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Location 67 Front Street East
67 Front Street East
Toronto, ON M5E1B5

Beer

April 2023 E-News, Beer School

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 53

History of Tequila & Mezcal The origin of fermenting agave began somewhere between 1000 B.C. and 200 A.D., where pulque, a drink made from fermented sap of the agave plant, was first documented on a stone carving from 200A.D. A prized drink among the Aztecs communities, it is thought that pulque may have existed as far back as 1000 B.C., initially developed by Olmec civilization in the lowlands of Mexico.  There are many competing narratives regarding tequila’s origins, though one dominant narrative describes the Spanish building primitive mud stills to make agave wine, in response to dwindling brandy supplies during …
Beer, March 2023 E-News

Finding Al

Our house favourite, Al’s Cask Ale, has been listed with the LCBO. We are moving forward with a plan to roll it out in select stores in the GTA with the first round appearing by early April. Let your local store manager know that you would like to see Al make an appearance. We will be posting a list of stores here.
Beer School, March 2023 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 52

What is an English bitter? A modern bitter describes a subset of English pale ales that are gold to dark amber in colour, ranging in strength from 3% to 7%. The description of bitter is fairly vague, mostly because regional differences and variation between breweries make it difficult to precisely define. Historical Bitter In the early 19th century, the term “bitter” was used to describe a pale ale, especially those brewed in Burton-upon-Trent, in Staffordshire, England. This small-town brew was relatively light-coloured, with a clean, clear appearance and a strong hop presence. The quality of bitter beer improved drastically around this time, with increased …
Beer, February 2023 E-News

Where’s Al?

It’s been a while since one of our brews has been available in the LCBO. We are currently going through the process to get Al’s Cask Ale into the system and on the shelves of a store near you sometime in March. The big question is: Where do you want to see Al? Which LCBO or grocery store is most convenient for you? Please message us to let us know and we’ll ask the store manager to stock the beer. We’ll also invite you to the launch party. Al’s Cask Ale in cans is a mini-cask of all-Cascade hopped, malt-forward, smooth, …
Beer School, February 2023 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 51

Non-Alcoholic Beer  Low alcoholic brews have been around for centuries, and can be traced back at least to medieval Europe, where beer was commonly brewed with an alcoholic strength falling between 0.5% to 2.8%. This low alcohol beer, or small beer, was often produced as fortifying beverage for labourers and farmhands.  Non-alcoholic beer has a more specific origin, dating back to 1919 when United States Congress passed the Volstead Act, banning the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. This now-defunct law, still serves as basis for alcohol-free brews in North America today, where a drink containing up to 0.5% ABV …
Beer School, January 2023 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 50

History of Scotch Ale Scotch ale, also known as Wee Heavy, originated in Edinburgh, Scotland during the 1800s. Part of the strong ale family, this Scottish beer style was based on English Strong ales, specifically inspired by English barleywine. Like an English barleywine, the original Scotch ale was rich, strong and dark amber in colour, but with its own unique twist. Much of what sets Scotch ale apart from English Barleywine can be attributed to geographical differences between Scotland and England. Due to Scotland’s cooler northern climate, local beers were generally fermented at lower temperatures, therefore displaying less of the …
Beer School, December 2022 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 49

What is a Mild? A mild is typically a malty brew, copper to dark brown in colour, with a sessionable gravity between 3.1-3.8%. A mild may showcase a wide range of malt and yeast-related flavours, including caramel, toffee, toast, nutty, chocolate, coffee, roast, vinous, fruit, licorice, molasses, plum and raisin. By current standards, mild generally refers to a lack of hop bitterness, as well as a lower-gravity session beer. Historical “Mild” Born in the 1700s, mild is often considered one of the oldest beer styles, though its historical iterations hardly resemble the modern mild. Originally, the term “mild” did not …
Beer School, November 2022 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 48

What is a Rauchbier?  Rauchbier, or “smoke beer” is a German amber lager with a richly toasted malt profile, restrained bitterness and a low to high smoke profile. Historically, the distinctive smoke character in rauchbier was achieved through smoking malted barley over a fire from beechwood logs. History of Rauchbier There is much folklore surrounding the origin of rauchbier, most famously that it came about accidentally in the aftermath of a cloister fire. According to the tale, the fire had destroyed most of the cloister, but part of the brewhouse and much of malt, had been spared. The malt had …
Beer Festivals, October 2022 E-News

Beer Fest – October 15, 2022

Join us on October 15th/16th to celebrate our end-of-season Beer Fest in our Beer Garden – located around the corner, down the lane at 94 The Esplanade. Featuring some of Durham region’s finest brews, come one, come all. The beer lineup can be found here. Saturday Oct. 15 | 12pm-10pm a $20 entry gets you ten – 4 oz craft beer samples with more sample deals all day! Sunday Oct. 16 (Hangover Sunday) | 4pm-10pm ALL day drink deals!
Beer School, October 2022 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 47

History of Oktoberfest The first Oktoberfest took place in 1810, a five-day celebration in honour of the wedding between Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Abandoning regal tradition, the royals turned the wedding into a public event, inviting the people of Munich to celebrate the union in the fields in front of the city gates, where free food and beer flowed through the city. The “October Fests” concluded with a public horse race at a meadow between Munich and Sendling. The formerly unnamed meadow was given the name “Theresewiese,” or Theresa’s Meadow, still the official site of …