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.

If We're Goin' Down, We're Goin' Down Swiggin'

Well it's been a while since I last posted on these here internets, but you gots to believe me when I tells y'all that we've been busy, real busy.  We've been movin', we've been shakin' and we've been pretty much just tryin' to keep our pretty little heads above water.  Peoples been drinkin' like sumpin' big 'bout to go down.  In fact I can barely hear myself think over the sound of that big ol' rumour mill churnin'.  Seems there been some talk as to whether or not the end of the world is coming...we're pretty sure it isn't.  Buuut, pretty sure ain't cuttin' it...so we're hedging our bets and throwin' a little End of the World Eve Party just in case!
On Thursday, December 20th at the Mighty Griffin Gastropub in lovely Bracebridge, Ontario, Sawdust City will be taking over all 10 taps that the Griffin has to offer.  Cause like the title says, if we're goin' down, we're goin' down swiggin'!

Now 10 taps is a lot and even at Sawdust City, we'd have a hard time comin' up with 10 new beers right away, so some these here taps will be filled with some ol' friends you might already know. Gateway Kolsch, Ol' Woody Alt, Lone Pine IPA and Skinny Dippin' Stout are all comin' along for the ride.  Now you prolly already sampled them before, but they're part of the family and gosh darn it, if the world gonna be endin' I want my family there with me to watch as those four ol'horseman come a ramblin' in.  And besides, I kinda like'em!

So along with our good ol'friends we gonna have a few new members of the Sawdust City family comin' along for the ride, 6 in fact.  And to get your better acquainted with these here new members of our little family, I'll spin y'all a little yarn about each of'em.

Skinny Dippin' With Friends - Now this here beer is the half brother of our beloved Skinny Dippin' Stout.  And seein' as they be comin' from the same stock, you'll be sure to find the same lovely roasted character and loads of chocolate and coffee flavours runnin' around in there.  But as I said they be brothers, not twins! Skinny Dippin' with Friends has a few extra ingredients added in to give it a big ol'kick of flavour.  We done added a heapin' pile of cinnamon and vanilla to this hear brew to make sumpin' new and excitin'.    
So like the sayin' goes, "Skinny Dippin' is good.  Skinny Dippin' with friends is gooderer!"

Highway 118 Porter - Now Highway 118 is a rugged road that cuts through the rough and tumble wilderness that is our Northern Ontario.  Weaving and winding it's way through lakes and trees, a day spent on this highway can leave a man darn near in awe of the majesty of Mother Nature.  And this here beer was born on just such a day.  Brewed this fall at the Hastings Beer Festival in Sterling, ON this Porter came to life after I spent the morning navigating this lovely road.  Stoppin' every few minutes just to take a slow look around.  And like this road, this beer is rough and raw.  It's black as coal and loaded with roasted flavour, but with a smooth, silky body that will make you slow down, stop and contemplate yer next sip.

Skinny Dippin' at XXX-Mas - Now we all know Christmas done be a Holy time o'the year, but we here at Sawdust City, don't think that means you can't still have a little fun with it!  So we made this here ale to let y'all know that it's cool to relax a little, even 'round this here Holy time.  Now Skinny Dippin' at XXX-Mas ain't no stout, in fact it's a porter, but it's still a distant cousin of our Skinny Dippin' family.  You'll still find their trademark chocolate and coffee flavours but this time you'll find a new twist, mint!  Cool and refreshing the mint compliments the heavy chocolate flavours of beer, while the taste reminds us of those good ol'days when Ma and Pa used to bust out that good chocolate around the Holidays...you know the one's I mean? The After Eights, the one's they used to buy down at the pharmacy on the corner. Dang, those were good.  

The Two Pump Chump - Now before y'all get yer backs up and say you don't know what in tarnation we be talkin' about...I know y'all been there before.  Sometimes things go a little quicker than you might first planned.  Who knows why really?  Could be the lights.  Could be the weather.  Could be the angle of the floor.  Like I said, who knows? It's all speculation really and it don't do no one no good to go off and start a speculatin'. But it's time we all stop pretendin' he don't exist and just embrace him.  So we brewed this hear Belgian Style Pumpkin Ale to celebrate the that simple bastard The Two Pump Chump.  A Belgian Dubbel ale with a good dose of pumpkin and spices, we guarantee this one's got flavour to last!

