A Beer At…La Quinta Brewing Co.
The La Quinta Brewing Co., and palm trees. The Bar Towel continues our series entitled “A Beer At…”, where we feature a single bar or restaurant, have a beer or two and get a feel for what makes it special. This visit is to the La Quinta Brewing Co., located in [...]
Bar Towel Radio with Aaron Spinney
This week we sat down for a beer and a chat with Aaron Spinney, the brewer of the soon-to-open Merit Brewing in Hamilton, Ontario. Aaron is one of the many nice dudes in the Ontario beer scene, and it is exciting to see his new venture take shape alongside Tej Sandhu and (OG Bar [...]
Ontario Craft Ingredients: Barn Owl Malt
In recent years craft brewing has undergone quite the renaissance. Hundreds of new brewers, thousands of new beers and countless loyal craft beer drinkers. Behind the scenes, a second revolution is starting to take shape: The craft growers, cultivators and producers of craft beer ingredients. As part of a three-part series, [...]
Memories from the Last Days of Bar Volo
On October 1st, 2016, Bar Volo, one of Toronto's most revered beer bars, closed its doors due to a future development on the property. Bar Volo has been one of the most influential beer bars in the local beer scene, as they have hosted numerous tap takeovers, beer events and tastings [...]
A Fireside Chat with Muskoka’s Gary McMullen
Earlier this week Muskoka Brewery hosted a beer dinner at Café Belong at the Evergreen Brick Works, to promote the launch of their new winter seasonal, Shinnicked Stout. Around the outdoor campfire which concluded the dinner, I was able to have a quick chat with Gary McMullen, founder of Muskoka, about [...]
A Beer with Jim Koch
Jim Koch, Founder and Brewer of the Boston Beer Company, known for the legendary beer brand Samuel Adams, was in town last week for Toronto Beer Week. During that time I was fortunate to record a podcast with him, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my beer drinking lifetime. Samuel [...]
2016 Golden Tap Awards Announced
Last night at beerbistro the 2016 Golden Tap Awards were handed out at a gala event featuring an all-Ontario craft beer festival. The Golden Tap Awards are Ontario's most democratic beer awards event, and have been recognizing achievements in the beer industry for fourteen years. The winners were as follows: Best [...]
Quaff & Ale with Jason Fisher of Indie Alehouse
As we approach the start of 2016's Toronto Beer Week, we are proud to present a new Quaff & Ale with Jason Fisher, owner of the Indie Alehouse. Indie was the brewer of the official beer of Toronto Beer Week, Interloper, and is hosting the West End Social on Monday, September 19th, [...]
San Diego’s Beer Paradise
San Diego is one of my favourite beer drinking cities, and generally just an amazing place to visit all-around. Recently I was able to spend a couple of days there enjoying the always delicious beer, and was fortunate to be able to chat with Jill Davidson, President of the San Diego [...]
A Torontoian Beer Lover in Los Angeles
Recently I was fortunate to spend a couple of days checking out the beer scene in Los Angeles, California. Although it's one of the largest cities in North America, the beer scene does not have a long history compared to other beer spots around the continent. But that's changing quickly, with the [...]
Golden Tap Talk with Ben Johnson and David Ort
The Golden Tap Awards voting season is upon us, and during this time beer lovers in the province get talking. And this year is no different, so Ontario beer writers Ben Johnson, David Ort and I decided to record a podcast to discuss some of the issues of the past, present and future of [...]
Golden Tap Awards 2016 Voting Launches
The Golden Tap Awards, Ontario's most democratic beer awards event, has launched its voting for 2016. Now in its fourteenth year, the Golden Tap Awards recognize the best in beer and cider in Ontario, across breweries, beers, brewpubs, cideries, bars and more. All voting is determined by the beer loving general [...]
Tapping into Some New Kegs for Ontario
For those of you who know me, I have long criticized the archaic keg importation and distribution system in Ontario. It is one that is legacy at its finest, something that favours a few select companies, has not kept up with the changing beer times and ultimately has affected the potential [...]
Warm Smiles and Cold Beers at Cruz Blanca
With so many breweries opening up nowadays (620 did in 2015 according to the Brewers Association), it is sometimes hard to get excited for a specific one to debut. But there was much excitement this summer when Cruz Blanca, the new brewery from Rick Bayless, the restaurateur behind Chicago’s Frontera Grill, [...]
Lester P. Beerson Celebrates Canada Day
The Brewer's Backyard returns on Canada Day, Friday, July 1st with Lester P. Beerson Day, a celebration of Canada, great beer and delicious food at Toronto's most open beer festival. At the Evergreen Brick Works the event will feature breweries Great Lakes Brewery, Henderson Brewing, Pitschfork Brewing, Durham, Railway City Brewing and Brimstone Brewing, alongside food from Kanga Meat Pies, Food [...]
Crack into a Homebrew in Baltimore
The Bar Towel is proud to present our annual preview of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) National Homebrewers Conference, now known as Homebrew Con, taking place from June 9th to 11th, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. This article will cover highlights of the conference as well as recommended beer destinations in Baltimore. [...]
A Beer At…The Publican
The Bar Towel is proud to present a new series entitled “A Beer At…”, where we feature a single bar or restaurant, have a beer there and get a feel for what makes them special. Our first visit is to Chicago’s famed The Publican, a shrine to beer and pork in [...]
Our Philadelphia CBC Seminar Picks
The Bar Towel is proud to once again present our annual preview of the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (CBC), taking place from May 3rd to 6th, 2016 at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Part One of the preview covered our highlights of breweries, bars and other sights [...]
Craft Brewers Conference 2016 Preview: The Bars of Philadelphia
The Bar Towel is proud to once again present our annual preview of the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (CBC), taking place from May 3rd to 6th, 2016 at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Part One of the preview covers our highlights of breweries, bars and other sights [...]
Pints and Pistes in Ellicottville, New York
When one thinks of combining good skiing and good beer whilst living in Toronto, usually that means an arduous trip to venture to Quebec, Vermont, or further afield to the Rockies or beyond. But as learned this winter, we've got access to a great destination for both that's only a couple [...]