We are Ontario beer.

We Are Ontario Beer2021-12-09T23:22:45-04:00

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Jasper, Alberta

Join us as we have A Quick Beer in the picturesque mountain town of Jasper, Alberta!We check out Jasper’s one local brewery, Jasper Brewing Co., and visit some fun pubs including D’ed Dog, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #31 (“The Stand Easy”), and the Whistle Stop. There’s a small but lively [...]

March 18, 2024|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in East Lansing, Michigan

Join us for A Quick Beer in East Lansing, Michigan! East Lansing, which borders Michigan’s capital Lansing, is home to the sprawling Michigan State University campus. And bucking the expectations of a university town, although there isn’t much of a brewing scene, there’s a range of lively beer bars serving [...]

January 21, 2024|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

A Quick Beer at Beerlab and Storm Stayed

We continue our biggest A Quick Beer yet with episode two of our tour around London, Ontario.In this episode we stop in at Beerlab! and have a chat with Nick Baird and Adil Ahmad, the Beer Mayor and Beer Doctor of London (in our opinion!) Then, we visit Storm Stayed Brewing [...]

January 16, 2024|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in London, Ontario

In our biggest A Quick Beer yet, we visit London, Ontario in this multi-part episode. In Part One we have a beer with Milos Kral, who could be called the godfather of good beer in London. From his days at Chaucer’s through Chancey Smith’s / Gambrinus to opening Pub Milos, [...]

January 5, 2024|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Royal Oak, Michigan

Join us for A Quick Beer in Royal Oak, Michigan! Royal Oak is a city within the metro Detroit area, about 20 minutes from downtown Detroit. It has its own beer scene with old-school breweries Royal Oak Brewery and Lily’s Seafood, outposts of the popular Jolly Pumpkin and HopCat, gastropubby [...]

October 15, 2023|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Join us for A Quick Beer in Grand Rapids, Michigan where we tour around the city’s dynamic beer scene. We visit the famous Brewery Vivant, local favorites Mitten Brewing, City Built Brewing, Harmony Brewing, Speciation Artisan Ales and Arvon Brewing, a number of “second locations” in Grand Rapids including New Holland’s [...]

August 20, 2023|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Syracuse, New York

Our latest episode of A Quick Beer takes us to Syracuse, New York. Syracuse has an up-and-coming beer scene with many new breweries in a city that’s easy to explore. We enjoyed just a taste of Syracuse’s thriving beer scene, including pioneer Middle Ages, modern breweries such as Talking Cursive, Meier’s [...]

May 17, 2023|Categories: Beer Events, Feature|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Canmore, Alberta

Join us as we have A Quick Beer in the scenic mountain town of Canmore, Alberta. Canmore is a robust town on the edge of Banff National Park with majestic views and a thriving local beer scene, but one not without its quirks. We visit all of the breweries in Canmore, [...]

April 17, 2023|Categories: Beer Events, Feature|

My First Trip to Chicago in 2002

Please note: This article was originally posted in late 2002/early 2003. Enjoy for historical and nostalgia purposes only. It does not necessarily represent the present day (although much of what is referenced is still going). In late September of 2002 I embarked on a good old-fashioned, university-style weekend road trip. The [...]

February 15, 2023|Categories: Feature|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Chicago, Illinois

Join us in our newest episode of A Quick Beer as we visit one of our fave cities, the wonderful Chicago, Illinois. A great drinking city, Chicago is full of history, architecture, culture, food, art, and in recent years, a thriving local craft beer scene. We visit 16 beer spots during [...]

January 8, 2023|Categories: Beer Events, Feature|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer at Chicago’s FoBAB

In our latest episode of A Quick Beer, we visit the famed Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer (FoBAB) in Chicago, Illinois, which took place in November, 2022. Hosted by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, the event features hundreds of barrel-aged beers from breweries across the country in a competition and [...]

November 12, 2022|Categories: Beer Events, Feature|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer at Bar Volo’s Cask Days

In our latest episode of A Quick Beer, we visit Cask Days, Bar Volo‘s famed cask beer festival, which returned in October 2022 as an intimate event reminiscent of its early days. Watch as we look back on the history of Cask Days and enjoy a quick beer at the event’s [...]

October 23, 2022|Categories: Beer Events, Feature|

Watch Now: A Quick Beer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

In our newest episode of A Quick Beer, we head out of town and check out the beer scene in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has a thriving beer scene with over 40 breweries in the city. We were only able to check out a few in the short time we were there. [...]

October 10, 2022|Categories: Feature, On The Road Reports|

Mourning the Maple Wheat – A Review from the Late 90s

Please note: This review was originally posted in the late 90s. Enjoy for historical and nostalgia purposes only.  It does not necessarily represent the present day. The Niagara Falls Brewing Company was once Ontario's most innovative brewery, producing beers like no other in the province. However, their beer lineup has underwent [...]

March 23, 2022|Categories: Feature|

Looking Back at Amsterdam Brewing – A Review from 2001

Please note: This review was originally posted in 2001. Enjoy for historical and nostalgia purposes only.  It does not necessarily represent the present day. The Amsterdam Brewing Co. has a long and interesting history on the Toronto brewing scene. Originally Amsterdam was the name of a brewpub on John St. in [...]

March 23, 2022|Categories: Feature|

The Bar Towel Redesigns Discussion Forum and Website

The Bar Towel Forum, the longest-running online community dedicated to good beer in Ontario, has undergone an upgrade to ensure that beer fans can continue to chat about the beverage they love. At the same time, the original Bar Towel news blog has been redesigned for a cleaner experience. The Bar [...]

December 10, 2021|Categories: Site News|

The Bar Towel Launches A Quick Beer

The Bar Towel is excited to launch A Quick Beer, a new video series that profiles breweries in Ontario. In the series we'll meet with different breweries to learn more about them, let you know about the kinds of beers they make and provide information about how to enjoy them. Your [...]

January 31, 2021|Categories: Feature, Site News|

The Bar Towel Launches Ontario Beer Delivery Index

In response to the increased home beer and cider delivery options during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Bar Towel has launched the Ontario Beer Delivery Index (OBDI). The OBDI tracks over 270 breweries and cideries across Ontario and their delivery options, with links to their online stores. You can find the OBDI [...]

January 14, 2021|Categories: Feature, Site News|

The Bar Towel Launches Cellar Diving

We're going deep into classic beers saved for the right moment. That's now. Introducing Cellar Diving, a new virtual drinking session with Ontario brewers & beer lovers.⁠ Every two weeks we'll be gathering beer folks from the industry to chat about what's been happening with them during the pandemic, and other [...]

May 2, 2020|Categories: Beer Events, Feature, Site News|
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