Cask Ale Front and Centre: Guest Writer Rob Symes

I had one hell of a good time this weekend. I headed to Volo on Friday afternoon immediately after clearing the work off my desk to kick things off, meeting a bunch of friends for numerous pints of cask ale. The hard work by the CASK! group was clearly evident and all the pubs involved did an outstanding job promoting this (hopefully annual) event. I managed to get to four of the six pubs featured and sampled from each other their offerings. I had many drinking buddies along the way, including an Englishman of my age by the name of Rob Symes, who has graciously offered us this post on his Cask Crawl wrap-up. Enjoy!

This weekend saw a new kind of beer festival hit Toronto, as six locations across the city opened their doors and allowed beer lovers to sample cask conditioned ales. For those of you who are unclear what is meant by cask conditioned, let me explain. Cask beer undergoes a secondary fermentation in the barrel, is free of chemicals and preservatives, and is unfiltered and fresh. It can either be served by gravity (a tap in the bottom of the barrel opens to let beer into the glass), or by using a handpump on the bar. People who like cask beer tend to like it a lot, appreciating the freshness and enhanced taste and texture. This weekend’s event was organised in conjunction with Cask! Toronto, a group of cask devotees dedicated to promoting awareness and growth of cask beer in the province of Ontario.

On Friday night I had a chance to check it out for myself. Bar Volo has an outstanding reputation as a fine beer establishment, and in recent years has become a mecca for cask lovers due to its choice selection of local casks, and its annual fall festival in honour of the great elixir. The MacLean’s Country Organic Ale was a good choice to start, full of lemongrass and herbal flavours; it struck me as a great candidate for a summer patio. As a follow-up, C’est What’s Chocolate Hazelnut Ale made a rare appearance on cask, and would appeal to lovers of nutella with its rich milk chocolate base and strident hazelnut bouquet. The clear winner for me was Neustadt’s Texas Tea Stout, a rich creamy beer, full of roasted coffee, chocolate and cream. This beer is truly a remarkable achievement from a brewery who has hit their stride. The grand-daddy of them all (and an appropriate finisher) is Grand River’s Russian Gun Imperial Stout, a high octane beast of a beer that hides its alcohol well, and goes down a little too easily for something so strong. Grand River has become somewhat of a darling in the local beer scene, and their imperial stout should help cement their reputation.

A pub crawl demands at least two bars in an evening, and a number of people headed to the Victory Café, location of the wildly successful winter cask festival held on a frigid day earlier this year. The bar’s very own Compass Starlight (Nickelbrook) proved to be the perfect session ale, full of citrus notes, and balanced by a biscuit background. Along with the Neustadt, this is my favourite beer of the whole event, and I’d heartily recommend a visit to the Victory to try it. The County Durham Signature would also make an excellent choice for an evening’s drinking, mixing citrus with caramel and floral hints. Our final visit of the night took in C’est What, which was still packing in a crowd despite the late hour. For the Toronto cask lover this may well be ground zero – five handpumps dispensing delicious ale, including the very sessionable house brew, Al’s Cask Ale. County Durham’s Hop Head provided a wonderful burst of grapefruit and Grand River’s Curmudgeon IPA benefits nicely from the cask format. We returned the next day to try the Ploughman’s Ale and Black Oak Double Chocolate Cherry Stout with some friends. In keeping with a theme, C’est What also offers its own festivals and cask events, so check out the blog because they are always a great experience.

The festivities carried on throughout Sunday, with a marquis Cask IPA challenge at Volo (which I’m sure you’ll read about once Troy recovers enough to write it up), and the participating bars still pouring the remaining beers. However, the cask conditioned fun does not end with the close of this event. You can grab a pint at a number of fine establishments in the city , including those who took part in this event (The Granite, Volo, The Rhino, Mill Street Brewpub, Victory Café and C’est What?). For a list of other locations in Toronto and the rest of Ontario check out the Cask! Website for further details (hyperlinked: http://casktoronto.wordpress.com/pubs-brewers).

Granville Island Launches Brockton IPA

British Columbia's Granville Island Brewery is one of the granddaddy's of micro-breweries in Canada, and to help celebrate their 25th anniversary in the business, the brewery has announced the release of new IPA - Brockton IPA.

The new beer is named after the Brockton Oval in the famous Stanley Park and was chosen by residents of the West coast in a number of blind taste tests. I should have a bottle in my hands this week, so look for some notes soon.

Here is the press release:

COOKIE CUTTER WORLD vs BROCKTON IPA
Granville Island Brewing celebrates 25 years of originality

British Columbia’s own Granville Island Brewing is celebrating 25-years of innovation and quality with the launch of Brockton IPA, a golden-coloured, well-hopped and refreshing India Pale Ale.

