The secret to winning at the track? Winning
And that ain't no Fake News)

I was at the track and I was on a roll.

It was Craft Beer Day at Ajax Downs, an event I attended last year with my protesting son in tow (They have Wi-Fi, right?), and I naturally popped in to the slots room to try my luck.

Ten bucks went in the machine and after nearly ten minutes of watching my credits creep down to zero territory I figured it was time to get out of this dungeon and into the sunshine, so I bet it all.

And won. How about that?

Three queens, I think, but I wasn't really paying attention and I couldn't see worth shit anyway.

So I stuck around another five minutes or so, won a few more little pots and cashed out happily, having beat the machine.

I was up $5.70, dammit!

And they're off! Quarter-horse racing at Ajax Downs

Trackside, I plunked down three dollars of my hard won money on three beer tickets and found the Flying Monkey's booth for a sample of their delicious Juicy Ass IPA.

I wasn't going to be here long, so I lined up to place a bet on the only race I was going to see, the penultimate sixth race on the card. Two bucks went on Gogo Jangles to win and $4 went on this horse, who was the favourite and listed in the program at 3-1, to show. Four more dollars was placed on Front Me Money, a 10-1 long shot.

With my big casino winnings still fresh on my mind, I was feeling confident as I headed to the rail to watch the race.

But betting is thirsty work, so I stopped at the Northern Maverick booth to refresh my glass first.

Matty from Northern Maverick Brewing
(and me) with Fake News Ale

I chose Northern Maverick - newcomers who just opened a huge 400-seat restaurant and brewery in Toronto's King West neighbourhood - partly because I had never heard of them, but mostly because the beer they were selling was called Fake News Ale and pictured on the label a caricature of the cartoonish buffoon running the country just to the south of us.

Not bad at all. Strong malt character, but a decent beer to crush on a warm summer day.

The beer. Not the president, though that statement could apply to him as well.

Back on the rail, I watched the #1 horse, Snow Storming, break from the gate and go for a rip down the track - riderless - to the cheers of the crowd, before officials got everything sorted out and the race went on for real.

A bunch of horses at the finish line and a cloud of dust is what I saw, but the board told the real story: Gogo Jangles came first.

Like I said, I was on a roll.

But I would soon find out that winning was not all it cracked up to be. When Snow Storming was scratched the odds were duly adjusted and my horse ended up going off at 6/5 odds, which meant you would have to put up five bucks just to win back six.

My take on the Gogo Jangles win bet was $2.40. On the show bet? Twenty whole cents on top of my $4 bet. Couple that with the $4 I wagered on Front Me Money and I ended up losing $1.40.

Don't ask me to check my math.

Still. A win is a win and I celebrated by enjoying a tasty blonde ale from Henderson Brewing. Only fair, I thought, as Henderson sponsored the race.

To recap, I spent $4 on a program, $3 on beer and lost $1.40 wagering (while winning). Meanwhile, I won $5.70 at the slots.

So if I carry the three and ... never mind. Mathing is hard. All I know is winning is expensive.

The Passion Fruit Sour tap takeover

I'm standing behind the bar putting clean glasses away when Jessica approaches with a sample glass of beer in her hand.

"You can have a sip," she says. "It's the Passion Fruit Sour."

This is the beer that was the hit of the recent Durham Craft Beer Festival and it is also the beer that was long gone before I got my hands on it so yes, Jess, I'll have a sip.

It was all it cracked up to be. Tart and delicious: like drinking grapefruit juice. And everyone likes grapefruit juice. Except this was made with passion fruit. Whatever. It was awesome.

"So you're good then? she asked sweetly, perhaps hinting I should shut the hell up about it.

"No, not really," I muttered under my breath. "Sure. That was great. Thank you," I said aloud.

I wasn't worried about getting a full pint in me before the night was out. It was the Rouge River Brewery Tap Takeover at Buster Rhino's and ten different brews from the upstart Markham brewers were flowing and the place was hopping.

My shift was going to end soon and then the Passion Fruit Sour, the peachy-good Summer IPA and any other Rouge River brew that struck my fancy would be mine for the taking.

And at around ten o'clock I found myself on the patio with a plate of chicken fingers, a pint of Passion Fruit Sour and a flight of three other Rouge River beers in front of me.

Life could get a lot worse.

