Location: The Jam Factory Co.
Address: 2 Matilda Street
Website: http://ladiesdrinkbeer.com/
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Address: 2 Matilda Street
Website: http://ladiesdrinkbeer.com/
Over the last year I’ve been
trying to acquire the taste for beer. Indeed, a trip to London helped spur the
desire where pubs are plentiful and ordering wine when everyone is enjoying a pint
seems wrong. So, when I heard about the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies (“SOBDL”)
and their craft beer events (held the last Friday of every month), I rounded up
a group of like-minded girlfriends to try it.
Tickets are sold online for $20
and includes one drink and a “hangover” kit upon leaving (essentially a mishmash of food items but no painkillers). Additional beers can be
purchased for $6 (cash only) on location.
Attending their Bevy 0009 event,
I was intrigued by the diverse group of women who were in attendance. You can
visit their site to see more pictures, but there were individuals from
different age groups, dressed in whatever made them comfortable and generally
just enjoying music, conversation and of course beer.
At each event, SOBDL offers a
selection craft beers and at Bevy 0009 also had a special “Bevy Brew”. The Sawdust
City Brewing Company made an exclusive brew for the event, a vanilla rooibos stout that was delicious. It smelled great and tasted
even better – the vanilla and tea flavours shone through. It’s a heavier beer,
so you likely wouldn’t want pints of it, but a small cup as a dessert drink
would be amazing.
I also tried the Mill Street
Brewery’s Frambozen, which is a great summery drink served ice cold and had a
light raspberry flavour, without being overly sweet like Fruli. The Great Lakes
Brewery’s pumpkin ale would be ideal for Thanksgiving with the pumpkin aroma
coming through more than the taste. Only the Long Slice Brewery’s Hopsta La
Vista was the miss for me given the excessive bitterness of it.
Overall, the event did open my
eyes to the different flavours available with Canadian beers. If only the event
was more professionally run, I would consider returning in the future. Unfortunately,
the haphazard logistics made the Type A personality in me cringe – taps that
refused to work leading to excessively long line-ups. Also, I didn’t like the
fact that not all brews were offered at once – the second batches only start once
the first ones are depleted.
Unfortunately, with the slow service this meant after two hours we still
couldn’t try the other flavours and decided to leave.
But, I guess the SOBDL events do
draw a certain personality, despite the diverse women in attendance. You’ll
need to be patient, laid-back and flexible with only drinking what’s working.
So, if you meet these criteria, you may consider attending a future Bevy and
expanding your beer sipping taste buds.
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