April is the cruelest month. So said T. S. Eliot in his epic modernist work The Wasteland. But that’s nonsense. Are we just going to start characterizing months based on vaguely attributed personality traits? March is recalcitrant! November’s increasingly obsequious! July’s self confidence is unearned!
See? This is why we’re not a poetry magazine. Beer is a way more popular subject. If Alfred J. Prufrock had bothered to drink a peach flavoured sour, we’d be way ahead of the game and also he would have been less indecisive.
NEWS
Unmentioned in previous updates is the return of Owen Sound’s Kilannan Brewing, which is seconded to the Coffin Ridge Boutique Winery. The brewer, Spencer Wareham, has been making beer for nearly a decade and is also responsible at least in part for Coffin Ridge’s truly excellent dry hopped cider. The brewery is open Saturdays.
Windsor has recently seen the addition to their brewing scene of Rose City Beer Works, a brewery founded by Rich Cloutier and Brad Wright. Wright, with experience at Beau’s in VanKleek Hill and nearly a decade at Frank in Tecumseh is able to stretch some experimental brewing muscles with Double IPAs, Imperial Stouts, and Fruited Sours.
Although they are not yet set up for brewing, Stouffville’s Muddy York Brewing is operating their bottle shop during construction. Stop in to buy a case of beer and perhaps catch a glimpse of that most titillating portion of brewery construction: the gentle sloping of the floor towards a drainage channel and the application of clearcoat. Who says romance is dead?
The Growler Ontario would like to acknowledge the passing of Brian Morin, chef and founder of legendary Toronto restaurant, Beerbistro. The widespread appreciation for the creation and running of an establishment many in Toronto’s beer scene found formative cannot be overstated. Last month, I found myself hosting a beer dinner at Beerbistro amongst a generation of brewers who had all spent time there early in their careers absorbing knowledge, beverages, and frites in equal measure. Brian was a pioneer and his work at Beerbistro in the first two decades of the 21st century has not yet been matched in Toronto.
EVENTS
I told you I’d be back with an events section at some point.
Well, look. Currently we’re working to see if we can embed a calendar on the website on a permanent basis, but in the meantime, here’s a link to a calendar of events that are happening in Ontario on an ongoing basis.
For this week, your highlights are going to Zwanze Day at Birreria Volo and Rorschach’s 7th Anniversary Party. Frankly, I’m torn between them.
THE SIX PACK
What, only six beers? Let’s have a look and see what’s tickling the fancies this week. Also, let’s all agree that that is a pretty genteel way to treat fancies. No slap. All tickle.
GOODLOT TREE HUG
Say, friend. Do you like the great taste of maple? Are you tired of brewers using water to make their beer? Do you like conservation efforts that benefit the Credit Valley waterway? Well, that’s a niche set of interests that I happen to be able to meet in this particular instance. Goodlot Brewing, recent recipients of the “Sustainability Initiative of the Year” at the 2023 Canadian Brewers Choice Awards, have been out in the forest tapping those trunks and letting the sap flow. That’s not euphemistic: They made a maple sap beer. 100% of proceeds go to the Credit Valley Conservation Foundation.
CONCESSION ROAD ISLAND BREEZE SOUR
Featuring Pineapple and Guava, Concession Road’s Island Breeze Sour won gold at the Ontario Brewing Awards for 2023. If you’re headed to the taproom, why not pair it with a snack flight that includes fuzzy peaches, jelly beans, and Swedish berries? It’s worth the drive to Jarvis.
GREAT LAKES BREWERY HOLY MACKINAW FIRST LINE LAGER!
Benefitting Toronto’s SickKids Foundation, this collaboration with legendary hockey commentator and “Voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs” Joe Bowen, is a fairly straightforward lager. A dollar from every can is going to help children who need medical assistance. Holy Mackinaw indeed!
SOMETHING IN THE WATER SITTLER 10 POINT LIGHT
(ed. Note: Wait, is that two 1980’s Toronto hockey references in the same post? Are they in contention? Oh, ok. It’s bandwagon time. Maybe I can get in on this and brew an Eddie Olczech Lager or a Franconian Mahovlichtenhainer. Turk Brodziskie?)
Something in The Water and Darryl Sittler have brewed a lager to commemorate the 48th anniversary of scoring ten points in a single game, a record that stands unbeaten to this day. It will initially be available at the 10 Beertown locations across the province of Ontario, followed by an Ontario-wide can and keg distribution before the 2024/25 NHL season, but is temporarily sold out on the website.
COLLECTIVE ARTS IPA NO. 27 PEAK TO PEAK WEST COAST IPA
- It’s 27. It’s a West Coast IPA released this week. And I seem to find the hoppiness I seek when I’m drinking Ryan Morrow’s Peak to Peak. It’s in cans so take it camping or maybe fishing in a creek, you’ll enjoy the outdoors twice as much when you’re drinking Peak to Peak.
Sid Caesar would have fired me. An Irving Berlin song parody in 2024?
CAMERON’S BREWING SMILE PACK
You want to try four brand new beers from a reputable if underrated brewery at a reasonable price point? Are you one of the incredibly small percentage of beer drinkers who worship at the altar of White IPA? Are you so maniacally driven by WIPA lust that you’ll buy five other beers just to get those sweet, sweet phenols? Well, probably, the Cameron’s Brewing Smile Pack is for you. Personally, I think the Lemon Lime one looks interesting.
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