Oliver
Dawson
Oliver Dawson is a multilingual
beer & travel aficionado and the creator and host of
the Beer Lovers' Tour Co.
Oliver's serious interest
in beer began nearly three decades ago in Germany while
on a universtity 'year abroad' study program. It was during
his subsequent fourteen year career working for Toronto's
original micro-brewery, The Upper Canada Brewing Co., that
he developed his expertise in the world of brewing.
From his beginnings as
an Upper Canada tour host and sales rep., Oliver worked
his way into promotions and events and brought his own eclectic
interests to create innovative events for the brewery --
including an "All Things Smoked" event
(an evening of high-end Cigars, Single Malt Scotch and its
pairing with Dark Beers); The Toronto Symphony Orchestra,
Basses in the Brewery; an "Upper Canada Cup
-- Table Hockey Tournament"! and a "Feast
for the Senses" event of gourmet cooking, live
music and of course, craft beer.
At the same time, Oliver
was also involved in an eclectic range of artistic pursuits
-- from singing opera and acting professionally to animation
voice-over work.
Ultimately, Oliver became
Upper Canada's Director of Market Development and even spent
a year in Europe opening up new markets. On returning to
Canada, Oliver's European experience inspired one of Canada's
first organized beer tours: "The Beer Lovers'
Tour of Europe"!
Starting in Amsterdam,
this tour wound through Belgium, the Rhineland and Bavaria,
the Czech Republic and finished off in Franconia, Germany.
The tour was a great success and pointed to a future,
wherein beer lovers continue the journey and travel to other
untapped regions in the wonderful world of beer.
When Sleeman's took over Upper Canada in '98, Oliver decided to start the
Beer Lovers' Tour Co. and create his own beer and travel
adventures. After several years running international tours,
he realised that Toronto itself had great potential for
its own tour; especially given Toronto's rich brewing history
and the many new independent breweries starting up locally.
Thus, the Old Toronto Beer Tour was born and for over ten
years, continues to be the Beer Lovers' Tour Co.'s most
popular travel product.
In addition to giving beer
tours, Oliver conducts corporate and private beer tasting
events and works as a sales and marketing consultant to
the brewing and hospitality industries. For several years
he taught the Beer Appreciation course at George Brown College,
and has been heard conversing about beer on radio and tv,
including "MOJO RADIO", AM 640, CBC Radio, and
CITY TV.
He is also busy as a consultant/facilitator
for an international corporate training company, a public
speaker and continues to sing and act professionally. Oliver
has recently appeared in TV episodes "Covert Affairs",
"Rookie Blue" and "Mayday",
and continues to sing professionally in the COC Opera Chorus
and other companies in and around Toronto. |
Chris Goddard
Chris Goddard is passionate about 3 things: beer, BBQ and performing. No wait, 4 things: his family too.
He began his serious foray into beer with Steam Whistle Brewing in 2002 as a desperate, out of work actor seeking gainful employment (and free beer). During his time at Steam Whistle Chris held almost every position available, from production worker to tour guide to Director of Marketing. He was their in-house beer expert and made regular appearances on television and on stage conducting cooking with beer demonstrations. During this time Chris began to delve deeper into the beer world and explore all of the styles and variations. Much to his dismay, he found that almost every style of beer was to his liking, making trips to the LCBO, Beer Store and bars painstaking for companions with less adventurous palates.
In 2008, Chris moved from Steam Whistle to begin consulting in the United States for Sri Lanka ‘s Lion Brewing (the makers of arguably the finest Imperial Stout in the world). While in the US he got a chance to explore the exhaustive world of American craft beer and consume exotic beers from obscure breweries around the world. This experience left him invigorated and thirstier than ever.
Chris is the Executive Director of Toronto Beer Week and sits on numerous arts and charitable boards around Toronto. He still pursues his first passion of acting and you can catch Chris frequently on the small screen and more infrequently on the big screen.
His one bit of advice: wherever you are – drink local!
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