Found beer is the best beer - especially at Christmas time

When Stone beer was introduced to Ontario liquor stores in the spring it was a really big deal in the craft beer community but it was a HUGE deal for me. Stone, you see, is the brewery that can do no wrong and is my favourite brewery in the world.

So when the Escondido, California brewers announced they were sending Stone IPA, Cali-Belgique IPA and Arrogant Bastard - an iconic American Strong Ale that propelled Stone into the marketplace nearly two decades ago - to the LCBO I was naturally excited.

And I snapped up some of each when they arrived and continued to do so until one day a month or so later they were gone.

Save for an appearance at my local in early summer I haven't seen Arrogant Bastard since.

Until 5:30 this morning - Christmas Eve morning - when I found a bottle in a bus shelter in Ajax.

I work with a bunch of macro beer drinkers who wouldn't know an Arrogant Bastard ale from a Coors Light (fail) and I expect if one of them discovered the bottle on their morning litter run it would disappear into the nearest garbage bin.

But not me. I knew what it was and I let everyone know what I found: Seven point two per cent of malty, hoppy goodness in a bottle and only three-plus months past the best before date.

It was love.

But where did it come from?

Stone has been discontinued at the LCBO and my research found there are a few bottles scattered
around some downtown outlets but none in the Ajax store, which is located directly behind the bus stop in question.

So it had to come from someone's stash - there is a small housing subdivision on the other side of Kingston Road - and it was simply left it behind in the bus shelter as he or she left home to go to a party.

Merry Christmas ya Arrogant Bastard.

I know it sucks to lose something precious but if the person who lost the bottle is reading this, take comfort in the knowledge that (as I write this) it is being put to good use.

Thank you.

I found $20 yesterday, so today was the second day in row in which I left work richer than when I arrived. They say good things come in three, so tomorrow should be wonderful as well and well, pass me the antlers and call me Rudolph but it's Christmas tomorrow so there you go.

It's a special weekend for me, actually, as I am taking the J Man with me to a cottage near Bobcaygeon for a reunion with the Scottish clan and my cousin Neil, who has arrived with his family from Australia after a decade or so away and might have even remembered to bring an Australian IPA or two with him.

(He may have forgotten too, but I won't mind. Miss you Cuz.)

The following day my family celebrates Christmas at my daughter Adrianne's beautiful farmhouse near Millbrook so I am seriously stoked for the weekend.

Cheers and Merry Christmas everyone!.

Grocery beers, Peyton Manning and Triple IPAs

I don't want to sound ungrateful about the beer-in-grocery-stores present gifted to us by the Ontario government last week, but jeez Louise this wasn't much of a launch.

Oh sure, Premier Wynne was on hand last Tuesday to kick off this new era in beer sales - and my "new era" line may be a bit of hyperbole - and her choice of a six-pack of Rhyme and Reason from Collective Arts .was a smart political decision because it is a damn fine beer.

But I would have hoped for a bigger splash, especially from the newly licensed grocery stores.

On opening day I wandered over to the Loblaws Superstore in North Oshawa - one of 24 in the province and the only store in Durham Region selling beer right now - to see what the fuss was all about. I found not a lot of fuss at all.

I was worried I had been misinformed about the location as I couldn't find the beer section until I had walked clear around the store. And then, there it was. All two end caps worth of beer, with one slightly bored young clerk handling questions from a crowd of two: "Is that all?" and "Where's the PC beer? This is Loblaws, right?"

Which gave me a little perspective on the issue. As a craft beer drinker I had only considered how this affected me and those in the craft-not-crap camp. I had not thought how the macro beer drinkers would feel about it.

My symbolic first purchase at an Ontario grocery store
included a Headstock IPA from Nickel Brook (pictured),
a Canuck Pale Ale (GLB) and a Side Launch wheat beer.

One of the concessions the big beer boys made to make this deal happen - a shocking concession, I thought at the time - was to agree that at least 20 per cent of the beer on the shelves be craft beer. I was following the events of opening day on social media and the general concession was the ratio was closer to 50/50. Here at Harmony and Taunton in Oshawa the number was closer to 70/30.

I know because I counted. Okay, I eye-balled it and made a good guess. Either or.

So if I felt a little underwhelmed by the launch, imagine how Mr. and Mrs. Bud thought about walking into a 'beer store' and seeing only a few of their favourites on display.

It must have been difficult for them.

I spoke to another Loblaws staffer during my walkabout and he assured me the store will be providing more space for more beer in the new year, along with more attention and funds to marketing and promotion, so we have that to look forward to.

For now I am happy there is one more place to buy beer, with two more Durham grocery stores (Farm Boys Whitby and Pickering Metro) coming on line soon.

Merry Christmas and Viva la Revolution!

Peyton Manning and the Colorado sour

The only thing better than good beer is good beer that is free, so when my pal James said he was going to Denver for the weekend to watch a football game and did I want him to pick me up some Colorado beers, I said, well, I said yes, of course.

Duh.

James, the proprietor of Oshawa's legendary Mr. Burger restaurant (home of the world's best Macedonian chicken sandwich), is a big Peyton Manning and Denver Bronco fan. His dad Bill, meanwhile,cheers for the New England Patriots. So with the two teams pencilled in for a late November game, a father-son outing was on.

Mr. Peyton Manning

James is also a huge craft beer lover, having worked in the restaurant business most of his life (Bill owns Stacks, a fancy-pants craft beer bar in Uptown Toronto), so tasting Denver's beer scene was also high on his to-do list that weekend.

Seeing Manning was number one on the list, making James' timing as bad as it gets, as the future first ballot Hall of Famer (Peyton, not James) hit the injury list the week before the game and did not play against New England, who just happened to be 10-0 at the time.

Damn. But there's always the beer.

But in one those that's-why-you-play-the-game moments, the Broncos and back-up quarterback Brock Osweiler played a great game and knocked the Patriots from the ranks of the unbeaten with a thrilling 30-24 overtime win in a raging blizzard, sending James and the rest of the fans in attendance home happy.

Except for Bill, but that's what you get for supporting the New England Patriots. Sorry Bill.

I am also a Broncos fan, so I was happy too, and I was even happier when I saw James a few days later and he gifted me a couple of bottles of Colorado's finest.

The Reverend from Colorado's Avery
Brewing, with some of his friends

Maybe not its finest, as one of them was a Sour, but free beer is automatically good beer, so I was ready for the challenge from the first of the two beers, a Sour/Wild Ale from Paradox Beer called Skully Barrel Number 27.

With 108 IBUs this beer was supposed to be super hoppy but I didn't get the hops at all. There was a little bit of roasted malt on the nose but mostly it was just...sour.

This was my second sour beer of the year and both tasted overwhelmingly sour, to the exclusion of all other flavours. Perhaps in time my palate will adjust. But not yet.

