Canada's craft brewers produce some very fine beers indeed, and discovering these hidden gems at a convivial beer tasting or around a rustic brewpub table are just a couple of ways to be sure you like the unique and diverse flavours. The history of small Canadian breweries is several hundred years older than the country itself. However, the cottage industry was decimated by events in the early 1900s, including two world wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and relentless pressure from big breweries to close down or consolidate. Our taste buds have since been trained to associate beer with light lagers, the flavour of most mainstream bottled beers. Try to imagine wine available in just one flavour, Chardonnay, and one colour, white, and you can see why craft beer devotees want people to know there is a beer for every palate. "Historically, we Canadians are not used to tasting our beer," says Stephen Beaumont, beer expert and author of The Great Canadian Beer Guide. "Since about the mid-1970s, beer has been sold to us on image alone, with not much talk about what beer actually tastes like. Now we have beer with not just flavour, but with a lot of different flavours." For those interested in learning more about different beers, Beaumont recommends visiting bars and restaurants that specialize in beer. "You can ask for small samples of different beers, especially at brew pubs, so it's a great way to learn about styles and flavour." What's the difference between a brew pub and a craft brewery? A brew pub is a restaurant that also makes and serves its own beer on the premises. A few brew pubs also distribute beer to sell off-site. A craft brewery has an annual brewing capacity of fewer than 300,000 hectolitres (one hectolitre equals about 12 cases of 24 bottles). It may also sell its product on the premises, or through beer or liquor stores. Whether you have a brewery or a brew pub in your area comes down to the ratio of geographic area and population density. A craft brewery in the Greater Toronto Area has a market of about five million people at the doorstep. Set up the same brewery in Saskatchewan, and the market is half a million beer drinkers scattered across the province. Because distribution is challenging, the prairie tendency is to bring people to the brew pub, rather than the brewery to the people. An exception is Paddock Wood, a Saskatoon craft brewery that makes a range of distinctive beers. There are usually a dozen or more types of beer for sale at the brewery. Initially a mail-order homebrew supplier, it's now a private corporation with 37 shareholders. Some Paddock Wood beers that are creating a buzz are Black Cat and Czech Mate lagers. Paddock Wood founder Steve Cavan began beer making as a hobby. "Somewhat to my surprise, our Bête Noire oatmeal stout is a big seller in Alberta," he notes. Most Paddock Wood brews are available in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and the company is expanding into Ontario. In Ontario, growth led to the formation of the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB). Unique in Canada, this provincial organization of small brewers works with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to showcase the talents of craft brewers through specialized marketing. More than 30 craft brewers are represented, so the OCB website is a great place to start familiarizing yourself with the products. Among them is Mill Street Coffee Porter, a coffee/dark ale blend that makes a robust after-dinner drink. Another must-try is the award-winning Hockley Dark by OCB member Hockley Valley Brewing Company, based near Orangeville. According to Hockley's master brewer, Andrew Kohnen, this traditional English ale should be served cool, but never icy cold. "You wouldn't chill a really dark ale any more than you'd chill a full-bodied red wine," he explains. "You'd just ruin it." The parallels between beer and wine are compelling. Kohnen says, "You can pair food better with beer than you can with wine, because the flavouring is so much broader. You have sour beers, heavy beers, very sweet beers, and beers that are very, very bitter and stringent, so you can pair them up with a wider variety of foods. The Hockley Dark, which does have a little bit of bitterness in it, pairs up really well with anything smoky, like barbecued ribs." Small brewery owners, like Tom Smellie of Hockley Valley Brewing Company, are often contacted by beer aficionados who have tasted their brew at a pub but can't find it in their local beer or liquor store. Smellie says, "I get about 10 or 15 emails a week from people wondering where they can buy our beer, which is one of the largest-selling Ontario Craft Brewer beers in the LCBO." When was the last time a big brewer asked you what you thought of its product? Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery, another small Ontario brewer, has a premium lager based on a recipe formulated with the aid of a community tasting panel. To help beer lovers discover the wide variety of tasty brews, the OCB has established a very successful regional tourism program, the Ontario Craft Beer Route. The self-directed tour makes for a leisurely day out with friends. It highlights five regions for beer drinkers to explore and enjoy - with designated drivers, of course. In British Columbia, the Craft Brewers Association of B.C. is constructing a website promoting its 15 members. If you'd like to do something unusual on your next vacation, try the Tall Sails and Ales Tour, offered each spring by Maple Leaf Adventures. A five-night sailboat cruise up the Pacific coast includes special tastings not available to the general public, 40 B.C. craft beers to sample, and chef-cooked meals matched to the brews. Many prairie brewers and brew pubs will provide tours and tastings. Try Alley Kat Brewing Company in Edmonton, or Half Pints Brewing Company in Winnipeg. "It's usually just a question of calling up the breweries you'd like to visit to make arrangements," says Stephen Beaumont. "Brew pubs are even easier to tour, because you go in there for a pint and something to eat and you can usually just see the brewery from where you're sitting." The Bushwakker Brewpub in Regina offers diners a view of the brewing process through large windows in the restaurant. It also has a virtual tour on its website. However you discover fine Canadian craft beers, through tours, beer or liquor stores, or on the recommendation of the brew masters themselves, do take more than one sip before passing judgment on the myriad beer tastes. The Czechs have a brewing history thousands of years old. Odds are they know what they're talking about. Sources: Ontario Craft Brewers: www.ontariocraftbrewers.com Craft Brewers Association of B.C.: Gerry Hieter (250) 383-2332 Stephen Beaumont's website: www.worldofbeer.com B.C. Tall Sails and Ales Cruises: www.mapleleafadventures.com/tallsailsales.htm Western brewers featured: www.alleykatbeer.com www.bushwakker.com www.halfpintsbrewing.com www.paddockwood.com