Sounds Like Beer

Starting as an award-winning home brewer in his parent’s basement, Jordan Rainhard has quickly gained a reputation for crafting high-quality IPAs in a funky converted warehouse space in the Stockyards. His beers are bright and bold, exploring a diverse range of hop aromas and flavours while maintaining an approachable balance. Still very much a DIY startup, his equipment includes a handbill rigged to a power-drill for crushing grain, and his bottle shop is only open Friday to Sunday. That being said, Jordan has already made waves with some of the bigger brewers, including two collaborations with Beau’s in Vankleek Hill.   Le Gourmet TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4M2f3lt7X0  

On this month's episode, I sit down with Master Beer Sommelier Doug Appeldoorn to find out how pairing the right beer with the right food can elevate both to new heights. We were joined by one of my oldest friends, Allegra Swanson, herself a keen beer nerd and foodie, and had an amazing variety of meets, cheeses, chocolates and other dishes matched up with a pantheon of craft brews. Doug taught us about the "3 Cs" of food pairing, and why beer makes a better friend to cheese than wine ever will. Big thanks to Allegra for editing this month's episode! Beers featured: Collingwood Brewery - Fireside ESB Aech Schlenkerla - Rauchbier Thornbury - Pickup Truck Pilsner (AKA King Pilsner) Indie Ale House - Instigator IPA Longslice - Hopsta La Vista IPA Clifford Brewing - Porter Mort Subite - Kriek Wellington - Russian Imperial Stout Trappiste Rochefort - 10   Doug: @schoolhousebeer & @douga71 Allegra: @ayoungvoice Matt: @soundslikebeer

Steam Whistle is one of Canada’s largest craft brewers, and has been a pioneer in sustainability initiatives since they started. Given the increasingly environmentally-conscious world we live in, and the impact craft brewers can have on their local communities, I wanted to get an in-dept look at how a brewery can be both sustainable and successful. I had the chance to sit down with Sybil Taylor, head of communications for Steamwhistle, at the Roundhouse, and she took me through how the company started down the sustainability path, some of the biggest initiatives they’ve engaged in so far, and plans for the future. It was a really fascinating discussion, and one that has a lot of great tips and ideas for smaller breweries and even non-brewing companies that would to be environmentally responsible. It was great to learn that helping the environment doesn’t have to come at a cost to your bottom line.

We're finally back for Season 2! After a long summer off, Sounds Like Beer is back and ready to talk all things Ontario Craft! In this episode, Matt sits down with Mick McNamara to talk candidly about how they quit their corporate jobs (on the same day!) to become reps for two of Ontario's newest (and best) craft breweries. They talk about what made them finally leave their office jobs to try and shill suds across the city, how much less money they make, how to tell your parents you want to work for a brewery, and then convince you that it's all worth it! If you are thinking of getting into the craft beer game, but don't know how, this is the podcast for you. Cheers! @collingwoodmick @soundslikebeer soundslikebeer@gmail.com

  On today’s episode we’re talking all things homebrew with Mick McNamara and Doug Appledoorn. When you hear the word home-brew, I think a lot of people picturethose cheesy "U-Brew" places in strip malls where you can pitch yeast into an extract solution, and come back two weeks later to bottle some cheap, inoffensive lagers and red ales. But that’s not what home-brew is really about. These are artisinal, hand-crafted beers made with care and creativity in kitchens, garages and backyards all across the country. Blogs and forums dedicated to brewing have been popping up all over the internet for years, and homebrew suppliers are opening storefronts in high-rent areas. Clearly, home brewing is a key aspect of the craft beer revolution, and I wanted to know what draws people in to a hobby that can consume vast amounts of time, money and education, when there is so much great beer available in stores already. Take a listen to my chat with Mick and Doug, and I think you’ll understand w

On this episode, we are talking with one of Ontario’s most popular craft breweries, the winners of Canadian Brewery of the Year 2013 and 2014, and the producers of some of my personal favourite ales, Great Lakes Brewery.   GLB has been on the scene for a while, releasing a solid line-up of both traditional and unconventional styles. Their Canuck Pale Ale is a runaway success, and in 2014 they swept the North American IPA category at the Canadian Brewing Awards. Basically, these guys make a lot of really good beer, and they just keep coming up with more. I sat down with Troy Burtch and Peter Bullut to find out how GLB got started, where the drive to keep pushing the envelope comes from, and what role they see themselves playing in the growing craft beer revolution. To hear Peter talk about it, things in Ontario are just getting started, and we can expect a lot more growth to come. @greatlakesbeer www.greatlakesbeer.com @soundslikebeer www.soundslikebeer.com soundslikebeer@gmail.com

