Toronto Beer Week Is Upon Us!

Well, officially Toronto Beer Week will be upon us in two days but a number of beer related events have already been occurring across the city for those eager go-getters. Unfortunately there are so many things going on that it is not possible to engage in all of the events or even all of the days.  I’ll do a quick day by day of what I think sounds hot as well as what I’ll be attending.

This weekend: HMH Negotiants has been presenting a Dieu Du Ciel feature at Bar Volo from this past Thursday through this Sunday.  This evening is a big event there from 7pm-2am. After popping up to Granite Brewery this afternoon for a pint of cask and hopefully a Toronto Beer Week t-shirt I will be attending the early media portion of the DDC feature. Sadly I won’t be able to stay for the evening as I have to leave to go see Mastodon, Deftones and Alice in Chains down at the Amphitheatre – a cross I am willing to bear. Tomorrow I am hoping to accomplish a large number of chores around the house in preparation for shirking many responsibilities and having a singular focus of Toronto Beer Week from start to finish.

Monday: It’s hard to say no to $5 pints at Volo on Monday evenings. This beer week edition of pint night will feature $4 pints of the top ten rated Ontario beers. I’m not sure of whose rating this is but I am certain the selection will be top-notch. If that wasn’t enough they are kicking off the finals of the 2010 IPA Cask Challenge. The contenders are Great Lakes My Bitter Wife vs. Flying Monkeys Smashbomb IPA. May the best cask win!

Tuesday: Unfortunately scheduling does not permit me to attend any events on Tuesday. If I COULD go to an event it would certainly be the Brew Dog Dinner @ Beerbistro. A six course dinner is being prepared by Brian and crew of beerbistro and paired with beers from one of the most avant-garde breweries in the world. $90 a head is not a cheap price tag but this is one of those rare opportunities not to be ignored. My prediction is this is one of the events that will still have the biggest buzz once beer week is over.

Wednesday: Sadly another day I will have to miss. Stephen Beaumont will be hosting a session called ‘Malt Magic’ at The Monk’s Table. This event is described as “Premium beer and spirit pairings with decadent chocolates and gourmet cheeses.” This one will appeal to beer and food lovers alike! I will be doing my own beer tasting at home which I’ll post when complete.

Thursday: I’m heading back down to Volo on Thursday for the Black Oak feature. “ALL” Black Oak beers will be available, which includes year round favourites as well as seasonals. In addition to this they will be bringing in 2 casks. The Black Oak crew will be on hand to mingle.

Friday: Kicking off this day is the 22nd annual Festival of Craft Breweries at the C’est What. This event, along with it’s spring counterpart have grown in popularity over the years that for this incarnation they have decided to spread the festival over two days, and now includes the Saturday. A different lineup is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Admission is free and most samples go for a buck.

Saturday: This will be a busy day! I’m planning to make the below day’s events into my own mini cask trail/crawl. Great Lakes Brewery has modified their September Project X and turned it into the Great Lakes Harvest Festival (review). They will be offering bratwurst and pumpkin and peach pie as well as two special casks: Sweet Pete’s Peach Wheat and their Pumpkin Ale. This runs from noon through 4 at the brewery. Next up is the CASK! September social at Bryden’s (review).Four casks will be available: (Beau’s Matt’s Gose, Granite Best Bitter Special, Great Lakes Miami Dunkelweiss, Muskoka Dark Chocolate Ale) as well as some nibbles and prizes (runs 3 through 6). Wrapping up the mini crawl I’ll be heading back to the C’est What for the Saturday session of the Festival of Craft Breweries.

Sunday: Deciding it sounded like a fun idea I signed up for Toronto Beer Quest. “An urban adventure featuring Toronto Beer History.” Registration is online for teams of 2 and it’s a photo scavenger hunt. I am not entirely sure what I’m in for but it sounds like a fun idea. $40 per team is the registration cost and I believe it winds up at a pub at the end for some (hopefully) celebratory beers!

I’m hoping this week will be as great as it sounds. A few days off will need to be taken the following week I’m sure, but I’ll be right back at it on the Thursday for the Canadian German Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s German Bierfest. More on that later.

Happy beer week all! Cheers!

A Little Place Called The Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery

Saturday morning we packed the car and headed to Bracebridge, Ontario. Unfortunately we were not heading to the Muskoka Beer Festival. A good buddy of mine was getting married and the service started at 4pm and I felt it prudent to NOT show up in an I-was-just-at-a-beer-festival state. Now that the beer festival was off the table what were our other options? Two instantly popped to mind. The first was, of course, the Muskoka Brewery (or technically the Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery). Google Maps suggested this was only a 4 minute walk away from the B&B we were staying in. Very doable. The second was the Griffin Gastropub – the renowned establishment, which happened to be the ones at the helm of the beer festival. Google Maps says 1 minute walk. This should be easy!

The B&B we were staying at was the Spiritbear B&B. Located on a side street just off of the main street of Bracebridge, I chatted with the landlady explaining the purpose of our visit as well as our ancillary objectives. She noted that she and her husband are regular patrons of the Griffin, citing good food, a patio, live music and though “not a beer” drinker she has found a few beers to enjoy. It was mentioned she has spoken with the proprietors of the Griffin and they are trying to come up with a B&B with dinner package. If this comes to fruition it will be an amazing weekend away.

We met up with a few friends, donned our wedding best and headed down the road insearch of the Griffin’s patio. We found the place easily and were quickly drawn to the chalkboard outside” “Closed today for the Muskoka Beer Festival.” Sonofa. “Not a problem, guys, we’ll just go to the brewery!” Three minutes down the road we found the Muskoka Brewery. Though in the middle of town, this little shop definitely had that rustic, cottage vibe. Wood everything everywhere. And beer. Muskoka had made it known the 2010 batch of the Harvest Ale would be available at the beer festival and fortunately it was available at the brewery too! Tasting very fresh out the tap I was disappointed to learn it was not yet for sale. (Patience and beer geek-dom do not always see eye to eye.) We also sampled the Light Pilsner, Hefeweissbier and Cream Ale. The store clerk noted that everyone else from the brewery had gone to the festival for the day and she was left back all by her lonesome. Due to this we weren’t able to take a look at the brewing side of things despite an offer from one of us to mind the retail store for her. Maybe it was the wink or the sly smile that put her on to our true intentions.

What a pleasant experience this trip to the brewery was. Great beer and a company that cares about what their customers think. Hops growing outside in a window box, biodegradable sample cups and the promise of a double chocolate cranberry stout around Christmas time – these guys seem to have it all figured out. It’s no secret that I am a Muskoka Brewery fan and it’s no wonder Muskoka is gaining massive popularity in Ontario! I can’t wait for the Harvest Ale to hit full swing!

One final note: the wedding went very well and the bridge and groom and guests danced well into the night. The venue of the wedding was Inn at the Falls. An in-town resort with a number of amenities. I have to note I was amazed by the draught selection in the bar: 4 Muskoka beers, Lake of Bays Pale Ale, Mill Street (Wit?) and Guinness. It is awesome to see the local business supporting Ontario craft beer, and in particular the two breweries closest to it!