Hurricane Harvest - Pump House Anniversary - Provincial Funding - Pub Radio Show

There has been a bunch of beer news recently that has been somewhat overshadowed by yet another lawsuit filed against Brick Brewing by Anheuser-Busch In/Bev regarding their Red Baron Lime. No need to touch on it, I think anyone who reads about it in the hundreds of newspapers its been covered in knows (or should know) it's a farce.

Pub Radio Show
Canada's Pub Guy, Bill Perrie, has announced that he will be hosting a weekly beer show on Stoufville's CWIS 102.7 FM. Perrie, who recently released his 5th book on Ontario pubs, plans to invite guests from the brewing industry to do beer reviews, talk about new beers for seasonal releases, discuss styles, and more. He also plans to feature a new pub each week, inviting the owner to take part in the show to chat about their establishment in greater detail. The first taping takes place tonight and featured guests include: Rob Engman, owner of TAPS Beer Magazine, Nic Rennie - Canadian Brand Ambassador for Innis and Gunn, Al Connelly (Glass Tiger) and the Crab Bucket Orchestra, and myself, who will sit in with Perrie every week when interviewing guests. The first episode will run on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 5th) at 4pm.

Northampton Brewing (Picaroon's) Receives Provincial Funding
The CBC ran a story on Friday about Northampton's recent delivery of their Picaroon's brands to some private Nova Scotia beer retailers to "test the market" before deciding to export their beers elsewhere. Sean Dunbar, owner of the small Fredericton brewery, mentioned in the article that the New Brunswick government provided $30,000 in funding that he will use to purchase machinery to assist in labeling bottles, along with machines to load the product onto trucks. He also stated that he will be working on expanding the brewery this winter, adding more tanks and opening up a retail store.

Hurricane Harvest Double IPA - Hart & Thistle
Quick Mash Nash (Greg Nash) has posted some interesting news on his brewers blog over at the Hart & Thistle regarding the hop harvest he organized two weeks ago. On September 4th, people are invited to head to the Hart & Thistle Gastropub and Brewery to sample the beer that was produced in response to Hurricane Bill. Hurricane Harvest Double IPA, a wet-hop beer produced with the hops that were harvested before the storm hit the area, will be released for the first time at the harbour front brewery beginning at 7pm. Nash also posted updates during the brewing process for this beer, and there are some great pictures of the actual harvest to browse through.

Pump House Celebrates Their 10th Anniversary
The Times & Transcript is featuring a story today about Pump House Brewery and their upcoming 10th anniversary tomorrow, September 3rd. 10 years ago tomorrow, at 4pm, Ray Auffrey ordered the first pint at the brewpub on Orange Lane and tomorrow Auffrey will get the honour of pouring the first pint...at 4pm. In the article Pump House owner, Shaun Fraser, had some interesting things to say, including the news that he recently purchased canning machinery that will open up the possibility of export to the U.S. and into Europe. He also mentioned that he has always wanted to be Canada's first national microbrewery and with only Quebec and Saskatchewan left on his hit list, Fraser and Pump House are close to achieving that goal. And finally, Fraser mentioned that they (Fraser and his wife) are looking at franchising their pub along with introducing their own line of food products. Interesting news indeed.

1st Annual Muskoka Beer Festival

When I first heard about Jed Corbeil's (in white shirt) plans to organize an Ontario craft brewery only festival in Bracebridge I was thrilled. Corbeil is one of the owners and operators of the Griffin Gastropub in the small town 2 hours north of Toronto, and it was during a visit to his pub back in the spring that he first informed me of his ideas.

We have a family cottage not far away and the thought of heading there for the weekend and taking part in a beer festival, a craft beer festival, was something that I had my heart set on. The idea of getting a bus and filling it with Toronto beer drinkers immediately popped into my mind and unfortunately it didn't pan out. Then I was double booked with wedding details and the Golden Tap Awards, which in the end prevented me from attending the first annual festival.