The second beer was more in my wheelhouse: a Quadrupel from Avery Brewing called The Reverend.

This was a big beer, with ten per cent alcohol and a rich, even reverential taste, with dark cherries, plums and other dark fruits, as well as lots of sweet malts and a bit of booze at the end. A real classic Belgian strong ale.

Thanks James. I don't know if Peyton Manning would love this, but I did.

Life Sentence IIIPA

For the second time in less than a month I found myself lining up for a special beer release.

On November 27 I was at the Summerhill LCBO in downtown Toronto for the much anticipated release of Goose Island's Bourbon County Vanilla Rye Stout (read Bourbon County and the InBev Bashers for the rest of the story) and I was back in Toronto last Friday for the release of Life Sentence, a Triple IPA collaboration between Amsterdam and Great Lakes breweries.

There was far less fanfare for Friday's release, but there was still a small hitch in my plan when I showed up at Amsterdam Brewery, thinking (wrongly, as it turned out) that because the beer was brewed there, I should be able to buy it there. Be off to Great Lakes Brewery (on the other side of the city) I was told. No worries.

Life Sentence IIIPA - a collaboration beer
from the great minds at GLB and Amsterdam

Once safely in the GLB retail store I still had to brave a lineup to get my hands on this hop monster but on the bright side, the lineup was exclusively inside and, more importantly, I got to sample the beer while I was in line.

That's how you handle a beer release.

I picked up seven of the tall boy cans - at $5 a can that was all I could afford - along with a pair of Lake Effect IPAs, two Long Dong Pilsners and a big bottle of the Imperial Bout, a 11.9 per cent ABV Vanilla Bean Coffee Stout.

The stout is still in my fridge and the Lake Effect and the Long Dong Pilsner were awesome as always but the real prize was Life Sentence because Triple IPAs  don't come around very often as they are expensive and time consuming to produce.

This one clocked in a 10 per cent and smelled of mango, grapefruit, orange and other tropical fruit goodness. It tasted of powerful citrusy hops and went down very smooth with only a hint of booze. Excellent stuff.

So good in fact that after I gave it an excellent score on Rate Beer (giving the beer its first 'official' score of 96 out of 100), I played Santa and gave a couple away.

I gave one to James because fair is fair, and one went to Trevor at Manantler Brewing in Bowmanville because he asked and because he heaped loads of praise on my blogging style. I may even have blushed.

Enjoy your beer my friends!










.

Epic tale of Hop Zombies and heartbreak

"Well, we're fucked."

Nothing good ever happens after you hear those words.

When my beer bro Steve said this to me more than two months ago I knew it was especially bad because this time it involved beer. This time it involved the legendary Hop Zombie Double IPA from Epic Beer in New Zealand and it meant I wasn't going to get it.

It has taken me until now, months later, to even talk about this.

There's a scene on The Simspons (Season 4, Episode 15: I Love Lisa) where Lisa, after rejecting Ralph's appeal for love on live TV, is forced to watch the scene again on the VCR, courtesy of Bart. "Watch this Lis," says Bart. "You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half."

Poor Ralph. I knew exactly how he felt.

After a month of checking my mail box - each day more hopeful than the last - for news of the five hop bombs that were supposed to be coming my way from far away New Zealand, it became clear that my prize was not going to arrive in Oshawa.

Damn.

The legendary hop bomb that is
Epic Hop Zombie

So close, too, as the beer (safely and strategically housed - we thought - in a box marked 'souvenirs') had left Wellington a month earlier and had already cleared customs at Vancouver. Having travelled more than 14,000 kilometres, the beer had a mere sixty clicks to go when a bored customs official deemed it worthy of a random search  at Pearson International Airport.

Busted. Double damn.

Now I don't want to seem I am soft on smuggling or other serious offences, but shipping beer by mail
is an everyday thing and perfectly legal, provided you have the required paperwork. But as soon as you go global (or, say, not be licensed to export beer across international borders) somebody starts looking for a tax to grab and the next thing you know your package is subject to two inspections by customs and your treasonous larceny is discovered.

Steve's treasonous larceny anyway. I was the innocent victim in this sordid tale.

I didn't want to put a curse on the success of the shipment, but I had a feeling something would go wrong after my experience sending beer to Steve in New Zealand the previous year. The poor guy was holed up in Wellington with no access to great Canadian craft beers, so I sent him some. Okay, I lost a bet. It took three-and-a-half months (Around the World in 108 Days) before the beer arrived.

It could have taken so long because I cheaped out on the shipping - Pony Express to the coast, then Sea Turtle the rest of the way - so my old college roommate decided to spare no expense sending me (and other former college roomie Don) care packages of New Zealand brews in return.

But I need to back up here, because before Canada Customs and Canada Post even had a chance to destroy my hopes and dreams, Don was already enjoying his over-hopped monsters in the comfort of his Burlington home.

Truth is, Don enjoyed Kiwi contraband TWICE before all this happened.

And not for the first time I felt those pangs of jealousy when it comes to my pal Don.

Back in June Steve landed at Pearson after many years away to perform the sombre duty of burying his father, John. Don, being the good and noble friend that he is, delivered Steve to his family and offered to host his pal after the funeral for a week of catching up.

My dreams of getting Epic beer from
New Zealand were, like this bottle cap, crushed

So naturally Don got first dibs on the treasures Steve brought with him from home. I knew this but I wasn't worried. I was meeting up with them and some other friends a few days later at Donny's Bar & Grill for a mini college reunion, so I was confident they would save some for me.

They didn't. The bastards.

"As soon as I get back home I will send you some," promised Steve, without even a shred of guilt in his voice.

"I will wait by my mail box until it arrives," I responded. If there was a beer fridge and a bathroom in my building lobby I might still be there.

The first sign of trouble happened August 20 when Steve told me my box of fun had been delayed but was finally en route. "Took me a bit longer to find you a Hop Zombie as the stuff is gold and keeps selling out. You should have it by the middle of next week."

You know where I'll be waiting Steve.

That same day, just five business days after mailing, Don was enjoying his treasures - again. All four beer were certified over-hopped monsters, led by Four Horsemen of the Hopocalypse, a collaborative IIPA that clocked in a 14 per cent alcohol. There was also Triple Eye, a 13 per cent Triple IPA from Panhead; Hellbender from Garage Project (11.2 per cent); and Louisiana Voodoo Queen (also from Garage Project), which was 'only' 9.5 per cent ABV.

Or, as Steve explained it, a "bit more sessionable," which in the New Zealand rating system, includes all beers under ten per cent. "We  set the bar high here in beer heaven," he added.

Sure, Don gets his smuggled beer. Me, not so much

I managed to keep my jealousy under wraps and said all the right things to Don, who also scored a cool Wellington Lions rugby shirt, a t-shirt from Behemoth Brewing and a few other trinkets.

