This Remembrance Day blog was first published in 2013 and has been faithfully reprinted every year since, with a few tweaks each time. Lest we forget

I Remember

Je me souviens. I remember.

I remember my great-grandmother’s tears when she sent four of her boys off to fight in the Great War. I remember her muted joy at seeing three of them return safe but never truly sound; her son John – my father carries his name – fought valiantly during that horrible spring of 1917 before he was left behind in the deadly quagmire that was the first day of Passenchedale.

I remember English Sally, she who married a son of Pennan, walking the length of the island from her family home in the great naval port of Southampton to the north-east coast of Scotland, just to be with her man, homeward bound from the Napoleonic Wars.

I remember Alexander Hendry of Aberdeenshire fighting for his freedom at Culloden in 1746. Life for Alexander and the rest of the Scots who fought with Bonnie Prince Charlie would never be the same.

I remember a newlywed Rozel straining to deliver her baby on the very day her husband, an American loyal to the crown and kin to my children, was fighting for Canada’s freedom alongside Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights. The soldier would return safely to meet his son; his wife would not see either ever again.

I remember my Great-Uncle Charlie, who had left his wife behind while he tried to earn a living in Malaysia’s rubber industry, struggling to stay alive in a Japanese POW camp during World War II. Charlie, who served me marmalade on toast when I visited him in Rotorua, New Zealand 44 years later, risked his life to keep a diary as he toiled daily to rebuild the bridge over the River Kwai, while the good guys rained down death from above.

I remember a son of a former classmate losing his life in Afghanistan; the shock when I read the news lingers with me still.

I remember my friend's Uncle Don, a Second World War Navigator who died in battle in the summer of 1944. Don passed on his name to his nephew and his story to you.

I remember the 3rd Canadian Infantry and Pvt George Savage - father to Jamie - braving an apocalypse of bombs and gunfire to land at Juno Beach on D-Day 1944 to begin their push into Germany.

I remember other Dads from the neighbourhood and their efforts in that war as well. Art Canfield - father of Bruce, Diane and Paul - served with the Royal Regiment of Canada and Phil Hennessey - father of John - got to meet General George S. Patton.

I remember Tom McCaw - father to Janine - enjoying great meals and an accommodation upgrade on a Canadian naval ship because crew members were convinced he was King George VI in hiding.

Passchendaele

I remember Frederick Wilmot - grandfather to Nicole - who enlisted in 1941 and rose to the rank of Sergeant.

I remember Vic Shirreffs, my first father-in-law, who served as a stoker in the Canadian Navy.

I remember Royal Navy Seaman Stanley March, great-grandfather of Josh, and I remember Bill Ryan, father of Dave, who fought with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

I remember William Findlay, great-grandfather of Amy and the youngest Sergeant Major in the British Army, being awarded the Distinguished Medal of Honour.

I remember the funeral of a young man related to me by marriage who was just beginning his military career. The sound of the pipes as they played Amazing Grace sent shivers up my spine. I will never forget that day.

I remember my friend Hago, who did two tours - the first in Kosovo and the second in Afghanistan - and continues to serve to this day.

I remember Mark; and I won't forget Scottie, who earned his Marksman Award four years running in Pettawawa. I remember the future pilots at the old Portage la Prairie air base in Manitoba; and the men and women from the local armoury who come out to Karaoke at Stag's Head in Oshawa on Tuesday nights.

Commemorating the 100th anniversary
of the Armistice. Oshawa, 2018

I remember Vimy Ridge, the four-day battle in the spring of 1917 that marked - at a cost of 10,000 soldiers killed or wounded - a coming of age for Canada as a nation, as well as the end of our innocence about wars and the people who profit from them.

I also remember my friend Sandi's simple description of four members of her family who served in both World Wars: "Heroes. Each and every one."

I remember the Remembrance Day service held a day early a few years ago in downtown Brooklin for the benefit of the school children. After being so many generations removed from war it was important the kids knew what their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were fighting for, and that they would have a better understanding of what they were supposed to remember.

I  remember every soldier I have ever known and I remember those who fought and died for me and my family and for our freedom, and for the freedom that we all enjoy and too often take for granted.

I remember the families and friends of those soldiers and the tears that were shed for fallen loved ones.

I remember the blood spilled by innocents, and I remember the heartbreak of everyone affected by war.

I remember like it was yesterday the signing of the Armistice to end the Great War. One hundred and two years ago today.

I remember. So I won’t ever forget.

