I love to think about what it would look like to work within the confines of local—by using only local unaltered water, local malt and grains, local hops, local yeast, and any other possible local ingredients—to create a style that is true to our region and climate.
Many Ontario breweries are already incorporating local hops into their beers, and a few brave ones are using local malts, which have a long way to go before they can match the quality and consistency of those from the Prairie Provinces and Europe.
In the meantime it is up to beer lovers to continue supporting local craft breweries, and to ask the brewers what exactly makes their beer “local.” In time, maybe Ontario will be home to its own unique beer style.
This region is made up of people from somewhere else, not including our indigenous neighbours. We arrive here for different reasons, but we stay and thrive because of the hospitality shown to us by those who came before.
I use a notebook for everything,” says Alistair MacLellan. As the executive director of Waterloo-based MacLellan & Baetz Publishing House, MacLellan will jot down lists, sketches and design concepts in his notebook as a place for safekeeping ideas. Consulting his notebook so often, MacLellan began to look beyond the pages.
As one of the newest vendors at the Kitchener Market, Soup Surreal has been working hard to make sure downtown market-goers are acquainted with their extensive lineup of made-from scratch soups.