"I am (*grits one teeth*) very happy for you Don," I said.

Trouble spot number two came ten days later when I got a message from Steve that my package had arrived back at his apartment. Seemed one of the bottles broke.

"It wasn't the Hop Zombie that broke; it was the Four Horsemen," Steve assured me, as I already had been told that finding more Hop Zombies on the streets of Wellington was becoming more difficult each day. "Also, the broken beer soaked down the t-shirts so I'm needing to wash and dry them. Re-packaging will ensue once that's done."

And then the wait began again.

Using the tracking number provided by the New Zealand postal service (I told you: Steve spared no expense) we were able to track down my shipment September 9 when we learned it cleared customs in Vancouver.

That was happy news because that was the hard part done. It's here! It's here! And unless somebody drops it again, my box of hoppy awesomeness should be arriving any day now.

I'll be waiting.

A week or so later I inquired as to its whereabouts and was told it would be arriving in one to three business days. When that deadline came and went I inquired again, with the news this time not as wonderful.

"The item had been declared undeliverable and has been returned."

Wait, what?

The only known photo of Canada Post's
Undeliverable Mail Office in Scarborough, Ontario

I contacted Canada Post looking for answers, only to fall down the bureaucratic rabbit hole. Only the sender (Steve) can be told anything about the delivery.

Uh, Steve? Ball's in your court man.

Within the hour Steve was on the case and he quickly learnt the bad news, prompting the reply that broke my heart.

"Well, we're fucked." That one.

We'll never know why Canada Customs opened my box of goodies at Pearson, but maybe, as Steve suggested, they were just bored. In any event, I wasn't going to get my beer.

A few days later I received the first letter from Canada Post, thanking me for my enquiry, expressing "regret" I had not received my package and offering assistance on "resolving this matter."

It was dated September 24 and at the bottom of the letter the 'Contents' were described as Alcohol & Tobacco. Which was odd, but it was partially explained by the letter I received the next day, dated September 23, which clearly spelled out the crime Steve and I had attempted to commit.

(Steve, anyway. I'm the victim  here.)

Dear Customer,

The purpose of this letter is to advise you that a mail item addressed to you contained intoxicating beverage(s)/liquor listed below and has been removed from the mail stream: 5 bottles of beer.

The importation of such item(s) by mail is prohibited under the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act. Consequently, Canada Post must dispose of the item(s).

The letter went on to say that the item(s) would be 'detained' (like, held prisoner?) at Canada Post's Undeliverable Mail Office in Scarborough for thirty days, just in case I decided to pay for the postage required to send it back to New Zealand.

Oh Bart.What would you do for a Hop Zombie?

That wasn't going to happen, but it did give me, ever the eternal optimist, hope. It hadn't been destroyed yet, dammit!

So I phoned the 1-866 number and I was told I could have the bottles - after they had been emptied, of course -  if I wanted. That proposal didn't interest me either, but it did spark an idea, one that would involve a little spy work, the small matter of theft of government property, and bin diving, among other late night skulduggery.

I was prepared to do almost anything to get my hands on a Hop Zombie, just like Bart in the same Simpson's episode (Season 4, Episode 15: I love Lisa) mentioned at the top of this tale.

Bart, a huge Krusty the Clown fan, was jealous Lisa was going to the Krusty special with Ralph, and offered to trade places with his sister.

Bart: It isn't fair. I'm ten times the Krusty fan you are. I even have the Krusty home pregnancy test!
Lisa: I'm not sure I should go. I don't even like him.
Bart: You're right, Lis, you shouldn't go. It wouldn't be honest. I'll go, disguised as you.
Lisa: What if he wants to hold hands?
Bart: I'm prepared to make that sacrifice.
Lisa: What if he wants a kiss?
Bart: I'm prepared to make that sacrifice.
Lisa: What if he...?
Bart: You don't want to know how far I'll go.

So here was my plan. It wasn't foolproof but it was better than nothing.

From my home in Oshawa I could be almost anywhere in Scarborough in 15 minutes - as long as it was three in the morning - so my first move was to find out where the hell Canada Post's Undeliverable Mail Office was located. No address was found during my preliminary inquiries, though I did receive a tip that it may be found in an underground bunker somewhere.

The rest of my plan would unfold in the dark of night after the thirty-day deadline was reached. I assumed 'disposal' would either involve a special ceremony involving sacrifices to the ancient border guards of legend, or they would just toss the bottles into the garbage bin out back.

I was betting on the latter and I was prepared to dive into the bin with a flash light and hope that at least one of the bottles - please, with apologies to the other hop bombs in the package, let it be Hop Zombie - survived the impact.

It would have worked, I am sure of it.

Shirts! I got shirts!

Except I never did find out where the Undeliverable Mail office was located and I promptly forgot about the whole matter until the thirty day deadline had expired.

And then, a day after I realized it was too late, I received a package from Canada Post. Inside were two t-shirts: a Hop Zombie shirt and another from Garage Project.

God Bless you, Canada Post. God Bless you, Canada Customs. I got t-shirts!

And God Bless you, Epic Brewing Company. Please send me beer.

I'll be waiting.

Bourbon County Stout and the InBev bashers

I made it downtown with 15 minutes to spare and got my golden ticket. Number 160.

I was at the Summerhill LCBO, the crown corporation's flagship store, for the release of a special beer - Goose Island Bourbon County Imperial Stout - and the lineup wasn't terribly long. There was the usual assortment of man-buns and other hipster accoutrements, but most of the beer lovers on hand seemed pretty normal - not that there's anything wrong with man-buns - with the demographics skewing towards the twenty-something crowd.

Not that there's anything wrong with that either.

Some of the people in line had been there for several hours but I didn't care that much. To each his or her own. With 200-plus bottles available my ticket number assured me of one of them - it's the 2014 version further aged in whiskey barrels with vanilla beans added, if you're wondering - and that was my only concern.

That and getting my hands on one of the delicious looking donuts I saw through the window being handed out with the bottles. It was a carb day after all.

Bourbon County Imperial Stout
 (Vanilla Rye) from Goose Island

Thirty minutes after my arrival I was in and pre-paying for the bottle while trying not to flinch at the $34.70 price. (I had no idea until then how much this was going to cost me: Ouch.) Then I had to run the gauntlet of Goose and LCBO officials handing out bottles like they were Santa Claus and his elves at a kids' Christmas party.

I picked up a bottle of Rochefort Trappiste 10 while I was there - the 11th ranked beer in the world (according to Rate Beer) that was a bit more affordable at $4 and change for 355 ml of Belgian goodness - and headed home; satisfied that the morning was well spent.

Turns out not all beer lovers approved of my little adventure, however. I saw a few posters on Facebook that could barely contain their excitement at the thought of drinking this 13.6 per cent brew, but other threads were less than complimentary.