Downtown Whitby, Little Beasts in the spotlight

It was quite a couple of days for Little Beasts Brewing.

First up was the Ontario Brewing Awards, where the two year-old Whitby micro-brewery - last year's Best Newcomer winners at the Golden Taps - took home three silvers for Nihilist (American Porter & Stout), Strange Aeons (Strong American Ale) and La Petite Duchesse (Strong Belgian Ale).

The two-day Downtown Whitby Beer Fest immediately followed and the brewery capped the weekend by winning the People's Choice Award and the hideously adorable trophy that goes with it.

Time to take a bow, Erin & John.

Marie enjoying a pint at the Downtown
Whitby Beer Fest

Speaking of the Downtown Whitby Beer Fest, Marie and I took in the festivities on the Friday night and we both came away super impressed.

Plenty of breweries - ten, plus Social Lite Vodka - and plenty of beery options coupled with a really cool vibe.

It was supposed to rain all evening and I figured we'd get wet for sure but Mother Nature gave us craft beer lovers a break and the rain held out until the very end. It turned out to be a beautiful night to drink beer and listen to great live music.

It was my first night-time beer festival and it was really quite magical. Marie and I spent most of the evening under the big top, which was festooned with hundreds of white light bulbs that gave the feeling we were at a concert at a candle-lit street party.

Sort of like that scene in the Daredevil Netflix series (Season 2) when Karen takes Matt on a date to an outdoor restaurant lit up by hundreds of multi-coloured light bulbs shaped like hot peppers.

The Big Top

Except our bulbs were white and shaped like regular light bulbs and I'm not Daredevil.

Still pretty cool.

But before we found our seats we made the rounds of the festival, which is held in the town's Celebration Square, part of Whitby's Central Library grounds.

(Disclosure: Any positive comments on this library, which was built in 2005 because City Hall is way up on Rossland Road and the Town needed a downtown 'anchor' for special events, should be taken with extreme bias. My mother-in-law, Lene Otbo-Rozel, was a key member of the award-winning interior design team.)

Manantler's main man Matt 

The first brewery on the tour was Manantler, so Matt Allot's smiling face was the first face we saw. Marie and I were off to a good start, I reckoned, and I started with an OMG Beckie! Look at her Brut, while Marie opted to go big with a Seismic Narwhal IIPA.

All of Nothing from Oshawa was in the house, as was Brock Street, and I congratulated the Brock Street team for the their four medals at the OBAs, including a gold for their Scotch Ale.

Little Beasts was also down the first aisle, conveniently found near the porta-potties. More importantly, John had stocked his booth with kegs of my beloved Valkyrie - which was conspicuously absent from the brewery just a few days before - as well as Little Wizards, a 'Margarita Gose' that was the result of a collaboration with Brew Wizards and was ranked high on tonight's to-do list.

But we were still sipping on our first sample, so we told John we would see him real soon.

(Pacing is important at these events, especially as the sample glass handed out wasn't your usual five-ounce taster, but a mug that held 13 ounces of brew and the six-ounce recommended pour was often closer to eight.)

Jesse Dynes of the Jesse Dynes Trio, now
re-named (in mid-session) Zack Honey.
The band, not Jesse

We walked through the tent to the other side of the festival next and said hello to Jeff, who was the hands-on owner-operator of the Town Brewery booth this night.

Jeff brought two new beers to the event: Dockside, a Citra dry-hopped Blonde (4.5 per cent) and Couch Full of Dads, a juicy 6.3 per cent IPA. Both were delicious and while my IPA was lacking a little in carbonation the aromatics were on point and the taste delivered more than enough mango and pineapple for my needs.

We stopped for a chat at Paniza, a Toronto-based homebrewer turned contract brewer currently brewing out of the Junction Brewery, and then visited the 5 Paddles booth for some of their dessert-in-a-glass Coconut Cream Pie.

After spinning the wheel and winning a free taster, I would later return for some In Your Face IPA, but the rest of the night was spent relaxing under the tent listening to great live music and making several trips to the Little Beasts booth.

But not just for Valkryrie. Little Wizards, that Margarita Gose I mentioned earlier, was a big hit for both of us but especially Marie, who raved about its orange-lime tartness and salty finish.

Dynamite carbonation too.

So that's how we nursed a couple of hours, sipping on a few Little Beasts brew and listening to a couple of bands. We really enjoyed the bluesy Jesse Dynes Trio and when the band joined our table after their set we learned from bassist Ben Green that he and drummer Jason Potash orchestrated  a coup and changed the bands name to Zack Honey.

