Magnotta Co-Founder Passes Away

The The Welland Tribune has a story in their paper today about the death of Magnotta Winery Corporation co-founder, Gabe Magnotta. Magnotta had battled Lyme disease for over seven years and according to the article he passed away on December 30th.

Together with his wife Rossanna, Magnotta Winery was born in 1990 and in less than 15 years the company was the 3rd largest winery in Ontario in volume of sales (from their website). In 1996 the husband and wife team announced that a brewery (Magnotta Brewery) would be added to the business, opening in their new Vaughan, ON headquarters in 1997. The brewery produces six beers under the brand name True North (Wunder Weisse, Cream Ale, Strong Ale, Blonde Lager, Cooper Altbier, and India Pale Ale) and has recently started participating in various events featuring cask ale.

Gabe Magnotta was 59 years old.

Garrison Imperial IPA Accepted For LCBO’s Autumn 2010 Release

I was on the phone with Cass Enright back on December 24th and he mentioned he had heard some terrific news from the LCBO earlier in the day – Garrison IPA, a beer Enright represents here in Ontario as he represents the Garrison Brewery, was accepted for the 2010 Autumn release.

Back in October Enright and Brian Titus (Garrison Brewing Co. owner) agreed to submit the beer for consideration and it was tasted in November. You see, the LCBO sends out a pdf. file by the name “Product Needs” to breweries and importers for various intake periods and this particular one (Autumn) was calling for single serving format preferred (500 mL), which is exactly how the IPA is sold.

The file also had the terms “proven track record in other markets” and “award winning”, and if you know your beer, you’ll know that the IPA was named the Canadian Beer of the Year in 2007 and 2008 at the Canadian Brewing Awards. That’s a pretty easy sell. The LCBO would also have had to look at the two private orders Enright put together, which sold out very fast (in fact the first one soldout in 4 days).

Enright and Titus put together the required paperwork and sent it off, and that email Enright received from the LCBO on Christmas Eve was a nice early gift. The price hasn’t been set as of yet, but if it comes in under $4.00 a bottle, which could be the case, it should be very popular with the hopheads.

What’s really great about this news is how it’s come to be. Yes, the beer is fantastic and having it be available at LCBO retail stores, even for a short period, is great. But all this happened because of Enright’s drive to document the process for bringing a beer, even if it’s from another province, into Ontario for consumer consumption with his Free Our Beer site. What started out as curiosity turned into a small business venture with Ontario beer drinkers reaping the rewards.

Head over to Enright’s Free Our Beer site to read his latest post on the acceptance.

Stonch’s Beer Blog Calls It A Day

I’ve taken some time off from writing, soaking up some rest and relaxation, getting ready for the new year of posting news, reviews and interviews. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and ended the year in style.

Today I got up and decided I’d try to do a late submission for the 35th installment of the Session, having it be my first post of 2010, and I just might get around to it this afternoon, but in checking my daily reads I noticed the following title of a post on Stonch’s Beer Blog – The Last Post.

It turns out that Jeffrey Bell, the man behind the three year old blog (and owner of the Gunmakers Arms), has decided to call it quits, ending his successful site. You see, this is the blog’s third birthday, and I decided a few weeks ago that this would be the day I’d finally put it to sleep.

Bell’s site was one of the first blogs I found myself attached to when I set out to create this one, and he was one of the first people to send me an email welcoming me to the beer blogosphere. He offered words of encouragement and paid compliments to my material; something I greatly appreciated and haven’t forgotten to this day.

So long Jeff! It’s been great tuning in the past over the past years. All the best in your future endeavours and here’s to continued success with the Gunmakers.

Highs and Lows of 2009 Canadian Beer

Like I mentioned in the previous post (and here’s a high five if you read the entire thing), the 2009 beer year was a ton of fun to be involved in. This year I thought it would be interesting to post what I perceived to be the highs and lows of 2009, so let’s take a shot at it, which will be followed up by my (which is subjective) best of the year list.

