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We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
Session 99: A Craft Beer Festival - Sat Jun 25
So who made it out? I saw a few people. Hoping to see some of the photos people took since I didn't take many. I didn't attend last year but had a good day today.
Pros:
- Venue I thought was pretty good and set up well. There were some weird "you can't walk here with a beer" moments, I assume due to licensing issues but that wasn't a big deal.
- New stuff. Got to try some interesting one-offs and some new releases. The Spirit Tree pub cider was a pleasant surprise, as was the Mill St. Weiss. Flying Monkeys had some interesting stuff
- Old favorites. The GL Karma Citra was in fine form as were others. Yumm! Black Oak had some nice bottle cap pins to take home!
- Garrett Oliver cooking demo. I hadn't really planned to attend but was glad I did. He is a great speaker and the recipe was quite tasty.
Cons:
- Grandpa Jer says turn down the G-D music! It was pretty loud inside the building.
- Seating. Could have used some more of the patio seats (which were a great idea, I thought) but that is typical of many fests.
- Cost. $40 to walk in the door is a lot. At $1 a ticket the beer samples where relatively cheap though, so the more you drank the better a deal it was. That is comparable to the Toronto Festival of Beer, but I know a lot of my non-beergeek friends have stopped going to that festival due to the cost.
Having organized a wedding and corporate events in Toronto I realize that venues are expensive, but still... I guess given the caliber of "free" events this week at OCB Week it makes the price seem that much higher.
Ultimately, I had fun and I am glad I went. Will I go next year for the same price? Ask me next year
Pros:
- Venue I thought was pretty good and set up well. There were some weird "you can't walk here with a beer" moments, I assume due to licensing issues but that wasn't a big deal.
- New stuff. Got to try some interesting one-offs and some new releases. The Spirit Tree pub cider was a pleasant surprise, as was the Mill St. Weiss. Flying Monkeys had some interesting stuff
- Old favorites. The GL Karma Citra was in fine form as were others. Yumm! Black Oak had some nice bottle cap pins to take home!
- Garrett Oliver cooking demo. I hadn't really planned to attend but was glad I did. He is a great speaker and the recipe was quite tasty.
Cons:
- Grandpa Jer says turn down the G-D music! It was pretty loud inside the building.
- Seating. Could have used some more of the patio seats (which were a great idea, I thought) but that is typical of many fests.
- Cost. $40 to walk in the door is a lot. At $1 a ticket the beer samples where relatively cheap though, so the more you drank the better a deal it was. That is comparable to the Toronto Festival of Beer, but I know a lot of my non-beergeek friends have stopped going to that festival due to the cost.
Having organized a wedding and corporate events in Toronto I realize that venues are expensive, but still... I guess given the caliber of "free" events this week at OCB Week it makes the price seem that much higher.
Ultimately, I had fun and I am glad I went. Will I go next year for the same price? Ask me next year
- SteelbackGuy
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 4613
- Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:11 pm
- Location: Hamilton, ON
- Contact:
Great Lakes Karma Citra probably. I love that stuff, and it was closer to the orginal than the last batch (imho).SteelbackGuy wrote: Jer.............beer of the day for you if I may?
The Spirit Tree Pub Cider was also really nice. Not amazing, but it tickled me the right way at the right time.
Lots of other good ones but those two stick out in my memory.
-
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2584
- Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2010 3:40 pm
- Location: Mississauga
- Contact:
An awesome afternoon & well worth the entrance fee (imo). Really enjoyed last year too, although 99 has less character, I’d have to guess this venue was much easier to organize...
Met some great craft beer enthusiasts (thanks to Cratez & Jimmay) and had a chance to chat with some of the brewers themselves. Beer pairing lectures by Garrett Oliver and Mirella were an unexpected bonus, but a microphone would have helped.
For me highlights included the Sassy Lamb cupcakes (peanut butter & bacon!) and the following limited releases:
GL Karma Citra & Robo Hop
Wellington 777 Blackened IPA
Flying Monkeys Serendipity & Black Saison & chocolate porter
Kensington Augusta Ale through a Randall full of Columbus
Not to my taste, but other casks of note were Muskoka’s Red Hop Chili Peppers, Nickel Brook’s Headstock IPA and Beau’s bourbon barrel-aged Alt.
More widely available favourites of mine included:
Spearhead IPA
Muskoka Mad Tom
GL Crazy Canuck & Miami Weiss (can release promised “soon”)
Flying Monkeys Smashbomb
One-off disappointments included the Mill St. Tankenstein (whole hopped Cascade Tankhouse – which sounded like it had so much promise...) Very sorry that Grand River and Railway City couldn't make it.
