Never mind the LCBO strike, here’s the local brewers

Never mind the LCBO strike

As we rapidly approach the long weekend that unofficially marks the start of summer here in Canada and one that quasi-officially requires that we drink beer in order to celebrate it, we are also faced with the looming threat of an LCBO strike.

As has been repeated in the media ad nauseum as of late, the LCBO is urging us to “stock up” now lest we be caught without any other options for booze this weekend.

I’m growing fairly tired of this refrain for a couple reasons. First, I’m inherently suspicious of any solution being offered by an organization that stands to profit massively from said solution. Perhaps they really are just being nice, but hearing the LCBO say “You better come spend a lot of money at our stores ASAP!” really turns me off actually doing it and, given my tendency to leap to unlikely conspiracy theories, is almost enough to make me think that maybe the whole strike is just a massive, brilliant marketing campaign to get us all hoarding booze (Whether or not the ghost of Elvis is involved remains to be seen). Continue reading “Never mind the LCBO strike, here’s the local brewers”

#SummerWeiss or “The one where I shill for Muskoka Brewery but I don’t feel bad about it”

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I think it’s pretty clear by now that Muskoka Brewery is kicking ass. They’ve stepped up their game immensely since the days of “Muskoka Cottage Brewing,” Mad Tom has redefined gateway beers and has found a semi-permanent home in the fridges of casual beer drinkers and craft nerds alike, and they continue to churn out high quality seasonals. As a result, they’ve become one of Canada’s fastest growing breweries.

Also, if you’re into that sort of thing, Muskoka Brewery clearly has good marketing.

Continue reading “#SummerWeiss or “The one where I shill for Muskoka Brewery but I don’t feel bad about it””

Black Oak Brewing’s Ten Bitter Years is coming to the LCBO year round

10 Bitter Years Glass

There’s even more great news for bitter beer fans (that is fans of bitter beer, not people who drink beer who are angry at the hand they’ve been dealt in life): Black Oak Brewing Company’s award-winning Imperial IPA Ten Bitter Years is coming to the LCBO.

Originally brewed as a one time only offering in 2009 to celebrate the brewery’s tenth anniversary, Ten Bitter Years proved so popular with local beer drinkers that Black Oak has opted to bring it back once a year every year since. Each year, however, the small batch that Black Oak brewed was available only at the brewery’s retail store and typically sold out in a hurry; leaving the majority of the beer’s fans, well, uh bitter, I guess. Continue reading “Black Oak Brewing’s Ten Bitter Years is coming to the LCBO year round”

Great Lakes Brewery’s “My Bitter Wife” coming to the LCBO

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Well, it ain’t Karma Citra, but it will certainly do the trick.

Fans of brewer Mike Lackey’s great IPAs will be pleased to learn that Great Lakes Brewery’s IPA “My Bitter Wife” is slated for an LCBO release.

The release is part of the brewery’s Tank Ten series, which is apparently a “a tickle trunk of tasty treats,” and is designed to let GLB’s brewers flex a little of their creative muscle, reserving the eponymous fermenting tank number ten at their brewery to let them “brew whatever they heck they want.”

I was lucky enough to be at the brewery on Friday while the 650mL bottles were rolling off the line in anticipation of the LCBO release next week so I was granted this “scoop” as it were (Incidentally, the purpose of my visit was a collaboration brew with Mr. Lackey to brew what I hope will be another of his fantastic IPAs…but more information on that soon). Continue reading “Great Lakes Brewery’s “My Bitter Wife” coming to the LCBO”

Goose Island Brewery Comes to Canada, Paul Aihoshi Gets Diarrhea

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If you’re a small, renowned craft brewery, the idea of being bought out by one of the big brewers is a  somewhat dubious prospect. On the one hand, it means you’ll report to a big corporation who might be a little more concerned with their bottom line than your company’s product. On the other hand, it means you’ll now have a wealth of resources at your disposal, allowing you to expand your beer into markets you may have never thought possible, sharing your beer with a new audience.

