The Bar Towel

GregClow · Joined: 10 Aug 2001 Posts: 3816 Location: Parkdale

New beer event series from one of Toronto's best known locally-minded chefs - could be good!

To celebrate the excellence of our local craft brewers in Southern Ontario, Jamie Kennedy presents the Gilead Beer Bar.

In this series, we’ll invite craft brewers to join us to feature their delicious products. The brewers will also be on hand to animate the experience.

Bar-worthy, beer-inspired menu available. Join us! No reservations required.

Thursday May 16th
6 - 10 pm
featuring Bellwoods Brewery & Spearhead Brewing

http://www.jamiekennedy.ca/

mol_son · Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Posts: 14 Location: Canada

Any idea on cost for this event?

Cass · Joined: 17 Jun 2001 Posts: 2498

No, but here's the menu:

GregClow · Joined: 10 Aug 2001 Posts: 3816 Location: Parkdale

GregClow · Joined: 10 Aug 2001 Posts: 3816 Location: Parkdale

GregClow · Joined: 10 Aug 2001 Posts: 3816 Location: Parkdale

Anyone check this out last night? Despite my snark about the menu, I'm genuinely curious to know how it went.

mol_son · Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Posts: 14 Location: Canada

Well, it was a really nice dinner, but it was not a very good beer event. We got there about 6:30 and there might have been 8 others there already, more Jamie Kennedy fans or locals then beer snobs from what I could tell. It never got any busier than that before we left around 8:20.

Waiter sat us and asked if we wanted a drink and mentioned that they had the two Spearhead beers (Pineapple PA and Moroccan brown) and proceded to describe them both fairly well. After bringing our beers and Steamwhistle glasses, we poured them and immediately noticed bubbles covering everywhere the liquid touched the glass - very disappointing from a restaurant I would assume would take cleanliness very seriously. Looking behind the bar, I could see all of their glasses standing mouth up and collecting dust and dirt.

After the beer, we received the menus for the event and were surprised to see Bellwood's (Farmhouse Saison & Roman Candle IPA) on the menu since he hadn't mentioned it to us. I had assumed that maybe something had gone wrong and they couldn't get the beer.

Anyway tried both of the Bellwood's beers. They were both brought by a waitress who poured some into the standard beer glass they had, with the same bubbly result. I really wish she hadn't as I had some of my current beer both times and I had planned to rinse it with some of the table water and at least have a somewhat clean start.

I did mention that the bubbles were a bad thing and what they indicated. She said the glasses were polished every day (not realy a good thing as I am sure many of you know) and that they should be clean. I also asked her when the next beer menu was planned for, but she had no idea.

Just after 8 PM, the owner and an employee from Spearhead walked in and talked to the staff and head chef. I did see the owner visit one table, but not ours as we weren't drinking Spearhead by that point.

So to sum up, we will probably go to another one if they have it, but we would be going for the food which was great (if not particularly beer inspired) not the beer. Nice idea, but you would think they might bring in a cask of something or a special brew to make it a little more of an event.