The Pale Mexican Rides Again - Now this hear ale was a collaboration we did with Chris Burek of the website Mom'n'Hops. Coverin' all the goins on in the Ontario craft beer circuit, Mom'n'Hops is new to the scene but they be tryin' to get out there and let y'all know that they mean business.  Now me and Chris we sat down, drank a few pints and came up with a beer that would use the wildly aromatic Mexican Cream Guava.  The Pale Mexican is an American style Pale Ale hopped with Motueka, Sorachi Ace, Summit and Galaxy hops. Floral and citrus, it should be a drinker.  But there ain't much of it, so get it before it's gone.

Perched upon his majestic white steed, the Pale Mexican stands atop the dusty mountain. The wind whips the cold desert dust across his face.  His poncho ruffles quietly as a hand slowly emerges.  He pulls his hat down to cover his eyes.  Then like a flash of lightning, he snaps his reigns across the back of his mighty beast and the massive steed rears back onto it's hind legs.  It swings it's front hooves wildly in the air then brings them crashing back down to earth.  And with that The Pale Mexican runs off into the distance, leaving as quickly as he rode in. A dusty cloud of desert sand is all that remains of our hero. Via con Dios, Pale Mexican. Via con Dios!  

Ingo Der Christmas Goat in - "aBOCKalypse 2012: The Wreck-n-ing!" - Well this here maybe our most bumbling, convoluted name yet. I'm scratchin' my head just tryin' to wrap my noggin' around it! But it does make sense, trust me.  Ya see this here beer is our take on a German style weizenbock.  And as tradition goes,  ya tend to see randy, drunken goats on the labels of bock beers.  Hence our hero, Ingo!  And seein' as it's Christmas time, well I'm guessin' you can figure that part out.  As for the aBOCKalypse 2012...I think you can put that together too, if not, see the poster.  And the "Wreck-n-ing"...well that's just a simple play on words.  Take all those little parts and smash'em up and you got yer self a pretty good movie title...and a darn good beer too! But seriously folks, wouldn't you want to see a moving about a Chirstmas Goat saving the world? Ah, ah...don't tell me, I think I already know the answer to that question.

Well there you have it folks the 10 beers that will be rounding out our tap takeover at the Griffin on Thursday night. So if yer sittin' at home on the 20th wonderin' what to do as yer final hours on this here planet slowly tick away, or if yer at home and it's Thursday and ain't nothin' on the boob toob cause it's all ol'timey Rankin & Bass animated Christmas specials....come on down to the Griffin and try some Sawdust City!

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

A Year and A Day

So it`s the day after Halloween and I`m sure many of you got all dressed up for festivities. Well that`s awesome, good for you for getting into the spirit!  And there were probably a few of you even dressed up as Witches, be it in the traditional "Black-Pointy-Hatted-Witch-on-a-Broomstick" or the more modern and thereby more slutty "Short-Skirted-Low-Topped-Fishnet-Stocking-Sexy-Witch". Either way you went,  you probably didn't go through the traditional "Year And A Day" training and studying that all hopeful young Witches must go through in the Wiccan faith before their initiation in the "Craft".  In fact, if I were a bettin' man, I'd put all my money on that none of y'all Sexy Witches put in the effort?

Well don't take it too hard all you Sexy Witches, a year and a day is a long time and y'all probably got better things to worry about, like what slutty costume you gonna wear to the this years company Christmas Party.  But back to the point and this over drawn, confusing and extremely tenuous segue...we here at the Sawdust City brewing company know just how long a year and a day can be, cause it's been exactly that long since we got our Manufacturer's License from the AGCO.

That's right folks, yesterday was the 1 year Anniversary of us being able to legally manufacture beer in the province of Ontario! So yesterday over at the Black Oak brewery in Etobicoke, we marked the date by brewing up a big ol'batch of our Lone Pine IPA. So look out for more Lone Pine IPA at your favourite beer bar real soon.

But back to the segue...the Wiccans may feel a year and a day is long enough to begin initiation into their craft, but after a year and a half in craft brewing, we feel that we've just started learning. (See how I finally tied that all together there, Halloween, Witches, Wiccans and Anniversaries...in hind sight, the pay off may not have been worth it).  It's been a great first year and we feel blessed for all the support we've received so far, but we also look to the future and realize how much we still have to learn and how much more we still have to grow.  Luckily we work in beer, so we know that as hard as it may be, we'll always have enough beer to get us through!

