples Hops Direct brought from their farm.

The information session commenced shortly after the 6pm projected start time with approximately 45 individuals representing many of the small breweries in the province. Amsterdam, Great Lakes, Cameron's, Black Oak, Pepperwood Bistro & Brew pub, Olde Stone Brew pub, Cool, Trafalgar, Heritage, Lakes of Muskoka, Granite, Durham, F&M, Nickel Brook, Denison's, Saint Andre, Grand River, Hockley Valley, and King all sent representatives to the event and all were in a good festive mood, catching up with one another and discussing their trade. Latimer introduced the wife of Stacy Puterbaugh, operator and third generation owner of Hops Direct (I cannot remember her name - sorry) and spoke a little about their farm, how they operate and provided a current update on the global hop situation. Latimer also spoke about his relationship with Hops Direct and mentioned that his first ever order was around $6000 and his latest was $76,000. Wow.

Many brewers asked questions about the pricing structure that has been in the news of late, along with questions about spoilage, the leaf hop vs. pellet and about new varieties on the market. It surprised me to hear that most of the Ontario brewers only use pellets and the only time they use the hop leaf is for special brews or one-offs. Bruce Halstead from Durham County made the comment, "I never use rabbit food in my beer, I only stick to the flower."

After running through a slideshow presentation, us invitees were ushered to the corner of the room to rub each of the 10 varieties of hops (leaves) laid out on a table. There was Mt. Hood, Chinook, Cascade, Magnum, Cluster, Galena, Tettnanger, Golding (US), Willamette, and Sorachi Ace. Greenish-yellow-sticky hands followed and a trip to the washroom was in order. I don't know why Major League Baseball doesn't adopt hop for grip. I mean, rub some together in your hands and grip it and rip it.

The information was interesting from my perspective as I've never been that up close and personal with the cute female flower. It taught me about the cannibalization of hop growers in the United States, larger farms swallowing up smaller growers much like the brewing industry saw in the period between 1960 and 2000.

Hops Direct also produces Hop Tea, Hand-Made Hop Soap, Hop Asparagus and Pickled Hop Shoots for customers to purchase and I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of bars of Hop Garden Bar and Hops-n-Roses soap. The Hop Asparagus was a tasty treat that I would purchase for beer tastings if it were sold around here regularly. I also snagged a beautiful hops themed t-shirt.

It should be noted that the Granite supplied a table of mixed appetizers to get our bellies full while Hops Direct picked up the bar tab. And the Hopping Mad was flowing, so I'd hate to see the bill at the end of the night.


Photo#1 - Table of Hops
Photo#2 - Hops direct speaker with brewers
Photo#3 - Having fun with the hops

TAPS and Beerology Team Up For Podcasts

Mirella Amato, published beer writer/speaker and founder of the Beerology website, has recently teamed up with TAPS Media, who runs TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine, to produce monthly audio podcasts featuring interviews with brewers, brewery executives, and craft beer fans.

The audio podcasts, hosted by Amato, produced by 96.3fm's Joel Schonewille, and in association with TAPS Media, will provide listeners with an insiders look into the Canadian brewing industry, as Amato ventures out to events, samples various beers, talks to those closely associated with breweries and shares her views on current trends.

The first podcast was released today on both Amato's website and TAPS' website and revolves around Volo's recent Cask Days. Amato managed to speak with the colourful George Eagleson of F&M brewery, Volo publican Ralph Morana, Black Oak's brewer Adrian Popowycz and Pepperwood Bistro and Brew Pub's Paul Dickey, who all shared their time and expertise explaining cask conditioned beer.

"I really hope people will tune in monthly and educate themselves in craft beer, discovering new flavours and breweries along the way," stated a proud Amato. These podcasts will also compliment the video podcasts that TAPS Media currently produces for free subscribers, and together the two will provide a strong voice to beer drinkers nation-wide.

The first Monday of every month will feature a new podcast and you'll never miss an episode if you subscribe (free) in iTunes, or RSS. Or check out the Beerology or TAPS magazine websites.

