A few days before Christmas I found myself at the annual Indie Alehouse Stout Night. It’s hazardous and flawed to think a particular beer style belongs exclusively to a certain season — that goes especially for stout where many low-ABV […]
Shake the LCBO, stir the Beer Store
The Ontario government wants to know what you think of their system for selling alcohol. A long list of Ontario beer players, from Indie Ale House to Keep6 Imports, have used their social media feeds to support the idea of […]
Last minute holiday gift guide for beer lovers
Did you lose track of the date and find yourself scrambling for a last-minute gift for the beer lovers in your life? That’s understandable. Maybe you were otherwise occupied with your beer advent calendar or embroiled in a time-consuming debate […]
From graft to glass: Why it’s a bad thing that craft breweries have to pay to be on tap
As a paying customer in a bar, you might think that the beer on tap is chosen to suit your tastes. It feels like a safe assumption that not only the food but also the beer pouring from the gleaming […]
Wvrst opens second location at Union Station
Do you remember when Wvrst opened on King West? It was 2011 and the present wave of craft beer was just barely building in Toronto. King West, especially near Portland, was converting into a nightlife and restaurant row. I remember […]
Beer and Oysters: The Growler guide to pairing them
In her seminal 1941 book Consider the Oyster, M.F.K. Fisher contends that oysters, due to their sheer versatility, can be paired with pretty much any beverage. “One man can drink wine with them, another beer, and another fermented buttermilk, and […]
Three winter beer events in Toronto
As the weather gets colder the temptation to stay in with a snifter of barleywine sets in. That’s fair, but we also love a good winter-season beer event. Here are three good ones coming up in Toronto. Great Lakes Christmas […]
The Growler 10 Winter 2018-19 Edition
We take a wide-open view on featuring beers here at The Growler. That is to say, every brewery gets at least two of their beers listed in our directory. (Which, by the way, will include all of Ontario as of […]
The advent of good beer: The Growler guide to creating 24 days of cheer
I remember when I was a kid and the holiday season would roll around. I was raised in an English family, so we leaned towards the more traditional types of celebration and a big part of that was getting a […]
The OCB continues to throw a good conference
The Ontario Craft Brewers conference continues to grow in scale and importance. It’s a rare opportunity for Ontario’s expanding craft beer industry to get together in one place, reconnect and share ideas. This year, it was held on November 7 […]