What a great time I had last night at the Labatt Beer Institute! I was holding a contest for two spots to join me there and while the second winner couldn’t make it @GavinThompson did, and I think we both agreed – the place was incredible.

Let me give you a bit of a floor plan so you can imagine it… The “Classroom” sits over a larger section of the building kind of like a loft with glass windows all around both looking into the building and out to the waterfront. You step in and are greeted by a room filled with Kegs.

You naturally turn right and are greeted by a large white bar with every ABInBev (which is the current name of the company but consists of several merged companies included Anheuser-Busch(AB), Interbrew (In), AmBev (Bev).

Just to give a rundown of some of their more well known beers, they include Stella Artois, Beck’s, Budweiser, Leffe, Brahma, Hoegaarden, Labatt, Alexander Keith’s, Bass, Busch, Kokanee, O’Doul’s.

Also, don’t be surprised to see in the future that Corona becomes part of them… I learned that they own 50% of Grupo Modelo who brew Corona.

Beer decor, obviously, filled the place. A fireplace sat to the side of the Kokanee Lounge where comfortable chairs and a beautiful waterfront view made the lounge the kind of place you could sit for hours.

In the middle of the room was a very large picnic table that just begged to be sat on. They really had this place feeling relaxed and fun! Then I met one of my followers (totally unexpected) @LorneJack! Very nice guy, so give him a follow to get him over 35 followers!!

But first, we were forced (ha) to drink their newest beer, Alexander Keith’s Light Ale. It was actually very tasty. Their marketing plan for the beer (yeah I’m a marketing nerd, I love this stuff) was to build it more grassroots. Unlike Bud Light Lime or other beers where they “Advertise the shit out of it and plaster every single billboard and TV ad” they want this beer to grow out of word of mouth.

Which I think it will. I enjoyed it quite a bit!

After downing it, I grabbed my favourite, a Stella.

Now, with beer in hand, it was time for the class part of the event.

Two very amateurish powerpoint presentation with way too many words and our two hosts who were reading the content line for line. Again, this comes back to my marketing background… I hate powerpoint when you use it as a crutch and not as a supporting visual.

Oh well, I still managed to learn a lot! Such as bubbles sticking to the side of a glass means the glass is dirty. In the photo below, you can see this (it was wiped with a piece of pepperoni). Oh yeah, did I mention they brought in a half dozen pizzas for us? It wasn’t Boston Pizza… so I won’t mention where they were from haha.

Next time you have a Budweiser, smell it… it smells like Bananas! That shit is bananas!

Also, head on a beer helps to relieve stomach gasses which let’s you actually drink more beer!

Then the fun. We were free to drink whatever beers we wanted, pour whatever we wanted! I tried a little bit of everything and learned I dislike Boddington’s and Bud Light Lime… and I really enjoyed Stella Artois Legere!

There was a entertainment section with fusbol, an xbox, pool table, poker table, darts… basically anything game wise you could ever want!

Mixed and mingled with the other people who were there (about 30) and met the GM of the Foggy Dew. I’ve never been there, but definitely going to try and make it sometime!

After several more beers (and me being a lightweight and tipsy, yeah I’ve no issue with admitting it!) it was time to call it a night.

What a great experience though! Free beer, food, entertainment, some learning (including proper pouring methods) and a bunch of other good things to know. Really want to thank both @cdot_in_tdot and the Labatt Beer Institute for the opportunity to partake in the night! Thanks again!

And those who missed it… gotta be more proactive guys! This stuff is awesome! haha.