WINNERS!!!!!!!!!! Sybil Taylor, Media Marketing Maven, attended a poncey – media event at The Royal York Hotel and when talking to the Media Rep Melanie she learned of an event to be held over the May 24 weekend at the hotel, The First Annual Queen Victoria Lookalike Contest.  Well I do have a bizarre interest in these dead royals so I immediately contacted one of my greatest friends, Elizabeth Fitzgerald (Steam Whistle Alumni. Elizabeth is the image of a young widowed Victoria. Once she had parted her hair in the middle and affixed a doily type widows peak and small diamond crown to herself we were looking into the face of Queen V…costume: homemade by Elizabeth, more doilies, a bussel made of neon pink netting and a black bed sheet sewn together at breakneck speed were the makings of our Victoria. I myself choose to attend as Princess Alexandrine of Baden, sister in law of her majesty, to assist the Queen in anyway necessary.

What we once thought was going to be an afternoon of dressing up and sitting around drinking tea turned into a media event worthy of The Royal Family. One thing that really spirited us on was the belief that our dearly departed Mothers would be so proud of us, at the Royal York, being served tea with Tiaras on!!! It appeared that Victoria’s were to perform in a Victoria Style Pageant with a backstage, and a fashion show style ramp…and THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE! This was not what we envisioned at all… Liz was totally up for this and the minute she hit the catwalk she went into high camp comedic behavior mode. This was no retiring morbidly repressed Vicky but one that Monty Python would highly approve of….even though she lost out on a round of musical royal chairs..her reaction when she lost and ran from the room had the crowd in hysterics….not to mention her talent portion was filled with her interpolation of Queen Vic posing for Victorian photographs. Of course she turned this also into a Victorian farce…the audience was roaring in laughter…. You may watch the following video for a better idea of what transpired.



I was also fortunate enough to be invited to the event where I realized a dream of mine. Ask most beer drinkers and they will have a list of people that they would like to have a beer with. Don Cherry is one of the most popular choices, and he was on my list! Love him or hate him (there aren’t many who are indifferent!) the man is an icon. A wealth of stories from a life in hockey, I would have been happy just to shake his hand! When he arrived I was touched by how approachable he was. He posed for pictures with all the kids, tousling their hair and asking them if they played hockey. I approached him for a photo, which he was gracious enough to pose for. Then disaster struck! My camera stopped working! Fortunately my girlfriend came to the rescue with her camera phone, so there is evidence, if a little blurry, of this meeting. I gave Mr. Cherry a Steam Whistle hockey jersey that he was very enthusiastic to receive. He declined a beer, but enjoyed seeing me slam one back. And at 76 years of age the man still has an iron handshake.

Ben Taylor and Don Cherry

It was encouraging to see the excitement on everyone’s faces. I looked around and saw a Steam Whistle in almost every hand. The cast and crew were present, including Don’s son Tim Cherry, who wrote the film. It is a touching, honest portrayal of the difficult life of a minor league hockey player and the balance between hockey and family. And it is essentially a love story, between Don and his late wife Rose.

The film itself is wonderfully done, and very Canadian. The hockey scenes are masterfully filmed. It can been seen here.

Meet Erica, Steam Whistle's newest brewer.

We would like to welcome Erica Graholm to Steam Whistle Brewing. Erica will be joining Marek’s team as a brewer, working alongside Jeff and Carl.

Erica has some great brewing experience, having previously worked for Amsterdam Brewing and Magnotta Brewing.  She attended the prestigious Versuchs-und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei (VLB) in Berlin, Germany where she studied to become a certified brewmaster.
We are excited that Erica is joining the Steam Whistle Brew Team and we wish her every success.

A comparison of our Camaro and the new Synergy Green Camaro from GM

In August last year we debuted our Steam Whistle green decorated Chevy Camaro. One of our investors sent photos of the new Steam Whistle Camaro to her friend, who runs the paint shop at GM in Oshawa. He printed them off and passed them around at a management meeting. Do you think Steam Whistle has inspired Chevrolet’s new car colour?? You be the judge. See the attached comparison photo above and the debut story here.

24 people. I remarked: “This is what a 2-4 of people looks like.” We were in for a trip! A beer was instantly cracked as the engine fired up, and five of us toasted the trip before the bus left the driveway.

Beau's IPA

The first stop was Beau’s in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Vankleek Hill, for the record, is near Hawkesbury, east of Ottawa. We were welcomed with open arms and open taps. It was nice to see that Beau’s, like Steam Whistle, offers its thirsty guests a taste immediately upon entering the building. I opted for their IPA, while many of my colleagues trying the Lug-Head, which is Beau’s “lagered-ale.” Beau’s is located in a farming area, and it carries that vibe. In fact, they embrace it by using a tractor as their symbol! Perhaps they should change their name to Beau’s Beer Farm.

Our first stop in la Belle Province was Brasseurs de Montreal, a fantastic little brew-pub on Ottawa Street. They offered a wide variety of beers. I began to notice similarities between Quebec beer and Belgian beer, in their passion for Blondes and Blanches. One of their more exotic beers was a ginger-lemongrass wheat beer! Brasseur de Montreal also fed us a very nice meal. I felt a strong desire to eat lots of bread to soak up the copious amounts of beer I sampled.

A Sample from Brewtopia

We then checked in to the hotel and then visited Brutopia. I tried their dark pilsner and their stout. And their IPA. Then the washroom. Then the dark pilsner again. Then the washroom again. Then the shuffleboard table. Brutopia, for the record, does not offer sample-sized drinks, so all the above figures are in pints!

The final brewery of the evening was Les 3 Brasseurs. I remember trying their wheat beer and finding it very enjoyable. Then having another one. After that…

The next day we started our day bright and brutally early. Our first stop was Boreal. They offer a wide variety of beers, but it was too early for them to offer us any to try. For some reason I was surprised that they cared about liquor laws in Quebec! We got to see the plant in action. Their robotic skid-stacker was very impressive and had our Steam Whistle skid-stacker Gibbs wanting a chance to race it! They were extremely generous, giving us each a 12-pack to take home.

Canada Malting

We then visited Montreal’s Canada Malting facility where barley grains are malted for brewing beer. It was very interesting to see the shear volume of barley that is dedicated to making beer. Such an excellent use of one of our natural resources!

Only ten of us were still standing at 3pm when we visited Dieu du Ciel. They are a tiny little place that in my opinion made the finest beers we tried. Luc the brewer led us through their menu of Stouts, IPAs, Blondes, Ambers, Blanches, and even a beer spiced with pepper. We did a lot of research in a very short amount of time, including their 9% Imperial Stout.

Dieu du Ciel

Dieu du Ciel after a round of drinks

The rest of the evening was a blur of brewpubs, bars, and finally some familiar Steam Whistle back at the hotel. Another ridiculously early morning start and we were homeward bound.

Quebec offers an interestingly different beer drinking experience than Ontario, and perhaps the rest of Canada. They are loyal to their beer and it’s really hard to crack into that market for out-of-province beer companies. Their passion lies not so much in making bold and outrageous beers, but creating well balanced and unique beers that can hold their own on the international scale. Au revoir!

Enjoying a Steam Whistle in the lobby

The pictures: Beau’s IPA, Brutopia’s Dark Pilsner, Canada Malting, me and Gibbs at Dieu du Ciel, the table after a round at Dieu du Ciel, me enjoying a Steam Whistle in the hotel lobby (totally legal by the way!).