The Dust has Actually Started to Fly!

Howdy Y'all, it's only been one little ol'month since I done talked to y'all, but shoot if a lot of goin's on ain't transpired since then.
Firstly and most importantly, the dust FINALLY done start to fly! It's still 2013, so we done just got in under the wire, but yep, there most certainly be dust in the air and construction has finally begun at the Sawdust City Brewing Co.! Big ol'saws have started to chew away at the cee-ment and the holes for our trenches have been cut.
Here take a look at some of the photos from the first work done on our soon to be brew house  floor -

Now before we can start bringing in our brew house and the rest of all our equipment, we gotta get our floors ready. So the first thing we gotta done get done is cutting our trenches, which now look a little like this -

We've removed them big dominoe lookin' blocks and the holes for our trenches are all cut now. So the next steps are to pour the concrete into them there rough cut holes to properly form a workin' trench. They will also be constrcutin' a curb around our brew house area so as that we can keep the mess in an easily workable area.  That should be happening in the next week or so, so once I done got some more photo's I'll be postin' them on this here blog or our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Now I know, I know this has done taken a lot longer than we originally promised, that's true. But if there's anything I done learned over the past two years, it's that anything worth doin'...is worth doin' well. And sometimes that done take patience.  Some y'all might be sayin' to yo self, "shoot, I know that guy, and dagnammit, he ain't no patient sunofagun!". This is also true. So believe me, this has been a tough stretch fer me and my poor nerves. But heck if I ain't excited now! And I'm also just tickled pink that all y'all have been just as patient and have stuck around to see Sawdust City grow from a "crazy pipe dream of an idea" to a full fledged "work in progress". And shoot, soon that "work in progress" will be an actual brewery! So stick around folks, cause we movin' into the home stretch.

Other than this here visible work, the plumbers have also been in workin' on the pipin' in the basement and in our washrooms...that ain't so sexy as they say, so ain't gonna post any pics of that. But rest assured that "work in progress" is progressin'.

Shoot, the Holiday's be right around the corner and it might be gettin' cold outside but dang if things ain't be heatin' up in Sawdust City. Cause not only is the dust finally startin' to fly, but we got our next seasonal hittin' the bars startin' next week too, Kolsch'45!

Back in September we tucked away some of our delicious Gateway Kolsch into a few wine barrels we just done had lyin' around.  Aged in them wine barrels for over 3 months, we finished off this ale by minglin' it with locally grown cranberries from our friends at Johnston's Family Marsh in Bala, ON, for 45 fun filled days. We stuffed 10lbs of cranberries into each barrel and just let the two of them get to know each other. The result is our Kolsch '45.

Light and tart, this holiday treat comes in at a very drinkable 5% ABV and has a nice oaky, barrel character to go along with snappy dry finish. Our man Spinney spent all day yesterday pullin' it out of the barrels and gettin' it all carbbed and gussied up and ready to hit them streets.

This pink hued, holiday treat will be a great foil to a lot of them big, boozy, dark beers that are out and about at this time of year.  Now don't get me wrong, we love our big, boozy, dark beers just as much as the next guy. We're just sayin', before you get into them heavier ales, we recommend easin' into your next session with a few glasses of Kolsch'45. Look for it soon at a local, kick ass beer bar near you. It's a limited release, so get it before it's gone!

If that ain't enough, we've also been busy workin' with Monty, the winner of this years Mighty Mustache Competition, gettin' his very own beer ready for our next delivery to Amazing Clubs Canada.

If y'all recall, back in September as part of Toronto Beer Week, we held our 2nd annual Mighty Mustache Competition at The Only Cafe in Toronto. Monty took top prize this year, not only walkin' home with the coveted Golden Cant Hook, but he also got the opportunity to design, brew and have his visage emblazoned on his very own brew. And last week Monty came by the brewery and brewed his "Fuzzled Muzzy" with Spinney.  An Irish Red Belgian Ale...(or something like that), "Fuzzled Muzzy" is as rich, red and full bodied as his outstanding mustache. It will be one of two brews that we'll be sending out to Amazing Clubs as part of their "Beer of the Month Club" at the end of January.  The other beer we will be sending will be brewed just after the Holidays, and it's gonna be a bad mamma jamma...stay tuned for more details on that one!

Now if you y'all don't happen to be a member of the Beer of the Month club, don't y'all worry yer pretty little heads aboot it cause they gonna be plenty of both them beers sent out to beer bars across Ontario. So look for them to hit the taps early February.

Yer just aboot caught up with everthin' goin' on at Sawdust City now, so from all of us here, we'd like to wish all y'all Happy Holidays!  We're gonna be pretty busy over the next few weeks so I might not be able to post anything here til the New Year. So if you don't hear from us, have a safe and Happy Holiday. It's a magical time of year, so be sure to share some of that there magic with all your family and friends.

Anyhoo, that just aboot does it for now. So until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and sawdust beneath your feet!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Apolgies

Howdy Y'all, so it's been quite sometime since I done rapped at y'all but as you've been able to see through our Facebook and Twitter feeds, we've been pretty dang busy. Unfortunately this here post, my first in a few months, brings with it some bad news. We've decided to recall our latest batch of Lone Pine IPA from the LCBO (bottled Oct 25) and dispose of the remaining product in the brite tank.
After tasting the product and with much scrutiny, back and forth and wall punching we just felt that the beer was not up to our quality standards and as such could not be sold.  It wasn't bad, it just wasn't our Lone Pine IPA. We have the utmost respect for our beer drinking public and we just felt that if you were to receive this beer that you wouldn't be happy with it...cause we weren't.

This certainly wasn't an easy decision for us to make as we had already bottled the product and shipped it to the LCBO before we made the call. In the short term, this was a total financial boondoggle. As a new start up company, on the brink of opening our new facility in Gravenhurst, ON, this could not have come at a worse time.  But in the long run, we felt that if we were to let this go to market and you were to have tried this batch, then maybe you would've lost some degree of trust in us...we didn't want that.

Quality is as important to us as it is to you and we only want to sell you beer of the highest quality.  So unfortunately there will be no draught Lone Pine going out to any of our loyal licensees for at least another few weeks and what ever stock is still available at the LCBO (I assure you, all other batches have met our rigorous quality standards) is all that we will be available for the same time period.

We hope that you understand our decision and decide to continue to purchase Lone Pine IPA when we do have it back on the LCBO shelves and in the bars.  

Dag, that was a bummer. But thank fully we do have some good news to share with you too... our brew house is all but complete!  Rob and I just came back from a trip to Charlottetown, PEI and the DME production plant and we've seen it with our own two eyes. Here it is, all piped together and almost ready to go -

We're hoping to start work on our brew house floors in the next week. This means we can have our brew house shipped to us in about three weeks. We can see the light folks!  Keep your eyes on this here website and I'll be keeping you updated more frequently on the progress of Sawdust City.