Photo - Amato talking to Tim from Nickel Brook at a recent event

Bar Towel 10th Anniversary Party Details

Cass Enright, good friend and founder of www.bartowel.com, has recently announced the finalized plans for the 10th Anniversary party taking place on November 4, 2008. Please check out Enright's post below.

OK, we've got a location for the night - upstairs at the Victory Cafe. There will probably be a cask or two available at the bar upstairs.

It'll be a casual pub night, but there was some talk of having a Bar Towel meet-and-greet recently, so let's use this for that.

There's also the US election that night, so the Victory will be showing that on the big screen upstairs, so we can also toast a victory of another sort.

So please come out and have a couple of drinks. Would be nice to meet some of the folks on the forum.

Doors will be at 6pm.

Come out and introduce yourself to the other passionate beer enthusiasts for a good time.

Turkey Pot Pie with Cameron’s Auburn Ale, Wild Mushrooms & Autumn Vegetables

I love cooking. I love cooking with beer. So when the Ontario Craft Brewers send me new recipes, I take notice and the urge to share them with you takes hold. Here is a beauty that is perfect for the cooler days that lie ahead.

Turkey Pot Pie with Cameron's Aurburn Ale, Wild Mushrooms and Autum Vegetables

Pie Dough:
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup ice water
pinch of salt

Add flour, butter and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until texture resembles course bread crumbs. Add ice water, remove dough from the food processor form into a flat ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer for at least one hour. When dough has chilled remove from freezer and roll onto a lightly floured surface until it is 1/3 of an inch thick. Place the pot pie baking dish on top of the dough and trace with a knife half an inch from the edge of the baking dish. Keep pie crust covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
1 (5 to 6-pound) bone-in turkey breast
2 cups Cameron’s Auburn Ale
4 cups turkey or chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 carrots, peeled and cut into a large dice
1 rutabaga, peeled and cut into a large dice
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into a large dice
1 purple-topped turnip, peeled and cut into a large dice
1 onion, diced
2 cups wild mushrooms
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large roasting pan, bring Cameron’s Auburn Ale to a simmer and cook for three minutes. Add stock and bring back to a simmer. Season turkey breast with salt and pepper, place in the roasting pan and roast in the oven until just cooked through and thermometer inserted in the breast reads 165 degrees F. Transfer the turkey breast to a plate and let cool. Chop the turkey into ½ inch pieces and set aside.

Transfer cooking liquid to a saucepan, bring to a boil, and reduce to 2 cups. Melt 3 tbsp of butter in the liquid and add the carrots, rutabaga, parsnip, turnip, onions and wild mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat until all vegetables are tender. Transfer vegetables to a plate and pour liquid into separate bowl. Melt remaining butter over medium heat, add flour and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the cooking liquid (without the vegetables) bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the turkey, vegetables and herbs and mix thoroughly. Check seasoning and set aside to cool.

To assemble pies, fill a casserole dish with the filling. Brush edges of the dish with egg wash and lay pie dough over top, lightly pressing edges to ensure dough adheres. Brush top of pie crust with egg wash and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

For more beer-inspired recipes, check out www.ontariocraftbrewers.com

Meet Sean Dunbar: Owner Northampton Brewery NB

Meet Sean Dunbar, owner/brewer/marketer extraordinaire of Northampton Brewery in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Dunbar recently visited Toronto to accept a handful of Canadian Brewing Awards and we had a chance to catch up to discuss our favourite hobby - beer. Not only is Dunbar a terrific brewer, he is a terrific individual who is one of the most passionate craft brewers I have come across. He has interesting views on the industry and was a delight to talk to. Find out more about him below.

Cheers!

Where is the Northampton Brewery and what beers do you currently produce?
Northampton Brewing Co. is located in Fredericton, New Brunswick. We currently produce beer under the brand name of Picaroons Traditional Ales.