Highs
* Great Lakes Caskapalooza (see below)
* Numerous pub openings in Toronto that are offering craft beer (Twisted Kilt, Ceili Cottage, Queen & Beaver, 3 Brewers, Duggan’s
* Two new brewpubs open in Toronto’s downtown core (3 Brewers and Duggan’s)
* Mill Street releasing variety packs to the public and producing monthly seasonals
* Mill Street winning Canadian Brewery of the Year 3 years straight
* The number of small breweries pumping out seasonals
* Cask ales increasing popularity across the country
* The LCBO showing some respect for beer, bringing in some great stuff
* Golden Tap Awards honouring Jim Brickman
* 11 Alberta breweries collaborate to produce a beer for charity

Lows
* The number of lawsuits involving Brick Brewing
* Brick Brewing suing founder Jim Brickman for $1 million
* The initial launch of the LCBO’s beer selector online program
* The way the New Brunswick Liquor corp. handled the contract involved with the brewing of a government owned beer sold in government controlled retail stores
* The gimmicky Lime Beer segment that took Canada by storm this past summer

Best Beer Story of the Year
Great Lakes Caskapalooza: Great Lakes Brewery, Etobicoke, ON
The Toronto Festival of Beer was all but lost on me this year. I had no intention of going, until John Bowden let me know that Great Lakes would be bringing 20 cask conditioned ales, complete with their own refrigeration unit and psychedelic background to Toronto’s oldest beer festival. It was a huge success and an inspiration that change, at an event like this, can work.

Runner Up – 11 craft breweries from Alberta team up to brew a charity beer

Best New Canadian Brewery
Driftwood Brewery: Victoria, BC
I remember getting an email from a dear reader in 2008 who wanted to let me know that a new brewery was opening their doors in Victoria. Soon after they opened I was able to get my hands on bottles of each of their beers and found them all to be very well done, and ballsy, especially for a new brewery: Brother Bart’s Brown Belgian Ale, Farmhand Saison, White Bark Ale (wit), Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine, and the Driftwood Ale (a nice session beer with nice amounts of hopping).

Best New Release (either regular or seasonal)
Creemore Kellerbier: Creemore Springs Brewery, Creemore, ON
I didn’t really have to think about this one too hard. When Creemore released this beauty back in the summer I absolutely loved it from the first sip. Low carbonation, nice hopping, thirst quenching yet full of flavour, were all factors in winning me over.

Runner Up - Black Oak 10 Bitter Years: Black Oak Brewery, Etobicoke, ON

Best Beer Dinner Attended
Danish Beer Dinner – beerbistro, Toronto, ON
There were a couple to choose from, but the Danish beer dinner that was held in April at beerbistro takes the cake. A nine-course dinner (+ a special 10th beer) with bang on pairings, was well worth the $150 price tag and continued to show why beerbistro is a leader in hosting events like these.

Best Canadian Beer Blog
A Good Beer Blog – Alan McLeod, Kingston, ON
While Alan, whose been doing this (blogging) for years, doesn’t post on Canadian content that much, I found myself reading from his site more than ever in 2009 as he had numerous posts that generated solid discussion from bloggers around the globe. And his annual Yuletide Photo contest is great.

Runner Up – Love Good Beer, British Columbia

Best New Toronto Pub (I live here so I’m keeping it to Toronto)
The Ceili Cottage
When the Ceili Cottage finally opened their doors in July, I was probably the most excited person other than owner Patrick McMurray. The Cottage is very near my place (within walking distance), has cask conditioned ale, terrific food at reasonable prices, has a great atmosphere with live sessions on Tuesdays, smoked peat moss that fills the air with a smell other than stale beer, and has a handful of pleasant staff members.

Best Beer Book
Tie
Cheers! A Intemperate History of Beer in Canada: Nicholas Pashley
The beerbistro Cookbook: Brian Morin and Stephen Beaumont
This was tough. 2009 had a slew of beer books published including: Hops N Glory by Pete Brown, Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher, The Naked Pint, World’s Best Beers by Ben McFarlane, and more. I choose Cheers! and the beerbistro book because a) they were both written by Canadians, and b) they were both terrific. Cheers! is typical Pashley, which translates into a funny and entertaining read, and the cookbook makes me want to be in the kitchen, creating something Morin has perfected so many times at his restaurant.

Best Event
Volo Cask Days(week): Bar Volo, Toronto, ON
I really don’t have to say anything further, just click here to read all the posts on it. 70 casks, 40 breweries, 7 days. Just like a strong barley wine, Volo Cask Days just keeps getting better with age.

Runner Up – Toronto Cask Ale Crawl: CASK! Toronto

Thank you for your continued support in 2009! Here’s wishing you and your family a Happy New Year.

My 2009 Beer Year in Review – A Look Back

Another year is coming to an end and it was quite a year in the beer industry. I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with another successful Canadian Brewing Awards that had more participants and product than ever submitted before; TAPS magazine continues to evolve into a serious beer resource made available across the country; and I became a co-host on the Pub Show at a small independent radio station in Stouffville. I made it out to some beer dinners, spent a bunch of time in pubs around Toronto, made it back out to Halifax to visit Garrison, Propeller, the Henry House, and more, and I drank some damn fine beer in the good company of others. And I’ve managed to keep this blog up to date with almost daily postings.

