Archive for 2009

Canadian 67 vs. Sleeman Bock

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
As promised yesterday, I sat down this morning to compare and contrast two new beers, one from Molson Coors Canada and the other from Sleeman Breweries. Here’s how it played out.

The Tale of the Tape: Molson Canadian 67 is being heavily marketed as a 67 calorie per bottle brew, with just 3% alcohol by volume. John Sleeman Presents Bock is 6% alcohol, but offers no hint as to its calorie content. Both are new releases, the latter for a limited time. (more…)

New Beer Coincidence

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Within the past 24 hours, I have received samples of two new beers: the latest in Sleeman’s “John Sleeman Presents…” line, a Bock, and the new offering from Molson Coors Canada, Canadian 67. (more…)

The CBAs While I Was AWOL at the GABF

Monday, September 28th, 2009

While I was down in Denver sampling from the huge variety of beer available at the Great American Beer Festival — or at least trying to! — the Canadian Brewing Awards were doled out in Toronto, and greeted with a healthy blend of respect and scepticism. (more…)

Chocolate and…Vodka?

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

I received a press release this morning for what looks guaranteed to be a week of autumnal bliss in Toronto: the 4th Annual Toronto Chocolate Festival. It’s still a work in progress, judging from the looks of the website, but unquestionably a celebration of all things chocolate can only be a very, very good thing. (more…)

TIFF: Forget Where the Stars Are Eating, What Are They Drinking?

Friday, September 11th, 2009

The Toronto International Film Festival has officially begun, and as usual, the media are all agog over the celebrities in our midst. The Globe and Mail, for example, has landed the “big scoop” that George Clooney was slumming it at Yorkville’s Il Posto. (more…)

Public Service Announcement

Friday, September 4th, 2009
In the wake of this week’s car versus bicycle tragedy involving an Ontario politician and an off-duty courier, I am reminded of the fact that, while the hazards of drinking and driving are pretty much universally acknowledged these days, far, far less is said about the hazards of drinking and bicycling. (more…)

News About What Flavours Beer — Both Good and Bad!

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

The basic “spice” of beer, as most educated drinkers will know, is hops. More specifically, the cone of the vine humulus lupulus, which was originally added to beer as a preservative and now is primarily employed for its flavour and aroma qualities. (more…)

Altbier on September 25 in Toronto

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

I don’t normally post on single events that don’t have some sort of broader connection, but I thought an upcoming evening in Toronto’s Distillery District to be of sufficient note that it bears mentioning. On September 25, The Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce will be presenting a Dusseldorf Altbierfest from 6:30 onward in the Distillery District’s Fermenting Cellar. (more…)

Got Time? Want Hops? Want Beer?

Friday, August 21st, 2009

If you’re down in the general vicinity of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, tomorrow (August 22) and want to help out a local brewer, score yourself a kilo of free wet hops and partake in some of the most interesting new brews in the Maritimes, amble on over to the Lazy Acres Hop Farm around 9:00 a.m. and help Greg Nash and the crew from the Hart & Thistle Brewpub harvest some hops. (more…)

NEWS FLASH: DIY Lime Beer Encroaches on Bud Light/Big Rock/Moosehead/Brick Turf

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Item: The latest breweries to enter the “Lime Beer Wars” are Ontario’s Brick Brewing and New Brunswick’s Moosehead, following the success in the segment of Bud Light Lime and Big Rock Lime Light Lager. (more…)