We also want to let y'all know that our "Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus" is finally on the LCBO shelves. After 52 days of waiting in the bowels of the LCBO Durham warehouse, our Uranal Imperial Stout finally made it's way onto the shelves last week and we couldn't be happier.  Big roasty malts with rich notes of espresso, bitter dark chocolate, anise, licorice and a big hop kick to boot, this is one bad ass beer. We really hope y'all like it. For all y'all wonderin' what a Uranual Imperial Stout looks like, here it is in all it's glory -

Now you've seen it, now go out and taste it! There was only a limited amount released to the LCBO, so it won't be around for ever!  So go out and get your hands on Uranus today!

We also want to let you all know that our next seasonal "Red Rocket" spiced stout will be hitting bars and restaurants across the province this week. Spiced with coffee from our good pals at Toronto's Red Rocket Coffee along with Cinnamon, Vanilla and a healthy dose of cayenne pepper, this bold beauty is sure to warm the coldest of heart cockles.  This year we're sending it out to bars from as far East as Ottawa & Kingston to as far West as London & KW. So ask for it soon at a kick ass beer bar near you.  And as an added bonus, for those of you who are part of Amazing Clubs, "Beer of the Month Club" we will be bottling a limited amount of Red Rocket and sending it out as part of their home delivery.  We're dropping it off on Friday so you should be receiving it some time soon. Here's what you should be lookin' for -

Lastly, we gots a few events comin' up that we'd like to share with y'all.

This Thursday, on Halloween night we'll be pouring two special one off beers at BarHops Black & Orange Halloween party. One beer is our Smoked Pumpkin Chai Roggenbier, "The XTC Version was BetterER" a beer I brewed with my good buddy Noddini.  We had it at this same party last year, we just made it betterER this time around. More smoke, more chai, more rye and more betterER!

The other beer was a collab that we did with the good lads at BarHop, "The Blood of Cthulhu". An Imperial Stout aged on raspberries, sour cherries and cranberries, its a wallop of chocolate goodness and tart, fruity bad assiness.  There ain't much of either two of these beers, so get it while you can.  Along with a whole slew of other great craft beer from some other great Ontario breweries, our Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus and our Red Rocket Stout will also be available on draught. It's gonna be a fun night. Peep the poster for more details -

Just a few days later, on 11.05.13, those same good lads at BarHop are gonna host another party for us. This time it's with our good friend Ryan Morrow, Brewmaster at Nickelbrook Breweries. We're gonna be releasin' our very special Birthday Barrel Aged Barley Wine.  Brewed on 11.05.12 this spiced barley wine was aged for 10 months in second use bourbon barrels givin' it a wonderful balanced oakiness, with hints of citrus, vanilla and rich caramel malts. Coming in at 11.05% this is certainly a sipper, so to make sure y'all can make it through the night, we decided to bring a total of 11 beers to drink as well! A mini-tap takeover if you will. So come on out and help us celebrate our collective birthdays and our brand new beer. Remember, remember, the 5th of November...but it you can't, peep the poster for more details -

Lastly, we are gonna be pourin' at one of Toronto's largest food and drink shows, The Gourmet Food & Wine Expo.  From November 14th til the 17th we will be at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, North Building serving along side 1,500 other wines, beers & spirits from all over the world.  Packed with 45,000 visitors over the three days, this is certainly one fantastic event. So get gussied up and come out to sample some Sawdust.  Peep the website for more details - http://www.foodandwineexpo.ca/sitepages/?cid=341

So there you have y'all, that's what's happenin' right now and fer the next few weeks. We're gonna be doin' lots of work on our building in the coming weeks, so keep checkin' back here for more up to date information and pics.  And like I said, we are truly sorry for not havin' any Lone Pine IPA available at the moment, but we don't want to give our loyal fans anything but the highest quality beer.

Anyhoo, that just about does it for now. Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the Sawdust beneath your feet.

Outta the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Well July just started and it's almost August! Shoot if time don't just keep a marchin' on? Seems like the older I get, the less time I got. Now if that ain't a sweet piece of Hillbilly wisdom for all y'all to chew on.
But shoot, it's okay, it may've seemed like a short month, but dang if we didn't get a lot accomplished in them there 31 days. First up, let me give y'all an update on our building. We done tore out the ol'ceiling! Take a look at this here photo (a pictures worth a thousand words as they say...and I'm a guessin' you gots better things to do with your time then read a thousand words)

Yep, the ceiling is gone, but we still gots a lot a work a head of us. Next up, the floors!

Listen here, July also proved to be a pretty good month for us too as we took home two Silver medals at this years U.S. Open Beer Championships! That's right folks, our Ol'Woody Alt & Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus (Barrel Aged) took home some sweet silver hardware in the Alt and Barrel Aged Imperial Stout categories respectively. Purdy darn good if I don't say so myslef!  But get this, we also took home the Judges award for the "Most Creative Name". Out of over 2,500 entries our Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus took home top honours. Shoot if ya don't believe me, check it out fer yerself -

http://www.usopenbeer.com/

We're all purdy happy about the results and guess what, hot on the heals of these big wins Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus is comin' to the LCBO! That's right folks, come this September y'all be able to pick up our Imperial Stout at your local LCBO store. Now, we done changed the label some, so if y'all need a little reminder of  what it looks like, here it is -

Now Spinney and I, we done brewed it just last week and it's tastin' mighty fine if I don't mind sayin' so myself. But it's gotta age a little before we send it out, so you gotta hold tight. Now if y'all can't wait til September to get yer hands on some of our "bigger" seasonal offerings, well then we gots some purdy good news for y'all! This years version of "The Princess & Girlpants Meets the ODB" is available as we speak at kick ass beer bars near you.  Aged for two months in Gamay barrels from Malivoire Winery and Chardonnay barrels from Southbrook Estates, our hoppy Belgian Golden has turned into a whole new animal! All that barrel sittin' got done got the Princess all tarted up and she's ready to hit the town! With subtle hints of oak and a cheek puckering tartness this 9% Golden Ale is sure to please once again.  It y'all can't remember what the label looks like, take a gander -

Now that ain't the only barrel aged beers we have available right now either! As of today (that is if you're reading this on Friday, July 26th...if not, then disregard the today part) we're releasing our 1 Bourbon, 1 Scotch, 1 Biere Series at the Toronto Festival of Beers. Featured in the Barrel Brews tent at this years fest will be our 3 offerings along with a number of other Ontario Craft Beers aged in all sorts of different barrels.
Now what we done did, is we took our Alt and aged it in 3 different barrels to see what would happen. As you might be able to guess we aged it a bourbon barrel, a scotch barrel and an old dirty wine barrel (along with some tart cherries from our friends at Cherry Lane in Niagara).

If y'all can't make it to TFOB, our good friends at WVRST in downtown Toronto are goin' to be featuring these three beers at their restaurant. So keep an eye out for that and try it out. I gotta say, I'm really diggin' on the Alt with tart cherries, it's tastin' might fine.