I spent some time chatting with Darryl and Beth at the Buster Rhino's Executive Table, talked to Rouge River Brewmaster Jordan about his philosophy on beer (and was gifted cool Rouge River glassware), got poked in the eye by a pretty young lady with green hair who thought I was her Dad, and finished the evening with a pint of the most delicious Summer IPA.

So yes, Jessica. I'm good. Thanks for asking.

Brewer's Pantry rises (👍) Tuesday!

*Updated (again)*
After a couple of devastating floods in the past month caused a shutdown of Brewer's Pantry there were fears that it would be a long time - if ever - before the Bowmanville brewer's supply store would re-open.

That would be tragic because Brewer's Pantry owner Matthew Chellew is one of the most popular guys in the local beer scene and one of my favourite people.

Not to mention the supplier for my homebrew pals.

Matthew Chellew of Brewer's Pantry.Yes, that's rum
in his glass. The man is allowed to diversify!

But fear not. Thanks to some hard work from Matt and his friends - the list of people he thanked on social media was quite extensive - and some understanding on the part of insurance companies, Brewer's Pantry is set to re-open early next week.

Construction has taken a little longer than expected to complete, but Matt hopes to be ready to go by Tuesday.

"We're moving location without moving location," Matt said in a Facebook post, adding that Brewer's Pantry is now located around the back at 116 King Street West. "Same building, different unit."

At the time of writing equipment and supplies were being moved to the new unit as a storage room and a custom milling room were being built.

I ran into Matt the other day and got the construction update but forgot to congratulate the man.  So congratulations Matt! And may local homebrewers now get back to happy brewing!

On the juice ... and loving it

It was a couple of months ago when I had this great idea of writing a blog about the three 'Juice' IPAs that were floating around out there: Juice Campbell from 5 Paddles; Juicin from Sawdust City and Juicy Ass from Flying Monkeys.

I would drink them, rate them and see which beer came out on top. It sounded pretty simple at the time.

But finding all three beers has proved to be a longer process than I imagined.

Juice Campbell was easy, and I didn't even have to drive the five whole kilometres to the brewery. I just had to stop in at Brew Wizards, a pub and coffee house just a block south of my local at Buster Rhino's in downtown Oshawa.

It's also directly across the street from my pal Brandon's place, making it a convenient spot for a post-work beer. Win win.

Juice Campbell from 5 Paddles

A geek/nerd paradise, this is the place where you can indulge in role playing games, play any number of board games with friends, or get a flight of coffee served to you on a sword. Or, conversely, you can check out the tap list - 16 beers! - and order a pint of local brew.

Which is how I discovered Juice Campbell and ordered my first pint.

Not a ton of aroma but there is some citrus hanging in the background, Grapefruit is very prominent and that citrus hoppiness builds some as you make your way through the glass. Dry finish. Good stuff.

Juicin came on board in the beer fridge at Buster Rhino's soon after and I was quick to order a bottle after work as soon as I learned of this extremely peachy development.

This beer was one of my favourites of 2016 and my number one New England-style IPA, a category that is low on quantity - it's practically a brand new style - but super high in quality.

And my first beer of 2017 underwhelmed me a little.

The aroma of Juicin (circa 2016) was "mind-blowing" - to quote myself - with peach and tropical citrus lovingly tormenting my taste buds.

The aroma from the can from our fridge - which I knew was quite fresh - was a bit muted, which surprised me. Otherwise it tasted much the same as I remembered from last year, with resin, orange and peachy awesomeness. Juicy (oh, so juicy!) and very tasty.

Juicin from Sawdust City

But the universe was restored to its proper place a few weeks later when Sean, our smiling Sawdust City rep, delivered a keg of Juicin to the bar and I enjoyed this magical beer on tap.

And there was that aroma, back in all its glory with loads of peach, mango, pineapple and love.

That put Juicin firmly back as a contender (again) for Beer-of-the-Year, as well as in the lead in this little 'Juicy' competition.

But I didn't think I'd ever get my hands on a Juicy Ass IPA from Flying Monkeys. I remember the brewery teasing an LCBO appearance but never seeing it, and a trip to Barrie - however enticing that may be - was not in my immediate plans.

And then I walked into my favourite LCBO - the Oshawa Centre location - and there it was, along with a few other new gems I had been hoping for. I chatted with Tim, my favourite LCBO Beer Guy, and congratulated him on his superior ordering skills before taking my cans home.

