Toronto Beer Blog

Friday Beer Break With Fearless Fed — Sawdust City Barrel-aged Ol’ Woody

chris — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:39:47 +0000

This week on the old beer break, Fred and I got into FOUR different bottles from Sawdust City. They are presenting their Ol’ Woody Alt at Toronto Festival of Beer in a barrel-aged demo. So they’ve aged their excellent Ol’ Woody Altbier in four different barrels. Two were old funky blueberry wine barrels, and they added fresh cherries to the mix to make a kriek-type beer. The other two went into a Kentucky bourbon barrel, and a Highland whisky barrel. Check out how it all went down, and make sure the stop by during the festival to try them for yourself. Fred and I also discuss the beer he made with Sawdust, Alison Brier, a raspberry saison. That one will.... [Read More]

Friday Beer Break With Fearless Fed — Sawdust City Barrel-aged Ol’ Woody is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Crazy Canuck Pale Ale — Great Lakes Brewery

chris — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:59:44 +0000

Well here’s (I think) a TorontoBeerBlog.com first: I’m re-reviewing a beer. Actually it’s really not that big a deal, particularly when the beer in question is Crazy Canuck Pale Ale, and the people who make it is Great Lakes Brewery. I’m not suggesting that Great Lakes is inconsistent (far from it), but particularly with a beer like Canuck, I would be surprised if the recipe hadn’t gone through at least some tweaking, if not revision in the three years since I last reviewed it. Certianly, when I last reviewed it in 2010, it came in a glass bottle; now it comes in a tallboy can. Also worth mentioning, my skills as both a reviewer and writer have changed (I’d say.... [Read More]

Crazy Canuck Pale Ale — Great Lakes Brewery is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Friday Beer Break with Fearless Fred — Alexander Keith’s Hop Series

chris — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 00:10:48 +0000

In today’s episode, Fred and his faithful sidekick venture into bigger waters, and sample the Alexander Keith’s Hop Series Ales; both the Cascade and Hallertau varieties. Listen live every Friday between 4:30-5pm and catch the videos here.

Friday Beer Break with Fearless Fred — Alexander Keith’s Hop Series is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Wizard Wolf Session Ale — Bellwoods Brewery

chris — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:21:44 +0000

If you’ve ever asked me about beers and quality, one thing that I will often bang on about, is that fresh is best (at least in most cases). So when I dropped by Bellwoods Brewery this morning to chat about some summer stuff, my answer to Mike’s question “Do you want some of the Wizard Wolf we’re bottling right now?” was a resounding yes (in case you’re wondering, I also had a sip of their new smoked rhubarb Berliner weisse, and grabbed some bottles of the new batch of Omerta Pale Ale. All excellent). I’ve had Wizard Wolf in bottles and on draught, but I’m a sucker for super-fresh. Then I realized I still haven’t done a review on it.... [Read More]

Wizard Wolf Session Ale — Bellwoods Brewery is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Friday Beer Break with Fearless Fred — Left Field Brewery

chris — Fri, 31 May 2013 23:40:11 +0000

Chilling with Fred, and drinking both Eephus and 6-4-3 IIPA from our friends at Left Field Brewery. About The Brewery Know that feeling you get on opening day, after a walk-off home run or a suspenseful no-hitter? That’s exactly how we feel about beer. Left Field Brewery aims to make beers you’ll remember. We’re free agent brewers who started out in the minors as a hobby home-brewery. We’re currently contract brewing with a game plan to build a microbrewery in Toronto to call home. We started Left Field Brewery under a simple philosophy: that great beer is about great taste and good times. We’re not here to confuse you with jargon or gimmicky promises – we’re here to make distinct,.... [Read More]

Friday Beer Break with Fearless Fred — Left Field Brewery is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Friday Beer Break with Fearless Fred — Beer Academy Maibock

chris — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:00:45 +0000

Very happy to be back doing a weekly beer break with my friend “Fearless” Fred at 102.1 The Edge. For our first week back, we drank some excellent Maibock from the crew at The Beer Academy.

Friday Beer Break with Fearless Fred — Beer Academy Maibock is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

My Summer Beer List — Week One — Wheat Beer

chris — Mon, 27 May 2013 20:43:41 +0000

As the weather warms up, every beer blogger and their cousins are compiling lists of their summer beers for 2013. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, and often might lead you to a new beer you had not tried before. It could also leave you crying into your lager, as you don’t have access to any of the specific beers on a particular list. So while I’ll suggest some specific beers, I want to present to you my list of ultimate summer styles, and why you want to drink them. Today I’m going to cover Wheat Beers. For the next 6 weeks, I’ll also cover off Fruit Beers, Saisons, Lawn Mower Beers, BBQ Beers, and Campfire Beers. Wheat Beer One.... [Read More]

My Summer Beer List — Week One — Wheat Beer is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Brewmance Episode 4: The Great Outdoors

chris — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:28:43 +0000

This month on Brewmance, Mark and I are joined by Aaron Spinney from Sawdust City Brewing Co. and we make a Belgian-style Golden Ale with Earl Grey Tea and mangoes! First outdoors brew of the year for me, too! It was a great day. Recipe to follow.

Brewmance Episode 4: The Great Outdoors is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Fruit Stand Watermelon Wheat Ale — Kensington Brewing Co

chris — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:58:19 +0000

There are a lot of beers out there with fruit in them. To start with, the myriad lite lime type things that seem to have endless marketing budgets. There are also more than a few pleasing beers made in Canada with things like raspberries, apricots or blueberries in them. And, of course, there are the classic Lambics from Belgium, many of which have fruits added like raspberries, cherries, peaches or black currants. I have had more than a few of these varied beers, and have liked some, disliked others, and been madly in love with a few. But until Brock from Kensington Brewing Co told me about Fruit Stand last summer, I had not yet come across a beer made.... [Read More]

Fruit Stand Watermelon Wheat Ale — Kensington Brewing Co is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto

Maverick and Gose — Amsterdam Brewing Co and Great Lakes Brewery

chris — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:52:23 +0000

You might recall a few weeks back I wrote about how Maverick and Gose was about to become the first all-Ontario collaboration to hit the LCBO. Well, after the usual LCBO bureaucratic hiccup, it is rolling out! If you want me to save you some time, Gose is a style you can be forgiven for not knowing about. Considered the regional specialty of Leipzig, Germany (as a regional beer, it is allowable under the Reinheitsgebot even though it has spices and sometimes salt added to it), it is related to Berliner-Weisse, and is a sour spiced ale. Reading up on Gose is a bit tricky (indeed, there is no reference to it in the Oxford Companion to Beer), but it seems.... [Read More]

Maverick and Gose — Amsterdam Brewing Co and Great Lakes Brewery is an article from Toronto Beer Blog - With your host, Chris Schryer a blog about all things beer in Toronto