Month: September 2012

When drinking local becomes a problem: Locarexia Nervoso

Posted on by Ben

I have a problem.

I didn’t realize it was a problem until quite recently but a couple events have made it quite clear that it’s real and it’s something I need to deal with.

The first time I knew I had a problem was following a softball game. My team, comprising a number of work colleagues, opted to hit a bar in order to drown our sorrows following a 20-10 routing and, since it was the nearest bar to the diamond, we had the unfortunate experience of visiting The Dog’s Bollocks on Queen.

Now, to be clear, I don’t really mean to slag The Dog’s Bollocks–I recognize that it is a pub and that its most endearing qualities are intended to be its cheap draft, bar food, and numerous TV screens.

I’m no dummy. I wouldn’t expect gourmet from an establishment named after an animal’s nut sack. But my experience was not great–and it’s largely due to my psychological issue. Continue reading “When drinking local becomes a problem: Locarexia Nervoso” →

‘Dam Good News for Beer Drinkers

Posted on by Ben

With the announcement yesterday that Amsterdam Brewing Company is not only moving to a location with bigger distribution capabilities but also opening a brew pub on Toronto’s waterfront, it seems clear that they’re poised to become a bigger player in the city’s, if not the province’s or country’s, beer scene (and we won’t mention which Toronto beer writer was the first out with that story–ahem), and that is really, really good news for Ontario and for beer drinkers in general.

This move–with the company’s focus on having all their products available for retail sales and the strategic choice of a tourist-friendly site for their proposed brewpub– is sure to get an even larger swath of the the population drinking Amsterdam’s beers, so it will be that the rest of the world is soon likely to find out what Toronto’s beer nerds have known for a long time: Amsterdam Brewing Company makes really good beers. Continue reading “‘Dam Good News for Beer Drinkers” →

Craft Beer in Italy

Posted on by Ben

I recently had the extreme good fortune of being able to take a trip to the region of Italy known as Tuscany, and, as is often the case when I find myself awake in a foreign country, I took the opportunity to seek out some local booze.

As you may imagine, travelling in Italy there is a natural tendency toward the region’s world-class wines—and, indeed, few noon-hours passed during my vacation wherein I hadn’t already indulged in a glass of Vino Nobile from nearby Montepulciano, or a Brunello from nearby Montelcino, or a Chianti from nearby—anyway, you get the point: It would have been impossible for me not to get into some local wines and I did so freely and to excess and it was fucking great (and more on that at a later date).

However, as the name of this blog might make plain, I’m something of a fan of beer so, despite finding myself in the town of Pienza—population 2000—I made it my mission to seek out some local beer. Continue reading “Craft Beer in Italy” →