Hop City Brewing Co. - New Brewery in Ontario

I received a message the other day about a new craft brewery that opened back at the beginning of October, Hop City Brewing Co.. As far as I know, the brewery, which is owned/operated by Moosehead USA/The Premium Beer Company, but run as an independent business entity, is located in Brampton at the old Niagara Brewery before they moved to Niagara Falls.

They're currently only producing draught lager, which goes by the name, Barking Squirrel Lager, and as of today it is available in 25 pubs/bars/restaurants. The first keg went out on October 5th to Jake's Boathouse in Brampton and it was received nicely. There are no plans to produce another style as of right now, but the person I spoke with indicated that it would be looked at in the future. They do have plans to grow the product and they're hopeful that they'll be able to bottle and distribute it through the LCBO one day.

The message indicates that this new lager will be the tastiest craft beer in town, and by drinking it you can experience craft with attitude.

Hop City will be hosting an event here in Toronto in a few weeks, so look for my tasting notes soon. Is this going to be a threat to our small Ontario craft brewers?

Website is still under development.

Volo-nteering at Cask Days: By Rob Symes - Guest Writer

While I was busy tasting the beers during session 1 of Volo's Cask Days, friend and frequent guest writer, Rob Symes, was busy behind the Toronto station pouring samples for the excited crowd, and it appeared throughout the session that he was having a grand-old time. Today he shares his views with us all (except for the part about the ribbing he was getting from some of the regulars). Ladies and gentlemen, Rob Symes...

As readers of this fine blog know, this past weekend was a big one for Toronto beer lovers, as Bar Volo hosted its 5th Cask Days festival. I’ve been going to Volo for a good while now, and feel lucky to have such a good bar within striking distance of home, so I figured I’d show some gratitude for all the good beers I’ve supped and volunteer to work at this year’s Cask Days. I turned up forty minutes prior to the first session on a wet and windy day in Toronto. Fortunately for the line that soon began to gather, the rains had abated, and like some kind of divine thumbs up the clouds were slowly clearing away.

The first thing you should know about planning an event is that however much groundwork and preparation you do, there is almost always a crunch period at the end as life starts to mix curve balls and changeups into what had been a steady diet of fastballs. The casks aren’t labelled yet, some have only just arrived, there’s a fountain of IPA at the bar and the doors are scheduled to open in thirty minutes. It’s a testament to the quality of the Volo team that the opening is only delayed by a few minutes. This is a side of the weekend that most punters don’t see – its hard, hectic work that places a lot of pressure on the people who want the event to go as smoothly and enjoyable as possible.

I start off manning the Toronto station, which proves to be a popular one as most of the regulars are eager to try Ralph’s mild. I’ll find out later that it’s an excellent interpretation of the style, and perfect to start the evening off with because it only weighs in at 3.8%. A note to all you folks who drank the IPAs or barleywines and then went for the mild – you’re doing it all wrong. It’s the beer equivalent of drinking your OJ after brushing your teeth. Milds are delicate beers and if the palate acclimatises itself to higher intensity beers off the bat, you’ll miss out on the complexity and subtlety they can offer. The other quick sellers from the GTA were St. André’s Freshly Squeezed Barley Juice (a misnomer – I later found it was all about juicy hops), and Durham’s Black Eye (something of a black IPA if you’re happy with that oxymoron).

The second shift began at 9pm with my move to the Ontario East and North-West station, which had a number of interesting offerings. Church-Key’s Islay Scotch Ale proved to be very popular amongst the scotch lovers I talked to, and the novelty factor of Hockley Valley’s Peanut Butter and Jelly had a huge cross-over appeal. As with session one, the crowd is enthusiastic about the selection, and I’m repeatedly told that this is the best cask days yet, which bodes well for the continuing improvement of the Ontario beer scene. I’ve had some damn awful casks since moving here from the UK six years ago, but I can honestly say that after ploughing through a good number over the weekend, that the quality was high across the board, and that these beers would fare well at any of the CAMRA fests I’ve worked at.