Named after the Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, the Brockton IPA was chosen by {Vancouverites/British Columbians} in a series of taste tests to complement the true West Coast lifestyle.

“Brockton IPA reflects our twenty-five years of innovation and dedication to high-quality handcrafted premium beers that {Vancouverites/British Columbians} have come to know and love,” says GIB brewmaster Vern Lambourne. “Its crisp flavour and aroma can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates the taste of a true West Coast IPA.”

GIB is well-known for its handcrafted premium beers. Inspired by the West Coast lifestyle GIB’s beer line-up includes local favourites such as its English Bay Pale Ale, and Cypress Honey Lager. The brewery uses all natural ingredients in the beer making process to ensure that its award-wining beers are 100 per cent pure: Canadian two-row barley malt and imported malts, the finest blend of European and Pacific Northwest hops, special yeasts and of course, fresh BC water.

Let the CASK Flow - A Weekend of Cask in Toronto

And so it begins. Today is the start of the Cask Ale Crawl, presented by the CASK! group. The crawl will run all weekend long, and will feature six pubs, 19 casks, all in good fun and aimed at promoting the outstanding qualities of real ale, which as we know, is best enjoyed fresh from your local pub with friends and acquaintances.

The crawl commences at 5pm tonight and will end on Sunday evening (with the exception of Volo, who will only be participating Friday and Saturday). There is no admission charge or strict running schedule, just straight up pay as you go. Each individual has the freedom to hit up all six pubs during the course of the weekend, and if that's your goal, remember to pick up a free passport along the way. Get the passport stamped at each location for your chance to win some great prizes.

And the great thing about doing an event like this in Toronto is that each location can be reached by TTC, so there is no excuse for drinking and driving.

Here is the finalized list of beers (as listed on the CASK! website) set to be served at the bars and pubs participating in the Cask Ale Crawl.

Granite Brewery (245 Eglinton Ave. E.)
Granite Best Bitter Special
Granite IPA
Granite Hopping Mad

Mill St. Brewpub (Distillery District, 55 Mill St.)
Mill St. IPA

C’est What (67 Front St. E.)
County Durham Hop Addict
County Durham Hop Head
Grand River Curmudgeon IPA
Grand River Plowman’s Ale
Neustadt Big Dog Porter

Rhino (1249 Queen St. W.)
County Durham ESB
Black Oak Pale Ale
Cheshire Valley Dry Stout (Pepperwood's Paul Dickey - associate brewer with Black Oak)

Victory (581 Markham St.)
Compass Starlight Ale
County Durham Signature Ale
Nickel Brook Sour Cherry Ale

Volo (587 Yonge St.)
C’est What Chocolate Hazelnut Ale
Grand River Russian Gun Imperial Stout
MacLean’s Country Organic Ale
Neustadt Texas Tea

Then on Sunday, Volo will be entertaining loads of cask ale and hop head fanatics when they open their doors for their first annual, and first round of their IPA Cask Challenge. 18 locally produced cask conditioned IPA, and some Pale Ales, will be going head-to-head in a single elimination tournament. There will be eight judges blindly scoring the beers and their results will be combined with the scores given by the general public. The winning beers will then move on to the next round, which will be held on an undetermined date in May, and all beers will be scored blindly by customers.

This is shaping up to be a great weekend in the city.

TAPS Spring Issue

The Spring issue of TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine is fresh from the printers and features a beautiful new cover with a nice, bold, green hop vine front and centre.

The magazine should start hitting newsstands any-day now, and I hope you readers out there enjoy it from cover to cover. I haven't even had time to browse through the entire thing, but there are some great articles on the Italian beer scene, Quads, a profile of Beau's Brewery, and Calgary's Wild Rose Brewery, a tribute to Jim Brickman, beer reviews, and much more.


Shameless plug coming - If you are interested in subscribing, head over to the TAPS website for more information. While there, take part in a survey for your chance to win $500. You can also purchase copies from Chapters/Indigo retail outlets. 

Interested in advertising in the magazine, you can contact me at troy@tapsmedia.ca for more information.

500th Post?

I missed this. As I was putting up the Garrett Oliver interview this morning I noticed my post-reader listed that there has been 511 posts! Whoa. I had no idea. The 500th was posted back on March 20th.

What should I take out of the fridge to celebrate? Well I've narrowed it down to these five: Mill Street Barley Wine 2007 - Green Flash La Freak - 2007 Maudite - 2007 Propeller Russian Revolution Imperial Stout - or, Church Key's Lactese Falcon (last years). Since you have all put up with my ramblings (all 511 of them) I'll let you decide.

