Beer
Drinking responsibly takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the environmental impact of beer production.
These days, organic alcohols are becoming more popular. Choosing organic means ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides and contain no added preservatives. While not legally required to do so, micro-brewers tend to use simple ingredients for unpasteurized or minimally processed beers.
Ontario’s return and refill bottle system is one of the lowest impact systems in North America. Standard beer bottles can be reused 12 to 15 times and beer vendors will recycle packaging in most cases. In 2008, the Beer Store recovered over 2.1 billion containers, and has an average bottle recovery rate of over 95 per cent.
For those who prefer to recycle in a blue bin, clear glass bottles are easier to repurpose than coloured glass. But, it is best to take advantage of the sorting and processing capacity of most beer stores, and get your deposit back!
Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company’s Spring Beaver River I.P.Eh
Sep 2011
Note: Nice copper colour with a firm head. Aroma blending strong hops and a winey character. Bitter with a long sweet finish reminiscent of apples. A standout beer. Located in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, this brewery’s beer changes with the seasons due to fluctuations in the mineral content of water. Using 100% organic hops and More >
Black Oak Brewing Company’s Nut Brown Ale
Sep 2011
Note: Good copper colour with a very nutty aroma. Fruity flavours blending with licorice notes. A long pleasant finish with good character. Nut Brown Ale is an award-winning, small batch ale. Black Oak is located in Etobicoke, and the majority of their ingredients are Canadian. Even their brewing equipment is made locally. Nut Brown More >
Denison’s Dunkel
Sep 2011
Note: Dark brown ale with a rich creamy head. Aroma nutty and piquant. The flavours are complex, blending dark malts. Surprisingly light on the palate with a refreshing finish more sweet than bitter. Delightful beer, one of the best in show. Denison’s makes Bavarian style Dunkel and Weissbier in Etobicoke. Originally only available at the More >
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery’s Hoptical Illusion
Sep 2011
Note: Amber coloured with huge citrus hops. Complex flavours combine a sweet note of dill with a bitter note of mustard greens. An adventurous beer our team loved. Located on the shore of Lake Simcoe, this little brewery works hard to conserve water used for brewing, tank washing, and general brewhouse cleaning. They also minimize More >
Mill Street Brewery’s Organic Helles Bock
Sep 2011
Note: Light Amber colour with simple nose. Lightly hopped with a sweet body and fairly short finish. Contains 100% organic ingredients and no preservatives. It’s also the first certified organic beer in Ontario. The brewery has a heat-recovery system which uses steam from boiling to heat water for brewing. The organic malt used in the More >
Railway City Brewery’s Iron Spike Copper Ale
Sep 2011
Note: Deep copper colour and a nice head with pleasant aroma of rich toasted malts. Tastes of caramel sweetness and simple grains. A brief finish. This brewery reduces the amount of energy and waste they produce. Their heat transfer system reuses cooling water from one batch, to heat another batch from 40F to 100F. More >
