The Bucket List Beer love-fest

If there was a beer I had looked forward to trying more than Lake of Bays Bucket List IPA I couldn't remember what it was.

The beer was created by a team of experts - 13 in all - who travelled to Lake of Bays Brewhouse in downtown Huntsville last April to show veteran brewer Andrew Walsh how to properly and ethically take credit for brewing an IPA.

Because despite the heroic efforts of myself and other members of the ragtag pack of (alleged) beer influencers to perform vital duties such as dumping the malt in the tank (without losing the bag in the process) and cleaning said tank out of spent malt after the first boil, it was Andrew who did all the important stuff.

I still want a medal though.

Anyway, it was a fantastic day filled with great hospitality from the brewery staff - including owner Darren Smith - and good friends and we ended up brewing a West Coast-style IPA that we all knew would be the best IPA ever because we brewed it.

The original art - credit David (top left) - depicting
the remaining members of the Huntsville
Brew Crew in Phantom Donnie's hotel room

With Andrew's help of course.

But that was back on April 13, while the ice was still on the surrounding lakes and the promise of summer seemed so far away.

Fast forward to July and still nothing but crickets from our friends at Lake of Bays, so one of our group - Ottawa Matt, I'm pretty sure - asked what was up with Bucket List?

I'm glad you asked, replied Jackie and Emma, the brewery's social media mavens: "You all will be receiving packages in the mail very soon."

Except for you, Glenn. Could you send us your address again? We seemed to have misplaced it.

Turns out the shit-ton of hops we threw in the tanks made the beer a tad pricey to make on a large scale so they just made the one batch; intel which was unearthed by the investigative skills of my pal Don, who used to  work for newspapers back in the days before #fakenews, so you know you can trust it.

I do, anyway.

(Lake of Bays has said  they might make the beer their regular West Coast IPA in the future - probably with a tweak to the hop recipe from 'shit-ton' to 'lots and lots' - so perhaps we will see this beer again one day.)

In any event, packages were indeed sent out to the lucky 13 via Canada Post and on July 25 Sudbury Danny was crowing about his shipment of three cans, each adorned with a Broken Axe Pale Ale label.

Wait, what?

The same day he posted a new pic on Twitter, this time with a label - designed by artist extraordinaire David Buist - depicting an epic moment near the end of that wonderful night when the five of us (of 13) who were still standing (and drinking) invaded Beer Bro Don's hotel room.

(Don - hereby known as Phantom Donny - had disappeared - 'Phantomed' - about an hour before. We tracked him down and after banging on his door long enough to wake him - and an irate motel manager as well - we watched the Leafs-Bruins game and drank Lake of Bays beer for an hour while Don slept. And then we got kicked out by the aforementioned motel manager. Good times, good times.)

Danny (bottom central in the pic) had taken it upon himself to 'personalize' his cans with David's art, which was a stunningly brilliant idea. I don't know how many others in the group followed suit, but I know I did.

After I finally received my beer mail the next day.

And here is the art immortalized on a can of
Bucket List IPA (delicious!) and on my
personalized glass too!

Actually, I was sure I wasn't going to get my beer until the Monday because it wasn't on my porch when I got home from work, nor was there a note from Canada Post telling me to pick up my package from the nearest outlet.

And then Roy and Kat, who live upstairs, handed me a package that was delivered to their unit by mistake.

The truth is I was a little hesitant to get too excited about the beer because I've gone so deep into the Hazy IPA craze that true, piney West Coast-style IPAs have been leaving me, not exactly cold, but cool at best these days.

Would I love the beer we made?

If my post on Twitter was any indication, yes. Yes I did.

Gorgeous pour, with pine, a little ripe citrus and some back-end bitterness. I think I did a great job brewing this!

My post also earned high praise from Ottawa Matt, who has been scoring our beer pics on Twitter ever since Huntsville: Level 166 glassware combo. New high score bonus. Carves himself off and puts himself front and centre bonus hahaha. Palm tree of sorts foliage bonus. 1 ups Danny bonus.

