TAPAS, TAPS & TIDBITS

Food & Drink in Greater Hamilton

     I will dedicate this month’s column to the Shawn and Ed Brewing company in Dundas, who are celebrating their 10th Anniversary this month!  And as part of that I will launch a new portion of this column called “Beer with the Brown Notes”.

     The Shawn and Ed Brewing company, commonly referred to as Shed Brewing launched ten years ago. I've previously reviewed their beers including their Salted-Lime Cerveza, and their version of an Ultra, far superior to the mainstream low-alcohol beers.

     Additionally, Shawn and Ed Brewing have promoted live music, comedy and events for years.  From sing-a-longs with Judy Marsales and the Noteworthies, to Brazilian Celtic bands, they have music happening every week.  Keep an eye out for comedy shows and special events like the LadyBird Animal Sanctuary Soiree.

     They also have a limited, albeit delicious, menu.  They specialize in thin-crust pizza prepared in a wood-fired oven, which is the first thing you see when you walk into the brewery.  They have a variety of “beer-pie” pizzas as well as shareable snacks like hummus, tapenade and garlic bread.  Additionally they offer 3 different salads.

     But what they are mostly about is beer. When I review beer for this column, I frequently share it with Dylan, my bandmate in the Brown Notes.   We are going to make that a thing and moving forward now, when I review beer, I will do it with the band:  Beer with the Brown Notes. (Dylan, Shawn T and Chris K).  We sampled two beers.  The first was the Cherry Lager and the second was a collaboration with Aquanova Brewing: Hop Gun.  The Cherry Lager is their most popular seasonal beer, and is available at the LCBO.   The cherry juice is sourced locally, from Flat Rock Cellars in Jordan but is not overpowering.  It’s a delicious summer beer … whenever summer finally gets here.   The Hop Gun is a stronger beer with a more limited run. It is for hop lovers and is a stronger beer, coming in at 7%. These products are limited so get them while you can.  The beer gets its punch from the hop cannon, aka hop gun, thus its name.  Very tropical it went over very well with Dylan and myself.  Get some while you still can.

     I remember meeting Ed Madronich, the Ed in Shawn and Ed, years ago when we both attended MAC.   McMaster in the 80’s was very much a place where lots of beer was consumed.  Ed took his love for beer to another level and with his partner Shawn Till opened this brewery ten years ago.  Shawn and Ed, and their entire team have done a fantastic job supporting numerous causes in Dundas and Greater Hamilton.  Recently, Jay Skarratt, the former owner of the Lazy Flamingo, and son of Jim, who ran programming at MAC in the 70s, started working for them which only helps to further their local connections and ties to the community. To celebrate 10 years they are having a week-long celebration from   April 1-5.   Check them out at www.lagershed.com

 - IW