Details are scarce but I can tell you a few things. Emma Brown and Scott Rondeau (co-founder of the Toronto Festival of Beer) of Power Juncture, a Toronto-based events company are behind this one and with 2010 being its second year, hopefully they have some of the kinks worked out.

There’s going to be loads of food and booze. With around 40-50 vendors serving up all manner of alcoholic beverages and food to pair ‘em worth, you’re going to need to make a pit-stop at Cherry Beach just to give yourself time to digest! Notable attendees include Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company, Innis & Gunn, Kado Enterprise (sake), Victoria Gin, and Mill Street (naturally).

It’s low-key. With less people and a bit of a more mature atmosphere expect less drunken debauchery and line-ups.

The whole thing’s outdoors. It looks like the shitty weather we’ve been experiencing is on its way out and I can’t imagine a better way of spending a Saturday afternoon. Overall, I think the Distillery District is a decent place to hang out.

It’s a pretty good deal. $22 gets you in and with your admission comes 5 vouchers good for whatever food and drink you might want. Additional vouchers cost a buck.

The festival is running Thursday and Friday, from 6 to 11pm. Saturday, its open from 12 to 5pm and it’s back to the regular evening schedule for Sunday.

If you’re going to buy tickets at the event, they’ll run you $30 so buy them online or you can pick  up two for $22 through Groupon but act fast ‘cos that deal’s done in eight hours.

To get there, take the Parliament St. bus south until you reach Mill St.

I’ll be out there on Saturday so if you see me, say hi!

While I may not dislike it as much as some folks, I was still quite pleased to receive an email from Curt Dunlop and Jed Corbeil, the duo behind the Griffin Gastropub and the Muskoka Beer Festival, informing me of their plans to hold a craft beer festival in Toronto.

The idea is incredibly exciting… local beers and food should attract a crowd of like-minded enthusiasts and the opportunity to sample some new brews (Tree Brewing from Kelowna, BC is sending their Hophead IPA!) is not to be missed. With 21 breweries attending at last count and each of them bringing 1 to 5 types of beer, it’s going to be a very busy day!

Corbeil and I made arrangements to meet at C’est What? which was appropriate considering the pub is basically a temple to local craft beer. It was quickly apparent that he’s the kind of guy who loves what he does. His passion for beer is definitely there and he knows his stuff but he’s no snob either. Noticing he was well into his pint of Black Oak’s 10 Bitter Years (my favorite of the moment) I ordered myself one as well and we got settled in to talk about Session, the Griffin Gastropub and Ontario Craft Brewers.

Corbeil was raised in Bracebridge (he calls it Molson territory) but eventually moved to Toronto where he studied music at the University of Toronto.  He later ended up in Japan where he found he really enjoyed their custom of going out with coworkers three or four nights a week to a succession of bars and restaurants. As he explains, “Everyone goes out because you can’t entertain at home; there’s no room.”

Things started to gel after a trip to Germany where his brother (now a brewer with Mill Street) introduced him to some excellent beers and a stint in Honduras where he learned how to run a small business. After coming back to Bracebridge with his wife to raise a family, Corbeil ended up buying a local pub with Curt Dunlop which became the Griffin Gastropub.

After switching from the macro-brews to Ontario craft beer they lost a chunk of their regulars but found they more than made up for it with new guests and some old-timers who came to appreciate the new brews. While deciding which beers to carry took a lot of thought, it was also a lot of fun.

“We consulted with my brother, Sam Corbeil, about some of the staples he liked in the Ontario craft market. We did a huge beer-shop at the LCBO at Queen’s Quay and spent the next couple of months drinking. It came down a lot to how readily available the beer was to the north as well as which breweries were ready to jump on-board with converting the locals. We had great help from some of the breweries, which are very much showcased at the bar, but we try our best to be as drinker-friendly as possible with our choice of styles. We like to have a wide variety of product but limit our styles to only a few brands… 2 or 3 blondes for example.”