Why, you ask? Despite the fact Bourbon County is the twenty-second highest ranked beer in the world (Rate Beer) and the release is extremely limited, the ownership of its brewers has put Goose Island squarely on the shit list in the eyes of a certain segment of the craft beer community.

Goose Island, as most of you know, was bought by InBev in 2011.

Stephen Beaumont, a Canadian who is one of the world's foremost beer writers, poked some fun at the hype surrounding the beer, asking his followers what the "opposite" of Bourbon County was. "I think I'll drink that today," he said.

Stephen did not dump on the beer, admitting he hadn't tried it but that he was not a fan of the hype surrounding it. Which is fine, because he was right. Bourbon County Vanilla Rye is over-hyped and certainly over-priced. But his pals quickly raised the bar on the vitriol. We had Ben the angry beer blogger ("I'm buying $35 worth of 'other beer' today at whatever fucking time I want"); and Chris the hipster slagging other hipsters for being hipsters ("Let the dolts stand in line for their over-priced fancy Budweiser").

I don't think I need to get into a long debate on the ethics of buying beer from craft breweries that have been snapped up by the macros lately because, frankly, I believe it should always be about the beer, not the conglomerate who owns it.

So here's a thought: how about you folks buy whatever beer you fucking want and leave the rest of us to do the same.

I haven't tried the beer yet - I'm hoping to do a bottle share with my friend Sarah (AKA My IPA Girl), who is soaking up the sun on a Cambodian beach (or some other exotic locale) as we speak and does plan to eventually return and, even more importantly, has a cellar full of world class beers - and I'll let you know if it was worth all the fuss.

By the way, the Rochefort Trappiste 10 was amazing.

The Broch and Punk IPA


I was in the Pickering LCBO - the best store we have out here in the wilds east of Toronto - and not having much luck when I ran into their beer guy.

"I'm looking for something different," says I, already starting to head for the door with my seen it-drank it-may actually own the t-shirt beer purchase. "A new IPA would be perfect. Got any of those?"

Turned out he did, and this shining star of the Ontario Government workforce pointed to a row of tall boys on the back wall. "We have Punk IPA. You want a case? I have plenty in the back."

Punk IPA. From Brewdog. A beer I have been chasing since I first heard of it six months before. Um...yeah, I want that.

Punk IPA. And that's the wedding picture of my grandparents
 Fred Hendry (Fraserburgh) and Jean Gatt (Pennan)

Punk IPA is found in many LCBO outlets now, but this was the first time for me. And truth be told, it was a little underwhelming when I drank it about two minutes after I got home. It was good, with tropical fruit and light citrus, and I have enjoyed it numerous times since that first one, But it was a little British IPA-ish, actually.

Which shouldn't be too surprising as it is British. Scottish actually. And that was a big part of the attraction for me.

I first heard of Punk IPA on a "30 IPAs to drink before you die" list, which intrigued me. Then I read about the frequent collaboration between Brewdog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie and Stone Brewing, the California brewery that can do no wrong. That certainly piqued my interest as well.

But the kicker for me was that Brew Dog was founded in 2007 in the Broch, the Aberdeenshire town better known as Fraserburgh and better known to me as the place where my father grew up.

Punk IPA retails in the LCBO for $3.40 a can but an IPA from my father's hometown?

Priceless.

Time does no Damage  to the Diodes (and makes for a pretty awesome IPA)

The shit-eating grin never left his face, still dripping with sweat moments after he left the stage, when I asked James Gorry the question.

"What was cooler?" I wondered, summoning all my years of journalism interviewing experience, "Opening for The Diodes, brewing a beer for The Diodes, or PLAYING with The Diodes?"

Gorry, who is the brewmaster at Manantler Craft Brewing of Bowmanville by day and the singer and guitarist for local punk band Tijuana Jesus by night, was almost at a loss for words. "A little bit of everything," he finally said. "It was all cool."

It was quite a night for Mr. Gorry, for Manantler (Ontario's best new brewery, in my opinion), and for the local punk scene when seminal Toronto punk band The Diodes hit the stage at Manantler's cool little brewpub (in the even cooler Bowmanville Factory brownfield development) on September 12.

The Diodes formed in 1976 and were one of the first local punk acts to make it big, thanks to hits like Tired of Waking Up Tired and Catwalker. The band, along with their manager, Ralph Alfonso, also opened Crash 'N' Burn, Toronto's first punk club, which hosted punk legends from
the Ramones to the Dead Boys.

James Gorry (centre) and Chris Allott of Manantler Brewery help
Paul Robinson, the lead singer of The Diodes, launch Time Damage IPA

The band broke up a half-dozen years later after a short stint in England, and the members went their separate ways until Alfonso, a punk legend in his own right, got most of the original members together in 2010 and 2011 and again this year for a mini tour of Ontario and Quebec.

"We wanted to recreate some of the magic we had at the Crash 'N' Burn," Alfonso said of the tour, which saw the band (with Gordie Lewis of Teenage Head fame and his band at two of the stops) visit the Phoenix concert theatre in Toronto, as well as small venues in Brantford, Hamilton, Bowmanville and Montreal. "And people wanted see The Diodes and Teenage Head playing together."

The Phoenix show, Alfonso added, had some of that magic.

"At the end of the set Gordie came out and sang (Bowie's) Jean Genie with the band and one guy went on Facebook and said 'that's it for my bucket list.'"

But how did Manantler get in on the action, I asked him, and what's the story behind the beer?

"Well," he said, his exhibit of rare photographs, memorabilia and albums from the era at his side, "James (Gorry) knew the bass player (Ian Mackay), he played in a punk band (Tijuana Jesus) and he worked in a brewery. So we  said, let's go make a beer. Craft beer is the new indie rock, you know. The big guys are corporate rock."

Gorry remembers talking to Mackay about Manantler creating a beer for the band.

"They contacted us and asked us if we could do the beer and I said, 'can you do the gig?' The Diodes, man. We're in!"

And Time Damage IPA - named after the band's 1977 album - was born. Gorry could have chosen any style - Mackay mentioned something about being partial to wheat beers - but for an iconic punk rock band like The Diodes, only a hopped up IPA would do, he said.

I loved the beer. One of my favourite Manantler offerings, and I'm a big fan of these guys.."Smells fantastic, with grapefruit and mango most prominent," is what I said when I reviewed it on Rate Beer. "Chinook, Ahtanum, Citra and Simcoe hops - the latter an ode to the "Simcoe Sound" attributed to Toronto-area bands of the 70s and 80s by music producer legend Daniel Lanois - give the beer a big citrus punch with just enough bitterness to satisfy. An outstanding IPA."

John Catto, the lead guitarist/songwriter for The Diodes, agreed. "Delicious!" he declared.

