The Ontario Beer Guide: An Opinionated Guide to the Beers of Ontario

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

This well-written, important book contributes something new and exciting
to the literature. The opening chapters are political, calling for a
liberalization of Ontario’s monopolistic laws and a move away from
mass-produced commercial beer. Consumption of beer in Ontario is the
highest in Canada, and the province also boasts the most breweries and
brands. MacKinnon gives us lots of statistics and documents the decline
of ale drinking, all in the first 50 pages or so. After that, he
discusses the microbreweries and brewpubs (beginning with the principles
of evaluation), and provides notes on beer jargon and styles of beer
ranging from pilsner lager and pale ale through stouts and eisbocks.

Arranged under the name of the brewery, the directory itself gives data
for each beer: percentage of alcohol, original gravity, ingredients,
whether or not pasteurized, and a critical description that often
compares two or more similar beers. Each brew is rated using a five-star
system. Despite its lack of an index and its sometimes pompous style
(e.g., “we like,” “we think”), this is a good, evaluative book.