Recording from the February 2021 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month we had our own member Matt King joining us, to talk about mead! Join us to hear Matt talk about the different types of mead, what the process looks like, how the fermentation differs from beer, some of his recipes, and more!
Date: Monday February 8th, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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 have our own GTA Brews member Matt King joining us, to talk about mead! Join us to hear Matt talk about the different types of mead, what the process looks like, how the fermentation differs from beer, some of his recipes, and more!
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.
Continue reading February Meeting: All About Mead with Matt KingRecording from the January 2021 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month we had renowned beer author and Certified Cicerone/BJCP Jordan St. John join us, to talk about collaborating with local breweries to re-create historical beer styles! Jordan wears many hats in the Toronto beer scene and we were thrilled to have him join us.
Date: Monday January 11th, 2021
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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 have renowned beer author and Certified Cicerone/BJCP Jordan St. John joining us, to talk about collaborating with local breweries to re-create historical beer styles! Jordan wears many hats in the Toronto beer scene and we are thrilled to have him join us.
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.
Continue reading January Meeting: Recreating Historical Beers with Jordan St JohnRecording from the November 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month, we had famous homebrew author John Palmer share his knowledge about Brewing Water, followed by a Q&A session! This time last year John joined us as a special guest at Brew Slam, and we are very excited to have him back.
Note: This was our first time sharing the zoom link publicly, and we ran into some “zoom bombers”. It took a few minutes to get a handle on it, but the presentation was able to proceed well.
Date: Monday November 9th, 2020
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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 have famous homebrew author John Palmer sharing his knowledge about Brewing Water, followed by a Q&A session! This time last year John joined us as a special guest at Brew Slam, and we are very excited to have him back.
For this meeting we will open up attendance to both members and non-members. Members will have first rights to join using the link above between 7:30 – 8:00 PM. At 8:00 PM we will share the public link on our social media to welcome in non-members (up to 100 people total).
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.
Continue reading November Meeting: Brewing Water with John PalmerRecording from the October 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
We had our very own Marcelo Paniza share his knowledge with a presentation on making Hard Seltzer! This alcoholic beverage is seeing a surge of popularity right now, and homebrewers can make their very own using equipment you already have! Marcelo will show you how, and why, to homebrew them while sharing his best tips.
Date: Monday October 19th, 2020
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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 have our very own Marcelo Paniza sharing his knowledge with a presentation on making Hard Seltzer! This alcoholic beverage is seeing a surge of popularity right now, and homebrewers can make their very own using equipment you already have! Marcelo will show you how, and why, to homebrew them while sharing his best tips.
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.
Continue reading October Meeting: Hard Seltzer with Marcelo PanizaRecording from the September 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month, we had our very own Luke Van Oort share his knowledge with a presentation on Raw Ale! This is a technique inspired by historical brewing processes that has the potential to shave hours off your brewday by skipping the boil!
Date: Monday September 14th, 2020
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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 have our very own Luke Van Oort sharing his knowledge with a presentation on Raw Ale! This is a technique inspired by historical brewing processes that has the potential to shave hours off your brewday by skipping the boil!
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.
Continue reading September Meeting: Raw Ale with Luke Van OortRecording from the August 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month, we had our very own David Chang-Sang share his knowledge with a presentation on Pressure Fermenting. If you’ve been looking for an easier way to brew tasty lager-ish beers, this is the presentation for you!
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the video.
Date: Tuesday August 18th, 2020
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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.
Please note the one off deviation in date this month.
This month, we have our very own David Chang-Sang sharing his knowledge with a presentation on Pressure Fermenting. If you’ve been looking for an easier way to brew tasty lager-ish beers, this is the presentation for you!
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.
Continue reading August Meeting: Pressure Fermenting with David Chang-SangRecording from the July 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
This month we had two very special guests join us all the way from California and Oregon! This presentation from our favourite podcast hosts and authors, Denny Conn and Drew Beechum, was a big hit with club members.
If you enjoyed this presentation, please considering buying their book Simple Homebrewing, and listen to their podcasts.
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the video.
Date: Monday July 13th, 2020
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
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 have two very special guests joining us all the way from California and Oregon! We’re very excited to have our favourite podcast hosts and authors, Denny Conn and Drew Beechum!
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.
Continue reading July Meeting: Simple Homebrewing with Denny & DrewRecording from the May 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
Our trio of bread baking experts (James Kennedy, Clayton Hoy, and Luke Van Oort) walked us through the basics of baking several kinds of bread at home!
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the video.
Recording from the March 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
IPA master Mike Van shared his wisdom with us at our club meeting in March 2020
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the video.