A little less than ten hours after I started working (and a full seventeen since I left for my day job) the customers begin to trickle out. To be honest, the end of the day’s pouring is a relaxed affair, especially compared to the crazed rush of the first session. There’s no rapid serving, no line-ups of people after the bell has already been rang and no one complaining that they have left over drink tickets. It’s been a good evening and every one seems to be leaving in good spirits (Halloween pun intended). It may be the end of many people’s night, but the work isn’t done yet. The cleanup takes a full hour and involves lugging casks outside to ensure they don’t spoil. It’s a long day for me, but it’s an even longer weekend for the staff, who will be pulling the same gig on Saturday and Sunday.

So what did I take away from this experience? Firstly, the amount of work and effort I thought went into this event was even greater than I imagined. As a volunteer I just turned up, poured a few beers and helped with clean up, but the regular staff do an amazing amount of work, and they’re a credit to Ralph. Secondly, the man himself has a tireless dedication to the success of not only this event, but of the beer scene in Ontario. Buy him a drink, support the events Volo hosts and remember that the bar serves good beer year round, and not just during Cask Days. Finally, the community we have here is diverse, but strong. I had the opportunity to speak to a lot of people while I poured and I was struck by what a good bunch y’all are. Hopefully we can spread the word, convert a few people to the cause and push through some real change in this province.

If anyone is interested, these were my top 5 beers of the weekend (please note, these are Rob's top picks):
1) Benelux Amato Texas reserve Brown - a guest beer from Montreal.
2) Fuller’s IPA - a spot on English IPA and a rare cask outing.
3) County Durham Black Eye - show me another brewer who does cask this well.
4) F&M Nightmare on Ale Street - a complex spiced stout.
5) Beau’s Nightmärzen - hearty lager with a nice hint of vanilla from barrel aging.

**Stay tuned for my thoughts on the entire week of cask!

TAPS: Fall Issue

Released on September 24th at the Canadian Brewing Awards gala, the latest issue of TAPS is jammed packed with over 90 pages of beer material and makes for a great read.

Without giving away what the entire magazine contains, here is a sneak peek at what some of the writers put on paper.

Stephen Beaumont plays around with beer and whisky in his My Shout column.

Mirella Amato takes readers on a trip to the Le Loup Rouge brewpub north of Montreal, profiles BC craft brewing pioneer John Mitchell, and talks glassware. Amato also interviews Jeannine Marois in the Quaffs, Questions + Answers feature, who happens to be the President and co-founder of the Montreal's Le Mondial de la Biere.

Bill White once again works with editor, Karla Dudley, to put together the Perfect Pair section of the magazine, matching food with the right beer. White also profiles SAB Newlands Brewery in Cape Town, South Africa.

Craig Pinhey attended the Atlantic Beer Festival in Moncton back in May and wrote a piece about how the event unfolded. Pinhey also informs readers about Halifax's gastropub and brewery - The Hart and Thistle on the Harbourfront, and Big Tide, Saint John's newest brewpub.

Eric Ecclestone provides homebrewers with his (biergotter's) Pumpkin Ale recipe.

Greg Clow choose Stout as the style to profile in his Beer Styles 101 column and reading it made me want to reach for a Hockley Valley Stout.

Connie Proteau takes a look at the BC beer distribution numbers, complete with graphs (pie charts - who doesn't like pie charts). Proteau also profiled Gulf Islands Brewery located on Salt Spring Island in BC.

Sam Corbeil continues his Confessions of a New Brewer column with an article about summer love.

Roger Mittag came out to the Canadian Brewing Awards judging and shares his thoughts, and he also explains his newest venture, Prud'homme Beer Certification, a beer educational program he's offering starting this fall.

James Burla takes a trip to the Grizzly Paw brewery in Alberta.

I interviewed Ontario Craft Brewers Association President, John Hay and Chairman, Gary McMullen, asking questions about their roles and how what the provincial government could be better doing to assist them. For my Burtch on Beer column I wrote an article on Bar Volo's very successful Ontario IPA Cask Challenge.