I actually loved this beer. Almost as much as I loved taking credit for brewing it.

Thank you Huntsville Brew Crew. And thank you Lake of Bays Brewhouse.

Cheers!

A Spiegelau story

My love affair with Spiegelau glassware didn't last long, as I discovered mere weeks after I purchased my first (and only) four-pack of the glass (designed with IPAs in mind) in 2014.

The glass was created in collaboration with American craft beer legends Sam Calgione (Dogfish Head) and Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada) to support the "complex and volatile aromas" in IPA-style beers.

Something about the beer re-carbonating itself and re-releasing the aromas every time you raise the glass to your lips, if I recall.

Broken dreams...

They also break really, really easily, and three-quarters of my initial purchase (on sale at The Bay) came out of the sink in pieces (despite my best efforts to be gentle) really, really quickly.

My last glass stuck around for another six months or so, and then I was Spiegelau-free until I started acquiring brewery glassware a couple of years later.

My beer brothers seem to have a love-hate relationship of their own with the glasses. I know Don owns a bunch and is forever breaking them but still buys them. Polk, on the other hand, seems to be singing their praises a fair bit. So maybe it's just me.

Last weekend, all three in my collection - from Town, Muskoka and Manantler breweries - ended up in the dish rack at the same time. The Manantler glass, by the way, went home with me after my last visit to my once and always favourite brewery just a  couple of days before.

The legendary Spiegelau glass

The glasses were braced in the rack by a large baking sheet, and when dumb ass me removed the sheet, catastrophe ensued. Two of the glasses fell in the dish rack - which seemed innocent enough - while my Manantler glass cleared the rack and allowed gravity take it down.

I got a foot out quickly to cushion its fall, but it still hit my ceramic tiled floor hard.

And it didn't break.

I was shocked, but pleased at the turn of events, and I quickly put all three glasses away safely before anything else happened. And then I, bare of foot as I was, looked back at the floor and saw the two broken pieces of glass.

Damn. So I retrieved the three glasses and looked at them, carefully this time. And it was the Town glass, which appeared to have been struck by the baking sheet in just the right (or wrong) spot.

And now I'm short one more Spiegelau glass.

Hammer Time!

I really, really dig Hamilton's beer scene.

My most recent trip to the Hammer was my seventh by my count (keeping in mind I spent three years in Grade 11 Math) in the past 18 months or so, which is a lot of trips for a beer loving but budget conscious fellow such as myself.

My frequent visits is a reflection both of the local beer scene - hopping! - and of the people in the GTA's second city.

I've been there to see friends and my tribe (four times), as well as trips with friends AND to see friends (three times). And each and every time I paid a visit
to at least two and usually four of Hamilton's six world class breweries.

I had been talking up Hamilton so much my friends Candice and Marie finally snapped and told me they would seal my mouth shut with duct tape (Candice) and zip ties (Marie) if I didn't take them there and show them what the fuss was all about.

Wrong Hammer? Sorry...

Well, twist my arm (much less painful than the previous suggestions - zip ties? - geez, Marie) and call me thirsty, I'm in, I said, and on July 20 we piled into Candice's truck and headed west to Hamilton.

With a quick pit stop at Little Beasts Brewing in Whitby first to whet our whistles and to stock up on Valkyrie, the official beer of summer in Asgard for the last millennia, and now my beer of summer for the millennia to come.

(I don't want to harp on how much I love this Kviek-yeasted ale - John and Erin at the brewery are well aware - but I really, really love this beer.)

Also there were pop-ups - Pierogi Me (sooooo good), Pretty Pennie Jewelry (somebody got new earrings) and Smiles Apparel - to help entice us in. And Erin was there slinging suds, so there was that too.

