While craft beer fans are still lamenting the takeover of the old Duggan’s space by Molson Coors subsidiary Six Pints Specialty Beer Company, there was one good piece of news for the province’s microbreweries last week. Due to some last-minute intervention by Liberal MPP Grant Crack, licensed liquor delivery services (yes, they exist) will now be able to purchase their beer directly from small brewers, not just from the LCBO or the Beer Store. This was all precipitated by the shutdown of the new delivery service run by Beau’s All-Natural on the day it was supposed to open. What’s more, the incident has sparked a 15-month full-scale review of liquor licensing practices in the province. Some items on the craft brewers’s wish lists no doubt include: an all-craft beer retail store, to escape the Beer Store’s stranglehold and the vagaries of LCBO listings; the ability to share trucks between small breweries to save on shipping costs; and easier access to out-of-province markets. Not earth-shaking stuff, perhaps, but when it comes to liquor control in this province, things proceed only by baby steps. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
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Reaction roundup: What the city’s sports (and business) writers are saying about the MLSE deal
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Sure, the fact that Bell Canada and Rogers have teamed up to purchase Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment is old news now, but the full implications of the deal remain to be seen. For our part, we’re wondering if the Toronto Maple Leafs will be slapped with absurd roaming charges on the road, or whether fans will have to purchase beer by following a series of annoying prompts on their cellphones. Of course, there’s also the tricky matter of whether or not the $1.32-billion purchase will turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing for Toronto sports teams—and, by extension, their fans—when it comes to the business of winning and losing. We round up what the city’s sportswriter corps is saying on the matter, after the jump.
Details emerge on Creemore’s plans for the old Duggan’s building (no, there won’t be a brewpub)
On Tuesday we confirmed a tip that Creemore Springs is moving into the spot on Victoria Street vacated by Duggan’s Brewery last April. Now another tipster has led us to a story in the Creemore Echo with the details. Apparently, the Duggan’s brewing facilities will be kept intact, but won’t be churning out Creemore Springs lager (the formula requires water from Creemore, and it’s a bit of a trek). Instead, it will become an “experimental lab” where test beers for Six Pints Specialty Beer Company—Molson’s craft beer division—will be cooked up and made available to the public.
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The List: Ten things Blue Rodeo frontman and Canadian rock icon Jim Cuddy can’t live without
1| My skates
I play a lot of hockey. It’s amazing that at my age I still get thrilled about skates, but I do. These ones are by Graf, and they’re customized to my feet.
2| My Gretsch
It’s a 1948 acoustic on long-term—maybe permanent—loan from Colin Cripps, who’s in my band. I got it from him 14 years ago and used it to write my first solo record. Since then it’s become my go-to guitar for writing.
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3| My talisman
I bought these Tibetan prayer beads when my wife and I were in China for the 2008 Olympics. We got all wrapped up in the commercialism of the Games, and then we went to this rural place near the Great Wall that was beautiful and calm and run by Tibetans. The beads remind me of that tranquility.
Creemore Springs to open up shop in the empty Duggan’s building?
A casual stroll down Victoria Street this afternoon confirms a rumour we first heard in our comments: Creemore Springs, which is owned by Molson Coors under its Six Pints Specialty Beer Company umbrella, looks to be setting up shop in the building that Duggan’s Brewery vacated last April. Over at The Bar Towel, some members are lamenting the rise of ersatz craft breweries owned by the big guys, but judging from the difficulties Duggan’s faced, that sort of money might be exactly what’s required to make a go of it in the cavernous space. Meanwhile, hopes are riding high among hopheads for the Indie Alehouse set to launch in the Junction soon.
Latest batch of Samuel Adams Utopias beer sells out in under an hour—at $115-per-bottle
Last Friday, starting at 9 a.m., the LCBO made 150 bottles of Samuel Adams Utopias beer available to the public, with another 60 orders held for liquor licensees. Made from a blend of various batches of beer, some aged for up to 18 years, and weighing in at 27 per cent alcohol, the brew has achieved cult status. Indeed, as Crystal Luxmore explained last week in The Grid, 1,675 people entered last year’s lottery to win one of a mere 70 bottles.
