Ever Wanted to Tour Goose Island’s Brewpub?
Our previous episode of Bar Towel Radio was a live recording of Goose Island's Black Friday event at their brewpub in Chicago. And now we're thrilled to release the second part of our "Live at Goose Island" series, with a live recording of the Goose Island Brewpub tour! The tour, recorded in November 2014, [...]
Stone in Ontario: A Sign of the ‘Taps’?
Next week marks the official launch of famed California brewery Stone into the Ontario market, with a pair of beers arriving on draught: Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. Not only are these beers a great addition to the Ontario beer scene, but they continue a recent new strategy with a few [...]
Join us at the Brewer’s Backyard today!
Join us as the 2015 season of the Brewer's Backyard kicks off today with our cold-weather event, the Winter Hibeernation. Today's breweries include Great Lakes, Beau's All-Natural and Indie Alehouse, alongside food by Urban Carnivore and Sugar Pie Honey Bunch. There's going to be around 15 beers available, including the lineup [...]
Trillium Chapter – Brewery Collectables Buy/Sell/Trade Show
Trillium Chapter: Brewery Collectables Buy/Sell/Trade show at Great Lakes Brewery on March 28th. 11am - 2pm ~ Free Admission ~ $5 GLB beersBooths with brewery items can include labels, coasters, tap handles, growlers, posters, signage, bottles, cans, trays and more. Come out and see Canadian brewing history in person. Have any interesting [...]
Listen to Bar Towel Radio Live from Goose Island
Bar Towel Radio returns with a special episode recorded last November at Goose Island's Black Friday tasting event, featuring their famed Bourbon County Brand Stout series of beers. The event, held annually at their brewpub in Chicago to coincide with the launch of Bourbon County Brand Stout, is a live tasting of the BCBS [...]
Let’s chat about The Beer Store!
Well, today's been an exciting day for beer, with the surprise announcement from The Beer Store that "ownership" will be offered to brewers in Ontario. And there's no shortage of opinions and discussion about it online and in the media. Join in the conversation in our Forum and chat about The Beer [...]
Toronto Bourbon Week Returns on Friday
Once again, The Bar Towel is happy to be involved in Toronto Bourbon Week, launching this Friday, November 14th and continuing until November 20th. And then on the very next day, the first-ever Ottawa Bourbon Week begins and runs until November 27th. This years' Bourbon Weeks feature 20 events across Toronto [...]
Join us at Hintontoberfest on Saturday
Our Beer Lineup for Hintontoberfest Our final Brewery Market of 2014, Hintontoberfest, promises to be an amazing wrap up to the season on Saturday, October 25th from 12-6pm at Hintonburg Park in Ottawa. We've got a stellar lineup of over 45 beers from 9 Ontario breweries, including Flying Monkeys, Bicycle Craft, Turtle [...]
Join us at Torontoberfest tomorrow
Oktoberfest isn't over yet, and we've got one more Globe and Mail, CTV, Where and CityNews-approved bash in Toronto to celebrate. Join us tomorrow, Monday, October 13th for the final Brewer's Backyard of the year, Torontoberfest at the Evergreen Brick Works. We'll have up to 22 different beers available from our participating [...]
Listen to Bar Towel Radio live from Beau’s Oktoberfest
This past weekend I was at Beau's Oktoberfest in Vankleek Hill, with the great privilege of moderating two panels at the "School of Bock", an entertaining education-focused program at this fantastic event. With the return of Bar Towel Radio after a prolonged absence last month, we felt it was a good time to [...]
Bar Towel Radio Returns
Well, it's not quite the return of Arrested Development, but after a 6 year (!) hiatus, The Bar Towel's podcast, entitled Bar Towel Radio, has returned. In July of this summer we traveled down to the Vermont Brewers Festival in Burlington, Vermont, and had a chat with Jeff Baker, the Director of [...]
Golden Tap Awards 2014 Announced
Last night at beerbistro the 2014 Golden Tap Awards were announced: Best Brewery in Ontario: Great Lakes Brewery Best Brewery for Cask-Conditioned Ales in Ontario: Great Lakes Brewery Best Brewpub or Tied House in Ontario: Bellwoods Brewery Best Cidery in Ontario: West Avenue Cider Company Best Regularly-Produced Beer in Ontario: Beau's [...]
Countdown to the Golden Tap Awards
The 2014 Golden Tap Awards will be handed out tonight at beerbistro as a part of Toronto Beer Week. This year is the biggest Golden Tap Awards ever, with more categories added reflecting the expanded craft beer culture in Ontario. Tonight's event will feature an all-Ontario beer and cider festival, with over 30 breweries [...]
The Sacred Oak Beer Lineup Announced
The Sacred Oak, Toronto's (possibly) first-ever all-barred aged beer festival organized by Indie Alehouse and The Bar Towel, has released the lineup of beers available. The following will be pouring at both sessions (in limited quantities) on Saturday, September 13th as part of Toronto Beer Week: Indie Alehouse Sun Kicked XO [...]
Toronto Beer Week 2014 Launches Tonight
Toronto Beer Week, now in its fifth year, launches tonight (Thursday, September 11th) and features the largest number of participants in its history. With over 100 bars, restaurants, breweries and importers participating, Toronto Beer Week is one of the biggest and most concentrated celebrations of craft beer in the city. Over the span of [...]
Announcing The Sacred Oak: A Night of Barrel Aged Beers
The Bar Towel and Indie Alehouse are teaming up to present The Sacred Oak: A Night of Barrel Aged Beers. This will be one of the first exclusively barrel aged beer events in Ontario, with special barrel offerings from the following breweries: Indie Alehouse Great Lakes Bellwoods Beau's Nickel Brook Sawdust [...]
Vote For Beer: The 2014 Golden Tap Awards Launch
The Golden Tap Awards, Ontario’s most democratic beer awards event, has launched its voting for 2014 with an expanded set of categories to reflect the ever-growing importance of craft beer in the province. Now in its twelfth year, the Golden Tap Awards is the leading awards event whereby winners are determined [...]
LCBO Autumn Special Releases Revealed
Even though we're still in the prime time of the summer, the LCBO beer releases for autumn have been revealed. Over 30 beers will be available in LCBO stores across three sets: an Autumn seasonal beer release, a themed Hallowe'en beer release, and a special Mikkeller brewery feature. Beers will begin arriving around the [...]
The Brewery Market Arrives in Quebec on Saturday
The inaugural edition of the Marché des Brasseurs, the inaugural Quebec edition of the Brewery Market, is happening this Saturday, July 26th from 12-6pm at the Hendrick Farm in Old Chelsea. The Marche will follow a similar format of the Brewery Market and Brewer's Backyard: a casual, family-friendly event that features [...]
The Brewery Market Returns Tomorrow
The Brewery Market returns to Ottawa's Hintonburg Park for our latest event, entitled For Whom the Beer Flows. This time around we're welcoming eight local breweries: Beyond the Pale, Covered Bridge, Cassel, Beau's, Mill Street, HogsBack, Big Rig and Broadhead. Nearly 50 beers (full cups only, no samples) will be available [...]