There is a lot more inside the 98 pages, including regional beer news, beer reviews by our Tasting Panel, a profile of the the Belgian city Ghent, and much more.

TAPS is available at select Chapters/Indigo nation-wide and at many independent book and magazine retail outlets from coast-to-coast. Subscriptions for the magazine can be purchased by visiting the TAPS website (www.tapsmagazine.com) or by calling 416-536-9100. On-line digital versions of the magazine can also be purchased for the low yearly price of $12. Click here for more details.

**
Thank you to all our advertisers (in no particular order):

Ontario Craft Breweries
Grand River Brewing Company
C'est What
Mill Street
Beau's All Natural Brewing Co.
Granite Brewery
The 3 Brewers
Pump House Brewery
Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Draft-Care
Draught Services

If you are interested in advertising in the winter Issue, please feel free to contact me at the email address listed at the top of this blog, or email me at troy@tapsmedia.ca.

Get These Men A Beer

There are a couple of very respected publicans celebrating birthdays this weekend - Bar Volo's Ralph Morana and Adam Grant from The Monk's Table.

Last night, folks in attendance for session 1 of the start of Cask Days, happily sung Happy Birthday to Morana to help kick start his hectic weekend. Morana has been running Volo for over 20 years now and the bar has since become a mecca for beer lovers, attracting visitors from all over the world for their bottled beer selection, rotating draught menu, and for the numerous events that are held throughout the year. Morana can usually be found at the bar, chatting with regulars about the industry while making sure everybody is having a good time.

















And also celebrating a birthday this weekend is The Monk's Table owner, Adam Grant, who's establishment is just a bit north of Volo. Grant recently ditched the former name of the bar (The Abbot on the Hill) in favour of the Monk's Table, a name that was submitted by a customer during a challenge organized by Grant when he and his partner took over sole-ownership of the restaurant. The bar is well known for their delicious food, terrific import draught menu, and their knack for hosting beer launches. Grant seems to always be around, greeting people at the door and is quick to chat about his passion for good beer.

Usually these two men are the ones pouring and/or serving us our drinks, so this weekend is your turn to say thanks by offering birthday wishes, and maybe even grabbing them a pint at the bar.

Cheers! A History of Beer in Canada

Nick Pashley, a hell of a nice guy who wrote what is possibly my favourite book of all time, Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why Its Necessary, has informed me that he has a new book hitting store shelves throughout Canada today.

Cheers! A History of Beer in Canada, which was published by HarperCollins Canada, will be retailing for $19.99 and is now available coast-to-coast at select Wal-Marts, Costcos, Chapters/Indgio's, McNally Robinson's, University bookstores and many, many more. Click here for more locations, which have been nicely divided by province.

Go get your copy now! Buy the book as a gift for a buddy! I haven't seen the book yet, but I know it will be a page turner full of interesting information that will undoubtedly be combined with Pahsley's enjoyable, and very readable wit.



Cheers! A History of Beer in Canada
By Nicholas Pashley
HarperCollins Canada $19.99

The author of Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It’s Necessary is back. Nick Pashley brings his wit to bear on beer’s illustrious history in Canada, from Prohibition (and who thought that was a good idea?) to the beer that turned Quebec City drinkers blue and actually killed sixteen of them in 1966. Where else this season will you find a book that includes Prince Charles, Paris Hilton, Ron Keefe, and Rocco Perri, the great Hamilton bootlegger of the 1920s (you may be able to find him today encased in cement at the bottom of Burlington Bay)?

Because you can’t drink Canadian beer without leaving the comforts of home, Nick went out to drink beer across this very big country, from St. John’s to Victoria, Winnipeg to Whitehorse, using twelve airplanes, five trains, two Greyhound buses, and a catamaran. His tireless quest for local beer is recorded for posterity in this amusing and fact-packed new book. Cheers is now available in fine bookstores (and probably one or two mediocre ones as well) across Canada.

Watch for news of a live event at Bar Volo this fall. Otherwise, Nick can usually be found in fine pubs, bars, taverns, and taprooms somewhere near you.