Here’s a look back at my experiences during the 2009 beer year.

January – After attending a great party (Georgepalooza) at Toronto’s Cloak and Dagger a buddy and I headed to Buffalo to take part in Cole’s Rare Beer Festival where I had the opportunity to sample the 2007 Sam Adams Utopias, the strongest beer in the world at the time. I paid a visit to Mississauga’s West 50 Pourhouse, an establishment with over 100 draught lines. I interviewed Steam Whistle’s brewmaster, Marek Mikunda and posted two interviews that appeared in TAPS: Canada’s Beer Magazine – Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione and Leanne Rhee, the LCBO’s category manager of beer.

February – February brought with it the sad news that the Granite (Halifax) would shut its doors on Barrington street for good, giving up the pub business (Ginger’s Tavern) in order to open a small brewery in the city’s north end. Tree Brewing got into it with California’s Green Flash brewery over the use of the term Hop Head (Tree Hop Head vs. Green Flash Hop Head Red). Garrison earned a gold medal from the Beverage Tasting Institute for their Grand Baltic Porter after scoring 94/100 at the World Beer Championships. I visited the great little pub in Bracebridge, ON, the Griffin Gastropub and I’ve been back many times since. And two new IPA’s were released: Grand River Curmudgeon IPA and Wild Rose’s Imperial IPA.

March – Pump House Brewery starts bottling their SOB in Moncton, NB; The Roy Public House opens in Toronto but only features beer from one craft brewery; Stephen Beaumont and Brian Morin release a wonderful book – The beerbistro Cookbook; Cass Enright (Bar Towel.com founder) announces that he has started an import business and will be representing Garrison Brewing in Ontario (the first private order sells out in four days); I interviewed extreme brewer Greg Nash who was with Pump House at the time, Steelback owner Jonathon Sherman, and Propeller’s two head brewers Don and Bobby; Etobicoke’s Great Lakes brewery launches their Green Tea ale at the Dominion Pub; and Toronto’s Amsterdam brewery introduces a new Doppelbock (Dehydrator) that was based on a local homebrewers recipe.

April – What a busy month. The Ontario Brewing Awards were announced and Mill Street took home seven medals; Alexander Keith’s announces that the Labatt brewery in BC will start brewing Keith’s for the west; Mill Street launches their first seasonal sampler six pack; Mill Street’s brewmaster, Joel Manning, takes some time to answer some questions; Roland and Russell Import Agency organize a Danish beer dinner at beerbistro with beers from Norrebro Bryghus and Mikkeller and feature Anders Kissmeyer from Norrebro; Black Oak opens their new brewery in Etobicoke after months of delays; Bar Volo’s first ever Ontario IPA Cask Challenge commences and attracts many; Volo owner, Ralph Morana, welcomes brewing equipment with the plan to start brewing his own beer for the bar; CASK! hosts Toronto’s first ever Cask Ale Crawl through the streets of Toronto; Granville Island in Vancouver launches Brockton IPA, named after the Brockton Oval in Stanley Park; I visited the Local Pub in Toronto; and I posted an interview with Brooklyn’s brewmaster Garrett Oliver that originally appeared in an issue of TAPS.

May – Exciting news hits Niagara as the local college announces plans to start working on a brewmaster certification program; Volo’s IPA Cask Challenge continues; Kevin Keefe opens the doors to the new Granite brewery in the north end; Black Creek Pioneer Village announces plans to start an historic brewery on their property in partnership with Trafalgar Brewing; Ontario MPP’s choose seven craft beers to be served exclusively at the Legislative Assembly for 2009/10; I received a ridiculous response to a letter I wrote the Premier about the beer retail system in Ontario; and Scotland’s Innis and Gunn brewery launches a Canadian Cask version of their Oak Aged beer.

June – Great Lakes brewery announces a new initiative, Project ‘X’; I interviewed Garrison brewmaster, Daniel Girard; Ian Innes, founder and longtime owner of the Feather’s pub in Toronto sells the pub to Reid Pickering; two new establishments in downtown Toronto open their doors – the Queen and Beaver and the 3 Brewers; Brick brewing sues founder Jim Brickman for $1 million; I paid a visit to Toronto’s newest brewery, Black Creek Historic brewery; rumours that Fat Cat shutting down proved false and the Cat still meows; I profiled Bryden’s pub and the Kingston brewpub; and Steam Whistle releases their first ever commercial.

