A very good day

There are no breweries in my little corner of north-west Toronto but all I have to do is hop in my car and in 15 minutes I am absolutely spoiled for choice.

I have done plenty of beer runs from here but yesterday's little excursion was pretty special. The whole tour took about an hour and involved just four stops - three breweries and an LCBO outlet - but pound for pound it was one of my best trips.

And I only bought 22 beer.

The genesis of the journey was two-fold: I needed more Barn Owl #22 from Bellwoods and Robohop, Great Lakes' excellent Imperial IPA, was back (but only in selected LCBOs), and I wanted both.

The Barn Owl, a foeder-aged wild ale with apricot, was one of my two favourite beers of 2020 and when I learned there was still plenty in stock at Bellwoods' Hafis location - ten minutes from my house - I put the beer run plan in motion. It's pricey - $14 per 500 ml bottle - but the combination of funk, tart & champagne-like carbonation is irresistible.

As for Robohop, it sees the light of day once a year and has been a long-time favourite (especially the New England version), but a product search showed it was not at my nearest liquor store. No problem - it was at Jane & Dundas, and that's just 10 minutes or so from Hafis Road. And as it happens, there are half a dozen great breweries between them.

This could be a very good day.

Of course, with limited funds I had to severely limit my brewery stops, so after a little research, I chose Rainhard (in the Stockyards district) and Indie Ale House (in the Junction), fired up my pimped-out Chevy Spark and headed out to the wilds of west Toronto.

At Bellwoods I bought two Barn Owls (a rare treat, I told myself), a Jelly King Apricot (staying with the apricot theme), a Cat Lady IPA (haven't seen it in a while) and a Jutsu, which tends to go home with me after every visit.

The bill came to just over $40.

I turned south on Keele/Weston Road next and found Rainhard, where I bought a couple cans of Space Tank, which is their flagship Armed 'n Citra pale ale, except with Galaxy hops, and two cans of Hop Cone Syndrome, which won back-to-back silvers in the Imperial IPA category at the Ontario Brewing Awards in 2016 and 2017.

A good day for beer. And me

It is released each year, but I hadn't seen it since 2017 and I knew then I was going to regret just buying two, just as I regretted not stopping in at Shacklands, located literally NEXT DOOR to Rainhard.

Sometimes it sucks not being rich.

Anyway, the bill came in under $15.

Indie Ale House was just a few minutes further south, so I parked at the bank across the street (where the pigeons are) and wandered into their bottle shop for a chat with the young fellow behind the counter about beer and lockdown restrictions.

A couple of Happy Little Trees IPA was on my wish list (it's Kviek-yeasted, it's a homage to Bob Ross, what's not to like?), as was Zombie Apocalypse, their annual Imperial Stout release. I threw in a single of Lil Lush, a collaboration with Short Finger Brewing of Kitchener and I was out of there with only a $19 dent in my bank account.

I also had a nice chat about the pandemic with my server and left with a feeling of optimism I hadn't felt in a long time. I'm not sure I share his optimism that we could be out of this by summer, but it's nice to have dreams, isn't it?

That left just the LCBO stop on my agenda. and as I was already on Dundas it was just five minutes west to my final destination.

I had been to this location before and at each visit I was amazed at the selection of craft beer on display. There are local brews  - including beer I had purchased earlier in the day - from Toronto breweries I don't see in my north end LCBOs, never mind back in Oshawa. And the imported section - especially the beers from Belgium - was the bomb. 

There were Trappist beers from Rochefort and Westmalle, a whole line from Rodenbach (including a  Grand Cru) and assorted gems from Duvel and Chimay, just to name a few.

Like a kid in a candy store, I would be, if I had an unlimited candy allowance. But I don't, so I just picked up a Westmalle Trappist Tripel and a Rodenbach Belgian Sour before turning back to the domestic section.

I did find some PEI beer I had never heard of, so I grabbed a Snowbird Juicy IPA from Gahan Brewery, but the rest of my basket was filled with Ontario goodies, including a couple of the Robohops that drew me to the store in the first plasce.

Burst (also from Great Lakes), Artificial Paradise (Clifford), Square Wheels (Town) and a top-notch Imperial Stout from Sawdust City - Long Dark Voyage (Coffee Vanilla) brought the bill to just over $40 and sent me on my way home happy and just a little bit bullish for the future.

All that for less than $120. Money well spent, I say.

The cherry on top was the surprise package waiting for me at home: a four-pack of Belgian-style Stout (and a couple of Akwa, the world's finest hop-infused water) from my friend Josh Hayter (sexiest beard in craft beer) and his team at Spearhead Brewing.

A very good day indeed. 

#LetsTalk Day

Considering I have suffered from depression for many years and considering also that I have written about this very subject, you may find it surprising that I was not at all looking forward to Bell's Lets Talk Day.

Or maybe you're not surprised at all.

As I said, I've written about this before (Why I Haven't Written a Beer Blog), but not much has changed since that blog from four years ago. In fact, I'm probably worse off than I was then. I had knee surgery a year ago and have done very little re-hab since the sponsored sessions ended last March. That's also when I moved back home to help take care of my parents and since then I've put on 25 pounds to an already overweight frame and messed up both of my shoulders as well.

I'm also not working and my life on the dole has come to an abrupt end, and there is still almost four years before I qualify for my old age pension and I can live the life of Riley again.

There. I made a little joke, so there is hope.

I miss my family and friends too. A lot. But that's something we can all say. So what can I say that hasn't been said before, or even what I haven't said before? The more I talk the more I sound like I'm just complaining about my lot in life.

I know what I should do but I find it very difficult to discipline myself to do what needs to be done.

I promise you I'm going to keep trying. And when I can, I'm going to keep talking.

Thanks for listening.

2020 - A Year of Beer in Review Part 2

After a month that was more procrastination than production, I think it's time to wrap up this blog of the best beers (and other things) of 2020. Especially as we are more than halfway through the first month of 2021. It wouldn't be the latest I published my year-end blog, and as I take no pride in that record I figure I'll get right to it.