Cheers,
Troy
"Support your locals"

Interview with Brooklyn Brewmaster Garrett Oliver

The following interview appeared in the Winter issue of TAPS: Canada's Beer Magazine. Garrett Oliver, the Brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery, made his way to Toronto to host a beer dinner featuring three Brooklyn products at the Esplanade's Fionn MacCool's back in the summer, and he took 20mins to participate in the interview.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN BREWING?
In 1983 I moved to England to stage manage rock bands at night, which led to numerous visits to the pub after the shows. That’s when I really fell in love with beer. I drank beer in college not really liking it, but when I discovered cask conditioned ale in England I fell in love. When I returned to the US I could no longer drink it so I started homebrewing in 1984 and it eventually consumed my life. My passion eventually led to a brewing job with the Manhattan Brewing Co. in 1989.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE BROOKLYN BREWERY?
I had known the Brooklyn guys for years through the homebrewing clubs and we were all good friends. Steve Hindy (President and Founder of Brooklyn) and I have known each other since 1985 and he wanted me to come work with them early on; however, I was happy with my position at Manhattan. In 1994 there was talk of building a new brewery and I saw the guys had the same fire in their belly as I had in mine and I made the move. It has been almost 15 years since I came to Brooklyn and I’m proud of our line-up of 17 beers.

WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE BEER INDUSTRY?
It makes me happy to see beer and food pairings growing in popularity. It’s something I have a great interest in and I’ve spent a lot of time promoting it. I think it’s become more widespread and I’m starting to see more dinners like this being held everywhere from small pubs to Michelin star restaurants. Another small trend were seeing in the brewing industry would be the Belgian influence in small breweries. Brewers are experimenting with unique yeast strains and barrel ageing here in the US, something not really seen 7 or 8 years ago. Brooklyn is currently developing a bourbon barrel aged strong stout re-fermented in the bottle that should turn some heads (will be named Black Ops) which might be the only one in its style in America.

NAME YOUR BIGGEST DISLIKE IN THE INDUSTRY
The un-level playing field. I think it’s a great industry full of great people, but what bothers me is when the big breweries basically break the rules to get their products into accounts. I like to know our beers get sold based on their merits, not advertising, which is another thing that bugs me. Commercials showing guys slapping each other, wow, what a great image for beer! I find these commercials bring down the image of beer. However, the industry produces some great people who work together, helping each other out with ingredients or promoting other products.

FAVOURITE BEER DRINKING MEMORY
My most recent memory would be sharing a beer I helped develop with Hans-Peter Drexler of Schneider Brauerei at his brewery in Kelheim, Germany called Schneider-Brooklyn Hopfen-weisse. I was on vacation with my family off the coast of Italy and Drexler and his family were taking a ferry that stopped nearby. We met up and drank our creation for the first time as we overlooked the Mediterranean on a terrace in a little town called Bonasola. Quite an experience. Having our beer for the first time, in that location, was amazing. Another great memory was when I took our entire brewing staff over to England to visit 7 breweries and we stayed in Thornbridge Hall, an old estate with a small brewery making some great beer.

WHAT’S UP WITH YOUR CLOTHES? YOU’RE WELL KNOWN FOR YOUR STYLE OF DRESS. ARE YOU TRYING TO ELEVATE THE STATUS OF BEER FROM BALL PARKS TO BOARDROOMS?
These are my clothes. I like these clothes and it’s not like I get a chance to wear them everyday. I actually took my tie off tonight. I thought, ‘an Irish pub?’ Naw; go with the open collar, but I left the blazer on (the blazer featured a beautiful metal Brooklyn crest that was done by a company that does work for the British Royal Family). I also want to raise the appearance of beer when I show up to do dinners, tastings, have people recognize my professionalism. I developed my taste after seeing the famous winemaker Ottalo Gotto at an event wearing a beautiful suit. Someone asked him why he wore such fancy suit and he told them, “If you want people to understand that your wine is delicious, you should also look delicious.” I don’t know if I look delicious, but I look as good as I can.

YOU’RE THE AUTHOR OF THE POPULAR BEER AND FOOD PAIRING BOOK “BREWMASTER’S TABLE.” WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE IT?
I wrote it after I saw people shopping for beer and they would go in, look at 200 different beers, walk back and forth and then leave with a six pack of Heineken or Corona, looking somewhat disappointed. I think it was because they weren’t sure of what was in the bottle, not sure what the other stuff tasted like, looked like or more importantly, they didn’t know what to do with it. I wanted to write a book that would tell people who actually wanted to know what the beer was all about; where it came from, what it tasted like, what foods it went well with and to help spread the status of craft beer. I also wanted to remove the barrier of all the scientific talk that we brewers use to describe beers. IBU’s and original gravity are all good to discuss, but I wanted to talk about beer and food and the flavours they bring out in each other at the dinner table. The goal was to give people the information they need to have many great beer and food experiences as possible.

