Labatt is planning an expensive, intentionally misleading ad campaign for Shock Top

Posted on by Ben

ShockTopCorp

 

Shock Top is a beer made by the massive, multinational brewing company AB-InBev.

People who drink craft beer know that Shock Top is a beer made by AB-InBev and its local consortium Labatt, and those same people who know that Shock Top is a Labatt product often speculate that the line between Shock Top and actual “craft beer” is likely left intentionally hazy so that Labatt might conceivably pass Shock Top off as craft beer–which it most certainly is not.

And while we, the stout sniffing cognoscenti, have always known in our heart of hearts that Shock Top is part of the macrobrewery effort to get “crafty” as a means to compete with (and presumably crush) small brewers, it doesn’t make it any less galling to actually see that strategy laid out on paper.

But now we can. Continue reading “Labatt is planning an expensive, intentionally misleading ad campaign for Shock Top” →

Thank you

Posted on by Ben

Last night I was awarded the inaugural Golden Tap Award for The Best Beer Writer in Ontario.

In case you’re unaware or you’re somehow not among the many I pandered to directly or indirectly to vote for me, the Golden Tap Awards are awards chosen by the general public, who can pick their favourites in a variety of beer categories online.

There are many people who feel that this method of selection unfairly favours those with the best social media presence. It has oft been a source of contention among beer folks, for example, that Beau’s All Natural Brewery are able to be named the best brewery in Ontario year after year–they were unseated last night for the first time in five years–because while they do indeed make decent beer, they also campaign for awards like this aggressively.

I’m not going to dwell on the structure of The Golden Tap Awards (I’m pretty sure that other writers have and will, in print or otherwise), because I have no illusions about what these awards are and I will readily admit that I campaigned (hard) to win.

I haven’t written any books about beer, I don’t have any formal certifications or training related to beer, and I’ve never worked in the brewing industry. Indeed I often rely on those with more expertise and who’ve been doing this longer than I have for help. Jordan St. John, who writes about beer for QMI, maintains the blog St. John’s Wort, and who wrote two (two!) books about beer this year, remains my most frequent source of borrowed knowledge and, since I started writing about beer three years ago, has essentially acted as the beer version of wikipedia for me when I’m writing a story or otherwise just curious. So too have I called upon the imitable Crystal Luxmore for her wealth of beer knowledge, asked the veteran Stephen Beaumont for guidance, gained insights from food and beverage aficionado David Ort, and, as we all do in the beer writing game, blatantly mined the work of the wily Greg Clow for my own references and purposes.

That said, I am extremely passionate about beer and that passion goes into my writing. Continue reading “Thank you” →

Wining and Dining at The ACC

Posted on by Ben

Call it a throwback Thursday if you want, but this post originally appeared on Post City in November of 2013. I recently had occasion to revisit it and thought it might be worth sharing again (i.e. I’m a little busy right now and this is an excellently lazy way to get a little blog traffic today!)

ACC

W hile recent years have done much to lower our expectations when it comes to the athletes who call the Air Canada Centre home, there is a group of people who happen to work in the same building who put in a remarkable effort every single Leafs and Raptors game (not to mention Toronto Rock games and all the concerts).

They are the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment food service employees and, while the city has clearly grown all too forgiving when it comes to “off nights” from both the Raptors and the Leafs, we’re far less apt to show forgiveness when it comes to the beer and hotdog we buy at the game, so these people need to be on their game.

Thankfully, it’s a responsibility they take seriously. As Robert Bartley, Senior Director of Food and Beverage will tell you, “We like to think of it as hosting a dinner party for 18,000 people every night.”