Shoot, then it's August! And dang if August ain't gonna be crazy! We gots lots lined up, purdy much every weekend is loaded with festivals and what not. Startin' with the Civic Holiday Long Weekend. We done got three events! Count'em 3 events. First up is the Parkin' Lot Party at the Griffin on Friday, August 2nd. Along with our good pals at Lake of Bays and Mill St Brewery, we gonna fill up the Griffin parkin' lot with beer, music and food. We prolly gonna have a special cask on hand to celebrate the most holy of all holidays in Ontario...Simcoe Day! Guess what's gonna be in the cask?

It's gonna be a fun night but we ain't got no time to rest, cause the very next day is Session Muskoka! An all day, all beer event at Annie Williams park in Bracebridge and we done brewed 4 special beers just for this occasion. In collaboration with the good folks at the Griffin, we had 4 staff members/friends come by our pilot system to brew some very special beers. We gots "Leather & Lace" (Honey Heffe Halapeno...yes I spelled that right), "Diana Sauce" (Chocolate Vanilla Blueberry Milk Stout), "The Carney" (Lemon Sage Belgian Strong Ale), "The Pith Helmet" (Grapefruit IIPA).

Now all these beers gonna be pourin' at the Griffin booth so after you stop by the Sawdust City tent and have yer fill, head on over there to try these special beers and remember to vote...cause there be a winner!
Y'all best get yer tickets fast as they be sellin' quick. For more info and for tickets, peep the site -

http://muskokabeerfestival.ca/

And if ain't enough, the very next day we gonna be at the Bazilliontth Annual Kashe Lake Craft Show and Sale.  We had a fantastic time last year showin' off our beer and talkin' with the good folks down on Kahshe Lake and we're super excited to be comin' back again. 'Cept this year we're bringin' way more beer so be sure to come on out for some good times and some great beer.

Now that was just the first weekend! The next one is just as crazy as we are headin' East to Oshawa for a Tap Takeover at the fabulous Buster Rhino's Southern BBQ. We're bringin' 6 beers on draught, including our very new and aforementioned Princess & Girlpants Meet the ODB  and one cask of our Bourbon Barrel Aged Alt (it's the only one in existence). It's gonna be an all party with delicious Southern BBQ and home grown Ontario craft beer. If y'all want some more info, peep this here event page -

 https://www.facebook.com/events/151797705015063/

The very next day, with a belly full of all that delicious BBQ and a brain full of way too much beer, we gots to get up early and head back to Toronto for The Only Cafe's Summer Fest! Speakin' of The Only...now I maybe gettin' a little ahead of myself cause this ain't gonna happen til, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th, but we gonna be doin' our 2nd Annual Mighty Mustache Competition for Toronto Beer Week at The Only Cafe.  And this years event is gonna be even bigger than last years. Thanks to our good friends at Amazing Clubs Canada, the winner of this years event will not only take home the coveted Golden Cant Hook, but he'll also get his face on a beer label that will go on over 150 cases of beer and be delivered to homes across Ontario as part of the Beer of The Month Club. Now if that ain't a purdy darn good prize, I don't know what is?  So get yer dusters growin' boys!

Now where was I? Right, August. Well the next week we're goin' even Easterer...we headin' to the Nations capital for the National Capital Beer Festival. This be our first trip to Ottawa as the Sawdust City Brewing Co., so we're purdy darn excited. We're join' a purdy sweet list of craft breweries for this fest and we're hopin' to make some new friends, so peep the site and come out to try some great craft beer -

 http://www.nationalcapitalbeerweek.com/

But like I said, this a busy month, so we're pullin' double duty that weekend with half our team stayin' home to support another great local event, The Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce 22nd Annual Dockside Festival of the Arts.

We're the main sponsor again for this fantastic event and we'll be bringin' our tap trailer loaded with all the craft beer it can hold. So come on down to the Muskoka Wharf, shop for some great local craft and drink some great local craft beer.

Man o'man, that certainly is a busy month fer this here small comapny, but that ain't a bad problem to have! We're glad to do it. Now, I prolly missed a few things here and there, so keep yer eyes and ears on this here blog, our Facebook page and our twitter feed and check back real regular like cause we be postin' new stuff all the time. And if y'all into the instagram, pop by our feed at sawdustcitybeer

Anyhoo, that just about does it for now. Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet.

Big News and Lots a Brews

Well shoot, if that just wasn't the busiest week! Well, not so much a week as 8 days, but heck, you get the picture. Startin' with that big news we done dropped on y'all last Friday, and carryin' on all the way through to this past Saturday, with the Session Craft Beer Festival and the culmination of OCB Beer Week 2013...we've done been runnin' around like a buncha headless chickens!

That's right, if you ain't heard yet, we finally got our new home right here in good ol'Gravenhurst, Ontario. We told y'all that once we knew where we'd be, we'd be shoutin' it from the roof tops. And shoutin' it we did! If you ain't seen it yet, here's our new digs -

Well shoot, if that ain't just the purdiest thing you ever done laid eyes on. Our new home folks. Like I said before, it used to be the Old Canadian Tire, but now it's the New Sawdust City!  We're just as pleased as punch to finally be comin' home to Gravenhurst and we can't wait to get up and runnin'. Now, we don't get the keys til July 10th, so still got some time before we move in. And once we do get in, well, that's where the fun begins. We're gonna have to do some breakin' down and then some fixin' up before we get our brand new DME brewhouse delivered. So with a little luck, and a lotta hard work, we're lookin' at hopefully a Fall opening this year.  Keep yer eyes on this here blog for more updates, cause we're gonna be keepin' y'all up to speed on what's goin' down at Sawdust City.

Like I said, we done made this announcement last Friday, then not 24 hours later, we were at right back at'er! And right here at home none the less.  That's right, we were at Gull Lake Park in Gravenhurst, Ontario, slingin' our wares to the kind patrons of the Gravenhurst Antique Car Show.

Put on by the Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce, the Antique Car Show was celebrating it's 20th year and what a celebration it was.  From the time the gates opened, until Terri Clark done left the stage that night, the crowd was buzzin' and people were enjoyin' the beautiful weather, amazing cars and of course...our great craft beer!  Take a look at this here beauty picture -

Heck, if I ain't mistaken that done be the first time we ever had our entire line up pouring at one time! Sounds kinda funny that after more than 18 months we ain't never had our whole team together, but shoot if that ain't the truth.  But that ain't all, we even brought the food -

Now with all that beer and all that pig, you can bet yer britches that it was a busy day. I can't recall a time during that whole dang day where we weren't busy pourin' pints. And shoot, after a day like that, you can get down right dirtay! Take a look at my poor feets. Shoot -

Now it might've been busy and we may've gotten a tad bit dirty, but I tells ya, were were just tickled pink by the reception we got from the good folks of Gravenhurst.  So many y'all came up to congratulate us on our new home and y'all enjoyed so much of our beer...well shoot, I just don't know what to say, but thanks!  We're gonna do our best to represent Gravenhurst just the best that we can. Hopefully, we'll do ya proud. So please, once we're open, drop by and say hello, cause we love visitors.