HOW GREAT WAS IT TOURING THE WORLD WHILE WRITING IT?
It was great. I met a lot of great people, drank some amazing beers and learned some new things. Great fun.

MOST MEMORABLE FOOD AND BEER PAIRING?
I’ve done about 500 beer dinners in around 10 different countries, so as you can imagine, it’s difficult to pick just one. However, I’ll always remember one time on the banks of one of the canals in Amsterdam I had a simple open faced salmon on ciabatta bread. Fresh salmon, sunshine shining through the trees and somebody brought me a big glass of Wit beer. At that moment it was like the best thing in the world.

YOU GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH WINE SOMMELIAR’S IN FOOD PAIRING COMPETITIONS. HOW MANY HAVE YOU WON?
All of them!!! Hahaha! But no, I have won all of them. There have been some that have been really close though. It’s funny, I can remember every individual round that I ever lost; I remember the pairing, what the wine person did and I’ll make the necessary changes the next time around.

PICK THAT ONE BEER
I don’t have a favourite singe beer. It changes all the time, from season to season, yet I do have some ‘desert island beers’ I would want if I was stranded on an island: Saison Dupont and Adnams Broadside Bitter (cask conditioned). Both delicious.

GOALS FOR THE CANADIAN MARKET?
Obviously we would like to see more enter the market. However, it’s hard, really hard. Getting into the Canadian market is tough. But we’ve done it and we want to build on it. Ontario has big potential and we would one day want to have a full range of Brooklyn products to offer consumers.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CANADIAN BEERS?
I like the beers from Dieu du Ciel, and I think the beers brewed here by Mill Street are clean and well made. Beers made by Unibroue have been great for a long time and they seem to continue improving. For years I’ve enjoyed McAuslan’s stuff, the Oatmeal Stout in particular. I’ve also enjoyed some stuff from British Columbia. It’s weird, the British and the American brewers all know each other and so do the Belgians and the Americans, yet Canadians and American’s do not. I have a difficult time naming many Canadian breweries. Don’t know why, like I said, weird.

BEST TIME FOR A PINT?
Now! Hahaha! Every time is a good time as there is a beer made for every occasion. Drink up

Garrison Ultimate Brew-Off

After finishing the post about Amsterdam brewing a Doppelbock based on a recipe listed on Bar Towel, the folks at the Garrison Brewing Company forwarded me the following press release (see below) announcing a new annual competition they're hosting for Maritime home-brewers.

I recently talked to Brian Titus, owner of Garrison's, who filled me in on his idea. "Most professional brewers start off home-brewing, so this is a great way to let them showcase their skills on a commercial level while getting engaged with Garrison," stated Titus." Everyone at the brewery is looking forward to trying the beer that gets submitted, and we do expect some terrific stuff."

This is a terrific idea that should peek the interest of homebrewers living on the east coast. The winning entry, as you'll read below, gets a pretty nice prize - the chance to brew the recipe at the brewery with Brewmaster Daniel Girard, which will then go on to be packaged and sold as a Garrison seasonal.

Here is the announcement:

Welcome to the first annual “Garrison Ultimate Brew-Off”, an annual competition for hot-shot home-brewers across the Maritimes.

Participants will be asked to produce a 5 gallon/20litre batch of beer based on a pre-determined beer style. Each entry will receive a written review with the top four each receiving a prize. The best beer overall will be scaled up to commercial size by our Brewmaster, Daniel Girard, which the home-brewer will assist in brewing as a Garrison seasonal! This is intended to be an annual event, with a different style chosen each year.

Submission:

• Entrants must be home-brewers (non-commercial brewers) from either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.
• Beers produced on the premises of commercial brewers are not eligible;
• Beers must be within BJCP Style Guidelines to win (http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php). The 2009 style is “STANDARD / ORDINARY BITTER;

Beers must be:
1.) all-grain; or,
2.) extract with hops &/or malt.

• Purchased “complete kits” are not eligible. Brews must be properly documented (brewing sheet attached) & fully reproducible; Unfiltered beer is completely acceptable;
• Total of 2 litres (6 x 341ml, 4 x 500ml, etc.) submitted for review & judging purposes;
• $10 registration fee entitles all entrants to a souvenir t-shirt & two tickets to the gala event;
• Registration deadline is April 30, 2009. Samples must be received by Tuesday, May 19, 2009.