And speaking of enough beer, we've got two new fermenters! We're just as happy as all heck to hav'em, here take a look at a few pics.  Here is a shot of them getting dropped off

And then here they are, all erect and proud

Aren't they just so handsome?

Well, as good as they look they can be a handful and it takes a little while to get them ready.  We had to plumb them, wire them, passivate them (acid wash) and then make sure that everything is in working order before we can put our beer into them.  So we just have to be patient for a few more days and then...more beer!

In the meantime, we've been busy putting out some beer for some really fun festivals.  The 8th annual Cask Days festival was last weekend and Sawdust City was there with two casks (one of our own and a collaboration with House Ales) pouring along side a ton of other fantastic breweries from across Canada.  It was a fun day and we were just glad to be a part of it.  They may have heard it all ready, but the Morana's did a stellar job with this years festival and it boggles the mind to think about what they are going to do next year to top this years event.  It seems each year it just gets better and better...and the beer too.  Wow, the quality of beer at this years Cask Days was crazy.  So many great casks. Here's a shot of everyone enjoying said casks -

How great is it to see so many people drinking craft beer?  But this is a Sawdust City blog, so here are a few shots of our casks, first up, "I Went on a Date With Brett and Showed Him My Nuts".  This was a Belgian Brown Ale aged on brettanomyces with dates and chestnuts.  Looks like they couldn't get the whole name on the cask.

And here's our collaboration with Eric at House Ales, G8 Summit.  We used 8 different grains (barley, wheat, rye, oats, millet, red quinoa, rice, spelt) and hopped it with only Summit hops.

There were over 100 casks and many of them were top notch...believe me, I uh, tried a lot of them.  Let's just say that the ride home was a little...blurry.  But again, congrats to the Morana's and the rest of the team for a great event and congrats to the brewers for bringing their A games.  Fun times.

Outside of Cask Days, we also did a one-off for the Black & Orange Halloween Party at BarHop in Toronto.  I brewed this one with my good pal Noddy, we've collaborated before most recently this summer on, "Joyce De Witte" and we kept with the pop culture theme by brewing a Smoked Pumpkin Chai Roggenbier called "The XTC Version was Better".  This of course was in reference to the song "Peter Pumpkinhead" which was later covered by Canada's own, The Crash Test Dummies.  After a short listening session, we both felt that the XTC version was better...hence the name!  The beer itself was a smokey and spicy with a nice light body.  It worked well.

So what's up next for Sawdust City? Well, like I've said a few times now, we've got our two fermenters now so hopefully that will keep us busy for the next few moths filling them up with freshly made beer.  The first two beers going into the tanks are going to be Skinny Dipping Stout and Gateway Kolsch.  We haven't brewed the stout for quite sometime so I'm pretty stoked to brew it again.  After that it looks like Long, Dark Voyage to Uranus, our Uranal Stout is going to be coming back!  For those of you that forgot about it, here's the label -

If everything goes according to Hoyle, we'll get this brewed by the end of November for a release in early 2013.

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

Niambic the All Ontario Lambic

So it's been another crazy few weeks here at Sawdust City, first we were off to The Kiwi in Cambridge for their Casktravaganza where we were pouring along side our friends at Lake Of Bays and Nickelbrook breweries. We brought along a cask of our Lone Pine IPA that apparently had a little too much "jazz" in it, cause when we tapped it, yours truly got pretty much douched in sweet, delicious hop juice.  It was a little messy, but worse things have happened.

Then it was off to The Grand Theater in London for the 1st annual Arts & Draughts.  For the first time out, this was a great event.  Capped at 200 people the sold out event wasn't over crowded but had enough keen beer drinkers to keep all us breweries pouring and talking all night long.  If this was any indication, this will be a fantastic event in the years to come.  Thanks to all that set it up and we definitely look forward to next year.

The very next day it was back to Toronto to not only keg the latest batch of Ol'Woody Alt (which is hitting bars, pubs and restaurants as we speak), but to also take part in what we can only assume is Ontario's first commercial attempt at a traditional Lambic style beer.

Employing a turbid mash, which can take well over 12 hours, spontaneously fermented with wild airborne yeast and aged in oak barrels for 3 years, it's easy to understand why it may not have been attempted yet in Ontario. But a few weeks ago while, I was at The Amsterdam brewery tasting some beers with Iain Mcoustra, (Amsterdam's head brewer) I mentioned in passing that I was thinking of attempting a lambic.  Iain quickly piped up and said that he had been working on an idea for a lambic with Mike Lackey from Great Lakes Brewery for quite sometime, he then asked if I'd be interested in getting in on it with them.  Obviously I said yes.

