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Hopera wins!
Posted September 26, 2014 | 10:46 am, by Mirella
I’m delighted to announce that the third edition of Hopera, which took place on September 17th & 18th this year, won the Drinker’s Choice award for Best Event of Toronto Beer Week 2014! This was a ‘fun and informal survey’ and beer drinkers were encouraged to vote online. Our venue for the event, Habits Gastropub, also won a Toronto Beer Week 2014 Drinker’s Choice Award in the Best Bar/Pub/Restaurant category – how awesome is that? I’m very proud of this event, as I explained […]
What’s in a cask?
Posted September 3, 2014 | 10:28 am, by Mirella
DISCLAIMER: I thought I’d take a moment to state that I am not writing on behalf of Cask! but, rather, to express some concerns that are my own, but first a little background… There are two parallel cask-conditioned ale scenes going on in Ontario right now: One of these scenes features traditional cask-conditioned ales, like the ones that we champion with Cask!; the kind of beer that CAMRA refer to as ‘Real Ales’. The other features beers finished (or simply packaged) in a cask, with the addition of […]
Beer Paper LA
Posted August 12, 2014 | 9:43 pm, by Mirella
Beerology’s author, Mirella Amato, has the distinction of being one of the world’s seven Master Cicerones, and she’s an undeniably passionate advocate for beer culture. She has compiled a compact course in beer’s intriguing qualities that covers the basics of brewing and beer style, and details how…
Globe and Mail
Posted July 28, 2014 | 9:59 pm, by Mirella
…Amato released her first book, Beerology, last month. Its format, with a focus on four different types of “brews” – refreshing, mellow, striking and captivating – is unconventional, more choose-your-own-adventure than textbook. Accompanied by charts and graphs developed by Amato…
LA Times (online)
Posted July 28, 2014 | 9:56 pm, by Mirella
…She covers such topics as the basics of the brewing process, beer styles, tasting and food pairings with a direct and elucidative style. She even manages to bring something new to the chapters on beer styles; she’s organized the different types of beer into novel groups…
Canada.com (online)
Posted July 28, 2014 | 9:44 pm, by Mirella
Mirella Amato isn’t about to tell you which beers you should be drinking. In fact, as Amato writes in her first book Beerology (Appetite by Random House, 2014) she believes that “every beer is worth trying at least once.” As Canada’s only Certified Master Cicerone…
Are we losing sight of the craft?
Posted June 17, 2014 | 10:43 am, by Mirella
While at the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver this past spring, I head a comment that has stayed with me. The comment was made during a session called ‘Using Belgian Yeast – Three Belgians’ Perspectives’ by one of the speakers, Yvan De Baaets, brewer and owner of Brasserie de la Senne in Brussels. It was just an aside, but it really got me thinking. This is what he said: “There is a big tendency now to use yeast as an ingredient.” This […]
Not My Top 10 Picks
Posted May 28, 2014 | 10:17 am, by Mirella
…or How I picked the style examples listed in my new book Having taken the time to explain at length why I don’t make beer recommendations, in an earlier blog post, I thought I would take a moment to share how I selected the beer examples listed in the Beer Styles chapter of my first book,Beerology: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Beer…Even More. While the listed beers are recommendations, they are based on stylistic accuracy and geography rather than on my personal taste. For those […]
Publisher’s Weekly (Online)
Posted May 8, 2014 | 11:56 pm, by Mirella
Whether she’s appearing on TV to talk about beer or offering tasting and consultation services through her company, Beerology, Mirella Amato is a beer-world star—one of only seven people on the globe (and the first person outside the U.S.) to earn the title of Master Cicerone…
Top 10 Picks
Posted April 9, 2014 | 10:17 am, by Mirella
The only question I get more often than “what is it like being a woman in the beer industry?” is “what is yourfavourite beer?” Every media request that I receive includes questions like: Which do you think are the top 10 Canadian breweries? What are 5 recommended brands for patio season? Which new releases should we be seeking out? What do you think of X brand? Which breweries should we be keeping an eye out for? What are your top […]