A few weeks ago I gave a guided beer tasting for members of the Toronto Food Policy Council.  And I’m happy to report that the mission was accomplished – my friend and Indian chef extraordinaire Preena Chauhan turned from a into an occasional beer sipper into a  craft beer connoisseur! Check out her blog, it will [...]

What’s your first memory of beer? Well yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 20 years old, living in Dublin Ireland and trying my best to become a “beer drinker”.  Every night I would go to the local pub and hesitantly order a gin & tonic.  Finally, the trusty barkeep leaned over [...]

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” – Benjamin Franklin I never knew the magnitude of that quote until pairing craft beer with chocolate. Tonight my friend Sasha and I joined 20 other beer-lovin’ women for a night of sensory exploration.  As part of Ontario’s Craft Beer Week, Barley’s [...]

Cider…. It’s that ambiguous beverage that’s “not really a beer” yet it will quench the thirst of so many Canadians this summer. True, according to Reinheitsgebot of 1516, which states that beer must be made of 4 ingredients – water, yeast, hops and malted barley, cider is not a “beer” since it does not contain the [...]

Hi, my name is Tracy and I’m a lover of craft beer. Formally speaking, I’m a recognized graduate of the Beer Judging Certification Program (BJCP), which is a fancy way of saying I’m one of the world’s 3,611 lucky beer lovers who gets to judge beer competitions. I am also a columnist for TAPS Magazine, [...]