Thankfully Sam Corbeil (in red hat), Jed' brother, a brewer with Mill Street, and a TAPS contributing writer, was nice enough to provide a re-cap for all you readers that couldn't make it.

********

This past Saturday, the first annual Muskoka Beer Festival was held in Bracebridge, Ontario. Situated on the shores of the winding Muskoka River within the confines of the lovely and picturesque Annie Williams Park, the festival was the first of its kind for the growing Northern Ontario town.

Hosted by the owners of The Griffin pub, Jed Corbeil and Curt Dunlop and with a lot of help from event co-ordinator Alison “The Huntress” Hunter (and of course, a countless number of volunteers) the Muskoka Beer Festival was a further attempt by the two beer lovers to bring a growing beer culture north of the “Big City”.

After getting the green light from the town back in early May, the three have been working tirelessly to get the festival off the ground and running. With such a small window, they definitely had their work cut out for them. But within those three short months they made the best of their time and put together a solid event.

Having already established a good relationship with many of the breweries across the province, through their pub and its staunch stance on only selling Ontario Craft Beers, they were able to get 16 breweries, 1 cidery and 1 Cooler producer on board for the event. Quite an accomplishment for an inaugural event held 2 hours north of Toronto, the center of Ontario’s beer culture.

Along for the ride with those 18 producers, were no less than 60 different beers, ciders and coolers. Certainly enough to keep any amount of festival goers busy and sated for the 8 hours the festival was scheduled to run; from noon until 8pm that night.

And if beer, cider or coolers weren’t your thing, there was also a full line up of local bands playing on the main stage throughout the day, a wakeboard show on the river, a volley ball net and last but not least a giant slip and slide set up along the park’s lone hill. A long, wet plastic runway sending drenched and scantily clad fun seekers over a short jump and into an inflatable pool...how could that not be a hit?

Not bad for only three months planning. The only thing they couldn’t plan for was the weather. And Mother Nature.... did not co-operate. Monsoon-esque rain poured down for most of the morning, finally subsiding just before the gates opened at noon. For the most part, the rain was held at bay, only showering down for a few short minutes early in the afternoon. But it was the sun everyone was hoping to see and unfortunately it only popped its head out from behind the gloomy clouds briefly and the cool, damp air hung around all day. Not the kind of sunny-sit-on-the-dock-and-drink-beer, cottage weather they were hoping for.

But the rain and cool temperatures couldn’t dampen the festival goers’ spirits. At final count some 1,200 people came through the gates that day hoping to enjoy some of Ontario’s finest beers. And they weren’t disappointed. With breweries coming from all over the province, from as far East as Ottawa (Scotch Irish Brewing Co.) to as far West as Neustadt (Neustadt Brewing Co.) there was something there for everyone.

With many people sticking around for the better part of the day, the general consensus from the crowd was that the festival was a success. And having attended a few festivals myself, I can honestly say that this is a welcomed event to this province’s growing line-up.

And now that they have a full year to plan, and one successful festival under their belts, here’s hoping that next year’s event will be even bigger and better.

Beau's Big Winner at 7th Annual Golden Tap Awards

There were two big events taking place in Ontario yesterday, both highlighting the best in the Ontario craft brewing industry.

In the lovely little town of Bracebridge, ON the owners of the Griffin Gastropub were hosting the first ever Muskoka Beer Festival at Anne Williams Park that showcased a number of Ontario small brewers from all regions of the province while keeping the mega-breweries at home. They battled through rain in the early going but all reports indicated that the festival was a blast and the turnout was pretty good for the first such festival in the northern town.

Here in Toronto Cass Enright, president and founder of Bar Towel and Free Our Beer, presented the 7th annual Golden Tap Awards at beerbistro before a packed audience. There was a healthy turnout at last years event, a bit thin at times, but this year beerbistro was packed to capacity at certain times throughout the night, which created a line-up to gain entry and showed that the craft beer scene here in Toronto is starting to attract new customers and fans.

