The Bar Towel

Here is the beer list for tonight at beerbistro. Doors @ 5pm, Awards @ 8pm.

• Beau's Spice Principle
  Bellwoods Jutsu
  Bench Azacca Grove
  Cheshire Valley Ariana
  Collective Arts IPA #3
  Common Good Sociable Pilsner
  Cowbell Holiday Spiced Belgian Dark
  Exchange Oud Bruin
  Folly Praxis
  Granite Peculiar
  Grand River Bad Blood Orange Sour
  Great Lakes Canuck
  Halcyon Infinity Mirror
  Halo Blackberry Shapeshifter
  Indie Iconoclast
  Junction Aleyards
  Left Field Laser Show
  Merit California Never Felt Like Home
  Side Launch Mad Overboard
  Shawn & Ed Barrelshed No. 1
  Shillow Bitter Waitress
  Spearhead Hawaiian
  Tooth & Nail Solo Mission
  555 Footprint
  Big Rig Tartan Pants
  Clifford Porter
  Omnipollo/Craft Zodiak
  Farmstead Goodlot
  Forked River Full City Coffee Porter
  Half Hours on Earth Lemon Meringue Pie
  Katalyst Symington
  Muddy York Storm Glass
  Nickel Brook Cucumber & Lime
  Nickel Brook Proud as Funk
  Nickel Brook Uncommon Element
  Sweet Grass Golden Ale
  Stack Hawaiian Uppercut
  Tooth & Nail Twede Anniversary Ale 2017
  4 Degrees Frost & Woods '55

The lemon meringue pie is awesome and will be gone very soon.

For those who skip the front page, here's the list of this year's winners:

Best brewery: Beau’s All Natural
Best bar for draught beer selection: Bar Hop
Best bar for bottled and/or canned beer selection: Birreria Volo
Best brewpub or tied house: Bellwoods Brewery
Best regularly-produced craft beer: Beau’s Lug Tread
Best seasonal, limited release or specialty craft beer: Great Lakes Octopus Wants to Fight!
Best craft cidery: West Avenue
Best Beer Design and Branding: Collective Arts
Most Innovative Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Best Newcomer (Bar): Arabella Park
Best Newcomer (Brewery): Merit Brewing
Best Event: Cask Days
Best Staff: Beau’s All Natural
Best Beer Writer: Ben Johnson
Brewmaster’s Choice: Tooth and Nail Vim and Vigor
Best Beer of the Festival: 555 Brewing Footprint
Editor’s Circle Award: Ontario Beverage Network
Editor’s Circle Award: Half Hours on Earth
Editor’s Circle Award: Craft Beer Passport
Editor’s Circle Award: Funkfest

Taken from here

Way to go Arabella Park! ... kind of interesting that a pilsner won brewmaster's choice ... I obviously need to get to Merit, soon ... never even heard of 555, which is a good thing -- great new stuff keeps popping up in Ontario ... and in conclusion, haters gonna hate.

I was really happy with the spread of winners across the province. Merit is an awesome spot and I've been there are couple of times. I haven't been to Arabella but obviously have to make a trip soon.

I don't think V&V is a surprising win - I think many brewers prefer the classic, drinkable styles to the crazy ones. That's obviously a bit of a generalization, but the votes proved it!

I also had not heard of 555 but one of the two partners attended the GTAs and it was nice to meet her. They have intentions for good beer which is always great to see.

Congratulations to all the winners & everyone who came out to be a part of the night.

Cass wrote:I don't think V&V is a surprising win - I think many brewers prefer the classic, drinkable styles to the crazy ones. That's obviously a bit of a generalization, but the votes proved it!.

Well really great chefs like to go and eat simpler foods like Kraft Dinner because it's a bit of a break from work. There's a symmetrical logic to it.

midlife crisis wrote:Way to go Arabella Park! ... kind of interesting that a pilsner won brewmaster's choice ... I obviously need to get to Merit, soon ... never even heard of 555, which is a good thing -- great new stuff keeps popping up in Ontario ... and in conclusion, haters gonna hate.

A number of brewers in Toronto have been hyping pilseners and helles as what they like to drink for a couple of years now.

Cass wrote:I don't think V&V is a surprising win - I think many brewers prefer the classic, drinkable styles to the crazy ones. That's obviously a bit of a generalization, but the votes proved it!

Yes - me too, to be honest. Marzenbier my go-to for fall. Great work as always with the Taps.