One good thing to come out of the pandemic in Ontario was the ability for existing businesses to add a craft bottle shop element to their offerings, and it's about time we did a deep dive for this series. Chris Redmond of Durand Bar & Bottle Shop in Hamilton, ON, and Marc Lecompte of Sidewalk Beer Shop in Waterloo, ON, joined Cee and Nate to talk about the law change and how it works, their approach to curation, how they work with breweries, what they can and can't sell, the much-debated pricing structure for indie stores, any impacts from other beer and wine sales points, challenges with breweries and shipping, how they set up their fridges, and what they think the future holds for independent bottle shop. They got into four expertly-curated beers from breweries that can regularly be found in both of their stores: Sonnen Hill RGLR Beer Lager, Fine Balance Oats & Honey (HBC 1019), Badlands Fog (2024), and Third Moon Each Beast A God Coffee Stout (El Salvador Washed Red Bourbon). This was incredibly insightful - cheers!

 

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

Red Tape has made a serious splash in their East Toronto neighbourhood since opening in the depths of the pandemic. Sarabeth Holden joins Cee and Nate to chat about her beer journey from Ottawa to Toronto, their humble homebrew origins, how the brewery came about, her love for golf, why they started creating bespoke beers for clients and how that makes their taproom extremely unique, their fun loyalty program, why they've made their taproom family-friendly and accessible, Sarabeth's award-winning writing career, the bureaucratic process for opening a brewery in Toronto, and how her Indigenous heritage influences her business. They got into Red Tape's Birdie Pilsner, a true crusher. This was really fun - enjoy!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

Oregon has forever been renowned as one of the greatest craft beer scenes in North America, perhaps the world, and it's a travesty that we hadn't had a brewery from the state on the pod until now. Ben Edmunds, Co-Founder and Brewmaster at Breakside Brewery, joined Cee to chat about their esteemed 15-year history, how Oregon craft beer hadn't fallen to the trends, how they took the brewery from one location to six across the state, their approach to hospitality, how they drop around 10 fresh hop beers every year, what it's like being 20 minutes from the best hop farms in the world, their barrel program, their flagship beers and his take on Ontario craft beer from his time at the Ontario Craft Brewers Conference in 2024. They got into seven impeccable Breakside beers - White Tea Lager, Tropical Pale, Pilsner, Wanderlust West Coast IPA, West Coast, Best Coast IPA collab with Grains of Wrath, Somebody New In The Old West (2024) Barrel-Aged Stout, and Don't Worry About That Fireplace (2024) Barrel-Aged Stout. This was fantastic - cheers!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

We say this every time, but this annual episode is easily our favourite to consider and to film. Reflecting on the past year in craft beer in Ontario is always rewarding as we recall some of our favourite podcasts, brewery visits, beers and moments, and 2024 was a truly phenomenal year. While we had some closures, overall the level of quality and competition was the hottest to date, and putting together our collective Top 10 Ontario breweries was incredibly difficult. As with the Top 10 Quebec Breweries episode, we implemented a new point system where we actually put them in order from 1-10 and allocated 10 points for #1, 9 points for #2 and so on. As always, no spoilers allowed here - grab some of your fave Ontario craft beer and drink along with us! Cheers to a fantastic year, and we're excited to see what 2025 brings.

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

Offering a gateway destination for new craft beer drinkers is arguably one of the most important things any beer scene can possess, and thankfully Ontario has Beertown. Jen Tamse jumps back on the pod to catch us up on what's been happening with Beertown in the 18 months since she was last on, their epic 12-location tap takeover with Bellwoods, how she thinks about her collaboration beers, her approach to structuring their beer menu, her trip to Belgium to brew a collab with Brasserie Huyghe (Deliria), the legend of Mikkeller's Beer Geek Breakfast, the sheer value of what Beertown brings to Ontario, she tells the story of becoming a Belgian Beer Knight, and the importance of Untappd. They got into four impeccable beers that had a direct tie-in with Beertown - Bellwoods x Beertown Beer Belly Pale Ale, Short Finger x Beertown French Fuse Saison, Brasserie Huyghe Deliria (2024), and Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast (brewed in Ontario by Craft Brand Co.). This was epic - cheers!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