The GTA's got underway at 4pm and upon my arrival just shortly after 4:15 there was already a good amount of people sampling from the numerous draught and bottle selection put together by Enright with the help of the breweries (Click here for the entire list). There was a large number of brewers and brewery representatives in attendance this year, more so than in the past, as Mill Street's Joel Manning, Cameron's Jason Britton, F&M's George Eagleson, Great Lakes Peter Bulut Jr, Denison's Michael Hancock, Ron Keefe from Granite, Bruce Halstead from Durham County, Better Bitter's Tim Blakeley, Flying Monkey's Peter Chido, Ken Woods and Adrian Popowycz of Black Oak, Steve Beauchesne of Beau's, Grand River's Bob Hanenberg, Paul Dickey of Chesire Valley, Mike Duggan, OCB President John Hay and many more, all showed up to show their support. There was also a good number of pub and restaurant owners there, and seeing them interact with their clients and the people that deliver them the beer was nice to observe. There was some talk about new beers in the works, distribution updates, and ideas about some new events.

Jim Brickman, founder of Brick Brewing and the man considered amongst the Ontario brewing industry as a trailblazer, surprised a number of people upon his entrance. Brickman, who is no longer with the brewery he founded, was being awarded with an Editor's Circle award for his years of dedication in the craft brewing business.

As with every other GTA festival, individuals were encouraged to vote on their favourite beer in attendance and at 10pm Enright would tabulate the votes to name the Beer of the Festival. Last year Grand River's Bumbleberry Wheat won the award and Bob Hanenberg was on hand to receive the plaque this year. At the end of the night Enright announced that Beau's Lug-Tread Lagered Ale won by a small margin to claim the beer of the night.

Here are the other winners: Congratulations to all!
**The new cask awards were presented in partnership with CASK! Visit them at casktoronto.com.

Best micro/craft brewery in Ontario: Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill

Best micro/craft brewery in Ontario for cask-conditioned ale: Granite Brewery, Toronto

Best bar in the Ontario in terms of draught beer selection: C’est What, Toronto

Best bar in the Ontario in terms of bottled beer selection : Bar Volo, Toronto

Best bar in the Ontario in terms of cask-conditioned ale: Bar Volo, Toronto

Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario: Mill Street Brewpub, Toronto

Best regularly-produced craft beer brewed in Ontario: Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill

Best seasonally-produced craft beer brewed in Ontario : Black Oak Saison, Toronto

Best cask-conditioned ale brewed in Ontario: County Durham Hop Head, Pickering

Best of the Fest: Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale,

Four Editor’s Circle awards were also handed out, recognizing significant achievements in the Ontario beer industry. The Editor’s Circle awards were determined by a panel of Bar Towel members and associates. They went to:

Cask Ale Crawl, a weekend long event held in Toronto earlier this year that featured cask ale being served at 6 different bars across the city.

Rob Creighton & Grand River Brewing, for Rob's long participation on the Bar Towel forum and the brewery's quick rise to being one of the best in the province.

Derek Hyde & Amsterdam Brewing, for their Strong Spring Bock, the first high-profile collaboration between a homebrewer and a commercial brewer in Ontario.

Jim Brickman, founder of Brick Brewing, for his pioneering contribution to the Ontario craft brewing industry

There was also a special award handed out at the conclusion of Enright's presentation. John Hay, President of the Ontario Craft Breweries Association was brought forward by Stephen Beaumont who had provided a glowing tribute to Brickman and Hay then called up all the OCB members in the room to help present a plaque to Enright himself for his 10 years of hard work with Bar Towel and for all the work he has done promoting the virtues of craft beer. Enright was quite surprised when presented with the plaque and the loud applause he received from the crowd showed that the OCB aren't the only people who appreciate all he has done in for the industry over Bar Towel's 10 years in existence. It was a good way to cap off the already tremendous awards festival.

I personally find the Golden Tap Awards festival to be one of the best, and most organized, small awards/festival done here in Ontario. It always brings out the brewers, the sales reps, the bar owners, the craft beer fans, writers - really anyone who works in the industry or those that follow the craft market. Already looking forward to next year.

