We are Toronto’s local homebrew club and our goal is to help our members learn how to make the best beer/mead/cider possible! We run events, competitions, bulk buys, and lots more. Club Meetings are the 2nd Monday of each month. Join as a Member to get access to all our events and services. Keep up with our latest news:
Join on Facebook:GTA Brews Facebook Discussion Group
This group serves as the main discussion hub for over 2000 local homebrewers. Ask your brewing questions, and check out what others brewing to get inspired for your next brew!
Sign Up for:GTA Brews Mailing List
New members are automatically added to the mailing list, but anyone can sign up here. Emails consist of Monthly Newsletter and occasional reminders about events/sign-ups.
Location: Muddy York Brewing Date: Monday March 13th, 2023 Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM ET
March is coming in like a lion and for this month’s club meeting we’re introducing something new! Josh Davis, BJCP judge and one of our new members over the last year will be discussing an Exbeeriment! There will also be social time and Shane Martin will also have his Exbeerimental beer to share and discuss as well!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! Muddy York offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
It’s already February! And for this month’s club meeting we’re doing a “social” meeting; so there’s no presentations or structured items planned. This is an opportunity to bring (and share) your homebrew with other club members!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! Northern Maverick offers a wide selection of fine beers to go and food available so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
A Brief History Of A Place For Homebrewers and Craft Beer Lovers
It started as a collective; an inclusive one that was focused on homebrewed beers made by passionate homebrewers. These beers, and the brewers that made them, were then featured at small batch events around the city of Toronto. That collective was what was known as The People’s Pint and the gentlemen behind that collective were Doug Appledoorn and Pietro Ciara.
That was 2016.
By 2017 Doug and Pietro were searching for a permanent space for their collective and events but also to brew their own beers.
By mid 2018 an opportunity presented itself. Junction Craft Brewing were moving out of their space on Cawthra Ave and Doug and Pietro had found a permanent home for People’s Pint.
They continued to host events that focused on, and supported, the homebrew community, and GTA Brews in particular, including:
A homebrew tap takeover for Toronto Beer Week
Learn2Brew days
Off Flavour Tasting sessions
Being a sponsor for BrewSlam (GTA Brews Premier National Homebrew Competition)
A rotating GTA Brews guest tap serving GTA Brews members homebrew to the public
Hosting Club Meetings, the Club Barrel (fills and empties), and Hop Buy Pick Ups / Sorting
They also were active in the industry by ensuring their brewery was a space that was safe, inclusive, and welcoming to all who wanted to partake, learn and enjoy craft beer regardless of creed, colour or sexuality.
They were also one of the first breweries in Toronto to “employ” a brewery cat via the SPCA; Maris was quite unique for some time!
On top of all of that Doug and Pietro and all others who worked with them were friends, homebrewers and individuals to be admired.
So, now that they have closed their doors, Peoples Pint, the brewery space, will be missed but Peoples Pint, the ideal, will live on.
Thank you to Pietro, Doug, Angie, Chris, Chris, Adam, Alex, Deaglan, Jeff, and everyone else that welcomed us as GTA Brews members, fellow homebrewers and cherished friends into the warm space you built.
That space, of course, will be missed.
(To interact with homebrewers and for photos of People’s Pint, please visit our Facebook page)
So you’ve heard the rumblings, the mumblings and grumblings. Or maybe you haven’t. But Last Brewer Standing is BACK. Get those COVID-19 tested, tweaked and perfected recipes ready for the big stage! After years of hogging the trophy, it’s time for everyone to take a run at the reigning Last Brewer Standing champ, Kieth Caines, and claim that trophy as their own!
Location:Muddy York Brewing Co. Date: Monday January 9th, 2023 Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM ET
HOPPY 2023! It’s January and, if you’ve been a member of the club for any length of time, you’ll know that this month we talk about H20, Aqua, Adam’s Ale (aka Water) and we are happy to have GTA Brews Member (and former club President) Eric Cousineau back to give us an updated presentation on water chemistry!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! Muddy York offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
I’m a Chemical Engineer that works in Technical Sales selling adhesives and tapes. Structural acrylics, double-sided tapes, hotmelts… anything sticky.