(The Phoenix gig - the first stop on the tour - was supposed to be the launch of Time Damage IPA, but "beer agreements already in place" put the kibosh on that plan and the beer was launched in Bowmanville instead. I think I've heard of these 'beer agreements' before.)

With the beer done, all Gorry had to worry about was getting his band ready to open for a legendary punk band. Shouldn't be that hard for an experienced band with ... one gig to their name?

Gorry on stage with Tijuana Jesus

No worries. Gorry's vocals were strong, his pal Matt was crazy and good on lead guitar and the rhythm section of Hooper (drums) and Luke (bass) was on point. They got the crowd of nearly 100 on their feet (there weren't any chairs anyway) and were the perfect lead-in to the The Diodes' set.

The band opened (appropriately) with Time Damage and closed with Tired of Waking Up Tired before bringing Gorry on stage for the encore, which included Catwalker and Jean Genie.

The crowd loved the set, and so did the band, if Catto's opinion the next day on social media meant anything.

"Last night at Manantler Brewery was a ton o' fun, closer to the Crash 'n' Burn experience than anything I've done in years, blasting away in a white painted concrete basement.," he said. "'A "Cellar Full Of Noise,' as Brian Epstein put it, in all the right ways."

Gorry, with that shit-eating grin probably still on his face when he woke up the next day, would second that emotion.

What's in a name? Belgian IPAs always in style

At the risk of offending legendary beer writer Stephen Beaumont, I love Belgian IPAs.

I love how the spiciness from the Belgian yeast melds so beautifully with the indulgent lashings of West Coast hops to produce something ridiculously delicious. I love how, when done well, Belgian IPAs are hoppy and bitter and yet taste so clean.

It's an IPA but it's not and I love it. But I said that already.

Categorizing this style has been difficult for some, who use the argument that Belgium has so many different types of beer it would be impossible to call one "Belgian-style." Beaumont, who has been called a personal hero and his "favourite Canadian" (with William Shatner) by my second favourite Kiwi, reigning New Zealand Beer Writer of Year Neil Miller, is one of those critics.

Beaumont is quite passionate on the subject, declaring that Belgian beer is beer that is "brewed and fermented in Belgium. Period." In case he wasn't being clear, he added that even calling it Belgian-style is wrong as the phrase is a "largely meaningless and belittling adjective."

I can agree with him on the second point - 'Belgian-style' is over-used and somewhat trite - but the Belgian IPA label is in fact a perfect way to describe them.

The style is fairly new and did originate in Belgium when a few local brewers, inspired by the American India Pale Ale, began brewing hoppy ales for the U.S. market. The Belgian IPA style really took off when American brewers (and Canadian, as well as others) began brewing super hoppy beers using west coast hops and Belgian yeasts.

The result was spectacular awesomness, particularly for the North American iteration, the only examples of the style I've enjoyed so far.

(The complicated and convoluted history of the Belgian IPA breaks down thusly: It is an American (or Canadian) style inspired by Belgian beers, which were inspired by American IPAs, which were in turn inspired by English IPAs. I feel inspired already.)

So what's in a name? I'll give you five, each representing a legendary (or legendary-in-the-making) brewery: La Formidable from Beau's (Ottawa Valley) and Gigantic (Portland, Oregon); Princess Wears Girl Pants from Sawdust City (Gravenhurst); Catherine Wheel from Bellwoods (Toronto); Cali-Belgique from Stone (Escondido, California); and Derniere Volonte from Dieu du Ciel (Montreal).

(Derniere Volonte - which means Last Will in French - is the clear winner for me. It ticks off all the boxes and it is so smooth on the tongue it  tastes like a spicy, seven per cent alcohol creamsicle. A world class beer from a world class brewery that I have enjoyed just twice, and not once this year. Please LCBO, apologize to Dieu du Ciel - or whatever you have to do - and bring this beer back to Ontario.)

Montreal's finest - Derniere Volonte from Dieu du Ciel

Each of my Fab Five beers are called 'Belgian IPAs' at Beer Advocate, a grassroots network of beer enthusiasts based in Boston (Motto: Respect Beer). Belgian IPAs are described as having a "cleaner bitterness" vs. American styles, and a "pronounced dry edge (very Belgian), often akin to an IPA crossed with a Belgian Tripel," with alcohol generally on the high side. "Many examples are quite cloudy, and feature tight lacing, excellent retention, and fantastic billowy heads that mesmerize."

Sounds tasty.

Rate Beer, the world's largest consumer-based beer rating network, takes a different approach. The organization does not classify any beers as Belgian IPAs.

Princess Wears Girl Pants is listed as a Double IPA on Rate Beer, Derniere Volonte as a Belgian Ale and the other three as simply Indian Pale Ales. Score one for Mr. Beaumont.

It's hit or miss with the category at major beer festivals. At the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Belgian IPAs fall under the American Belgo Style category, while there is no mention of the category at all at the Ontario Brewing Awards.

The U.S.-based Beer Judge Certification Program, for what it's worth, describes Belgian IPAs as "an IPA with the fruitiness and spiciness derived from the use of Belgian yeast" and classifies it as  a Speciality IPA.

The aforementioned Mr. Miller, the standard bearer for beer writing on the planet (despite admittedly not being a big fan of Belgian IPAs), once referred to the style as a "USA/Belgium IPA." That works for me as well.

I should point out that I am a huge fan of Mr. Beaumont - one of the world's foremost authorities on beer and the author of numerous books on the subject (including The Pocket Beer Guide, which he co-authored with Tim Webb and is now in its third printing) - and would never want to irritate a man who, in the one and only social media thread we participated in together, sang O Canada (sort of), simply because I challenged him to prove his Canadian status.

Stephen Beaumont: Canadian. Neil Miller: Honorary Canadian

Damn if he didn't come through on the dare, so long as you consider "Da, da, da da...da, da da da da da...Da, da, da da..." to be called 'singing.'

Full points for the effort, though.

No matter how they're classified, Belgian IPAs will always hold a special place in this lover of IPAs and their friends' heart. They are hoppy, they are spicy, they are delicious and I love them.

But I'm sure I said that already.

Cheers!

Mid-Summer Beer of the Year (2015)

It's been a really good year for beer so far. So good in fact that, just like last year, I can't wait until the end of 2015 to declare my champions.

It is August already, so that makes it time for my second annual Mid-Summer Beer of the Year blog.

I had plenty of fantastic IPAs, Imperial IPAs and American Pale Ales, but I  found lightning in a bottle in some different styles this year; notably golden ales and pilsners.

A Pilsner? On a Beer of the Year blog? Yup. There were two that knocked my socks off in 2015 and I expect there will be other breweries that will take a stab at this style, which is more difficult to perfect because it is harder to hide flaws.

