Compared to London porter or Berliner weisse, the connection between pilsner and its birthplace is much less obvious. In the 1840s the leading citizens of Pilsen in the Bohemian province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire were fed up with their locally brewed brown ale and hired a Bavarian brewer to build them a new brewery. Josef Groll moved to the city that is now in Czech Republic and created a beer that is now known as Pilsner Urquell. The full review is at PostCity.com.
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standard Tree Pineapple Hefeweizen
The case of legislative intoxication that struck North America in the early 20th century — otherwise known as Prohibition — may have been less severe in Canada than the US, but we are still dealing with the hangover. For instance, and you may not realize this, it is illegal to buy beer in Nova Scotia and bring it back to Ontario. The laws vary depending on the destination province, but generally it is legally easier to bring alcohol over the Canada-US border than from Gatineau to Ottawa. Find the full review on Post Magazines’ site.
standard St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
Every autumn, Ontario beer drinkers get a crack at a world-class stout or porter, one of the top high-octane Belgians in the winter, an IPA in the spring, and something sour in the summer. The LCBO seems to have found a rhythm this way and for summer 2014 they brought in the St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition. Head to PostCity.com for the rest of the review.
standard Little Sister
Toronto restaurants draw inspiration for their menu items from the cuisines of many different countries. Many pull dishes from southeast Asia, but Indonesia does not register near the top of that list. The challenge of breaking new ground is part of the reason that the owners of Little Sister Indonesian Food Bar chose to strike out in that direction. Follow the link for the full story.
standard Ossington Stop
The restaurant-dense neighbourhood at Ossington and Dundas West is already well-supplied with seafood restaurants, some of Toronto’s best pizza, and at least one high-end burger joint. William Tavares (Fishbar, Salt Wine Bar) thinks that there is an untapped market in the area for value-priced comfort food and no-frills drinks. Follow the link for the full story.
standard LTM Gose
Pop music thrives on the idea of a “song of the summer.” This has a lot to do with the fact that most of the qualifiers are so catchy-annoying that they become intolerable after six months. Similarly, there is a lot about craft beer that is—or tries to be—popular, and the relative fashion of certain styles is definitely no different. Read the full review on PostCity.com.
standard Nickel Brook Uber
Most of us have tried Bavaria’s Hefeweizens and Bohemia’s pilsners, but for whatever reason, the city beer of Berlin rarely travels far from Germany’s capital. Compared to other German styles it’s also seldom imitated in North America. Luckily, one of Ontario’s best versions of the style has just made its way into the LCBO. The full review can be found by clicking over to PostCity.com.
standard Tree Hophead DIPA
The Pacific Northwest region of the United States and their neighbours in B.C. have a reputation for being easy-going and laidback. So it comes as a surprise that their breweries produce such unsubtle IPAs. The local hops happen to have distinctive aromas and flavours (citrus and pine, mainly) that set them apart from their European cousins. The full review is on PostCity.com.