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Ontario Brewer Podcast
Since 2010, I have been preparing and hosting the Ontario Brewer Podcast series for the Ontario Craft Brewers Association. These podcast feature interviews with Ontario brewers on a range of different topics.Beer News & Updates
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NOW Magazine
Posted July 11, 2013 | 1:34 pm, by Mirella
Canada’s first and only master cicerone – the most prestigious global certification of beer knowledge – Mirella Amato is Toronto’s own guru of brew. She founded Beerology.ca in 2007, a site that guides the curious via seminars, tasting series and food pairings, and plans to add a book to her resumé in 2014…
How to become a Certified Cicerone
Posted June 10, 2013 | 10:30 am, by Mirella
Two to three times a month, I’m contacted by someone who is looking for advice on how to become a Certified Cicerone®. Having fielded this question a number of times, I thought I’d take a moment to collect my thoughts in a blog post… In the spirit of full disclosure: from 2013-2015, I worked as an independent contractor for the Cicerone® Certification Program. Having said this, as I outlined above, that’s not what has motivated this post. So, how to […]
Beerology in the News
Posted May 7, 2013 | 11:00 am, by Mirella
It’s been an exciting few months since I achieved my Master CiceroneTM certification, in December, becoming the first Master CiceroneTM in Canada. I’ve been delighted to see the attention that this certification has received across a range of different media outlets and publications. I am particularly happy to note that publications outside of the beer sphere have picked up the story and am quite hopeful that these articles will reach a broader audience, exposing new people to the idea of beer appreciation. […]
TAPS Magazine
Posted May 1, 2013 | 7:43 pm, by Mirella
It is official. The first Canadian Master Cicerone was anointed in late 2012, and it is Toronto-area beer consultant and writer Mirella Amato. The beer business is notoriously dominated by men, so it is refreshing to see a woman succeed at the highest level…
Canadian Living
Posted May 1, 2013 | 3:43 pm, by Mirella
Meet Mirella Amato, North America’s first female – and Canada’s only – Master Cicerone, a certified beer expert who has passed a rigorous set of written, oral and tasting exams. We asked her our burning beer questions…
Product Magazine
Posted April 24, 2013 | 3:13 pm, by Mirella
…As a pioneer of this profession, Mirella is constantly asking questions, thus creating a dialogue about the “art of beer appreciation.” Her own curiosity and engagement has even propelled her to write a book about beer, which is scheduled to come out in 2014…
The future of Ontario beer?
Posted April 9, 2013 | 1:15 am, by Mirella
Last month, I became a member of the Ontario Hop Growers Association. I also had the pleasure of attending their conference on Saturday, March 9th, where Québecois hop agronomist Julien Venne presented an advanced course in hop growing. The talk was fascinating and it was great to learn more about how to best select appropriate and relevant hop varieties to grow in Ontario. I’ve actually been following the growth of the local hop industry for a few years now, ever […]
Micro-Maltsters
Posted April 8, 2013 | 10:35 am, by Mirella
It’s no secret that the province of Québec has a thriving brewing scene. With the craft beer industry in full swing, many brewers are looking for ways to express their terroir and integrate local ingredients into their beers. In la belle province, brewers have a unique opportunity to express their terroir thanks to the presence of two micro-maltsters in the province: Malterie Frontenac Inc. and MaltBroue Inc. These small malt houses are sourcing and transforming local barley, allowing brewers to […]
Canadian Business
Posted March 12, 2013 | 1:22 pm, by Mirella
Given that tea is now curated, tequila comes in tasting flights, “master chocolatier” is a bona fide career path and fromagers have their own newspaper columns, the idea of a beer “sommelier” hardly seems absurd. It might even seem a little overdue…
Beer Dinner Menus
Posted March 10, 2013 | 11:00 am, by Mirella
I’ve had the pleasure of guiding a series of beer dinners in fine dining establishments over the past few months. While I’ve been pairing beer with food in a variety of contexts for years, until recently they have mostly taken place in private homes, at catered events or in pubs… It’s very exciting to me that higher-end restaurants are embracing the idea of bringing beer to the table. It opens the door for guests to see beer in a new […]