Thursday, June 19, 2008

6:30pm - 11:00pm

As well as brewing fantastic local beer the OCB members are proud to be active in the communities where they live, work and play.  Join us June 19th for the Jazz By The Lake fundraiser for St. Joseph’s Hospital.  What better way to enjoy a warm summer evening than sampling nearly a dozen different Ontario Craft Beers while relaxing to the cool sounds of jazz? 

As a co-sponsor of this fundraiser for St. Joseph’s Hospital the Ontario Craft Brewers will be joined by local restaurants and wineries for an evening of great jazz for a good cause.

Breweries joining Jazz By The Lake include Nickel Brook Beers, Black Oak Brewing Company, Cool Beer Brewing Company, County Durham Brewing Company, Granite Brewery, Great Lakes Brewery, Mill Street Brewery, Old Credit Brewing Co. Ltd and Wellington Brewery.

Click here for a poster to print and share with friends

 For more exciting events visit our website’s “Events Brewing” section all summer long

Posted by Nick in Brewmasters

Hey Guys and Gals

 Last week  was a memorable one for Neustadt. It started off with us winning a coveted SCOBI award which was awarded from five Chamber of Commerce for Busines of the year Excellence, this is the secound time we have won this award…we were thrilled… we felt we must have been doing something right somewhere!

Then it was pay back time……….My 3 year old Grandaughter was visiting from England… who loves trying on everybodies shoes and left Gran’s shoes all over the dressing room. I got up in the night to use the loo not putting the light on so not to disturb Andrew and whoa and behold I fell over the shoes and ended up in Owen Sound Hospital with a smashed wrist  in surgery for 12 hours and had it all wirded up so I am out of the game for at least 8 weeks ……. the guys were worried because it was my pay check writing hand!

The same day Andrew was taking my daughter and granddaughter back to the airport when he had just hit the Arther/ Orangeville road and he was following a truck when a guy on the opposite side of the road decieded to fall asleep at the weel and plowed into the truck in front missing Andrew by 2 whisker… by the time he had finished diverting traffick and waiting for the emergency crews he made the airport by 2 minutes…. needless to say the driver lived and the truck driver was in shock …like Andrew.

Posted by Val Stimpson, Neustadt Springs in Neustadt

Check out the OCB website where you can answer 5 questions and get a customized list of great OCB Beers (including their LCBO Codes - so you can go to your neighbourhood store and find it!). Each beer is custom picked for the TYPE OF OCB BEER PERSONALITY you are!
Have fun - and let us know what you think!!!

Posted by Lisa in Brewmasters

If you’re looking for a great way to spend Saturday afternoon, please allow me to suggest the Old Toronto Beer Tour…

Did you know that in the late 1800s there were 13 competing breweries in Toronto?

Now that you do, aren’t you wondering what might be left of them? The truth is that there are a couple of brewery façades in the city but you have to know where to look… alternately you’re welcome to join myself or Oliver “the ambassador of beer” Dawson as we guide you through a 6-hour beer tour of Toronto!

During the day, we’ll tell you all about the brewing history of Ontario, starting from the first settlers right through to the craft beer movement of the 80s. We will visit a number of beer landmarks throughout the day. Of course we will also take you on brewery tours and provide guided tastings of many local Ontario Craft Beers. At the end of the day, you are free to either wander the Distillery District, home to the fabulous Mill St. Brewery, or crown the day’s events with a fabulous four-course meal at The Granite Brewery (beer included!).

To find out more, click here, or e-mail us at: beerloverstour.com@sympatico.ca

Posted by Mirella in History, Summer Plans, Tourism, Granite Brewery, Mill Street

Last year, I had the pleasure of sitting beside Chris Elliot (District Manager for the LCBO) at a Beer Guys & Gals training session. The LCBO “Beer Guys & Gals” are the brilliant group of people that the LCBO employs and trains to help and to empower YOU beer lovers to explore the ever-expanding beer section at the LCBO. When Chris and I met, we talked about having some of his store managers ‘live in the shoes of an OCB brewer for a day’….. well…. as we all know – time fly’s by and we pulled the day together just last week!

The OCB hosted the Chris Elliot and 15 of his managers from District 11 (Mississauga/Oakville/Burlington). The group visited 5 OCB breweries: Cameron’s Brewing Company, Black Oak Brewing Company, Great Lakes Brewery, Nickel Brook Beers, and Trafalgar Brewing Company.

Attendees spent the morning at these breweries and enjoyed a brewery tour, a quick sampling of some of OCB beer… and then it was time to work!! Though not all the breweries were brewing that day…. there’s never a shortage of work to be done! Attendees were put to work doing quality checks (with some sampling of beer in the early stages of ‘brewing’ cycle), Kettles were scrubbed… and so much more. Not to worry though – fun was had by all!

Following a morning of work, the group were invited by Mike Arnold of Trafalgar brewing to enjoy chef George’s great food at The Tide House! Everyone enjoyed a fantastic meal, with food made with beer (the chilli is my personal favourite!) along with a beer matching (who can resist the Maple Beer?!).  The OCB shared some insight as to all the exciting things happening this summer – including the OCB’s Discovery Pack re-launch!
 

The OCB was really pleased to have Chris and his team visit a few of our breweries for the day! I always say that the best way to experience the OCB is to visit the brewery first hand! Thank you Chris for your enthusiasm and for your continued support as the OCB builds our partnership with the LCBO!

Enjoy a couple of photo’s from the day – we hope to see some of Chris’s team ‘jump on this blog’ and share some of their experiences from the day!
Cheers!

Relaxing after a day’s work at an OCB Brewery!

Trafalgar Chef: George

LCBO’s Chris Elliot

Posted by Lisa in Brewmasters, Great Lakes, Ontario Craft Brewers, OCB, Black Oak, Trafalgar Brewing, Nickel Brook, Cameron's