Volo Tonight - Ontario IPA Cask Challenge Re-Cap

It's hard to believe that three of the seven days of cask related events have already gone by at Volo, as the Pre-Cask Days Traditional English Style days came to an end last night. However, today marks the start of the one day re-cap of the final four of Volo's very successful Ontario IPA Cask Challenge they held back in the spring.

You'll be able to induldge in 1/2 or full pints of the following cask ale:

Duggan's Number 9 IPA (eventual winner of the challenge)
Granite's Hopping Mad
Sgt. Major's IPA
Durham's Hop Addict

Doors open at 2pm. 1/2 pints $4.50, full pints $6.50.

**Volo will also be offering customers the chance to polish off the remaining beer from the casks of the Traditional English ales that have been featured since Monday. You'll be able to find:

Granite Best Bitter Special
Mill St. ESB (Dry Hopped)
Granite IPA
Gruit Ale - Great Lakes Eunuch Brew

Another Disappointing Brick Press Release

It seems that every new press release that Brick Brewery issue these days has to do with another bland version of their Red Baron, new packaging for the Baron, or a Statement of Claim.

Back in March, Brick announced that the Red Baron brand would undergo significant packaging changes while maintaining the discount 'lowest' price cost. Then in May they received a Statement of Claim by Labatt Breweries of Canada for Red Baron's infringements on Labatt's Brava. And at the end of July, Brick announced that they would be introducing the Red Baron in a 15pack for $18.25.

Then, this summer, Brick decided to throw their hat into the Lime Beer ring as they introduced Ontario citizens to six packs of Red Baron Lime for just $9.35. A beer that sold very well and probably pleased the shareholders no doubt. Brick again received another Statement of Claim from Labatt Breweries of Canada for their use of limes on the packaging and their lustforlime.com website.

And today, a press release about another new Red Baron product - Red Baron Light. The new beer is now available at the Beer Store in 12packs for $15.95.

Why do I bother mentioning all this? It all has to do with a line in the press release, "Brick Brewing Company has crafted Red Baron Light to compliment their already successful Red Baron Lime and Red Baron Lager line up of premium blonde beers. Like the Red Baron family, Brick will be launching Red Baron Light in a clear glass bottle giving Ontario beer drinkers another reason to help celebrate Brick's 25th Anniversary as Ontario's first craft brewery."

I don't like that line. As Ontario's first craft brewery, it would be nice to see Brick do some interesting beers to help celebrate the 25th anniversary. I know they produced a limited run of their once respected Bock, but you'd think that "as Ontario's first craft brewery" and celebrating a true milestone, Brick would come out with something unique for the people that helped propel them to where they are today. 25 years ago, Brick was a struggling small brewery that opened the eyes of beer drinkers in this province with beers baring a flavour profile not tasted in years. This 25th year has been rife with lawsuits, uninspired beer releases, and bad press (the whole Brickman saga), and that is not something other Ontario craft breweries need to be associated with.

Yes, as their bio indicates, "credited with pioneering the present day craft brewing renaissance in Canada", with releases like these however, Brick is no longer helping the craft segment or promoting what craft beer is all about - something that was lost along the way.

Volo Cask Days Hours

FYI - Volo will be opening the bar early this entire week in celebration of their week long cask events.

Doors will be open at 2pm. Closing time remains the same - 2am.

"Support your locals"

And It Begins...Volo Pre-Cask Days

Game on. Today marks the start of Volo's week long lead up to the infamous Cask Days festival this weekend, and they're opening up the bar with 13 Traditional English Ales that will be served until Wednesday.