Besides, there's a new President in Washington now, so I guess it's finally 'officially' 2021.

The Top Ten - the beers that stirred my soul 

Wellington Nothing Civil IPA

The can art was sublime, the poetry (by Truth Is ...) was brutally honest and the beer was pretty damn good too. 

Fruity aroma with pineapple and citrus. The pineapple is more prominent on the tongue, along with slightly tart citrus and a touch of long-suppressed anger. Nothing flashy about this beer: it's smooth, a little juicy and damn good. Also, the can art and the poem is the absolute bomb. Black Lives Matter

Bellwoods Barn Owl #22

I was ignorant of how good a barrel-aged Sour could be until this beer came around. The ultimate blend of funk and tartness. Well worth the $12 price.

Funk, tartness and some fruit on the nose. Looks beautiful in the glass too. Tartness and apricots on the tongue, with the funk now subdued. Fruity and delicious

Matron Janky

Matron Janky IPA

I had been drinking so many Hazy IPAs, with the occasional West Coast thrown in, that I forgot how a perfectly balanced beer should taste. This is that beer.

There's fresh citrus on the nose. Super balanced, slightly juicy with a hint of dankness and smooth AF. Delicious

Stonehooker Tantrum

I had a good idea that Stonehooker brewer Adam Cherry could brew a world-class beer from a 2019 stop, but this beer - from an early Autumn visit to the patio with my pal Don and his son David - was a revelation. So very, very good.

Delicious beer. Citrus and a bit of sweetness on the nose. Taste is tropical, with pineapple and tangerine, along with some melon. Luscious on the tongue. Did I say delicious?

Third Moon Epoch with Guava, Mango & Apricot

Everything I brought home from a summer stop to this upstart Milton brewery was excellent, but their Epoch line of dry-hopped Sours - particularly this one - was over the top goodness.

Tart guava and other tropical goodies in the aroma. Damn, this is delicious! It's guava juice, with a dollop of mango

Sawdust City Everyday Magic

I got this in my glass early in the year and it was my number one Beer-of-the-Year contender until mid-summer when other pretenders started appearing. An absolutely wonderful beer.

Citrus and tropical fruit aroma. Big flavour, with loads of pineapple and papaya and a bit of coconut on the back end. Juicy. Creamy. Delicious

Blood Brothers Paradise Lost Pear with Chai

I had been enjoying so many excellent Sours at this time with blueberry and with citrus flavours that I wasn't expecting this spicy number to wow me. It wowed me. Simply fantastic.

Chai spices on the nose, with nutmeg most prominent, with some green apple and pear as well. Super tart on the tongue, with an apple pie sweetness from the cinnamon and nutmeg to go with lemony tartness. Super good

Collective Arts Blueberry Sour with Cacao Nibs

The first Sour to make an impact on me in 2020, and the first of several blueberry Sours that got my taste buds excited. Another early front-runner for my Beer-of-the-Year

Looks and smells like blueberry puree. Wow. Tons of berry on the sip, followed by a fruity-chocolate finish. Thick and rich, this is the bee's knees

Little Beasts Valkyrie

My favourite beer of 2019 and I certainly couldn't leave it off my contender list for 2020, could I? Especially since I continued to enjoy this brew whenever it was available and it never, ever let me down.

Orange and mango aroma with a touch of sweetness. Tastes like Valhalla, with tropical fruit, a bit of Belgian-ish yeastiness from the (Norweigian) Kriek yeast and a finishing tang unlike any other beer. Outstanding.

Town Absolute Unit

Rich and tropical, this was my favourite Imperial IPA of 2020.

Rich aroma of tropical fruit and citrus. More tropical goodness on the tongue, with orange, some pineapple and a hint of tart guava. There is a bit of welcome stickiness on the back end

Honorable Mentions: Karma Citra and Burst from Great Lakes and at least a couple from Bellwoods' Jelly King series - Peach & Mango Passionfruit. That Wellington Faces IIPA with Cascade & Chinook was pretty great too.

My Favourite Blog of 2020

I wrote a very sweet blog about living with my 87 year-old parents during the pandemic that got a lot of positive traction and I thank my friends for that. I also had some fun at the beginning of the year talking about my knee replacement surgery in somewhat graphic detail. But the blog that gave me the most joy came from a December 1 post called The @glennhendry Appliance Series, (or, How I came to be Almost Famous).

The genesis of the 'series' came from a complaint that I wasn't posting enough pics for my friends on Beer Twitter's liking, which morphed into a 10-day campaign where my pals would post pics of beer on or in everyday appliances (with my name attached), just to prove that beer pics don't have to be professional-looking to be post-worthy. I was going through a particularly tough time - it was pre-Christmas in the Year 2020; who wasn't? - and the campaign, along with the Twitter poll that went with it - made my heart sing when I needed it most. So thank you.

Best Brewer

This was a tough one, and I waffled between perennial favourite Ryan Morrow (Collective Arts) and relative newbies Justin da Silva (Matron) and Adam Cherry (Stonehooker). The winner simply kept producing winners with every beer. I've never had a bad one at this Port Credit brewery and I have enjoyed plenty of stellar brews. And he's an awesome dude. That's good enough for me.

Matron Brewery,
Prince Edward County

Adam Cherry - Stonehooker

Best Brewery

Quite a few finalists on my list. Bellwoods, Matron, Stonehooker, Little Beasts, Town, Wellington, Collective Arts, Sawdust City, Badlands, Third Moon, Dominion City, Spearhead and Great Lakes. The brewery that stood out the most to me was the one that made me fall in love with lagers AND produced an amazing IPA. It was the folks from The County who got my vote.

Matron Brewery

Best New Brewery

This was an easy one. They opened their doors right in the middle of a Pandemic and never looked back, producing outstanding beer after outstanding beer. IPAs, Imperial Stouts, Sours: all top-notch. They've already gained quite a reputation with the hop heads and they're on most must-visit lists.