Juicy Ass IPA from Flying Monkeys

I might actually have a blog now.

Juicy Ass - the name may be suggestive but the can design is suggestive only of Flying Monkeys loveable weirdness - was worth waiting for, but was it good enough to take down Juicin?

Pretty high standard to shoot for, for sure.

(By the way, if you want to learn more of the name's origins check out Beer Bro Don's take on the subject - "What's in a Name?" - in his always entertaining Brew Ha Ha blog.)

Juicy Ass was juicy, smooth and delicious, with mango, pine, peach, floral notes and little sweetness carrying the flavour and grapefruit and tropical fruit prominent in the aroma. It was lighter than I expected but very good.

Did I have a winner? Yes I did. Did I have a blog to write? I guess I did, because I just wrote it.

It's Juicin for the win.

Two breweries is not enough to meet demand for hot-selling Bellwoods beer

I was really looking forward to trying Peach Milkshark. I really was.

Damn you Bellwoods and your hugely inconvenient popularity.

The most interesting new beer style in Ontario over the past six months has definitely been the Milkshake IPA, a smooth and creamy lactose and vanilla infused beer that tastes like a fruit smoothie brewed in heaven.

Created two years ago by Tired Hands (Ardmore, PA) and Omnipollo (Stockholm, Sweden), the style hit the Canadian craft beer market more recently, particularly when Bellwoods got into the game.

Since then the iconic Toronto brewery has brewed a whole line of beers under the Milkshark line, including Pineapple, Mango, Guava, Blackberry and now Peach.

Peach Milkshark from Bellwoods

And I have enjoyed but two - Pineapple (divine!) and Guava - because the beers sold out almost as soon as they were produced. Mango, a Milkshark I was extremely excited about (I love mango) was gone in a matter of hours after its release last month.

None for me.

Peach is the latest in the line, and I saw it on the brewery website Tuesday and immediately made plans to visit Bellwoods' Hafis Road location Saturday. But long before I headed out to Toronto to cut my Mom and Dad's grass I knew the beer was gone.

You need a third brewery Bellwoods. At least.

Gord, the Retail Supervisor at Hafis and the fellow behind the counter Saturday, laughed when I said that and reminded me that a third brewery (Dufferin & Dupont) has been in the works for a while.

That future good news didn't help me on this day, I responded. No Peach Milkshark. The fact that the run lasted more than 24 hours - it was gone Wednesday afternoon - was of little consolation.

(The fact I was at the counter buying Jutsu, Wizard Wolf, Jelly King and Witchshark made me feel a little better. I'll admit that.)

It's a problem, Gord agreed, adding that the the constant beer shortages because of the brewery's popularity also explained why you rarely see Bellwoods at beer festivals.

"We just don't make enough beer."

We chatted about beer festivals - the Durham Craft Beer Festival was just over a week ago - and he praised the non-competitive vibe at these events.

I told him the story of how my pals at Manantler discovered a broken regulator during set-up and were saved from a fate worse than death at a beer festival - the inability to pour beer - by the efforts of festival neighbours Sawdust City (a replacement regulator) and Muskoka (tools and elbow grease).

"I love the collaborative nature of this business," Gord declared. "It just raises the ceiling on the whole industry. It creates a 'scene.'"

"It's one of the things I love about craft beer."

Despite Bellwoods not actually having a booth at the festival, we still sold a lot of their beer through the Buster Rhino's booth (from our beer fridge), with our best customer being a woman from Liberty Village in west Toronto. She threw her arms to the sky in delight when she learned we had Bellwoods beer. "Bellwoods!" she cried, with her take on Jazz Hands on display. I thought she was going to faint and I was going to have to be a hero and catch her. 

Lucky for her that didn't happen.

Maybe when Bellwoods opens a third brewing location I can actually get my hands on the next Milkshark beer before it runs out.

Maybe, just maybe, that could mean they could actually show up at our beer festival.

But remember, Bellwoods: you will be responsible for any Liberty Village women who faint in your presence.

Rouge River Tap Takeover!

I praised (gushingly) the Summer IPA and complained (bitterly) about the speed in which the Passion Fruit Sour ran out at the recent Durham Craft Beer Festival.

This Saturday I get (I hope) one more chance at both at the Rouge River Tap Takeover at Buster Rhino's in downtown Oshawa.

Rouge River brewers in the house!

