As of today, I’ve been doing this for a decade. In some other timeline, I had a trip planned to Montreal to celebrate. I started writing about beer in Montreal on a trip to Mondiale de la Bière to build a portfolio to get into brewing school. I thought it […]
admin
3 One of things that you swiftly realize as a beer drinker during a situation like we’re currently experiencing is that beer is usually not about beer. It’s about people. We’re all worried about the livelihoods of people who own breweries and restaurants, and rightly so. As a life’s work they’re […]
In Which I Don’t Go Anywhere
13 At the beginning of February, Matron Brewing put a piece on their website about the hop industry in Ontario. It’s a well written piece that talks about the difficulties that people have been facing over the last several years in scaling up their hop yards within the province. It hit […]
Some Thoughts on Ontario Hops
2 It’s been heartening over the last couple of weeks to see adjustments to the way that the beer industry functions go into effect. It just goes to show that reform has always been possible, although the alacrity with which some moves have been made will require a little thinking time […]
Contract Brewing in the time of Corona
Perhaps you’ll recall that a few weeks ago I wrote a piece about the state of the beer industry in Ontario in 2020. I would not blame you if you didn’t remember that because it has been a busy few weeks here in existence. You probably own either all of […]
What the Government Can do to help save the Beer ...
1 In the mid-afternoon downtime, the taproom feels practically solemn. Down the steps from King Street in the brightly lit strip across from Roy Thomson, Mascot Brewing seems an odd fit for the neighbourhood. At least, it does until you realize that all the other tastes are catered for. I keep […]
In Which I Visit Mascot King Street
I spend a lot of time thinking about the state of the Ontario beer market. When I’m trudging about town between various activities, I’ll run into brewers and reps and they will quietly and confidentially intone things to me that make me wonder whether there isn’t a little bit of […]
Some Thoughts About the State Of Play In Ontario Beer ...
1 Ed. Note: I stopped by Rorschach the day we got our advance copies of the second edition of the Ontario Craft Beer Guide. I’d been dropping off a copy for Nicole Crozier at The Auld Spot and the night seemed young. The kind of high spirits that surround having your […]
In Which I Visit Rorschach
1 (Ed.Note: I mentioned previously that it is sometimes hard to know when it is fair to review a brewery. It’s more difficult when there’s a paucity of rumour and innuendo floating around. Some breweries exist as hype beasts and every release is dissected on twitter. Some breweries you don’t hear […]
In Which I Visit The Six Brewhouse
2 Editor’s note: Just going and reviewing a brewery is seemingly an old fashioned idea. When was the last time you saw someone do it? That’s a legitimate question, by the way. If you can picture a Maslow’s hierarchy of beer journalism, reviewing a brewery is somewhere towards the bottom of […]