We have the following beers in the portfolio:
Best Bitter Ale
Irish Red Ale
Simeon Jones River Valley Amber Ale
Dooryard Summer Ale
Winter Warmer
Blonde Ale
Dark and Stormy Night
Maple Cream Ale
Yippee IPA
Man’s Best Friend Porter
Timberhog Stout

Describe the history behind the brewery.
The brewery was originally opened beside an existing pub in 1995. We maxed out the little 8 HL system and finally got around to expanding to a 30 HL brewery in 1999. The expansion was a disaster and we went out of business. It wasn’t the beer’s fault. After considering and discarding some other career choices, I scraped up $ 30,000.00 in 2000 and started again with the old 7 HL system from the original Granite Brewery in Halifax. I pledged never to expand again and worked out of a 1000square foot warehouse for about five years. We pretty much just sold what we could produce, almost all of it in the Fredericton area. The constant demand finally got to me two years ago and we found an old 15 HL Peter Austin system that had brewed originally at Reds Brewpub in the West Edmonton Mall. That’s been up and running in a larger facility for about a year now. We still sell all we can brew.

What is your best selling beer?
Year –round, Picaroons Best Bitter is our best seller.

What's new at the brewery? Events, new beers, milestones, awards?
Jeez. Let me see…. We brought out six new styles in bottles last Spring so I’ve pledged to hold off on new beers for a couple of months. Our Winter Warmer launches for the season on November first so we’ve been busy brewing that to fill the pipeline. We did pick up a couple of CBAs in September and that was nice. We hosted an AC/DC party event last week at the brewery, in conjunction with a local radio station. Pretty tame, really. We had hidden all the sharp instruments and plastic wrapped the whole place but it seems AC/DC fans are getting older, and calmer. And they kept asking if we had rum.

Why did you get into the brewing industry and describe your passion for it.
I got in by accident and grew to love making beer. I am passionate about beer and about beer’s place in our society. I really do think brewers who make good beer are helping to make the world a better place.

What is the best aspect of owning a craft brewery in Canada?
I have more friends than I did when I was a lawyer.

Describe the relationship between the East Coast breweries.
I think we’re all pretty cooperative, especially when we’re away from home or fighting a common foe. Within the various provinces, the rivalries definitely exist but we all seem to play fair for the most part. As far as I know we’re all still speaking to each other.

Where can someone find your products?
Picaroons Traditional Ales are available in bottles at most NB Liquor stores in New Brunswick most of the time. We have licensee accounts throughout NB as well, but only a few.

Tell us something about Picaroon's that not a lot of people know about.
None of us who brew the beer have had any sort of formal training.

What advantages do smaller breweries have over the big guys?
We have the flexibility to take chances.

How was your recent trip to Ontario for the Canadian Brewing Awards?
It was quick. I flew up, went to the event, had a few beers a Smokeless Joe’s afterwards and flew back the next morning. The beer was great, as was the hospitality.

Best time for a pint?
Right after a long brew day.

What is the highlight of your brewing career?
Honestly, the best thing to ever happen in my career was the first time I stood in line at a liquor store and watched someone I didn’t know buy my beer. I still get the same kick every time it happens.

Picture: Dunbar accepting an award from Stephen Beaumont

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!

Back on Track

I haven't been posting nearly as frequent as I normally do..but I have valid reasons. My fiance stepped on a plane marked for India on Friday and is gone for two months to work in a hospital. The work involved in getting her ready to depart and spending a touch more quality time with her took time away from writing.

Also, much of my free time this past weekend was spent in good company at Volo, where many pints of terrific cask beer was consumed. Again, taking time away from writing.

Things are getting back on track though as I have a Meet the..with Sean Dunbar of New Brunswick's Northhampton Brewery (Picaroon's), a book review of Nicholas Pashley's revised 2001 book 'Notes on a Beer Mat, Drinking and Why It's Necessary,' a re-cap of my Volo weekend and a profile on the Publican House - Peterborough's newest business and a place I visited on Saturday.

So stay tuned and thanks for reading.

Cheers,
Troy

October 30th: Cameron's Cask Night

Cask Night Thursday October 30th (Devil's Night) at Cameron's Brewing Co.

Last month's Cask Night was simple, yet delicious creation. The cask was named L-Squared because it was a balanced mix of our Cameron's Lager and our Dark 266 Lager and then dry hopped with a Golding Hop - one we have never used before. The end result - a very drinkable, yet flavourful dark lager mix.

This month’s Cameron’s ‘Let’s Drink the Cask Night’ will be on Thursday October 30th (devil's night), from 6:00 - 8:00pm.