It’s a precarious balance, but it’s one that Chicago brewer, Goose Island, seems to be managing successfully as they look to expand distribution into Canada later this month.

Started as a brewpub which grew to include a full distribution brewery and, later, a second brew pub, Goose Island was purchased by Anheuser-Bush InBev in 2011 and, thanks in large part to AB InBev’s resources, will arrive on LCBO shelves this spring. Continue reading “Goose Island Brewery Comes to Canada, Paul Aihoshi Gets Diarrhea”

Fucking IPA Challenge is the same weekend as my fucking canoe trip

IPA challenge

Tickets went on sale today for the 5th annual Cask Conditioned IPA Challenge at barVolo.

This year, the event falls on May 4th and 5th–as luck would have it the same fucking weekend I’m scheduled to take a fucking canoe trip with my fucking brothers.

The guys from Volo, who are responsible for some of my favourite fucking beer events and whose bar is one of my favourite fucking places to grab a pint after work, have seen fit to schedule the event–focusing on my favourite fucking style of beer–on the only weekend of the fucking summer that my three brothers and I are all available to get together for a long-planned journey down the fucking Saugeen River. Continue reading “Fucking IPA Challenge is the same weekend as my fucking canoe trip”

Forked River Brewing Company: So how’s the beer?

Forked River Bottle

Last weekend I made the pilgrimage back to my hometown of London Ontario for the obligatory feasting we all indulge in for the simple reason that the weekend marks the return of everyone’s favourite Jewish zombie carpenter.

And while I was excited to get together with old friends and family and to eat ham in honour of JC’s big comeback, I was also excited to try some new beer, namely that brewed by London’s first craft brewery to appear in as long as I have been alive, Forked River Brewing. Continue reading “Forked River Brewing Company: So how’s the beer?”

Left Field Brewery: So how’s the beer?

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Yesterday on blogTO I wrote about the city’s newest craft brewery, Left Field Brewery. The piece was mainly an interview with the company’s founders, Mark and his wife Mandie. It originally included some supplemental tasting notes on the sample beer they were nice enough to bring me but, due to the length of the piece, that stuff got cut.

I don’t have a ton to say that wasn’t covered over on blogTO, but their beer was tasty and some of the more negative comments on blogTO (shocking!) were along the lines of “Well what does their beer taste like?” so I thought it was worth a post here, too.

In short: It’s good. Continue reading “Left Field Brewery: So how’s the beer?”

Alexander Keith’s Hop Series Ales

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For someone who loves hops, Alexander Ketih’s, with its proud pronouncement that it is an “IPA,” is at best misleading and at worst, irritating.

Like most lovers of hoppy beer, I find the moniker “IPA” here vaguely annoying and I’ve personally witnessed it serve as a point of confusion to fans of actual IPAs who’ve never heard of Keith’s; often leading to potentially dangerous consequences.  To illustrate my point, here is a  dramatic representation of actual exchanges I have witnessed in bars:

INT. BAR – NIGHT
An American walks into a quiet CANADIAN bar and takes off his oversized cowboy hat as he approaches the taps. Continue reading “Alexander Keith’s Hop Series Ales”

It’s time for a Great Lakes Brewery LCBO release for Karma Citra

If there’s one thing that this city’s beer fans can likely agree on, it is this: Mike Lackey brews some damn good beer.

Having been with Great Lakes Brewery for over 20 years now, the guy knows a thing or two about craft beer and, with his recent releases it seems that he is only getting better with age. It’s almost like his power to brew phenomenal beer emanates from his beard and the longer that thing gets the better his beer gets.

I haven’t done the research, but I bet the day he shaves that thing off would be the day he walks in to Peter Bulut Jr.’s office and proposes brewing a low carb lager. Continue reading “It’s time for a Great Lakes Brewery LCBO release for Karma Citra”