Meet Tim Blakeley: Better Bitters Brew Master

Meet Tim Blakeley, the enthusiastic and talented brewer with the Better Bitters Brewing Company.

Blakeley has been in the industry for over 15 years now and is responsible for the creation of a number of new seasonal products Better Bitters (under the brand Nickel Brook) have been producing over the last couple of years, which include: Maple Porter, Spring Bock, Organic White, Sahti (a Finnish beer brewed with Juniper berries) and Uniek Kriek (oak-aged with sour cherries). Blakeley has also brought some consistency and creativity to the brewery since arriving almost three years ago, tweaking, and improving the Nickel Brook Ale and Apple Pilsner, and producing the recently released canned, and LCBO available Organic Lager.

**Photo - Blakeley on right, Better Bitters brewer Ryan Morrow on left

How many years have you worked in the industry?
The first Toronto Festival of Beer was my first week on the job. So what’s that? Fifteen years, I think.

How did you get into brewing beer?
I tripped over my taste buds and landed in it. Ha Ha. I worked at The Woolwich Arms pub when I first moved to southern Ontario, and fell in love with the beer. Eventually, I drank so much Gritstone that the Niagara rep took me on a brewery tour and bought me steak dinner. After that, I was on a mission. When F&M brewery opened, I badgered them into giving me a grunt job and I would stay after work and hit the books every night. Then I basically spent the next three years grinding my way up the ladder, studying, exploring the different styles and driving everybody nuts with all my questions.

How long have you been brewing with Better Bitters?
Three years on Labour Day

Where were you before Better Bitters?
I’ve kicked around a few places: Gordon Biersch, Neustadt Springs, Wellington, F&M (second ownership), Taylor & Bates Elora and F&M (first ownership).Some beer sales gigs as well. I used to call beer sales “bar hopping for money”.

What is your best selling beer?
The core brands are pretty much neck and neck, but we’ve just released the Nickelbrook Organic Lager at the LCBO and I’m expecting it to take the lead.

How successful have the seasonals been for Better Bitters?
Very successful in many ways. Firstly, they sell well and have raised our profile within the community. Also, they’re invaluable to me for research purposes. Many of the techniques and ingredients I’ve used them to experiment with have allowed me to really fine tune the core brands and overall production. Most importantly, the joy of dreaming them up and then having them in my cellar when I get home has been instrumental in keeping me sane through the last three brewery expansions.

What is it like brewing in Ontario?
I love it. There’s a major renaissance going on among consumers for artisanal brewing. It’s allowing us unprecedented freedom to be creative. Also, the brain trust and talent pool that I’m working along side in the industry is first rate. We all get along great, and swap favours and advice as well as pints and dirty jokes. Any rivalries we have are friendly ones, which only serve to fuel our ambitions for excellence. Overall, I’d stand the Ontario scene beside any brewing region around.

Tell us something about yourself that not a lot of people know about.
I cried when my pet fish, Brain, passed away. It was 4:00 A.M. so nobody saw me. Phew. Thanks, Troy. It’s good to finally get that off my chest.

What's your favorite beer style?
Definitely the Belgian styles, with only a couple exceptions. Not exclusively Belgian styles brewed in Belgium, though. A good chunk of my top twenty are from Quebec. I love what they’re doing in Quebec.

What is your ideal food and beer pairing?
There’s too many to mention, so I’ll tell the most recent one that I’ve enjoyed. I was back home on the Saint Lawrence, and I had a dry Kriekbier with cheese curds and fresh-caught Lancaster perch on a baguette. Heaven.

Pick one Better Bitters beer to drink forever.
The Nicklebrook Cuvee. I make that one especially for myself. Not the most responsible use of company funds, but it sells well and gets good press, so my conscience is clear. Only thing is, it’s best after it’s laid down for eighteen months and I don’t have the willpower to keep it in my cellar that long.