Review, Judging and Awards Reception:

• All entries will receive a written evaluation (including suggestions if applicable) by our award-winning Brewmaster, Daniel Girard.
• The top four (4) entries will be selected by Daniel Girard for final judging by BJCP certified judges;
• Awards will be handed out at a reception on Thursday May 28, 2009 at Garrison Brewery (1149 Marginal Road) and finalists are asked to bring a quantity of their brew for attendees to sample.

Prizes:

• The Gold Medal winner will be invited to join Daniel in brewing a full-sized batch of their recipe for packaging & release as a limited edition seasonal. They will also receive two flats (48 bottles) of the finished beer, a $75 Noble Grape gift certificate & be presented with a trophy that will remain on display at the brewery;
• Prizes will also be given out for Silver, Bronze & Honourable Mention, including gift certificates from Noble Grape.

Good Luck & Drink Independently!

** Garrison retains the right to name & brew the finished product without royalty, compensation or limitation.

Garrison Brewing Company
1149 Marginal Road
Halifax, NS
http://www.garrisonbrewing.com/
902-453-5343

Amsterdam Strong Spring Bock - Dehydrator

Anyone that's interested with the craft beer industry in Ontario know that one of the places to go to get 'up to the minute' information is the Bar Towel website. The public forums are a great way to share information with a network of people who share the same passion for beer. It was on one of these forums that a homebrewer by the name of Derek Hyde posted one of his recipes - a Doppelbock recipe, after he found out he didn't win the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) contest to be a brewer for the day.

You see, last year the OCB ran a contest where individuals submitted their names for a chance to win an opportunity to help an OCB member brew for a day. The winning recipient wouldn't be creating anything new, they would just be assisting, and watching the brewmaster work his/her magic, learning about the whole process.

As I mentioned, Hyde didn't win. Instead, in September, he went to Bar Towel and created a topic called "If you won the craft brewer for a day...." and let everyone know what he would have liked to have done if his name was pulled from the ballot box. Little did Hyde know that Amsterdam Brewmaster Jamie Mistry was looking to do a new seasonal for the spring months (as Amsterdam recently added 480hls of fermentation capacity, giving them more flexibility to do more seasonals and test brews). The recipe caught the attention of Mistry, prompting him to send a message to Hyde inquiring if it would be fine to use his recipe at the brewery. *Just to note, Amsterdam is no longer a OCB member*

Hyde meanwhile was thrilled to have a commercial brewery interested in one of his recipes and had no objections to Amsterdam doing this what-so-ever. "I put the recipe together according to my taste, so I'm thrilled that Amsterdam brewed it and that other people are enjoying it," stated an excited Hyde after the beer was released at the Amsterdam retail store. "I didn't get involved in the brewing process though, but Jamie was great. He didn't just take the recipe and run with it, he was interested in all of the technical details of how I did the decoction mash (temperatures and rest times), as well as the specific hop additions during the boil. He really did try to reproduce the brew, without making any compromises."

"What interested me was that he (Hyde's recipe) attempted a triple decoction and it sounded like fun," stated Mistry early two weeks ago. " The three brewers and myself really enjoyed it, especially the decocation part. The brewery will definitely make more beers with this method."

The beer, which was released back in early March and called Amsterdam Strong Spring Bock (aka - Dehydrator), pours a very deep mahogany with hints of ruby red, and produces a wavy tan head with lingering retention. Each sip leaves behind rich lacing on the pint glass. Dark fruitiness with some noticeable peppery notes, sweet caramel, and a small touch of alcohol, which is masked very nicely, stands out in the aroma. The tongue picks up a bit of spicing up front, peppery (very subtle mind you), slight smoky-burnt caramel, sweet dark fruit, cherries, honey, a touch of dark chocolate, and a slightly warming alcohol burn. The Doppelbock is fairly bitter, medium to full bodied, medium level of carbonation, with a dry finish. Easily drinkable, and nice to share with friends.

When Amsterdam hired Mistry back in the summer of 2008 I went down to the brewery to talk to him and plant manager Andre Klinker, and both men stated that they would be tweaking the Amsterdam general products while incorporating some new brews into their line-up. This is the first of a number of seasonals that Mistry plans on brewing. He mentioned that they would like to produce a Schwarzbier and a Porter that would most likely only be available by heading down to the brewery for a six pack.

What a great story. It shows that a brewery is listening to the beer enthusiasts' out there. Not only are they listening, but Amsterdam actually did something to prove that they understand the market is changing. They took a risk that captured the attention of Toronto beer geeks and the venture has proved to be successful. Go for Amsterdam.

