Craft Brewing – Page 5 – Ben's Beer Blog

London is Getting a Microbrewery

Posted on February 8, 2013May 23, 2013 by Ben

I resisted the urge to add an exclamation point to the title of this post; however, I can’t help but hum the tune to “Hallelujah” when I type the words.

You see, I’m from London and lived there for roughly 85% of my life and while London has always had a lot to offer, craft beer has not been one of those things.

Now, with the arrival of Forked River Brewing Company, that will change.

The recently announced craft brewery is the brainchild of David Reed, Andrew Peters, and Steve Nazarian–all London residents and University of Western Ontario graduates (Go Mustangs!). Reed is an engineer who worked a few years running an engineering department at a beverage R&D firm and has been brewing for ten years; Nazarian worked in the biotechnology sector, working in pharmaceutical manufacturing, drug safety testing, and quality control before getting the homebrewing bug in 2004; and Peters is also a microbiologist who got involved with homebrewing clubs in Ottawa and Toronto. Continue reading “London is Getting a Microbrewery” →

Board Games and Black Oak Beer

Posted on January 30, 2013June 3, 2014 by Ben

Hey you. Yeah, the one with the dice.

Do you ever spend evenings in bars, drinking craft beer, and hanging out with friends, all the while secretly wishing there was a Settlers of Catan board in front of you?

Conversely, do you ever sit around with your best friends playing Risk into the wee hours, hoping someone will offer you a delicious, fresh, local beer?

If you answered yes to either of the questions above, you’re not alone. Continue reading “Board Games and Black Oak Beer” →

Amsterdam Takes Over Volo, Haters Shut Your ‘Dam Mouths

Posted on January 17, 2013April 9, 2013 by Ben

If you read blogTO with any sort of frequency, you’re probably aware that the comments section tends to head toward negative town in quite a hurry. Typically, I accept this as part of blogTO’s charm. Sort of a “Come for the news, stay for the angry urban snark (or, transversely chest-thumping 905er indignation).”

It’s all in good fun and comes with the terrain.

Sometimes however, the criticism gets under my skin a little. Specifically, I’ve noticed that any time I mention the folks over at Amsterdam Brewery, comments tend toward the sort that dismiss the beers the ‘Dam Good Beer folks are making as boring or bland. Continue reading “Amsterdam Takes Over Volo, Haters Shut Your ‘Dam Mouths” →