What has been the highlight of your brewing career?
I’d have to say I’m living it right now. This is a very dynamic time for me. The learning curve is immense. Better Bitters is growing exponentially. The technology available for small batch production compared to back when I started is liberating. All of my designs and plans and inventions and dream beers are becoming reality and it all seems to be working. Lots of them have been stuck in my head for years, waiting for a company that’s supportive of my crazy ideas. John, the owner, is down with that. I feel validated and stressed out and excited and overwhelmed. Basically, I’m a kid in a candy store.

Best time for a pint?
Days that end in 'y'

Where do you see the Ontario brewing industry in the next 5 years?
I can see the cottage, craft and micro-breweries scooping up another 20% market share. I think the larger micros will start doing more special releases and seasonals. I’m looking forward to that. As for the more exotic stuff we’re creating, I think it will still be niche market, but I hope it’s a bigger niche. If we keep our beer advertising associated with gastronomy instead of beach volleyball, I think we can pull it off. I want to see brewpubs or brewery/tied houses with fine dining as well. Good times ahead. I can’t wait.

Charlevoix, Driftwood & Central City Coming to Volo

Two weeks ago, during the judging for the Canadian Brewing Awards, I had the opportunity to sample a beer by the name La Vache Folle Imperial Milk Stout from MicroBrasserie Charlevoix. I thought the beer was terrific, so terrific that I contacted the brewery to see if they'd be interested in taking part in the Tasting Panel for the fall issue of TAPS Beer Magazine. They were.

As I was talking to Frederick, the CEO of the brewery, he let me know that some of his beers would soon be available at Volo, as owner Ralph Morana placed an order with them. So, in due time, you can expect to find their entire line-up of beers at the popular Toronto bar. There will be the 'Mad Cow' series of beers - Vache Folle ESB and the Imperial Milk Stout, and the 'May the Lord be with you' (Dominus Vobiscum) Double, Triple, Ambrée, and Blanche.

Also, Morana let me know that he contacted the Driftwood Brewery in Victoria, BC and all of their beers (excluding the Amber Ale) will be shipped east to sit in the beer fridge at Volo. Gary Lindsay, director of sales and marketing with Driftwood confirmed that in an email to me late last month and they are excited to be making an appearance in Toronto.

The brewery produces a number of beers that aren't seen to often in these parts. Their line-up includes Brother Bart's Brown Belgian Ale (Dubbel), Farmhand Ale (Saison), White Bark Ale (Belgian Wit), Crooked Coast Alt, and Cellar Dweller Barley Wine.

And Morana also indicated that orders have been placed with Central City Brewing in Surrey, BC for Wally's Wheat, Red Racer Classic Pale Ale, and Red Racer IPA.

Just another three reasons to pay Volo a visit. No word on when the beers will arrive.

Duggan's Brewery Opening Soon

There is an 'opening soon' notice in the window at 75 Victoria Street here in Toronto, which is exciting news for craft beer fans. The building once housed the Dension's Brewing Co. where brewer/owner Michael Hancock produced a number of German beers for on-site consumption, including his Weissbier and Dunkel.

I received a call on the weekend from someone in the industry who said the building, which was for lease, was snagged up by Michael Duggan, the award winning brewer at Cool and recent champion of Volo's Ontario Cask IPA Challenge for his Number 9 IPA.

A phone call to Duggan confirmed that he did indeed take on the lease and he plans to have the building open soon. "Yes it is true and we hope to start brewing this week and open in 3-4 weeks," he stated. He also confirmed that it will be a restaurant/brewery tied house with a retail store and it will go by the name Duggan's Brewery.

"I am going to try to have 8 beers on tap all the time, trying being the key word. I'll have the #9, a Pale Ale and seasonal products like an Oktoberfest, Pilsner, Weiss and more," Duggan said. "I like the idea of rotating seasonals, so I'll be rotating the line-up four times a year." There will also be casks available, which is great news for fans of real ale.

So there you have it, the tanks that have been collecting dust for all these years will finally be getting polished and put to their intended use.