Many thanks to Jed & Curt & the Griffin for organizing such a good display of some OCB highlights!
Met some great craft beer enthusiasts (thanks to Cratez & Jimmay) and had a chance to chat with some of the brewers themselves. Beer pairing lectures by Garrett Oliver and Mirella were an unexpected bonus, but a microphone would have helped.
For me highlights included the Sassy Lamb cupcakes (peanut butter & bacon!) and the following limited releases:
GL Karma Citra & Robo Hop
Wellington 777 Blackened IPA
Flying Monkeys Serendipity & Black Saison & chocolate porter
Kensington Augusta Ale through a Randall full of Columbus
Not to my taste, but other casks of note were Muskoka’s Red Hop Chili Peppers, Nickel Brook’s Headstock IPA and Beau’s bourbon barrel-aged Alt.
More widely available favourites of mine included:
Spearhead IPA
Muskoka Mad Tom
GL Crazy Canuck & Miami Weiss (can release promised “soon”)
Flying Monkeys Smashbomb
One-off disappointments included the Mill St. Tankenstein (whole hopped Cascade Tankhouse – which sounded like it had so much promise...) Very sorry that Grand River and Railway City couldn't make it.
Many thanks to Jed & Curt & the Griffin for organizing such a good display of some OCB highlights!
- SteelbackGuy
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 4613
- Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:11 pm
- Location: Hamilton, ON
- Contact:
jaymack wrote: when your able to talk to all the brewers in one location at the same time, that's worth the price of admission alone
Or as I understand it, a bunch of reps that don't work for a particular brewery at all.
If you`re reading this, there`s a 15% chance you`ve got a significant drinking problem. Get it fixed, get recovered!
- cratez
- Beer Superstar
- Posts: 2284
- Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:29 pm
- Location: Brantford, Ontario
- Contact:
Well, I had a blast at this event! About 15 of us bussed up from London to partake in the festivities, and IMO it was well worth the price of admission.
For me the social aspect was just as exciting as the beers on offer, since I got to meet Cass, Troy, Nicholas Pashley, Russ (grub), Tomas and Dmitri of Spearhead, Paul Dickey, Garret Oliver, Mary Beth of Granite, Michael Duggan, and Drew (jimmay) for the first time, and ran into Terry (NRMan), Emma (Bearing), Stephen Rich, Tomas of Volo, and Jerry of Beau's once again. Shared many laughs with the crazy London contingent (Baird, Milos, Adil, Farmer, Steve, Aaron) and enjoyed some great beers along the way.
Speaking of beer, this is what I sampled at the festival:
Flying Monkeys Serendipity DIPA (cask)
Flying Monkeys Big Nibs Chocolate Porter (cask)
Garrison Irish Red Ale (bottle)
Garrison Black Berry Wheat Ale (bottle)
Brasserie Dunham IPA Belge (bottle)
Brasserie Dunham Pale Ale Americaine (bottle)
House Ales & Great Lakes California Love Remix (bottle)
Trou du Diable Buteuse Brassin Spécial Brandy Oak (sample - thanks Milos!)
Cheshire Valley Summer Ale (draught)
Granite Brewery The Dark Side (cask - thanks Mary Beth!)
King Vienna Lager (draught)
Hop City Happy Hour Ale (draught)
Great Lakes Karma Citra IPA (draught)
Great Lakes Robo Hop (draught)
Beau's Festivale Plus Sticke Alt Bourbon Barrel Aged (cask)
Nickel Brook Headstock India Pale Ale (draught)
Wellington / F&M Blackened IPA (cask)
Mill Street Tankenstein - Whole Hop Cascade (cask)
Michael Duggan's #5 Sorachi Lager (bottle)
I was glad that most of the Ontario brewers brought interesting one-offs - though proper labels for the casks would have been appreciated - and the new arrivals from keep6imports and Garrison/Bar Towel were a welcomed surprise as well. The burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, oysters, summer sausage paninis and pizza slices were very tasty (and necessary). Plus I was hyped to finally visit The Rhino, where the fresh keg of 10 Bitter Years was drinking way too easy.
However, I was disappointed that Rogue and Brooklyn were listed as vendors but only had their standard LCBO brands (Dead Guy and BK Lager) available. Also, it would have been nice to meet brewery reps from Central City, Trois Mousquetaires, and Charlevoix, considering they were some of the stand-out "featured breweries." In the broad scheme of things, though, these were minor detractions from an otherwise excellent event.
I'd like to give a big thanks to Jed Corbeil for organizing Session, and to Nate and Mike of Brew Sherpa for arranging the bus and getting us there and home safely! I'm looking forward to attending next year's festival. Cheers!
