Category Archives: Breweries

Amsterdam’s New Brewery(ies)

By chris | Published: October 19, 2012

Even from a brewer (some of whom rise really really early), a 9am phone call from Iain McOustra raised my eyebrows. “I’m going to the space where the brewpub will be. You can come check it out, if you want, but no pictures; it’s not ready yet.” I had been planning on heading up to Leaside after breakfast on Wednesday, to meet with Jamie Mistry, Brewmaster at Amsterdam, for a tour of the new brewery. But Iain, head brewer and maestro of their pilot system, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. The news that Amsterdam would be opening a brewpub again was huge news around the brewing culture in Toronto. That it was going to be in Harbourfront was…. [Read More]

Posted in Breweries | Tagged amsterdam brewery, amsterdam brewing co., amsterdam week | Leave a comment

Interview with Bill Coleman – Cameron’s Brewing Company

By chris | Published: May 21, 2011

Things seem to be in a constant state of change in the brewing scene here in Ontario. More and more breweries are trying new and exciting brews, they’re growing, not just in portfolio, but in physical size too. New faces are turning up, as demand increases. All this is excellent for beer drinkers here, who will see more excellent products available, both seasonally, and in regular distribution. I recently was able to sit down with Bill Coleman, the new president of Cameron’s Brewing Company, in Oakville. Cameron’s hosts a monthly cask event, and I was invited with a few other beer writers to come out, meet Bill, discuss where they’re at and where they’re headed, and, of course, drink some…. [Read More]

Posted in Breweries | Tagged cameron's, cameron's brewing company, cask, interview, ontario | Leave a comment

Why I love Beau’s – Part 2

By chris | Published: May 27, 2010

Yup, it’s that time again. I haven’t stepped up on the old Beau’s Soap Box. So what’s the deal? Well, for one, a while back Beau’s hosted a great event at Volo, with a variety of their brews on cask, and the whole team was out and cool to hang out and chat. I tried not to be too school-girl-esque while talking to Steve. It was (unsurprisingly) a great time. The Beaver River IPA was stellar (it was the first time I’d had it). Next, Beau’s made a beer to celebrate the Canadian liberation of Holland in WWII. Brewed in conjunction with beer royalty, Konings Hoeven, Vrienden (“Friends”) is a wit beer with ingredients from Canada and the Netherlands (Maple…. [Read More]

Also posted in Rant | Tagged beau's, ocb week, ontario | Leave a comment

Beer for your Mum

By chris | Published: May 5, 2010

The Granite Brewery & Restaurant once again proves to be one of the coolest places in Toronto. Cheers to Ron and the crew at the Granite. We’ll have to see if the Schryer’s get time to take Bentley’s mum in for a brew. http://www.granitebrewery.ca/

Also posted in Beer Event, Beer News | Tagged granite brewery, mother's day | Leave a comment

Ptown crawl part IV – The Olde Stone Brewery

By chris | Published: April 3, 2010

Last stop, though I really should have already left. The Olde Stone is a brew pub right in downtown ptown. With a brewery in the basement, this place serves both their own brews on draught, as well as five Ontario guest taps. Today they were serving their stout, red fife ale, bitter, old ale and Belgian ale. Guests were Amsterdam Spring Bock, KLB framboise, Mill St Organic, Creemore, and Welly Trailhead. I opted for a pint of the old ale. It was dark and malty with lots of nice dark fruit and sweetness. A nice alcohol finish and linger that just kept going and saw me all the way down to the 401. The atmosphere is a dark “warehouse” style…. [Read More]

Also posted in Bar Review, crawls | Leave a comment

Ptown crawl part I – Publican House Brewery

By chris | Published: March 30, 2010

After dropping my mum at her desired location in Peterborough, I headed to Charlotte St and the pleasant Publican House Brewery. Bought myself a growler of Square Nail Pale Ale and had a great chat about their intentions to open up the restaurant part of their facility. It sounds like they’re headed in the right direction. Easy-going, varying local menu built around the beer. Simple, but should work. I like people who appreciate that quality trumps artistry every time, when it comes to food. I asked for directions to the Only, but was recommended to visit a place called St Veronus, if the Only wasn’t open yet. I took my notes, made my farewells, and hopped into the car. I…. [Read More]

Also posted in crawls | Leave a comment

Church-Key Brewing

By chris | Published: February 16, 2010

Ahhhhh, long weekends. Is there anything that warms a Canadian’s heart more then piling into a car and driving to a cottage? In my case, yes. Knowing that I can stop in at Church-Key Brewing ups my temp by at least one degree. For the uninitiated: Church-Key is located in Pethrick’s Corners, which is just outside of Campbellford, which is a town on the Trent. With me? It’s not too far from Peterborough. They literally occupy an old church building, though they have expanded a bit. In the old days, you would walk in through the front doors of the church, and right on to the brewery floor. You would then walk up a rickety stair to an upper level…. [Read More]

Posted in Breweries | Tagged brewery, craft, ontario | 3 Responses

Catching Up

By chris | Published: February 6, 2010

Hey there, Okay, so first off, I’m still alive after the 67 experience. Tough, you know? I just reviewed the empties that I really need to return, and it occurs to me that I need to be more mentally aware of which LCBOs I go to; I’ve been drinking a lot of Creemore. This isn’t too bad (okay, aside from buying big 3), but really, I need to branch out a bit. The good news is, we started pouring Beau’s Lug-Tread at Castro’s, so I’ve been able to enjoy a fair few pints of that. I don’t have a heap of events on the horizon, though next weekend we’re headed to a cottage, which is conveniently located about 20 minutes…. [Read More]

Also posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged beau's, Breweries, lcbo | 4 Responses

Good news regarding Hop City Brewing Co.

By chris | Published: January 18, 2010

So, I do swear that I will post at least three longer blogs about my exploits this past weekend, but not now. For now, a quick update about Hop City Brewing Co. In my 2009 year in review, I talked about how I didn’t really know anything about them. I alluded to the fact that they had a heap of money to throw a party. The subtext there was fear that they could, in fact, be owned by a big brewer. The likes of InBev et al, are not above branding a pseudo-micro to try to re-monopolise (okay, triopolise) their hold on this country of ours. So, out of a conversation with Julien at Volo, here’s the good news: I…. [Read More]

Posted in Breweries | Tagged Breweries | 4 Responses

Why I love Beau’s – Part One

By chris | Published: January 12, 2010

Because they are an awesome brewery, doing awesome awesomeness. End of blog. Okay, I’m told I need to say more. So on Monday, a kindly gentleman wandered into Castro’s and took a seat at table 101. I always like people who choose 101, as it was my preferred table, back when I was just a regular. Also, he asked to see the beer menu. And he looked like a beer rep. And he ordered a Schneider-Weisse, and used the glass. So all-in-all, he was looking like my kind of chap. Anthony served him and chatted a while, then came over and told me that he was from Beau’s. I got all excited and grabbed the single bottle of Lug-Tread Ale…. [Read More]

Posted in Breweries | Tagged Breweries, ontario | 10 Responses