Duggan is also getting prepared for the launch of his Number 9 in bottles, which if all goes well could be released come late September.

Duggan as many readers of this blog will know, was one of the founding members of the Mill Street Brewery. Since leaving Mill Street Duggan has brewed for Cool and Robert Simpson (Flying Monkey's) and is quite the accomplished brewer, to say the least.

This is great news for the Ontario brewing scene and for those of us living here in Toronto. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Golden Tap Awards Beer List Released

Pardon my tardiness for the late post on the list of beers being offered this upcoming Saturday at the 7th annual Golden Tap Awards, which are presented by Bar Towel and its founder, Cass Enright.

The award winners will be announced this Saturday at Toronto's beerbistro and will feature a number of beers made by Ontario craft brewers. The free admission event kicks off at 4pm with the awards handed out at 8pm.

Beau's Lug Tread
C'est What Coffee Porter
Mike Duggan #9
Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion
King Pilsner
Amsterdam Big Wheel
Grand River Hannenberg Pils
Great Lakes Devil's Pale
Mill Street Pils
Cameron's Auburn Ale
Denison's Weisse
F&M Stonehammer Dark
Neustadt 10W30
Steam Whistle Pilsner
Durham Hop Addict

Casks of Granite Hopping Mad & Black Oak Hop Bomb.

Enright expects to announce more tap and bottle selections this week.

Win a Trip to Dublin, Ireland....Or a Gift Card

I have been drinking craft beer now for a number of years but Guinness still tugs at my heartstrings the odd time. It is one of those beers that no matter how huge they get I still can't turn a blind eye on them completely. While it my not be the first, second, or third thing I'd reach for at the pub, a pint of the black stuff sometimes hits the spot bang on.

I had to be reminded that Guinness is celebrating their 250th anniversary this September, and one establishment has set up a contest to give some lucky winner the chance to head to Ireland to take part in all the festivities.

Here is a condensed press release from Fionn MacCool's. **Now, most readers here will now I don't like promoting the large chain pubs, but winning a trip to Ireland would be a great escape from Toronto life right about now. And if you head to the bottom of the press release you'll see that there is also the chance to win another prize.**

Toronto - Fionn MacCool's, a Prime Pubs brand, if offering local beer drinkers the opportunity of a lifetime. In honour of the 250th anniversary of Guinness®, Prime Pubs is running “Passport to Party,” a story-telling contest which encourages local beer lovers to create, and share memorable stories about their favourite Irish pub and Guinness. The contest’s grand prize is a trip to Dublin, the spiritual home of Guinness, to participate in worldwide celebrations marking the milestone on September 24, 2009, Arthur's Day.

To enter, Canadians 19-years-old and over, with a valid passport are invited to visit www.passporttoparty.com and submit a “memorable” story of 500 words or less, which must include a reference to Fionn MacCool’s and Guinness. The more memorable and entertaining the submission the greater the chance of winning. In true Irish story-telling tradition, participants in the “Passport to Party” contest do not need to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

On September 11, five local Fionn MacCool’s pubs along with the eight other participating Prime Pubs in Ottawa, Kingston and Sarnia (Ontario), Calgary (Alberta) and Tempe (Arizona) will hold local competitions with the top five stories entered from their ‘home pub.’ From each local competition, one regional finalist will be selected to represent their pub at the Finals on September 19 at Fionn MacCool’s (The Esplanade location) in Toronto. Regional finalists selected from each pub will be awarded a trip to the Finals in Toronto where they will tell his/her memorable story in front of a judging panel, a live audience and Guinness brewmaster Fergal Murray who will, based on guests’ feedback of the quality and delivery of their tale, present the grand prize.

Two days later, on September 21, the grand prize winner and his/her guest will depart for Ireland spending four nights and five days in Ireland at one of Dublin’s premier hotels. Their visit will be jam-packed with fun activities, including a private tour of St. James Gate Brewery, a $1,500 entertainment voucher and participation in the 250th celebrations.

