boozenews.ca

Do you love Black Oak Beer AND board games? Are you ready for your worlds to collide?
You are welcome to join other beer fans at the brewery in Etobicoke on May 16th from 6:30-9:30 pm. BYOBG (Bring your own Board Game) to the brewery on Wednesday and Black Oak will provide the pizza and beer. $10.00 at the door gets you 4 drink tokens and pizza! If you are the designated driver, then it is $5 for pizza! The event is accessible via the TTC and the brewery is happy to call you a cab at the end of the night. The event is for those 19 years of age or older. Please do not drink and drive.
If you've got some game lovin' or nerdy friends who have yet to discover the joys of Ontario Craft Beer, BYOBG Party would be a great introduction!
Directions and other details are available at the website.
(Event notice provided by Black Oak Brewing.)

Press Release

The third annual ‘Ontario Craft Beer Week’ launches on Father’s Day, running from June 17 – 23, 2012 throughout the province. The annual week-long, beer-themed salute to Ontario’s small, independent brewers celebrates the burgeoning local craft beer scene, exposing consumers to the fun and fresh quality of Ontario’s homespun brews. Hosted by 29 OCB member breweries, hundreds of beer-themed, grassroots events will be held throughout the province in breweries, pubs, restaurants, event venues and service clubs from Cambridge to Van Kleek Hill and Muskoka to Niagara. Event listings go live May 15th at http://www.ocbweek.ca

Ontario Breweries Amsterdam, Cameron’s & King Win at Prestigious International “Olympics of Beer”

(TORONTO) – May 11, 2012 – Three Ontario Craft Brewers grabbed global beer glory in a contest of international brewing excellence, winning awards at the 2012 World Beer Cup held May 5, 2012 at the Town & Country Resort in San Diego, California.

Amsterdam Brewing Co. of Toronto, Cameron’s Brewing Co. of Oakville and King Brewery of Nobleton each won an award at the 2012 World Beer Cup. Judges presented a total of 284 awards during the ninth bi-annual competition which boasted the strongest field of entrants on record, with 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states entering 3,921 beers in 95 beer style categories.

» Read More

A. Paul Mitchell


"Beer before liquor, never sicker; liquor before beer, have no fear." This may be an old wives' tale, and I believe it is because it never held true in my case (by the way, the idea is that the more filling beer at the end of the night slows down your rate of consumption), but it does demonstrate a bit of a conundrum. I love beer but I also love my Canadian rye whisky. Good thing for Big Rock that they have come up with the perfect solution by combining the two.

» Read More

By A. Paul Mitchell

The attractive blonde waitress stares off to the corner of the ceiling as she recalls the line-up of draft at her small barbeque joint. “Canadian, Coors Light, Rickard’s Red and Somersby Cider,” she says. (Clearly it is a Molson house.) “What was the last one again?” I ask. Cider with barbeque pork makes total sense, but why this one in a sea of other, more established brands? Where all the small players have gone?

» Read More

A. Paul Mitchell


My Twitter account(http://twitter.com/#!/apaulmitchell) brought word that my previous entry on Iced Teas might need revisiting. Thank you to the guys at the Calgary Beer Fest for the reminder that Mill Street Brewing was way ahead of the current trend and has been offering an Lemon Ice Tea beer for over two years. No doubt there are many other independent brewers who have either offered something similar, either as a one-off or as a regular line, but the entrance of Coors Light and Michelob demonstrate that the flavour profile will soon hit critical mass soon. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

» Read More

By A. Paul Mitchell


A couple of summers ago, a tsunami of lime-flavoured beers washed over Canada and the United States. Regardless of which guilty party should be blamed for creating this unfortunate segment, the next trend for the summer of 2012 looks to be iced tea-infused beers.

» Read More

The toasty, burnt sugar and malty scents emanate from the glass long before the flavour hits my lips. I have seen the Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout on the shelves of the LCBO for several years now, but have hesitated to pick up a bottle due to its unusually expensive price ($9.30, LCBO 135194).
Yes, this is one expensive bottle of beer, even if it is a double 650 ml size.
Sitting back with the beer as I watch the conclusion to Top Chef, it seemed like a perfect accompaniment to a cooking show where so many contestants have been doomed by dessert challenges. Unfortunately, few will get to enjoy it any longer.

» Read More

While the key to good reporting is always timeliness, sometimes there are other priorities in life that keep us away from doing the things we love. For me, leaving my old job leading the communications department at a national not-for-profit charity to work at a business school was an exciting opportunity, but one that left little time for reporting on other pursuits. It did not, however, prevent me from enjoying many a good microbrew or bottle of wine. The indulgence persisted while the personal writing took a vacation.

So now, with a new decision to pursue my own path as entrepreneur in the marketing and communications arena, I hope to be back with more articles and insights into brand messaging, in addition to reporting on what is new within the drinks trade.

Please forgive past lapses and join me on a new journey of drinks discovery.
Thank you!

A. Paul Mitchell
Metro London Lunch Rush Critic, Every Tuesday
http://metronews.ca/author/apaulmitchell/

Follow me (@apaulmitchell) on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/#!/apaulmitchell

By Paul Mitchell



One of the newer campaigns Molson-Coors is running is for their Rickard's Red beer. The ads feature a patron asking a bartender for something different, apparently he is tired of having the same, uninspired "macro brews" that all taste alike. As the bartender recommends a Rickard's as being "full of flavour", three other patrons at the bar start to explain (with some attempt at humour) how the beer is incredible. As ubiquitous as the ads are, do they really represent the brand?

» Read More