The Bar Towel

Okay, we didn't actually re-brand, so forgive me the silly joke. But I'm super stoked to announce that Castro's Lounge (2116e Queen St East, in the Beach) is now in the cask beer game. We are still ironing out some kinks, but as of this past Tuesday night, we have cask ale flowing through our four A...

I'll second Bellwoods being Torontonians. Luke was a brewer at Amsterdam before he started Bellwoods.

I have a brinkman-style bullet that runs over a propane burner at home, and an unknown brand of off-set at Castro's. To be honest, for BBQ events at the bar, I start the meat at the bar on the offset, smoke it for a few hours to get the patrons ridiculously hungry, then pop the cut in a hotel pan an...

Lackey made a cask of "Polish Sandwich Lager" for a PX last winter. He tried hard to prevent me from drinking it but failed. After the inital shock of the garlic and pepper, it occured to me that if it was sour, it would have tasted a bit like pickle brine. It then occured to me that liken...

Nice work on choosing stuff for the registry IPAslav! I don't BBQ a whole lot (I only eat seafood), though I have done a few different cuts for events at Castro's and The Only Cafe. I mainly use my smoker at home for fish (trout and salmon, hot smoked over maple, alder, or old whiskey barrels), whic...

Still no beer-in-hand for the Jazzfest. There had been rumours we would be able to, but that wasn't the case. Word on the street is, Taste of the Danforth will have it, though. Definitely no glass allowed, and you might not even be able to have cans; I'm not sure. I thought it all had to be served i...

Hey guys, I know I'm sort of ressurecting an old(ish) thread, but I've been crazy with both day-job and bar stuff, so I'm just getting caught up now. This might sound like a total cop-out, but we don't buy Westy from the monks, we buy it from an agent, who (I guess) buy it from the monks. I'm fairly...

Hey everybody, thought I'd post here, in case the buzz isn't as buzzy as we assume it is. First off, it is with great pride that I inform you all, Castro's Lounge has been sold. Anthony, our long-time manager has partnered with one of our regulars, and purchased the bar. To be totally honest, there ...

I had one at a local, one part curious, one part lack of options. I generally try a beer if there is a good beer-geek hate on for it. I wish I'd gotten a G&T. It's slightly better then most of the North American big brands. But oh so corny. Like Nebraska in a glass.....

Troy just tweeted it and Great Lakes just confirmed it, so I assume it's okay to talk publicly about it: Adrian Popowycz is leaving Black Oak to become Brewmaster and Plant Manager at Great Lakes. Needless to say, Adrian and Mike working together is going to be incredible. Like, scary incredible. Co...

So the plan for beers is as follows (not set in stone, but certianly what we're, well, planning): Boneshaker IPA Boneshaker IPA Double Dry-Hopped Tempest Imperial Stout Oak-Aged CJM Brown Royale Pink Ribbon Mild Finding empty pins (20 litre casks) is proving tricky, so we're not sure what will be on...

This Saturday, May 28th, we're having a party with Amsterdam at Castro's lounge. A drop-in style social starting at 4pm, we'll have 4 beers featured from Amsterdam, including a cask of a one-off collaboration brew "Pink Ribbon Mild" (made by Iain Mcoustra and myself), something oak-aged (l...

Aside from the Trafalgar, the only less-than-exciting things here are the Springbock, which will be nice as ever I'm sure, and the Orange Peel, which just isn't my thing. Everything else looks awesome! Tree and Nobel and Skalfti and Carolous and Panil in one release? I might need a line of credit.....

Okay, this isn't a review. It's a shamless plug. We're really excited at Castro's Lounge (2116 Queen St East. Waaaaay out east on the Neville Park streetcar) to announce a few cool things: First off, we have a brand shinny new food menu, with some of the usual pub suspects (wings, etc) and a focus o...

This Saturday at Castro's Lounge, 3PM, we are drinking hoppy things of various shapes and sizes. From Devil's Pale Ale up to 10 Bitter Years and a good range in between. $30 for 8 samples. PM me to book a table, or call the bar at (416)699-8272.