Third Moon Brewery

Beer of the Year

I had my top 10 to choose from and I wavered a bit before narrowing it down to two: Matron Janky IPA and Bellwoods Barn Owl #22. Balanced and Beautiful vs Tart and Funky. My horoscope says I'm a Libra, so balance wins.

Matron Janky IPA

Will we be doing this in 2021?
I have no idea. But I sure hope so

The Real Champions of 2020

My friend Erin at Little Beasts was quoted as saying she was sick of hearing so often how Ontario breweries were 'pivoting' their business model during Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions. Of course, that's exactly what breweries did: most transitioned to online sales and deliveries, some sold hand sanitizer, and they all did whatever they could to stay afloat.

All those pre-Covid business plans got thrown out the window in mid-March, and breweries have been dealing with a constantly changing retail climate since then. It has been "beyond exhausting," Erin told me in October and it has not got any easier in the ensuing months.

But they have persevered and almost all are still here, making Ontario Breweries the real champions of 2020.

Honorable mention goes to you, me, and everyone else who supported our breweries this year. If we hadn't shown our support with our hard-earned dollars, well ... let me just say we all deserve a medal (or at least a pat on the back) for our service.

I hope to see some of you, with a pint of beer in hand, real soon.

Cheers!

2020 - A Year of Beer in Review (Part 1)

If there was ever a year when beer blogs would be considered irrelevant, it would be this year.

2020 was a shit-show the likes of which have not been seen before, at least not in my lifetime. Well over 200,000 cases of the Covid-19 virus in Ontario and more than 5,000 dead for starters and everyone has been affected in some way. Lives have been disrupted, jobs have been lost and millions of people have been struggling to stay afloat amid restrictions put in place to stem the tide of infection.

Along the way we have seen a social revolution spring up - particularly south of the border but also here and around the world - in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. It was an awakening not seen since the 60s and, thanks to inflammatory policies and rhetoric from Donald Trump, it divided a nation. The awakening for me, a 61 year-old white guy who was a child in the 60s but came of age in the years that followed, was that the protests of 2020 were for the same reasons as they were in 1968: equality, justice and the freedom to walk the streets without being shot by police for the crime of being Black.

A traumatic and sometimes tragic year it was, and it would be understandable if beer and other leisure pursuits were deferred for another, brighter time. But it became clear as the year dragged on that we needed beer, and macrame, and learning to cook and any other diversion to help us get through this.

And now that the orange monster is gone, we can dream about a better future for all of us. As the wonderful Amanda Gorman said in her inauguration Day poem today, "even as we hurt, we hope."

Amen to that.

Time to talk about beer.

Lagahhhs

I never thought I would be leading off a Year-End Review blog talking about my favourite Lagers, but then I never had brews from Matron Brewery in Prince Edward County either. Thanks to Matron and the skills of brewer/co-owner Justin da Silva, I now have a favourite Helles Lager and I have now heard of a Zoiglbier.

Helles Lager - Matron Yeasayer

Kellerbier - Matron Leisure

Zoiglbier - Matron Handsome

India Pale Lager - Town Open Invite

Blonde Lager - Brock St. Strawberry Blonde

Pale Lager - Spearhead Decoy

(German) Pilsner - Dominion City Civic

(Czech) Pilsner - Stonehooker Chill Pils

(Italian) Pilsner - Indie Ale House Birroteca Bionda

That was also my first Italian-style Pilsner and it was a revelation. I need to seek out this style more often. Probably my favourite Lager, though that Helles Lager from Matron was hella good too.

Best Social Justice Statement on a Can

Nothing Civil IPA from Wellington Brewery

In the wake of George Floyd's murder and the protests against police brutality that followed, brewers stepped up to do their part to bring social justice issues into the light. Enter the Lacuna Collective - Beer Diversity's Ren Navarro, Beer Sommelier Lexi Pham and poet Truth Is ... - and Nothing Civil IPA from Wellington Brewery. The poem - displayed on every can - is a stark reminder of the challenges faced by BIPOC every day and contains these two lines, which rattle around in my head each time I read it:

Our skin is Loraine's Raisin in the Sun just as much as it is Rodney's spilled blood in the moonlight ... 

Our skin is not resisting. Our skin is not resisting. OUR SKIN. Is Resistance

The art is also beautiful, as is the beer, one of my favourites from 2021.

Speaking of Ren, that brings me to a new category for this year: Best Beer Personality and the easy first winner: Ren Navarro.

To say she's a gem would be to give diamonds and sapphires too much credit. Ren is a tireless champion of diversity in the beer industry through her consulting firm Beer Diversity and has been quite busy over the past year calling out breweries to be more vocal in making their spaces more inclusive.

She's also been called upon to consult with breweries where mistakes had been made (hello Cowbell) and to help them get back on track to be a welcoming environment for all.

Best Beer Executive - This is an award I bestow only occasionally, which is a shame because there are plenty of brewing bosses out there doing fantastic work keeping their breweries front and centre in the public consciousness. Matt Allot of Manantler (a former winner) is always up for this prize, as is Darren Smith of Lake of Bays and Jeff Talmey at Town Brewery, who brews AND spreads the good word about one of Ontario's most consistently excellent breweries.

But the winner here has to be the man behind Kingston's exploding beer scene: Spearhead Brewing's Josh Hayter has been busy spreading the good word about Spearhead, about craft beer and about doing the right thing in the face of all this craziness we face each and every day.

He might also have the sexiest beard in brewing, and that's saying a lot.

And speaking of Josh, he and his team at Spearhead also take the prize for Best Party of 2020. KingstonBeerFam2020 took place on the last day of February, three weeks before the Pandemic was declared and the same night Zamboni Driver David Ayres came out of the stands as an emergency back-up to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a shocking victory over his employer, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was a memorable night as my friends and I toured six breweries and generally had a spectacular time, as one generally does during these types of events. If you asked me six months ago I'd have said we'd be doing this again in 2021. Oops. Maybe 2022.

