Local craft beers spice up holidays
By Thomas Hall and Shannon Lough The holiday season has traditionally been a time for mulled wines, eggnog and cider. But some local beer makers are hopeful craft beers can make inroads on the holiday turf. “There’s a dramatic shift in the way the city views beer,” Patrick Fiori, Clocktower Brew Pub’s brew master said. “People who are willing to spend a little more on quality are craft beer drinkers.” Clocktower is tapping its festive holiday stout for the fifth year today. “It’s dark brown in colour and a little on the sweet side,” said Fiori. “We add nitrogen to it instead of CO2 to give it a creamy taste, similar to Guinness.” “It’s a nice beer after a long day of winter shopping, low in alcohol and creamy,” Fiori said. Across Ottawa a new player in the craft beer market, Beyond the Pale, has just released its first winter brew. “We have a number of different beers that we will put out every month or every other month. The Darkerness is one that we’ve just released, and will continue to put out throughout the winter,” said Robert McIsaac, a partner at Beyond the Pale. “The Darkerness is a 10.2 per cent oatmeal stout. It’s big, multi-flavoured and awesome. And if you drink too much of it, it may kill you,” McIsaac said with a grin. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has been working with Ontario’s craft brewers for about ten years, Heather MacGregor, a spokesperson for the LCBO, said. “We have a very good relationship with the Ontario Craft Brewers Association. It’s been mutually very beneficial,” said MacGregor. “It’s a huge category for us, and we work very closely with the Ontario Craft Brewers.” “In 2006 we sold 2.5 million bottles of craft beer, which was about $4.5 million in sales. By last year sales were up to $40 million,” MacGregor said. According to an LCBO fact sheet on craft beer, last year craft beer sales grew by 33 per cent, the highest growth rate for all beer segments in Ontario. “Only ten per cent of beer drinkers are currently drinking craft beers,” said McIsaac. “There is a lot of room for the market to grow as more people are exposed to new types of beer.” Here are three Beyond the Pale brews: Their best seller Pink Fizz, and two newer beers, including the holiday special the Darkerness. Craft Beers in Ottawa with Patrick Fiori, Clocktower Brew...
Warm temperatures threaten Rideau skateway’s future
By Thomas Hall and Clayton Andres Winter in Ottawa is the time of year when the world’s largest, naturally frozen ice rink opens, but there could be a time when skating on the Rideau Canal will be impossible, according to a study on global warming. The 2011 study out of McGill University found “warming of winter temperatures in Canada is having a deleterious effect on the outdoor skating season.” The Rideau Canal skateway happens to be the Guinness Book of World Records’ largest outdoor rink in the world. You don’t need tropical weather to shut down outdoor rinks, said Chris Burn, a Carleton University professor who specializes in geography and environmental studies. A small rise in average temperatures could do it, Burn said, and the average temperature in Ottawa has gone up by about one degree since the early 1980s. “I don’t think I’ll see it in my lifetime,” Burn said. “But in the next 30 years we will start to think about whether a skating season is sustainable.” ‘The weather is everything.’ – Jean Wolff Burn said you need about five cold weeks to make the skateway viable. Conditions that don’t get cold enough could make opening for the season a risky investment for the National Capital Commission, which owns the skateway. Andrew Kaleta, manager of environmental stewardship at the Commission, said climate change is a concern, and that the commission has looked at what to do should the ice not form properly. “We are always looking to find contingency plans for events, like possibly moving them off the ice surface,” said Kaleta. The skateway not only needs cold weather to be a success, but nice weather too. The nearly eight-kilometre-long rink has become a “Canadian icon,” said Jean Wolff, a spokesperson with the National Capital Commission. “The weather is everything,” Wolff said. “If it’s nice like last year we get more people out.” In 2012, about 17,000 visitors used the skateway each day, but that number went up to 22,000 last season due to sunny days and relatively tepid temperatures. One company concerned with the trend towards shorter seasons on the skateway is Beavertail, which makes the flat fried dough that has been sold along the canal for 30 years. Adam Hendren is a local store manager and one of four licensees who sells Beavertails on the canal. Although Hendren said they are a long way from the time when selling Beavertails on the canal is not worthwhile, the trend toward shorter seasons is a concern. While the National Capital Commission is concerned about the long-term impact of climate change on the skateway, it’s also concerned about more...