What got you into homebrewing?
Like most kids in university, my beer drinking capacity was limited only by my (very minimal) budget. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and brew beer myself to save some dollars at the Beer Store. This egregious use of the shared kitchen in our student housing really pissed off my female roommates, and also didn’t save me any money. But it did generate enough passably drinkable beer to fuel many beer pong tournaments, it ignited some interesting conversations, and it kicked me down the long, rewarding rabbit hole that is the art & science of fermentation.
It’s already December and this month we’ll be having our Year End Holiday Festive Shindig! There’s some announcements (Canadian Homebrew Championship winners will be announced!) that we’ll make but there’s no presentation, it’s strictly about socializing, wishing each other a great holiday season and sharing homebrew! We’re still at PEOPLE’S PINT BREWING CO. 90 Cawthra Ave in Toronto, but this meeting will not have a guest speaker and outside of standard announcements we’re simply going to mingle and talk beer and homebrewing!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters/announcements and keep your chatting to a minimum at that time.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! People’s Pint offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
GTA Brews is pleased to offer another branded glass from our favourite manufacturer, Rastal! Our previous Teku glass has been very popular for many years, and this one is chosen to be the perfect accompaniment to that one.
This is the Rastal Winebar 40, which is a stemless tumbler sized at 0.4L (13.5 oz)
The graphic fullwrap pattern is created by GTA Brews member James Kennedy
The tale of Ed’s 22 year old lambic-style beer is legendary among GTA Brews members that were present in the 2016-2017 era. I was recently talking to some newer members and realized that we needed to document this story in a format more lasting than word of mouth.
Some readers might be yelling at their screens right now that true Lambic can only be made in Senne Valley region of Belgium. Ed is right there with you and readily admits this was more of a lambic-style beer or methode traditionelle (MT) beer. However at the time when the beer was brewed, homebrewers were used to playing more fast and loose with these kinds of appellations.
I’ve had the pleasure of trying both versions of this beer several times over the years, and they were both wonderful!
After contacting Ed to ask his thoughts on how we could best document this, he recommended we use a version of the letter he wrote the the Sour Hour Podcast in 2017, which has been slightly modified for GTA Brews.
So without further ado, lets get into the story!
The legendary beer itselfEd Hitchcock with his awards and trophy at 2016 Brew Slam Awards
Ed’s Letter to The Sour Hour (Updated for GTA Brews):
I am sure that anyone reading this will appreciate the symbiotic nature of homebrewing and a desire to learn more about as many beer styles as possible. One of the unique beer styles that is wholly intriguing for both complexity and mystique is Belgian Lambic, so of course I decided I would try to brew one. More or less following Guinard’s book (from the Classic Beer Styles series) I made a wort of pale malt, unmalted wheat and aged Hallertau hops, and – as was the recommendation at the time – did a primary ferment using Wyeast 1056 before doing a secondary ferment with the Wyeast Lambic blend. My understanding at the time was that wood was necessary for proper growth of the Brett and bacteria, so I chopped a log of birch into kindling, torching the exposed ends to sterilize them but leaving the fresh wood where it was split untouched, and tossed that in. It sat in a glass carboy for a while, but then I had to move, so I transferred the beer and the wood to a stainless corny keg and sealed it up.
And here is where it gets interesting, because life sometimes throws curveballs…
A year later I moved to Europe, and when I moved back I had young kids. It was a while before I got back into homebrewing, and when I did, I decided something had to be done with the keg that was sitting patiently under the stairs at my parent’s cottage. Until I cracked it, it was kind of like Schroedinger’s cat (Schroedinger’s vat?) in that it existed in a superposition of states, both bad and good, and there was no way to know which way it would resolve until I opened it. Fortunately, it was still good – quite good in fact -so I split the batch and bottled half straight and half after a refermentation with raspberries.
