Deadpool with the Redmond boys

As a Marvel comics guy, I try to keep up with all the movies the entertainment giant puts out.

But my usual movie watching partner is my youngest son and the J Man has lost interest in going to the movies these days, so I've fallen behind. I still haven't seen Black Panther and I ended up watching the latest Avengers blockbuster alone.

So when Deadpool 2 was released last month I was determined to find a date for the movie. First up was Jake but his response was predictable: "No thanks Dad, but thanks for asking."

Imma go with that response anyway.

I moved on to women next, but their responses weren't any more promising: "Sorry, I'm too busy this week," and "I'm washing my hair that night," and "That'll be $1.75 sir. Next customer please."

Deadpool!

I figured I might be seeing Deadpool solo until I happened on a Twitter thread where my friend Hago - also know as the World's Greatest Beer Videographer - was thanking Beer Bro Don for the awesome U.S. beers he received from his recent visit with Don for the Liquid Arts Festival.

And I remembered Donny Vegas had promised me some American IPAs when he touched down from his latest trip from, well, Vegas.

"I hope you have some left," I asked him, thinking it had been a couple of weeks and Don, being much older than I, might have forgot to set a few aside.

"No worries dude. I have lots left for you. When are you coming down to get it?"
"How about this weekend," I offered. "What are you doing Sunday?"

Daddy and David. I told you
he was a great hugger

As it turned out, he had his son David over for the weekend and Sunday's schedule had but one item circled in red on their itinerary: Deadpool 2. "You are welcome to come," he said.

I'm in.

I see my old college chum a bunch of times through the year but I don't get to see David often enough. He's just about the coolest kid around - though, at 27 he's not really a kid anymore - and he might just be the best hugger on the planet. I'm not going to say no to this invitation.

So after visiting my folks in west end Toronto, and after a stop at Bellwoods-Hafis to pad out my mini-case of tasties from Town, Little Beasts and Manantler, I headed to Oakville and Falgarwood Estates.

We didn't waste much time after my arrival before we piled into my whip for the short drive to the Cineplex theatres on Winston Churchill.

I didn't think it was that funny, but
David clearly did

The movie was amazing - no spoilers here for those who haven't seen it, but it was incredibly funny - and the company was excellent, and we followed up the movie with dinner and beers (for Don and I) at 3 Brewers, a regular meeting place for our beer sharing.

It's also where I learned there is one thing you can do to wipe the perpetual smile off David's face: steal his fries. I snuck one fry away from him, which elicited a pause and a raised eyebrow. The second stolen beer-battered fry, however, earned me the 'look' and an unspoken message that I should keep my eyes on my own fries.

Sorry buddy.

We headed back to Falgarwood Estates after dinner for a quick pint before I had to turn the car in the direction of Oshawa and head home. Don's offer to stay and drink was tempting, but, you know, work in the morning and all that.

Which just left the beer exchange. Don got his four-pack and then he gave me his care package, which included - just for starters - a foursome of wicked beers from the south of the border.

There was Sierra Nevada's Hop Hunter - a hop oil-infused IPA - and Lagunitas Little Sumpin'. There was also Squatter's Hop Rising (nine per cent) and Left Coast Hop Juice, a ten per cent Triple IPA.

Holy shit!

But there was more. Don also included a variety eight-pack from Wellington Brewery, Canada's oldest independently owned microbrewery and one that is enjoying a renaissance of late, with some new recipes and fresh artwork.

I've had just three of the beers so far - Upside IPA, Against the Current (a blackcurrant Kettle Sour) and Bewitched Belgian IPA - and you can colour me very much impressed.

Thanks Don. And thank David, too. Let's do this again some time soon.

Patio time (and a Brittni's Mom update)

I had a loverly time on the patio at Buster's Sunday night, chilling with friends and enjoying the cool breezes.

But this time I just closed one bar down.

I think there is some symbolism
in this photo but I'll be damned
if I can figure out what it is

Brittni was there and so was Cal and Jeff, and we enjoyed some nachos, a few beers - I finally tried a Brut IPA (Great Lake's Brutalism) - and we even got in a couple of games of euchre, with Jesse arriving after the first game to learn a few tricks.

Brittni and I (did you doubt us?) won both games. .

We also swapped stories, and in Brittni's case, that meant an update on her mom and my quest to get a date with the very beautiful Brenda.

I learned that Brenda has now been told about the blog - Blame Brittni - and while seemingly amused someone who had never met her would put her in a blog, had not yet actually read it.