The Markham brewers, who only opened late last tear and took home Silver at the People's Choice Awards at the Durham beer fest, will be bringing nine beers with them Saturday. Both the Summer IPA - which debuted in Oshawa on festival day - and the Passion Fruit Sour will be in the house.

But here's the thing: I will be working for the peak part of the evening and I need to make sure the Passion Fruit Sour is still pouring when they get rid of me and I can have a few pints. So don't drink any of it. Please. I know this is asking a lot, but I need you to save it all for me and ...

The most delicious Summer IPA
from Rouge River Brewing

What's that Darryl? I can't tell customers not to drink the Passion Fruit Sour? 

Damn. Okay, never mind folks. Drink as much of the sour as you like. I'll just have to take my chances that there's some left when I'm done my shift.

What's that Jessica? You have a keg hidden away just for staff? And you're hiding it at Shannon's place? And Darryl doesn't know about it?

Cool.

Like I said, drink as much as you like. The tap takeover will run from 11 to close (or until we run out of Rouge River beer) and there will be prizes, merch and a chance to meet a sexy brewer or two.

See you there!

Beer Festival Day - Behind the scenes

I started the day as the Ice Man; spent some time in the kitchen prepping food, filling sauce bottles and trying not to get in the way of the cooks; gravitated to a runner for the breweries and ended the festival on garbage patrol.

Actually, the night ended with myself and a dozen or so staffers and volunteers drinking copious amounts of free beer - courtesy of Darryl, the garrulous, genteel and generous host for the event - but that was after the clean-up.

For the 4th Annual Durham Craft Beer Festival, held Saturday in downtown Oshawa, I was working, and that meant (for the most part) I had to stay sober because I was actually getting paid to be there.

That part took some getting used to.

It was going to be a long day for me; I knew that going in. Up at 5 for a short shift at my landscaping job and then home to change before reporting to Festival Central (Buster Rhino's) at 9:30 a.m.

Nancy having troubles balancing our custom tap
handles. Is that Karma Citra?

Beth, Darryl's wife and the co-host for this event, assigned me Ice Man duties, which meant  handing out 26-lb bags of ice to the brewery folk when they were getting set up and keeping track on a master sheet.

That was kinda cool - mostly because I got to meet all the brewery folk (except Second Wedge - they were remarkably self-sufficient when it came to ice) and brewery folk are cool people. They just are.

But once they were stocked up there was little to hold my interest and it became even less taxing when my pal Joe, and later John - both volunteering on this day - came on board as my 'assistants.'

So I went looking for more things to do as the VIP crowd came in at 11 to kick the festival off and get things rocking in the kitchen.

So that's where I went, with my duties being whatever the hell Dylan asked me to do in that charming way of his - "If you get any closer you're going to have to buy me dinner" - before Jessica rescued me and asked me to be a runner for the brewers.

I can't remember the number of times I made the circuit asking those fine brewery folk "Is everything all right? Do you need anything? Ice...?

Josh, with home brewers and pals Linda and John

I did deliver a keg from the ice truck to the Left Field booth because they asked, and I can tell you that bringing a big keg of beer through a huge crowd of people ("watch your back sir; mind your feet ma'am") is tricky business.

I got to see the festival in full swing at this point. The place was packed and there were a lot of happy faces enjoying the sunshine, the cool breezes and the relaxed vibe.

Perfect weather, actually.

I ran into a few friends at the event, as I always do here. My daughter in-law Caitlin (okay, my son's ex, but she'll always have a place here *taps heart*) spent the day in downtown Oshawa with some Toronto friends, and my pal Josh, who has taken the local craft beer scene by storm since his introduction to good beer only a few months ago, was in the house, courtesy of his friends Linda and John, who are the creators of the fine home brew I have been enjoying of late.

Matthew, of Brewer's Pantry fame, showed up late in need of a drink and with good reason. His Bowmanville brewer's supply store - Linda and John are among his customers - suffered another flooding that morning, and this time the damage may put him out of business for a while.

Like I said, he was in need of a drink.

Jen and Heather. At least one of these beautiful ladies
is a certified beer expert

But brewery folk stick together and here's hoping there's a way to get Matthew back on his feet again soon.

The collaborative nature of the craft beer scene was never more apparent than during set-up, when Matthew's friends and frequent collaborators at Manantler suffered a technical tragedy: Matt (of Manantler) discovered his regulator was busted. That's a big deal: without a working regulator he can't pour beer, and that puts Manantler at a big disadvantage if they want to win the People's Choice Award. Or just pour beer.