Hideous but adorable. But not cake

Jesse, who was listening, laughed and said he was perfectly okay with it.

Safe as Houses followed, and this eclectic band (there was a cello!) was getting near the end of their  set - and the evening session - when Mother Nature came crashing in to the party.

We knew it was coming and most of the crowd was happy she held off as long as she did, but it still caused a bit of a panic when the thunder and lightening interrupted the show with Thor-like passion.

It was quite a capper on a wonderful evening.

As to that People's Choice Award, John said he was proud to win it, but initially disappointed when he got to see the trophy up close.

"I thought it was cake."

613 Brewery Invasion? What a Capital idea!

(Part 1)

The weekend of the 613 Craft Brewery Invasion ticked off all the boxes for me.

There would be beer - great beer - and there would be conversation with great friends.  Wonderful conversations, in fact, that would be equal parts funny, poignant and slanderous, but always entertaining. And there would be laughter. Lots and lots of laughter.

There would also be stories - some true, some not - about legendary St. Lawrence River Water Snakes; about Cornwall; and about the history of this great nation.

Tales would be told of adjustable prosthetic legs, and trademark issues (Juteuse et Nebuleuse AF™ is off limits, you hackers) would also come up in the chatter. There would also be (I'm told) claims of snoring. Lots of snoring.

Allegedly. But you can ask Paul about that. On second thought, don't. Suppressed memories are the best memories.

But you're not going to get all of this goodness here; sorry and all that. It's taken me more than a month to get this far.

The Parliament Buildings. Canada's most
famous phallic symbol

The weekend had been talked about since the core of the group came back from Huntsville in late April, where we took full advantage of the hospitality provided by Lake of Bays Brewhouse staff to have a marvellous time, culminating in an after-party in Phantom Donnie's hotel room.

And we returned the favour (sort of) by helping brew an awesome West Coast IPA called Bucket List.

It was an amazing weekend meeting new friends and two of the them - Ottawa Matty and Ottawa Joel - declared that the next beer adventure had to be in Ottawa. Natch.

"Our nation's capital is home to more three dozen breweries," enthused Joel. "And they're "Juteuse et Nebuleuse AF," chimed in Matt.

And there they go again, speaking French knowing I can't understand a word. I also heard Joel muttering "Glenn est bel homme" a few times over the weekend and I'm sure he was talking smack about me.

Still, they're great guys and I was quick to tell them I was in. Just let me know when, I said.

I never tire of running this image

It would be a couple of months before the date was finalized - trying to get as many people as possible to agree on a weekend is tough to do, what with work and family commitments, and it's especially difficult in the summer -  but eventually August 17 was fixed.

Now I just had to figure out how to afford the trip, especially since I sold all my credit cards and most of my worldly possessions few months before to try and corner the market on Kveik yeast.

I failed. I'm gonna need a roommate.

As luck would have it, my pal Paul (@bigpeezy) was on Twitter begging for someone to share a room. As I was unable to secure one on my own (see financial issues itemized above), I figured this was a perfect match.

So I grudgingly agreed to share a room with Paul. (But I want that begging thing noted for the record.)

And as Ottawa is a bit of a jaunt from Oshawa, I decided to book off my usual three-hour Saturday morning shift and head out on the Friday, an unusual bit of good judgement on my part.

Especially as Friday, August 16 turned out to be a beautiful day for a long drive. About four hours from Oshawa, I figured, and even quicker if you do a steady 125, which I did.

But it still took me four hours-plus, 'cause I had to make a few pit stops.

For beer.

A recent addition to Manantler's Bottle Wall of
Fame shelf. I can dig it

The first stop doesn't really count, as it was just a few minutes down the highway at Manantler in Bowmanville, and I needed to pick up a few gifts.

Most of the guys on these beer excursions send beer mail to each other on the regular. It's like Christmas, but every couple of weeks. I'm not in that snack bracket, unfortunately, but I do try and bring a few samples of the great beer we have here in Durham Region. I hit up Little Beasts the day before for some Valkyrie and now it was time to pay a visit to my once and always, Manantler, for some Eastern Promises.

Gotta make sure Durham's fine ales are represented in our nation's capital.

Turned out I wasn't the only member of the 613 Brew Crew to visit Bowmanville's OG brewery that morning.

Norm was working the bar when I arrived, and after serving me my pint he went back to working on his podcast or some other entrepreneurial thing, leaving me to chat with Corey, Manantler's talented and extremely chill head brewer.