Now you have something else to read Brenda.

Cheers!

Durham Craft Beer Festival returns to downtown Oshawa

If you love great beer and chilling with awesome people, the place you need to be on July 14 is Ontario Street in the heart of Oshawa's downtown for the 5th Annual Durham Craft Beer Festival.

This event has been a smash hit since its inception in 2014 and this year should be even bigger with 14 breweries (with a possible 15th) and one craft distillery coming to town for the party.

I've been to all five so far (there were two in 2014, including a Ciders and Seasonals in the fall - Not a Normal Beer Festival) and I worked last year's fest (Behind the Scenes), so I know first hand how amazing these festivals are.

It's billed as a "Celebration of talent, local ingredients and passion" and I'm on board with that.

We're expecting about 1,500 craft beer fans throughout the day so it's a pretty big deal.

This year I am volunteering, which will be a new experience for me - it should be a lot of fun, but I'm more looking forward to seeing you there. You, however, should be most excited about the lineup.

Six local breweries will be there, including three-time defending People's Choice winner Old Flame Brewery (can anyone dethrone them this year?) and returnees Falcon (Ajax) and Second Wedge (Uxbridge). A trio of new Durham Region breweries will be there as well, including Little Beasts and Town (Whitby) and just opened Chronicle Brewing of Bowmanville.

Rouge River, last year's People's Choice runner-up will be here, and they're practically Durham (they're in Markham) as well as a favourite at Buster Rhino's, the host for this event.

Great Lakes, one of Ontario's OG breweries and one of this country's finest IPA producers, will be returning, along with Muskoka, Big Rig and Cowbell. Newcomers include Collingwood, Bobcaygeon and Shacklands.

A  look at the festivities from the second festival
in the fall of 2014. Photo credit above

Also new to the festival is Georgian Bay Spirits, who will be bringing their popular Gin Smash and Vodka Smash coolers.

The Gin Smash is something I have to try.

So yeah, ya gotta go.

General Admission tickets are available for $25 ($30 at the door), which gives you a five-ounce sample glass and five tokens. Extra tokens are available for $2.

The gate opens at 12:30 for general admission ticket holders but those who want a little extra can purchase VIP tickets, which gives your early entrance at 11 am, 25 tokens, the glass, bottled water throughout the day and a VIP lunch at your leisure.

To purchase tickets, visit durhamcraftbeer.com

You want a couple of free tickets? Like and share this post and tell me why Ontario craft beer is better than chocolate. It is better, you know.

Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

Dave's Beer, sexist branding and more Bellwoods love

I have been a fan of Falcon Brewing since they opened their doors in Ajax just over a year ago.

I have been a bigger of fan of Dave, Falcon's Brewmaster, for the same length of time.

But I haven't found a Falcon brew that I could call my own in that time. There have been plenty of good ales, but with the recent explosion of breweries in Durham - there are now 13 that now call the region home - it has been tough for Falcon to stand out in a sea of excellence.

That's all changed now and for me, it started when I had my first sip of Beyond the Pail IPA. I was at my local - big surprise - and I was staring at the tap list trying to decide which of the mostly new beers listed I was going to try.

I saw Beyond the Pail IPA at the very bottom of the board and asked for #12. "Give me a pint of Dave's beer," I said to Shanice, who was working the bar.

One sip and I knew I found my Falcon beer. So fruity - tropical fruit, mostly - and so smooth and delicious. "This is really good," I said, and when my pal Danny walked past - having heard our conversation - I said the same thing to him.

Dave Draper - Falcon Brewing's Madman Brewmaster

"This is it Danny," I said. "You gotta try Dave's beer."

And who should happen to walk in at that very moment? Why Dave, the Madman Brewer himself.

An Oshawa resident, Dave is a frequent visitor to Buster Rhino's, so his appearance was no surprise but oh, the timing!

So we sat at the bar and talked about the process he used to make Beyond the Pail - it's all Citra hops - while I checked the beer in on Untappd. We talked about Salem's Stout as well, and I congratulated him on the brewery's gold medal win in the Dry Stout category at the recent Canadian Brewing Awards.

I ended up drinking Beyond the Pail every chance I got over the next week or so until I (okay, I did have plenty of help) drained the keg.

The first day I walked in and Beyond the Pail was not on the board ("What? No Dave's Beer?") was also the next time I saw Dave and I told him again how much I liked the beer.