Anyway, thanks again for a great time Josh.

Best of the Dark Arts (Stouts, Porters and Belgian sorcery)

Not a lot of choices on the list because I drank very few Stouts and their friends and not a single Porter graced my glass in 2020. Dark times; bright beers I guess. But I was still able to enjoy some fine dark beers.

Imperial Stout - Last year's winner, Peanut Butter Godiva from 5 Paddles, had some stiff competition this time from Dominion City Small and Third Moon Each Beast a God Cinamon Latte. Godiva is still the champ.

Stout - Three contenders here as well. 5 Paddles Badge Collector (Smores!) and Little Beasts Television Shepherd were both tasty, but the winner here was the beer that tasted exactly like a Viva Puff cookie: Sawdust City Viva La Stout- Chocolate Raspberry Cookie Stout.

Tripel - Stonehooker Tripel was super delicious and much smoother than any Tripel I've had before.

Quadrupel - One Quebec beer (courtesy of my pals Jeff & Murielle) and one classic Belgian quad tie in this category. Two world-class beers, in my mind. Frampton Brasse Nuit d'Automme and Rochefort Trappiste 10 for the win.

Merry Old England (Bitters, Brown Ales & English Milds)

ESBs - Fullers, Manantler Fugg Life and Gillingham's Dave are up in this category and I gave the nod to my peeps at Manantler.

Best Bitters - Wellington Arkell Best Bitter for the win here over an excellent offering from Kingston, Skeleton Park Best Bitter.

Brown Ales - Manantler is here again with their Barley Brown, as is Wellington with their County Brown Ale. I'll need a couple more of each to decide so I'll call this a draw.

English Mild - People's Pint Diamond Park was delicious.

Saisons (and their salty and wheaty cousins)

Erin Broadfoot & John Henley. (Now former)
partners at Little Beasts Brewery

Another category that doesn't get near enough attention. But my relationship with Erin Broadfoot at Little Beasts - the Queen of Saisons in this province - means that I am spoiled for choice in this classic European Farmhouse style.

All but a couple of the contenders are from this little Whitby brewery, in fact.

Imperial Saison - the All-Father, Odin, is up against the Goddess of Love (among other duties), Frejya, in this contest between barrel-aged Norse mythology-inspired brews from Little Beasts. I'm going to go with Odin (Little Beasts), which was aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels.

Bottle Conditioned - Brassiere Dupont's Saison Dupont. The Belgian legend lives up to the hype.

Saison for a Cause - Little Beasts Really Good Friends. Proceeds to PFLAG Durham.

Seasonal Saisons (say that five times fast) - Little Beasts Saison d'ete over its brewery mate, Saison d'automne

Gose - Little Beasts Little Wizards

Wheat Ale - Indie Ale House Up and At Them 

The IPAs and all their Friends

IPAs - So many fantastic IPAs in 2020. I didn't actually drink a lot of beer last year - the four I had New Year's Eve was the most I'd drank the whole pandemic - but I drank at least 29 different IPAs that made me smile and feel real loose like a long-necked goose (I know what I like). There were a few breweries with multiple brews on the list, like Great Lakes, Bellwoods and Badlands. You should take it under advisement that those breweries are probably really, really good. Anyway, I knew I had to winnow down the numbers and I got it down to four, each of which also made my Top 10 beers of the year list.

Wellington Nothing Civil, Matron Janky, Stonehooker Tantrum and Sawdust City Everyday Magic.

Spearhead's Josh Hayter (right) with my pal
Jeff at Stone City Brewery in February

Imperial IPAs - I drank far fewer double strength beers in 2020 than many of my friends of Beer Twitter but I still got my hands on a few beauties.

Faces with Cascade & Chinook (Wellington), No Sign of Land (Dominion City), IPA #13 and Surround Sound: Enigma, Moutere, Simcoe & Centennial (Collective Arts);  Absolute Unit (Town), and Thrust! An Imperial NEIPA (Great Lakes) were my top six.

Town Absolute Unit.

Triple IPAs - Ontario brewers were cranking out a lot of high octane beers in 2020 and though I didn't anticipate these beers as fervently as in years past, I still managed to get my hands of a few. Six in fact, and I debated the merits of Spearhead's Big Kahuna before choosing Block Three's M for the win.

Milkshake IPAs

A trio of good ones visited my home last year, including Collective Art Fest Pineapple Vanilla IPA, Stonehooker's Mae West Mango IPA and Bellwoods Milkshark - Concord Grape. The best of this delicious bunch was Stonehooker Mae West Mango. An easy choice actually.

Not to be confused with ... Breakfast Beers

The Collective Arts Smoothie Sour - a Christmas morning treat - was Strawberry-banana meet bumbleberry-banana with a hint of tartness at the finish. But just a hint. This is definitely more Milkshake IPA than Sour. The texture is rich and comes as advertised, with a granola-like creaminess. A really, really good breakfast beer. But not really a Sour.

Rye IPA - Stonehooker - Jack the RIPA

White IPA - Indie Ale House - Rabbit of Caerbannog. (A perennial winner)

Best Beer Writer

The number of beer blogs, stories and podcasts was down dramatically (maybe not podcasts - some streaks never die) in 2020 but that doesn't mean beer writers weren't talking. It means they weren't always talking about beer. Social issues were at the forefront last year and the best beer writers had plenty to say about that AND beer. I had Robin LeBlanc as my number one last year and she was a front-runner again. Her book-writing partner, Jordan St. John, was another contender and I thank him especially for gathering data on Ontario breweries and online sales and making it available to everyone.

But my winner is the man who never stopped talking about Ontario beer and never stopped telling us to be kind and to do the right thing and to WEAR A FUCKING MASK. His passion was addictive and I am honoured to call him my friend.