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Weekend Reading List: top stories from our sister sites, from designer glam to Italian ham
Every weekend we round up the highlights from the other websites in the St. Joseph Media family. Check them out, after the jump.
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Reaction roundup: city hall reporters journeyed to Etobicoke to take in Ford Fest—then, they tweeted about it
What’s a good ol' BBQ without burgers? (Image: Neil T)
Last Friday, Jonathan Goldsbie tweeted, “When we reach the ‘1500 Royal York’ bus stop, the bus driver announces ‘Stop for Rob Ford.’ Half the passengers on the crowded bus disembark.” And so began an evening of dispatches from Ford Fest, a late summer gathering in the backyard of Doug and Rob Ford’s mother. The event attracted the mayor’s supporters, critics and people who were just there for the beer and food. Undeterred—or perhaps fuelled—by the hamburgers, Toronto’s city hall observers expressed their amazement with the Fords’ vast backyard and the treasures within. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite tweets and broken them down into categories—because here’s another case where the reporting on Twitter outdid the old-timey fare (except for maybe this piece)—after the jump.
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CONFIRMED: Tim Hudak will be attending Ford Fest
(Image: Ontario Chamber of Commerce)
This weekend, all of Toronto (well, most of Etobicoke, at least) will be checking out the cul-de-sac at the Ford family compound to see who arrives to have beer and hot dogs at the second annual Ford Fest. Last year’s party fell during mayor Rob Ford’s election campaign; this year, however, promises more partying for partying’s sake and less rallying around the small-c conservative flagpole. Earlier this week, rumour had it that Ontario Tory leader Tim Hudak wasn’t on the guest list, but Toronto Star reporter David Rider confirmed that Hudak will indeed be attending the festivities. Now that Ford has met with Dalton McGuinty and, this afternoon, NDP leader Andrea Horwath, that leaves just Hudak for Ford to corner by the kiddie pool and shake down ask for some subway money.
Weekly Lunch Pick: a beer and a guinea fowl sausage on King West
A guinea fowl sausage, fries and a Brooklyn lager (Image: Renée Suen)
Wvrst, the new King West version of a Munich-style beer hall, takes a simple concept and provides enormous variety, with 18 different sausages and 31 beers.
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Best of the City 2011: Six of Toronto’s tastiest treats and where to get them
(Image: Christopher Stevenson)
Whoopie pie Wings Ice cream Fries Marshmallows Cask-conditioned ale
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Best of the City 2011: The city’s most interesting dishes, places to eat them and, yes, hot sauce
(Image: Christopher Stevenson)
Baguette Pasta Fad Hot Sauce Lobster reinvented Carnivore cure Roast chicken Devilled eggs Patio for dessert
Our top five picks for this weekend’s Toronto Festival of Beer
(Image: Renée Suen from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)
To those in need of relief from this year’s hot summer, we’ve got good news. Starting tomorrow, over 120 beer and food vendors—Canadian and international, craft and corporate—will take over the CNE’s Bandshell Park for Toronto’s Festival of Beer. The event, now in its 17th year, runs August 4 to 7, though—a word to the wise—Saturday’s tickets are gone, so hopheads wanting in on the action best get moving (admission is $38.50 per day). Below, five ways to make the most out of the four-day beerathon (the full schedule is on the festival website).
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Beer officially declared an alcoholic beverage in Russia
Russian beer: now with alcohol (Image: r3v || cls)
In many instances, Russians are first on the scene. Off the top of our heads, Russia was at the forefront of the space race, radio receivers, Fabergé eggs, chromatography, and fire-fighter competitions.
In this instance, however, Russia has arrived painfully late.
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