"I thought you liked it. But why did you give us such a low score on Untapped?"

That got me scrambling to my phone and the Untapped app, while Alex (the newly promoted Manager at Buster's) defended my honour ("he's been drinking it all week!") and Dave just laughed.

I sometimes write full reviews and sometimes just 'check-in' beers on the app, but I always rate the beer using a sliding scale that is not exactly very precise. Not the way I do it anyway - if I like a beer it gets a score on the positive side of the scale but I don't pay any more attention than that.

But it seems my 2.75 score out of 5 was the lowest they had received and considering how much I had been talking up the beer; well, that just won't do.

So I changed my score to 4.25. "Happy now Dave?"

Dave just laughed again.

I would recommend trying Beyond the Pail but I think it's all gone now. But if you get a chance to try Salem's Stout don't hesitate. The beer is a national gold medallist for a reason - it's really, really good.

Mostly because it's Dave's Beer.

Sex sells beer - but it doesn't have to

There has been a lot of attention lately to sexist marketing in craft beer, notably in the can or bottle art.

And Nickel Brook Brewing of Burlington, one of Ontario craft brewing's OGs and a long time favourite of mine, was front and centre in that debate.

The culprits also happen to be two of my favourite beers: Naughty Neighbour American Pale Ale and Immodest, a super delicious Imperial IPA. I love Naughty Neighbour so much, in fact, I made it my Beer of the Year for 2015.

The art for both beers was old school burlesque-themed, and while not as overtly sexist as some beer names in the craft beer world, it was still something that needed to be changed. This is 2018 and the beer scene is filled with awesome woman, both making and drinking the stuff, and it was time brewers reflected that fact in their marketing.

The re-designed Immodest IIPA from Nickel Brook

Nickel Brook was listening. My Beer Bro Don posted a pic of an Immodest can on Twitter recently and the fish-net stockings are gone in favour of some simple but cool stylized writing. It looked awesome, actually, and I jumped on the thread quickly.

I see the packaging on Immodest has changed (for the better). When did this happen? Is Naughty Neighbour next?

The question was really put to Don, who lived for many years a stone's throw from the brewery. But it was Nickel Brook - likely Matt Gibson, Nickel Brook's Marketing Manager - who responded.

The new cans launched just last week. And a revamp of our Naughty Neighbour can design is in the works.

That was fast. And some nice PR work too, which is what I told him.

Excellent to hear. Two of my all-time favourite beers so I'm happy.

It's true. I am happy, Now to go the LCBO and get some in me. It's been too long.

More Bellwoods love

I've written before about my love of Bellwoods Brewery before; especially the Hafis Road location on the southern edge of Downview, my home turf.

I've written about the beer, of course, which is world class, and includes IPAs like Ghost Orchid, my 2017 Beer of the Year, and the outstanding Jelly King line of dry-hopped Sours. But mostly I raved about the location.

It's like they were thinking of me when they opened the second Bellwoods site on Hafis Road just before Christmas in 2016. I make regular trips to my childhood home - especially in the summer when I cut the grass and do other good son chores - and Hafis Road is ten minutes or less off the 401 from the homestead.

There are even connecting highways for me - Black Creek on the west and the Allen Expressway on the east. Perfect.

Gord with Bellwoods' brand
new - and super huge - foeders

But I think it's time I rave about the people at the brewery as well. I got to know Gord, the Retail Supervisor, a bit last year, and when my weekend visiting day got switched to Sunday (Gord's day off) I got acquainted with Ashley, who is one of the coolest cats in the craft beer business.

Right near the top of my list for sure.

This past weekend was Canada Day, so I went on the Monday and I stopped by on the way home to Oshawa to find both of them working, so double my pleasure.

I had a nice chat with Ashley while I sampled the 100 Pale Ale (it was so good I had to add a bottle of it to my take-home case) and then Gord took me on a quick tour of the brewery to show off the nine American White Oak 30 bbl Foeders - giant wooden barrels that allow beers such as Sours to age with a slower infusion of oxygen - that were delivered three days before.

These things are massive (seriously - they are huge!) and they don't come cheap either, a testament to the brewery's commitment to funky beers and their barrel-age program.

And then, with my $71 box of fun under my arm (Ghost Orchid is back!) I was on my way back to the Shwa and in time to make my gym's last call to boot.

As Arnie would say, "I'll be returning." I think that's what he said anyway.

In two weeks, I reckon, just in case you kids are counting the days.

Cheers!