Durham Craft Beer Festival:

The people. The beer. The chafing

The 5th Annual Durham Craft Beer Festival was all about the incredible people I met along the way.

Just like it is at every festival, I reckon.

The beer these wonderful people brewed, served or had served to them (lucky you) was great and all, but the beauty of beer fests is in the relations we make from our love of craft beer.

That and the chafing. Oh, the chafing.

I volunteered this year, so that meant I was on my feet for ten hours straight and it wasn't long before the physical ailments started cropping up. First it was my feet, and I was wearing my best $25 Walmart runners so I thought I'd be good.

Then my back started to go about four hours in, followed shortly after with the chafing, which got so bad I could barely walk by the end of the night. In fact, when it was all over and I was sitting on the patio enjoying a couple of pints and some chicken fingers - the reward for the staff and volunteers for a job well done - it hurt just to move my chair so others could get by.

Oh, the goddamn chafing.

But there was a bright side to volunteering at the festival, which took over Ontario Street and Buster Rhino's in downtown Oshawa July 14: free beer!

Now I may not have been getting paid to be there - unlike last year, when my three or four taster afternoon drew the wrath of my boss Darryl, that garrulous, generous and thoroughly gentrified publican who is the host of the festival.

This year I traded a salary for free stuff, though I was still representing, so I limited my sampling to about nine through the course of the day. And my sample glass was smaller than the official festival stemware, at about four ounces. so that's like ... not so much.

My duties this year were also far less taxing then the previous festival. In fact, other than delivering a few bags of ice to a couple of brewers - my pal Jeff had that job well in hand so I wasn't called upon too often - and lugging a few other heavy items when asked I didn't have to do that much, leaving me plenty of time to chat with the brew folk.

Bobby and the Cowbell gang celebrate
People's Choice gold 

Really, they are some of my favourite people.

And I was told by Beth, our co-host for the festival, to "make myself useful," so I took those instructions to heart. Technically I visited the booths and the people repping our awesome local beer to see if there was anything I could do to make their lives easier, but I was really there just to shoot the breeze and catch up with friends.

Dave and the boys at Falcon Brewery of Ajax was a regular stop and so was Second Wedge of Uxbridge, with Garret and Stephanie behind the taps. Garret even asked me to fetch them a bag of ice, which is the first time in two years that happened.

The lovely Dana at Town Brewery (Whitby) was another regular on my circuit, but as they were right beside the ice truck I was really just there to say hey. So hey Dana!

I made sure Cowbell was on my itinerary as well. Cowbell, from far away Blythe (240 kilometres to the west), debuted last year and went home with a bronze medal in the People's Choice Awards and plenty of respect from us folk on the other side of the province.

The crowds were pretty consistent at this year's festival,
despite the threat of rain

This year Cowbell earned the top prize (I sampled both their Abbey Braggot and Boxing Bruin) and I caught up to Bobby after the prestigious award ceremony to hear him call it "a win for the little people."

I may have suggested that line and Bobby may have just laughed, but six of one and half a dozen of the other, right?

The brewery stands I visited most often were right next to each other; Great Lakes and Little Beasts.

Great Lakes has always had a presence at this festival, though Troy Burtch is usually front and centre repping the GLB line of fine ales. This year, with Troy earning a promotion to Official Documentary Film Maker or some such, the baton was passed to Alex Whitlow, who is known as the "best looking, hardest working and most modest" GLB employee.

And Joe. Joe was there too.

It was at this booth that I sampled my favourite beer of the festival: a Tropical Pale Ale (packed with mango and pineapple puree and love, the can says) called Electric Circus.

So damn good I went back for seconds a little while later, and then thirds except there wasn't thirds because it sold out.

"What the hell," I demanded of Alex when he told me it was all gone, both at the festival and back at the brewery. "Tell Mike to make more!"

Joe and Alex bringing the GLB vibe to the festival

Which, yet again, illustrates my love/hate relationship with GLB Brewmaster Mike Lackey. As I wrote about a couple of years ago in Just make more, Mike, the man can be pretty cruel in the way he just up and stops the production of so many fantastic beers.

I was in the middle of my tirade when I heard a voice behind me join in the attack on poor Alex.