The next time I saw Norm, who was one of the founding Wizards in downtown  Oshawa's Brew Wizards Cafe and now runs Manantler's tap room while he gets his business, North Brothers Films, up and running, was as I was leaving.

"Your roommate was here earlier," he said, in that trademark dry, slightly very sarcastic tone. "He says he is looking forward to a wonderful weekend sharing a room with you."

"He said that, did he," I responded, thinking, that's how it's going to be, huh? as I gathered my rapier-like wit about me. "Wait until Paul finds out I'm broke and I'll have to owe him for the room."

Honest. That was the best comeback I could come up with.

At Gananoque Brewery, located
in the town's historic Bell Tower

But it was still good for a laugh and I was in good spirits as I headed to my car with my purchases, with only the open road between me and my friends in Ottawa.

It was a gorgeous day for a drive and it was ... refreshing to not have to deal with traffic. Just a straight cruise through familiar places from my reporter days like Port Hope/Cobourg, past the Big Apple in Colborne (What's up Kyra?) and on through Trenton, Belleville and Kingston, where my youngest and I spent an enjoyable weekend not too many years back and where the Brew Crew looks to be headed in the new year.

It was after Kingston when I saw my gas gauge getting dangerously close to 'E' and decided a fill was in order. With the next town on the highway being Gananoque the timing couldn't have been better.

Steve, my Beer Bro and my old college roomie, is from this little St. Lawrence River town (the gateway to the 30,000 Islands), and though he now lives in far-off Wellington, New Zealand, he still has fond memories of his hometown.

A lot has changed in Steve's life since then, most notably the fact that he no longer has either of his legs, the result of a genetic nerve disorder called Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy (HSAN) Type 1.

He was diagnosed with HSAN in 2001 - not long after he arrived down under - and was in and out of the hospital 20-plus times before an infection suffered nine years later forced the amputation of his right leg.

My pal Steve enjoying Wellington's
top notch ales, as well as its views

Two years after the surgery his left leg suffered the same fate and my mate now sports nifty prosthetics that are adjustable and currently allow him to stand 6'6, which is just an inch short of his former height of 6'7, or Five-foot 19, as he calls it.

It's a story I share with you now, and I also chose to share it with Lydia, who was running the tap room at the town's own brewery, the aptly named Gananoque Brewing Company, where I stopped for a beer after filling up my tank.

I ordered a pint of Cooper's Hawk, an American Pale Ale (4.2 per cent) that not only sports a super cool name to a Raptor enthusiast like me, but was also delicious and I asked Lydia if she knew of my pal.

No, she had not, she said.

He grew up here before moving to New Zealand, I told her.

'Course he had legs when he lived here
Say what now?
Yeah, he lost both his legs due to a genetic nerve disorder
Get out!
He has prosthetic legs now. They're adjustable
Get out!
So he's actually an inch shorter now
Get out!!

So I did, but not before buying a few beers to go from the fridge, including several Cooper's Hawk APAs.

And saying goodbye to Lydia.

The next landmark was Brockville, and then it was the hour drive on Highway 416, which heads north off the 401 to Ottawa.

I wasn't pulling over to check on my friends' whereabouts, so I set a course for Beyond the Pale (BTP) - a must-see brewery that was only on the "we're gonna try a squeeze it in" part of the itinerary - before calling my pals to see where they at.

My good friend Shannon - World's Greatest Bank Teller - had transferred to Ottawa a few months back and landed a part-time job at BTP, so I was trying to make a connection before the weekend was out.

I knew she was working Saturday night, but it was worth a shot to see if she was there Friday, and if I'm going to stop somewhere in Ottawa , Beyond the Pale seemed like a good place to drop anchor.

A typical Beyond the Pale lineup

Besides, Corey at Manantler had asked me to pick him up a couple of beers, and the brewery - perhaps the best known in Ottawa - was on his list.

Shannon wasn't in when I arrived, but the place was buzzing and there were plenty of hoppy beers on tap and in the fridge. So I bought my to-go brews (including a can of Project, their single hop pale ale series, for Corey), had an Aromatherapy - one of Ontario's OG Hazy IPAs - at the bar and called the gang.

"We're in Orleans, at Orleans Brewery," said Matt, my helpful Ottawa tour guide. "Go north to Scott Street and ..."

"Hold up," I said. "I don't know where north is. Strange town and all. Which way to the St. Lawrence River?"

"The what?" was Matt's response. "The St. Lawrence is like a hundred miles away."