Robert Arsenault (Drunk Polkeroo)

The Pale Ales and Session Ales

Also known as the beer style I would choose first these days as my tastes seem to be leaning towards lighter fare. But all of them were full of flavour - I wouldn't honour them if they weren't.

Deece (Matron), Gollywobbler (Stonehooker), Electric Circus, Canuck and Burst (Great Lakes), Hazy State (Collective Arts), Outside Jokes and Scorpion Hill (Town), and Valkyrie and Pinion (Little Beasts).

This was a tough one, as the GLB trio (especially Burst - sooo good) gave it the ol' brewery try to try and dethrone the champ. But in the end I couldn't say no to Valkyrie (Little Beasts).

Sours

I started this blog by talking about Lagers, which are not usually my beer of choice. I'm going to finish by talking about Sours, a style which has been winning me over for a few years and in 2020 damn near stole my heart.

So many beautiful beers, and when I tried to narrow down the list I was still at 18, but from just seven breweries. Bellwoods' Jelly King series - the real OG Dry-Hopped Sour family - had seven on the ticket: Cranberry Tangerine, Raspberry Blackberry, Peach, Pineapple Tangerine Grapefruit, Apricot, Mango Passionfruit and Kiwi Passionfruit.

And that's not counting Bellwood's Barn Owl #22, which was sublime (it's on my Top 10 list) as I classed that in a separate Funky Sour category. Who knew funky & tart would work so well together?

Collective Arts had three on my catalogue of great Sour beers: Blood Orange & Hibiscus, Mango Tangerine and Blueberry Sour with Cacao Nibs. Blood Brothers and their Paradise Lost series - as consistently excellent as the Jelly Kings - also had three: Guava Coconut, Pear with Chai and Blueberry with Vanilla Spice.

Town had a pair - Greatest Riches and Fruit Dart - Blackberry, Lemon & Vanilla - and Little Beasts (The Changeling - Mango & Guava), Third Moon (Epoch with Guava, Mango & Apricot) and Stonehooker (Lemondrop) also produced lovely brews.

Three of these beers made my top 10, so a three-way tie it is:

Collective Arts Blueberry Sour with Cacao Nibs, Blood Brothers Paradise Lost Pear with Chai and Third Moon Epoch with Guava, Mango & Apricot.

Best Donuts - What, this isn't beer related? I don't care. Crave Doughnuts in Whitby is the best. And if you're scoring at home, French Toast is superior, followed by Lemon Meringue and Cranberry White Chocolate Cruller. You can thank me later.

Part 2 - the wrap-up - is tomorrow.

Cheers!

 

The @glennhendry Appliance Series

(Alternate title) How I came to be almost famous

It started as a bit of a lark but after a few days, I have to admit I kinda liked the attention.

My dream of logging onto Twitter, looking to the right and seeing my name trending was not to be, but still, seeing the @glennhendry Appliance Series of Beer Photos on my feed every day was a helluva lot of fun.

The genesis of this social media 'movement' had its roots in my excuses for not posting beer photos on the daily like my mates on Ontario Beer Twitter. 

I'm in a dingy basement with bad lighting, I said when pressed on the matter, though if I was being honest it was because I'm depressed and taking beautiful beer photos is a bit out of my mental reach some days.

"Nonsense," my pal Don said (it might have been "balderdash" or "hogwash"). "You don't need good lighting to post a beer photo." And then he posted a pic of a beer (with a perfect one inch head) in a branded glass on a microwave (colour co-ordinated) with cherubs shooting branded arrows in the background. "See?"

Except I didn't see it until later in the day and after a few more pictures in the 'series' had been shared. "There's a whole series? About me and appliances? I honestly don't think that will be a big hit," I said, clearly overwhelmed by the moment. "But you have obviously done your market research."

"It's a way to get you to post more pictures," said my Sudbury mate Danny. "And to show you we aren't *looks up famous photographers, doesn't recognize any* uhh ... good at pictures and to just post wherever and however you can."

Or, as Don put it in another thread, my pals were "rallying" behind me, which is a reflection of both the affection they have for me and the uhh ... patience they have for my mastery of technology.

So for the next five days my friends posted pictures on Twitter of beer sitting on various household appliances, tagging a bunch of us in the process. Initially, it was five or six of my pals posting a couple of times a day, which is something they would do anyway.

The difference, of course, is all the pics would be on, in or beside appliances, from fridges and microwaves to sump pumps and toasters. With my name as the flag bearer for these acts of photographic brilliance.

Like this imaginative effort from Don:

And this gem from Greg:

No to mention Graeme's first entry:

The campaign went on for nearly a week, with the original half-dozen participants quickly expanding to a dozen or so people who joined in on the fun. I participated as well, even though the idea of tagging myself in the post seemed just a little silly.

But fun, right?

Yeah, like that.

Beer photos on appliances started to come in from all over Ontario beer twitter (a few breweries were all in as well) and it even went international, with this pic all the way from Pennsylvania.

And everything was just fine in our own little world of beer photos until Drinks On Us, a Mississauga-based podcast duo of Courtney and Michelle (who talk about coffee, wine, spirits, beer and food on 960 AM Sauga Radio), chimed in with a Twitter poll.

Besides drinking them, they asked, what's your favourite thing to do with alcoholic beverages?

The choices were a) cook b) bake c) gift to others and d) take photos on appliances.

"Troll level - master!" Greg called it, and a "hilarious shout-out" chimed in Don, and I agreed with both sentiments.

I had never spoken to Michelle but Courtney, who knows more about beer than most of us (certainly way more than me) had been actively posting beer pics with our little group for a bit and she even contributed to the series.

Now I'm the type of guy who secretly likes attention but has been known to run screaming from it as well and all this kerfuffle was melting my brain a bit. But only a bit, because I freely admit I was grinning ear-to-ear for most of the 24 hours the poll was up.