So I was asked to make my brewery rounds again, only this time to ask if anyone had a spare regulator.

No, no, sorry no and repeat.

The regulator!

I had just two more to ask when a regulator was found (not by me) at the Sawdust City booth. Garrett, in a fortuitous stroke of luck (he had no idea it was in his tool box) was able to lend one to Matt (for the price of a few beers) and, with help from Chris from Muskoka Brewery, was able to get the taps flowing in time for the thirsty customers.

(While I'm talking about Sawdust City and Muskoka - cottage country brewing neighbours - I have to give them both big props for medalling Monday at the U.S. Open Beer Championships, one of the largest blind tasting competitions in the world.

Muskoka earned bronze for its Shinnicked Stout, while Sawdust claimed two medals: silver for Gateway Kolsch, which was at the festival and also a huge seller at the bar, and gold in the Berliner Weisse category for Corioilis Effect. Well done.)

Me and the lovely Caitlin, my (ex) daughter-in-law

The other breweries were having a blast as well, and I made certain to have a chat with Nick at the Great Lakes booth and to make sure they were carrying lots of Octopus Wants to Fight IPA, my reigning Beer of the Year.

Just in case I was able to enjoy a sample at the end of the show.

"No worries," Nick assured me. "We took twice what we thought we were going to need."

Smart thinking.

With a couple of hours to go before last call, I was told by Darryl to find a dustpan and start cleaning up the street, which turned out to be a profitable move: I found $12.10!

I also found a few People's Choice tickets, which I stuffed in the ballot boxes at Muskoka and Sawdust City for helping my pals at Manantler in their time of need; and a few tokens, which were given to friends I met on my travels.

A couple went to Danny and his pals, and Danny was absolutely raving about the Summer IPA on tap at Rouge River, and insisted I try a sample. I had the brewery's Spring IPA and wasn't blown away, but this New England-style IPA did exactly that.

Chris from Muskoka Brewery.
One of the day's heroes

Wow. With great gobs of peach in the aroma and on the tongue this beer was fantastic. A serious contender in several of my Beer of the Year categories, in fact. Thank you Danny.

Rouge River, a Markham brewery which finished second in the People's Choice Awards, had an even bigger hit at the festival with their Passion Fruit Sour, which earned 5-Star ratings from quite a few people I talked to, including Danny and Jessica, who couldn't say enough good things about it.

Alas, it was long gone before I got to it.

Another big seller was, surprisingly, ciders, which were selling very quickly at our Buster Rhino's booth, along with a variety of Bellwoods beer from our beer fridge.

There was a revolving door of staff and volunteers at the booth, selling food (pulled pork and brisket sammies and poutine, mostly) as well as beer and cider, but I mostly remember staffers Nancy and Shannon and the lovely but just a little bit crazy Candice (see ice bath pic) smiling for the long line of customers.

The smiles were evident on the festival-goers, who sure looked like they were having a good time from my vantage point. But they also had a bad case of the dropsies.

The average number of shattered sample glasses at previous festivals is about half a dozen but this year the number was closer to 20.

After a long hot day volunteering, Candice
deserved an ice bath. Right?

Go figure. Even the crack security team we had this day had no idea why.

The security chief (name withheld for security reasons of course), said the festival-goers were certainly behaving, as they always do.

In all the years he has worked the festival his crew has only one security incident - they had to take a dude down - and that, he added was an "impressive record" for any major event involving alcohol.

Super professional team, by the way, and good guys.

I was even called an 'MVP' for removing all the broken glass from the street with my trusty dustpan.

I was in the midst of glass clean-up duty when I stopped at the Great Lakes booth about an hour before close. Nick had promised to save a little Octopus for me, so I thought it was safe to have a sample.

It was about 20 minutes later when I found the $10 under a vacated table and in all my excitement I forgot I really wasn't supposed to be drinking beer while I was actually working and getting paid.

Which is what Darryl reminded me - in no uncertain terms - when he spotted me with my third 5-ounce sample of the day, a most delicious Full Time IPA from Beau's Brewing.

Sorry boss.

The awesome young women from Old Flame Brewery,
the People's Choice winners for the third straight year

(The next day he broached the subject again and pointed out that if I wanted to drink a little early, all I had to do was clock out and 'volunteer' the rest of the day. Hmmm. Something to think about.)

