Yearly Archives: 2014

Since I started writing about beer about four and a half years ago, the Ontario situation has become more and more interesting. There are more breweries competing for market share and there’s increased media coverage of the beer retailing problem. Martin Regg Cohn, for instance, has been on fire of […]

The Ontario Problem

December 30, 2014 in Accounting for Taste / The Ontario Beer Revolution by admin

(Ed. Note: Periodically, I’m called upon to do an interview on the radio or in print about Craft Beer. The question that comes up most frequently is really two questions: “Why Craft Beer? Why now?” I do not think that I have ever been able to properly answer that question […]

Why Budweiser Lost

December 20, 2014 in Accounting for Taste tagged Budweiser / TV Party Tonight by admin

(Ed. Note: In 2014, while sequestered in a hermetically sealed writing bunker, Jordan St.John produced two books. This does not stop other people from delivering books for him to review even while he signs his own book at Christmas Markets. In order to continue to reduce the stack, he must review. Get […]

December Book Reviews: The Handbook of Porters and Stouts

December 15, 2014 in Reviews tagged Chad Polenz / Greg Clow / Josh Christie / Josh Rubin / Martyn Cornell / Porters / Stephen Beaumont / Stouts by admin

(Ed. Note: In 2014, while sequestered in a hermetically sealed writing bunker, Jordan St.John produced two books. This did not stop other people from sending him books to review. The stack is nearly as high as the sense of obligation. Let’s crack on.) When you hear about Thomas Jefferson and beer, […]

December Book Reviews: Pocket Beer Guide 2015

December 11, 2014 in Reviews / Shameless Plugs tagged Pocket Beer Guide / Stephen Beaumont / Tim Webb by admin

(Ed. Note: About once a year the family doggerel gene takes over. I try to fight it. Believe me. This is a cautionary tale in the style of Robert Service’s Songs of Sourdough. It is meant to be a warning about putting too much of yourself into your work. I […]

The Fermentation of David MacEwan

December 10, 2014 in Uncategorized tagged Craft Beer / Doggerel / Robert Service by admin

December Book Reviews: African Brew

December 8, 2014 in Reviews / Shameless Plugs tagged Lucy Corne / Ryno Reyneke / South Africa by admin

Last time we talked about German Beer and Food (scroll down a couple of posts) we had established some pretty basic truths about the situation in Germany prior to the advent of Oktoberfest. We talked about how the flavours in German landrace hops more or less matched the flavours in […]

On Malt Lightening and the Beer Style Continuum

November 24, 2014 in Accounting for Taste / Beer and Food tagged 19th century malt lightening / Anton Dreher / Beer and a Burger / Gabriel Sedlmayr / Oktoberfest Food by admin

This week in the column, I talked about the growing trend for breweries to produce advent calendars. It’s a fun idea and one that I can get behind. With the short days and cold weather, you want to treat yourself nicely and a single high quality beer a day is […]

Advent Calendars – But What If You’re In Ontario

November 22, 2014 in Accounting for Taste tagged Christmas / DIY Advent Calendars / Fezziwig / LCBO / Ontario by admin

Cask Days is this weekend and for Toronto beer drinkers, that’s an event that is more or less Christmas. This year’s specialties are from California, with nearly 40 beers to choose from. There are also 22 beers from England. As if that were somehow not enough, there are 22 ciders […]

Two historical beers you should try at Cask Days

October 23, 2014 in Accounting for Taste / Bar Volo tagged Cask Days / Dring and Fage / Fort Rouille / Helliwell Brewery / Spruce Beer / toronto by admin

Last week (just scroll down a little), we ended up by talking about Oktoberfest and how it’s a sort of benchmark for the modernization of the Bavarian agrarian system. The impressive thing about Oktoberfest is not that it has been going on for 204 years. The impressive thing is how […]

German Beer and Food Part 2: Terrines, Terpenes and Terroir

October 4, 2014 in Accounting for Taste / Beer and Food tagged Canstatter Volksfest / Germany / Herbs / hops / Humulene / Myrcene / Spices / Terroir by admin

St. John's Wort

Beery Musings And Amusing Beers