Costumes will be welcomed to this Cask Night. There will be prizing for best costumes. Adam at the brewery has already predicted that he will take home the top costume prize. Don't fret if you are coming from work and don't have a costume, you will still be more than welcome to attend.

Cameron’s Cask Nights are a casual and intimate monthly event at the brewery. The guestlist only event is $5 for admission however, your admission covers a selection of food from Whole Foods Markets as well as a glass of the cask and two additional drink tickets. As well, your $5 admission can be applied to a beer or swag purchase on your way out.

For those who have not been to the brewery before, this is a great chance to meet the folks behind the scenes and to tour our facility. As well, it’s a great time to pick up some brewery fresh Cameron’s beer for the weekend.

We traditionally tap the Cask at approximately 6:15pm. Whole Foods Markets continue to graciously donate some delicious smokehouse selections specifically made to pair with the casked brew.

As always, the event is capped at 60 people to keep it intimate and to ensure everyone gets a taste of the cask. RSVP’s always come flooding in, so confirm your attendance as quickly as possible.

We encourage everyone to invite a guest (or a few) to join us. Just indicate how many people will be coming with you on your RSVP.

For any questions or to RSVP (if you haven’t already), email mike@cameronsbrewing.com

Our on-site retail store will be open throughout Cask Night for those that want to pick up beer for the weekend.

For more information or to get directions, visit this Cameron’s link.

We also now have a blog so check it out.

Hope to see you all on Thursday.

Volo Cask Days 2008 Re-Cap

Friday morning wake-ups are always exciting. Knowing the weekend starts hours away is always a good time. But waking up last Friday was especially exciting as Volo’s much anticipated Cask Days was close to commencing and I had a ticket with my name on it.

The weather was perfect as I approached Volo from Dundonald Street, and through the sun I could see a flurry of activity coming from within the walls. Ralph Morana and crew were busy putting the finishing touches on the fourth annual cask festival and were anxiously waiting for the many guests to start arriving.

The small eccentric café featured six stations where ticket holders could obtain samples from the various breweries who participated. There were 34 breweries represented, offering 50 cask conditioned ales and lagers along with multiple (13) draught choices, a new high for cask days. Each station was then broken into regions: Ontario Toronto, Ontario East, Ontario West, Guest (England/Quebec), Ontario North and Ontario North-West. To compliment the dizzying array of cask beers was a cheese table where you could redeem a ticket for a sample plate of artisan cheeses. Beside the cheese table was a bread table full of tasty little snacks, life savers when sampling many glasses of beer.

Guests were greeted at the front entrance and were provided with a gift bag consisting of a sampling glass (smaller than past years, but very nice for sampling), a program, 10 drink tickets, 1 cheese ticket, a chocolate and a small bag of treats. Just after 12:00pm, the first glass of cask ale was poured into the happy hand of a thirsty guest and with that, Cask Days was underway.

I caught up with Ralph (who was sporting a new t-shirt as many firkins blew back at him when tapping) and listened intently as he explained his excitement and his passion for cask days. He is truly a remarkable publican who cares deeply about the craft brewing industry here in Ontario. Morana, along with brother in-law Carl, sons Tomas and Julian and the rest of the Volo crew have grown this event from its humble beginnings four years ago into the successful and much acclaimed festival it is today.

I mingled with some other beer writing brethren and discussed the qualities, dislikes and surprises of the beers sampled while elaborating on our reasons why this event is so popular. It’s the beer of course, and the way the event is organized. I ran into Bar Towel founder Cass Enright and knew then that my day was going to get better. Enright and I always have a good time when were around beer and Friday was no different.

We met the guys from Dieu du Ciel, Luc and Stephane, and had a great discussion on the difference between Quebec and Ontario breweries. I also shared the recent issue of TAPS with Stephane. He claimed that Greg Clow’s description of the Derniere Volonte he reviewed was perfect, a description he couldn’t have written any better. We tried their cask conditioned Penombe Black IPA, which was fantastic, and sampled some other Ontario beers in comparison. Stephane, who is a co-owner of DDC was happy to meet Enright face to face as Cass has stayed at the brewpub from time to time and the two never crossed paths. We drank with them for a bit and found them both to be extremely personable and likeable guys who think the world of Morana (Morana is part of HMH that represents DDC and Hopfenstark in Ontario). Their relationship will help sell their products to the Ontario market for sure.