Indeed, the ACC is one of only a handful of professional sports facilities that opt to cook for their dinner guests themselves. Most sports facilities, like The Rogers Centre down the street, contract third parties to handle foodservice. The Jays, for example, have left the foodservice to Aramark, a massive US-based foodservice company that handles sports facilities in addition to educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and even prisons. Continue reading “Wining and Dining at The ACC” →

Contest: Win two tickets to The Beer Experience

Posted on by Ben

BeerExperience

One of the things I don’t like about beer events (and yes, I’ve mentioned a few things before) is the tendency for brewers to trot out mostly the same old beers to these things.

I know it’s a bit unfair to expect brewers to create a new beer for every beer event, but wouldn’t it be sweet if there was an event where all the beers being offered were being offered for the first time?

Well, there is actually.

The Beer Experience promises just that. According to their promotional material, “Each brewery [involved] has either brewed something totally unique specifically for this event, or they are bringing you a brand new brew that hasn’t hit the shelves yet!”

The promise of a lineup that’s entirely beers you’ve never had before? Officially awesome, yes? Continue reading “Contest: Win two tickets to The Beer Experience” →

The new Bellwoods Brewery might not have a bottle shop

Posted on by Ben

Wizard Wolf

A couple weeks ago Toronto’s Bellwoods Brewery officially announced their intention to open a second brewery on the corner of Dovercourt and Dupont. I likewise provided further details in my signature “hey-I-already-knew-about-it-because-I’m-cooler-than-you” style in a post for blogTO and the response on the interwebs was nothing short of ecstatic as twitter exploded with well-wishes and excitement about a new place for craft beer fans to get Bellwoods’ delicious beer (even the goddamn blogTO comments section was all positivity for once).

The news is clearly awesome, but there’s a bad news element to the situation that I opted to leave out of my original article in order to help ensure that the Bellwoods folks received only much-deserved optimism and happiness about their expansion. Well, the time for happiness has passed and, as is often the case when it comes to the brewing industry in Ontario, the time for rage is upon us.

The new space might not be allowed to have a retail store. Continue reading “The new Bellwoods Brewery might not have a bottle shop” →

Making the connection: Talking beer and food with Crystal Luxmore

Posted on by Ben

Luxy

Crystal Luxmore is a Toronto-based beer writer whose work has appeared in The Toronto Star, Toronto Life, Chatelaine, The Walrus, The New York Times, CBC and msn.ca and she was the “Hopped Up” columnist for what was easily Toronto’s best weekly magazine, The Grid (RIP).

She’s also a Certified Cicerone and a Prud’homme Beer Sommelier.

Accordingly, it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about beer. This month, as part of my ongoing efforts to explore the relationship between dining and beer, I chatted with Crystal via email about beer, food, and why beer isn’t afforded the same respect as wine–yet.

Ben Johnson: As a cicerone and prud’homme certified beer sommelier, do you put a lot of thought into beer and food pairings when you’re dining at home or eating out?

Crystal Luxmore: I do, but I don’t sweat it too much. At home, I see what’s in my beer and main fridge, and usually choose the best possible match from what’s already chilled once dinner is ready. At a restaurant, I do think about it, but sometimes I’m more interested in trying a new one-off than finding the perfect match for my burger. Luckily with beer, it’s so versatile and easy to pair that if you’ve got great food and a great pint, you’ll be satisfied.

BJ: I feel like once you start paying attention to what beers work with what foods, you can’t NOT pay attention. It’s like a new level of snobbery when I’m with friends. First it was, “oh don’t drink that.” Now if I say, “well don’t drink THAT with THAT” I feel like I’m going to get punched in the head.

CL: Yeah. I would punch you in the face if you told me that. Taste is subjective and everyone’s palate is different, so what you think is right, is right—but only for you. Continue reading “Making the connection: Talking beer and food with Crystal Luxmore” →

The Friday Link Roundup 22.08.14

Posted on by Ben

UntitledThe Friday Link Roundup is a feature wherein Ben’s Beer Blog lazily points you to other beery things worth reading on the interwebs this week.