Monday May 11th at 7:30 PM
ZOOM Meeting (Online) – Link Below
Building on the success of our first online meeting in April, we are back in May to conduct the monthly meeting over Zoom.
We are still new to hosting virtual homebrew club meetings, so please have patience with any technical issues that arise. As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise.
Continue reading May Meeting: Baking Bread in QuarantineRecording from the April 2020 meeting of GTA Brews Homebrew Club in Toronto, Canada.
Cory Day, Canadian Homebrewer of the Year (2017, 2018, 2019), spills his secrets for Recipe Formulation. The presentation was followed by a legendary Q&A with lots of great questions.
GTA Brews Members: You must login to see the video.
Monday April 20th at 7:30 PM
ZOOM Meeting (Online)
Due to the COVID-19 virus, we will be conducting this month’s meeting virtually over Zoom. We are thankful that we are still able to provide a strong educational component in the form of this month’s presentation.
This is our first time hosting a virtual homebrew club meeting, so please have patience with any technical issues that arise. As with any conference call, please mute your microphone if you aren’t speaking, this really helps cut down on background noise.
Continue reading April Meeting: Cory Day Spills His SecretsWe are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
This February we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
Monday January 13th at 7:00 PM
Muddy York Brewing Co.
22 Cranfield Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4B 3H1 MAP
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading January Meeting: Brewing Water ChemistryThis 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!
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading November Meeting: Brewing Science with Escarpment’s Nate Ferguson
This October we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
Continue reading October Meeting: Finishing Beer: Post-Fermentation
This past September we were lucky to have Lars Marius Garshol attend our September Meeting for a special Q&A session, along with our friends from Escarpment Labs. Lars also shared news about his upcoming book from Brewers Publications, Historical Brewing Techniques.
Big thanks to Escarpment for bringing Lars to Toronto, and sharing him with us! Also thanks to Muddy York Brewing Co for hosting the meeting!
James Kennedy was ready with his audio recorder and has assembled a bootleg soundtrack of the Q&A for anyone too listen to. Check it out below!
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading September Meeting: Share your Kveik Beers with Richard Preiss & Lars Marius Garshol
This June we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
At our July meeting we announced that Lars Marius Garshol (of Larsblog) will be attending our September club meeting (Sept 9th). He’ll be in town for Escarpment’s Kveikstokk on Sept 10th, and agreed to come check out our club meeting and taste some homebrewed kveik beers!
Escarpment Labs‘ Richard Preiss will also be in attendance, making this a double Kveik whammy! As many of you know Richard has been a huge proponent of kveik, and have driven significant research into this exciting family of yeast.
Lars is responsible for the popularizing this workhorse yeast in the home and craft brewing world. This article from Good Beer Hunting does an excellent job telling the story about how Lars documented and popularized Kveik yeast.
Continue reading September Guest: Kveik with Lars Marius GarsholWe are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading July Meeting: Brewing by the Numbers with Emily Storey
This June we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! This month we have a special GTA Brews Menu that will be available to our members! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
Continue reading June Meeting: Sake Brewing with Marcelo Paniza
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading May Meeting: Backed By Bees Mead & Last Brewer Standing Finale
This April we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! This month the “Hoppy Hour” Snack Menu will be available to our members! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
This February we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
Continue reading February Meeting: Little Beasts, Big Hearts <3
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
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!
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading November Meeting: Cider Making with KW Craft Cider
This October we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
Continue reading October Meeting: Kyle Smith and LBS Round 2
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading September Meeting: Quality Assurance with Escarpment Labs
This August we are going back to our gracious host, Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic (try the Jamaican patties), and they have plenty of beer-to-go in their bottle shop!
Continue reading August Meeting: Competition Q&A Panel and LBS Round 1B
We are going back to our gracious host, Muddy York Brewing Co! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Don’t forget to buy some bottles from their shop!
Continue reading July Meeting: Cowbell Stephen and LBS Round 1A
Monday 11 June at 7:00 PM
Northern Maverick Brewing Co.
115 Bathurst St, Toronto, Ontario M5V 2P9 MAP
June’s speaker is John Jenkinson, who has been in charge of brewing at Folly Brewpub since late last year. John started brewing while completing a PhD in Philosophy at Western University. One of his favourite aspects of brewing at Folly is the spirit of experimentation and creative freedom through which he develops his craft. He gravitates towards mixed-fermentation ales with subtle complexity that are dry and refreshing. He loves exploring interesting flavour combinations by using new hop varieties or fermenting in oak. John is going to talk about Continue reading June Meeting: The Journey to Folly Begins with One Beer
Monday 14 May at 7:00 PM
Muddy York Brewing Co.
