Beer, more beer, and saying goodbye

The biggest reason I stopped writing my beer blog was because I landed a job back in journalism as a senior editor with insauga in the spring of 2021. My creative outlet - filled for the previous eight years or so with my IPA Tales blog - was now sated by half a dozen to a dozen news stories written every day for the virtual pages of indurham.

But close behind was my increasing disinterest in craft beer and in drinking it. I still love my IPAs and my Sours and whatever else may tickle my palate but the isolation of the pandemic - and me now being so far from my friends - has made me lose interest in drinking beer, especially if I have to drink it by myself. I got into the craft beer thing because of the social aspect angle of it all. I LOVE going to pubs with my pals and love even more those pre-pandemic brewery tours with all the awesome people in my beery circle.

Those same friends have been active throughout on Beer Twitter talking about beer on the daily. I very seldom participate. I miss my friends but I'm just not that invested in what everybody's drinking anymore.

Until recently I had a beer fridge overflowing with beer - much of it old code or about to be - because I hardly drank the stuff. And now I'm on a Keto-ish diet that frowns on carbs (in an effort to shed at least 50 pounds - down 17 so far, yay me!) so I have even more reason not to drink.

So I filled a case of 24 and headed out to Oshawa to see some friends (and to enjoy a single delicious pint in a bar) and handed them out. Candice, my drinking partner for the afternoon, got first dibs and took home a half-dozen or so and I dropped in at Jeff's place to talk local politics and deliver the rest of the beers.

To make a long story short(er), I feel like a fraud, a charlatan, in continuing to write a beer blog. Not that I ever professed to have any sort of expertise in all things beer, but still. I kept my eyes and ears open and had a pretty good idea of the ongoing trends and what people were drinking. Now? It's not that I don't give a shit - I still do - but my interest is waning.

I haven't written my Best of '22 blog yet and it's now April. Will I still write it? I have the list, so sure. And I will try to find the time to write IPA Tales from time to time, but whether it's going to be about beer, I can't say.

I'm pretty sure my 14 dedicated followers are growing impatient to hear what I thought was the best beer in 2022 so I'll humour them (and you, if you're still reading) with a teaser with a few of my favourites here, and a bonus story of family as well.

• Best India Pale Lager - Coast to Coast (Cameron's)
• Best Slushie - Epoch - Banana, Peanut Butter & Chocolate (Third Moon)
• Best Porter - Sidechain (New Ritual)
• English-style IPA - UK IPA (Midtown)

Family

I have never doubted the importance of family or how much I miss mine, living as a I do with my father in Toronto, far from my kids and my friends. But that ache was especially prominent at Christmas time, and agonizingly so last holiday season with the passing of my mom.

That's also why this year's get togethers were so poignant for me and so important to my mental health. We ate, we drank - at one of the parties my younger brother and I even fought like stupid kids - and we simply enjoyed each others company.

It was the best of times, and even in the worst of times it was the best of times.

The first party was a mid-week affair in Oshawa on December 27, which was a holiday for most people because Christmas fell on a weekend. So all the kids and grandkids ended up at Matt and Mandee's place for a buffet turkey dinner, presents and way more desserts than was needed.

Kudos to the guy who made the Key Lime Pie though.

It was a beautiful time. I see Jacob, my youngest probably monthly but my other boys only a handful of times or less since the pandemic started. Adrianne, Greg and the kids? Not at all, so this visit was a long time coming.

My kids all play something and usually break out the guitars at these gatherings and have a little jam session that always makes my heart sing a little, but this time decided to spend the time catching up instead. I bought all my musicians Kalimbas - little Zimbabwean 'thumb pianos' - so a few did spend some time getting the hang of it.

Time incredibly well spent, I say. I think I was the last to go.

Next on the calendar was the annual New Year's Day dinner that Dad insisted we have even with Mom gone. Without Mom - his partner for more than 67 years - my father was not going to let slip any opportunity to have the family here.

Three made it from Oshawa and my brother Craig brought his fam in from Innisfil and despite an argument with Craig that escalated far too quickly (I'd like to say that was a rare occurrence but ...) we thoroughly enjoyed just being a family. It was important to Dad and that's what really mattered.

Two weeks later was Mom's Celebration of Life and that was a bittersweet event, as they tend to be. It had been six weeks since she left us so we all had time to reflect but I still had to pinch myself a few times that Mom was really gone.

Choking back tears while reading my speech should have been expected but still. It was hard, man.

It was nice seeing some old friends from the neighbourhood and just seeing how much everybody loved and adored my mother. It was also quite an experience in the days and weeks that followed looking at old pictures I had never seen before and reading beautiful letters from parents of children she fostered and even newspaper clippings of a life I too often took for granted.

I still miss her every day.