The Guinness 250 celebrations will begin on September 24 with a global toast to Arthur Guinness and include concerts at St. James Gate Brewery and other venues throughout Dublin.

For complete contest Rules and Regulations for “Passport to Party” please visit http://www.passporttoparty.com/rules-and-regulations.

**Fionn MacCool's has donated one $100 gift card to be used at any of their locations in Ontario and I want to give it away to a reader. All you have to do to receive it is name the well-known American brewer who did a beer dinner last year at the Esplanade location that I attended. Shoot me an email with the answer - the first person to do so gets the card.

Halifax's Hart & Thistle Needs Your Help (For Nova Scotians)

New Hart and Thistle Brewer, Greg Nash, has posted this message on the H & T's brewers blog today that I think is worth sharing with Nova Scotians.

Nash is looking for volunteers for this upcoming weekend to help pick some hops before Hurricane Bill heads to the east coast. This is a great way of interacting with your customers, building relationships that no public relations firm for a large company could dream up. I know that if I was living out east again I'd be there in a heart beat.

Ladies and gentlemen we need your help to make more great beer at the H&T!

What: Hop Harvest
When: Sat August 22nd 2009, 9:00 a.m. sharp (weather permitting)
Where: Lazy Acres Hopyard - 2055 Melanson Rd., Wolfville, NS
Why: Josh Herbin owner of Lazy Acres Hopyard is having a very tough time rounding up enough hands to pick 40kg's of fresh Cascade hops in one day for us to do a wet-hop brew and is worried the looming weather forecast for this Sunday from hurricane Bill could destroy or seriously damage the prime flowers!

This means we need to round up a crew of at least 6 - 8 able hop pickers for a few hrs of fun this Sat. August 22nd 2009 weather permitting. The more the merrier and the faster the job will get done!

Renumeration:

• I am offering 1kg of fresh wet hops to every set of hands on deck but you have to pick them yourself (after we achieve our 40kg goal!)!
  
• Refreshments (b-e-e-r)!
  
• Treats down at the Hart and Thistle at the release party for the wet-hop brew you helped make happen which has yet to be named!
  
• Full disclosure of the recipe for the wet-hop beer which I will post here on the blog for cloning your own, or simply as a point of interest as you sit and enjoy the finished product!
  
• If you're a homebrewer, 1kg of fresh hops equates to 5-6oz of dried hops - lots to make your own wet-hop beer or dry them yourself at home and use them as you please throughout the year!

Please forward an email to Nash directly if you can help Saturday!

No, Not Another Lime Beer!

First it looked like it was going to be the summer of new Wheat beers. Keith's White, Brick Waterloo Wheat Ale, Amsterdam Oranje Wit, Cannery Apricot Wheat Ale and more, all joined the already regular wheat beers in circulation that have come to be popular during the summer months. It seemed like all the big breweries, and some smaller ones, were whipping up batches and introducing them for the first time, competing with each other on who could get theirs released the quickest, regardless of the taste. It felt like there was a new press release every week signalling the birth of a new wheat beer to a brewery's portfolio.

Then all of a sudden the lime based beers started popping in thanks to the introduction of Bud Light Lime to Canadian soil. The beer was so hyped up (don't know why - well I do, pure marketing genius to a group of people willing to believe anything) that it has, and continues to, sell extremely well. It seems other Canadian breweries witnessed the madness and decided to stake a small claim of the lime pie themselves and we are now seeing an increasing number of these beers from coast-to-coast involving big national breweries, regional breweries and even small craft breweries.

Just yesterday the Brick Brewing Company, sans' founder Jim Brickman, released their version with their Red Baron Lime. "Red Baron Lime’s taste has benefited from consumer feedback on other lime competitors and from Brick Brewing’s rich, 25-year craft brewing tradition," was one of the key points highlighted. "Ontario has a pent up lust for lime and we're going to make sure no one is disappointed this Labour Day weekend when they want to enjoy a refreshing new lime flavoured beer," said Sean Dennis, Marketing Director, Brick Brewing Company. Brick joins the already mentioned Bud Light Lime, Big Rock Light Lime Lager, Russell's Cactus Lime Lager, Moosehead Light Lime and others.

