I'm a huge fan of Ontario micro-brewed beers and spent most of this summer with a fridge full of one craft beer or another. I've converted most of my friends over to the micro-brewed beer scene and can very often be heard arguing the virtues of drinking locally-produced beers over larger, imported brands. With dozens and dozens of craft beers on the market there surely has to be a beer you're going to love that supports local growth and improves our beer scene as a whole. To be clear, in Ontario a craft beer is made in limited quantity by a micro-brewery without the use of any additives or preservatives.
In August I went to the Festival of Beer hosted at Exhibition Place in Toronto. It is an excellent place to get around and try a whole bunch of different craft beers without needing to commit to a 6- or 12-pack as you'd have to at the Beer Store or LCBO. Rather than simply wander about tasting many of the beers I had already tried, instead I decided to approach each Ontario micro-brewery with a simple question for their staff:
Other than the beer you brew, what is your favourite Ontario craft beer?
I was pleasantly surprised by the varied answers and the popularity of some of the beers amongst competitors. It's definitely helped steer me towards some new labels when I go shopping for beer.
| Brewer | Their Favourite Ontario craft beer |
| Great Lakes Brewery | Amsterdam Boneshaker IPA |
| Old Credit Brewing Co. | Cameron's Auburn Ale |
| Hogtown Brewers | Brick Waterloo Dark |
| Beau's All Natural Brewing | Black Oak Pale Ale |
| Creemore Springs Brewery | Lake of Bays Pale Ale |
| Steam Whistle Brewing | Flying Monkey's Hoptical Illusion |
| Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery | Great Lakes Crazy Canuck |
| Stone Hammer Beer | Great Lakes Karma Citra IPA |
| Railway City Brewing Company | Black Oak Pale Ale |
| Wellington Brewery | Spearhead's Hawaiin Style Pale Ale |
| Hogsback Brewing Company | Ashton Brewing Company Amber |
| Black Oak Brewing Company | Lake of Bays Pale Ale |
| Brick Brewing Company | Hogtown Beer |
| Lake of Bays Brewing Company | Mill Street Original Organic |
| Moosehead | Black Oak Pale Ale |
| Cool Beer Brewing Co. | Creemore's Altbier |
| Magnotta Brewery | Flying Monkey's Hoptical Illusion |
In a lot of homes September means back to school, cooler mornings and leaves to rake—in my home it's always meant great food, time with family and the start of a new year. Wait, what? That's right—a new year. Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish year falls in September/October every year. Aside from a day full of prayers in synagogue it generally means gathering all the family around for some giant meals and festive eating. Not a bad way to kick off the year, am-i-right? Traditionally there is a lot of sweet food served to usher in a sweet new year, and the tradition of eating apples with honey comes from similar roots.
This spin on a traditional roast chicken uses apple flavoured tea to infuse the chicken from inside, and sweet caramelized honey to enhance it from without. A delectable twist on an ancient tradition that will have your guests singing your praises these High Holidays.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Clean and dry chicken, Remove any excess fat and giblets.
Fill the tea bags with the tea and fold to seal - then stuff inside of the chicken.
Season all sides of the chicken with salt, pepper and cinnamon and place in a roasting pan.
Combine olive oil and honey in a small bowl then using a brush coat entire chicken with mixture.
Place in oven and cook for 45 minutes, basting every 15 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 425F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165F and skin is golden, about 10 minutes longer.
Dispose of tea pouch before serving.
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