Weird beer From whale bone to moon dust and brain, Cool Material looks at some of the weirdest beers ever made.
 Moody tongue
 Former Goose Island brewer, Jared Rouben, just unveiled his new company’s “Moody Tongue,” a pilsner made with shaved truffles that retails for $120 a bottle. 
Baseball beer The Washington Post explores and ranks baseball teams with the best beer. Appropriately Toronto is mentioned exactly zero times.
 Wes Anderson
 Paste Magazine asked bartenders to create cocktails based on Wes Anderson movies because why the hell not?
 
Hunter
 Lastly, what better way to celebrate the fight for marijuana reform than an elaborate weed-infused dinner at the home of intoxicant-enthusiast and Ben’s Beer Blog spirit animal Hunter S. Thompson? via munchies

 

 

 

Great draught selection is no longer enough

Posted on by Ben

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Over the course of the last few blog posts, I’ve been trying to make the argument that “good” bars and restaurants need to incorporate thoughtful draught selection into the dining and drinking experience they provide. It’s something I feel strongly about and I hope that my writing as of late has contributed to the conversation on the subject.

Recently, however, I had an experience that made me realize that the inverse is also something worth talking about; namely places that do incorporate a thoughtful draught selection really ought to be held to account to provide a “good” restaurant experience.

I have a feeling that this post might piss some people off, but the thought came to me Saturday night when I popped into C’est What for a few pints.

I’ve been there plenty of times before, but this was the first time it ever dawned on me that C’est What is, to put it frankly, pretty awful. Continue reading “Great draught selection is no longer enough” →

The best beer I’ve ever had: Mark McEwan

Posted on by Ben

Previously I’ve asked “beer folks” to talk to me about memorable beers for my ongoing series, The best beer I’ve ever had. Recently, I put the call out to chefs and restaurateurs to detail their “best beer” experiences for me in hopes of exploring the important connection between food and beer.

For today’s installment, Mark McEwan shares his story. McEwan is the Chef/Owner of North 44, Bymark, One, McEwan and Fabbrica. He is also the author of Great Food at Home and Fabbrica, the star of The Heat and Head Judge of Top Chef Canada.

Mark McEwan

For the past three years, my executive assistant Jordie, executive chefs Andrew Ellerby (One, Fabbrica, McEwan), Brooke McDougall (Bymark), and I head down to Barbados in November for the Food, Wine and Rum Festival.

The four of us work for 12 hours a day prepping items for their main event, called Ambrosia, where 1200 guests enjoy appetizer offerings from six international chefs and six on-island chefs at the polo club [i.e. the ridonkulous Lion Castle Polo Estate.~ Ben.]

We are known for showing up at the prep kitchen with a great playlist, speakers, and cold Banks beer to get us through the days of 100-degree temperatures inside the non-air conditioned kitchen. Continue reading “The best beer I’ve ever had: Mark McEwan” →

Big Rock Brewery invades Ontario

Posted on by Ben

Bob Sartor

 

We’re going to be seeing a lot more of Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery here in Toronto.

News broke this week that not one but two brew pubs would be opening in Liberty Village next year, one of them is The Three Brewers and the other, Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery.

The Three Brewers news isn’t all that ground-breaking—there’s already one in Toronto, banners have been out at their future site for a while and, let’s be honest, their beer has never exactly been mind-blowing—but the Big Rock news, it seems, is pretty significant in terms of Toronto’s beer scene and it’s even a little bit bigger news than what is actually being widely reported.

For some background, the news that Big Rock was opening a brewpub here first broke when they issued a statement. That statement was picked up by the Calgary Herald and then fell under the watchful eye of the omniscient Greg Clow who posted the scoop to Canadian Beer News, and, subsequently, it was picked up by Toronto Life for  “The Dish.”

And so, when it came time to post my own version of the “two brewpubs” story for blogTO , I wanted to see if I could get something that hadn’t been shared publicly yet so I took an unprecedented step: I called the people I was writing about. Continue reading “Big Rock Brewery invades Ontario” →