I was also checking in on the progress and I was happy Team Appliance Series took an early and seemingly insurmountable lead. Team Gift to Others - let's face it, this would be the clear winner in any poll where the participants weren't actively and openly stuffing the ballots - made a late comeback and though the good guys (us!) won in the end, people who were unaware my precious ego was at stake and voted with the logical side of their brains made sure I didn't sweep the popular vote too.

The final tally had the @glennhendry Appliance Series winning the poll with 30 votes of 63 cast. Gift to Others scored 18, with Cook (12) and Bake (2) rounding out the results.

Not exactly Daniel Gerow appetizer poll numbers (Team Devilled Eggs!) but pretty respectable, in my books.

And the photos were still coming in, like this one from Rob:

The poll took place over a 24-hour period while the campaign lasted a little more than two weeks and though I was never 'trending' (63 poll votes does not a viral sensation make) it was a blast to see my name on Twitter so much. My friends like to take the piss with me but it's always born out of love and this experience was no different.

The Twitter social media platform gets a bad rap for toxic bullshit, racism and the like, but it's like anything else in life. If you want to find the good side of people it's there if you look for it.

Who knew you could find it in an appliance series of beer photos?

Here's a few more photos just because they're so damn cool.

From Don again:

... and one from Brad, who was already anxious to start a new series

And finally, a submission from Danny.

So take pictures of the beer you love to drink - in a branded glass or not - or drink them and leave your camera phone in your pocket. Just be you is what I'm trying to say here and remember: It's only beer so have some fun.

We could all use more of that.

Cheers!

Cravings for Crave (Donuts, that is)

The fact I have ballooned to a record 240 pounds (and counting) during the pandemic should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.

I had knee surgery in January and have done next to no exercise since my OHIP-sponsored rehab ended the first week of March. I am old, I am inherently lazy and I no longer have to get up to go to work every day.

Also, I drink the odd beer or three and my efforts to eat responsibly have been kind of weak, to be honest.

But I have my desires, my cravings and every once in a while, responsible adulting be damned. And if the moon is right and the stars align - or, put another way, if I happen to be passing through Whitby before 11 in the morning Monday to Saturday and I ordered in advance - I give in to those sweet, deep-fried desires.

It is donuts I crave, but not any donuts. Only Crave Doughnuts will do.

Crave Doughnuts is the passion project of young entrepreneurs Nicole Morais and Jeremy Black who, after eating their way across western Canada a few years back came back home and started making donuts from their home. They sold their signature brioche dough creations to local bakeries and at weddings and such before opening their own bricks 'n mortar business on Lupin Drive in late 2019.

The popularity of the new business spread quickly through social media and word-of-mouth (literally) and long lineups greeted Nicole & Jeremy and their small staff every morning when they opened up, which just as quickly became a problem when the pandemic was declared in March.

So they tweaked their business model to comply with social distancing guidelines (not to mention keeping their plaza neighbours happy), and pre-ordering from two or three pre-boxed options became the new norm.

I got to experience the lineup once in early March before our world got turned on its head, and I've been back to Crave for a half-dozen order twice since I moved to Toronto. The first time I was in the area visiting my son Jacob and I gave the boy a precious donut before I left.

When I got home a wave of guilt and shame rushed over me as I considered the calories and I gave two away to my folks.

This time around I wasn't going to make that mistake. To hell with the consequences and to hell with greedy family members. I was going to buy six super decadent, super tasty, super calorie-rich Crave donuts and eat every last one if it killed me.

I sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that.

My six. My quest

I wasn't seeing Jake this trip - I had some business in Oshawa, which was my 'excuse' for visiting Crave - so my only responsibility after picking up my delicacies was to see my pal Steve in the Shwa and then shoot down to Town Brewery and pick up some supplies from one of Ontario's finest and most consistently awesome beer makers.

But first, a donut. I wasn't leaving my parking spot until I enjoyed at least one. Right here. Right now.

11:40 AM - Vanilla Sprinkle

I chose this one about 20 seconds after my order was delivered to my car (my friendly Donut Wizard noticed me chowing down and gave me an understanding wink) because it had green icing (everyone knows green icing is the worst) and it had sprinkles (sprinkles are for kids) and I wanted to save the best ones for last.

The icing was delicious, the sprinkles (actually 'crunchy rainbow jimmies') were delicious and the donut was, not surprisingly, delicious.

12:10 PM - Honey Vanilla Cruller

Again with the 'save the best for last' strategy, I picked the inoffensive cruller next, scarfing this one down in a Canadian Tire parking lot in Oshawa after concluding my business. I figured a reward was in order, so I enjoyed this donut while leaning against the back of my 98-hp, super sexy Chevy Spark.

This was so much better than I imagined. Sweet, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture that made me feel shame for questioning the bona fides of the whole cruller genre.

The downside to eating this donut? It was over too quickly.

Next stop: Town

My brewery stop put a hold on my donut cravings for a short while but that was okay because my timing was perfect: Town had just released a Triple IPA, a collaboration with TO's Blood Brothers Brewing. So I grabbed my take-homes and sat at a table sipping an Outside Jokes APA while the line of TIPA fans formed behind me. Even got called 'sweetie' by our server, who had to deal with a socially-distanced full house - PLUS all the to-go TIPA boys - for putting a few cases of the beer into the fridge for her.

She was busy, ya know?

But Town was not where I had my third donut. That was about an hour later (and after a nice phone call from an old friend and former Buster Rhino's colleague) when I decided to stop in at Lynde Shores Conservation Area on the way back.

I used to love this place and I would take the kids there when they were smaller to feed the chickadees (magic!) and walk the nature trails. There were no chickadees this day (though I did spy a heron and a blue jay) because the place is now overrun with mallard ducks and Canada geese, so much so I had to shoo them off the path just to get by.

Still cool, though, and afterward, with my heart and soul a little more at peace, I opened my box of sugary goodness for the third time.

The ducks at Lynde Shores

1:30 PM - French Toast

This donut was amazing. Super decadent, with cinnamon glaze, brown butter toast crunch AND a maple glaze and I had to stop myself from moving on to Donut #4 before I left the parking lot. I was barely able to resist temptation, in fact, because I nibbled on a bit of the fritter that looked ... out of place. You know, in a feng shui kind of way.

