What do you look for in an Ontario beer guide?
"Beers of the world, unite!"
The UNOB slogan
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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 Vaugan grew up sucking Colt 45 from the aluminium nipple...
...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 Harris is
delighted to be part of the UNOB. So much so that he'd rather COLLECT
beer containers instead of drinking their contents...
...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
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!
GET INVOLVED!
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