After such a great day, it was real nice to have a day off before the craziness of OCB Beer Week really done took off. Now, I don't want to bore y'all with all the details, cause between tap takeovers, beer dinners, rap performances & bottle royales we done did a whole heckuva lot.  So instead of goin' through it all, I'm just gonna say thanks to all the breweries, bars and heck, just about everyone that helped make this OCB Beer Week so fantastic.

First off, thanks to the OCB for puttin' together such an amazing week. We know it takes a lot of work to organize such a massive event, but somehow it done get better every year! Thank you.

To all y'all bars, BarHop, Get Well, The Only, Morgan's on the Danforth, The Rhino, Bryden's & Stout Irish Pub I just wanna say thanks for hostin' all the different events. If it weren't for all y'all we wouldn't have no wheres to party!

To Spearhead, Kensington & Beau's, thanks so much for doin' some collabs and for including us in some of your events. It's great to have such camaraderie in this here beer business.

To Fearless Fred, it was a blast workin' with you on the Allison Brier. Now, I know we didn't take home the big prize, but shoot if that t'wernt a tasty brew!  For all y'all that didn't get to try it...and there was a lot, cause it done run out so fast, here's a shot of Fred enjoyin' it with our almond encrusted, cinnamon honey drizzled, baked brie -

Shoot, it was tasty! Now, I may not be able to see the future, but if I were a bettin' man, I think we may see Allison again...cheers Fred!  

And lastly, a big thanks to Jed, Curt, Diana and the rest of the Griffin crew for not only backin' up MC Hops and the Figure Fours for our one and Only performance, but for also puttin' on such a great festival in Session Toronto.  Heck, what a way to wrap up OCB Beer Week, 20 great collaborations, tons of fantastic breweries, food vendors and shoot just about anything you could ask for in a Summer's day. Thanks!

Now what's next for Sawdust City? Well we gots a few events already lined up for July. First up we got our Sudbury Saturday night. We're hittin' the road folks and headin' North to Sudbury and the Hard Rock 42 for a tap takeover on July 6th. Now it's done been a while since I was up in Sudbury, heck, I ain't been back since I walked them there hallowed halls of Laurentian University.  So I'm purdy excited about finally headin' back for a night of fun and revelry. We're gonna be bringin' a full boat o'beer, so be sure to swing by the Hard Rock 42!

Next up we gots the Canadian Beer News Summer Fest at The Rhino in downtown Toronto.  We were at this event last year and it was a ton-a-fun. We're hopin' to bring out a new beer that day too...so pop by their website -

https://www.facebook.com/events/166234240217528/

get yer tickets, and keep an eye on our Facebook page and Twitter feed for more information On what that Dang beer just might B?

Lastly we gots the Barrel Brews tent at The Toronto Festival of Beers on July 26-28th.  We're bringin' three different beers to this here tent...well actually it's one beer we done did three different ways. We done barrel aged our Ol'Woody Alt in three different barrels, to show y'all how a barrel can affect a beer. What we ended up with was, "One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Biere".  Here take a look at this here web clip from Chris Schryer and Fearless Fred as they try all three

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6D4EaLhLWvc

For more information, on all the other Barrel Brews pop by the TFOB website -

http://www.beerfestival.ca/barrel-brews

Well shoot when I get talkin', I just go on and on. Hope I didn't bore y'all. Like I said, it's been a busy week, but man if I don't feel good about it.

Anyhoo, that just about does it for now. Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet.

It's a Small World After All...

Howdy y'all, it's Thursday, hope y'all been enjoyin' some of that there Lone Pine IPA now available on the shelves of the LCBO? It's been just about two weeks now and we're still tickled pink that y'all can just drive down the street and pick some up.  We'd like to thank each and everyone of ya that picked one up, cause it might be a Lone Pine, but it takes a village....so to all y'all that bought one, or just helped us out along the way. Thank you very much!  Anyhoo, like I said, we got some pretty cool news and I thought that maybe this would be as good a day as any to share that there pretty cool news with y'all.  Now we've been workin' on this here cool news for quite some time now, but we we're waitin' till everything was down right confirmed before we let the cat outta the bag.  But as of today, it's been confirmed that...check this...Sawdust City is goin' international! That's right folks, some of the Sawdust Crew (ie. Rob Engman and myself...Spinney and Bill are stayin' back at the homestead and makin' sure everything keeps on runnin' smooth) are gonna be goin' over to Norway to brew a beer with Norway's 2nd oldest brewery, Ardenals Bryggeri.

Founded in 1839 Arendals has been around the block, heck they done been makin' beer longer than Canada's been a country!  Here's a little more info on their brewery (it maybe in Norwegian, so hit that there translate button to do some readin')

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arendals_Bryggeri

Now Norway and Gravenhurst may seem like an odd couple, but shoot if they don't have a long history together goin' all the way back to 1942 and World War II.  You see, back then during the war, the Norwegian Air Force was trainin' over here, then in 1942 they done moved their training camp from Toronto all the way up to the Muskoka Air field near Gravenhurst.

Since then, Norway and Gravenhurst has shared a little bond, heck Gravenhurst even earned the nickname "Little Norway" & Norway's current King even came over here to unveil three new planes.

With that in mind, Sawdust City is  headin' over to Norway to brew a beer with the good folks of Arendals and hopefully we'll do the folks of "Little Norway" proud! Now, the beer won't be ready until later this fall and most of it will stayin' on the other side of the pond with our new friends in Norway.  It will be for sale in grocery stores and restaurants throughout the region. Even with most of the beer stayin' put, we're pretty excited about this opportunity and we've got our fingers crossed that we'll be able to get some of the beer back to Gravenhurst for a special release party later this year.  Again, stay tuned to the blog for more details!

Sheesh, that was some pretty cool news eh? But dang if I don't gots even more!  Ya see, June's a pretty busy month and we got a ton of events lined up throughout the month.  Starting right on June 1st with the 2nd annual Brews'n'Bands festival in Hamilton, ON.

Hosted by the Casbah, Brews'n'bands is a celebration of indie music and awesome craft beer. This event is into it's second year and was one of our favourites from last summer. If your in the area, it's worth poppin' by the Casbah. Peep the poster for more info -

Now we don't mean to step on no toes, but we're gonna use the Brews'n'bands fest to launch one of our beers too! Golden Beach Pale Ale is back folks.  That's right, our bold summer slammer is done and ready to drink. Loaded with mounds of delicious Galaxy and Mosaic hops, this IPA light is only 4.8% but shoot if it don't pack a tropical hop wallop!  So if you needed another reason to attend this amazing fest, well dang, we just done gave you one.  Peep the label if y'all don't remember it from last year

After that we're gonna be away for a few days trouncin' around the Norwegian coast brewin' beer with our new friends, but then we're back and right into the thick of it folks, cause startin' Sunday, June 15th, it's OCB Beer Week!

