Between Two Fermenters

Welcome to another episode of Between Two Fermenters, a podcast brought to you by Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery, where we dive deep into the world of craft beer and the passionate people behind it. Today, it’s our pleasure to welcome one of our own, Nick Perry, to the show for the first time!  Nick is the Production Supervisor at GLB and has been part of the team since 2016. Over the past eight ye...

"My beers are the portfolio of my life.”  In this episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Luc ‘Bim’ Lafontaine, the mastermind behind Godspeed Brewery, a " neighbourhood brewpub with an international reputation” , located at 242 Coxwell Avenue in Toronto. Bim’s reputation as a world-renowned brewer precedes him, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with industry icons like Garrett Oliver, Yvan De Baets, Jan V...

In this episode, we sit down with Michael Hancock himself, a legend in Canadian brewing with four decades of stories, innovations, and inspirations.   Step back to 1976, when a young Hancock arrived in Canada for what he thought would be a brief engineering role at Molson’s. But a decade later, Michael’s passion for the craft of brewing sparked a new path. After studying at the prestigious Siebel...

In this episode, we dive deep into the 38-year brewing journey of one of the provinces beer pioneers, Mr. Paul Dickey, Ontario’s Iron Brewer. Since starting in 1986, Paul has made an enduring mark on the craft beer scene, from co-founding the Canadian Amateur Brewers Association (CABA), serving as a Grand Master Level I Beer Judge, and creating the Iron Brewer competitions.   From his apprenticesh...

On October 15, news broke about two Ontario breweries joining forces. That information garnered a lot of attention, and the industry was a buzz with the news, so like a one-off beer, we had to record a special episode to get all the juicy details. Yes, Lake of Bays Brewing Co and Merit Brewing shared the news that they were merging their two breweries, eliciting a lot of congratulatory messages an...

Aaron Protho, the Founder and CEO of Mascot Brewery, joins the show for the first of what will likely be multiple appearances on the pod. He’s as passionate as they come in this industry, from both a brewing and entrepreneurial perspective, and he’s created something very special with his company.   Through Aaron, Mascot was Canada’s first Black owned and operated brewery when he opened the doors...

In this episode, Troy sits down with Jen Reinhardt, the Senior Sales Manager with Great Lakes Brewery and one of the driving forces behind the brand, to discuss her journey in the craft beer industry.   Jen has been with GLB for almost six years, but her journey with us started way back in 2014. After getting her feet wet in the beer industry while still working in publishing, Jen realized how thr...

Jeff Talmey, one of the founders of Town Brewery in Whitby, ON, made his way to Etobicoke to tell us about the history of the seven-year-old brewery, how he got into the beer industry, discusses social media and their recent rebrand, his work with the Ontario Craft Brewers Conference, and much more.   Town was founded with a simple goal in mind; to make better beer and build a stronger community,...

Steve Hukari, one of the founders of Southern Ontario Beer Boys , a group of Beer lovin' buddies from, you guessed it, Southern Ontario, joins the pod for the first time. Steve, and the SO Beer Boys, as they are frequently referred to, are said to be “ready and willing to conquer all beers while doing their part to make the world a better place,” and indeed they do.  What started out as an Instagr...

Milos Kral joins the pod all the way from his perch above Milos’ Craft Beer Emporium. It would be hard to argue that no one person has done more for the London, ON beer scene, since the days of John Labatt himself, than Milos has. He’s created a place for beer lovers to enjoy from all parts of the province – a place people add to their “beer bucket list” to visit. Why? Because he curates a dynamic...

Mary-Beth Keefe, the Head Brewer of Toronto’s family-owned Granite Brewery joins the pod for her first time in the hot seat. The Alpha Female Mom and Lifter of heavy things, as she describes herself on her Instagram account, takes us through the history of the Granite, shares how she got her start in brewing and why she chose to pursue a career in the family business. She’ll also discuss what it’s...

Dan Grant, the co-founder/owner of Toronto’s Bossanova Wine and Beer Shop, joins the pod to discuss the wonderfully curated wine and beer shop, or boutique if you want to get fancy, at 103 Roncesvalles Ave in Toronto.   But, Dan was in the beer industry long before he opened the doors to Bossanova in 2021, and Troy and Dan cover that in great detail.  From his beer writing days with NOW Magazine,...

Cass Enright, the founder of bartowel.com, amongst many other things, joins the pod to discuss his longtime role as “Ontario’s Craft Beer Promoter”.  Cass has made a significant impact on the beer scene here in Ontario over two decades, in many many ways. From his “Free Our Beer” campaign to the Golden Tap Awards, importing beer from other Canadian provinces to Toronto Beer Week, Bar Towel Radio,...