And Hyde, well, he is back at it, he recently started a new thread on Bar Towel titled "Ontario Craft Brewer Challenge" where he is asking other homebrewers to submit recipes in the chance another craft brewer might decide to incorporate it into their production. Who knows, we might start seeing a new trend in the industry. As for seeing his recipe in bottles at the retail store, Hyde thinks it's "really cool."

Available at the Amsterdam Retail Store $14.95 six pack
21 Bathurst Street
Monday - Saturday 11am - 11pm
Sunday - 11am - 6pm

Mikkeller Jackie Brown Ale

As I was sitting at the computer last night my alert notification program popped up reminding me that tickets for the April 15th Danish beer dinner at beerbistro were going on sale in the morning, which is now today. It also reminded me that I had a fresh bottle of Mikkeller’s Jackie Brown Ale sitting in my beer fridge that needed to be consumed.

I’m a big fan of the Mikkeller beers. I absolutely love the Beer Geek Breakfast, a beer that has so much going on but it so easy to drink. Mikkeller’s Stateside IPA is another strong product that found a home in my fridge, holding strong against a number of American IPA’s in a tasting a few months ago. And then there is the Jackie Brown Ale, a nice beer perfect for the cool spring months.

A colour reminiscent of a chestnut brown poured from the 650ml Danish bottle that was similar to that of a light pop (cola). The pour produced a rapidly expanding layer of foamy protection that stuck around fighting off beers worst enemy - oxygen. The toasting and roasting of the malts provided a nutty aroma, close to that of walnuts, joining a smell of a fresh cut hay-field in the summer. There is a light smokiness in the first couple of mouthfuls, which eventually succumb to more of a sweet caramel touch with a moderate bitterness in the follow through. Hops are evident in the Jackie Brown, but they play nicely with other palate punchers likes notes of coffee, honey, and dark chocolate. The 6.0% is a little more milder than some of the other Mikkeller products I’ve been fortunate to try, but I think even Pam Grier would be willing to slay Quentin Tarantino to get her hands on a bottle of this beauty.

Danish beer dinner at beerbistro, Wednesday April 15th, hosted by the Roland and Russell Import Agency. Eight courses of Danish cuisine deliciously prepared by chef Brian Morin paired with beers from Norrebro and Mikkeller. Tickets are on sale as of today at a cost of $120 plus applicable taxes and gratuities. To purchase tickets, please contact: Kathleen McGinn or Cheri Dueck at beerbistro by calling 416.861.9872.

*And for the record, I am not promoting this event in exchange for a ticket. I am promoting this event because I believe in the quality of the beers being brought in, and I believe in the business values practiced by the Roland and Russell Import Agency.

Meet Jonathon Sherman: Owner Steelback Brewing Co.

This guy has been through a lot in the last year. I mean, he took over a brewery at 25 years of age, and not just any brewery, but one that was in dire shambles with a reputation for inconsistent products and a marketing budget far exceeding incoming sales figures.

Yes, Jonathon Sherman has been through a lot. He has stripped Steelback down to its core and has been slowly and methodically putting the pieces back in place. Gone are the tall tub cans. So are those ridiculous plastic bottles that drove customers mad. The services of the always colourful Frank D'Angelo were no longer needed. Steelback was shedding its past image, looking toward a brighter future. The company recently made a splash in the brewing industry when it was announced that they joined the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB), something Sherman had in mind when the re-branding was initiated, even if it meant going through some hurdles.

I recently met up with energetic owner over a pint of their new seasonal Red Maple Lager to discuss his decision to join the OCB, talk about the transformation of the brewery, and see what may be in store.

Meet Jonathon Sherman (now 26 years old):

Steelback was just accepted into the OCB. Why did you want to join?
It was something that I wanted to do since our big re-launch. The old Steelback was rife with inconsistency, bad marketing, and produced way to many beers. I felt like we needed to get back to basics and gain some back some credibility. Joining the OCB shows that we are serious about change, and shows how much was have tried to separate the brewery from the old guard. Also, gaining the OCB Stamp of Approval on our products is a great way for customers to see that a change for the better took place. The OCB does some great things, things like the Discovery Pack, which introduces beer drinkers to beers that may not have been discovered otherwise. This grassroots marketing is something we like and hope that we can contribute to in the future. I also wanted to join the OCB because of the teamwork. Being part of a group of dedicated individuals fighting for market share is something I believe in.

What does Steelback hope to gain from joining - other than credibility?
Well, the number one thing is the OCB Stamp of Approval. This is big. We also hope to gain friendships with the other breweries. We want to be part of that comroderie that the OCB members are known for.

