February is a slow time for breweries in Ontario, I hear. The weather keeps people inside and, after the Super Bowl, there are no beer-is-mandatory occasions until mid-March. That gives breweries a chance to experiment and send their creations to […]

I remember way back in the early years of the last decade how much fun it was to discover craft beer. As well as the new and interesting flavours, it also represented a treasure trove of categories and labels for […]

There was a time, say four or five years ago, when “imperial stout,” “triple black IPA” and “bourbon-barrel-aged” whatever were the keys that unlocked craft beer sales between November and February. I still love a good barley wine, but I […]

Winter beers have become wonderfully diverse since the fading of the Great Triple Stout Craze of ’15. There are still plenty of dark, heavy hitters out there (some with a welcome tart note) but we also have lots of other […]

I’m on what seems to be a neverending search for a live-music venue with good beer. Concert halls are even worse than fine-dining restaurant when it comes to treating beer as an easy opportunity to make a quick buck (or […]

Northern Ontario is a place where people where camo for moose hunting, not for fashion. Majestic pine and cedar forests blanket a gently rolling, rocky landscape criss-crossed by rivers and streams all feeding into some of the coldest, freshwater lakes […]

What’s that you say? Autumn is your favourite season? Enough, already. It’s everyone’s favourite time of year in this age of post-obvious, planned irony. We can all get behind pleasant nighttime temperatures, some pretty strong holidays and nature’s annual display […]

Up there with sour beers and hazy-style IPAs, the session IPA is probably the biggest sea change in craft beer styles over the past three years. They’re a perfect prescription for when the weather gets really and truly hot (as […]

Since beer is a lightly processed agricultural product and Ontario is such a vast province with deep experience in farming (including barley and hops) it’s surprising that beer made with ingredients from Ontario are still the exception. Ones worth recommending […]