The second of the studies that the Ontario Convenience Store Association released in August is a good deal more broad in scope than the first. It is entitled An Economic Analysis of Increasing Competition In Retail Liquor Sales in Ontario. It is also written by Dr. Anindya Sen from the […]
The Ontario Beer Revolution
1 The nice thing about planning an event like the Feast Of St.John for Toronto Beer Week is that I’ve managed to create a certain amount of context for myself over three years or so that I’ve been writing about beer. I’ve collaborated on beers with a number of breweries, frequently […]
So You Want To Be A Brewer: Lazarus Breakfast Stout
12 The other day, I got a haircut. This is not news in and of itself, even though I’m relatively pleased with the haircut. During the smalltalk that goes along with a haircut, I mentioned that I write about beer. It turns out that the stylist had intended at some point […]
Fun With Numbers: Doom and Gloom Edition
I want to suggest something to you, and it may be something that has crossed your mind if you’re a brewer in Ontario. I think that we’re all aware that large brewers are, if not faltering, then experiencing a period of contraction. This is probably as the result of the […]
Hoppy Beers and Monoculture in Ontario
If you’ll recall, I wrote a column early in January about the Hop Mason beer that Keith’s are brewing for pubs in the Prime chain across Canada. The conclusion that I came to was that it was objectively good and that the specs for the beer put it squarely in […]
Keith’s Hop Series
(Much of the background information for the following comes from Allen Winn Sneath’s excellent book Brewed in Canada. I borrowed Ken Woods’ copy, but you should probably buy your own.) The DISCOUNT BEER CATEGORY at The Beer Store exists for two reasons: 1) Canadians didn’t drink enough Amstel in the […]
Discount Beer February – How We Got Where We Are
6 It’s hard to know exactly what to make of Ramblin’ Road Brewery Farm. They’re a new brewery in Norfolk County. Part of the issue here is that there really aren’t all that many farm breweries kicking around and there’s not really a concrete definition of what that might entail, at […]
Ramblin’ Road Brewery Farm
5 I want to point something out to you, and it will seem obvious in retrospect: Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewery is running a tap takeover at Bar Volo on February 2nd. It sold out completely in about 4 hours. The first rating on Boneshaker IPA on Ratebeer.com is May 2010. That was […]
Amsterdam Tap Takeover @ Bar Volo
7 I’m always interested when something I’m not expecting happens. For instance, I didn’t expect the brewers at Black Oak to start up their own label. They’ve been a bit cagey about it as the thing has developed and I don’t think that anyone knew quite what to expect. It was […]
They Send Me Beer: Radical Road Brewing Canny Man
6 Although I grew up in Toronto, I spent a year after university living in Kingston. I like Kingston, but I never really felt as though I understood it. The downtown is laid out as a sort of Triangle, and the bar scene at the time was more or less based […]