PRE-CASK DAYS: TRADITIONAL ENGLISH ALES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26TH - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH, 2009

No tickets required, serving between 2:00pm-2:00am
All servings will be 1/2 ($4.50) and full pints ($6.50)
No taps will be served during these sessions. Until Supplies Last

Pale Ale - Durham's Signature Ale, Magnotta Pale Ale

Bitter - Granite Best Bitter Special, Saint Andre Brass Monkey Ordinary Bitter

E.S.B - Chesire Valley ESB, Durham ESB , Maclean's Battle X ESB, Mill St. ESB (Dry Hopped), Duggan’s #6 ESB

I.P.A - Durham Triple X IPA, Granite IPA

Brown - Hockley Valley Traditional Dark Ale

Mild - Grand River Mill Race Mild

Porter - Scotch Irish Black Plain Porter, F&M Porter

Stout - Durham Blakk Katt Stout

Strong Ale - Wellington Iron Duke Strong Ale

Old Ale - Granite Peculiar Old Ale

Barleywine - Granite Gin Lane

Gruit Ale - Great Lakes Eunuch Brew

Guest - Fullers ESB / Fullers London Pride

See you at the bar!

November 7th: Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day @ Amsterdam

Homebrewing is something that I've always wanted to get into but for various reasons I just haven't been able to get it together. Maybe it's the fact that I live in an apartment in the city that is already packed with beer from different parts of the country, or the fact that while I enjoy the idea of making my own beer I might prefer to avoid all the hard work and just enjoy the products made by the talented men and women out there brewing for a living. It is something that I intend on doing in the very near future however, so I was intrigued when I received the following email from George Leet the other day about an event coming up on November 7th.

November 7th - The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) formally runs something call "Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day". In the past, I have had a couple of friends over, and brewed up a big batch of something for us all to share.

This year, I wanted to do something a little bigger!

We will bring our brewing gear to the Amsterdam Brewery for a day of public demonstrations. We're still somewhat in the planning stages, trying to pull this together, but for now we have 12 different brewers (room for 16) who belong to "Are You An SOB? (Southern Ontario Brewers)", bringing their gear down and helping with the big event. Jamie Mistry, the Brewmaster at Amsterdam, has offered us yeast (ale and lager) and hops, and he will also be brewing with us. On top of that, we have grain donations from Weyermann Malts in Germany, and Gilbertson & Page in Fergus. I'm hoping that we will attract members of the public who have an interest in homebrewing or enjoy the taste of unique beers. And who knows, perhaps it will become an annual affair?

The Amsterdam Brewery will also be open, with public tours of the brewery, and Amsterdam beers will be available to sample. Better yet, buy a case to take home!

Other items available for purchase include "Are You an SOB?" T-shirts, items from Craft brewers Recycled Art Project (CRAP), and brewing kits and other supplies from homebrewersretail.com

Sponsors:
Amsterdam Brewing
Weyermann Specialty Malts
Gilbertson & Page
Amara Studios Photography
CRAP - Craft brewers Recycled Art Project
homebrewersretail.com

P.S. Amsterdam Brewmaster Jamie Mistry will be handing out a recipe for home-brewing "Amsterdam Nut Brown"... Look for a clone contest in the next couple of months!

The Facebook page for the event is here

http://www.facebook.com/thatleetboy#/event.php?eid=148676432887&ref=mf

Do it, go check out the Facebook page and make sure that date is free on your calendar. This certainly sounds like a great way to learn about the brewing process, meet people who have been homebrewing for years, taste some beer from Amsterdam, and take a tour a working brewhouse. The event starts at 10am and runs until 6pm. Judging from the Facebook page, it seems that the homebrewers who have committed to brewing on this day are going to be producing barley wines, porters, stouts, and more.


A little about these SOB's: Southern Ontario Brewers - a group of homebrewers from Toronto (and beyond) who are not only passionate about homebrewing, but are a bunch of SOBs! - We are informally pulling together this group, with the intention of sharing our knowledge, group purchasing power, and stage the occasional gathering to brew together and perhaps share our beers. - The SOB mandate is to be inclusive, not elitist. We hope to have a little fun, and perhaps break some of the rules along the way. You can contact the group at - thatleetboybrews@gmail.com

Propeller Pumpkin Ale: Halifax, NS

A week and a half ago I was sitting on the couch having a glass of Dieu Du Ciel's Corne du Diable when the buzzer sounded indicating someone wanted to be let into the apartment. When I saw the box tucked under the man's arm I got excited, knowing it was another box of beer arriving from an unknown sender.

