The BLager
twitter.com/TheBlager:
Homebrew Season Has Arrived!
I have been on a homebrew bender the last couple weeks - which may be the only thing that has kept me from going bezerk during the final icy throes of this never-ending winter. But really, spring is one of my favorite times to brew and the temperatures are optimal for lagering (for those of us with basic setups). Spending my St. Paddy’s day indoors and bottling my Irish red was the perfect way to spend the holiday, and avoid the leprechaun crowd.
Since the time is right for firing up our brew kettles, I am also excited to announce that we at Toronto Beer Week are gearing up for our 2013 edition of the Homebrew Contest! Although entries won’t be accepted until May 1st, it’s the perfect time to start planning your recipes and stockpiling ingredients. More information on the contest can be found here, and you can keep checking our twitter feed @torontobeerweek, Facebook page, and website for more info as it comes down the pipe.
NEW YEAR, OLD BEER
First blog post of 2013 is admittedly my first post in a long while. There are many factors at hand, including my laziness (this always seems to set in heavily at the end of the calendar year), the tumblr app being the absolute WORST (should’t we PD users have equal blogging rights to laptop & desktop users?) - well maybe only second worst to Bell Canada. Seriously, the internet is better in Peru. This may be unfair to the (one) other internet provider in this country, but at any rate it’s a total joke when you need to restart your internet (3 times) every time you want to use it. Oh, and then there’s this whole thing up here where big breweries strangle the budding beer scene up here (though I think the bar owners who buy into those shenanigans are complete losers as well).
Oops - new year, I’m supposed to be bright, shiny, and new. Right. Well I decided to start of the new year with an old beer. Something I’ve never done before, but I am sure glad I did. This black beauty is a Metric Porter brewed by Great Lakes Brewery for Toronto Beer Week 2012. For those of you not in the know, that’s a festival run by a great group of volunteers (including moi), that promotes craft brewing in Canada with a slew of events across our city’s great pubs, and seems to have been overlooked in this article. But don’t worry about that, I’m here to tell you what’s what.
And lucky for me, my first go at aging a beer was pretty successful. The important elements of a high ABV (this clocks in around 8%), deliciousness, and big body were all there. And I also managed to hold on to this guy since September. Way to go me! The alcohol notes seemed to be played up a bit more, and the head a bit thinner. Also this was the first time I ever sniffed a beer and literally inhaled it, though my nose. Which was off putting amazing. AND the first time I ever tried writing tasting notes! Which will get it’s own dedicated blog post, in the near future. And it won’t be boring - I swear! - like you reading my tasting notes or something. I wouldn’t do that to you.
The End is Here… Celebrate with Beer
Summer ends officially tomorrow. Of course, for those of us in Canada it has felt like fall for almost a month. And with the on set of scarves comes some new seasonal beers to match.
Although pumpkin beers have been storming American markets for well over a decade, they are still fairly new in Canada. The plus side to this is that I have yet to have one that disappointed, unlike the range of ho hum pumpkin beers that sometimes emerge in the US - you just never know what you’ll get.
Mill St.’s Nightmare on Mill St. is no exception to the high standard of Craft Canadian Beer. It’s incredibly smooth, with both a bold pumpkin flavor and background spices. If you are a pumpkin (beer) lover, or a more adventurous beer drinker - this brew is for you. It’s certainly bolder than the other pumpkin ales I have had in Ontario, so I wouldn’t recommend it to those who are gourd - shy.
October in Canada also means Thanksgiving, which coincides perfectly with the seasonality of the pumpkin beer. When throwing holiday parties, you can go fratty & serve it up in a pumpkin keg. Or you can go classy, and mix up your guests a “Great Pumpkin” cocktail:
In a pilsner glass, muddle 1oz bourbon with a small slice of fresh ginger and a cinnamon stick.
Fill the glass generously with ice and pour Mill Street Pumpkin Ale to the top.
Drizzle pure maple syrup on the top and give it a stir with a cinnamon stick.
Garnish with an orange wheel and enjoy!
It’s TBW2012, & It’s Not Just for the Boys
Toronto Beer Week has kicked off with some great events, and will keep going through the end of the week. However, not of us are likely to head out for the “Night of Bromance,” or some of the other “boys night out” themed events.
Luckily, there’s more to TBW than that. If you’re a lady who’s a lover of craft beer, of cheese, or looking to just test out your shy taste buds - the good folks at Granite Brewery & Culinarium are hosting an amazing event that even “a lady good love.” FemALE beer & cheese tasting with brewer Mary Beth Keefe will take place at the Granite Brewery this Saturday afternoon for just $20. Must RSVP by emailing rsvp@torontobeerweek.com& mention femALE & cheese, because space is limited.
You can see more details on the website www.torontobeerweek.com
Judging 1st round @steamwhistle for #tbw2012 homebrew comp! (Taken with Instagram)
Brief History of Early Breweries in Corktown
Cortown being a district of Toronto, for those of you not in the know. An update of modern breweries in Corktown and the remaining structures coming soon….
Though I thoroughly appreciate this list of best beer bars as curated by @blogTO, readers be warned: the food at Victory Cafe is appalling, and they forgot my favorite @bellwoods beer. Other critical points include myself questioning their thesis that Ontario’s craft beer scene “has exploded.” 30 breweries in the most heavily populated province would leave me to believe that we aren’t quite there yet.
- article submitted by mr. right
The New Guy Town: Bellwoods Brewery
Toronto isn’t a city known for its thriving craft beer scene or for urban gastro pubs, but perhaps the asymmetrical relationship between the demand for these cosmopolitan goods and short supply is starting to change.
Bellwoods brewery is seemingly the first to fill this void, offering not only an array of crafted suds but also a complementary seasonal menu.
Brewers Mike and Luke met at Amsterdam Brewery, and soon after started their own venture- lucky for us. Even better, they plan to open a retail section where both bottles and growler fills will be available for purchase. Keep an eye on their website for pop up summer hours.
From West to.. East
Though Canada’s craft beer renaissance may be developing slowly and still in its early stages, the movement is steady and irreversible. Which is good news for me.
So far, more interesting beers and diversity has sprung up on the west coast, notably in British Columbia. With native hops, privatized beer vendors, and a far flung geographic location that left a brewing legacy relatively unscathed from Prohibition; this region has picked up the reigns on inventive brewing much faster than its eastern counterparts. Which was bad news for me.
Until today. Tree Brewing Co’s beers are making there way from Kelowna to Toronto to greet me, just as I cross the border. I’m not sure how this fortune has been made possible. Does anyone out there know if they are contract brewing in Ontario, or has there been some miraculous relaxation in cross-provincial distribution laws?
HAPPY LO-FI DAY
Today’s post comes to you via metro north, so I’m focusing on new age fun with a vintage feel! In other news, I’m relocating to Toronto next month, so this Friday’s music and beer pairing gives a nod to both my future home and my current city of Brooklyn.
The song is “Out of Love,” by Mad Ones. Shot in Toronto by Canadian expat and Brooklyn local @MattFinlin, this video has a lovely lo-fi feel and a rough Friday edge.
And the beer is Brooklyn Local 1. That’s because it’s delicious, BK brewed, summery and….vintages well! Vintaging beer is so trendy now, so I should probably make it my new hobby.
Below is a great article on vintaging beers by Food & Wine magazine. It also features our local hero, Garett Oliver. Full link is pasted below, because Tumblr’s crap-app wont let me hyperlink text.
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/what-vintage-is-that-six-pack