Anyway, I made it to Downsview without any further incidents and held out for a little while at home too before sitting down to polish off my fourth donut of the day.

4:50 PM - Caramel Apple Fritter

Way better than the fritter from Tim Hortons, I can tell you that. But what followed was a sugar-rush headache that persisted through most of the evening. I knew then I wasn't going to finish all six on this day, but I also knew #5 was going to be in my belly before my head hit my pillow.

9:55 PM - Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

The box was staring at me, taunting me in fact, and even though I was still suffering from a sugar high, I was weakening. And at five minutes before ten I put my fifth donut of the day in front of me. This was Pumpkin Spice, a flavour I have found wanting in beer but in donuts, it just works. Man, does it work.

This could be the best donut I have ever eaten, though it could have been the sugar sweats talking. The absolute richness of this was almost overwhelming and I staggered to bed with my belly happy and my brain not so much.

It was going to be a long night.

12:40 PM - Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

Twenty-five hours after my first donut, I was finally ready to finish my six-pack. "Reese's Peanut Butter Cup," I said to the lone donut left in the box, "you're up."

If you had more than 2,000 sugar-bomb calories coursing through your system you'd be talking to your breakfast too.

This was the donut I had been looking forward to the most, being a massive PB fan, and I had to admit it suffered just a bit being now a day old, though the filling was chocolate/peanut butter deliciousness. A very good donut, but not my favourite.

The Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake was the most decadent, but if I had to pick a winner - a donut that was rich but not too sweet - it would be French Toast, with the humble Honey Vanilla Cruller not far behind.

And if you ask me if I learned anything from my experience, my answer would be yes: don't do this again.

A half-dozen donuts, no matter how delicious, are meant for sharing, ya greedy bastard.

A St. Lawrence kind of day

My navigation skills have never been major league quality, but I always found my way home so I take something from that.

If I've been somewhere before I can usually find it again - sometimes even before the fifth try - but it's when I'm searching for someplace new when I get into trouble. It was like that last year during a beer trip to Ottawa when I kept asking where the St. Lawrence River was in an effort to get my bearings, despite it being nearly 200 kilometres south, and my friends have never let me live it down.

It's like that often in my everyday life too, especially when I'm behind the wheel. I may have finally upgraded to hands-free calling in my car but hands-free GPS still eludes me.

But I try not to let my deficiencies hold me back and when I heard that (A) Wellington Brewery's Nothing Civil IPA was back and (B) Block Three Brewing had a Triple IPA on their shelves I really had no choice but to gas up the Spark and head west.

To quote Raptor legend Freddie VanVleet, I was going to bet on myself.

My route looked simple enough. Take the 401 to Kitchener and go north on #8 straight up to the little Mennonite town of St. Jacobs, the home of Block Three, a brewery I had heard great things about from my pal Matt, who brews for Wavemaker in neighboring Cambridge. From there, I would go back down to #7 and head east for a few minutes to Guelph and Wellington Brewery.

The first leg of my journey looked like a 15-minute trip when I planned it out, but I should have known it would turn out to be a St. Lawrence kind of day.

It took me nearly two hours.

My route (Artist rendition)

I crossed the Grand River at least twice, got turned around a half-dozen times, toured downtown Kitchener and got very familiar with Waterloo and its surrounding countryside, and generally got myself lost and had to pull over for another look at my GPS location more times than I cared to remember.

I also spent a considerable amount of time talking to myself. I tried to be kind at first, but my tone got sharper as the miles and minutes flew by and I began to question my own intelligence. It did not escalate to me yelling at God (or whoever is running things up there) and demanding to know why she had forsaken me or why she hated me so much but I came very close to the breaking point.

And then, inexplicably, I found it. St. Jacobs, not the brewery. Block Three, despite being located on the main drag, took a few more minutes and two u-turns to locate. Seems my GPS had it on the west side when it was on the east side, and even once I had that figured out I drove past it twice because it was set back quite a ways from the road.

No matter. I found it. It was open and they served beer.

I managed to resist telling my bartender all about my misadventures and only asked if he still had the Triple IPA - M, it was called, to commemorate their 1,000th brew. He did, he said, and turned to pour me a glass. "No," I responded quickly, holding up my hand. "I'm driving. Ten per cent beers are for home" and asked for a Norge Kveik Pale Ale; a more reasonable 5.5 per cent, to soothe my shattered psyche.

And after buying two of each of the IPAs, Pale Ales and Sours they had in the fridge, I headed back out, confident I could find my way to my next stop without any trouble. And promptly misread the highway sign and got off too early, delaying me another ten minutes until I found Highway 7 and the road to Guelph and Wellington Brewery. 

The Lacuna Collective

Located squarely on the main street, I didn't think this brewery would be hard to find and it wasn't, though I was looking left when it appeared on the right. More importantly, they had plenty of Nothing Civil, a 'liquid protest' IPA created by the Lacuna Collective (Poet and Beer Enthusiast Truth Is...,  certified Beer Sommelier Lexi Pham, and Beer Diversity founder Ren Navarro), with all the profits going to BLM Canada.

It is also a wonderful beer and one of my favourites of 2020.

This stop was the only time I felt a small tinge of regret for my clothing choices. It usually takes the threat of frostbite before I ditch the shorts and while it wasn't at that point yet, it had started to snow just a little and the brewery's take-out window was outside.

So I shivered for a minute or so until my order was processed and then as I walked back to my car I felt one more tinge of regret, this time for not using the facilities when I was at Block Three. Fortunately for me the back of the dumpster was available (sorry Wellington) and now, my bladder empty and warmed by my car's interior, I decided to tempt fate and try one more brewery before heading home.

Fixed Gear looked like a ten-minute drive away - easy-peasy - so I froze my route in my memory and continued west through Guelph.