Now if you are following along, you will notice that some time has passed, but I have been somewhat cagey as to just how much time. I brewed the beer in February 1994. I bottled it in the summer of 2015, twenty one and a half years later. My son was born a month after I brewed it, and was legal to drink in the US by the time it was bottled.
Eight months later the straight Lambic won best of show at a local competition with about a hundred entries (Editor: It was Spring Showdown 2016), and six months after that the Framboise won a major award at a much larger competition (Editor: It was Brew Slam 2016). While it did not medal in the BOS, it moved on to a side award sponsored by one of the local breweries as one of the top 10 beers from the greater Toronto area (a smaller field of merely 400 entries, versus the full competition of 600), and in that challenge it won hands down. The award, called the Henderson Cup, was a cash prize and an opportunity to design and brew a beer on Henderson’s 20HL system for one of their monthly special releases.
Ed Hitchcock receiving the Henderson Cup at Brew Slam 2016 Awards
Note from Ed in November 2022:
Now in 2022, I only have two bottles left (one of each), now seven years in the bottle and almost twenty nine years old. The last time I had one it was thin and had lost a lot of complexity, and I’m just waiting for a special moment to finish the last two; but once they are gone, that’s it. I’m not likely to repeat this – unless I decide to brew something now for my 80th birthday – but if anyone reading this is looking for a challenge, by all means give it a go!
Advent submissions all lined up at Brunswick Bierworks, ready for exchange
A few months ago we opened sign up for our 9th annual GTA Brews Homebrew Calendar. The participation fee was $10/person, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). We also included the option to donate extra (in $10 increments) to CAMH to help us on our fundraising efforts.
We’re pleased to announce that (as of writing) we have raised $320 for CAMH! There’s still time to donate using the following item. Donations will be accepted until Weds Dec 14th.
As is tradition, James Kennedy has designed a custom advent graphic showing each beer that is part of the calendar. As is also tradition, he has taken artistic liberty based on the name given to the beer, at least for the members that gave their beer a name.
Location:Muddy York Brewing Co. Date: Monday November 14th, 2022 Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM ET
Back at Muddy York Brewing Co this month for our November meeting!!! We are excited to have Scarborough’s own Marcelo Paniza, from Paniza Brewing, talk to us about NEIPA brewing!!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! Muddy York offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
This month we are having a SOCIAL meeting!!! While we love our educational presentations and hearing from beer industry professionals and homebrewers alike, we thought it was time to have a social meeting that’s outside of our “normal” social meetings (i.e. Holiday meeting in December)! We’re still at PEOPLE’S PINT BREWING CO. 90 Cawthra Ave in Toronto, but this meeting will not have a guest speaker and outside of standard announcements we’re simply going to mingle and talk beer and homebrewing!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters/announcements and keep your chatting to a minimum at that time.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! People’s Pint offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
Exchange Date: Saturday November 26th, 2022 @ 1:00 PM (Don't be late!)Exchange Location(s): Brunswick BierworksParticipation Fee: $10
The Annual GTA Brews Advent Calendar is back for the 9th year ...
This content is only available for GTA Brews Members. Please visit our membership page to join today! If you are already a member, don't forget to Log In!
