BAOS: Beer & Other Shhh Podcast

Toronto's Kensington Brewing Co. is a legit craft beer success story. From contracting to finding the perfect space in their namesake Kensington Market, to almost going insolvent to coming back stronger than ever, their story is fascinating and is filled with tales of caution for any up-and-coming (or existing) brewery. We got a little wild by the end there, good times. Cheers!   Beers Reviewed: K...

You may remember Jean-Phillippe from Episode #94 - he's certainly one of the most industrious brewers in the city. Not only does he own and operate La Succursale, but he's a partner in the co-op MaBrasserie and in Little Italy's Birra Bar à Bières Maison. Along with JP's partner in life and business Weena, we chatted about the local scene, how they manage their incredible workload, and of course,...

Our second podcast on our trip with the good folks at the Cantons de l'Est Tourism Office was with David Plasse at La Memphré. Cee and David had been talking for months online so it was like a reunion when they finally met in person. The welcoming pub was the perfect place to sit and have a lengthy chat, and while Cee boldly got through twelve tasters (their entire menu), they fellas discussed all...

Thanks to the good folks at the Cantons de l'Est Tourism Office, we were blessed with the opportunity to meet with Stan Groves, owner and head brewer at Golden Lion, the oldest and longest running brewpub in the province of Quebec. Located in Sherbrooke in the gorgeous Eastern Townships, we chatted with Stan about what the scene was like in the '80s and how it changed along the way. Beers Reviewed...

Niagara's Beamsville wine region is one of our favourite spots in the province, but there was one thing missing - craft beer. Until recently, that is. Bench Brewing finally opened the doors to their massive facility this summer, and what a glorious space. From an impressive coolship to a completely separate brewing area for funk/sours, an army of foeders and barrels and a clean space for their cor...

The Junction is one of Toronto's hottest beer neighbourhoods - dubbed "The Beer Belt", the newest residents are the fellas behind People's Pint. Doug and Peter kick-started the brewery in the old Junction Brewery space, turning it into a bright, spacious yet cosy brewpub where you can enjoy beers ranging from crisp lagers to milkshake IPAs to spiced stouts to fruity sours. We got wild with the fel...

Award-winning brewers Jimmy and John of Toronto's Longslice Brewery are finally building their facility (due to open early 2019) in the newest area of the city, Canary District. In partnership with restauranteurs, The Aviary is the restaurant and sports bar arm of Longslice, pouring fresh beer brewed literally next door and from around the city. We hung out with the fellas, with a cool backdrop, i...

If you're on craft beer social media, you know about Hilary Pennie. Her company, Pretty Pennie Jewellery, has fast become the premier jewellery that everyone who's even remotely into beer is proud to rock to every festival (and in every selfie). Hilary was on a pop-up shop tour of Montreal and Ottawa recently so we finally got to hang out and get her full story. She was also kind enough to connect...

Beau's Oktoberfest is one of our favourite weekends of the year, and not only did we get to hang out and drink some fire beers - we did our first ever live podcast! Cee and Scott hosted a panel of four amazing Ontario brewers - Matthew O'Hara (Beau's), Michael Hancock (Side Launch), Christian Riemerschmid von der Heide (Tagwerk) and Bryce McBain (Halcyon Barrel House) - and ran through a series of...

Our second stop in Fort Collins, Colorado was with Zach at Purpose Brewing. They barrel age all their beers, and pretty much none of them are ever made more than once - they look at beer as art, as it rightfully should be. Co-Founded by Zach and Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium fame, Purpose are making a name for themselves in one of the finest beer markets in the country. Thanks again to Visit Colo...

Fort Collins, Colorado is known as one of the finest beer cities in the entire US, and one of the OGs of the region is Odell. Their facility is yuuuuge, and in their 23 years in the game they've really brought craft beer to the masses via their balanced, well-made English-style beers. We hung out with brewery Kevin Bosley, who really should have his own podcast, for a few AM brews. Thanks again to...

Our first stop in Colorado Springs was Trails End Taproom, a fantastic concept bar located near some major natural attractions. The idea behind the venue is it's the meeting place where hikers, bikers and skiers congregate at the end of a hard day to enjoy a cold beer and chat about the amazing things you saw and did. The best part? There's 40 taps on the wall and you pour your own beer! So much f...

