Ayr, Ontario is an unlikely town to find some of the best beer and spirits in the province, but the lords at Willibald have been taking care of the community for years now. Cam and Gordo joined Cee and Nate to catch up on what's been happening with them for the last two years, why they chose their Hell Lager as their flagship and the thinking behind the move into 12-packs, the importance of travel for inspiration, the LCBO strike and their thoughts on it, the optimal time frame to drink their IPAs, the popularity of their seltzers, why Copenhagen is one of the best cities in the world for beer ..read more

One of the most important aspects of marketing in craft beer in recent years is Social Media. We've spoken about it at length via the original The Business of Marketing Craft Beer three-part podcast series, but we figured it was time to really dive deep into all things social. Tiffany Alexis, Co-Founder of both BAOS and High Season Co., joins Cee to get into the origins of the Business of Beer season, how they've created relationships with beer brands and businesses via social, examples of breweries and businesses both doing social really well (and some doing it kinda terribly), best prac ..read more

At thirty-seven years in the game - that's right, 37 years - Etobicoke's Great Lakes Brewing are certified OGs and are essentially unstoppable. Face of the brand (among other more important things) Troy Burtch joined Cee and Nate to chat about their approach to craft beer over the decades, how craft beer in Ontario has changed, the impact of Gen-Z drinking less alcohol, the importance of the LCBO to their strategy, the future of craft beer in Ontario with grocery and convenience, why American and WCIPAs are underrated, how creating experiences is the secret sauce and why they listen to the cus ..read more

Prince Edward County is one of Ontario's most exciting craft beer scenes, and the jewel of PEC is Slake Brewing - both for its view and quality brews. Co-Founder and Brewer Nick joined Cee and Nate to chat about beers that you don't have to think about (ie No Thinkies), their barrel program and why they dialled it back, their approach to beer, hop contracts, how they've diversified their taproom offerings, the connection between Ontario craft brewers, their incredible view, why their canned beers last so long, and why they're so popular with Quebec drinkers. They got into a bunch of killer bre ..read more

Ottawa's Tooth & Nail is both one of Ontario's most heralded and more underrated breweries at the same time. They've made our Top 10 Breweries in Ontario list every year due to their incredibly well-crafted beers, and it's a crime that we waited three years to catch up with Matty. Cee and Nate chatted with Matt about how they got their initial traction via Vim & Vigor, why he doesn't dry hop Pilsners, why foam is essential in beer, when beer stopped being a hobby, how they came up with their Extra Pale Ale, Matt's desert island beers, his love for Belgian beers and his collab project w ..read more

The second episode of our new season, The Business of Beer, brings in the Co-Founders of the breweries represented in Episode #1. Jeff Talmey of Town and Andrew Silver of Fine Balance join Cee and Nate to chat about the current state of the craft beer industry, being a boutique craft brewery versus a growth-oriented craft brewery, the pros and cons of selling craft beer in the LCBO, brewing and selling flagships or mainstays versus producing one-off releases every week, the different distribution options (bars, indie bottle shops, LCBO, grocery, The Beer Store), selling kegs to craft beer bars ..read more

While Quebec was slow to enter and embrace the haze game, they've delivered on a level that has made the province some of the best producers of the style in the country. Montreal's Messorem Bracitorium opened in the summer of 2019 and the fanfare was immediate - clearly the hazeboiz and hazegirlz were ready for something local that paralleled their US faves. Co-Founder and Graphic Designer Marc-André joined Cee and Nate to chat about what's been happening since Messo's last podcast appearance in early 2020, how their lager program has become a massive part of the business, why their atten ..read more

Welcome to our brand new season, The Business of Beer! This whole thing started in early 2024 when Cee and Tiff did a pod focused on why so many craft breweries are closing, and that led to a whole slew of episodes focused on varying aspects of the craft beer industry. These episodes became so popular with guests reaching out to be on the pod to not talk about their own brewery that the team figured it'd make more sense to kick off a dedicated season.    We're setting it off with two phenomenal taproom managers - Caitlyn of Town Brewery and Jamie of Fine Balance joined Cee ..read more

We love seeing a brewery grow and thrive from inception, and we've had the pleasure of watching Montreal's 4 Origines do just that since 2018. Keegan and Mike joined Cee and Nate to catch up on the last few years, they touched on their upcoming 6th anniversary, the opening of their West Island brewery Origine Brasse, the differences between beer tastes in Montreal and Dorval, why food is such an important part of their growth, their love for tea and distaste for lactose, the issues with distribution in Quebec and the recent lawsuit with Transbroue and Triani, how Quebec craft beer taxation wor ..read more

While our main focus here at BAOS is craft breweries, chatting with the folks who take care of the ingredients is just as important. Colin Byrne of Le Labo, a yeast company based in Quebec, joined Cee and Nate to chat about all things yeast, the lineup of beers all used Le Labo yeast so it was great to compare and taste different beers side by side that use the same yeast, they touched on the differences between dry and liquid yeast, how house yeast comes about, how yeast is propagated and reused, the differences between yeast companies, and talked about his work with a new contract brewe ..read more