Columns 
2012: The year of the micro-brewery?(0)
If 2012 was the year that craft brewing really came into its own, what does 2013 have in store for the beer world? Canada saw the launch of several new micro-breweries, brewpubs and even a handful of nano-breweries. At the same time, the big boys increasingly moved into the micro space with the launch of… Read More ›
Beer In Canada revisits Toronto
Just as I thought I’d finally been able to mesh regular Beer In Canada postings with the rest of my schedule, I hopped on a plane. Soon after, I was running around the Greater Toronto Area visiting with friends, family and colleagues. And the Beer In Canada site went quiet. Since arriving in what I’ve… Read More ›
A slight detour to Manhattan
For six months, I hadn’t left the North. Living in Fort Smith since March, I’d only travelled to Hay River to the west once in the spring and then a weekend trip to the Folk on the Rocks music festival in Yellowknife in July. Without a pub in town, I took full advantage of being… Read More ›
The signs of autumn are here
As the summer heat fades into autumn cool and we exchange our shorts and T-shirts for jeans and jackets, one sign amongst beer geeks that autumn is upon is the appearance of pumpkin beers on the shelves of our local beer and liquor stores. It’s almost become a tradition for the beer geek, now tiring… Read More ›
Ode to 75 Victoria St., Toronto
The first time I ever visited 75 Victoria St., it was the home of Denison’s, but I knew the place as Growler’s — a happenin’ brewpub with an excellent selection of draught beers and a bustling after-work crowd. When it vanished, it left a vacant hole in the centre of Toronto beer geekdom, but in… Read More ›
Saying farewell to August
It’s been quite the wild summer here North of 60. The hiking, camping, barbecues, whitewater kayaking and music festivals, not to mention the very unseason-like busy freelance life, has kept me from posting regular updates to Beer In Canada. I’d say “unfortunately,” but I’ll admit there’s only a slight twinge of regret that I haven’t… Read More ›
How did I end up here?
The question comes more and more frequently from friends and acquaintances: How did a beer geek wind up living in a part of Canada with such a limited beer selection? It’s a difficult question to answer, but in the end, I usually tell people it was a trade-off. I opted for a quieter life with… Read More ›
When is it no longer beer?
Although I’ll be the first to roll my eyes when someone mentions in a positive way the Reinheitsgebot, the so-called “German beer purity law,” sometimes I have to hand it to those 16th Century Germans. You can be sure they wouldn’t have had to scratch their heads when it comes to classifying the likes of… Read More ›
Beery greetings from Northern Canada
The Beer In Canada office has been a mess lately. Beer bottles galore have been making their way back to The Beer Store for return and refund. Beeraphernalia, including a neat Labatt 50 mirror I found in a pawn shop, several funny beer signs, two big totes worth of beer glasses, at least a dozen… Read More ›
Cheers to a year full of possibilities
New Year’s Day is often a time for reflection (well, after the hangover subsides, anyway), and as Beer In Canada begins its second full calendar year, I’m sitting in a restaurant and bar called Port in Pickering, Ontario thinking about the beery goals I gave myself last year for the site. I fell short on… Read More ›