Black Oak, with its Epiphany Number 2 Imperial Pilsner (7.7 per cent) made the grade, which was bright, zesty and smooth, as did Long Dong Pilsner, which was an exceptional beer. It was the first to tap out at a recent Great Lakes tap takeover at Buster Rhino’s, so when I saw it back on I grabbed this "Etobicoke style" pilsner, as the brewery calls it. It smells of lemongrass and spices and tastes really creamy for a pilsner, with more grassy and lemony hops, along with some biscuit. Nice finish. Probably the best pilsner I’ve ever had.

Winner: Long Dong Pilsner (Great Lakes)

Golden Ales (also called Blonde Ales) also surprised me with excellence this year.  There were two
finalists in this category as well: Saint of Circumstances from Collective Arts and The Citra Situation from local favourites Manantler from Bowmanville.

Both were very good, but I have to tag the boys from Manantler for the win. There was tons of lemon and grapefruit on the nose, followed by bright citrus, lemon candy and some tropical fruit on the tongue. Decent bitterness for a session Golden Ale. I really liked this one.

Winner: The Citra Situation (Manantler)

Another category rising fast for me was the Wheat Ales. Last year's winner - All or Nothing, a Hefeweizen from Oshawa's own Underdog's Brew House, was in tough this year against Miami Weiss from Great Lakes and Wag the Wolf from Beau's.

I had to make the sacrifice and drink a little extra to find me a winner here, but Wag the Wolf's gave me plenty of banana, lemony citrus, more spices and a ton of epic smoothness. I like this beer a lot.

Winner: Wag the Wolf (Beau's All Natural)

Rye Pale Ales gave me two finalists, though it doesn't seem to be a 'hot' style this year, as I  didn't try too many of what is one of my favourite varieties. Cameron's RPA was there as usual - orange and grapefruit from the hops with a nice malt base that was both sweet and earthy and a bitter finish - and it was up against a newcomer:  Rye-Diculous, a Manantler collaboration with Brewer's Pantry.

Winner: Cameron's Rye Pale Ale

Session IPAs were supposed to be the 'It' beer style this year but I didn't get my hands on too many outstanding examples, proving that it is not easy to make five per cent ABV or under IPA that is still all about the hops. My two finalists here were Couchsurfer from Indie Ale House (Loads of lemony and zesty citrus hops on the tongue with just a little bit of bitter funk. Excellent summer session IPA), and State of Mind from Collective Arts.

Winner: Couchsurfer (Indie Ale House)

There were also quite a few categories that offered up just one finalist, though it most cases it didn't mean they weren't worthy champions. Apocalypso, a White IPA from Le Trou du Diable, knocked my socks off with its combination of citrus, spices, tropical fruit and awesomeness, and what can I say about Ruin Ten, Stone Brewing's Triple IPA? Just that Stone can do no wrong.

Winner: Le Trou du Diable Apocalypso (White IPA)
Winner: Stone Ruin Ten (Triple IPA)
Winner: Bellwoods Farmhouse Saison (Saison)
Winner: Innis & Gunn Toasted Oak IPA (British IPA)
Winner: Chimay Bleue (Belgian Strong Ale)
Winner: Manantler The Dark Prince (Black IPA)
Winner: Amsterdam Spring Bock (Bock)
Winner: Bellwoods No Rest for the Wicked (Sour)

The Belgian IPA category has always been one of my favourites and this year delivered five finalists to mull over. There was La Formidable, the Beau's collaboration with Oregon's Gigantic Brewery (Tastes of lemon and grapefruit with plenty of Belgian spices and some grassy notes. Peppery as well with a satisfying and lingering bitterness), and there was Catherine Wheel from Bellwoods (Bubblegum and Belgian spices on the nose, a big blast of lemony hops, pepper, wild flowers, Belgian yeast and more bubblegum. Crisp and beautiful). Princess Wears Girl Pants (Sawdust City), Belle Epoque (Flying Monkeys) and Belgian Barnyard (Indie Ale House) also made the cut.

Winner: Catherine Wheel (Bellwoods)

There were a number of outstanding Stouts this year as well and I narrowed it down to three. Long Dark Voyage to Uranus, an Imperial variety from Sawdust City that gave up plenty of dark chocolate and licorice and was easy drinking for an extra strong beer (and owns a really cool name), was the early leader but it got stiff competition from stablemate Blood of Cthulhu and Rococo Chocolate Milk Stout from Manantler.

Winner: Long Dark Voyage to Uranus (Sawdust City)

That brings me to the mainstays of my existence, IPAs, IIPAs and APAs: the Holy Trinity of beer. I narrowed it down to five for the American Pale Ale category. Citraddiction from Great Lakes made the cut, but barely, as it was released late last year. But I was still drinking it in January so it qualifies, and how could I resist a beer with grapefruit and mango fairly bursting out of the glass and lingering on my palate for what seems forever? I'm sure you understand. This brewery also gave me Johnny Simcoe and they were up against last year's category winner, the citrus bomb that is Rhyme and Reason from Collective Arts; Stone Pale Ale from California and Falconer's Flight, a single hop ale from Manantler.

Winner: Citraddiction (Great Lakes)

The Imperial IPA category turned out to be the toughest to handicap this year, with no less than seven finalists. And that's leaving out quite a few outstanding IIPAs who scored high enough to win most of the other categories. The list even spawned two of the same name: Stone's Ruination, which I enjoyed early in the year and its replacement, Ruination 2.0, which was released in the spring and was just as sticky as the original but with more fruity pizzazz. Stone (remember they can do no wrong) also provided Japanese Green Tea IPA AND Enjoy By (02-14-15) to this list (wow), while Nickel Brook's sublime Immodest (Aromas of grapefruit and pineapple give way to creamy pine notes and a solid caramel malt backbone. A truly extraordinary beer) and Bellwoods' Witchshark round out the field.

I couldn't decide. So I named two winners.

Co-Winners: Ruination 2.0 (Stone) and Immodest (Nickel Brook)

There were more excellent IPAs than I could shake a stick at (though why I would want to shake a stick at an IPA when I could just drink it is beyond me) but five stood ahead of the others. Headstock from Nickel Brook (an exceptional beer that tastes like summer all year 'round); Moralite from Diu du Ciel/The Alchemist; Big Eye from Ballast Point; Octopus Wants to Fight from Great Lakes (possibly the newcomer of the year) and another Great Lakes classic that should be available all year (are you listening Great Lakes? Please?), Karma Citra, which was all grapefruit and tropical fruit on the nose with lots of lingering bitterness. Most excellent.

Again I couldn't decide.

Co-Winners: Headstock (Nickel Brook) and Karma  Citra (Great Lakes)

I'm going to dispense with the Brewmaster of the Mid-Summer award (I'll save it for the end of t


The Mid-Summer Beer of the Year trophy.
Who wouldn't want this?

year) but I will hand out Mid-Summer Brewer of the Year hardware. Why not?