We were genuinely scared for our trip to Breckenridge. We were told the over 8,000 ft altitude was going to mess with us, but besides some huffing and puffing while we walked around, there were no issues. We hung out with Blake, Lead Brewer, at the original Breckenridge Brewpub, sipping some of his brewpub only beers with a mountainous backdrop that looked like CGI. Such a fun chat. Thanks to Visi...

When it comes to the Best Breweries in America, Casey Brewing & Blending is a name that very often makes the list. Troy Casey, a fellow Hip Hop head, brews and blends some of the finest barrel-aged old world beers in the country. Located by the gorgeous Roaring Fork river in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, we were lucky to score an hour of his time to sample some of his incredible beers and find out h...

We made a goal to hang out in the mountains this past summer, and our friends at Visit Colorado made it happen! Hours after touching down in Durango in the south western part of the state, we headed up to Colorado OGs Ska Brewing for a fantastic podcast with International Sales Manager Arlo and Brewer Joe to get aligned with the CO beer scene, all the while dealing with the significant elevation c...

Located atop a gorgeous mountain in central Vermont, Bent Hill Brewery have fast become one of the state's most interesting breweries. Owner and Head Brewer Mike Czok is a jack of all trades - he built the brewery, he brews the beers, he feeds the dogs, and his products are some of the most eclectic we've ever tried. From pickle sours to lavender beers, from hazy IIPAs to beet beers, you've never...

One of the closest towns to the Canadian border, St. Albans, VT certainly doesn't get the love it deserves in the craft beer world. 14th Star are the shining stars (see what we did there?) of the town, growing from humble beginnings as the brainchild of two military veterans to one of the most respected and consistent breweries in one of the most lauded states in beer. We hung out with CEO Andrea...

For fans of The Sound Of Music, visiting the von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont is somewhat of a pilgrimage. For fans of great Austrian-style beer, visiting the von Trapp Brewery is just as much of a pilgrimage. We hung out with Maria von Trapp's grandson Sam and Brewmaster JP to drink some of their exceptional crispy beer and chat about what it's like to have a movie made about your family....

Montreal's Vox Populi have been one of our favourite Quebec breweries for some time now, so we were super excited to finally hang out with Co-Founders Etienne and Yann. We got to chat about their recent merger with Glutenberg, taste some of their phenomenal beers, and discuss one of the most important questions in craft beer - are they #TeamLactose or #TeamNoLactose? Beers Reviewed: Vox Populi Alo...

Pit Caribou are renowned as one of the finest breweries in Quebec, and hailing from the Gaspe coast 9+ hours drive from Montreal, if it wasn't for their Plateau brewpub we wouldn't get anywhere near enough of them in the big city. We hung out with Brad Murray, who has been with Pit from the very beginning, to drink some phenomenally refined beer and discuss the impact that Gaspesie has on the Queb...

The day before one of the biggest Canadian beer events of the summer, Foudres Unis, a coalition of Yakima Valley hop farmers visited Quebec and we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with them. Multi-generational hop farmers Kevin and Brock were joined by Yakima Chief Hops' Luc to chat to us about the intricate details of hop farming, the stress of the harvest and the feeling of tasting th...

One hundred whole entire episodes. What started as a fun side project quickly turned into a serious passion for us, and 100 episodes later, here we are. We felt it was only right to celebrate our first century by bringing in key members of the team, our producer Tiffany Alexis and our audio engineer/photographer Notion, to chat about the history of BAOS and all of our favourite moments while drink...

You guys might remember Arno from our podcast with HELM back on Episode #33 - the boy done came up. He's still with HELM but he's also the Head Brewer at one of the newest and most innovative projects in Montreal's beer scene, Le Dispensaire de Bière. They essentially have a production brewery license out back and a depanneur license out front, exclusively selling growlers in various sizes from th...

We have a long history with Glutenberg, one of the world's most awarded exclusively gluten-free breweries. You'll need to listen to the episode to find out why, but we got to hang out with Co-Founder David and Brewmaster Gabriel at their huge Hochelaga-Maisonneuve facility to find out why two guys who had never brewed in their life wanted to start a gluten-free brewery. Beers Reviewed: Glutenberg...

Toronto's East End is one of the most brewery-heavy neighbourhoods in the city, and around a year ago Eastbound opened their doors to TO's thirsty drinkers. Co-Founder and Head Brewer Dave Lee, along with his wife and Head Chef Tara (who made a podcast cameo!) and partners, have created a lot in a small space, focusing as heavily on their menu as they have on their beer. We ran through their entir...