Beer writers hear quite often from people about their own local breweries. This is a wonderful view of how important the buildings have become as homes for more than just beer-making equipment. New parents love the Wednesday afternoons with playtime […]
A Q&A with Ontario Beer Summit’s Ren Navarro
UPDATE: There’s saw news on the Ontario Beer Summit front. The organizers announced on Instagram that they’ve had to cancel the event. The full text of their statement is below. “It is with great sadness that we are announcing […]
Final Draught: Goldpanner, a smoked lager from Left Field
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 […]
The Spring issue of the Growler is out soon
The time between Groundhog Day and Victoria Day might be the least-examined part of the craft beer calendar. If you’re anything like us, you’re nearing your limit of imperial stouts and hopefully are making your way through our list of […]
Rooting for Place: Dominion City’s Rooted in Place is a festival of terroir-driven beers from all over the world
By Tristan Bragaglia-Murdock No stranger to creating Ontario-based beers and regularly embracing Ontario-grown hops and malt, Dominion City’s fondness of where they come from, the community they call home and the beers that they create showcase the importance of their […]
Final Draught: Clown Punch, a Belgian IPA via Bowmanville
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 […]
Snow season sessions
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 […]
A decade of hop dominance: How IPAs defined the most popular beers in Ontario
It’s the best selling style of craft beer in North America. The number of variants that exist are incredible. The beer world is going through an unprecedented explosion of ingredients and innovation. Individual hop varieties have created a range of […]
Growler 10 for Winter 2020
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 […]
Recipe: Island Oysters’ rice wine vinegar & apple mignonette
Paired with Mascot Pilsner. Craft breweries are so busy creating dozens of different beers that it’s no surprise that many have opted for a schedule of food pop-ups rather than an on-site restaurant. In Ontario, Island Oysters has a devoted […]