BAOS: Beer & Other Shhh Podcast

A brewery owner who has to be one of the most featured guests on the podcast, Shehan De Silva is now the owner of not just one craft brewery but two, plus a new taproom. Shehan joins Cee and Tiff to discuss the recent acquisition of High Park Brewery and the merged taproom with Lost Craft, their foray into ready-to-drink beverages and spirits, why the liquor industry is one of the hardest to break...

It's our favourite time of the year... Looking back at the year that was is always a blast, so when Cee and Nate got together to select, chat about and, of course, drink beers from their favourite breweries in 2023, they knew it was about to go down. Twenty-twenty-three was a spectacular year for Ontario craft beer, with some phenomenal new breweries opening their doors, some legendary breweries s...

Guelph, Ontario is a great hub filled with craft breweries that appeal to every palate, and we're stoked to finally hang with the legends from Royal City! Cam and Dan joined Cee and Nate to chat about the history of beer in the city of Guelph, Cee and Dan's history at BierMarkt, the Guelph. Beer bus, why super hazy NEIPAs never picked up in the area, alcohol taxation and the challenges of operatin...

To kick off 2024, Cee and Tiff hung out for a deep dive into the multitude of reasons behind the alarming number of brewery closures that we've seen over the last 12-18 months. They looked at a number of the Ontarian and Canadian breweries that closed recently, and how several factors influenced where we're at currently including the pandemic and incessant shutdowns, a rise in operational costs (m...

Now that Hamilton, ON is home base for BAOS, we have a goal to chat with all the craft breweries in the region, and the latest to jump on the pod is Clifford! Founder Brad Clifford joined Cee and Nate to chat about his early beginnings in Toronto, the history of downtown Toronto breweries, the challenges of opening a brewery in Hamilton, why he chose to brew almost exclusively English-style ales a...

A brewery focusing almost exclusively on German and Czech-inspired beers is a true blessing to any city or town, and Toronto's True History are delivering just that. Co-Founders Adam and Matt joined Cee and Nate to chat about all things crispy, why they chose to focus on the beers that they do and how they've been introducing new drinkers, why time is the key ingredient, the intricacies of how a C...

Kingston, ON has a fantastically bright craft beer scene, and no brewery has taken that more literally than Daft. Co-Founder Adam and brewer Rich joined Cee and Nate to chat about what's changed since we spoke to them last in late 2021, the move to cans from bottles, aging their dark beers, how amazing West Coast IPAs are, where the Kingston beer scene is at, the challenges of distributing beer, t...

We made it to 150 in the Adjunct Series, y'all! Almost two years exactly to the recording date, we finally had Andrew Silver from Kingston, ON's Fine Balance back on the pod. We caught up on what's been happening the last two years, we went in-depth into their third-anniversary beers (all 9 of them!), we discussed the value of joining provincial bodies like the Ontario Craft Brewers Association, t...

We talk to a lot of craft breweries here on BAOS, but we don't talk to enough beer bars so we were stoked to get Dave Perlman of Evalyn's Tap House in Gowanus, Brooklyn, New York on the pod! Dave joined Cee to chat about his extensive history in the restaurant business, how he created the boozy brunch with his restaurant Essex NYC, how the Manhattan craft beer scene is different from that of Brook...

Ontario is a province rich in legendary breweries that paved the way for the incredible liquid that blesses our glasses today, so it was an honour and a privilege to speak with the man behind Nickel Brook Brewing. Co-Founder John Romano joined Cee and Nate to talk about their humble beginnings as a home brew and wine store (Best Bitters), their work ethic in the early years, the fascinating story...

Some of you may be familiar with Link Up, a craft beer-focused non-profit organization that BAOS Co-Founded with their friends at 5e Baron. Tiffany and Cee were honoured to host a session at the 2023 Ontario Craft Brewers Conference in Niagara Falls, ON where they spoke on behalf of Link Up about the ethics and economics of diversity in craft beer. They covered why diversifying your workforce is a...

Fall is our fave time of year for both the fashion and the beer, and while last year we looked at all things Oktoberfest, this year Cee and Nate decided to focus exclusively on pumpkin beers. They scooped up every available pumpkin brew from the LCBO and cracked them all open to look at the different styles, approaches and offerings from fantastic breweries from across the province. With beers tha...