Iain and Mike's plan was to brew the beer here in Toronto, put it into kegs and then ship it out to a winery in the Niagara Region.  The beer would then be pushed into open fermenters, placed in a vineyard and then allowed to pick up which ever wild yeast may be floating about.  It was an awesome plan, one in which I was glad to take part.

Over the next few weeks, working with Iain, Mike and Jason from The Indie Alehouse, the plan was refined and cobbled together until we had it all worked out.

So this past Thursday night we all convened at The Indie Alehouse for the first part of our three part plan, the turbid mash.  Now, honestly we didn't do the full "traditional" turbid mash.  That process requires many stages and temperature rests and mash boils, so we elected to go for a shortened 11 hour version of the turbid mash.  Seeing as the whole plan was going to be carried out over 3 days, we figured it best to split the work load into shifts.  Jeff Broeders, the brewer at Indie Alehouse and I drew the short straws and were given the task of completing the long, over night brew.  But before we could do that, we had to drink some beer for inspiration, there may have been some Lambics consumed that evening.

 We began by milling this Ontario grown Red Fife Wheat, then it was straight into the mash.

It's great brewing a new style of beer because you learn something new each time you do.  This lambic was no exception, it was like unlearning everything you'd been taught in brewing school and working in a North American brewhouse.  Take this mash for example, the grist to water ratio is completely out of wack compared to what we would normally do.  It almost came spilling out of the mash tun.

This was actually the second part of the mash in.  There were two main steps, the first required only a portion of the water and grist to go in.  We mashed in at 60C then raised to 100C and rested for a half hour.  Then we added the remaining water and grain and reduced temperature to 70C and held for two and a half hours. Yes, two and a half hours.

After the mash was completed, we transfered to the lauter tun and began the run off back to the kettle.

With such a high portion of wheat, we thought the run off might be a bit of a strain, but in fact it went pretty smoothly. We then boiled the wort for four and a half hours.  I don't have a picture of that cause no one needs to see a kettle boil for four and a half  hours.  Trust me.  But what you do need to see are the 3 year old super cheesy hops Mike Lackey brought.  If only you could smell these bad boys.  If only.

After the boil, that was it for Jeff and I, our shift was mercifully over...we may have been a little tired.  Iain and Lackey took over from there, putting the boiled wort into kegs and transporting it out to The Good Earth Vineyards.  They hand bombed all those kegs by themselves.  The troopers.  Now, I wasn't present for this next portion of the project, so I may get a few things wrong.  My apologies boys.

Once out at The Good Earth our lads were surrounded by grape vines, apple and peach trees.  The beer was transferred into the open fermenters and allowed to sit, with open warm, inviting arms.

Iain and Lackey now had the task of watching over the fermenters to ensure nothing unsavoury flew, dove or crawled into them.  The weather was also a bit of an issue and tents had to be erected to protect the wort from the unruly Fall rain and wind.

Jeff did manage to make it out to the vineyard at one point, but it was still a long night for the two of them.  Eventually though, as it tends to do, day broke and revealed the lovely landscape that is the Niagara region.

Finally after almost three full days, the hopefully inoculated turbid wort was transferred into its home for the next three years.

We'll be doing this again next year and then the year after that at which point we'll be working on the blending.

Like I said, this may be the first attempt at a true lambic in Ontario (we never did check and honestly it's not why we did it) and we aren't sure how exactly this is going to turn out, but it's like they say..."it's the journey not the destination".  Just being a part of this experiment was a fantastic experience.  Working with Iain, Mike, Jeff and Jason was not only fun, but also a great learning experience. The best part of collaborations are what you learn from them.  Each of those guys are great brewers but at the same time they are all very different brewers.  Getting to see how each of them works and how each of them looks at a problem is for me, an invaluable learning tool.  Plus we got to drink a lot of really cool beers while we did it.

Hopefully in three years we'll have about 25hl of a really great tasting lambic.  And honestly with these guys behind the project I don't doubt it at all.  But even if we don't, I think we've proved that Ontario is ready for this type of beer.  It's about time that we as brewers start to push the envelope and begin trying new (and by new I mean a very, very old style of brewing) excited brews right here in Ontario.  Ontario deserves it.

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

The Good, The Bad & The Hairy

Howdy Y'all, firstly this blog post has nothing to do with Clint Eastwood.  As much as I'd like it to, it just doesn't, so if you have any problems with the title, send a letter.

