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!

Rainhard, Brock Street ready to take on the big guys

It had rained the whole day previously and it was a wet and dreary Sunday morning when I ventured west to cut the grass at my Mom and Dad's place in west Toronto. The weather was appropriate, however, because I was going to visit one of the city's newest breweries after my chores: Rainhard Brewing.

The setting was fitting as well: housed in a 1940s factory in the heart of The Stockyards (in what was once Canada's largest abattoir), Rainhard Brewing is located in what is now a gloomy ghost town of abandoned factories and warehouses. (It was, until 1998, also a dry part of town. Gotta love the Temperance movement!) Once found, however, it was all worth it as founder Jordan Rainhard has carved out a welcoming oasis amongst the surrounding neglect and decay.

Rainhard, who turned pro earlier this year after a few years as an award-winning home brewer, has built a 7 BBL brewery with a tap room, event space and retail store on the site - mostly by his own hands (with a ton of help from his wife Katie) - which also sports a very cool bar, made mostly of  2 X 8s.

Ale heaven at Rainhard Brewery

The beer lineup is stellar, too. On tap on the day I visited (and I was the only customer in there - c'mon, people!) was Armed 'N Citra, Rainhard's flagship pale ale, Lazy Bones IPA and his crazy nine per cent, 90 IBU Russian Imperial Stout: Hearts Collide. He has since added a IIPA, True Grit Farmhouse Ale and Day Walker India Session Ale.

Armed N Citra was very sessionable (5.2 per cent) with lots of citrus, tropical fruit and some pale malts on the tongue. Lazy Bones was even better: sweet and fruity on the nose with more dark fruits and citrus on the tongue. Tasty, but could have used a bit more punch. I brought home a couple of bottles of each and sampled the stout, which was far too complex to rate on just a wee taste. Next time.

This is definitely a brewery to watch.

Another new start-up I visited recently is Brock Street Brewing in Whitby, which held its soft opening in April - so 'soft' several thousand people showed up - and its grand opening July 4.

On tap in April was their  Blonde, an Irish Red and an American Brown Ale. Since the soft launch the four local fellows who run the place (three hail from Whitby; one from neighbouring Ajax) have added Double Vision, a 7.5 per cent Imperial Pale Ale, as well as the Brock Street Porter.

I rather liked the American Brown. It's a nutty and hoppy style I am slowly warming to and this is one of the better examples.



The Brock Street Brewery team. When four guys open
a brewery the first thing to do is...drink beer!

The Double Vision IIPA left me wanting a bit more, however. It poured very dark and was nicely carbonated but all I got on the nose was malt and it tasted of malt and  dark fruit with very little bitterness.

I expect if they ever get around to making a regular IPA it will be better.

The boys from Brock Street are the latest in a wave of breweries opening in Durham in the past couple of year, a list that also includes 5 Paddles (Whitby), Manantler (Bowmanville), Old Flame (Port Perry), and Underdogs (Oshawa), with more on the way.

The locals are already surprising some of the established breweries around the nation. Manantler earned a silver medal at the Ontario Brewing Awards in the spring for its delicious Dark Prince Black IPA and Old Flame won gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards for its Old Flame Red.

All but Underdogs will be at the Durham Craft Beer Festival, which will be ... today, damn it, so hop to it and watch them do battle for your taste buds against some of Ontario's best brewers, including Cameron's (Oakville), Sawdust City (Gravenhurst) and Great Lakes Brewery of Toronto, the two-time Canadian Brewery of the Year.

If you can't make it I'll let you know how the battle went.

*

Speaking of the Durham Craft Beer Festival and Manantler (my favourite of the newbies), I have several beer reviews from the little Bowmanville brewhouse that I need to get out there.

Liquid Swords IPA

The Citra Situation was a happy surprise, as I now know that Golden Ales, if made properly, are delicious. This one gave me 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.

Rye-Diculous was another good one. The aroma wasn't much - some rye, a little citrus - but it builds into a solid offering with citrus, some dry malts and pine. And rye - we can’t forget the rye! The bitterness lingers lovingly.

One of my favourite pale ales of the year was Falconer's Flight, a single hop offering that was very tart and very citrusy.Grapefruit, tropical fruit (mango, perhaps?) and lemon flavours carry this beer right past refreshing and into the delicious zone.

Roberta Blondar, another Golden Ale that was the first in a series honouring great Canadians, was citrusy on the nose with some dark fruits and even cherry on the tongue. It was sweet but not cloying, as well as light and very sessionable.

Finally, an IPA from Manantler: Liquid Swords. This classic unfiltered IPA offered plenty of lemony hops, with grapefruit and resiny flavours as well. Very nice.

Cheers!