There were a number of Ontario brewers and brewery representatives in attendance, many of whom had created some unique one-offs. Last year’s event drew numerous creations from our home town breweries and this year was no different. In fact, there were more creations, 17 to be exact.

Because of how the sessions were set up, some beers were not available during the Friday afternoon/evening time slots, so I wasn’t able to try them. But I’ve heard many great things about the rest and you can read what Mr. Stephen Beaumont thought of some here. And read Josh Rubin’s thoughts here.

Of the beers I did get to sample I thought these one’s stood out from among the others (in my opinion).


Cameron’s High Hop Silver (was labeled Clove and Dagger on Friday)
DDC’s Penombe
Saint Andre’s Hopsmasher Parkdale Harvest Ale
F&M’s Stonehammer
Granite’s Peculiar Strong; and
a more one-sided Robert Simpson’s Pale Ale.

The Peche Mortel and Hopfenstark’s Blanche de L’Emitange, along with Denison’s Dunkel (2007) were great on tap.

It was another great day at Volo and I only wished I’d gotten back to take part in more sessions (instead I had to help my fiance monitor brain activity in 12 year old female hockey players in Aurora). The Volo staff, courteous as they always are, were extra helpful and were terrific to deal with. This is a quality that is often overlooked at events such as this, but something that adds to the overall mood of the festival. Good work to all the breweries that made a brilliant effort to surprise our palates with fantastic brews, and big congratulations to Morana for throwing another great Cask Festival.

**The charity for this year’s cask days was for Colon Cancer Canada; in memory of Ralph’s father Tommaso Morana who past away earlier this year.**

Meet Stefan Buhl: Tree Brewing Co.

Meet Stefan Buhl, brewmaster for the award winning Tree Brewery in Kelowna, British Columbia. By all accounts Buhl is a dedicated brewer who is proud of his work, which is terrific by the way. So grab a beer, sit back, and get to know a west coast brewer.

Where is the Tree Brewery and what beers do you currently produce?
We are located in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, BC.

We produce Kelowna Pilsner, Rebel Original, Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale, Cutthroat Pale Ale, Hophead IPA and Spy Porter as our year round beers.

We have our regular seasonals Midwinter Spiced Ale, Hefeweizen and Raspberry Porter. We will also release 2 or 3 limited edition beers every year starting in December 2008.

Describe the history behind the brewery.
Tree Brewing started in 1996. We are located in the original location on Richter Street in Kelowna. I have been with Tree since the fall of 2000.

What is your best selling beer?
Hophead IPA

What's new at the brewery? Events, new beers, milestones, awards?
We won Gold for our Hefeweizen and Silver for Hophead IPA at the 2008 Canadian Brewing Awards. We will release our first new specialty in the beginning of December. The brewing staff is very excited and we hope our customers will be happy with the style we picked. Stay tuned!

Why did you get into the brewing industry and describe your passion for it.
I was looking for a career in 1989 and brewing sounded interesting and it worked out great so far. I did an apprenticeship in a brewery in Germany and love my job ever since.

What is the best aspect of working in the Canadian craft brewery industry?
For me the best aspect is to be able to live and work in Canada. Working in a job I love and living in Kelowna is a bonus.

Describe the relationship between the West Coast breweries.
We are a member of the BC Craft Brewers Association, and have good relationships with many other breweries. We all share the same passion for growing the appreciation and awareness of BC craft beer. We are the only craft brewery in Kelowna, so we don’t have the same proximity that many others have on the island and lower mainland.

Where can someone find your products?
British Columbia and Alberta liquor stores, as well as many restaurants and pubs.

What advantages do smaller breweries have over the big guys?
We are very flexible and have the chance to create each beer as we see it brewed best.

Best time for a pint?
When you ever you feel like one.

What is the highlight of your brewing career?
19 years of living a good life in a great industry and no end in sight.

