The Day Has Finally Arrived – Falcon Brewery Takes Flight In Ajax!
Loblaws Gets Behind Local Craft Beer!
Food and beer lovers are responding very well to the local craft beer appearing in the first 20 Loblaws stores this year. The Ontario government is stipulating that 20% be local Ontario craft beer, but Loblaws has gone one step further and is pushing 50%! As you can see from the photo, our Falcon beer appears to be checking out nicely. With opportunities to sample with cheese and meats, shoppers are encouraged to “pair up” their dark,amber,blonde and IPA beers with the respective foods that bring out the flavour of both. Because beer is all natural and contains yeast and hops, it actually assists in the digestion process and enhances the flavour of foods that match up well with the the respective flavour notes of the beer.
So as you prepare to celebrate the holidays remember to support your local craft breweries and enjoy the season!
Cask days return for a 12th year!
If you have not been to a cask event before then you are in for a treat. Cask Days kicks off Friday October 21st at the Evergreen Brickworks near Yorkville. In 5 different sessions , you can taste over 400 different types of beer from Ontario,California and Oregon – almost 100 breweries in all. Saturday afternoon is already sold out , but other sessions are still open. For $35 , you gain entry, a collectable 12th annual Cask Days glass and 4 tokens to get started on your sampling. So gather your friends a enjoy a session of truly unique beers from some of North America’s premier craft breweries!
Ontario Craft Brewers Conference 2016 Is Coming In October!
The 2016 Ontario Craft Brewers Conference is coming up in just a few short weeks. This fantastic one day event in its 5th year is put on by the Ontario Craft Brewers Association of Ontario and runs all day with insightful opening sessions presented by craft beer specialists from across North America and then a series of breakout sessions that have a more local flare. The day will cover everything from starting a brewery to how to effectively utilize social mediums to drive business results – especially on a start-up! There will be a suppliers marketplace and of course craft beer and food pairings all day. If you are in the business , or just curious about this amazing industry, register before September 30th and save $25 off your ticket. Get ready for the ultimate networking and education experience in the world of local craft beer!
Oktoberfest Comes To Ontario Place!
That’s right – Ontario place will be turned into a German celebration of beer on on September 30th and October 1st. Toronto Oktoberfest will be a unique experience taking place down by the waterfront in 3 sessions. Friday night will be cask tapping, Saturday afternoon will be an all ages carnival and Saturday night will be the main event – you have to be 19 plus to enter. Saturday is almost 80% sold and if you book tickets now, you will get $5 dollars off each ticket using promo code GT5OFF. Bring in fall with Bavarian food,beer and merriment galore!
RoundHouse Park Craft Beer Festival Is The Place To Be This Weekend!
Join 40 members of the Ontario Craft Brewery Association for the 5th annual Roundhouse craft beer festival running this weekend down at the Steam Whistle event grounds across from the Rogers center. The Falcon Brewing Company will be there with 40 of our craft beer friends to celebrate summer with amazing beers along with a food truck lovers paradise. Come in and grab your tokens and your glass and sample what Ontario craft brewers have to offer. See you down there!
Get Ready For The Beer Event Of The Summer!
That’s right – it’s coming , the big one. Starting on Friday The Toronto Festival Of Beer kicks off another near sellout event. 3 days of beer tasting and food to fit everyone’s taste buds. The hot ticket is Saturday with Big Sugar performing in the evening – up until now it has been sold out but 500 tickets have just been released! Go to 500 Tickets! now and get the tix while you can. Come visit the Falcon booth in the new brewers section and try our award winning Laggar Falcon and take in some Big Sugar!
The day has finally arrived – work begins on the new Falcon Brewery!
Like so many small ontario craft breweries before us , we are looking at a shell of what will turn into a vibrant brewery with tap room – the bird has a nest! Work has been completed on clearing all the existing walls and flooring. Brick wall installed in the back, floors grinded down……..now just waiting for the brewhouse to arrive soon and installation will begin! If all goes well a late fall opening will be in our future. In the meantime the 2 great Falcon beers -Laggar and Red continue to do well and we are excited to be getting into Loblaws starting this fall. Grocery will continue to play a big part of craft beer distribution in the next 4 years as we go from 60 stores to 450 in 2019. In that time market share of craft premium beer is expected to double from its current 5% position. Coming off a great 2015 where we saw premium craft beer up almost 30% and new breweries opening up almost weekly, the prospects for the industry are indeed bright!
Beer Enthusiasts Unite! Prud’homme Beer Certification is where it’s at!
I have just come off a great month of “beer education” with the Prud’homme beer certification program. The courses are taught at various craft beer locations in Toronto such as Steam Whistle or Left Field breweries – in my case it was at Tallboys craft beer bar on Bloor street. The program offers 3 levels of which 95% of folks only go through the first level to get the baseline understanding of the history of beer, beer types and the actual brewing process. Highly interactive and entertaining , each of the 4 nights finishing with a beer tasting to gain an understanding of the beer appreciation process – that being:
- Appearance
- Aroma
- Flavour
- Impact
- Mouth feel
- Finish
Food pairing was also a great topic that gets covered to help you become a master entertainer when you bring the beer home with the food for your guests. Craft beer lovers are becoming more adventurous with their brews wanting to have multiple offerings for creating beer excitement when having guests over or simply sitting with family on a Sunday night. In fact , the LCBO has reported that sales of single can tallboy beer cans are up a whopping 60% vs a year ago – further proof that folks want extreme variety in what they are bringing home.
These classes sell out months in advance , so I suggest if your are interested in this type of learning, better look at sooner than later!
King City Craft Beer and Food Event Not To Be Missed!
The season is upon us where every weekend you can head out and check out an awesome Ontario craft beer tasting event and June 11th is no exception. King City hosts one of the most lively beer events north of the city you can find – last year it was packed with beer and music lovers with the night capped off with an amazing performance from Dear Rouge.The King City Craft Beer And Food Festival for 2016 will feature 12 amazing craft brewers from all over Ontario such as Flying Monkey’s,Side Launch , Beau’s and of course Falcon Brewing Company. It’s a long day , starting at noon and goes until 9:30. Crowds really build starting around 5:00 , so come early if you want to avoid lines! Come on down and say hi to the Falcon gang as we serve up ice cold Red Falcon and Laggar Falcon to pair up with your favourite food truck adventure – see you soon!
The Falcon Brewing Company 