Entrant/Volunteer Registration: Oct 24th, 2022, 12:00 PM Entry Registration Opens: Oct 24th, 2022, 12:00 PM Entry Deadline: Nov 11th, 2022, 4:00 PM Judging Date: Nov 20th, 2022 Judging Location:Amsterdam Brewhall (45 Esandar Dr) Results/Awards Ceremony:TBD
Cost of Entry: $10 per entry – 2 bottles per entry Payment: Paypal Only Styles Accepted: All BJCP Beer styles (BJCP 2021 Guidelines) Styles Limits: – 1 entry per classic style subcategory (1-26) – 2 entries per specialty subcategory (21B, 27-34), must be different beers Entry Limits: – Total cap: N/A (Invite Only) – Per-entrant cap: 6 per person
Competition Overview
The Canadian Homebrew Championship (CHC) is a collaboration between the Canadian Brewer of the Year Circuit (BOTY), the Canadian Homebrewers Association (CHA), and the local organizing homebrew club (GTA Brews for 2022). This is an invite-only homebrew competition, where only the top 3 winners of each local club’s qualifier competition are invited to submit entries.
This competition acts as a Final Round for the BOTY circuit, where BOTY 2022 titles will be awarded:
We're back at it again with the launch of our Fall 2022Grain Bulk Buy! Make sure you take a good look at the catalogue as we have some newish additions (Raven from the Czech Republic and Canada's own Prairie Malting). In addition to the grain buy catalogue on this page, Toronto Brewing is offering GTA Brews members with 17% off items from the JaDeD wort chillers offered through their website! Details can be found in the post below.
Thanks again to Toronto Brewing for hosting, please make sure to give them your love and make some purchases on pick up day! All questions should be emailed to grainbuy@gtabrews.ca.
Key Info:
Sign Up Open: September 8, 2022
Sign Up Close: September 25, 2022 (11:59 pm)
Pick Up Day: Saturday, October 15, 2022 (11:00 am – 2:00 pm)
PICKUP LOCATION: Toronto Brewing (Chesswood Location)
You MUST book a pickup timeslot
NO SPLITS - FULL BAGS ONLY
Reminders
Updates are sent to the email registered with your GTA Brews membership account
If you didn't get the announcement email or order confirmation, check your spam!
Reminder that some items are special order, and may be delayed
You can find all your gtabrews.ca orders on your My Account page
This content is only available for GTA Brews Members. Please visit our membership page to join today!
If you are already a member, don't forget to Log In!
Location:Muddy York Brewing Co. Date: Monday September 12th, 2022 Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM ET
We swing BACK to the east side this month at Muddy York Brewing Co!!! We’re pleased as punch to have Mary-Beth Keefe and Tim Burnett, from The Granite Brewery and Tied House, to give us a talk on Cask Conditioned Ales (aka “Real Ale”)
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! Muddy York offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
In Person again (sort of) at People’s Pint Brewing Company in the Junction!!! This month we’re trying something a bit different for our in-person meeting. Our presenter will NOT be present but will still present! (read on for more information) Chris Tower will be giving a delicious talk on cooking with beer!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
NOTE: Our presenter this month will be virtually joining us – we’ll broadcast the presentation via the big screen and make it a bit easier for those that can’t attend to review the presentation after the fact!
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! People’s Pint offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
Recording from the July 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.(NOTE: The club is still figuring out how to best record these in person sessions so please bear with us until we can sort out getting better quality video and audio available)
We were back to IN PERSON meetings at Muddy York Brewing!!! For the East End of the GTA, this was the first time we have been back in person at Muddy York and we were so happy to hearing from our good friends at Escarpment Labs! Jonah Greenbaum-Shinder came to the meeting to give us a talk on Wild Yeast Capture and Testing!
Recording from the July 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada. (NOTE: The club is still figuring out how to best record these in person sessions so please bear with us until we can sort out getting better quality video and audio available)
Emily was in-person for her final “Style Of The Month” presentation for July! If you missed June’s meeting you’d realize that Emily couldn’t make June’s meeting so we’re hopeful she can get to Muddy York for the final category: Mead! Emily looked at the mead style guidelines in more detail. We’ll miss seeing Emily and hearing the various styles!! Thanks for all your hard work on this Emily!
Click Here to go to the main competition page and register!
Our popular seasonal homebrew competition is back for 2022, in person! We will be accepting all styles of beer, and for the first time we will be using the new BJCP 2021 Guidelines! Since this is our small competition, entry will be restricted to GTA Brews members only.