With 10 taps and over 30 bottles, they were able to keep the beer nerds satisfied while offering comparable (and superior) brands to those might never have thought to have tried them before. Their selection even resulted in change at the local LCBO with the number of OCB products being offered jumped from 3 to 20.

Summing up his feelings about the advantage of craft beer, Corbeil says it’s all about “now versus whenever.” The idea of seasonal offerings ties into the growing emphasis on living both locally and seasonally and I don’t think that’s a bad thing for consumers to grow accustomed to.

Not content to simply run a pub, Corbeil and his partner began hosting beer dinners the last Sunday of every month featuring a different brewery or region every month. March was all about Quebec, April was the east coast and May went west. For all of June, they’re featuring Beau’s (one of my favorite breweries, you can find their Lugtread Lagered Ale [169334, 4x600 mL, $15.60] at most LCBOs ).

With the support they’d garnished so far, it only made sense to start a beer festival. Now in it’s second year, the Muskoka Beer Festival has proven to be a hit and they have approached the OCB about doing it seasonally around the province. ”Our goal is to have a festival for each season in a different city,” proclaims Corbeil.

With this kind of expansion come new challenges but he is up for it. “Greg Causeway [of the Toronto Festival of Beer] has been a great help with offering suggestions on what to do and what to avoid.” When asked to compare the two festivals, Corbeil had this to say:

“The TFOB to Session is like Microsoft to Apple. Microsoft is a very large company, very easily-accessible and user-friendly.  It has made a huge mark in its field and will continue to do so for years to come.

Apple is directed more to a specific target audience, with a more artistic approach in mind. Although it is also has the ability to be user-friendly, it also requires a great amount of time and dedication to master and truly enjoy what it has to offer.

I feel that Session will target those ready  to experience the creative significance of real craft beer. It will be a day for people to celebrate those craft brewers and the time and dedication they have put forth to get the attention of those who are willing to embrace it.”

Food is definitely going to play a big part. Duggan’s Brewery, the Leslieville Cheese Market and Rodney’s Oyster House amongst others will be serving up tapas-style plates that will undoubtedly pair with many of the brews served alongside. Corbeil promises there won’t be any “doubling-up” with types of food and that will come from the GTA.

When asked whether there are any new beers attendees should be particularly excited about he says people should look out for Muskoka’s cask-conditioned IPA, Tree’s Hophead and Great Lakes Miami Vice. When it comes to OCB beers in general, he really enjoys Black Oak’s 10 Bitter Years, Mill Street’s seasonals and Garrison’s Imperial IPA and Hop Yard Ale. “I think people are going to be blown away by some of Muskoka’s upcoming seasonals.”

With a winning combination of OCB beer and local food, it’s safe to say that Session will definitely please enthusiasts and maybe even convert some with more mainstream tastes. Corbeil, Dunlop, the OCB and the others who are helping put this together have definitely raised the bar and if they pull this off, I can only hope that others will follow their lead.

—

The festival is being held on June 26th, from 12 to 8pm. Admission will cost ya $35 and it’s being held at Sunnyside Pavilion which is located at 1755 Lakeshore Boulevard West, Toronto.

Most of our get-togethers revolve around food and drink but I can’t remember one where we got so into it. I arrived to find a fridge full of beer; pretty much anything you could think of. There was Duchy Organic Ale, Westephaner HefeWieiss, Rogue Yellow Snow, Lowenbrau, Warsteiner, La Fin du Monde, Beau’s Lug Tread (which is now available at the LCBO!) and Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2009. The latter two were particularly good with Beau’s being a dry, crisp lager and the Vintage Ale surprising me with it’s almost-sweet alcohol taste reminiscent of cognac.

We made our way through most of that on the first day and went out to resupply on day two. I picked up a bottle of Century Reserve 15 Year Old Rye (discontinued and unavailable in Toronto) and a six-pack of assorted tallboys. Thus suitably supplied, we settled down for some serious drinking, punctuated by some terrific meals and snacks.