Four bottles of Propeller's latest seasonal came out of the box upon opening it and straight into the fridge they went. It was hard not popping the cap of one, but it was off to Newmarket for the wedding. 9 days have since gone by and today I spent the entire afternoon working on TAPS Magazine stuff, and whenever I do that a beer is always near my computer. It was no different today, and it was the Pumpkin Ale's turn.

There has been a lot of talk about pumpkin beers this season as a number of the deliciously spiced beers have been popping up all over the place, Ontario that is. Great Lakes Pumpkin, Nightmare on Mill Street Pumpkin, Grand River Highballer Pumpkin, McAuslan Pumpkin, Niagara's Pumpkin (at the pub), and more. I happen to quite enjoy the different complexity that each of these beers offers, as no one pumpkin ale mentioned above taste the same.

Propeller's Pumpkin pours a beautiful hazy golden to orangey colour with a rocky cloud like head. The aroma on this baby is subdued hints of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and freshly chopped pumpkin, all very mild under the billowy cap. There is also a touch of citrus hop on the second sniff. I was expecting a little more in the aroma, so I let it warm up a bit longer but I came away with the same mild notes. Still quite nice though. The light to medium body throws more of the aforementioned spices out in the taste and it all ends somewhat calmly on the tongue, not cloying, yet somewhat sweet. No real huge 'pumpkin pie' flavour with this beer, just a nice quaffable drink that wouldn't offend someone trying a pumpkin ale for the first time. And I love the packaging of this beer. The logo is nice and simple, yet artistic enough to be different than other generic labels.

Propeller has been producing the Pumpkin Ale since 2004 and every season it sells out very very quickly, so make sure you get a bottle or two before it's gone. You can find the product at the brewery in the cold beer store, Bishop's Cellar, Premier Wines and Spirits, and a couple other small boutiques in Nova Scotia.

Propeller Brewing Company
2015 Gottingen Street
Halifax, NS B3K 3B1
www.drinkpropeller.ca

A Mill Street Beer Dinner

It seems I've managed to fall behind in some of the things I've been meaning to write about over the last couple of weeks, but if you read the post below, you'll understand why.

One of the events I had planned to cover was the Mill Street Brewmasters dinner that was held down at the brewpub in the Distillery District back on October 8th. Better late than never.

Mill Street, seeing how popular pairing beer with food has become, and noticing the increased popularity of recent Toronto beer dinners, decided it was time to host one of their own using beers available down at their brewpub.

The $49.99 price tag provided customers with a welcoming glass of their Organic Lager, plus four other beers throughout the night, which were paired with sausage, soup, beef tenderloin, and a chocolaty dessert. Very reasonably priced for the amount we would be receiving.

By 6:30pm 101 people had filled the back of the brewpub. Pub owners, industry representatives, Mill Street employees (including owner Irvine Weitzman, who was very excited for the release of the Nightmare on Mill Street Pumpkin Ale), craft beer enthusiasts (some Bar Towel faces) and people from the area who call the brewpub their local, were all in attendance. It was a good mix of people, which made for pleasant conversation. David Mitchell, the VP of Sales at Mill Street, mentioned before the dinner commenced that tickets sales were great and at one point there was a waiting list, which he was thrilled to say, and it showed that Ontario craft breweries can actually pull off a beer dinner (granted, the location did help tremendously).

The first pairing arrived to the table - bratwurst sausage with fixins and it was paired with the Oktoberfest Marzen. Joel Manning, Brewmaster, spoke about the beer, how it was developed, and explained why the pairing with the sausage would work. Everything on the plate went together wonderfully with the Marzen as it was allowed to stand out on its own without comprising the taste of the food.