Our first event on the 15th isn't part of OCB Beer Week, but shoot if ain't a big one! It's the 20th Anniversay of the Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce Antique Car Show and Sawdust City is one of the main sponsors. We're gonna be on hand all day, handin' out beer and cheerin' on them fancy ole timey cars.  And this year, along with a beer garden and some amazing BBQ, there's gonna be live music too!  Shoot if that don't just beat all!  That's right, Country Music Star Terri Clark is gonna be performing a rare acoustic set, live on stage at Gull Lake Park!

Here peep the poster for more info -

   

Now if you happen to be in Muskoka on the 15th, I highly recommend that you come by Gull Lake park at check out this event cause it's gonna be big.  But if you happen to be city folk and you find yerself locked down in that there concrete jungle, I got some good news for ya...there be a beer festival at The Stout Irish Pub on that very same day...and guess what? Sawdust City gonna be there too!  Yep, we're double dippin' folks.  We'll be up North at the Car Show and down South at the Back Alley Beer Festival!

This is the first year for The Stout Irish Pub's Back Alley Beer Festival and it's gonna be kickin' off all the festivities for OCB Beer Week.  There ain't too many tickets, so snap'em up quick so as not to be disappointed.  Peep the website for more info -

http://www.stoutirishpub.ca/

Now I done said we had a lot of events goin' on throughout June, but dang if we don't need a rest. So on June 16th, in honour of all y'all Dad's out there, we're gonna stay home, sit on our decks and enjoy some beer, food and good times with our families.

But then on the 17th, it's business as usual!  We're right back at'er with a kinda-sorta-six-pack-tap-takeover at BarHop with our good friends at Spearhead.  We're teaming up with our good friends to bring you 3 Spearhead beers and 3 Sawdust City beers at one of Toronto's finest beer establishments.  So pop by and get yer fill of some fantastic beer and some amazing food. Heck, it's a Monday, what else you gonna do?

Tuesday, June 18th, we're gonna be takin' part in Beau's Bottle Royale at Get Well on Dundas.  Hosted by Get Well and Beau's, they've invited a number of craft breweries to bring in the big boys...bottles that is! And Sawdust is gonna join in.  There is gonna be some new bottles, some big bottles and some bottles you ain't seen in a while! Some come on out and get yer fill.

Wednesday, June 19th we're gonna tone it down a little and do a sit down dinner with our really good friends at Morgan's on the Danforth.  The team at Morgan's is gonna put together a three course meal paired expertly with three Sawdust City beers.  I'm gonna be on hand to answer and questions and chat with y'all, but honestly, I'm really goin' to eat some fantastic food!  We'll be sendin' out some posters and gettin' some more information about this event as it gets closer to the date, so stay tuned.  There's gonna be limited seating, so get yer tickets fast!

Thursday, June 20th we're back at it with our friends at Spearhead. We're gonna be doin' another kinda-sorta-six-pack-tap takeover, but this time on the west end of town at The Rhino. Again, we're super excited to be working with our good friends at Spearhead and to be goin' to another legendary beer bar like The Rhino.

Friday we're gonna be takin' another break...cause it's Rob's Birthday! Happy Birthday Rob!.

Lastly, Saturday, June 22nd, it's the biggest event of the week...Session Toronto!  Shoot, we done be waitin' all year for this.  Every year this is one of our favourites, we always like to have fun and bring something special to Session, but this year we got something Super Special! That's right folks, if y'all remember way back to the beginning of May, we brewed a beer with our friend Fearless Fred of Edge 102.  As part of this years Collaboration Nation at Session, we brewed a traditional French Saison aged on Raspberries.  Fred lovingly named the beer Allison Breer in honour of the lovely Allison Brie and on June 22 y'all finally get to try it!  Again, if you didn't already have a reason to come to Session, we just done gave you another.  So get your tickets soon, cause they be goin' real quick like.

Well shoot, that was a whole bunch of big news...but heck, it's Thursday and y'all needed summpin' to get ya through til tomorrow! Thanks again for readin' and we'll see y'all again real soon.

Anyhoo, that's about it for now.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mug and the sawdust beneath your feet.

May Day!

Howdy y'all! So, April passed over like a sound. Dang thing moved so fast, I prit-near missed it!  Luckily we done grabbed it by its hind legs and wrastled it to the ground.  Good thing too, cause right there, just at the end, we done won some of these!

Yep, that's right folks, we took home three awards at this years OBA's, which was held last night at The Gladstone in downtown Toronto.  Sheesh, if I done my maths right, that's 3 times gooder than last year. Well dang if we ain't just tickled pink by it too.  2 Silvers and a Bronze. Not too bad. Not too bad.

Our Skinny Dipping Stout took home a Silver in the Stout category and our brand spanking new Red Rocket Stout, well it done took home a bronze in the flavoured beer category. Lastly, our Skinny Dipping With Friends took home another silver in that same category.

Now here I am pickin' up some of that hardware.

Now that's one fine lookin' award and dang if that ain't one fine lookin' gentleman too!

But that's that as they say and now April is gone and we're onto May...and woowee we done gots a lot planned for this here May!

First up, we're gonna be on the radio with Fearless Fred this Friday.  That's right folks, we're plum stoked that on May 3rd we're gonna be gabbin' with Fred aboot our  fantastic collaboration beer, Allison Breer! A refreshing, Raspberry Saison, Allison Breer is a beer that Sawdust City brewed with Edge 102 host, Fearless Fred for the Session Beer Festival and on Friday we're gonna be on Fred's show to shoot the poop aboot it.  So tune in to Fred's program from 2-7pm to hear some good ol'fashion  beer talk.

Now if fer some crazy reason you ain't able to tune in on Friday from 2-7pm and you miss us, well don't y'all worry, cause we gots another event the very next week. Yep, on Tuesday, May 7th we'll be taking over 13 taps at one of Toronto's premier beer destinations, C'est What?

A Toronto landmark and probably every dudes dream basement, C'est What? has been pourin' pints fer a quarter century and on May 7th, we'll be goin' in and takin' over 13 of their 39 taps! So really it ain't a full on tap take over...it's more of a kinda sorta tap take over.  If y'all want, pop by the Facebook event page and read about it

 https://www.facebook.com/events/165833213579727/

Now I ain't to savvy with this hear computer machine, so if y'all be so kind as too pass it along to all y'all friends...I'd be much obliged.