Also, there really isn't any "The Bad", this is mostly a Good & Hairy post, but that just didn't roll off the tongue quite as well.  So again, any problems, I direct you to write that letter again.

And for those of you who do want to write a letter, please do, cause it's always nice to receive a letter in the mail isn't it?

Well that's enough of that, on with the post!

So Toronto Beer Week came and went last week and what a week it was! My liver has served me papers and officially brought suit against the rest of my person...but outside of that I thought it was a purdy darn good week.  We officially Rocked The Danforth with our good friends at Great Lakes and Bartowel. Some of us rocked it a little too irresponsibly but that happens.  That happens.  We met some good folks and tasted some great beers at the C'est What? "New Brewers" night.  Chris Schryer broadcasted my ugly mug all over the interwebs with the Brewer's Round Table.  But seriously thanks Chris, Iain and Mike it was a blast and hopefully it will happen again.  And "Just The Mention of Berlin Makes Me Sexy" tasted just dandy at barVolo's, We Live For the Funk night.  But what I really wanted to get into was The Mighty Mustache Competition at The Only Cafe.  I gotta say, it was the highlight of my week.  Fabian and the crew at The Only put on a great show and as far as I'm concerned it went off brilliantly!

I don't know exactly what I was expecting. We aren't much for planning, a lot of flying by the seat of our pants. But let me just say this, what did end up happening that night, it was exactly what I was expecting!

Like always, The Only had the bar prepped (they are clearly much much better at planning than me). We got there and the taps were ready to go.

All labeled and looking oh so handsome

The Princess was there to do some judging.

All dressed up and looking oh so handsome.

And he brought along his lovely wife Jen and our good friend and great sport Mike D from The Atomic Geeks to help him with the judging.

Now let me lay it out for you, we had a number of contestants, with varying degrees of facial hair and mustache styles, so we needed to level the playing field and make this a fair competition.  So before we could start the show we had to learn them on the rules.  The contestants had to not only parade their fantastic 'staches in front of the judges and the audience but they also had to wow the crowd with the stories behind said 'stache.  And I gotta say,everyone of them, to a man, did an absolutely bang up job.  We threw this curve ball at them last minute and they all pulled it off.  Kudos to all of you and thank you so much for taking part in the 1st Annual Mighty Mustache Competition.

So here they are, with out further adieu..The Contestants!

Zee Devil!

Zee Lover!

Zee Lumberjack!

Zee Pugilist!

Zee Farmer!

 And er..Zee Hedgeman!

I apologize for all of those names, I made them up...well except for one.  They are all terrible, terrible names.

Like I said, they not only had to have some serious 'stache, but they also had to sell the story.  So after each one of them took the mic and spun some great yarns, the judges tabulated the scores.

Unfortunately none of our judges were very strong with the maths, so Mike D had to tabulate the exceedingly high scores on his electronic phonemachine.

And after his electronic phonemachine spit out the resulting tallies, the winner of The Golden Cant Hook and the bragging rights for The Most Ballin' 'Stache, This Side of the Don, was....The Hedgeman!

 Seriously, that is one badass mustache!

But again thank you to all the contestants for coming out, cause with out you, there would be no ballin' 'staches.  It's my honour to share the stage with all of you.

And thanks to Chris Grimley for taking on the role of MC for the evening, you did a bang up job and we really do appreciate it. And of course, thanks to the mighty, The Only Cafe for putting it all together. What more can I say, you gotta love The Only.

So what's up next for Sawdust City? Well we have a few events in the West end of the province over the next few weeks.  On Thursday, September 27th we will be in picturesque Cambridge, ON at The Kiwi for Caskstravaganza.  Along with our good pals at Nicklebrook and Lake Of Bays, we'll be showing off our wares to great drinkers of the tri-city area.  Peep the poster.

And then on Wednesday, October 3rd we are heading even more Westerer, to London, ON and The Grand Theater for the Arts & Draughts Gala Event. There is going to be some great local craft beer pouring that night and all the money goes to help the theater and the local art scene so come on out and support.  Peep the poster.

Well again, Toronto Beer Week was a blast, thanks to all the organizers, bars, breweries and just about everyone that came together to make it all happen.  It was awesome and I can't wait til next year.

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

And The Days Are Short Again...

