August 7, 2025
On August 7th, a keen group of craft beer tasters and BBQ aficionados (we discussed that word!) gathered at the lovely home of Hugh Turner. As usual, our objective was to explore some interesting new craft beers. The food selected by Hugh was tasty BBQ’d skewers of pork and chicken, with tzatziki sauce, accompanied by a mixed green salad, and a generous assortment of Greek pastries. Kevin Paterson organized the event and selected the beers and deserts. His objective was to find new beer types which complemented this food well. Mission accomplished! The grand finale was a strong cider (6.5%). It perfectly suited the terrific baklava and other sweet deserts.
The four beers tasted (all well regarded) were, in order:
1. Canadian Red Ale from Fenelon Falls Brewing Company (Haliburton area)
A west coast style red ale. Mix of caramel and biscuit malts, with background tropical fruit flavours.
2. Short Hills Hazy IPA from the Bench Brewing Company (Niagara)
Juicy aromas of tropical fruit with a soft round body and light bitterness.
3. Checkered Flag from Northwinds Brewing Company (Collingwood)
A blond stout! Light golden colour with coffee and some chocolate notes.
4. Corduroy from Northwinds Brewing Company (Collingwood)
Full bodied IPA with a hefty addition of rye adding peppery spiciness to balance the citrus and light floral aromatics.
The cider was:
5. Maple Whisky Oak Aged Cider from NIagara Cider Company, Niagara Benchyards.
This long moniker delivered a full bodied but refined cider taste with maple notes and a touch of whiskey.
November 22, 2024
On Friday November 22nd, 22 Applewood Probus craft beer enthusiasts gathered at Mascot Brewery in Etobicoke.
A good time was had by all. The Mascot’s restaurant is quite large, and we had one zone of it to ourselves, with “cosy” seating on one extremely long and another pretty big picnic table.
We first sampled “Paulies Italian Lager", then a seasonal beer called “Octoberfresh” before the food began to arrive. The Mascot surprised us with a little taste of their take on “Welsh Rarebit “ which was essentially melted beer cheese with chives on toast. The third beer we tried was “Belly Belgian”, a fruity and refreshing wheat beer.
Our prearranged food choices began to arrive at this point. They included a delicious beer bratwurst sausage drizzled with regular and a dollop of an excellent coarse ground mustard. To our surprise the sausages weren’t served in a bun, but came sliced on a plate for sharing. In addition, we were served Brussels sprouts which (thankfully) weren't like the ones our grandmothers used to prepare. These were tossed in a sweet gochhujang (?) sauce, topped with chili flakes, crispy onions and sesame seeds. Very well appreciated by almost everyone.
These food offerings were accompanied by the last two beers sampled. The first was "Beige Panther” a very dark lager featuring coffee and chocolate notes. The final sample was “Juicy J” a New England style IPA which presented the expected fruity hop flavours. All five beers were served very cold - perhaps a detriment to proper release of the distinctive flavour of each brew.
Surprise homemade oatmeal-chocolate chunk cookies provided everyone with a simple but tasty dessert. Finally, on their way out of the pub, each participant was invited to select one can of their favourite beer as a take-home bonus.
The Mascot presents itself as one of only two black owned breweries in Canada. They actively lean into that distinction.
Clicking on the link below goes to their web page which describes the owners’ vision in more detail.
