What do you look for in an Ontario beer guide?


"Beers of the world, unite!"
The UNOB slogan

What's in the box? The answer is BEER. How often? EVERY MONTH!


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Submit a review to our Ontario beer guide!


BEER REVIEWS

Beau's Lug Tread lagered ale by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Brick Pilsner by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Cameron's Auburn ale by Andrew Harris
Chain lager by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Colt 45 beer review by Seamus Vaughan
Creemore Springs lager by Seamus Vaughan and Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Devil's Pale ale by Andrew Harris
Fix beer by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Great Lakes Pumpkin ale by Sam Corbeil
Great Lakes Brewery Pumpkin ale by Merlene 'Mermaid' Paynter
Great Lakes Winter Ale by Sam Corbeil
Guinness collective review with Sam Corbeil
Highballer Pumpkin ale by Andrew Harris
Hockley Valley Dark beer by Seamus Vaughan
John By Imperial stout by Sam Corbeil
Lakeport Honey lager by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Lakeport Pilsener by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Mill Street organic lager by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Steelback Draught beer by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Tiverton Bear Honey Brown Amber lager by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Trafalgar Smoked Oatmeal stout by Sam Corbeil
Walkerville Premium Blonde by Seamus Vaughan
Waterloo Dark by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Wellington Special Pale ale by Ashley Cotter-Cairns

BREWERY, BAR AND BREWPUB REVIEWS

Bar Volo by Chris St. Mary
C'est What? by Andrew Harris
Guide to Ontario breweries by Stacey Langille and Seamus Vaughan
Labatt's Brewery tour by Stacey Langille
The Oxford Arms, London, ON by Stacey Langille

ARTICLES AND RANTS

A Beer a Day for a year by Sam Corbeil
Ballard's Farm beer flavored cheese dip by Stacey Langille
Beer and Cocktail Show 2007 by Sam Corbeil
Beer for your dog by Stacey Langille
Cooking with beer by Stacey Langille
Irish for a day by Stacey Langille
Volo Cask Day 2007 by Chris St. Mary

ABOUT THE ONTARIO DELEGATES

A good Ontario beer guide is an endless work in progress. That's why we now have FOUR Beer Delegates working for us... and room for more, if any come forward!

First up is Beer Delegate Seamus Vaughan. His application stated that he suspected us of being a bit dodgy. "I would love to be a Beer Delegate, however... I do find it a little fishy that the acronym is 'UNOB'. BUT it's not like you're asking for money, so you've got my interest."

Meet our Ontario beer guides!

Seamus Vaughan, our first Ontario Beer Delegate!

Seamus Vaugan grew up sucking Colt 45 from the aluminium nipple...

Sam Corbeil is the first Brewmaster ever to be one of our Beer Delegates.

...he's not boasting, but Sam Corbeil is actually a BREWMASTER. He's got a certificate and a mile-wide grin to prove it...

Andrew "The Collector" Harris.

...Andrew Harris is delighted to be part of the UNOB. So much so that he'd rather COLLECT beer containers instead of drinking their contents...

Merlene Paynter is a Beer Delegate for Ontario.

...and Merlene Paynter has been gently cajoled into a love of beer. Hey, we'll take 'em any way we can get 'em!

That's what we like in an Ontario beer guide: trust. Now hand over your Visa number, mother's maiden name and social insurance number. 

Aiding and abetting Seamus in his quest to document all things beery in the fair province of Ontario is Beer Delegate Sam Corbeil, our first actual Brewmaster.

He's a brave guy, giving up a career to chase his dream of brewing for a living.

Just the kind of pluck we want from an Ontario Beer Delegate.

He has plenty of knowledge of the German beer scene, as well as contacts back in Europe AND a day job involving hops, vats and beer tasting! What more could we ask for?

Joining the fun is Andrew Harris, who believes he knows a thing or three about good beer.

He found his way to C'est What? in Toronto, which is a great start in our books! Nice to have you with us, Andrew.

Last but by no means least comes Merlene Paynter, our latest ON Beer Delegate.

We're happy to read that Merlene wasn't always a big fan of beer. In fact, her friends had to work hard to persuade her to persevere with trial and error until she acquired the taste.

What we want to know is: where are her friends? They should become Delegates too, with that kind of dedication!

Great to have you, Merlene. We're looking forward to your reviews.

Read on for four application speeches!

Your proposal speech, Seamus

Ontario.I LOVE BEER. I grew up in the Canadian ghettos on the raunch taste of Colt 45 and Olde English 40oz, but refined my tastes when I became legal age.

Some friends got jobs at the beer store and when cases in the cooler would mysteriously break, we would get to try the cornucopia of beers.

Hacker Pschorr, all of the Unibroue beers, the one brewed by the monks (I saw it at a bar once for 25$ a bottle), and anything else we could get our hands on.

Those who once drank 40oz, don't cast stones at glass houses, or glass bottles.

Your proposal speech, Sam

Time was I spent my days chained in a three-walled grey cubicle. Then I took a trip. After returning said trip through Northern France and Belgium with my wife and some friends, taking in the culture (and by culture I mean wine, food and of course beer) and beautiful scenic vistas over a short three-week stint.

I came back to that same three walled, jail-cell grey cubicle only to find that the walls had become some sort of sadistic torture camber right out of an Indiana Jones adventure. The walls had grown large stone spikes and had some how slowly started to close in on me, threatening to turn me into a 5', 10", 190 pound sieve.

My only chance of escape was through a tiny porthole on the information super highway. So I jumped on to my computer and started googling the first words that came into my head, which of course were Beer and Europe. And lo and behold I discovered a bevy of information of beer schools in the old country.

To make a long story short, this is how I ended up where I am now. A certified brewmaster. I am certified, but in reality I'm only an assistant brewmaster at the Robert Simpson Brewing Company in Barrie, Ontario. Luke didn't become a Jedi overnight did he? Anyhoo, I like beer and I like writing.

So what do you say? Do you need another Beer Delegate in Ontario?

Your proposal speech, Andrew

I already go out of my way to sample local microbrews, so it  seems like reviewing them for your website would be a welcome addition to my routine. Just recently I went to Quebec on a eight-hour car ride with the sole purpose of purchasing beers that are not available in the Ontario market.

As well I've been known to travel around my province looking for draught and real cask-ale draught beers on tap that are not normally available in stores. I normally traverse the Windsor-Toronto corridor of highways and often end up straying far north as well to any cottage brewery I happen to find my self within a 2-3 hour drive.

I enjoy visiting brewery and brewpub headquarters; I've made to Wellington CountyBrewery, Labatt's Brewery, Walkerville and the Brick Brewery. Additionally I have been successfully brewing my own beer at home for the past three years.

Your application proposal, Merlene

I didn't start off as a beer drinker. I grew up in a household where beer was purchased based on price not taste. 

Over the last several years, thanks to the encouragement of some good friends (who says peer pressure is always a bad thing?) I've developed a taste for beer. Not just any beer though. I like beer that's unique. Bold. Subtle. Dark. Light. Oatmeal stouts and pumpkin ales. Coffee porters and wheats. They all have a place in my heart (and fridge). 

I'm an equal opportunity beer lover. I love beer from Belgium, Canada, Germany, any nation really. I like to simmer mussels in a Belgian wheat beer. I like to make chili with a nice stout. I like to eat berries with a raspberry fruit beer.

Awesome to have all of you with us!

Wannabee a B.D.?

Think you would make a great Beer Delegate? Don't be shy! Come to our Beer Delegates page and apply!

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