Toronto’s Best Lager(s): Godspeed’s Sklepnik vs. Burdock’s Deluxe
What began as a quest to pit West-end lagers against each other (like I did when I looked for West Toronto’s best IPA) sprawled into a city-wide search for a lager that could even come close to Burdock’s Deluxe. It crushed anything I tasted it…
French Beer Culture and the (Current) Craft Craze
“C’est dimanche!” At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what he said. As I was was ambling along Sunday morning, about 10am, I saw a group of guys enjoying une bier (ou trois), their empty café cups as of yet uncleared. I smiled to myself at…
Beer Stats: What I’ve Learned From Rating 1500 Different Beers on Untappd
In 2015, I downloaded one of my favourite apps — Untappd (add me!). This cheerful little beer-rating platform acts as an easy way to collect the beers you’ve tried, give them a “check in,” a rating and even a review, if you’re so inclined. It…
Head to Head: Three of West Toronto’s Best IPAs
It would be an understatement to say Toronto’s best end brews some damn good IPAs. Far too many to include in this piddly little blog post. So I chose based on, well, vibes. These vibes being “does the brewery specialize in IPAs” (this would exclude…
In Defense of Light Beer
There’s a great Mitch Hedburg bit where he says “Rice is great if you’re hungry and want to eat 2000 of something.” In this way, I believe rice and light beer have something in common. There are occasions where drinking is an extended affair (or…
Henderson Food Truck Lagered Blonde: A Beer for the Refined Dad
Dad beer: you already know what I’m talking about. It’s cold, it’s crisp, and by god it ain’t craft. It’s almost invariably a lager (although the occasional amber ale will sneak in), and it’s drunk with enormous aplomb at occasions ranging from graduations to garden…
Fitness beer: Has craft finally jumped the shark?
Ok, I’m willing to admit it. Craft beer is a little goofy, usually in a fantastic way. I’ve seen just about every variation hop pun, fruit cocktail sour, 15% ABV hyper stout, and some of the wildest looking branding a marketing department could conceive of…
Ice Cold Beer — What More Needs to be Said?
Ice! Cold! Beeeeeeeer! Long time Jays fans will fondly remember these words being bellowed out by The Beer Guy (Wayne McMahon) at the Skydome up until 2008, signaling to them that a frothy pint of remarkably flavourless and REMARKABLY expensive beer was nearby. But the…
Octopus Wants to Fight IPA: An Overdue Ode to the Octopus
Sometimes it occurs to me that there’s been a drink I’ve been recommending for years, consume regularly, am always thrilled to find on a menu (you remember, when you could order things in bars) but haven’t officially sung its praises on Sublime Imbibing. Octopus Wants to Fight…
Stellar Void Stout: A Great Way to Say Hello to Halo Brewery
I just moved to a new neighbourhood in the Junction Triangle area of Toronto. There’s lots of perks — more room in the house, great view of a highly aesthetic water tower, and one of my favourite breweries in the city (Halo) is two minutes…