Now I'm all for experimentation, and it's always a pleasure seeing new beer styles or existing beer styles making comebacks, but come on Canadian brewers, you can do better than this! I was pouring beers for the Canadian Brewing Awards and the largest category happened to be the fruit and vegetable category with a bunch of lime one. It seems Canadian breweries enjoy producing fruit based beers. I agree that the beer landscape is improving and the small passionate craft breweries are starting to pump out some terrific, flavourful products, but I'm sick of the weekly news of new lime beers!

Thankfully Creemore's Kellerbier came along and showed us to keep believing in new beer releases that go against the mainstream marketing gimmick of the day.

**Stephen Beaumont, over at That's the Spirit, offers a DIY seminar on how to create your own lime beer. Good stuff!**

Coors Light Disses Toronto

I picked up a copy of the Metro this morning and saw the headline Toronto the Cold with a picture of a Coors Light billboard. I did the first thing any fan of craft beer would do - I turned the page without reading the story. I just figured it would be another marketing gimmick about mountains turning blue or Coors introducing a new cold-filtered lime based light beer in Toronto.

However, a colleague came into work and asked if I read the article and pointed out the real message on the billboard: Colder than most people from Toronto. I live in Toronto. Should I be offended? I'm not, I think it's pretty funny actually and Coors accomplished exactly what they wanted to by putting up this poster; getting people talking about it. Although, I would rather see another slogan take its place - Colder than, ah... who cares.

The Toronto Star has the story and comments are pouring in and I think it's pretty entertaining to read some of the thoughts posted. There are some people really taking offensive to the ad, going so far as to saying they've purchased their last case of Coors (great, pick up a Stonehammer Light by F&M. A light beer with taste). But the quote of the day belongs to d_c who wrote:

gimme a break!
I might take umbrage if it was actually real beer. But, Coors Light?

Support your locals - drink craft beer!

Last Chance to Vote for the Golden Tap Awards

If you haven't done so already click here to be redirected to the Golden Tap Awards website to place your votes, as today is the final day for voting. All the awards will be handed out on Saturday August 29th at Toronto's beerbistro. The doors open at 4pm and the awards will be announced at approximately 8pm. There will be loads of Ontario craft beer to sample throughout the entire night. There is no admission fee there will be a small fee for drink and food tokens.

Golden Tap Awards
The Golden Tap Awards are a leading awards event recognizing the best craft beer achievements in Ontario.

Now in its seventh year, the Golden Tap Awards is a democratic awards event, with voting to take place online at www.goldentap.com from now until August 16th. Visitors to the web site can vote for any or all of the categories they wish, which include:

Best craft brewery in Ontario
Best cask-conditioned brewery in Ontario
Best pub in Ontario for draught beer selection
Best pub in Ontario for bottled beer selection
Best pub in Ontario for cask-conditioned ale
Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario
Best regularly-produced craft beer in Ontario
Best seasonal or specialty craft beer in Ontario
Best cask-conditioned ale in Ontario

Nearing the End

It's been a long day. My feet are starting to get sore from all the running around I've been doing. The judges are all still in good shape and the chatter is still pretty lively. We made it through the IPA round, the Stout and Barley Wine rounds (some of my favourite styles) and the results are pretty interesting. I'm already looking forward to the September Awards gala to hear the winners announced.

Barley Wines and Belgian Strong Ales

Oh boy! I'm sipping on a delicious Barley Wine as I write this. A small break in the judging provides me with the opportunity to catch up on my sampling. My take home bin is starting to look amazing.

Next up: Stouts.

CBA Update #2

IPA's are leaving the fridge right now. Wow! There are some real hop bombs - from both ends of the country.

Paul Dickey, Grand Master Judge, is running the show this year, making sure everything runs smoothly. "We're doing a great job so far," he says as he runs from table to table.