This seasonal competition is designed to be a “low stakes” introduction to BJCP competitions for club members to enter their beers for feedback and fun. The focus is on providing excellent feedback, so we keep the entry cap low. Our hope is that lots of first-time entrants will find themselves on the winners list and be motivated to continue entering competitions. This competition will be judged by BJCP Judges according to the newly released 2021 BJCP Guidelines.
If this if your first competition, please read our BJCP Competition Guide for tips on entering. If you aren’t sure which category to enter your beer, bring it to a club meeting, or email comp@gtabrews.ca.
I work in film, TV and commercial production. I work as a lighting technician (ie. gaffer, electric, key grip, best boy (akg). I am currently working on a union film tv production here in the city, called Beacon 23. I am also a partner in a video game company working as a Dev on level, character and story design.
What got you into homebrewing?
I worked as a line cook in a bier market that opened up in Etobicoke. I was exposed to a lot of craft beer and Belgian trappist beer. I underwent the first level of Prud’homme training, but unfortunately the company didn’t file it properly (so I have to redo it). Soon after I bought myself a 1 gallon beer kit that I failed miserably at. About a year later, my friend who moved to Australia gave me his 5 gallon home brew kit, it worked out and I’ve been brewing ever since.
We are back to IN PERSON meetings at Muddy York Brewing!!! For the East End of the GTA, this is the first time we’re back in person at Muddy York and we’re so looking forward to hearing from our good friends at Escarpment Labs! Jonah Greenbaum-Shinder will be coming to the meeting to give us a talk on Wild Yeast Capture and Testing!
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! Muddy York offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
This month we are SUPER excited to be back to IN PERSON meetings!!! And since we haven’t had a proper in person meeting in, oh, about 2+ years it’s going to be exciting since there’s a lot of new stuff to announce! Firstly, our “west” meeting location has changed to be at PEOPLE’S PINT BREWING CO. 90 Cawthra Ave in Toronto. Secondly, we’re stoked to hear People’s Pint’s head brewer and former GTA Brews member Pietro Caira talk to us about all things Mash related (well, almost all things – I don’t think Pietro’s going to talk about the “Monster Mash”. . . . . ) !
As we are now back to in-person meetings, please be respectful of the presenters and keep your chatting to a minimum.
Also, please don’t forget to patronize our hosts!! People’s Pint offers a wide selection of fine beers to go so don’t hesitate to grab some especially if you don’t get out to see them as often as you’d like!
Recipe #2: Betty Blonde by Barley’s Homebrew Supplies
Barley’s Homebrew Supplies from New Westminster, BC was voted as Canadian Homebrew Shop of the year for 2021. To celebrate CHD 2022, owner Curtis supplied his favourite Blond Ale recipe for us to brew!
If you are indeed brewing that day, please take some pictures and share it with our community and beyond by tagging GTA Brews and #CanadianHomebrewDay in your posts!
Recording from the May 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month we were exceptionally excited to have Tariq Ahmed join us from Revel Cider talk to us about cider brewing! His presentation focused on Revel Cider, their cider brewing philosophies and a guided tasting of two of their ciders.
Date: Monday May 9th, 2022 Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM ET
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the link and password. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
This month we are exceptionally excited to have Tariq Ahmed join us from Revel Cider talk to us about cider brewing! His presentation will focus on Revel Cider, their cider brewing philosophies and a guided tasting of two of their ciders. Please see details on how to get their cider below!
As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise. During Q&A segments we will make use of the “Raise Hand” feature.
Exchange Date: Sunday June 26th, 2022 @ 3:30 PM (Don't be late!)Exchange Location: To Be Announced, but in TorontoParticipation Fee: FREE
Some feedback coming out of the member survey this yea...
This content is only available for GTA Brews Members. Please visit our membership page to join today! If you are already a member, don't forget to Log In!