You have to be one of, if not thee youngest brewery owner in Canada. What has it been like?
It's been pretty wild. Pretty exciting. Most young entrepreneur's look to start off on the right foot, I started off with a sinking ship. While it has been fun, it has also been very challenging. The first thing I did was surround myself with experience. I hired Ian MacDonald who is a veteran beer guy to run the daily operation of the brewery. He has been great. As for me, I am a hands-on owner. I like to be out in the field with the sales reps, visiting our accounts and getting to know the individuals who support our vision. I am learning more and more about the industry everyday and I often joke around with friends that my experience comes from my days as a consumer..if you get my drift.

We all know about the re-launch, but can you explain the decision to cut the Steelback line-up from 11 beers to 5?
There were many factors.
1 - We wanted to get back to basics. Brew a handful of beers and give our undivided attention to them.
2 - The old Steelback had so many different brands that they were essentially competing against each other. Some stores only stocked 2 or 3 while some stocked 5 or 6. That made it difficult for people to find our beers. Eliminating all those brands has saved a lot of confusion.
3 - Fewer raw packaging costs. You save a lot of money when you cut back on numerous brands.
4 - I wanted to get away from the tub cans and the plastic bottles too. Putting everything in standard bottles and selling them in six packs, along with the re-branding, has given us a better image.

Your products mainly cater to the everyday beer drinker. Will beer geeks ever write about a Steelback beer?
I certainly hope so...and I think so. Yes, we do have 5 beers that are mainstream, easy drinking beers. We are a brewery built on that. However, as part of our craft beer segment, releasing seasonals or producing one-offs is something we would like to do, and will be exploring. We just produced a Red Maple Lager that is only available on draught and it has been very successful. We also got some new brewing equipment to do test brewing, so hopefully we can start doing some unique stuff soon.

Many OCB members participate in beer events like Volo Cask Days and different tasting sessions. Do you see Steelback engaging in these sort of events now that you've joined the OCB?
Yeah, we're totally into that. We already do some intimate events closer to the brewery, letting people taste the difference of change. We want to be fully involved in the craft market as these different niche events help set smaller breweries apart from the large guys. A lot of people think Steelback is a large brewery. We have a large brewery, be we are craft in size. Pumping out the same five beers only bores people over time and doing special beers for events is something that we are interested in. It will be nice to participate in events with the other OCB members.

Who do you look up to in the brewing industry?
I love the Creemore model and I think we have worked off that model since the re-launch. Do good products at a craft level, focus on draught accounts (that way the beer gets into the hands of people without paying for a whole case), put faith in our quality, and working from our backyard outward. Like Creemore, Steelback packaging has been re-branded with images of local scenery. David Kincade, who runs a branding consulting firm, has been a great help in getting us back on our feet. He's someone I looked up to for professional help.

What is your favourite Steelback beer?
Hands down, no question - the Dark Lager. Dark Lager by a long shot. The new Red Maple is great, but I love the Dark. It's drinkable, flavourful, and complex.

The Dark Lager won a Gold Medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2007, just after the re-launch, and brought with it some criticism.
I don't blame people for their words. They probably tried the beer when it was sold in the plastic bottles, or tried it after it spoiled. I could understand why they didn't like it. The beer the judges tasted was fresh, bottled in glass, and the recipe had been tightened.

Any last words?
I guess I could say that we have come a long way in one year and we are very thrilled to be a member of the OCB. It is a privilege to join forces with all the other great craft breweries and it will be great to work with them. We will continue to grow, continue to improve, and promise to get a lot better. Keep an eye on Steelback.

The beerbistro Cookbook

Just thinking about the recipes and beer recommendations contained in the colourful pages of this book, is enough to ignite my salivary glands. Like Pavlo's dogs, everytime I hear the word beerbistro I start to water at the mouth. I have yet to see a copy, but I can imagine writers Stephen Beaumont and Brian Morin have done a magnificent job of bringing the beerbistro culinary culture into the home of beer aficionado's and food lovers alike.

Morin the Chef/Owner of beerbistro, and Beaumont the beer writer and Beerbistro partner, have put together The beerbistro Cookbook , which is currently available for pre-ordering on Amazon.com, before the official April 10th release date. Word is that some pre-ordered books are being delivered as early as yesterday. There are also copies available at beerbistro, and Beaumont mentioned on Bar Towel that the highly talented duo may do some sort of book signing next week.

Here is Amazon's description of the book, which was published by Key Porter Books here in Toronto.