"I just need to get my bearings," I answered, asking again where the river I left over an hour before was, knowing I was in for a weekend of ribbing over this.

Anyway, after a few stops and starts and at least one more phone call to Matt ("my GPS wants to send me to New Orleans!"), I eventually made it to suburban Orleans and the brewery.

Spearhead Brewery President Josh getting the rundown
from Orleans Brewery Head Brewer Adam on how to
perform T-Rex dance moves

The boys - those who were arriving Friday anyway - were on the patio enjoying the late summer evening when I arrived. Matt and Joel - our hosts - were there, as well as Paul, my Beer Bro Don and Spearhead Brewery (Kingston) owner Josh Hayter.

Orleans Brewery owner Yann Lemieux was also at the table and we shared stories and pints (Billy Bob Bison Pale Ale for me) for a while until Danny, who was coming all the way from Sudbury, arrived.

We made sure our boy from the Nickel City had a beer in his hands and then Yann passed us off to Adam, who took us on a tour of the brewery and let us sample a Double IPA straight from the brite tank.

I seem to remember having to drag Don away from that tank.

I also remember us being a happy bunch as we left Orleans and headed to our respective hotels to rest up for what would be a busy five-brewery Saturday.

What else did I remember from a memorable day? I remember Paul being completely oblivious to what he would have to endure over the next two nights with me as his roommate.

But that's for another blog.

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!

All or Nothing all in for Oshawa

It was the ideal situation for Eric and Jeff Dornan, a pair of Oshawa brewing brothers who had been dreaming of opening a brewery in their hometown.

The boys already had a bricks and mortar facility after acquiring Trafalgar Brewery of Oakville in 2016, but when a former beer store on Ritson Road South - built in 1953 - came up for sale last fall they jumped at the chance to make the deal.

They had been in the beer-making game for four years at that point and had progressed from contract brewers working out of an industrial space in Oshawa, to owning their own brewery/meadery/distillery west of Toronto. Now the time was right to return to their roots in the Motor City as owners of a 25,000 sq. ft. brewery.

Eric and Jeff Dornan of All or Nothing Brewhouse

Hometown brewing heroes, you could call them.

And in case you're wondering, 'meadery' is a word. I even looked it up.

The brothers had been looking around Oshawa for a while for a location - "we had very specific criteria - and when the old Beer Store came up (and how perfect is that?) well, it was an opportunity they couldn't pass up, explained Eric Dornan at the brewery's grand opening June 1.

"When the location came up we had a look around. It was dilapidated - it was just a shell - but we could see what it could be. I turned around and said to Jeff, 'why the fuck has no one put a craft brewery in here?'"

And so they did. Pretty quick turnaround too, what with the contract signed in November and the soft opening of the brewhouse during the last week of May.

The result is a state-of-the-art 25 hecto-litre brewery (plus distillery and meadery), a tap room and event space on the main floor and loads of space out back for festivals and such.

All or Nothing's Kyra and Jenna

"We wanted to do what Steamwhistle has done in Toronto, but for Oshawa," Eric explained. "We want to make this a destination for Oshawa. We're committed 100 per cent to this city."

The brothers got their start five years ago as Underdog Brewing but after a trademark dispute changed it up to All or Nothing, which was the name of their only beer at the time, a quite good Hefenweizen, or Hopfenweisse, as they called it.

But despite the name change they still believe they're underdogs at heart, because it says so right on their website: "We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog because we see ourselves in them."

My Andre the Giant pic. (Obligatory
with 296 ml cans)

The OG All or Nothing beer is gone now, replaced (more or less) by Hustle Over Hype, a 5.1 per cent Wheat Pale Ale that uses the same yeast strain and is still tasty, as well as three other year-round brews: Think Big'Ger Cream Ale, Snooze You Lose Honey Brown Ale and Mind Over Matter, a seven per cent Meade Braggot.

During opening week the brewery also produced Celebration Lager, Blood Sweat and Tears IPA (6.7 %) and an 8.9 per cent Double IPA called Skies the Limit.

Both IPAs were unusually dark for the style and while I wasn't keen on the IPA - more of a malt-forward hybrid of an English IPA with a West Coast variety - I liked the double a little better.

The original Hefenweizen will make a return to the brewhouse, Eric promised.

As far as their former Oakville operations, Eric said he and his brother made the decision to close it down, as well as Black Creek Historic Brewing, last fall.

My friends Candice, Marie and Josh  helped me
sample all All or Nothing had to offer at the
grand opening June 1.