Round two had many people in the crowd excited as it would mark the official launch of the Pumpkin Ale, which was paired with a butternut squash soup topped with toasted pumpkin seeds. This was a pairing I dug, and judging by the responses of the others at our table, they did to. The spices in the beer married nicely with the soup, complimenting the toasted seeds and not overloading the palate with two different sensations. The beer itself is medium-bodied with a nice balance of the various spices used in creating the beer. Manning pitched in a bunch of vanilla extract at the end of the brew to help round out the roughness of the pumpkin ale and the result is a super smooth, beautifully coloured, with a pleasant pumpkin pie aroma, and very drinkable.

Red chili beef tenderloin came up next and was paired with the IPA that can only be found down at the brewpub. It was a huge plate and simply delicious. The pairing was okay, I might have used the Tankhouse though, as the hop bite may have taken a bit off the red chili crust. Dessert featured a delectable piece of chocolate pecan pie that was matched up with the Extra Special Bitter, another beer only available at the brewpub. The pie was amazingly rich, maybe to rich for the ESB. I think the Coffee Porter or the Cobblestone Stout would have been a better match in terms of matching flavour profiles.

It was a terrific beer dinner and like I mentioned earlier, well worth the $49.99 admission. Mitchell stated during dinner that they are looking at doing this every so often, at the brewpub, using different beers each time, so keep an eye out for the date of the next one. Hopefully we'll start seeing more and more Ontario breweries doing dinners like this in the near future.


Round 1
Grilled Bratwurst Sausage skewer on a bed of Oktoberfest beer braised sauerkraut, served with apple and mint relish - Oktoberfest Marzen

Round 2
Butternut Squash soup topped with toasted pumpkin ale infused pumpkin seeds - Nightmare on Mill Street Pumpkin Ale

Round 3
Red Chili crusted beef tenderloin with parsnips, mashed potatoes and buttered autumn vegetables drizzled with a balsamic reduction - India Pale Ale

Round 4
Chocolate pecan pie with caramel and chocolate sauce - Extra Special Bitter

Cask Days 2009 Final List

CASK DAYS 2009: MAIN EVENT
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH, 2009 - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST 2009

ONTARIO EAST
Scotch Irish Brewing Company - Black Plain Strawberry Porter
Heritage Brewing Company - Hop Fresh 2009
Beau 's All Natural Brewing - Tommy Gun Pale (Caba Caba Hey) / Night Märzen Aged in Wood Cask
County Cider* - Waupoos Cider
Barley Days - Harvest Gold Pale Ale
Church Key - Purple Loosestrife Mead / Oaked Islay V Scotch Ale
Publican House* - McHenry Red Ale

ONTARIO NORTH EAST
Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery - 2009 Harvest Ale
Hockley Valley - Peanut Butter and Jam Ale
Flying Monkey* - Netherworld India Pale Porter
King - Dry Hopped/Unflitered Pilsner
Black Creek* - Traditional Pumpkin Ale
Magnotta - Festa Best Bitter (Dry hopped mid Atlantic Pale Ale)

ONTARIO NORTH WEST
Thornbury Village* - Peeler Cider
Battleaxe Brewery* - Old Angus Old Ale
F&M Brewery - Nightmare On Ale Street
Wellington - Iron Duke Strong Ale
Grand River - Highballer Pumpkin Ale

ONTARIO SOUTH WEST
Railway City - Dead Elephant Ale
Stratford - Empire Strikes Black
Niagara’s Best - Portage Pale Ale
TAPS Brewing Company* - Rosberg's Porter (Dry Hopped)
Nickel Brook - Wooden Nickel IPA
Trafalgar - Pickled Corpse
Cameron's - Vanilla Dark Ale

ONTARIO (TORONTO)
Mill St. - 08/09 Blend Barley Wine (Dry Hopped)
Granite Brewery - Gin Lane Barley Wine
Duggan's Brewery* - Duggan’s #7 Stout
Denison’s - Dunkel from a Wood Barrel (Not Cask-Conditioned) Session 3A Only
Durham Brewing Company - Black Eye Ale
Amsterdam - Oaked Oktoberfest 2009
Great Lakes - Morning Glory Breakfast Stout
Great Lakes & BarVolo - Matt’s Marathon Mild
Black Oak - Lime Light Pale
Cheshire Valley Brewing* - Ginger-Lime Ale
St. Andre - Freshly Squeezed Barley Juice