Getting the party started at Little Beasts

Our thirsts quenched, we hit the road once more, with the plan to hit up west end Hamilton breweries Fairweather and Grain & Grit first - they are practically right across the street from each other - and, if time permitted, detour a few minutes further west to the historic village of Dundas (now part of Hamilton) to meet up with Marie's friends Lynn and Kerry at Shawn & Ed Brewery.

But we all know what Robbie Burns said about the best laid plans of mice and beer drinkers, and despite Candice gently urging fellow Hwy 403 and QEW travellers to "pick up the pace Grandpa" and "get out of the passing lane if you're only gonna do 130," time did not, in fact, permit, so when we arrived at Fairweather I suggested to Marie that maybe her friends could meet us here instead?

Fairweather Brewery

"Already on it, " she said, and shortly after we got her drinks in and had a look at the brewery's bottle shop, her pals arrived to help us sample Fairweather's fine selection of beers.

This brewery has always been a favourite of mine, mostly because they deliver consistent winners - High Grade IPA, for example, is world class - and I was glad I was able to share the experience with my friends.

Also, Fairweather is dog-friendly and who doesn't like to pet a few pooches whilst enjoying a beer?

The two standouts at Fairweather this day (besides High Grade) were One By One Idaho Gem (part of their single hop pale ale series) and Silky, a coffee and cacao Porter that was my pal Don's Porter of the Year last year and is likely to be my selection in that category this year.

Silky drew rave reviews from all of us, in fact. Marie said she had a mic drop moment, declaring it would be her favourite beer of the day.

(By the end of the day we weren't able to change her mind. Of course, no one tried. It was super delicious.)

With the glasses empty and the dogs petted we walked/drove the 80 meters to Grain & Grit for our second stop. I chose the drive because it was really, really stinkin' hot. You may judge me if you want, but I repeat: it was really, really, stinkin' hot.

Grain & Grit was - of course - packed inside so we baked in the heat out on the patio (karma?) while we enjoyed our pints. It was debatable if inside was any cooler anyway.

I know at least one of these is mine...

The beer was on point.  In the Palms IPA was its usual delicious self, while Cherry Picker Sour and Hop Charmer, a new IPA, also stood out.

The company was first rate as well and I got along famously with Kerry, who appears to have the same sense of humour I used to have, back when I was capable of a relationship married.

It seems to be working for him, but I'm twice-divorced, so far be it for me to offer any advice...

But we had to break up the band at this point, as Kerry and Lynn had to get back to Dundas and the rest of the Musketeers had a scheduled celebrity date downtown at Merit Brewing and we didn't want to be late.

See, I know a couple or three beer 'influencers' in the Hamilton/Halton area and I promised the ladies I'd try to arrange something to spice up the day.

So I got in touch with my Beer Bro and college chum Don - who Candice knows well from our Barrie adventure last December - and also reached out to the Polks - Drunk Polkeroo and Lady Polk, as they are better known - who are essentially beer royalty in these parts.

Robert (Drunk Polkeroo) and Kathryn (Lady Polk) with
Merit co-owner Tej Sandhu

They're all smashingly awesome people, as well as my really good friends.

Don, unfortunately, was working this day, so I promised we would stop in at his Beer Store in Oakville on the way back to say howdy and maybe drop off a couple of beer goodies.

But the Polks - Robert and Kathryn - were available, and Kat and I agreed on 4:30 at Merit Brewing in downtown Hamilton to catch up and to meet my friends. And it was already four.

So we piled  our purchases into the truck, and headed into the core of the Hammer for our rendezvous.

Merit Brewing might not be the most well known Hamilton brewery outside the Steel City, but in the Hammer this two year-old brewery is the bomb diggety for the twenty-something and thirty-something downtown crowd. They're attracted by the big open concept space inside, with views of James Street at one end and the brewery at the other; the delicious sausages and other delectables on the menu; and, of course, the beer.