Not sure how many of you out there will recognize it, but I stole the handle for this here blog post from the title of an old Furnaceface album...it always reminds me of this time of year.  A sorta sad mixture of melancholy and nostalgia. Of good times coming to an end.  I mean, the CNE has wrapped up, the kiddies are back at school and the last Summer long weekend has come and gone.  I know, I know, technically summer isn't over until September 21st and yes, technically the days started getting shorter again on June 21st...but who are we kidding, for all intents and purposes Summer ends the day after Labour Day.

Labour Day maybe the unofficial end of summer, but there are some good folks out there doing there best to remind us that Summer still has some good days left in her, and she's ain't going down with out a fight!

Take for example this Sunday, September 9th.  The 1st Annual Street Food Vendor Awards are being held at the Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto, ON.  Taking advantage of one of the few nice days Summer has left to offer, Ontario's best street food vendors are coming out to celebrate, showcase some of there wares and to educate the public on what great things are happening in the world of street food.  And Sawdust City will be there pouring at the event!  It'll be tough to stand behind the taps all day with so much great food right at our finger tips, but we'll do our best.

Here check out this here poster and get ye to the Brickworks on Sunday, it's sure to be a great event.

Then right on the heels of this fantastic event comes The Premium Beer Experience.  On Thursday, September 13th with just over a week left in Summer, at The Berkley Church in downtown Toronto comes this very special beer event.  With all participating breweries bringing special one-off beers or new brands that are set to launch, it's a great opportunity for beer lovers to get out and try some new and exciting beers from some of Ontario's finest craft brewers.  And guess what? Sawdust City will be there with not one, not two, but three beers!  So if you fancy yourself a beer fan, get ye to The Church on Berkley for this one of a kind event.  Check the website for details -

http://www.beerexperience.ca/

So now we're down to just one week left in Summer and what better way to spend it than by taking in as many events as you can during Toronto Beer Week!  From September 14th to September 22nd (yes I know that technically is Fall...but come on!) in venues all over the great city of Toronto, comes Toronto Beer Week. Now I can't sit here and list off all the events cause daggit, there is just way too many!  But I will tell you about all the events that Sawdust City will be taking part in.

First up we have The Danforth Pub Crawl.  On Monday, September 17th starting at 545p with our good friends from The Great Lakes Brewery and The Bar Towe,l we will be making our way from the close West to the far East of the mighty and historic Danforth Avenue.  Rockin' 5 bars along the way, it's a great way to get out and not only enjoy one of Summer's last remaining days, but to try some beer, meet some good people and find a new watering hole!  Check the poster -

It's probably going to be a long night, I've been known to get out of hand from time to time, but I've got to recovery quickly cause just two short days later we will be hosting an event at one of Toronto's best watering holes, The Only Cafe!  Now if you have a duster, a soup strainer, a 'stache or whatever name you've decided to give it, I suggest you get out to The Only Cafe on Wednesday, September 19th cause we're hosting the 1st Annual Mighty Mustache Competition and The Golden Cant Hook is on the line.  Well that and the bragging rights that you have the baddest 'stache this side of the Don River!

We'll be pouring 4 brands of Sawdust all night, rockin' great tunes and basically having fun in general.  So brush up your upper lip and get ye to The Only Cafe to show off your man hair.  Check the poster -

Blurrgh...don't read the date too carefully! That's Wednesday, September 19th!

Anyhoo the very next night, the second last day of Summer, at another of Toronto's finest beer bars, we will have one of our collaborations beers pouring at barVolo's fantastic event, "We Live For the Funk".  A 3.8% BerlinerWeiss brewed with Iain Mcoustra of The Amsterdam Brewing Co., "Just The Mention of Berlin Makes Me Sexy", is a tart little minx aged on grapefruit and lechee.  Very rare and very special, there is only one keg of this in existence, so get ye down to barVolo on Thursday, September 20th and get yer Funk On!

Alright, last day of summer, September 21st and we'll be at yet another beer institution in Toronto...C'est What?  The new brewers night is an event that gives folks the chance to come out and meet some of Ontario's newest craft brewers.  You can sit down and chat over a  few pints and find out a little bit more behind these odd fellows who call themselves brewers.  What motivates them to get up unholy hours, slave over kettles for god knows how long and work for minuscule amounts of money.  Please ask them all of those questions...

And then it's over...Summer will be gone for another year.  But don't fret good readers cause it will be back and well the Fall is pretty awesome too.  Cause now it's time for big beer season!  Break out the stout!

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