Four brew houses made the grade. Manantler was a five-time finalist and won two categories; Bellwoods was nominated four times and thrice; Stone was nominated six  times (four times in the IIPA category alone!) and won twice; and Great Lakes won three categories from six nominations.

Winner: Great Lakes Brewery

For the Beer of the Year I chose Headstock (Nickel Brook) and Karma Citra (Great Lakes) from the IPA category and Immodest (Nickel Brook) and Ruination 2.0 (Stone) from the equally tightly contested IIPA class; and Long Dong Pilsner from Great Lakes. Yes, it was that good. They were all that good.

I have to declare one winner, so I'll go with the beer that has kept me company more than any other in 2015.

Winner: Headstock (Nickel Brook)

Cheers!

Pan Ams and Eden, my Dead Sea Girl

Baseball, boxing, barbecue and beer. What more could you ask for on a glorious Pan Am day?

The J Man and took advantage of the Pan Am action in Durham Region yesterday, taking in baseball in Ajax and boxing here in Oshawa, with a stop for beer and barbecued  meat in between. Other  than a little sunburn, it was fantastic.

See, here in the eastern suburbs we don't care about Toronto's whining and complaining about traffic congestion and empty HOV lanes. We just go about our regular business and enjoy the Games while they're here.

Sorry Toronto.

Jake and I headed out to Ajax - about a ten minute drive - just  before noon to watch the men's semi-final baseball game. We parked at the  GO Station and took the free shuttle to the facility. What could be simpler?

The facility is  gorgeous, by the way. There have always been sports fields at the Audley Road complex, but there is now a community centre on the site, as well as four ball diamonds, including the stunning main park which was the host for our game between the USA and Cuba.

The walls may be finally crumbling down on the dispute between the Americans and Cubans that is  older than I am, but there is still  something historical, something special in a ball game between these two nations.

Jake and I at beautiful Pan Am Park in Ajax

Yesterday did not disappoint. Cuba, thanks to a no-doubter home run from Freddie Cepeda in the second inning and some timely hitting (as well  as some sloppy play from the U.S)., staked  themselves to a 5-1 lead midway through the game. It could have been worse: Cuba, up 4-1 in the fifth, had the bases loaded with nobody out but U.S. reliever Brian Ellington limited the bleeding to just one run.

That missed opportunity cost Cuba  in the seventh when they emptied their bullpen to try to stop an American  rally. Four runs later it was 5-5.

The U.S. won it in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth when shortstop Andrew Parrino delivered an RBI single into right field sending the Cuban fans -  who were shouting " Kuu-ba" all afternoon long - home (or at least back to the hotel) unhappy.

Chalk one up for capitalism?


U.S. celebration

I also gambled on a beer while I was there, despite all the Molson signs scattered throughout the park, plunking down $9 for a 'premium' Creemore Springs, figuring it had to be better than Canadian or Bud. It was, a little. Fruity, with only a little of that metallic aftertaste common in commercial brews. It was hot and it was beer so I drank it.

Jake and I went home for an hour or so to cool  down after the game before heading to downtown Oshawa for the boxing. I parked in my usual spot besides Buster Rhino's - like I said, what could be simpler? - and we went inside the bar for lunch. Pulled pork sammy for Jacob; salad with smoked chicken  for me.

And a beer, of course. But not just any beer: a recently released, much anticipated Double Nelson IIPA from Bellwoods Brewery. Made with a double dose of Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, this one-off eight per cent ale poured a beautiful deep orange, with an intoxicating aroma of  grapefruit and mango. There was more of the same on the tongue - along with some pine - and the booze  was well hidden.

Delicious.

Now suitably refreshed, we walked  across the street to the General Motors  Centre - sorry, the Oshawa Sports Complex (GM not being a sponsor of these Games) - and sat down for an  evening of the sweet science.

Twelve bouts in all - we stayed for ten - and the card had it all. There were a couple of  disappointing Canadian performances early from P.G. Tondo (49 kg) and Clovis Drolet (75 kg); a wildly  entertaining fight between a Guatemalan and a Costa Rican (won by the Costa Rican, Eduardo Ramirez); a few split decisions and a couple of rulings from the judges that left some people scratching their heads while others rained down the boos.

The worst was probably the bout between American Melik Elliston and Alvaro Deras of Guatemala. Ellison dominated the fight and yet came out on the losing end of the  scorecards.

As they say in the fight game, he wuz robbed.

We left on a  good note  however, as the tenth fight of the evening was a heavyweight tilt between Canada's Sammy Elmais and Brazil's Juan Nogueira. Elmais, despite trying twice  to take down his opponent MMA-style (not a good idea when you're facing a Brazilian named Nogueira), controlled most of the entertaining fight and sent us home happy when he won a split (!) decision.

You can bring the Pan Ams  back to Durham Region anytime, folks. That was  great.

Now let's see if today's entertainment - a day with beer bro Don at the Burlington Beer Fest - can top that. I think there's a chance it will.

***

I was walking through the mall Friday and I got shanghaied by a hand cream girl at one of those kiosks you find in the aisles. You know the type: they usually sell hand creams and lotions with ingredients like "salt from the Dead Sea" to exfoliate and soften tired old working hands like mine, and the booths are always manned by at least two people - one woman and one man, the better to do that shanghaiing they do so well.

Anyway, her name was Eden and she spoke with a thick French accent that wasn't from Quebec or France for that matter. North African, perhaps? Could be. She was very pretty with big eyes - the better to hold my gaze - and Mediterranean features. I'd like to say Moroccan, because it sounds sexy.

And she was that and more. She massaged my hands with both creams (including the exfoliating number with the Dead Sea salt) and she invaded my personal space the entire ten minutes of our exhilarating but so brief relationship. I didn't mind one bit.



I'm carrying the torch for you Eden

I know she was working me and I know she was working me hard, with her adorably-accented broken English going a mile a minute during her sales patter. I know all this and I still almost fell for her pitch.

She talked dirty to me, man.

And once I was able to tear myself away from her eyes, I talked dirty to her too. And the whole while she was touching me or leaning in close to tell me how the cream washes off in the shower and wouldn't it be nice to shower together and would you like to kiss me?

Admittedly that last line was uttered when she felt the sale slipping away but still, it was wonderful.

It was the best sex I've had in years.

Despite all her efforts I had to say no as even dirty talk from a beautiful woman can't change the numbers in my bank account. But we left on good terms - or so I thought, anyway - and I agreed to stop by the next time I was in the mall to giver her another crack at wearing me down.

As luck would have it I had to make a return visit to the Oshawa Centre a few hours later and I saw Eden chatting up another potential client (a woman, so I wasn't tooo jealous) on my way to the phone store.

I'll say hi on the way back, I said. And I did.

"Hi Eden," I bellowed in my loudest and sexiest voice.

