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!