  Despite craft beer’s notably less-sexist approach to marketing than the bikini-clad ladies employed by Bud Lite and friends, there is still a divide between those selling and advertising the beer, and the 50 percent of the population that drinks it, aka women. I sat down with three of the founders of the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies to talk about their experiences, both as professionals working in the industry, and as consumers of the beer itself. I really enjoyed this conversation, both because we drank some delicious beers while we did it, but also because it gave me an insight into a side of the industry that I don’t see. As a twenty-something white male, I fall squarely into the target market for beer. I wanted to know what it’s like for those that don’t. What it all comes down to is this:  good people drink good beer, regardless of gender or orientation.   @ladiesdrinkbeer www.ladiesdrinkbeer.com @soundslikebeer www.soundslikebeer.com soundslikebeer@gmail.

  Last week, the Ontario liberals release Ed Clark’s final report on what to do with beer sales in Ontario. Titled “Striking the Right Balance: Modernizing Beer Retailing and Distribution in Ontario”, the report outlines a number of recommended changes to the current system in the province. For a primer on how the current system sucks, you can check out the first episode of this podcast. While reactions to these proposed changes have been mixed, it seems that generally speaking, people are pretty excited that something is actually happening to challenge the Beer Stores quasi-monopoly. In order to suss out some of the broad details of this plan, and get a better insight on what this could mean for craft beer lovers in Ontario, I sat down with three of Toronto’s best beer writers and advocates for a change to the system: Chris Schryer, Jordan St. John and Dan Grant. @chrisschryer         torontobeerblog.com @brewscout            brew

We're Back! I sit down with Michael Gurr (@drinkgoodbeer and @gurrback) and Ren Navarro (@35mmmonkey) of the Kensington Brewing Co. to find out how they got into the business of selling craft beer, what it's like to be a unicorn, and why they can't wait for you to touch their tanks.    @soundslikebeersoundslikebeer.comsoundslikebeer@gmail.com Find us on iTunes!

I sit down with Mark and Mandie Murphy of Toronto's Left Field Brewery to find out why they left their corporate gigs to dive into the world of craft beer, how they've found the transition from contract to bricks-and-mortar brewing, and Mandie's new found love for driving a forklift. @LFBreweryleftfieldbrewery.ca @soundslikebeersoundslikebeer.comsoundslikebeer@gmail.com

On this episode, I sit down with Tamara Wise, proprietor of one of Toronto's newest and best bars, Wisebar. We talk about discovering her love of craft beer in NYC, what it was like to be a Bellwoods server back in the day, and how she didn't name the bar after herself. Find Wisebar at 1007 Bloor St W, and on twitter @wisebartoronto Find us on iTunes to subscribe, check the blog at soundslikebeer.comTwitter: @soundslikebeersoundslikebeer@gmail.com

On this mini episode (or Half Pint), we went to the Roundhouse Winter Craft Beer Festival in Toronto, to find out what beers people went for first. Did they bee-line to an old favourite, or start off with something completely new?  www.soundslikebeer.com Be sure to subscribe on iTunes:itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/sound…beer/id957214241 Email: soundslikebeer@gmail.com Twitter: @soundslikebeer

On this episode, I sit down with Jeff Dornan, co-founder of Underdog's Brewhouse in Oshawa, to find out why they decided to get into the Ontario craft beer game, what's so special about wheat beers, and how they've leveraged their experience in sales and marketing into Oshawa's newest success story.

Today on Sounds Like Beer, we're giving you the low down on the secret non-compete arrangement between the LCBO and The Beer Store. We talk to Restaurants Canada about how much this deal costs you as a consumer, and get Chris Schryer's take on how the Liberal's can spin this to their advantage. Plus, what you as a beer lover can do to #freeourbeer. www.soundslikebeer.com Email: soundslikebeer@gmail.com Twitter: @soundslikebeer Chris Schryer: www.torontobeerblog.com; @ChrisSchryer