She either didn't hear me or ignored me. So I tried to catch her eye and waved to her. She ignored me again.

It hurts to say this, but I think the love affair is over.

I miss you Eden.

Is it Christmas? No, it's better. It's beer festival season!

What does a date that never was, the love of family, good pals, smoked meat and beer - lots and lots of beer - add up to?

Good times, my friends. Good times.

Saturday was a day that had been marked on my calendar for a while: the Durham Craft Beer Festival. With thirteen vendors and loads of beer choices, it was guaranteed to be so much fun I had to buy two tickets.

Surely a smooth character such as myself would have no problem finding a date, right? Maybe if I had remembered to ask somebody more than a few days before the event that might have been the case, but you know, planning and all that.

I did ask my friend Wendy, but as she had been away from work that week with back issues she had to beg off. So I moved on to my second choice, number one son Matt, but he was headed to Lakeview Park with my lovely (and already talented) granddaughter Josie. Number two son was up for the honour as well, but Cam said he had a headache.

I think I've heard that a few times before.

So I went solo, arriving shortly after the festival opened at noon and after saying a few hellos (the first person I talked to was Wendy's nephew Matt, who was working his Brewer's Pantry booth) I headed straight for Great Lakes Brewery where I found ... no IPAs. No Thrust! I did discover the bright side (there is always a bright side with beer) as I sipped an OCB Collaboration beer and chatted with our friendly neighbourhood GLB man: Octopus Wants to Fight IPA, a deliciously juicy grapefruit-mango-pine bombshell that I love, will be back in production soon.

So there's that.

I hit up our hosts next, as Buster Rhino's was pouring Bellwoods beer and Theresa was pouring me  a Roman Candle IPA. Then it was Sawdust City - a favourite of mine at these affairs - to try their Golden Beach Pale Ale, a refreshing and tasty 4.5 per cent session ale.

(I also discovered the story behind Princess Wears Girl Pants, the Gravenhurst brewery's unique entry in the Belgian IPA category. Ben, our Sawdust City rep, told the story of an effeminate friend of brewmaster Sam, who one day showed up wearing capri pants. And a beer was born...)

Another Sawdust stand-by - Lone Pine IPA - was next, followed by my first visit to Manantler Brewery of Bowmanville, where I sampled a Wakatu Me pale ale, part of their single hop series of ales. Citrus, melon, lemon and delicious.

And then I was gone, because man cannot drink all day in the hot sun by oneself. And because Josie, the most adorable 10-month old human on the planet, was waiting for me down at Lakeview Park.

Turned out to be a bigger family affair than I imagined. There was Matt and Josie; Matt's girlfriend Marissa and her two cute little ones; the J Man and his mom Christian-Ann; and my oldest grandchild, Allison.

A happy hour or so later the smell of barbecue coming from the west was too strong and I joined Christian, Jake and Allison for a trip to Whitby for Ribfest.

One of Ontario's best golden ales

Now I know it may be sacrilege to leave Buster Rhino's - home of the best ribs in town - to go to Ribfest, but family first, you know? And the ribs (as well as the pulled pork and pulled chicken) were amazing.

But there is only so much smoked meat I can eat and when the beer back at the festival (or the voices in my head) started calling my name I had to leave my family to let them work off the calories on the midway rides.

I called my pal Steve. "You wanna be my date?" I asked, coyly. "Ummm..." was Steve's reply. "There's free beer in it for you."

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

Back to Oshawa I go and we found the festival party in full swing. I found Manantler again - with the booth manned by my pal Chris this time - and enjoyed The Citra Situation, another of their single hop series and one of the best golden ales I have ever tasted. Yum.

Steve, meanwhile, was faced with a lot of tough choices, being a drinker of commercial lagers when he is drinking beer at all. We were at the Stone City (Kingston) booth and I was trying to steer him towards their 12 Star Session Ale (tasty) to ease him gently into the craft beer world.

Nothing doing. He went for their wheat beer, the Windward Belgian Wheat. And liked it. A lot. "I could drink this all day," he said, happily.

We made a few rounds of the festival - I had Into the Shade, a very tart (almost sour) saison from Cameron's, a 10 Bitter Years IIPA from Black Oak, the 12 Star Ale from Stone City, more Manantler (Amarillo Lollihop), more Sawdust City (Skinny Dipping Stout) and maybe one or two more, though at this point my but my notes were starting to get soggy so I'm not sure.

A refreshing burst of grapefruit in every sip

Steve tried a few other beers as well - I remember Mill Street Organic Lager - but he kept going back to Stone City and their Windward Wheat. I think I may have a convert.

I also ran into a few buddies at the event, including my old Domino's pal Gord, who bought us a few beers because that's what friends are for, right?

Nice to see you Gord.

But all good things must come to an end and we eventually ran out of tokens and I took my date home for a nightcap or two. Steve made his way home after that and I managed to kick off my shoes before passing out on my bed.

Next time I'll go to the festival with a woman and see if it ends any differently. Probably not.

***

The People's Choice Award at the festival went to Old Flame Brewery of Port Perry (the lineups at this booth were quite long), while silver and bronze went to the breweries I voted for: Sawdust City and Manantler, respectively.

The number of beers sold was up about 1,000 to 11,762 while overall attendance was up just a tad to about 1,500. Our host for the day, Darryl Koster, said the increased beer sales could be attributed to the low turnover rate. Last year there were a lot of patrons who came to see what a beer festival is all about, drank five tokens worth of beer and left, he said. This year? "They were here for the long haul."

***

I will make it two weekends in a row at beer fests when I invade Burlington and Beer Bro Don's pad (AKA Donny's Beer & Grill) for the Burlington Beer Festival on Sunday.

This will be a much bigger affair, with some 40 or so breweries represented and we have VIP passes, so I'm really stoked. I just hope Don, who will be attending both days, will still be alive when I arrive. I have faith, Don.

Ruination 2.0 and Stone can do no wrong

A trip to Burlington is not complete  without a 45-minute detour to the border and the nearest Consumer Beverages outlet for some Stone (Escondido, California) beers, and I expect there will be some choice IPAs on hand as Stone is celebrating all things hoppy this month.

There are a few special releases I'd like to see but I would be happy if there was only Ruination 2.0. This is the Imperial IPA that has replaced Ruination, which is the beer that established Stone and the San Diego area as the centre of the IPA universe.

I loved the old Ruination. World class. The new version is better. Here's what I said on Rate Beer:

A gorgeous hazy orange pour with a piney-grapefruity aroma. Then bam! A ton of hop flavour. Apricot, tangerine, pine, red grapefruit and caramel malts. A little floral something going on too. Just as sticky as the original but with more fruity pizzazz. Complex as shit. I like it better.

It's right up there with Immodest (Nickel Brook) as the best beer EVER. It's that good.

Stone can do no wrong.

Cheers!