This is a special one-off conversation with the newest member of the GLB team – Rob Morra.   Morra, the new On-Premise Sales Manager with GLB, brings a wealth of industry experience and knowledge to the brewery, with more than 15 years of sales success in the beer biz. He joins the podcast to introduce himself to listeners and spills the beans on his first ever experience with a craft beer. We cov...

Jennifer Tamse, the Director of Beer and Beverage with the Charcoal Group of Restaurants, which includes 10 Beertown locations across Ontario, joins Troy Burtch to discuss a variety of topics that span hospitality, Belgian beer, creating memorable experiences and more.    During the lively conversation, we find out how Jenn discovered beer at an early age, what it really means to her, and how she...

Scott Simmons, the President of the Ontario Craft Brewers Association (OCB) , joins Troy Burtch to dissect the recent news about the Ontario government expediting the sale of beer in convenience and big box stores across the province. The Premier of Ontario, alongside the Minister of Finance, made a stunning announcement on May 24th that beer was coming to convenience stores much earlier than firs...

Jordan St. John is the guest on the podcast this week, The Percheron of the beer writing industry here in Ontario. Jordan writes about beer on his website (St. John’s Wort), covers the industry in his News and Notes column with The Growler magazine, appears on multiple news outlets to highlight the industry, is a past co-host of a beer podcast, teaches about beer and brewing, leads historic tours,...

Les Murray, the Owner and President of Beerlicious, parent company of the Toronto Festival of Beer (TFOB), is our guest on the podcast this week. Murray spills the beans on the history of TFOB, tells us about all the changes that have taken place over the years, discusses the highs and lows of organizing one of Canada’s largest beer events, shares what’s on the line-up for this year's festival, an...

Josh McJannett, the Co-Founder/Owner of Dominion City Brewery is our guest on the podcast this week. Josh walks us through the history of Dominion, sheds some light on his past, discusses how the brewery and the industry has evolved over their 10 years, talks a little about the OCB, and tries to get Troy to pronounce “Gloucester” the proper way. Please note this episode was recorded after a long n...

HOLY MACKINAW! Like a special one-off beer, we’re back today with a bonus episode to tell you all about an exciting project that we’ve been working on. Host Troy Burtch is joined by Sean Bowen, son of Joe Bowen who is famously known as “The Voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs.” Sean shares the exciting details about HOLY MACKINAW First Line Lager! Yes, we’ve partnered with the Bowen’s on a beer just...

On this episode, host Troy Burtch is joined by Zorah Freeman-McIntyre, co-owner and operator of the Island Cafe. Back on March 17th, a devastating fire broke out on the Toronto Islands, destroying the historic Wards Island Association’s Clubhouse, which housed the Island Cafe. Zorah paints a picture of the cafe in vivid detail throughout the show, talks about the importance of establishments like...

On this episode, host Troy Burtch is joined by Nick Densmore, Experiences Manager with Great Lakes Brewery. Densmore, who is a jack of all trades at the brewery, manages the Retail Store and Taproom, Home Delivery, and both internal and external events, and he tells Troy all about it – the changes he’s witnessed throughout his seven years, what a home delivery really means to GLB, how community co...

Hosted by Troy Burtch , Between Two Fermenters, a podcast brought to you by Toronto's Great Lakes Brewery , is your go-to deep dive for all things craft beer from an insider perspective.     On this episode, Troy is joined by Kristin McNeill (Owner) of Toronto’s unassuming Round The Horn sports bar on Roncesvalles. McNeill and Burtch talk at length about the impact local bars have in neighbourhood...

Hosted by Troy Burtch , Between Two Fermenters, a podcast brought to you by Toronto's Great Lakes Brewery , is your go-to deep dive for all things craft beer from an insider perspective.     On this episode, Troy is joined by Fabian Skidmore (Art Director) and Sharla Paino (Content Marketing Manager) to talk label creation, beer names, social media, and everything from a marketing perspective. Tro...

Hosted by Troy Burtch , Between Two Fermenters, a podcast brought to you by Toronto's Great Lakes Brewery , is your go-to deep dive for all things craft beer from an insider perspective.    On this inaugural episode, Troy is joined by  Peter Bulut  (Owner/President) and  Mike Lackey  (Brewing Operations Manager) to take a trip down memory lane as GLB turns 37 years young on February 12. The fellas...