"Do you know who he is?"

It was Town Brewery Brewmaster Tim Ferriman, and he was definitely throwing some shade my way. So I went with it. "Yeah, do you know who I am?" and we all had a good laugh, but I still didn't get any more Electric Circus.

Garret from Second Wedge wandered over a few minutes later and someone (probably me) remarked that this must be where the cool people hang out and we laughed some more.

And then I asked for an Octopus Wants to Fight (which was at least some consolation as it was my Beer of the Year for 2016), and moved next door to chat with the team from Little Beasts.

No Erin at this festival, but the new 'A' team for the brewery - co-owner John and the always smiling Sheila, who is kinda like the 5th Beatle for Little Beasts at events (because that sounds better than the 3rd Beast) - were more than capable of bringing the love of great beer to the party.

Sheila showing off the People's Choice
Bronze awarded to Little Beasts

Little Beasts opened late last year so this was their first Durham Craft Beer Festival, and it seems it was a  big success as they went home with a bronze from the People's Choice Awards, missing silver by one vote to Port Perry's Old Flame - who were only the three-time defending champs.

I delivered them some ice at one point in the day, which made me thirsty so I stayed for a chat and a sample of Changeling (like a tart glass of cherry pie!) and Really Good Friends, a Saison brewed in support of PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

So many excellent Saisons from Little Beasts this year.

I visited Rouge River for their Blueberry Sour and even had a gin cooler - a Gin Smash from Georgian Bay Spirit Company - just to show that I'm capable of drinking something that isn't craft beer.

But it wasn't all standing around and doing nothing for this volunteer. I had to work for my free beer and swag (I got a t-shirt) and one of my toughest jobs was to bring a few beers to 94.9 The Rock's Mike Luck, who was broadcasting live at the festival.

The poor man - better known as Lucky of Rock Mornings with Craig Venn & Lucky - was trapped at the booth and getting thirsty, so I ventured out into the throngs of people to fetch him a few drinks.

There was Easy Times from his pals at Falcon, Elgin Blonde from Second Wedge (I sampled  a 3 Rocks IPA while I was there) and a Canadian Amber Ale from Big Rig.  Maybe a Dangit Bobby from Chronicle too; I can't be sure.

Mike Luck (left) and his 94.9 The Rock partner, Craig Venn.
I may have fed Lucky too many beers

Lucky (who is also the play-by-play voice of our beloved Oshawa Generals) was working so I wasn't going to give him too many, though he does work in radio so how many is too many anyway?

Real nice guy, and he said he thanked me for my yeoman's service on the air. Twice, he said.

Never heard it, so I'm going to have to take his word on it.

I was also busy for a while as a runner for my friend Riley, who was working the poutine and sandwich station for Buster Rhino's and needed fries from the kitchen on a regular basis.

That gave me a chance to see how the kitchen - which is completely different, both in design and staff, from when I worked there last year - operated under pressure.

Smoothly, I discovered, with a bigger emphasis on formality (with "yes, Chef" and "kitchen, may I?" sprinkled into the chatter) and less on the swearing.

I miss the swearing.

As the festival neared closing I was given the perfect job for someone who was now suffering from Full-Blown Chafing: walk around the site multiple times sweeping up garbage and broken glass from dropped sample glasses.

Funny how the frequency of the dropsies increased the more beers people drank. Must be a correlation.

My pal Adam. He's running for Mayor of Oshawa,
so vote for Pedro. I mean Adam

If I was taking a break from my painful walkabouts the sound of breaking glass would be the trigger to get me back on my feet, and if I didn't hear the sound of smashed glass the cries of "Opa!" that followed would guide me to the disaster zone.

Not for the first time in my life I was called a hero.

Eventually the crowds left, we got the street cleaned up and I got to drag my painfullness out to the patio so I could sit down for a spell. I stayed long enough for a couple of pints and some food and to spend some time with the staff, other volunteers and assorted brewery folk who stuck around.

In other words, my friends.

But when Candice started heading for her truck I wangled a ride a home. It was only a five block walk but I knew it would be a very uncomfortable journey.

The beer at the 2018 Durham Craft Beer Festival was amazing and the people were even better.

But oh, the chafing.