Now regarding this hear Kinda Sorta Tap Takeover, I done said we'll have 13 beers available, originally we was only gonna do 12, but then we done went for the full on bakers dozen! That's right folks, 10 draughts and 3 casks, it's gonna be a throw down hoe down! So bring yer boots and yer drinkin' arms cause it's gonna be a long night.  Here's the list -

1-Gateway Kolsch
2-Ol'Woody Alt
3-Skinny Dipping Stout
4-Lone Pine IPA
5-"Sweet Basil McRae" (Lone Pine cask dry-hopped with sweet basil)*cask*
6-Whiskey Barrel Aged Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus (Uranal Imperial Stout...last keg!)
7-Red Rocket Stout (Coffee, Cinnamon, Cayenne Spiced Stout)
8-"Topenga's Forbidden Fruit" (Belgian IPA aged on Mangos)
9-"Dawson's Kriek" (Barrel Aged Ol'Woody Alt aged on tart cherries)*cask*
10-"How I Really Felt About the BSG Finale" (Sour brown ale aged on peaches)
11-"CCCP:The Peoples Porter" (Charred Chai Cranberry porter)*cask*
12-"COCKpuncher" IIPA (Collaboration with Indie Alehouse)
13-"Four Barrels Barley Wine" (Barrel aged in Ontario Oak barrels, Collaboration with Amsterdam, Great Lakes & Indie Ale House)

There ya have it folks, the full line up. A lot of these are just one-offs, so once they gone, they gone. You've read aboot'em, now comes out and drinks aboot'em!

And if that ain't enough Sawdust City fer ya, how's aboot you come and see us on Thursday too! Yep, on Thursday, May 9th we're gonna be pourin' a few beers at The North American Craft Beer Experience.  What's the North American Craft Beer Experience you ask? Well take a look at this here webpage for more information -

http://www.beerexperience.ca/NACRAFT/

Like the website says, this event's gonna be at The Berkeley Church in downtown Toronto. Now shoot, this is a great venue and dang if their ain't gonna be a lot of great beer there too. You see all them breweries listed? Woooweee, if that ain't one impressive list! So get yer tickets now cause they be goin' fast!

Now dang, that's a lot of events in just a few short days, so after that we're gonna take a break for a spell. Heck we might even leave the country. Heck we might even go to Norway. We'll have to see. I'll tell you more aboot that later.

But don't go worryin' yer little heads, we'll be back cause we gots a few more events planned for the end of the month.  On May 23rd we're gonna be doin' some samplin' at Castro's Lounge, a great pub in Toronto's East End. So come on by and try a few and who know's we may just have summpin' new fer you to try....Summpin' new ya say? That's right, we've been doin' some more brewin' folks. We got two more beers in the hopper, our Spring/Summer seasonal "The Princess Wears Girlpants" and our easy drinkin' patio slammer, "Golden Beach Pale Ale".

The Princess Wears Girlpants is our take on a Belgian Golden Ale, and you know when I say "our take" that it ain't yer mamma's Belgian Golden.  We done hopped this 9% abv ale to the hilt with delicious and aromatic Motueka and Galaxy hops. And we done fermented this one hot too! We stressed those little yeasties until they threw off some powerful stink!  Shoot if you don't remember, here's the label from last year

Now if you can't make it out to Castro's on May 23rd, how's aboot you swing out to the West end and catch us at Lake Affect in Port Credit on May 24th.  That's right, the very next day! We'll be pourin' and gabbin' aboot our beer to the good folks of Port Credit.  And shoot, we may have summpin' new fer you to try that day too! The second of those two beers I done told you aboot, Golden Beach Pale Ale is our summer time favourite. Loaded with Galaxy, Sorachi and Mosaic hops, this refreshing pale ale is only 4.5% but it's done gone flavour to spare. Shoot, if you don't remember from last year, take a look at the label -

Now as some of y'all might be able to see, some of the informations I just done told you don't jive with the labels...well that's cause thems labels is from last year and we done made a few changes to the beers this year. They still be prit-near the same, we just tweaked'em a little.

So there's you have it, May's gonna be one busy month, but that's how we like it here in Sawdust City.

Anyhoo, that's aboot it for now. Until next time, keep the beer in your mug and the sawdust beneath your feet.

With Your Naval to Contemplate

Perusing the past posts, I done noticed that I start many of my posts by discussin' the weather or with terrible alliteration. Fer the life-a me, I have no idea why.  Maybe it`s 'cause I`m somewhat obsessed wit both'em.  Or maybe it's 'cause I'm terrible at small talk but really good at poor literary techniques. Eitherwhich, I done elected to start this here post off wit both'em.  If you don't like it...hit the highway Jack.  So how about the Spring eh?  A few weeks back, the Vernal Equinox done came and with it a renewed sense of hope and optimism for the upcoming year...that and aboot 3 inches of snow. See for yer self -

Seriously? I know we done live in Canada, but Old Man Winter just keeps shakin' his crusty ol'fist at us down here in the Great White North and I swear, I done just aboot had enough of it consarnit!  Bring on them April showers.  Bring on them May flowers.  I'm ready gadnammit.  I'm ready! (weeping openly into my hands as I fall unto my knees and sob).

Where was I? Yes, renewed hope and optimism for the upcoming year! Well it done been a while since I last posted on this here blog and I gotta tell ya, it ain't from lack of want.  We done been sitting on a few things and I just had to wait for the right time to let it all out.  And it looks like now is just aboot the right time, so yes, my friends there is good reason for optimism.  Things round here done been moving and things done been shakin' and I gots lots to share with all y'all.

First off, just a mere 48 hours ago, our newest team member joined us.  He's a brewer and his name is Spinney.  Here is a picture of Spinney -

Spinney has a beard. Spinney has a red truck. Spinney has an imagination.  Spinney makes beer. Spinney makes really good beer.  Welcome to the team Spinney!
So with a fresh new pair of them there Welly's running around the brew house there is definitely a feeling of renewed optimism around Sawdust City.

Secondly, our newest release has hit the shelves at select bars in and around Ontario, Red Rocket Stout. And thanks to Ol'Man Winter and his crotchety ways, he's kept the cold 'round longer and kept all y'all in a stouty state of mind.

BAM!

Made in conjunction with our good friends at Red Rocket Coffee in Toronto's East End, Red Rocket Stout is a down right delicious blend of stout, coffee and spices! Using our stout as the base, we added healthy dose of Red Rocket coffee, cinnamon, vanilla and cayenne pepper.  Based on Red Rocket's signature drink, this stout is certainly unique, but dang if it also most certainly drinkable!  We're working on doing a release party in the near future, but until then look for it and ask for it, at wicked ass beer pubs and restaurants near you.