They also expect the distillery side of the business - craft gin, vodka and whiskey - to be up and running this winter. "There's lots of bureaucratic issues to handle first."

Eric said they have a "grand vision" for the brewery and hope to one day employ one hundred-plus people.

"We want to build a facility that everyone in Oshawa and the surrounding area can be proud of," he said. "We're trying to put Oshawa on the map."

Hustle Over Hype Pale Wheat Ale - A hybrid of a German Weisse and a West Coast Pale Ale, using a Scottish ale yeast. Banana and spices on the nose, with pine, yeastiness and a bit of ripe citrus on the sip. Still their best beer.

Cheers!

Mental health wins at NHL Awards 

It was when I was puttering about Thursday evening, doing a few household chores and drinking a few beers while ignoring my own realities, when I remembered the NHL Awards show was on the tube.

It wasn't like I cared much about the major trophies and who was going to win them - Nikita Kucherov was going to take the Hart as the player-of-the-year easy and his Tampa teammate Andrei Vasilevskiy was a shoe-in for the Vezina as top goalie. Oh, and 35 year-old Mark Giordano of Calgary was going to win one for the old guys by taking home his first Norris Trophy for best defenceman.

Right on all three, too.

Bill Masterton

No, it was one of the lesser known trophies that had piqued my interest: the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey."

The award honours Bill Masterton, a college and amateur star of the early 60s who left senior hockey to play for the expansion Minnesota North Stars in 1967. Thirty-eight games into that season Masterton - sans helmet, as was the common practice of the day - hit his head on the ice following a check and died in hospital two days later, the only NHL player to ever die as a direct result of injuries sustained in a game.

The league honoured his memory with the trophy, which was was first presented following that 1967-68 season, and while it has been awarded to players as a reward for a long and distinguished career, the winners were usually those who had overcome serious physical injuries to continue to play the game they loved.

This season the sentimental favourite might have been Hall of Fame-bound Joe Thornton, who rehabbed from major surgery in both knees to ring up another excellent season for San Jose, or perhaps Nick Foligno, who posted respectable numbers for Columbus while dealing with health issues at home.

But I wanted to see how the hockey writers dealt with the third player nominated for the award: New York Islander goalie Robin Lehner.

Lehner announced in a brutally honest op-ed piece in The Athletic during training camp in September that he was dealing with addiction (alcohol, drugs, sleeping pills) and mental health issues (bi-polar disorder, PTSD, ADHD and depression) and that he had been seeking treatment.

Robin Lehner with the Bill Masterton Trophy

Lehner talked about the "dark places"  he found himself in as an NHL goalie, dark places full of self-medication and thoughts of suicide.

"I could not stand being alone in my brain."

He said in the story that he was not sharing his tale to make people "think differently" of himself as a professional goalie. "I want to help make a difference and help others the way I have been helped. I want people to know that there is hope in desperation, there is healing in facing an ugly past and there is no shame in involving others in your battle."

"My journey is still new. Every day is a battle and each day a new chance to grow as a man. It is time to take the 'crazy person' stamp from bipolar disorder. I am working hard to become the latest to battle this unfair stigma. Our battle together is just beginning. And now that I have begun my battle with what’s behind me, it’s time to battle what’s in front of me."

With the help of his new teammates and the Islanders organization - particularly GM Lou Lamoriello and coach Barry Trotz - Lehner was able to find sobriety and some measure of inner peace and then went out and had the best season of his career, posting a franchise record .930 save percentage and adding six shutouts. His performance helped Lehner score a Vezina nomination and win the William Jennings Trophy (with goaltending partner Thomas Greiss) for best combined goals-against average.

When asked before the show which trophy would mean more to him, he told TSN the choice was easy. "The Masterton means a lot more to me and my wife and kids," he said. "Just being nominated is huge and I think it's huge for everyone who has been supporting me, too."

Lehner's story struck a chord with the voters and he turned out  to be an easy choice for the Masterton. As someone who also suffers from depression, I couldn't be happier with the selection.


 Lehner, with his wife Donya tearing up in the audience, also delivered the best speech of the evening.


"I took that first step, got help and that was life-changing. That's something we have to keep pushing for. We have to end the stigma," he proclaimed. “I’m not ashamed to say I’m mentally ill. But that doesn’t mean mentally weak.”

Bravo to the writers for making the right choice. Bravo to the entire Islanders' organization for supporting their player when he needed it most. And bravo to Robin Lehner for speaking up and speaking out about mental health.

Because that's the only way we end the stigma.

Cheers!