How has it been five and a half years since we've had Sawdust on the pod? Outrageous. Sam, Jimbo and Brenden of the legendary Muskoka brewery joined Cee and Nate to chat about what has been going on with them since the winter of 2018, the changes in their branding, how they've tweaked their recipes to create some of the finest beers in Ontario, their strong focus on crispies, why their retail spac...

One of the biggest surprises in craft beer of 2023 for us here at BAOS was discovering Sainte-Flavie, QC's Le Ketch. Co-Owner and Head Brewer Guillaume joined Cee and Nate to chat about craft beer in Eastern Quebec, how they went from a riverside beer bar and restaurant to a brewery with some of the best hazy IPAs in the province, how they satisfy the tourists, the locals and the beer nerds equall...

Owning a craft brewery has never been tougher, and nobody knows this better than Kelly Meyer. The former owner of New Braunfels Brewery in Texas for a decade, Kelly sold the company in 2021 and through his struggles and frustrations wrote a book called How Not To Start a Damn Brewery. This turned into a podcast where he interviews breweries who have closed or are struggling in order to pull out th...

The area of Ontario west of Toronto is home to some of the finest breweries in the province, and one that has gone under the radar for us here at BAOS is Flux Brewery in Scotland, ON - until now. Co-Founder Jeremy and Head Brewer Aidan joined Cee and Nate to chat about the brewery's humble beginnings, their Oktoberfest celebrations and the connection it has to the region, their approach to their r...

The penultimate week in Link Up's Series 6 brings us back to Ontario with one of the most legendary breweries in the province - Wellington Brewery! Karyn joined Tiff and Cee to chat about their pioneering work with Queen of Craft and creating more gender equality in craft beer, the demographic changes they've seen over the years as a result of their efforts, how they try to make craft beer more ac...

The fourth week of Link Up's Series 6 brings us finally to Quebec with one of our fave breweries in La Belle Province, Noctem! Brian Pierce joins Tiff and Cee to chat about how their neighbourhood's demographics and diversity contribute to the vibe of their taproom, why they prefer to work with local non-profits to directly impact their community, and the importance of trying something new to brin...

Sitting just east of Toronto, the Durham region boasts around 16 breweries to date, and the brewery that set it all off around a decade ago is the fine folks at 5 Paddles. Hailing from Whitby, ON, 5 Paddles was the area frontrunner for craft beer, helping many of their fellow breweries get off the ground, and now they're under new ownership with a rebrand and a slew of great new and classic beers...

Week 2 of Link Up's Series 6 brings us to Markham, ON with Rouge River! Dane Glyn-Williams joined Cee and Tiff to chat about how their taproom is so welcoming to the diverse community around them, how they've built a strong relationship with the Markham locals, why the small things matter, how their festivals and food vendors contribute to introducing new people to beer, and how they cater to non-...

Link Up Series 6 is in the building! We're kicking off the latest collaboration series with a brewery that's super close to our hearts - Sawdust City! Co-Founder Sam Corbeil joins Cee and Tiff to chat about the importance of ties to the community in a region like Muskoka, why they offer such a wide variety of styles, their approach to "gateway beer" and how that offers access to many communities,...

Back in the summer of 2019, we headed out on our first-ever trip to Virginia and the first brewery we hit was Crooked Run to have a chat with Co-Founders Lee and Jake. We finally caught up with the boys again after 4 long years to hear about the switch from Crooked Run Brewing to Crooked Run Fermentation, their 10th anniversary and how they've seen things change, their addition of wine, cider and...

Beer education is something we're passionate about here at BAOS, so it was an honour to spend some time with Beer Educator, Kim Lucas! Her mentor Michelle Tham discussed beer and food pairings and Cicerone skills on episode #110 of the Adjunct Series, and this is somewhat of an unofficial follow-up, this time with a focus on brewing. Kim curated three beers from Bench Brewing (where she currently...

The undisputed Kings and Queens of Innovation in Ontario (and beyond) is none other than Toronto's Rorschach Brewery. From their Horchata Lager back in 2017 to their Haterade series to their smoothie sour stouts, they've been consistently creating craft beer that truly embodies  fun . Head Brewer and Owner Matt Reiner joins Cee and Nate to chat about what's been happening since his last appearance...

Y'all already know that we're huge fans of Florida craft beer here at BAOS, and this is the first time we've had a return visit from a brewery from the Sunshine State. Kevin Abbott of Barrel of Monks hangs out with Cee to chat about the new video concept that came out of the last pod, what's changed since they last spoke, why they're brewing more IPAs, the importance of marketing in beer, why beer...