Cold clean lager or big hoppy pale ale?
I go for hoppy, ale and lager’s.

Name your favourite non Tree produced beer.
Meckatzer Loewenbraeu Weiss Gold Export Lager

OCB Discovery Pack #2

Last fall the Ontario Craft Brewers Association released a discovery pack that consisted of four lagers and two ales aimed towards capturing new drinkers. It seemed to work. The $11.95 discovery packs sold out very quickly and had to be re-stocked just in time for the Christmas holiday. It was also re-released in April due to its success and prompted the OCB to re-visit the idea this fall.

The second edition of the discovery pack is slated to be released onto the LCBO shelves any day now (actually November 1st) and features six different beers from the first pack. They are - Robert Simpson Confederation Ale, Mill Street Tankhouse Ale, Trafalgar Elora Irish Ale, Black Oak Nut Brown Ale, Cameron's Auburn Ale, and Nickel Brook Apple Pilsner.

The discovery pack will be available in more than 170 LCBO outlets province wide and includes tasting notes on all six beers along with educational notes on the craft brewing industry in Ontario.

Many Bar Towel members and other beer enthusiasts were perplexed with the first discovery pack claiming it to be weak and uninspiring, leading the OCB to reiterate that the new pack was targeted towards a different market. And I'm sure that the selection chosen for the second discovery pack will have some people shaking their heads as well as the pack does not include any porters, stouts or barley wines, all good styles for the upcoming months of the winter coldness.

There are a handful of breweries making good porter/stout in this province that are members of the OCB and their products would have been a nice addition to the pack. Hockley Valley's Stout (Silver medal at CBA's), Black Oak Nutcracker Porter and Double Chocolate Cherry Stout, John By Imperial Stout and Black Irish Plain Porter from Heritage, and Barley Days Yuletide Cherry Porter would all have been nice additions. But again I think the target market for the discovery pack is those drinkers that don't normally try such diverse products and the beers chosen should work well with their, dire I say it, inexperienced palate. However, that being said, I think this selection of beer is much better than the first offering with quality flavour in the Tankhouse, Black Oak Brown Ale and Cameron's Auburn Ale.

I agree with the OCB stance of offering these discovery packs and I like the way they promote them to the general public. I remember seeing people scoop them up at the LCBO and claim that they've never heard of some of the beer. It is a great way to reach new potential buyers and will hopefully lead to a quarterly offering.

Free Our Beer Website Updated

Cass Enright, founder of www.bartowel.com, launched a new website back on July 8, 2008 called Free Our Beer in relation to the series of articles the Toronto Star ran about the Beer Store.

After taking a bit of a hiatus to focus on the Golden Tap Awards and other endeavours, Enright has recently posted three new columns to the site.

Here they are:

Dreaming of California
Ted Chudleigh Chimes In
Ultimate Source: Part One

I feel it important to share this site with you and encourage you to share it with others who may not understand the way that the Beer Store is operated here in Ontario.

Are you Hopping Mad?

I was in the area of the Granite Brewery last night so I jumped at the opportunity to duck into the pub and try the newest addition to the Granite's family of beers: Hopping Mad.

The 6% cask conditioned ale arrived to my table and I immediately stuck my nose into the glass to get a big whiff of hoppy goodness. I must have looked out of place as the other clientele in the Granite did not look the type to sniff and make notes about the beer they were drinking. Regardless of the stares, I pushed on, sniffing away.

The Hopping Mad is a medium copper/auburn coloured ale that came with a white bubbly head that gently faded away with each sip. The nose of the beer consisted of sweet caramel malt and fresh floral hops, very nicely balanced. The last smell came as the beer was almost drained and the pint glass was near empty - beautifully aromatic.

With that out of the way, I raised the glass and took a large mouthful. Grassy/earthy qualities were picked up along with a little citrusy grapefruit notes to compliment the caramel flavouring from the malt. The strong presence of hops left a lingering smooth bitterness and finished dry on the tongue. Very nice. The temperature was perfect, slightly chilled. Made along the lines of the American style IPA's with the English flair of the cask conditioned variety that the Granite is known for.

