I’m back after having been locked out of the admin program for the Beer Blog for the first couple of weeks of this month, which was too bad because there was lots to tell about the Great British Beer Festival, which I attended during the first of those weeks. No matter, though, because I’ll get to all of that over the next several days (or you can pop over to World of Beer and check out some of my reports there). (more…)

When I first tasted the new seasonal from the Molson-owned Creemore Springs Brewery in June, I noted that while I was impressed with the beer on tap, I would wait until it was out in the canned version before forming my final opinion. Well, it is and I have, and it’s damn good. (more…)

I found out from my friend Greg over at Canadian Beer News that the first ever Quebec Beer Day, or Journee Quebecoise de la Biere, will take place exactly one month from today, on August 15. According to the official website, unfortunately available only in French, the day will feature twenty breweries, cideries and bars offering tours and tastings all day long, in regions from Abitibi to the Gaspesie. (more…)

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll have seen reference from time to time to a site called The Bar Towel. While originally conceived as a news site for Toronto-area beer aficionados, the Towel has grown into a pan-Ontario and occasionally beyond site for beer news and notes of all sorts, and host to an annual awards show called The Golden Taps. (more…)

Canada’s national day is this Wednesday, and while it would be easy to simply suggest drinking local beer for the celebration, I’d rather suggest a trio of new beverages, two of which also invoke my own Scottish roots. (more…)

(That last beer isn’t hyperlinked because I haven’t officially reviewed it yet, but watch for something soon in the summer issue of Taps Magazine.) (more…)

I get nervous when I see one page “the skinny on craft brewing” articles in men’s magazines, even more so when they’re run unattributed. It’s not that I want to poke holes in the things, it’s just that they so often undo the demystification attempts I make in my own writing. (more…)

May has been quite a month for beer reviews, what with my contributions to the tasting panels at All About Beer and Taps magazines, and also my preparations for Adrian Tierney-Jones’ forthcoming 1001 Beer to Try Before You Die, to which I’m offering a solid handful, maybe two handfuls, of reviews. (more…)