Here's a few more of my Best of 2022 list to cap this meandering (I'd like to say that is a rare occurrence too but ...) tale of beer and family:

Best Imperial Stout

I don't drink a whole lot of Stouts even when I am drinking but there are three I thoroughly enjoyed last year: Bellwoods Black Liquids Vol. 9, Third Moon/Counterpart Dangle and Bellwoods/Third Moon Beeramisu. My fave: Beeramisu by Bellwoods/Third Moon

Milkshake IPA

Just had a couple and both were Bellwoods Milksharks: Raspberry & Tangerine and Banana. I'll go with Milkshark - Raspberry & Tangerine.

Double IPA

Some good ones last year. Double Nelly by Badlands (named for my favourite farm/brewery dog), Time is Just a Rubber Band from 5 Paddles, Dreambelly by Badlands/Counterpart, Double Monogamy - Vic Secret from Bellwoods and Double Justu by (once again) Bellwoods.

Almost went with the old favourite Double Jutsu but picked the beer that smelled like a "tropical fruit garden" instead: Dreambelly by Bellwoods/Counterpart.

Pilsner

Three on the list for '22: Marco Polo by Indie Ale House, La Goletta by Stonehooker and Czech Pilsner by Spearhead. La Goletta by Stonehooker gets the nod here.

Work

My work - the reason I haven't been writing this blog - has been amazing, by the way. Every day that I get up and sit down at the computer to start putting my pages together has been a blessing for me and a big reason I have turned my anxiety-ridden, mildly depressive and always broke self into a happy, only slightly anxious, financially comfortable and damn near almost content person.

Most of the feedback from my work has been positive and I work with a great bunch of reporters, most of them old experienced and all very good at what they do. Not everything has been a bed of roses, of course, and the job has led to some very emotional and stressful moments. But I try to learn from them and continue to do my job with professionalism and compassion.

Pale Ale

Really, my beer of choice these days and the high octane stuff doesn't have the same attraction as it used to. So many good ones: Ratclops and Monogamy - Calypso from Bellwoods; Valkyrie from Little Beasts, Monomoth from New Rituals; Flow from Counterpart; Midnight Special from Town; Mission to Mars from Grey Matter; Nothing Really Matters from Rouge River; and Action Cat from 5 Paddles.

I liked Flow and Action Cat a lot and I really like Ratclops but the winner is a beer that has survived a new recipe (different yeast, anyway) and is STILL awesome: Valkyrie (Little Beasts).

Sours

I still love a good Sour and while Bellwoods may not have invented the dry-hopped sour style, they sure have perfected with five of my top seven Sours all coming from this Toronto brewery (with their Hafis Road site the closest brewery to my Downsview digs).

Jelly King - Montmorency Cherry, Jelly King - Cara Cara, Blood Orange, Jelly King - Bumbleberry, Barn Owl #28 and Acid House - all from Bellwoods; Funktastic Voyage (5 Paddles) and Paradise Lost - Soursop Lychee (Blood Brothers) all made my list.

I do dig cherry in dry-hopped sours. Jelly King - Montmorency Cherry (Bellwoods) is my winner.

IPAS

I did name my blog after this, so no surprise this category is last. Eleven brews on the list, including Square Wheel (Town); Simple Beginnings and Doom Theory (New Ritual); Chaotic Summer (Badlands); Janky (Matron); Ghost Orchid, Monogamy - Pacifica and Roman Candle (Bellwoods); and three beers from my trip to Las Vegas: Atomic Duck (Able Baker), Hopps Times (Bad Beat) and Hazy Little Thing (Sierra Nevada).

Chaotic Summer (Badlands) for the win.

I'm in the midst of packing for my first trip to Vegas of the year as I try to finish this blog so I'll try to be quick - tacos, beer (and maybe a rattlesnake on my desert hike) await.

Beer Personality

It's been a tough year for Erin Brandson as her brewery, Little Beasts, is up for sale. But nobody in the industry did  as much as she did in raising a voice for everyone - especially women, people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community - who have been abused or forced to stay silent for too long.

Rise Up Award

Last May 21 a devastating F2 tornado devasted the Uxbridge community and destroyed Second Wedge brewery. But thanks to the community and to the local brewing community (shout out to Market Brewing) the Second Wedge Brewery team - led by Joanne Richter and Rob Garrard - are brewing and nearly ready to re-open once again.

Brewer of the Year

I don't get out much (I did finally get to visit Godspeed in east Toronto) so my knowledge of the folx actually making the beer I get to drink is limited. My winner is now a three-time champ, and with the sale of New Ritual comes the news (not yet confirmed) that Tim Ferriman (New Ritual) might be hanging up his mash paddle for the foreseeable future; maybe for good. Pity if that's true.

Brewery of the Year

Five on my list, including three from Durham Region: Town and Little Beasts from Whitby and New Ritual from Oshawa. Spearhead (Kingston) and Bellwoods (Toronto) are also finalists.

Tough call here, but I'm going with my new 'local' brewery: Bellwoods.

Beer of the Year

Valkyrie (Little Beasts), Chaotic Summer (Badlands) and Jelly King - Montmorency (Bellwoods) are my finalists.

Winner: Chaotic Summer (Badlands).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish packing. Vegas awaits.