22 Cranfield Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4B 3H1 MAP
For this meeting we’re going to try something new in lieu of having a second presentation. Based on a topic chosen in a poll on the website, the meeting will have a panel discussion/Q&A involving selected members from the crowd interested in sharing their knowledge and opinions. Based on where the poll is at right now it looks like we’ll be discussing session/low ABV brewing, so if you’re passionate and experienced with that sort of thing please feel free to volunteer to be on the panel! And if you’re interested in something else, there’s still time to vote!
This month’s meeting is at Muddy York Brewing Co. and our special guest, Jamie Mistry of the Common Good Beer Company, will also be there to answer any of your questions about contract brewing. Continue reading May Meeting: Jamie Mistry of Common Good Beer Company Plus Discussion Panel
After a record attendance and an incredibly informative March meeting, we knew we had a hard act to follow. Well beer geeks, we think we’ve done it. We’re very lucky to have not one, but two great guest speakers and presenters:
Continue reading April Meeting: Kettle Souring & Craft Malting
That’s right ladies and gents, this month’s meeting at Muddy York Brewing Co., is all about hops. Some would argue (Mike V.) that it’s the most important ingredient in beer. Well, it’s at least top 4. Our special guest, Kyle Wynette of the The Tavistock Hop Co., will be there to answer any of your questions.
Monday 12 March at 7:00 PM
Muddy York Brewing Co.
22 Cranfield Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4B 3H1 MAP
Continue reading Our March Meeting is All About Hops
Come one, come all: homebrewing rookies and vets alike for a night of learning, drinking, and homebrew bottle sharing (if you want). This February we premiere a new host for our meetings: Northern Maverick Brewing Co.. Thanks for hosting us! We request that everyone spend some money to support our wonderful host. Their food is fantastic, and they have plenty of beer to go in their bottle shop!
Monday 12 February at 7:00 PM
Northern Maverick Brewing Co.
115 Bathurst St, Toronto, Ontario M5V 2P9 MAP
Continue reading Northern Maverick Brewing Set to Host Our February Meeting
We had a very successful club meeting last Saturday at Mark’s house! It was 35*C outside and calling for rain but we still managed to have a great time and sample lots of awesome beer. We had several members come out and join us for their first meeting, and it was a pleasure meeting all of you in person!
The Gratzer we brewed at Noble Hop at the May meeting came out wonderfully with a medium level of oak smoke character from the 100% oak smoked wheat grain bill. We brewed the wort for a club saison that will be dry hopped with 2 oz of Pekko hops Continue reading July 2015 Meeting Recap!
This past weekend was our 15th monthly meeting as a club and I’m constantly amazed that so many great brewers come out to share their beers. We had a good amount of new faces and lots of repeat attendees. I found the that the quality of beer was very high this time around, including beer from several people that were insisting they weren’t that great! Remember, just because you didn’t hit your gravity or mash numbers right on, or it doesn’t taste exactly how you imagined, doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste great!
The Brett IPA we brewed in October at Geof Trail’s house was fantastic. On the nose I got a little bit of funk but also tons of tropical fruit (mango, pineapple). Right on with what we were aiming for. I’m hoping to bottle some up to bring to future club meetings, and to do a full review.
Our wonderful hosts Shaun Staples and Peter Kirby guided us through their Brew In a Bag (BIAB) system on stove top. A great system that many small space brewers can take inspiration from. We brewed a clone of Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel Ale, which is an oak aged English Pale Ale.
Unfortunately this was the last meeting for our friend Shaun Staples who has been an active member since meeting #3 and when the group was less than 40 people on Facebook (now over 360!). Best of luck in Australia, come back and visit sometime!
Here’s the recipe we used:
Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale clone (ish)
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.015
ABV: 4.85%
IBU: 30ish
SRM: 13ish
8.5 lbs of Pearl / 2 row (67%)
2 lbs of Maris Otter (16%)
1 lb Munich I (10L) (8%)
12 oz Crystal 75L (6%) (preferably english crystal)
4 oz Crystal 120L (2%)
1 oz Chocolate Malt (0.5%)
0.33 oz @ 14%AA Magnum for 60 mins (13.5 IBU)
1 oz @ 5%AA EKG for 30 mins (11 IBU)
1 oz @ 5%AA EKG for 20 minute whirlpool after FO (4.5 IBU)
1 oz @ 4.5%AA Fuggles for 20 minute whirlpool after FO (4 IBU)
WLP002
1.25 oz Medium toast oak cubes for 14 days, to be added after first 24 hours. Will soak in Whiskey or Cognac first, depending on what’s handy.