One such brewery that opened about a month ago in Aylmer, Québec, a short 20-minute drive from downtown Ottawa is Cinquième Baron Microbrasserie. In the short time they’ve been open they’ve pumped out a wide range of styles and have been met with a surge of interest, frequently selling out releases in a matter of days. Their branding is on point with a clean logo and colourful can label artwork. I got to try a handful of their recent releases. Let’s see how they’re tasting!
Read MoreSince 2013, the Toronto based Craft Brand Company has been partnering with brewers from around the world to bring their beers to the Ontario market. The breweries they partner with “have unique and intriguing branding and are powered by good people that they enjoy drinking beer with.” They’ve brought such notable beers as Omnipollo’s Zodiac IPA and the opinion splitting Prodromus Imperial Stout to LCBO shelves.
Read MoreWho the hell knows what month it is anymore? I’ve been home for eight plus weeks, last weekend it was 20 degrees and sunny, this weekend it’s literally snowing. One thing that does feel at least somewhat seasonally appropriate is the return of spring and summer seasonal beers, and Toronto’s Henderson Brewing Company has two session beers hitting the shelves which can at least help us try to feel like time is still marching on at pace. Replacing their fall seasonal Export Stout and Vanilla Orchid Brown Ale are a new collab with Society of Beer Drinking Ladies, and a returning fan favourite from their Ides series!
Read MoreI don’t think I’ve ever seen a silly chat between friends actually materialize into something so quickly. Some of my closest beer media friends and I have a chat group which includes myself, Craig (better known as “Cee, Certified Brew Head”) of BAOS, Chris and Max of Hops & Bros, and Noah of Beerism.
Read MoreThese are strange times. Difficult for everyone in so many ways. Small businesses are suffering a lot right now. Breweries have been allowed to remain open (in Ontario and Quebec), and they’ve all had to make changes to the ways they get their products to customers in these unprecedented times. One brewery in particular has been ahead of the curve in Ontario when it comes to adapting to the changing circumstances, and they’ve really been industry leaders in getting beer to customers while protecting their staff and the public. That brewery is my hometown fave, Dominion City Brewing.
Read MoreI’m going to keep the COVID-19 and social distancing talk on here to a minimum, because to be honest, for the sake of my own sanity I’m desperate to talk about anything else right now, as I’m sure many of you are too. Instead, I’m revisiting some classics and a new addition to the lineup of one of my favourite Ontario breweries, London’s Anderson Craft Ales.
Read MoreWe’ve recently moved into incredibly uncertain times with the COVID-19 / Coronavirus literally taking over the globe. In our lifetimes, we’ve never had to experience anything even remotely like this before so it’s new territory for the vast majority of living humans. Our precious craft beer industry will be one of the hardest hit due to the restrictions and closures of bars and restaurants, yet beer will be more necessary than ever. How can we continue to support our local craft breweries through all of this?
Read MoreMontreal’s Microbrasserie Vox Populi are a common sight on the Québec craft beer scene. They’ve got a broad and colourful lineup of short cans including their nut brown ale Hazel, a stout series with variations such as Chocolat, Café and Coconut, a Brunch Berliner Weisse and an IPA series called IPA Démocratique where customers would vote online for the feature hop of the next version (not to mention their special bottled and barrel aged treats).
Read MoreThe EBF is a beer festival like no other! Hosted by Beer Advocate, the top beer resource site, and presented by Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, Milton, DE’s heavy hitter for the last 25 years, this beer fest has been around for 17 years and never disappoints.
Read MoreWhat a night!! This past Saturday, hometown heroes Dominion City hosted Rooted In Place, one of the finest beer festivals I’ve ever attended, and certainly the best that Ottawa has seen. For a winter festival it wound up being the coldest day of the week but it still felt cozy inside. It was very well attended but didn’t feel crowded.
Read MoreOur latest collaborative beer was a special one. We essentially took everything in the trend book and threw it into one carefully constructed beer. Echo Session Ales and Broadway Microbrasserie were gracious enough to work with us on this crazy idea, a session NEIPA with funky Kviek yeast, brewed with lactose and edible red glitter dust, dry hopped with Sabro hops, right in time for Valentine's Day.
Read MoreIf you’ve ever perused the craft selection in your grocery store’s beer aisle, chances are you’ve seen a lot of the flagship brands of the province’s widely distributed breweries, and likely not a lot of variation from store to store. If you live anywhere near the west end of Ottawa, however, you might have been to Brown’s Your Independent Grocer in Stittsville and noticed something clearly different.
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