I know, I know, I keep sayin' that all our beers only be available at pubs and restaurants, but guess what y'all.  Not no mo'.  No no mo'!  Now don't go around mishearin' me, ain't nothin' wrong with pubs and restaurants  but sometimes you just wanna drink at home. Which is exactly where y'all be able to take our beer in just a few short weeks. That's right folks, as mentioned a few posts back, our Lone Pine IPA is coming to the LCBO!  We done brewed the batch about two week back, and it done been dry-hopped and is all but ready to be bottled.  If all goes accordin' to Hoyle, the beer'll leave the brewery on April 15th and be on the them there shelves of your local LCBO by early May.  Now if all y'all could snap a few pics when you see it on the shelves and send it to yours truly, I'd love to get them up either on this here blog or on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sawdust-City-Brewery/139064472841673. I haven't added a lot of people to the ol'City-zen page in quite some time. So if you happen to find yer self at an LCBO in early May (and let's be honest, y'all know you will) and you happen to see our Lone Pine IPA on the shelf...if you don't remember what it looks like, here's a reminder -

Now the label may have been updated a little, but y'all gets the point, but if y'all happen to spot it on the shelf, please snap a pic and send it to us.  Much obliged.

And to account for this new mess a beer we done gotta make, we ponied up and added two, count'em two  more fermenters to Black Oak.  Now take a look at them there shiny tanks, dang but if they ain't beautiful

So that's certainly enough reasons for optimism right? But wait...there's more!  You see, just last week, yours truly and the rest of the Sawdust City team (ie Rob) went down to Washington DC for this years Craft Brewers Conference. And like every year, the conference is a chest swellin' good time.  It's good news all around let me tell you what.  Craft beer is boomin' and all y'all keep drinkin' up our delicious products.  So thanks to y'all for that.  But this year there was a new twist.  The good folks at TAPS Canada's Beer Magazine (ie my brother Jed and Rob) threw together a little soiree at the Canadian Embassy. Swanky, right? We gathered as many Canadians and as much Canadian Craft beer as we could find and we done got down with our bad selves. Hey look, there's a Canadian brewer, enjoying himself responsibly -

And here's what he enjoyed, responsibly...

Magic mirror, tell me today, have all my friends had fun at play....I see Denison's, Kensington, Indie Alehouse, Chesire Valley, Sawdust City (that's us), Grand River, RJ Brewing, Great Lakes, Muskoka and Spearhead...and that was just one beer table...trust me, there was a lot more there.  The main thing was, it was great to have all the Canadian's in one room celebrating great Canadian beer!  It was uplifting and gratifying to see just how far Canadian craft beer has come.  Thanks to the hard work from the TAPS team (Jed & Rob) and a special thanks to Jennifer, Stephen and Micheal from the Canadian Embassy for making this event happen.  Hopefully this will become an annual event and hopefully we'll see all our friends next year.

So what else we got? Oh yeah, lean on in and listen to this. For this years Session Craft Beer Festival (http://sessiontoronto.ca/) they done have a new event, Collaboration Nation and we're going to be doing a collaboration with none other than Fearless Fred from the Edge 102.  Now we done handed the reigns over to Fred on this one and asked him what kinda beer he be wantin' to brew and you know what he said, check this out...he done said he wanted to brew a Saison aged on Raspberries...which was awesome.  But what made it awesomerer was that he said that it had to be named after Alison Brie.  Now we done be pretty big fans of Community, so we just done fell off our chairs when we heard that.  We're gonna be brewin' this soon, so keep checkin' back for more information!

And I have just one more thing to be optimistic about, but unfortunately I can't tell you today. I was hoping to get the green light on spillin' the beans, but it looks like it's gonna have to wait until next time.  And let me tell you...it's big y'all.  It's REALLY big. Psst...it's about our building!

But it will have to wait until next time!

We gots lots comin' up in the next few weeks y'all so stay tuned to our twitter feed and our Facebook page for all the updates...events aplenty in the coming week folks. APLENTY!

Anyhoo, that's about it for this now.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet. 

Snowed In

Well as I sit here, hunkered down in my in-laws basement, watching Battlestar Gallactica and occasionally staring out the window to watch Old Man Winter shake his crusty old hand at all us down here on planet earth, I get to a thinkin' about some good news....we’re halfway through winter! Then I get all hypnotized by all them there falling flakes and I does a little more ponderin' and I'm thinking about the bad news....we’re only half way through winter.

Now I’m not too sure if yer a glass half empty or a glass half full kinda person, cause right now it could go either way, but no matter how you lean on that age ol' question, we here at Sawdust City have some news that’ll help you get through the rest of this here northern Winter.  See the Spring ain't that far off now and we just done heard summpin' that will surely get you stoked for the warmer temps of Spring.  Our Lone Pine IPA has been accepted by the LCBO as a general list and will be hitting the shelves come this April!  So if the Winter blahs done got ya down, fear not Spring is nigh and the hops will be waiting patiently for you at yer local LCBO.

Now that there little introduction may have been downright self serving, but I ain't nearly done tootin' our horn, cause we done gots more more good news about our little operation.  Sawdust City has officially purchased a brand spankin' new 25 hectoliter brew house from the good folks at DME.  A great Canadian company from PEI, DME has been producing brew houses and brewing equipment for the better part of a quarter century and now we be putting our eggs in there proverbial basket and we couldn't be happier about it.

The delivery date on our new DME brew house is May 10, which by my calculations is approximately....oh, I don't know...really soon.  So that don't leave us much time to get all our little ducks in a row. And where we gonna put this new brew house you ask? Well that still remains to be seen, but from all accounts we should know by the end of next week and once I do my friends, I will be screaming it from the hill tops.  Now rest assured it will be in the lovely town of Gravenhurst, ON, don't worry about that, just keep your eyes and ears tuned to our Facebook & Twitter pages cause like I said, once I hear I'll be lettin' the world know.

Well sheesh, that's all the news I gots right now folks, hope that'll tide you over for now cause April 1 and May 10th are quickly creepin' up. Now don't get me wrong, we won't just be sittin' around waiting for those dates to pop up, we here at Sawdust City are going to be keepin' ourselves plenty busy.  Take for example, this weekend we are going to be at The Rhino for their 1st annual Winter Beer Fest.  We'll be pouring a cask of The Pale Mexican Rides Again Guava  Pale Ale a collaboration brew we did with Chris Burek one the people behind the beer blog, Mom'n'Hops

and The Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus our Uranal Imperial Stout.  If you wanna buy tickets or if you just wanna see what other great Ontario craft brewers are gonna be there, check out the website -

http://guestlistapp.com/events/141141

Two weeks after that, we'll be at another of Toronto's finest beer bars, The Only Cafe for their Winter Beer Fest.  Friday, February 22nd we'll be on hand as a number of Ontario's best craft breweries descend upon the Danforth for another beer bash of epic proportions.  For the first time in Toronto, we'll be pouring our Whiskey Aged Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus as well as some other treats.  Keep yer eye on their website for more information -

http://www.theonlycafe.com/theonly/events_at_the_only.html

That same weekend, we'll be up in Gravenhurst for the Annual Winter Carnival pouring our Gateway Kolsh, Ol'Woody Alt and Skinny Dipping Stout.  There will be lots of events and tons to see and do around the town, so if you happen to be up in Northern Ontario from February 22-24.  For more information drop by the website -