July – The Ceili Cottage opens in Toronto to much delight; Creemore brewery knocks one out of the park with a new beer, Kellerbier; Greg Nash leaves Pump House to head back to Halifax to look after brewing operations at the Hart & Thistle brewpub; the LCBO launches a new feature on their website (beer selector) that fails right off the bat; Michael Duggan’s No.9 IPA wins Volo’s IPA Cask Challenge; I paid a visit to Neustadt and toured their beautiful old brewery; the voting commences for the 7rh annual Golden Tap Awards hosted by Bar Towel; Victory Café holds another successful cask festival; and the University of Toronto’s Hart House hosts their 2nd annual craft beer fest.

August – Beau’s win big at the 7th annual Golden Tap Awards taking home best of the fest and best craft brewery in Ontario; I interviewed Nickel Brook’s head brewer, Tim Blakeley; Coors Light launches an ad mocking Torontians in BC; Canadian Brewing Awards judging takes place in Etobicoke; Abbot on the Hill re-brands, taking a new name The Monk’s Table; Great Lakes brings 20 different cask ales to the Toronto Festival of Beer, which took place at the CNE grounds for the first time; and this here blog turns 2.

September – Bill Perrie’s Pub Radio show launches with me acting as a co-host and Cameron’s sales rep Jon Graham is the first guest; I interviewed Wild Rose founder and president, Mike Tymchuk, Creemore Springs brewmaster Gordon Fuller, and Mill Street brewer Sam Corbeil; Duggan’s Brewery in downtown Toronto starts to take shape; I visited the new bbq joint Highway 61; and the Canadian Brewing Awards gala took place before a packed audience of brewers and brewery representatives from across the country and the results were posted here first.

October – Nick Pashley’s latest book, Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada is released; Bar Volo’s 5th annual Cask Days takes place over 7 days featuring over 70 casks from 40 breweries; Southern Ontario Brewers (SOB) take over the Amsterdam brewery and homebrew all day; Mill Street threw one hell of a beer dinner at their brewpub where the Nightmare on Mill Street Pumpkin Ale was launched; 11 Alberta breweries got together and whipped up a collaborative beer for charity; MolsonCoors, using the Creemore Springs name, purchases BC’s Granville Island brewery; Muskoka Cottage brewery releases a very good seasonal; and I got married.

November – I interviewed Richard Mclelland from Scotland’s BrewDog brewery; helped brew some beer on Great Lakes pilot system (went over pretty good); a Microfest and Conference was announced for the fall of 2010 in Halifax; Mill Street releases a Roggenbier; Black Oak celebrates their 10th anniversary by releasing a beer they call 10 Bitter Years; I posted an interview with Anders Kissmeyer of Norrebro Bryghus that first appeared in TAPS; and the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) released their 3rd Discovery Pack, this time in cans.

December – I had the pleasure of sampling the world’s current strongest beer – BrewDog’s Tactical Nuclear Penguin; posted a number of last minute gift ideas for the beer lover; interviewd Matt Phillips, owner of Phillips brewery; shared an interview with Chief Beer Officer Scott Kerkmans that appeared in TAPS magazine; Mill Street releases yet another seasonal, Weizenbock; and PEI’s Gahan Brewery opens a production and bottling facility in Charlottetown (the Gahan House brewpub is still in operation as well).

Volo Releases Jaw Droppin’ New Years Eve Line-Up

New Year’s Eve parties/celebrations have usually been let downs for me. Something either goes wrong, or someone’s sick, or the weather is terrible. The whole celebration thing has been lost on me. My wife and I discussed our options this year: order take-out and stay in with some good bottles or head out with a group for a night of debauchery. We ended up making plans with some out of town friends (debauchery), which will end up being a good time, hopefully, but if you find yourself in Toronto, with no real concrete plans, get yourself, and some of your friends, to Bar Volo.

One doesn’t need an excuse to visit Toronto’s fantastic beer bar (if you do there might be something wrong with you), but if for some reason you do, I think the following beer list that Volo will be offering would definitely count as one.

Free admission, no dress code, no reservations, and open until 2am.