Recording from the April 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month we were exceptionally excited to have Calum and Lauren join us from Sonnen Hill Brewery talk to us about lagers! Their presentation focused on brewing lagers and included a guided tasting of four of their beers
Recording from the April 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
Emily returned with April’s BJCP Style Of The Month! This month, Emily looked at smoke, wood, and specialty beers (aka the beers that don’t fit nowhere else).
I work in the Maintenance Department for the York Region District School Board.
What got you into homebrewing?
I always wanted to try making my own homebrew. When Covid came around it became the perfect opportunity for me to try just that. I started with a Brooklyn Brew Shop Kit and then went from there.
Date: Monday April 11th, 2022 Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM ET
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the link and password. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
This month we are exceptionally excited to have Calum and Lauren join us from Sonnen Hill Brewery talk to us about lagers! Their presentation will focus on brewing lagers and will include a guided tasting of four of their beers, so make sure you check out some ways (see here) you can get their beers before April 11th!
As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise. During Q&A segments we will make use of the “Raise Hand” feature.
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see details related to the Sonnen Hill Group Order!. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
This may be a wee bit early to be talking about a meeting that’s about 2 weeks away BUT there’s good reason for it! Our guests for our April meeting will be Calum and Lauren from Sonnen Hill Brewing and the focus will be on lagers!
Part of that meeting will include a guided tasting of four of Sonnen Hill’s lagers (Low & Slow, Vienna, Munich and Gold). If you plan on attending the Club Meeting on Monday April 11 @ 7:30pm – and you’d like to participate in that guided tasting you can do one of the following:
Locate these beers yourself via one of the retailers (e.g. Toronto Brewing; Bottega Volo) that carry Sonnen Hill’s beers; OR
Participate in our club’s group buy in order to save on shipping. If interested in participating in the group order, please email your exact order to meetings@gtabrews.ca. All orders must be submitted by April 4, 2022.
Payments will be settled after the order is placed w/ Sonnen Hill
East End pickup location (exact location TBD).
At this time, we do not have a West End pickup location – if you are interested in serving as a West End pickup location, please email meetings@gtabrews.ca
If you have any questions regarding the guided tasting, please email meetings@gtabrews.ca.
Recording from the March 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
As we Marched towards spring this month (you see what I did there?) we were excited to have GTA Brews Member Lauren Richard (pronounced akin to “Rocket Richard”) with us to impart her knowledge on something our club has never looked at before – Beer / Food Pairings!!
We're back at it again with the launch of our Spring 2022Grain Bulk Buy! Make sure you take a good look at the catalogue as we have some new additions (Raven from the Czech Republic and Canada's own Prairie Malting).
Thanks again to Toronto Brewing for hosting, please make sure to give them your love and make some purchases on pick up day! All questions should be emailed to grainbuy@gtabrews.ca.
Key Info:
Sign Up Open: Wednesday March 16, 2022
Sign Up Close: April 1, 2022 (11:59 pm)
Pick Up Day: Saturday, April 23, 2022 (11:00 am – 2:00 pm)
PICKUP LOCATION: Toronto Brewing (Chesswood Location)
You MUST book a pickup timeslot
NO SPLITS - FULL BAGS ONLY
Reminders
Updates are sent to the email registered with your GTA Brews membership account
If you didn't get the announcement email or order confirmation, check your spam!
Reminder that some items are special order, and may be delayed
You can find all your gtabrews.ca orders on your My Account page
This content is only available for GTA Brews Members. Please visit our membership page to join today!
If you are already a member, don't forget to Log In!
Date: Monday March 14th, 2022 Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM ET
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the link and password. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
As we March towards spring this month (you see what I did there?) we are excited to have GTA Brews Member Lauren Richard (pronounced akin to “Rocket Richard”) with us to impart her knowledge on something our club has never looked at before – Beer / Food Pairings!!
As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise. During Q&A segments we will make use of the “Raise Hand” feature.
