Goodbye Matt & Jess Part Two - The Parties

It's really not surprising that for two people as popular as Jessica Billingham and Matt Chellew one going-away party would not be enough.

So they had two.

If the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa wasn't booked they probably could have filled that too, though the slippery ice would have proven to be problematic for the patrons after a few pints. Too much broken glass, I'm thinking.

But of course Matt & Jess wouldn't have held the party in a hockey arena; not when two bars filled with people who love them and are going to miss them are more than willing to host a party or two to send them on to their next adventure in an appropriate fashion.

I'm thinking I had a good time at the Friday
night party for Matt & Jess at Buster Rhino's

Though that would have been a helluva party on the ice at the TCC. But plastic cups people, because safety first.

Matt, the former owner of Brewer's Pantry and long-time bar man at the Village Inn in Bowmanville, has taken a job as a brewer at just opened Wave Maker Brewery & Distillery in Cambridge and he has taken Jess, the long-time manager at Buster Rhino's in Oshawa, with him.

So party #1 was at Buster's on the Friday night and when I walked in at ten after my work shift the place was filled and it seemed I knew every single person.

Not much cooler than seeing most of your friends in one place, especially when they're all there to tell Jess how much they're going to miss her.

Matt & Jess

I only stayed for a couple or three beers (and to have a slice of cake) because I had to work bright and early the next morning but it was plenty of time to make the evening unforgettable.

The Saturday night, though, that was a different story.

There was a crowd of us that met at Buster's after dinner for a pint and to arrange transportation to Bowmanville as this was going to a serious drinking night. Half of the group piled into Nick's car while Shannon, Adam, Brian and I took an Uber to the event.

My first Uber. Just like a taxi except ... no, exactly like a taxi. But in stealth mode.

The Village Inn is a classic pub in design, with two floors and an awesome patio that overlooks downtown Bowmanville. The bar was crowded so we headed upstairs to stretch our legs and out-wait the drizzle that had been falling since our arrival.

That kick-ass patio would be our eventual destination but first our group had to get our drinks in, put in a few food orders and get acquainted.

I had met Adam's friend's Brian and Ryan before but it was my first time meeting Aly - Ryan's wife - and she turned out to be a totally engaging and intelligent young lady. Good company all round.

And if the crowd at Buster's the night before was familiar to me and definitely all about Jess, this was all about Matt and his friends. The "best barman I have ever seen" was a refrain I heard several times and it was clear that Mr. Chellew was going to be sorely missed.

Our crowd eventually left the upstairs hangout and wandered about a bit - the Doozies put on a great show - before finding our spot for the night on the patio, where we chilled until last call before wandering back into the bar to say our final goodbyes to Matt & Jess and see if there was any more beer to be had.

Matt had arranged for six local breweries - Town, Little Beasts, 5 Paddles, Chronicle, Manantler and Old Flame - to provide kegs for the party and he also ensured that all six beers clocked in under five per cent.

Manantler's Matt Allot and semi-sober me

Smart man, our Matt.

After trying a few pints from Town and 5 Paddles, I settled on Hasheeshian, a Hop Hash Hefewizen that was a collaboration between Chronicle and Wave Maker.

Super delicious beer and it got me through to 2 a.m. still wanting more.

But last call is last call and what was left of us piled into root beer sprite-drinking Nick's car and headed back to Oshawa, where we ended up at Shannon's place, not wanting the night to end.

I raided Shannon's stash and drank a bottle of Raspberry Milkshark from Bellwoods, which I found out later was supposed to be a gift for mutual friend Jeff. As Jeff was scarfing down lobster rolls by the dozen on a east coast holiday at the time I didn't think he'd mind.

And then someone came up with the suggestion to go to McDonald's for breakfast and watch the sun come up and I stopped snoring for a second, looked at the time (it was 4:30) and said no thanks. "Take me home please."

Sometimes you just gotta know when to call it a night. And it was a night. A great night with great people.

It's just too bad two of them are leaving town.

But it's not goodbye, but just 'till we meet again.' And that will be this summer. when we take a carload or two to Cambridge to take over Wave Maker Brewery.

See you soon kids.

Heady Topper worth all the hype

I had just one more item left on my weekend to-do list: meet up with my pal Don at Bryden's in Toronto's Bloor West Village for lunch and a beer share.

My first Heady Topper

My usual routine when I know I'm seeing Don in a couple weeks is to set aside one bottle from each local brewery I visit for his care package. And as we now have 11 breweries in Durham you can see how this can get out of hand.

And then Don complains I bring him too many beers. No pleasing some people, you know?

So this time he had a special beer for me - and I knew what it was - and told me not to bring him anything.

Yeah, right.

I brought him just four.

Anyway, this is the morning after I got happy shit-faced at Matt & Jess' farewell party (part two) at the Village Inn in Bowmanville and I was seriously feeling it.

No bad headache to speak of, but I had no energy and was almost literally dragging my ass as I climbed out of bed long before noon and set my auto pilot for Toronto's west end.

The beer I was getting? That was worth the hangover for sure. Don got his hands on a four-pack of Heady Topper, the Imperial IPA from The Alchemist Brewery in Vermont that is possibly the world's most sought after IPA.

Don, in his favourite home-away-
from-home, Las Vegas

Don, being the swell guy that he is, drank one of the beers and gave the rest away to a few poor souls he knew who hadn't had the pleasure of a Heady.

Like me.

But first lunch at Brydens and a pint, both of which I nursed very slowly. I didn't really have much of an appetite and the hair of the dog hangover method wasn't really working too well.

But I soldiered on and eventually we headed to the Green 'P' lot around the corner from the restaurant to do the swap.

Don got beers from Town, Little Beasts and Bellwoods, while I got a Liquid Arts Milkshake IPA from Collective Arts ("juicy, a little tart and sooo good"), a handful of Cameron's excellent Dark and Sticky IBA (they were on sale) and one beautiful can of Heady Topper, perhaps the world's first New England-style IPA.

That was my treat that night and I was really curious to see if it lived up to its reputation. Especially since I have been wowed this spring by a couple of local Imperial IPAs: Planet Caravan (Town) and the new and improved Strange Aeons (Little Beasts).

It did. It really did live up to the hoopla. Heady Topper was big and bold, with a ripe orange and tropical fruit aroma. More orange, pine, caramel malt and delicious bitterness followed. Really, really tasty stuff.

I'd say it was worth the hype.

Thanks #DonnyVegas!

Cheers!