Florida is one of our favourite places on the planet, so it's always a treat to discover and chat with a brewery from the Sunshine State. Home State Brewing Co. is based out of Winter Gardens, FL, just outside of Orlando, and they've been knocking out some amazing liquid in their short existence. Marco Reyna and Tyler Rosenberg joined Cee to chat about their respective impeccable brewing histories, their approach to their beer and the experience of the taproom, the cafe side of their business via Filigree Coffee and their motto "Work from Home State", their love for lagers, what a Florida IPA is, how they got together with the biggest producer of Cuban bread in the world for a collab beer, what a "girthy" lager is, and how the Florida scene has changed over the years. They got into six killer Home State brews - Party Goblin American Lager, Oh My Gatos! Florida-Inspired IPA, La Segunda Pre-Prohibition Lager collab with La Segunda Bakery, Kokomo Radler with Pineapple, Ginger and Hibiscus, Doctor's Orders Hefeweizen, and Adults Are Talking Pilsner. This was super fun - cheers!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

The most hyped new Quebec brewery of 2024 is absolutely Dunham, QC's Bad Bones, and these fellas have quite the origin story. Brothers Zack and Dave joined Cee and Nate to break down how they went from creating their Pourno travel YouTube channel to opening Bad Bones this past August, Zack's horrific and life-changing accident, their unique agreement with Brasserie Dunham that makes them a legit "brewery in a brewery", their future taproom plans, their approach to their Extra Hoppy Ales, how they handle distro, line-up culture and why they name their beers after bones. They got into five hazy bangers in the order they were released - Coma IPA, Clavicle Double IPA, Jaws of Life Double IPA collab with Le Ketch, Bedridden Double IPA and Pelvis Double IPA. This was such a great chat - cheers!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

This past summer, we visited Indianapolis for the first time and thanks to reddit recommendations for the best haze in the city, the only brewery in town we hit was Guggman Haus. We enjoyed it so much that we had to get the folks behind the brewery on the pod! Derek and Courtney joined Cee to chat about their lengthy and rocky journey to opening the brewery, the impact their time in Germany had on their approach to their beer, the scene in Indiana, how they leveraged the full real estate of their property to get open sooner, why they turned their old brewery into a cafe, how they opened their second location, the Indy 500 and the impact on the city, their recent equipment upgrade, and why they don't really do much distro. They got into four fantastic Guggman Haus beers - Wilburs Prize Pils American Pilsner, The Riverside New England IPA, Guggenweizen Hefeweizen, and Into The Wild Sour (Strawberry, Raspberry and Blueberry). This was fascinating - cheers!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

Farm-to-glass breweries are a truly phenomenal experience as a drinker, so it was such a pleasure to chat with some folks who are doing one of the finest in the province. Phil and Gail of GoodLot Farmstead joined Cee and Nate to talk about their journey from leaving the city to buy a farm, starting to grow hops and learn about beer to becoming a full-fledged brewery, why sustainability is important to them, their approach to beer and why they focus on all-Ontario ingredients, the difference between organic farming and regenerative farming, how they've crafted their impeccable beer garden experience, their phenomenal food program via chef Phil DeWar of Soulyve, and the collaboration between the Caledon breweries. They got into some of GoodLot's amazing brews - Farmstead Ale Pale Ale, Philsner Pilsner, Highfalutin English Special Bitter, Yonder West Coast IPA, Stones Throw East Coast IPA, and Pippa Porter. This was a gem - cheers! 

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads

Discovering new breweries is always super fun, so when Cee stumbled upon Dallas, TX's Celestial Beerworks at our fave WNY store, Brewed & Bottled, thanks to a suggestion from the owner, Chris, he immediately reached out to get them on the pod. Matt and Molly joined Cee to chat about their long craft beer journeys from the 1990s 'til now, how the lack of haze in Texas led to a solid homebrew scene following for Matt's murky beers, their fun and nostalgic approach to their branding and social media presence, why they make more triple IPAs than any other style, where the Texas craft beer scene is at now, how they've engaged their community, their fantastic connection with local boys Third Moon, and their barrel program. They got into some phenomenal Celestial brews - Jerzy Polish Lager, Ringback Tone Double IPA, Burn Out Triple IPA, Ube Piña Colada Tropic Smoothie Sour, and Dark Disco Barrel-Aged Stout. This was exceptional - cheers!

BAOS Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube | Website | Theme tune: Cee - BrewHeads