You can probably guess by now that the journey was neither easy nor peasy, but after one accidental wrong turn and a detour caused by a road closure, I eventually found the brewery after only a half-hour or so of driving.

This time I was able to sit down and enjoy a pint of Trackstand APA, along with the thinnest hand-tossed pizza I have ever seen. It had already been a long day but I took solace from the fact the route home would go through familiar territory. Surely this final leg would be uneventful?

And it was, until I reached the west side of TO. With Weston Road (my exit when I'm coming from the west) in sight I decided (for reasons unknown, even to me) to break out into song and I was bellowing out Hallelujah (the Leonard Cohen version) at the top of my lungs when I sailed past the Weston Road exit onto the collector lanes.

Damn, I declared. Double damn.

All right, no worries, I said to myself. I'll just get off at Highway 400 and take the Black Creek exit onto Jane Street.

And then I discovered that Black Creek/Jane Street is unavailable from the express lanes and I was now going north, which would have been fine if we still owned the cottage. But we didn't, having sold it 15 years ago, and I wanted to go home.

Finch it is, then. That's only a three-mile detour.

There was a tiny bright side, however. After I forced my way onto the gridlock that was Finch Avenue to crawl 50 metres to the first stoplight, I was able to make my south to Torbarrie Road, which is the secret way directly into my little neighbourhood. And as they only opened this route a few years ago - it was a dead-end for my entire upbringing - this was the first time I was able to use it.

Small victories, I guess. After any tough day we all need a little win to cap it off.

Especially when it was a St. Lawrence kind of day.

 This Remembrance Day blog was first published in 2013 and has been faithfully reprinted every year since, with a few tweaks each time. Lest we forget

I Remember

Je me souviens. I remember.

I remember my great-grandmother’s tears when she sent four of her boys off to fight in the Great War. I remember her muted joy at seeing three of them return safe but never truly sound; her son John – my father carries his name – fought valiantly during that horrible spring of 1917 before he was left behind in the deadly quagmire that was the first day of Passenchedale.

I remember English Sally, she who married a son of Pennan, walking the length of the island from her family home in the great naval port of Southampton to the north-east coast of Scotland, just to be with her man, homeward bound from the Napoleonic Wars.

I remember Alexander Hendry of Aberdeenshire fighting for his freedom at Culloden in 1746. Life for Alexander and the rest of the Scots who fought with Bonnie Prince Charlie would never be the same.

I remember a newlywed Rozel straining to deliver her baby on the very day her husband, an American loyal to the crown and kin to my children, was fighting for Canada’s freedom alongside Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights. The soldier would return safely to meet his son; his wife would not see either ever again.

I remember my Great-Uncle Charlie, who had left his wife behind while he tried to earn a living in Malaysia’s rubber industry, struggling to stay alive in a Japanese POW camp during World War II. Charlie, who served me marmalade on toast when I visited him in Rotorua, New Zealand 44 years later, risked his life to keep a diary as he toiled daily to rebuild the bridge over the River Kwai, while the good guys rained down death from above.

I remember a son of a former classmate losing his life in Afghanistan; the shock when I read the news lingers with me still.

I remember my friend's Uncle Don, a Second World War Navigator who died in battle in the summer of 1944. Don passed on his name to his nephew and his story to you.

I remember the 3rd Canadian Infantry and Pvt George Savage - father to Jamie - braving an apocalypse of bombs and gunfire to land at Juno Beach on D-Day 1944 to begin their push into Germany.

I remember other Dads from the neighbourhood and their efforts in that war as well. Art Canfield - father of Bruce, Diane and Paul - served with the Royal Regiment of Canada and Phil Hennessey - father of John - got to meet General George S. Patton.

I remember Tom McCaw - father to Janine - enjoying great meals and an accommodation upgrade on a Canadian naval ship because crew members were convinced he was King George VI in hiding.

Passchendaele

I remember Frederick Wilmot - grandfather to Nicole - who enlisted in 1941 and rose to the rank of Sergeant.

I remember Vic Shirreffs, my first father-in-law, who served as a stoker in the Canadian Navy.

I remember Royal Navy Seaman Stanley March, great-grandfather of Josh, and I remember Bill Ryan, father of Dave, who fought with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

I remember William Findlay, great-grandfather of Amy and the youngest Sergeant Major in the British Army, being awarded the Distinguished Medal of Honour.

I remember the funeral of a young man related to me by marriage who was just beginning his military career. The sound of the pipes as they played Amazing Grace sent shivers up my spine. I will never forget that day.

I remember my friend Hago, who did two tours - the first in Kosovo and the second in Afghanistan - and continues to serve to this day.

I remember Mark; and I won't forget Scottie, who earned his Marksman Award four years running in Pettawawa. I remember the future pilots at the old Portage la Prairie air base in Manitoba; and the men and women from the local armoury who come out to Karaoke at Stag's Head in Oshawa on Tuesday nights.

Commemorating the 100th anniversary
of the Armistice. Oshawa, 2018

I remember Vimy Ridge, the four-day battle in the spring of 1917 that marked - at a cost of 10,000 soldiers killed or wounded - a coming of age for Canada as a nation, as well as the end of our innocence about wars and the people who profit from them.

I also remember my friend Sandi's simple description of four members of her family who served in both World Wars: "Heroes. Each and every one."

I remember the Remembrance Day service held a day early a few years ago in downtown Brooklin for the benefit of the school children. After being so many generations removed from war it was important the kids knew what their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were fighting for, and that they would have a better understanding of what they were supposed to remember.

I  remember every soldier I have ever known and I remember those who fought and died for me and my family and for our freedom, and for the freedom that we all enjoy and too often take for granted.

I remember the families and friends of those soldiers and the tears that were shed for fallen loved ones.

I remember the blood spilled by innocents, and I remember the heartbreak of everyone affected by war.

I remember like it was yesterday the signing of the Armistice to end the Great War. One hundred and three years ago today.

I remember. So I won’t ever forget.