The festival wrapped up at 8, but I was busy on garbage patrol and in helping with the breakdown, and it was 90 minutes later before I punched out and headed out to the patio to join several tables of staff and volunteers enjoying the fruits of their labour: free beer and food on Darryl's dime.

And we took full advantage, enjoying good beer and in the company of good friends until about 1 a.m.. Thank you Darryl. Thank you Beth.

But I really wanted to try that Passion Fruit Sour from Rouge River. Next year I think I'll volunteer.

The Numbers

This year's festival seemed busier that previous events - I have been to all five - but the attendance remained about the same as the last two: 1,500 people.

But we sold more beer ! We sold some 1,900 litres worth, which translates to about 13,350 sample glasses. That's up quite a bit from 2016's 11,500 servings.

The Gold in the People's Choice Awards went to Port Perry's Old Flame Brewery for the third consecutive year. Rouge River earned Silver and the Bronze went to Cowbell from far-off Blyth, a little town nearly 250 kilometres to the west.

See you next year!

Cheers!

Durham Craft Beer Festival this Saturday

The largest beer festival between Toronto and Ottawa and the best beer festival between - no, the best beer festival, period - takes place this Saturday in downtown Oshawa.

The 4th Annual Durham Craft Beer Festival kicks off at 12:30 (11 am for V.I.P.s) on a closed-off Ontario Street at King Street, which is conveniently located next to Buster Rhino's, the host for this event.

The festival is a guaranteed good time and this year's lineup of brewers is, in my humble opinion, the best one yet, with fifteen breweries - there may be a late 16th entrant  - pouring some pretty awesome beers.

I don't want to overstate this, but the lineup is beyond stellar, and it didn't even have to leave Ontario.

Locally there's my personal brewing heroes Manantler (Bowmanville); two-time People's Choice winner Old Flame (Port Perry); silver medal winning Second Wedge (Uxbridge); and newcomer Falcon (Ajax) from Durham Region.

Rouge River will also be here, and Markham is practically local.

Rainmaker Porter (Second Wedge), Dirty Blonde (Old Flame), Bitter and Brown ESB (Falcon) and Passionfruit Sour (Rouge River) are just a few of the local brews that will be pouring.

Toronto is bringing out some heavy hitters as well, highlighted by Great Lakes, a two-time Canadian Brewery of the Year and the makers of so many great IPAs it would unfair to mention just one.

Octopus.

The city's east end, which has recently been declared a must-visit zone (by me), provides us with the other three breweries: Left Field, Muddy York and Rorschach. I can vouch for all three: they make amazing beer.

Great Lakes, as always, will keep us guessing until festival day, but their fellow breweries from the Big Smoke will be bringing Laser Show Vermont IIPA (Left Field), Truth Serum (Rorschach) and Gaslight Helles Lager (Muddy York), just to name a few.

From cottage country we have two major players in the Ontario craft beer scene in Muskoka and Sawdust City, and from either side of the province we have Cowbell (everybody needs more cowbell), Beau's, Railway City and Big Rig.

That means Absent Landlord Country Kolsch (Cowbell), Full Time IPA (Beau's) and Alpha Bomb IPA (Big Rig) will be available to enjoy.

Like I said, stellar.

Expect about 1,500 people in attendance, 75 or more different craft beers and a whole lotta fun, said Darryl Koster, the festival co-host (with wife Beth) and my favourite publican.

"You're going to have a great time," Darryl promised. "It's an awesome fun day. Come out and have some craft beer with friends and enjoy yourselves."

Tickets are $25 ($30 at the door) and include five tokens and a festival sample glass. VIP tickets are $75 and grant you early access, 25 tokens and a VIP lunch.

This will be my fifth festival (there were two in 2014) and the first in which I will be working, so this will be a different experience for me. In other words, I will be sober, but still lovely company.

So come out and say hi and look for the smiles from the rest of our staff, as well as all the volunteers that help get this beer festival off the ground.

And have yourself an awesome time.

Cheers!

Two year old Enjoy After makes the grade

It was nearly the eve of the LCBO's strike deadline last week when I walked into an outlet in Toronto and was reminded that the Crown Corporation - one of the world's largest purchaser of alcohol - does serve a useful purpose every now and then.