http://www.gravenhurstwintercarnival.ca/

Lastly, on Wednesday, February 27th we're going to be in London, ON for a big beer dinner at Milos' Craft Beer Emporium.  Now Milos' has a history of throwin' some big beer bashes at his place, so we'll have our work cut out for us....but we here at Sawdust City love a challenge!  Presented by Canadian Beer News, this beer dinner is going to feature upwards of 11 Sawdust City brands, 5 of which will be paired with the fantastic food created at Milos' own kitched, the rest will be there just for pure enjoyment.  We'll have 3 versions of Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus, 2 versions of our Alt, Lone Pine IPA, Gateway Kolsch, Skinny Dipping Stout, Skinny Dipping with Friends, COCKpuncher IIPA and a totally new and as of yet, "unnamed" Saison,  Again, if you wants to buy tickets or if you just wants some more informations please check out the website -

http://pubmilos.com/sawdust-city-beer-dinner/

February is shaping up to be a big month for Sawdust City but with all the new things comin' down the pike, it's only gonna get busier.  So comeback real soon to this here blog or keep an eye on our Facebook page or our Twitter feeds for more up to date information.

Anyhoo, that just about does it for this time.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet.

It's Baaaacckkk! Or better yet...It's in the Baccckkk!

Well it's a new year, 2012 has come and gone like a fart in the wind.  So let me get out in front of this issue and address the 43,587 lb gorilla in the room, no we do not have a building.  If you take a look up to the title of this here blog, it most definitely says, The Dust Will Fly in 2012...we'll that didn't so much happen.  But we are working on it, my gosh are we working on it....I promise you that. And I'm gonna go out on a big ol'limb here and make a truly bold prognostication...The Dust Will Fly in 2013! You heard it here first folks.  I'm that confident.

So there you have it, the future has been told! Now just sit back, relax, grab a beer and watch while it all conveniently folds out in front of you....EXACTLY ACCORDING TO PLAN!

That's right, according to plan, and speaking of plans, we gots lots of plans for this here 2013, just check out these events and happenings that we already got lined up for this very new year.

First up, we have the release of this years version of "Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus".  That's right folks, our Uranal Imperial Stout is back.  For those of you new to Sawdust City, here is the label from our Winter Seasonal, take a gander...

Now we've tweeked a few things this time around, but for the most part Uranus is exactly the same as you remember it...big and black...but this year, we've put some wood in it!  Take another gander...

The Whiskey Barrel Aged version should be ready in about a month, but the "straight up" Uranus should be hittin' yer local beer pubs any day now, in fact, a few casks have already gone out.  Along with said casks, we'll also have kegs and bottles available, so keep an eye out and be sure to ask for a pint of Uranus.
(Also, here is a little hint for later this year.  Now don't go tellin' everyone, but Uranus will be popping up on the shelves of a certain Ontario liquor retailer in the Fall of 2013.  Shhhhh, it's our little secret)

Next up the boys from the Griffin Gastropub will be putting on their next Craft Beer Events show at The 2013 Cannington Dog Sled Winter Festival and Sawdust City will be there.  On January 25, 26, 27 along with 6 other Ontario Craft breweries, 2 Wineries and a bunch of husky's, we will not only be pouring some of our wares, but we'll also be brewing a beer on site!  We're not sure what we're brewing yet, but rest assured it will be fun. If you got any ideas, feel free to post them here.  So if your on the prowl for some winter, beery fun, come out to Cannington, ON and peep a Dog Sled Race!  Check the link for more info -

www.canningtondogsledraces.com/schedule.html

Right after we get back from Cannington, I'm off to lovely Baie-Saint-Paul in La Belle Province.  About an hour North of Quebec City, Baie-Saint-Paul is home to one of Canada's finest breweries, Microbrasserie Charlevoix.  Some of you may recall that last year, along with Black Oak and Charlevoix, we brewed a special 10th Anniversary beer for the CBAs in Montreal...if you don't remember, here is the label

A cross between a Belgian Dubbel and an American IPA, How Do You Say Monkey in Latin? was a hit, and Frederick Tremblay, Brewmaster and President of Microbrasserie Charlevoix like it so much that he invited me out to his brewery to brew the 2013 version of How Do You Say Monkey in Latin?  Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. Not only is Frederick an all around nice guy, but he's also a fantastic brewer so any chance I get to see him in action is an amazing opportunity.  Now, I'm not sure of the legalities of bringing beer back from Quebec, but I'm guessing you may see a keg pop up somewhere in Ontario in 2013!

But we ain't done yet! No, we still gots a few more events right around the corner.  On Thursday, February 7th, we'll be doing a beer dinner at Imbibe Food & Drink in Kitchener, ON.  The details are still being worked out, but we'll be pouring at LEAST 5 different brands that night and they will all be paired with the fantastic food from Imbibe.  So if you are in the tri-city area on February 7th, come out to Imbibe for some great food and tasty beer!  We'll be sending out details closer to the date, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, check out their Facebook page or better yet pop on into Imbibe for some Ontario Craft Beer -

www.facebook.com/imbibefoodanddrink

Just three short days later on Sunday, February 10th we're off to one of Toronto's finest beer pubs, The Rhino, for their 1st Annual Winter Beer Fest. Hosted by CDN Beer News.  You may recall their 1st annual Summer Beer Fest this past summer, well this event is proving to be even bigger!  We will see at least 18 breweries from across the province descend upon the small neighbourhood of Parkdale for an all out Winter Beer Bash.  With everyone bringing big Winter Warmer style beers, don't be afraid of the cold...there will be plenty to keep you warm.  To purchase tickets or to get more information about the event, check the link -

https://guestlistapp.com/events/141141

Finally, at the very end of the month on Wednesday, February 27th, we will be heading to London, ON for another CDN Beer News Event.  Sawdust City Brewing Co, Milos' Craft Beer Emporium and CDN Beer News are putting on a special beer dinner at Milos' Craft Beer Emporium.  Now Milos is known for throwin' some pretty awesome beer events, so we got our work cut out for us.  But rest assured we'll do our best to keep up Milos' reputation as the top beer guy in South Western Ontario.  Again, the details are still gettin' hammered out, but count on around 7-8 different beers being available that night.  For more information, keep an eye out here or pop by Milos' webpage, check the link -

http://pubmilos.com/

Like I said, it's still a very new year and lots of events are still popping up, even as I type this I got a text from Fabian and it looks like we'll be taking part in The Only Cafe Winter Fest on Friday, Feb 22...now that's "real time" for ya folks!  Unless of course your reading this post at a much later date, in which case it's very, very old news....whatever.  Point is, things are happening, so keep an eye on our blog, facebook and twitter feeds for more updates!

Anyhoo, that just about does it for now.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet.