Ides of February 2020: The Henderson Cup
Henderson Brewing Company

Hurling a 19kg hunk of granite down a 45-metre long sheet of ice such that it lands within a couple of centimetres of where you wanted it is no easy task! We can think of few other pastimes that require the same combination of brute strength & exquisite sensitivity as curling but, well, homebrewing comes to mind.

Since homebrewing is in our DNA & everyone loves a competition, we host the Henderson Cup as a way of celebrating the strength of Toronto’s homebrewing community. Participation in the 4th Annual Henderson Cup was open to anyone living in the GTA & we received over 600 entries, which were pared down to just ten finalists. The winner of the finals was then invited to do a collaboration brew inspired by their winning beer, with the Henderson brewing team.

This year’s winner was Chris Hughes, who brews under the moniker of Union Brewing. Chris designs & builds furniture using recycled or reclaimed wood & he’s been homebrewing for just over 3 years. Chris enjoys brewing IPAs, pale ales and experimental beers. In 2018, Chris was featured on Vice’s Beerland Season 3. Since then, he’s been developing his recipes & entering them in competitions across Canada.

Because brewing is a team sport, too, we collaborated with Chris to brew this roasty, malty black IPA with notes of citrus and pine. We hope you’ll agree that each sip leaves you anticipating the next.