The potential work stoppage was averted at the 11th hour, as I and many, many others predicted. But the negotiating ploy did its job, driving up sales to Ontario customers who were worried they might not get their hands on their booze in time for the Canada Day weekend.

But I'm not here to criticize the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. The union has a reputation to keep, the employees have families to support and management has the Ministry of Finance watching their backs and their bottom lines.

No, I'm here to praise them. Because I walked out of that outlet, located conveniently en route to my childhood home in Downsview, with several hard-to-find beauties, including Rochefort Trappiste 10 from Belgium, one of the highest rated beers in the world, and Brew Dog's Elvis Juice, an IPA I hadn't tried from my father's hometown in Scotland.

The real prize was a special bottle from California, the last one on the shelf in fact: Stone Brewery's Enjoy After 07.04.16 Brett IPA.

I have had several versions of their Enjoy By series of Imperial IPAs, where you are reminded that IPAs are meant to be enjoyed fresh, with the 'enjoy by' date inscribed right in the name of the beer.

But their Enjoy After series spins that convention on its head by adding Brettanomyces, a wild yeast that brings about "charmingly unpredictable complexities of spice, funk, acidity and more" as it ages.

In short, it's an IPA that is meant to be aged.

The only confusion I had was the date on the bottle. It was ready to be 'enjoyed' nearly a year before, but the store's Beer Guy said he had only just received it a week or so ago.

Does that mean it had sat in an LCBO warehouse for a year, awaiting shipment? Probably, but I already said I wasn't here to criticize the LCBO, so I'll leave that speculation to the investigative journalists out there.

I had an Enjoy After beer in my hands. That was good enough for me.

The liquor store was my first stop on a busy day which included another visit with my parents and their lawns and an after lunch itinerary with four breweries on the agenda.

I had mentioned my desire to see Rainhard, Shacklands, Indie Ale House and Bellwoods breweries - all in one afternoon - in a previous blog and I am happy to report I accomplished my goal, AND added the LCBO stop as well.

There's no need to list every beer I bought on the trip (been there, done that too many times) but there were a few which stood out.

Farmhouse IPA from Shacklands was another interesting beer from a brewery I'm going to start calling the King of the Funk. They used a Saison yeast with west coast hops to produce a beer that gave me the bitterness up front instead of the finish. More Farmhouse Ale than IPA, with funk, spices and citrus dominant, and quite good.

Armed ;N Citra from Rainhard. Most excellent

Rainhard had its usual stellar lineup, with Total Clarity, a new IPA that is now made with the brewery's house yeast standing out. I picked up a couple of those little cans of Armed 'N Citra as well because I had somehow forgotten just how good this American Pale Ale is. Smooth and light-bodied at the same time, with a huge aroma of citrus and tropical fruit and a whole lot of deliciousness.

Indie Ale House was my priority stop because of the release of Cock Puncher, their signature 11 per cent (!) Imperial IPA, and this piney hop monster didn't disappoint. But then it never does.

I also made sure to grab another couple of bottles of Rabbit of Caerbannog, a White IPA I discovered on my last visit that checked off all my spicy and citrus boxes.

(I even found myself recommending it to a customer at Buster Rhino's who was indecisive as to what to pick from our beer fridge. She gave me the thumbs up, so I'm glad I was able to spread the good word about this beer.)

The last stop was Bellwoods, and though there was nothing new and exciting at the Hafis Road location, old favourites are favourites for a reason (hello Jelly King!) and I went home happy.

But it all comes back to the Enjoy After IIPA from Stone Brewing, and I shared that with Jess and Dylan the next night post shift.

Despite its great age, it was declared an impressive beer by all three of us. Even Kolsch-loving Dylan (who, to be fair, does love his Boneshaker IPA) said it was really good, a sentiment echoed by Jessica.

She liked it enough to think about further ageing the bottle of Enjoy After 04.20.17 a friend picked up for her and Matthew on a recent border run.

Which got me thinking - again - about why my bottle was only now arriving in the LCBO system so long after its release, but only for a moment.

It was funky, smooth, a bit spicy and there was tart citrus hovering in the background. It was my first two year-old IPA and I liked it.

Let's leave it at that.

***

I was working at the bar a few night later when I ran into Dave, the Brewmaster at Falcon Brewing in Ajax and a regular customer. With Dave was Joe, a buddy and amateur brewer from Portland, Oregon - one of the world's great beer capitals - and he was raving about Canadian beer and the Toronto beer scene in particular.

