Wait, what’s that you say? It’s not abuzz? In fact, no one seems to be taking much note at all? (more…)

It is with shock and sadness that I read this morning of the death of Greg Noonan, Burlington, Vermont, craft brewing pioneer, book author and all-around kind and gentle soul. The founder of The Vermont Pub & Brewery was only 58 when he died in his sleep Sunday night due to reasons undisclosed. (more…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

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…)