Candice, Robert, Kathryn, myself and Marie at Merit Brewing

You won't see Merit beers in the LCBO, Beer Store or grocery stores and you will find them in only a select few local bars. You want Merit beer? The brewery is where you'll get them.

It's popularity means it's usually super busy and it took a bit to find five spots at one of the communal tables after we are all assembled, but with all Merit had to offer and great friends for company, it was more than worth the wait.

(Really, though, it was just four spots and I was squeezed very tightly between Lady Polk and Marie, which I suppose is actually a good thing.)

The beer was the bomb, with Take a Knee Hazy IPA, Young Rival IPA and Takes Two to Mango the memorable brews for me. Unfortunately they were out of Waves & Waves & Waves, a raspberry, blackberry and vanilla Sour brewed in collaboration with Dugges Bryggeri of Sweden.

(Marie, being Swedish and all, really wanted this beer. Candice, being a lover of awesome fruity sour beers, really, really wanted this beer. So it was a good thing I got her a bottle two weeks before when I was in town visiting my friend Shona. Sharing is caring, Candice.)

So there we were, talking beer and life with the Polks, enjoying dinner (butter chicken sausage with mango for the win) and some fine ale, and it occurred to me that catching up with old friends and meeting new ones is a pretty special way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

But we had one more brewery on our agenda and Robert, who had already worked an eight hour shift this day, had a date with a backyard swimming pool back at the Grotto.

Two beauties. Marie and Candice in front
 of the Liquid Arts mural at
Collective Arts Brewery

(The Grotto, by the way, is located mere minutes from the one Hamilton brewery I have yet to visit: Clifford Brewing. But I did get to enjoy some Clifford brews, as Polk gifted me a couple of cans of Artificial Paradise, a 7.1 per cent IPA made with Citra, Amarillo & Galaxy hops. He received a bottle of Valkyrie from Little Beasts in return.)

So we said our goodbyes and drove the three kilometres north to Hamilton's harbour area and our final beer stop: Collective Arts.

This is the brewery that has the most exposure in LCBOs around Ontario and as it's located in a former Lakeport Brewing facility, it has the most capacity to do so. And with boy wonder brewmaster Ryan Morrow at the helm, Collective Arts has been conjuring up delicious brews since its inception six years ago.

And we wanted some of that.

Polk had tipped us off to two beers we should try if given the chance, though the brewery's fame meant the brews go fast. So we missed out on Orange Chicken IPA, a collaboration with Jing-A Brewery of China, which is too bad, as it has been my life mission to drink an IPA made with one of my favourite Chinese dishes.

The Collective Arts beer fridge

Maybe not life mission, but since I heard of it (today) anyway.

But no Orange Chicken IPA left, and none of the Surround Sound Version 4 (Chinook & Citra) either, but they did have it on tap and it was delicious.

Candice, who was driving, limited herself to a taste of mine and agreed.

We did leave with Peak of Fluorescence, a new 8.1 per cent Imperial Pale Ale made with Citra & Nelson Sauvin, as well as Pina Colada Sour and a few other goodies. Marie picked up Thought Patterns, a dry-hopped Lager, as well.

And at that we left Hamilton behind, with just one brief stop in a certain Oakville Beer Store before the long drive home.

Candice and Don

Don, my Beer Bro and college chum, was at work but hardly working, so he spent a few minutes with us chatting about beer, children and more beer.

I also gave Don a can of the new Hop Charmer IPA from Grain & Grit (released the day before) and a bottle of Valkyrie. Natch.

Previous brewery invasions came up in our brief talk - Candice, Don and I were willing participants last December in Barrie and in December, 2017 in Whitby as well - and Don and I talked about the upcoming 613 Craft Brewery Invasion coming up in Ottawa next weekend.

And then customers started coming into the store and the man had to go back to work.

Next stop: home.

It was a helluva day with great beer and even better friends. 'Till next time Hamilton!

Cheers!