In beerbistro Cookbook , writer Stephen Beaumont and chef Brian Morin show how you can take your beer to a whole new culinary level. Covering everything from getting to know your ales and lagers to appetizers, mains, cheese, beer cocktails, and even beer pastry, first-timers and foodies will find something to whet their appetites and wet their whistles. Informative sidebars provide tips and hints on everything from how to pour beer to what glassware to pour it into. True-to-life photos will take you behind the scenes to see exactly how these mouth-watering dishes are made. They will make you hungry for more. Recipes include: Blonde Ale Vegetable Pakoras, Grilled Porter, Pulled Pork Quesadillas, Curried Butternut Squash and Ale Hummus, Drunken Portobello Mushroom Sandwich, The Ultimate Frites, Apple Ale Back Ribs, Navajo Spice Rubbed Oatmeal Stout Chicken, Maudite Onion Confit, Beer Butter Tarts, Beeramisu, Stout Macadamia Nut Brownies, and Beerscream.

I think this new book will look great joining the other Beaumont collections in my ever growing beer library. Get out and grab a copy today!

Fynn's of Temple Bar to Host Beer Dinner

The independently owned and operated Fynns of Temple Bar on King Street West has announced plans to host a four course beer dinner on Monday April 27th starting at 6:30pm.

"Once again, we are happy to have Food Network Canada's very own Thirsty Traveler, Kevin Brauch back at Fynn's for our second beer tasting event," stated Robin Wynne, manager of Fynns.

"The feedback and response from the first one was so overwhelming, that we had to get Kevin back to host another night! Again, the beer tasting dinner will be 4 courses of beer, with 4 courses of food, and possibly a fifth toast beer on top of that, for $50.00 per person! We sold out last time at 100 people, so get your tickets fast by reserving your name and table for the night."

I contacted Wynne to get a list of the beers that they will be featuring; however, he confirmed that he and Brauch usually make the decision two weeks prior to the dinner. "We take a look at our vintages list, talk to the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) about any new unique products on the market, and we do try to find at least one Bavarian produced beer that is in limited numbers."

The last beer tasting held at Fynn's included a couple five beauties, plus an extra toasting beer - Creemore UrBock, Dogfish Head 60 min IPA, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Innes and Gunn, Mill Street Tankhouse and for the toast, Black Katt Oyster Stout.

Interested? To book your reservation and to ensure your place for the evening, send an email to info@fynnstemplebar.com.


Fynn's of Temple Bar
489 King St. W
Toronto, ON
416-586-1331
http://www.fynnstemplebar.com/

CASK! Ale Crawl - Coming Soon!

Don't forget about the Cask Ale Crawl taking place the April 3-5 weekend hosted by the CASK! group. Head out to grab some pints of terrific Ontario produced cask ales at these participating locations.



Granite Brewery (245 Eglinton Ave. E.)
Granite Best Bitter Special
Granite IPA
Granite Hopping Mad

Mill St. Brewpub (Distillery District, 55 Mill St.)
Mill St. IPA

C’est What (67 Front St. E.)
C’est What Al’s Cask
County Durham Hop Head
Grand River Curmudgeon IPA
Grand River Plowman’s Ale
Neustadt Big Dog Porter

Rhino (1249 Queen St. W.)
County Durham TBD
Black Oak TBD

Victory (581 Markham St.)
Compass Starlight Ale
County Durham Signature Ale
Nickel Brook Sour Cherry Ale

Volo (587 Yonge St.)
C’est What Chocolate Hazelnut Ale
Grand River Russian Gun Imperial Stout
MacLean’s Country Organic Ale
Neustadt Texas Tea Stout

The crawl gets underway at 5pm on Friday the 3rd, and remember, there will be no admission charges at the fine establishments.

Garrison Private Order Update: SOLD OUT

Shortly after posting the previous entry, Enright emailed me to let me know that the final four cases had been ordered. Good on everyone for ordering.

Garrison Private Order Update

The sales numbers for the first ever private order from the Garrison Brewing Company have been a tremendous success for Cass Enright. The founder of Bar Towel (who created his own corporation to import a variety of Garrison beers) has been astonished as the speed at which the beer has ordered. "We made the announcement last Thursday, and by 6pm tonight, we only have 2 cases of the Imperial Pale Ale left, and 2 cases of the Sugar Moon Maple Ale left."

Once the remaining cases are ordered, Enright has the task of emailing each customer an LCBO ordering form which must be signed, dated, and have credit card information listed to cover the deposit on your order. Once the customer completes that form they will have to fax the original document back to Enright who will then submit the total package (all order forms) to the LCBO for the beer to be ordered. "Hopefully it won't take to long to arrive after that," stated Enright.

So for those of you who are sitting on the fence deciding whether or not to participate in this order, now is the time to act. Go to www.bartowelimports.com to submit your order before it's to late.

Also, Enright has posted the first story of his venture on his FreeOurBeer website - the website in which he has dedicated to exploring the beer retail system in Ontario.