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!

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!

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:

1. Appearance
2. Aroma
3. Flavour
4. Impact
5. Mouth feel
6. 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!

We have a winner!

As earlier reported , the 2016 Ontario Brewery Awards took place on April 29th at Toronto’s Great Hall and am pleased to announce that Laggar Falcon took home the Bronze in an extremely competitive category with Steam Whistle taking the Silver – 20 years of doing one thing very well!

112 breweries from across the province took part submitting 600 beers for 45 categories. Ontario Craft Breweries Association that represents more than 60 breweries took home 85 medals.

Come on out to the Ajax Beer Festival on Saturday from noon until 7:00 to sample our award winning lager!!

The 2016 Ontario Brewing Awards Are here!

Every year the Ontario craft beer industry gets together to celebrate the year in brewing and 2015 is no exception. On Thursday April 28th, huddled down at a beer hall on Queen street, awards will be handed out for bronze , silver  and gold in various categories. Judged in March with submissions from beers available since May 2015, categories include everything from pilsners and amber ales to flavoured and APA’s.  The event is sold out , but if you want to rub shoulders with some the industries best and brightest , join in at the after party being held at the Craft Brasserie in Liberty Village. For more details on the awards go to Ontario Brewing Awards .

There’s a new beer festival in T.O

Thats right – fresh off the not so stellar performance of the Winter Brew Fest, another new festival is on the horizon. Happening the Weekend of June 17th – 19th, the organizers are planning for local craft beer,food and music – the usual formula (which doesn’t get old!) . It will be taking place on the Exhibition grounds at the at the Stanley Barracks. If they take after the Round House Beer Fest that just happened in January they will be ahead of the game. One token per sample please!!

Right now if you go to Toronto Festival Of Beer you can receive up to 60% off early bird purchase – just use promo code GT241.

It’s never too early to think about summer and beer!!

Winter Brewfest Coming To Toronto!

That’s right , after a couple of years of success in Ottawa Toronto’s first major beer festival is taking place the weekend of February 19 & 20 at the Enercare Center. Unlike summer festivals this will be taking place at night with 50 craft breweries from across Ontario along with cutting edge DJ’s performing  each night. Saturday night is already almost sold out so if you want to go, grab the link below and make it happen.

See you there!

The Falcon………

Brewfest