Special note: When joining the Zoom meeting, please ensure your display name is your first AND last name! This will assist with attendance.
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the link and password. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
The annual GTA Brews AGM will be conducted from 8:00PM-9:30 PM on Sunday March 6th, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this will be hosted virtually using Zoom, however we hope to make this an exciting annual in-person event in the future. To reach the quorum required to hold the meeting we need 43+ members to attend, so please mark your calendars and plan to attend!
The meeting will be chaired by current President, David Larocque.
Recording from the February 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
In February we were happy to have GTA Brews Member Stephen Rodermond give us a presentation on opening up a brewery (yes… a legal brewery) in his garage!
Date: Tuesday February 15th, 2022 Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM ET
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the link and password. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
It’s February and this month we are happy to have GTA Brews Member Stephen Rodermond to give us a presentation on opening up a brewery (yes… a legal brewery) in his garage!
As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise. During Q&A segments we will make use of the “Raise Hand” feature.
Software engineering at Wave Financial working on our small business banking offerings.
What got you into homebrewing?
The short answer is mirin and Merit SVP.
The long answer is that I made a bit of wine in university and helped my then-roommate Jesse with his meadmaking for a while (some members might remember Jesse’s excellent bochet from the bottles he was wandering around with at the Brew Slam 2019 award ceremony), but I only really got into homebrewing seriously was when I got frustrated with the poor availability of hon-mirin in Ontario and started making choujiu (a Chinese style of rice wine that’s sort of like nigori sake) in the hopes of eventually being able to make a decent substitute. Eventually I progressed into also making fruit wines for turning into vinegar, but I held off on beer due to the equipment requirements.
Luckily, I eventually stumbled upon Lars Marius Garshol’s blog and realized that I could adapt some of the techniques and ingredients that Norwegian farmhouse brewers were using to allow me to brew beer in my condo with absolutely minimal equipment. The final kick to start was having Merit SVP and wishing that I could have something that was similarly low ABV, complex, and quaffable available to drink without having to make my way to Hamilton to acquire it.
I haven’t really chased the SVP flavour profile consciously since my first few brews, but when I brought a can of it home from the Toronto Brewing bottle shop earlier this year, my girlfriend commented that she could taste a definite common thread between it and a lot of the things I brew, so perhaps it made a greater impact than I thought!
Recording from the January 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
In January we were happy to have GTA Brews Member (and former club President) Eric Cousineau back to give us a presentation this month on water chemistry!
Recording from the January 2022 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month, Emily looks at Amber and Brown Ales of all types (English AND American) and provides a brief presentation on the styles and offer some prime examples.
Date: Monday January 10th, 2022 Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM ET
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the link and password. If you have logged in and cannot see them, please refresh the page.
HOPPY NEW YEAR! This month we are happy to have GTA Brews Member (and former club President) Eric Cousineau back to give us a presentation this month on water chemistry!
As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise. During Q&A segments we will make use of the “Raise Hand” feature.
Monday December 13th at 7:00 PM People’s Pint Brewing Company 90 Cawthra Ave, Unit #101, Toronto, Ontario, M6N 3C2 MAP
This month come hang out, swap homebrews, and mingle!
This December we are being hosted by People’s Pint Brewing Company. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. They have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
What’s Different From The Last Time We Met?
As we are still within a global Pandemic, and we want to ensure safety for our members and for People’s Pint staff, please note the following:
Capacity Limits: a maximum of 40 fully (aka double) vaccinated members will be allowed to attend. “Purchase” your free ticket at the end of this post to reserve your spot!
Vaccine Passports: Please ensure you have downloaded your Ontario Vaccine Certificate (QR Code) from the Ontario Government’s website as you’ll be required to present it in order to attend.
Physical Distancing: While only fully vaccinated members will be in attendance, please remember to treat others with respect and, if someone’s uncomfortable, provide them the appropriate personal space.