For me the social aspect was just as exciting as the beers on offer, since I got to meet Cass, Troy, Nicholas Pashley, Russ (grub), Tomas and Dmitri of Spearhead, Paul Dickey, Garret Oliver, Mary Beth of Granite, Michael Duggan, and Drew (jimmay) for the first time, and ran into Terry (NRMan), Emma (Bearing), Stephen Rich, Tomas of Volo, and Jerry of Beau's once again. Shared many laughs with the crazy London contingent (Baird, Milos, Adil, Farmer, Steve, Aaron) and enjoyed some great beers along the way.
Speaking of beer, this is what I sampled at the festival:
Flying Monkeys Serendipity DIPA (cask)
Flying Monkeys Big Nibs Chocolate Porter (cask)
Garrison Irish Red Ale (bottle)
Garrison Black Berry Wheat Ale (bottle)
Brasserie Dunham IPA Belge (bottle)
Brasserie Dunham Pale Ale Americaine (bottle)
House Ales & Great Lakes California Love Remix (bottle)
Trou du Diable Buteuse Brassin Spécial Brandy Oak (sample - thanks Milos!)
Cheshire Valley Summer Ale (draught)
Granite Brewery The Dark Side (cask - thanks Mary Beth!)
King Vienna Lager (draught)
Hop City Happy Hour Ale (draught)
Great Lakes Karma Citra IPA (draught)
Great Lakes Robo Hop (draught)
Beau's Festivale Plus Sticke Alt Bourbon Barrel Aged (cask)
Nickel Brook Headstock India Pale Ale (draught)
Wellington / F&M Blackened IPA (cask)
Mill Street Tankenstein - Whole Hop Cascade (cask)
Michael Duggan's #5 Sorachi Lager (bottle)
I was glad that most of the Ontario brewers brought interesting one-offs - though proper labels for the casks would have been appreciated - and the new arrivals from keep6imports and Garrison/Bar Towel were a welcomed surprise as well. The burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, oysters, summer sausage paninis and pizza slices were very tasty (and necessary). Plus I was hyped to finally visit The Rhino, where the fresh keg of 10 Bitter Years was drinking way too easy.
However, I was disappointed that Rogue and Brooklyn were listed as vendors but only had their standard LCBO brands (Dead Guy and BK Lager) available. Also, it would have been nice to meet brewery reps from Central City, Trois Mousquetaires, and Charlevoix, considering they were some of the stand-out "featured breweries." In the broad scheme of things, though, these were minor detractions from an otherwise excellent event.
I'd like to give a big thanks to Jed Corbeil for organizing Session, and to Nate and Mike of Brew Sherpa for arranging the bus and getting us there and home safely! I'm looking forward to attending next year's festival. Cheers!
This was my first time at this 'fest and I thought it was excellent. Lots of great beers to sample and lots of tasty snacks. I definitely felt as though I got my money's worth. A small critique for organization next year would be to make it a little more clear what the all access pass entitles you too and what will be available in terms of beer at the concert. Having never been, I was hoping that the 'fest would continue the same way with maybe fewer vendors, which wasn't the case. I'm not upset about it, but having known ahead of time what was to be expected would have been nice, as I found many other braceleted people who were as confused about it as me, asking me about the after concert. Other than that it was an amazing day.
Although does anyone know who ended up winning the best of the fest and best one-off?
Although does anyone know who ended up winning the best of the fest and best one-off?
I don't always drink beer ... because sometimes my friends win and we have to go to macro-only establishments.
- Griffin Gastropub
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 6:02 pm
- Location: Bracebridge, ON, CA
- Contact:
Favourite Fest Brewery: Spearhead Brewery
***Trip to Seaport Festival in Halifax, listing in NS liquor stores, listing at Beer Boutique
Best Cask or One-Off: Muskoka Cottage Brewery - Red Hop Chilli Pepper
***Trip to Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria.
Thanks to everyone who came out, and to all of our vendors, volunteers and sponsors. Another great craft beer day!
***Trip to Seaport Festival in Halifax, listing in NS liquor stores, listing at Beer Boutique
Best Cask or One-Off: Muskoka Cottage Brewery - Red Hop Chilli Pepper
***Trip to Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria.
Thanks to everyone who came out, and to all of our vendors, volunteers and sponsors. Another great craft beer day!
The Griffin GastroPub
705-646-0438 (pub)
705-646-0706 (office)
866-532-9366 (fax)
Twitter : @GriffinGastro
705-646-0438 (pub)
705-646-0706 (office)
866-532-9366 (fax)
Twitter : @GriffinGastro