I asked Monte (bartender) how the beer had been selling at the pub and he was surprised how receptive customers have been, it's been selling great. "People see something new added to the line-up and are curious to try it. When they do, they usually like it and order more." The Granite bumped their regular IPA off the menu in favour of the Hopping Mad and I don't imagine there will be many complaints.

The Beer Arriveth

I stopped by Volo tonight to pick something up and noticed all the casks getting lined up outside on the patio. Black Oak's Ken Woods was there helping move some patio furniture around and arranging the firkins while Ralph worked on some other tasks for the start of the big event that commences tomorrow.

Ralph confirmed that the Dieu du Ciel and Hopfenstark products arrived and were already received, picked up, and are now waiting to be tapped.

Here is the latest list for this weekend's Cask Days:

Barley Days Brewery, Wind & Sail Dark Ale
Hockley Valley Brewing, Black Forest Stout
Maclean's Ales, Maclean's Pale Ale - Dry Hopped
Wellington Brewery, Iron Duke Strong Ale
F & M Brewing, George's Double Red
F & M Brewery, Stonehammer Dark Ale
Stratford Brewing, Empire Common
Pepperwood Bistro/Brewery, Pepperwood Mild Ale
Nickel Brook Beer, Nickel Brook ESB
County Durham Brewing Co., Hop Addict IPA
County Durham Brewing Co., Hop Head IPA
Mill Street Brewery, Green Hopped Tankhouse
Mill Street Brewery, Coffee Porter
Saint Andre Brewing, Doug's Hop Masher Ale
Wellington Brewing Co., Arkell Best Bitter
Grand River Brewing Co., Plowmans Ale
Niagara's Best Beer, Niagara's Best Blond - Dry Hopped
Railway City Brewing Co., Iron Spike Copper Harvest Ale
Great Lakes Brewery, Pumpkin Ale
Great Lakes Brewery, Peach & Pepper Ale
Great Lakes Brewery, Oatmeal Chocolate Stout
Fuller Smith & Turner P.L.C., Fuller's London Pride
Fuller Smith & Turner P.L.C., Fuller's ESB
Granite Brewery, Peculiar Strong Ale
Granite Brewery, Hopping Mad Pale Ale
Trafalgar Brewing Bewleys Breakfast Ale (Black Tea Brown Ale)
Cameron's Brewing Co., Clove & Dagger Ale
Cameron's Brewing Co., Brewers Surprise Ale (TBA)
Amsterdam Brewing Co, KLB Pale Ale
Amsterdam Brewing Co, Framboise
Robert Simpson Brewing, Pale Ale
Scotch Irish Brewing Co., Corporal Punishment Brown Ale
Scotch Irish Brewing Co., Black Plain Irish Porter
Neustadt Springs Brewery, Elderbrau Lager
Black Oak Brewing Co., Homegrown Hop Bomb Pale Ale
Black Oak Brewing Co., Sweet Potato Nutbrown Ale
Church Key Brewing, West Coast Pale Ale - Wet Hopped
Church Key Brewing Co., Purple Loosestife Mead
Church Key Brewing Co., Tobacco Road
King Brewery, Unfiltered Hopped Pilsner
C'Est What, Homegrown Hemp Ale
Denison's Brewing Co., 2007 Dunkel Lager (Tap)
Grand River, Mill Race Mild
Grand River, 2007 Grand River Jubilation Spiced Ale (Tap)
Dieu Du Ciel!, Vaisseau des Songes IPA
Dieu Du Ciel!, Penombre Black IPA
Dieu Du Ciel!, Péché Mortel (Tap)
Dieu Du Ciel!, Rigor Mortis Abt (Tap)
Dieu Du Ciel!, Corne Du Diable IPA (Tap) (
Hopfenstark, Post Colonial IPA
Hopfenstark, Saison Station 16 (Tap)
Hopfenstark, Blanche de L'Ermitage (Tap)
True North Brewery, Trilight - Well Hopped Real Lager
Beau's All Natural Brewing, Night Marsen
Cool Brewery, Twisted Millennium Buzz
Publican House Brewery, Square Nail Pale Ale (Tap)

56 listed!!


*Photo taken last year*