We chatted about Portland and the love its citizens have for craft beer, I told him about the Stone Enjoy After beer from the previous weekend and I recommended a couple of local beers for him to try from the tap list.

He, in turn, promised to go home and spread the word about all the world class beer we are producing in Canada.

Thank you good sir.

Cheers!

Creamed by Bickell (for a great cause)

Awards shows - especially in the world of sports - are usually drab affairs, filled with dull speeches and highlight reels we've all seen before.

But last week's NHL Awards Show from Las Vegas was a little different. The league tried to dress it up by having the NHL's newest franchise host it and holding the expansion draft at the same time.

Boring.

That was my response, at least until Bryan and Amanda Bickell came on to the stage and brought the house down. Brought it to tears, anyway.

Bryan was a veteran left winger with three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Black Hawks on his resume who was forced to retire at the end of last season after contracting Multiple Sclerosis. He had spent ten years with Chicago and after being traded to Carolina last off-season had begun 2016-17 with high hopes. But just a handful of games in he received the MS diagnosis.

Bryan and Amanda Bickell with the Stanley Cup and a 'Stanley Pup'

Two months later he was back practicing and after a rehab stint with the club's AHL team In Rockford he suited up for the Hurricanes for the last four games of the season.

They would be his last.

He and his lovely wife Amanda - sweethearts since Bryan left the little village of Orono (where Durham Region meets cottage country) at 16 to play junior hockey in Ottawa - were both honoured with a moving tribute that highlighted both Bryan's actions on the ice and his family's struggles to make sense of the disease (which affects the central nervous system) that ended his career.

It was really very touching. I wasn't planning on sticking around to watch the whole thing - Austin Mathews was going to win the Calder and Connor McDavid was a shoo-in for the Hart, so what else did I need to know? - but I'm glad I did.

The best thing about the tribute wasn't the highlights of his career, which included nine goals in a memorable 2015 Cup Final and a shootout goal - the first of his career - in his final game and on his final shot - but the glimpses of the life he shares with Amanda and their two very young daughters as they look to turn a new chapter in their lives.

It was a beautiful moment.

But why am I talking about a hockey player and his family in a beer blog, you ask?

Because Bryan ventured down to Bowmanville to brew a beer with my boys at Manantler and my friend Matthew from Brewer's Pantry, with a portion of the proceedings going to the Bryan & Amanda Bickell Foundation, which funds training for rescued pit bulls to work as service dogs for people with MS as well as other good works.

The NHL, by the way, kicked in $20,000 for the foundation.

The beer is called Creamed by Bickell and is (naturally) a Cream Ale. It's also quite good, with an aroma of toast and light citrus. It's really easy drinking, with bits of spice and lemony hops.

The brewers Matthew, Chris and Bryan
with Amanda, Kinslee and Makayla

So good I bought four at Friday's beer release party at the brewery. I chatted with Matthew and Jessica (who were both busy helping to organize the event) before lining up with a few other fans of hockey, good beer and wonderful stories to to meet Bryan (who shares the same birthday as Number One Son Matt as well as my father) and get the bottles signed.

I told him that after watching the NHL Awards Show that he and Amanda were my new heroes, and I repeated those words a few minutes later to Amanda (who was holding her littlest one, Kinslee) while my purchases were being rung up.

She graciously thanked me and watched with amusement as Kinslee reached out repeatedly to grab my hand.

"She's not after your fingers," Amanda said with a laugh. "She's after your beer."

Bryan Bickell and the beer blogger

These Orono kids grow up so fast don't they?

I was thinking about how I might get a few bottles out to my pals Don and Robert out Burlington/Hamilton way, being big hockey fans, but the logistics were posing some difficulties and when the requests for bottles came in when I got home I knew they were out of luck.

"I would love one," said Number Two Son Cam. "Okay, you got one," I replied. "I would like one too," said Number Three Son Jake. "Uh, J Man, you're only 15," I countered. "I just want the bottle," he said. "You can have the beer."

Thanks, son.

Then I reached out to my old and dear friend Terrine (okay, she's not old, but she is a dear), who is a huge Hawks fan. And that left just one for me.

Sorry guys.

There's still plenty of bottles left at the brewery. They're likely not signed, but the beer is good and it's for a great cause.

Cheers!