On Tap…

Dieu du Ciel! Peche Mortel
Dieu du Ciel! Rigor Mortis Abt
Scotch Irish John By Imperial Stout 2008
Grand River Russian Gun Imperial Stout 2008
Grand River Jubilation 2008
Publican House Square Nail Pale Ale
County Durham Hop Addict IPA
Black Oak Ten Bitter Years
Mill St. Weizenbock
Beau’s All Natural Lugtread Lagered Ale
Denison’s Weissbier
Unibroue Ephemere Cassis
Beaus Bog Water (cask)
Black Oak Nutcracker (cask)
Durham E.S.B. (cask)
William Sir Perry Pear Cider
Niagara’s Best Spiced Apple Cider
Rosewood 2006 Ambrosia Mead
County Cider 2004 Ice Cider

+ New bottles from Paddock Wood, Central City, Moylans, Dieu du Ciel!, Charlevoix, Phillips, Driftwood, Brooklyn, St.Bernardus, Trois Mousquetaires and many more!!!

Those plans for the house party aren’t looking so hot right now.

Bar Towel.com Changes

My buddy Cass Enright, the founder of Bar Towel.com, a leader in online Ontario beer news, has recently been toying around with his site and has made some changes for the better, adding a new Canadian forum to the discussion board.

These changes, along with a new publishing format for Bar Towel’s homepage news site, are signs of the new direction Enright wants to take his ten year old site on. People have been reading Bar Towel for years, getting up to the minute news on the Toronto, and now more than ever the Ontario beer scene. However, Enright feels that Bar Towel is now in a position to also serve as a resource for all of Canada, posting press releases on beer launches in British Columbia to discussing items relating to breweries in Nova Scotia; making Bar Towel a one stop shop (just don’t forget this little old site).

BeerAdvocate (an American site) has a Canadian group in their forum that gets some good traffic and it would be nice to see those posters come to Bar Towel and join in there.

Along with the new layout Enright will be welcoming some new writers to the site to generate more discussion, post beer reviews, and update the news section with information as they receive it.

So head over there now and start a topic on the Canadian forum – get involved in the daily LCBO chatter that takes place or post a review of a beer you just drank from Quebec.

That Dreaded Hangover

Good morning! And welcome back after a short holiday break.

One of the hazards of drinking copious amounts of beer is the morning after, waking up with that dreaded hangover. This weekend I experienced another one, and after dragging myself out of bed in the afternoon I decided to re-read the terrific chapter Losing the Will to Live: Surviving the Hangover from Nicholas Pashley’s Notes on a Beermat: Drinking and Why It’s Necessary, where he offers up various remedies to cure the beast within.

I have probably read this chapter on 10 separate occasions, just to get a laugh and to remind myself that there are others out there sharing in the same misery. It somehow eases the pain, albeit 10 minutes or so. Pashley’s listed remedies – Jumping into an icy lake (as the Scandinavians do)? Out of the question. Cucumber juice? No thanks. Raw eels and bitter almonds? Not for me.

It used to be a big, greasy breakfast to get me out of my funk, but that doesn’t seem to work anymore as getting to the hole-in-the-wall diner seems to be getting tougher and tougher with age. The hangovers seem to get worse and worse with each passing year.

I’ve recently discovered a new life saver – Booster Juice. Man I love this stuff. Over the last couple of months there have been some late weeknights, be they beer dinners or special beer events, which have resulted in me not being too fresh in the morning. I don’t write about beer and pubs for a living, no, I work for the government during the day, so waking up mid-morning and lounging around is just not an option, and Booster Juice has been there for me to help get me through the morning/day.

Which leads me to this question – What do you do to relieve the agonizing effects of a hangover? Other than sleep it off?

Merry Christmas

I’m going to be giving the ol’ blog a rest for the next couple of days as I head north to celebrate Christmas with the family, so this will be the last post until next week.

Here’s wishing all of you a Merry Christmas!

Thanks for reading!!

My Christmas Morning Beer

A number of years ago I started a little Christmas tradition in my family; cracking open a couple of bottles to accompany gift opening and delicious quiche for breakfast.

I remember the first year, 4 years ago. I was living in Halifax and flew back home in time for Christmas and went to the LCBO in search of a beer that would suit the mood well. I choose Wychwood’s Bah Hambug, and it did the trick.

The next year I went with Mill Street’s Coffee Porter, which is terrific first thing in the morning (I shouldn’t have to explain why, coffee!), and last year it was Phillip’s Longboat Double Chocolate Porter, also terrific.

Last night I was sitting around the apartment getting stuff together for the drive home when it hit me – I haven’t selected my Christmas morning beer yet. I totally forgot. Then I thought it would be fun to have you help me choose from the following list that I’ve narrowed it down to, if you don’t mind.

Unibroue Quelque Chose
Tree Raspberry Porter
Great Lakes Winter Ale
Garrison Winter Warmer (I had one last night, very nice)
St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
2007 & 2008 Nickel Brook Cuvee