GUEST (QUEBEC & ENGLAND)
Brasserie Benelux* - Amato Texas Reserve Brown
Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! - Corne Diable IPA / Péché Mortel / Penombre Black IPA
Brasserie Hopfenstark - Post Colonial IPA
Fullers - London Pride Pale Ale / Extra Special Bitter / India Pale Ale / Red Fox Red Ale

* First Appearance at Volo Cask Days

Unibroue and a Wedding

After ten years of dating, I finally tied the knot with my longtime girlfriend this past weekend, and we celebrated in style.

We decided months ago that a location in Newmarket would work out best for our respective families and we settled on the beautiful Silver Lakes Golf and Country Club in the North end of the city.

The first time we checked the site out I noticed the draught lines - Coors Light, Heineken, Rickard's Red, and Canadian, so you can imagine what my next thought was: What can we do to switch this up for the big day?

Luckily the Silver Lakes wedding facilitator listened to my idea of bringing in some craft beer from some small breweries she'd never heard of and surprisingly the golf course was very receptive and genuinely interested.

The next step was putting together a beer list that would please everyone invited to the wedding. I knew Mill Street's Organic would be a great choice for the Orillia group, so it made the list. Great Lakes just released their fall seasonal, Pumpkin Ale, and being that it was a fall wedding it made sense to offer that. Cameron's Auburn Ale was picked to give the more seasoned craft beer drinkers a bit of hop bite while not scaring off people interested in trying something new. And finally, I chose the Hefe-Weissbier from the Muskoka Cottage Brewery as a nice thirst quencher. With that on draught I felt that everyone would be happy throughout the night. The whole keg of Organic (50l) lasted all of 1 hour.

There was one more thing to work on though. Beer for the tables during dinner. I don't drink wine to often, I can appreciate it, but I can't drink much of it. I wanted to be able to put some beer on the table during dinner service while the bar was closed and I looked to Sleeman for the answer - Unibroue. I managed to grab 50 bottles of Maudite and La Fin Du Monde (25 each) and the golf course had no issue with us bringing them in with the proper paperwork. Each table was provided with one bottle each of the Unibroue beer and the Maudite went beautifully with the Angus beef that was served.

The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch and everyone had a good time, which I'm sure the beer played a significant role with. Thank you to all the breweries for helping make our day great!

*Photo taken by Scott Turnbull of Turnbull Photography, who was excellent throughout the day*

Turnbull Photography
Box 99, Windermere, ON
P0B 1P0 ~ 705.769.1726
turnbullphotography.com

11 Alberta Brewers to Collaborate on a Charitable Brew

Something pretty special is set to take place next Saturday (24th) out in Alberta. 11 brewers from the 11 Alberta breweries will be heading to the Grizzly Paw Brewery in Canmore to work together to produce a Dark Rye India Pale Ale that they've branded as Unity Brew. The brewers will make 2000 litres and each brewery will receive 3 kegs to re-sell at their establishments. All the proceeds from the sale of the collaborative ale will be donated to a charity of each brewery's choice. Michele Lowry, Brewmaster with the Grizzly Paw, thought up the collaboration when brainstorming ideas for a yearly charitable beer, and thought there was no better way than to bring all small Alberta breweries together.

It should also be noted that Canada Malting will be donating all the ingredients that will be used in producing the Dark Rye IPA.

The Micro-Breweries of “THE UNITY BREW”
Alley Kat Brewing Company - Edmonton
Ambers Brewing Company - Edmonton
Big Rock Brewing Company - Calgary
Brew Brothers - Calgary
Brewster’s Brewing Company - Calgary
Drummond Brewing Company - Red Deer
Jasper Brewing Company - Jasper
Roughneck Brewing Company - Calmar
The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company - Canmore
Wild Rose Brewery - Calgary
WildWood Brewing Company - Calgary

*On a side note, Wild Rose will be pouring their ration once its available in November. More information will be posted as it becomes available.