One of my favorite things were the ham-and-cheese sliders! Taking these 3/4-baked buns from Metro, we put em in the oven with a basting of butter and after they browned, we filled them with whatever we had on hand which, in this case, was ham, roast beef, cheese, mustards, chutneys and mango hot sauce (although not all of those at once).

I tried a number of combos but my favorites were the ham/gruyere/mango hot sauce and the ham/brie/sweet tomato chutney. (There was nothing wrong with the ham/applewood cheddar/mustard combo but it definitely ranked third.) When I open my own place, I’m definitely going to have to feature these on the menu. Dead-easy to make and delicious; the perfect bar snack!

Over a couple of dinners (including the obligatory-but-completely-necessary turkey) we tried a number of interesting wines selected by my mum as well. I finally got to try Le Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir and I found it to be smooth with a bit of the sour cherry/currant flavor; it had excellent length. There was also a white from Sancerre but I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me… it was quite nice though.

We had a fairly challenging whisky-tasting. The contenders were Balvenie Signature 12 Year Old, Dun Bheagan 8 Year Old, Century Reserve 15 Year Old and Tyrconnel Single Malt. The first two being Scottish with the latter being Canadian and Irish, respectively, we had no idea what to expect or even if it was fair to compare these four whiskies.

Needless to say, we got right to it. We started with the Canadian whisky which was much sweeter than I remembered it, even on the nose. We nibbled on some Christmas cake which was a pretty decent accompaniment. If someone was afraid of whisky, I’d definitely give ‘em a sip of this. As it is, it didn’t have enough “oomph” for me.

Next up was the Tyrconnell which was quite a bit rougher but only in comparison to the Century Reserve. Relatively smooth and creamy for a single malt, it was perfectly decent but didn’t stand out. There was no complexity, one gets a lot of malt and it finishes rather quickly. I prefer Tea Bheag myself.

Next up was the Balvenie and it was clear to see that we had stepped into the company of masters here. Heady and complex, there was something new to appreciate in each and every sip with spice, sherry and honey. While there was a bit of smoke, it was held firmly in check and the finish was clean and strong. Honestly, I didn’t want to go on but we had one more…

And what a monster! Dun Bheagan’s Limited Edition was full of peat and smoke and fire. While rather smooth, at least when you like this sort of thing,  it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. It left me feeling warm and fuzzy for a couple of hours or maybe that was just the cumulative affect of all of that whisky.

To top it off, I got a bottle of Mount Gay’s Extra Old Rum and Canadou’s cane syrup which leaves me relatively well-stocked for January. I’m not really feeling like making mojitos so I think I’m going to have to whip up a fresh batch of orgeat and go for a Mai Tai!

I leave you with two recipes I came up with Christmas Day while working. A quartet of ladies came in at the last minute and while they didn’t want to eat, they did want to drink and were kind enough to leave the choice up to me.

NO. 4

1 oz Bacardi White rum
1/4 oz Malibu rum
1/4 oz Galliano
1/4 oz Midori Melon
1/4 oz Peach schnapps
3 oz pineapple juice
splash of Bol’s Blue Curacao
splash Angostura Bitters

Shake the first five ingredients. Take a hurricane glass filled with ice and pour the curacao until it collects at the bottom. Add a couple splashes of the bitters and then top up the glass with the contents of the shaker. Garnish with an cherry wrapped in an orange slice for that ultra-cheesy look.

NO. 5

1 oz Wiser’s Reserve
1 oz Frangelico
1 egg white
3 oz of 18% cream
nutmeg

Shake the first four ingredients and pour them into a rocks glass. Add a dash of nutmeg on top.

The first one is incredibly cheesy and uses liqueurs that I would generally stay away from when making anything at home but I don’t have much choice when it comes to making something at work. The second one is much like eggnog but lighter and not quite as sugary. Both are nothing new but a lot of fun to make.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays!