Bah humbug birthdays go better with beer

Birthdays are about getting old, but when you're old like me, the joy of each new birthday gets old, and fast.

My birthday was in late October - the same day every year my whole life - and the serious funk started the day before while I was doing my Saturday night shift at the bar. I did my best to put a smile on my face but I couldn't help feel sorry for myself, and my woe-is-me attitude continued after I dragged my ass home.

An evening of Netflix and copious amounts of beer didn't seem to help, so I stumbled off to bed around three, safe in the knowledge I could sleep in on my one day off a week.

My body clock woke me two hours later anyway, and then every hour or so after that until I finally rolled out of bed at the crack of noon.

Bah, humbug.

I wasn't terribly hungover, but I hadn't shaken off that depressing funk either. So I opened a beer - a Naughty Neighbour from Nickel Brook, if I remember - and started in on my birthday greetings on Facebook and via text message, hoping they would help me feel better.

Erin and John  of Little Beasts Brewing

They did, a little. There were sixty or so, and I answered each one personally. Even the people who spelled my name with just one 'n,' 'cause I'm not petty. Or anal. At all.

I figured a visit to the gym would help me chase away the blues, so I packed my bag and took my tired self up to LA Fitness in the north end for a workout. But all it did was make me thirsty.

But I had an answer to that problem: beer.

And not just any beer, but fresh brewery beer, and my first birthday stop was going to be a brand new brewery, and that's about as fresh as you can get: Little Beasts Brewing.

I have known Erin, the brewmaster for Little Beasts, for a little while now, as she is a frequent visitor to Buster Rhino's. She also knows my daughter - her three kids are the same age as Adrianne's and her oldest went to the same school as my granddaughter Allison for a time - and she had been promising an IPA-friendly brewery since long before the first shovel hit the ground.

So I was pretty pumped to see this place open.

Not nearly as pumped as Erin. Little Beasts - named for the brewer's less than affectionate term for yeast (and not as a totally affectionate name for her kids, as I first thought) was supposed to be open in July, and then August, and then September.

But with any new business, and especially ones involving brewing equipment, liquor licenses and the like - there are pitfalls, and it was October before Erin and her business partner John got the brewery up and running.

I was there the weekend after opening to congratulate Erin and John, though I got a sneak peek at three of their beers the previous week at Buster Rhino's.

Experiment Blonde (5.2%), La Petite Duchesse (4.5%) and Experiment Session IPA (4.5 per cent) were in the bar all week, so I already knew what I was getting into when I paid a visit to Little Beasts on my birthday.

There's some magic going on here, I'm certain of that. Experiment Blonde is made with El Dorado and is described as "crisp, light and full of flavour." I agree.

La Petite Duchesse is Erin's year-round Table Saison and I'm totally stealing the review from my friend Sheila, who is a certified beer judge and a damn good beer rater too. "Holy crap," Sheila enthused. "La Petite Duchesse is dynamite! Delicate but formidable. She is little but she is fierce."

No way I'm topping that.

The Experiment Session IPA was brewed west coast style with Chinook, Centennial, Summit and Amarillo hops. Lots of malt in the aroma but the taste was all west coast. Very smooth and very sessionable.

Tough Mudder Erin has her own brewery!

I was back the next weekend as well and the hits kept getting bigger and better. La Saison d'ete is a 6.5 per cent heavily hopped beer (Amarillo, Nelson and Mosaic) that was unlike any Saison I've ever tried. More like Saison meets IPA, in fact.

Brewed using Escarpment Laboratories old world saison yeast, it was spicy and tropical fruit on the nose and it packed a punch on the tongue. Citrus was most prominent, with the spiciness lingering in the background. Delicious, and my Saison of the Year.

In fact, La Saison d'ete is the best example of the style I have ever had. There. I said it.

Another contender in my year-end awards is Salem's Lot (6.3%, 65 IBU), a New England IPA that delivered a fresh bouquet aroma of citrusy hops. Brewed with all New Zealand hops, this is creamy, juicy and delicious.

So glad this brewery is finally a thing and so happy for the Little Beasts team of Erin and John and especially for Erin, who, in addition to being a total badass - she is a multiple Tough Mudder competitor and is off to the World's Toughest Mudder in Las Vegas this weekend - is one of the nicest people in the craft beer scene.

John seemed like a pretty good dude too.

And thanks to the both of you for turning my birthday blues frown upside down. Turned out to be a pretty good birthday after all.

GLB's Tap Takeover takes top honours

We've had a few tap takeovers at Buster Rhino's over the years I've been hanging around the place, but none so anticipated as the Great Lakes Brewery takeover that took place Friday, October 6.

GLB, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, just might be the greatest brewery in the history of breweries. There are those who may call that hyperbole, but I stand behind my words.

Sure, Great Lakes has some competition for the title: My friends at Manantler in Bowmanville will always get my love, and I've been earning frequent flyer points lately for my visits to Bellwoods. Internationally, Stone Brewing in the U.S. (no one forgets their first love) is the Brewery That Can Do No Wrong and Epic Brewing of Aukland, New Zealand sent me (super awesome) beer.

But it always comes back to GLB. It could be because of their Tank Ten series of IPAs, which include Octopus Wants to Fight and Karma Citra, two of the finest examples of the style ever created. In fact, though their entire lineup is stellar, Tank Ten is probably why Great Lakes is number one.

My friend Robert (Drunk Polkeroo) did a collaboration brew with some other craft beer personalities at GLB's nerve centre in south Etobicoke back in February and snapped a picture of himself hugging Tank Ten. I was so jealous I scared myself. I told my friends I would marry Tank Ten if it was legal in this province. That scared them.

So I don't think my statement was hyperbole at all.

But the problem on October 6 was that I wasn't just a customer at Buster Rhino's any more. I also work there, and it was all hands on deck for the Friday night tap takeover, so I knew I'd be on duty for at least part of the evening.

But I had seen the walk-in fridge and with GLB kegs stacked floor to ceiling (okay, that's hyperbole, but the cooks, who had to climb over kegs to get the brisket and ribs would understand), I knew there would be plenty of beer for me when my shift was done.

Still, it was hard watching other people drink great beer while I did my non-beer drinking duties. But I understand sacrifice in the name of paying bills, so I persevered.

It was a packed house and everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves, so that was one consolation. And I got my entertainment watching Troy, GLB's Beer Rep Extraordinaire, do his thing behind the bar slinging beer for the customers.

He, in turn, got his entertainment watching me struggle with my phone. The picture I'm using of him in this blog, in fact, is a selfie because he gave up trying to pose for me and just took the damn picture himself.

No matter. Eventually Jessica released me from my commitments and I got to sidle up to the bar (Troy was long gone by this time) for a half-pint of Citraddiction, a Citra-hopped (naturally) session ale that hasn't been brewed for two years.

I have missed you Citraddiction.

Troy, GLB's beer rep, behind
the bar at Buster Rhino's

I followed that up with a flight, with Saison DuPump, the best Pumpkin beer I have ever had (that's not saying much, but still...), Sexy Poncho (a Farmhouse Ale made with blackberries), CanCon Session IPA, and Somewhere Down in Moxee, the brewery's excellent New England-style IPA.

Still thirsty, I opted for Audrey Hopburn next. This Belgian IPA, like Citraddiction, has been out of circulation for a couple of years and I welcomed its spicy goodness back. Next up was more Moxee before I chose Swamp Juice #40, wondering right after my first sip why I waited so long.

Darryl, our lovable, larger than
 life and legendary host,
poses with Gordie Levesque

Swamp Juice is a blend of three GLB beers, with the usual mix consisting of two Tank Ten IPAs and something more sessionable. This version was a blend of Octopus Wants to Fight and Karma Citra - which, as I mentioned earlier, are two of the finest IPAs in the world - and Canuck, the brewery's flagship (and wonderful) Pale Ale.

The blend was sublime. It was amazing. It was ... really damn good. Best Swamp juice. Ever.

I did my best to get through the rest of the lineup as well, which also included Karma Citra, the 30th Anniversary bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout (a big, bold 9.5 per cent beer made with coffee, cocoa and vanilla bean which I enjoyed back last winter at GLB's 30th birthday bash), and their regular Pumpkin Ale.

That one I didn't try - one pumpkin beer is enough for one night, I figure.

A helluva night it was, and I stumbled home happy in the knowledge there was plenty left for me to drink the rest of the week.

Troy may very well return as well, if only to retrieve the life-size cardboard cut-out of Gordie Levesque, the official mascot for Canuck Pale Ale, he left at the bar. Maybe I will have figured out how to take pictures on my phone by then.

I'm thinking probably not.

Left Field takes centre stage

Left Field, another great Toronto brewery, had its turn in the Buster Rhino's spotlight this fall as well and this Leslieville brewmaker was a big hit with the paying customers and staff alike.

The baseball-themed, four year-old brewery, owned by the husband-and-wife team of Mark and Mandie Murphy, has helped Toronto's east end explode as a brewing hotspot.

And they brought their heavy hitters to Oshawa on September 16.

Laser Show is an eight per cent ABV Imperial New England-style IPA that has been on tap at the bar many times. It's all pine and orange with some dankness on the back end and it's dangerously good.

But my favourite beer from the tap takeover was Greenwood, another IPA - 6.3 per cent this time - with that distinctive Vermont yeast strain that defines the style so well. This was a new one for me and I loved it. Smooth tasting with a burst of citrus that left my mouth feeling happy.

I ordered the beer all week until it was tapped out.

If I'm picking the taps that emptied the quickest, however, it would be the Sours, especially Bang Bang, which was a favourite of staff. Nancy, in particular, couldn't get enough of the stuff.

And why not - it was tart (but not puckering) and lemony with an intoxicating aroma. Citrusy and delicious.

Greenwood IPA from Left Field

Squeeze Play Sour, made with pink lemonade, was a pretty popular beer as well, and the brewery brought a couple of Saisons that piqued the interest of many of our regulars: Sunlight Park, a Grapefruit Saison that was tart and tasty and a perfect summer sipper, and Cranberry Park.

And then I was on to a trio of beers right in my wheelhouse. Super Prospect - Citra, is a 7.1 per cent ABV single-hop IPA that was fresh and citrusy up front before finishing bitter and delicious.

Maris, named for the legendary Yankee star Roger Maris - Mr. 61 home runs - was less friendly to my palate, as I found it rich and malty with grassy notes. It just didn't hit the sweet spot for me.

Callum, a pal who is at Buster Rhino's so often his brewery t-shirt (and other swag) collection is ten times mine, loved the stuff though.

Passion Fruit Day Game, a Session IPA, quickly restored my faith in humanity. I've enjoyed this beer before, and this brew hits with power that belies its 3.9 per cent ABV status, delivering 60 IBUs. There's big tropical fruit up front, with more tropical goodness and citrus on the way down.

One of my favourites in the style.

I sampled Eephus next, an Oatmeal Brown Ale that is always smooth and delicious, and failed to hit up only Bricks and Mortar, a Coffee Porter.

Next time.

Cheers!

Sunday pub crawl in the Hammer

(With Don and the Polkeroos)

Two days off.

That may sound like a normal end of the work week for many of you (often called, appropriately, the 'weekend'), but for me it was a rare treat indeed.

The last time I had two days off, in fact, was more than three years ago. And that was called a 'holiday.'

Anyway, with Sunday no longer on my schedule at my part-time bar job and with my landscaping boss deciding Labour Day was a good day to stay home, I was free to enjoy my 'weekend' any way I saw fit.

So I called my pal Don and told him I felt the urge to drink a lot of beer, maybe visit a brewery or two, and perhaps make a border run.

Oh, and call the Polks and invite them, would you?

The 'Polks,' would be Robert and Kathryn, better known in social media circles as Drunk Polkeroo and Mrs. Polkeroo. I met this power beer couple just once at the Great Lakes Brewery 30th Anniversary bash earlier this year, but have chatted many, many times on Facebook and Twitter.

Myself and Don (top) with the lovable
Polkeroos at Merit Brewing

Robert is a beer writer and videographer who chronicles his (and Kathryn's) life in beer - as well as his own personal struggles - with extraordinary honesty and insight. Kathryn is active on social media as well and the pair combine to make the lives of those around them better each and every day.

So yeah, Don: invite them.

We agreed to meet up at Merit Brewing, a brand new downtown Hamilton brewery that I've been hearing fabulous things about, with the Polkeroos promising us a mini pub crawl through the mean streets - and now well on their way to being thoroughly gentrified - of the Hammer.

But first, a quick trip across the border into Niagara Falls, New York, because I am genetically incapable of NOT hitting the border if I am within 40 minutes of American soil.

Seeing as I was in a hurry, I dispensed with the better options and hit up Consumer Beverages, a beer store no bigger than a Mac's just 10 minutes from the border.

I filled up my shopping cart with beers from the usual suspects: Ballast Point, Stone, Bell's, Dogfish Head, Green Flash and a whole bunch more - mostly Imperial IPAs - to the tune of $126 US before heading back to Canada.

I made quick time on my way through and I was on the bridge less than five minutes on the way back before my luck ran out. I was asked to pay duty for starters, which is proper but is usually overlooked by customs officials not interested in the extra paperwork. No biggie, though, and $29 CDN later I was headed to Hamilton and my Merit Brewing rendezvous.

And one more picture of the four of us. Just because

About a minute later (thankfully before I got on the QEW), I heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tire. I picked up a nail and probably on the damn bridge, too!

So there I was on the side of the road putting on my spare. At least I was in Canada for this I told myself, and the delay was only 15 minutes or so before I was back on the road again and headed to Hamilton.

I was also very thirsty.

Good thing the highway was clear, else I would have had to pull over and dip into my U.S, stash to stave off dehydration. But thankfully I made good time and was at Merit Brewing's downtown Hamilton digs in less than an hour, where I found both Don and Robert out front to greet me and to guide me to parking.

Kathryn wisely stayed inside guarding the beers.

Merit Brewing is amazing.  It's a huge and inviting place, right in the heart of downtown Hamilton. The bar is open concept style with communal tables, as befitting the collaborative nature of the craft beer scene.

The tap list was long and had not one but two Milkshake beers on it, as well as an IPA, an Imperial Session IPA and a Session IPA, plus a few other delectables.

I love these guys already.

Sixty pounds of fruit loops cereal went into Merit's Fruit Loops Milkshake IPA, and while I found it interesting - though not as interesting as Bellwood's line of Milkshark beers - Don found it ... disconcerting.

The always smiling Tej, one of Merit Brewing's owners

Somehow my pal Don had completely missed the Milkshake IPA craze that swept Ontario this summer and his first stab at the style left him decidedly underwhelmed. It was the texture that threw him for a loop (okay, his pun, not mine), and he proclaimed it was "as odd to me as a pizza having the texture of a salad."

Harsh words from a salad-hating, pizza-loving man like Don, but he quickly softened his stance by saying he actually liked the beer.

It was just the damn 'mouthfeel' that threw him off.

The second Milkshake beer on tap was not actually an IPA at all, but a Milkshake Stout, and that was a new one on me. The Neapolitan Milkshake Stout offered licorice and honey in the aroma with a taste that was seriously like neapolitan ice cream! It was a little sweet mid-palate but finished bitter. Really tasty session stout.

The rest of the Merit lineup this day was stellar. Idaho Beach House was a well executed Session IPA that was far more bitter than the 4.5 per cent alcohol would indicate and Young Rival, the flagship IPA of the brewery, was rich and little sweet with a pungent finish. On Two, their IIPA, was just delicious.

There were other beers on the menu we tried as well, but it's been six weeks and both my memory and my notes failed me when I sat down to write this. Oh well, I could just say they were all awesome.

Or I could just ask Robert or Kat.

But there was more that just beer at Merit. There were ... sausages (I had the lamb andouille), fries (fashioned after the chips found at the HopCat craft beer chain in Michigan) and various snack and sides, including some delicious sourdough bread.

Do they have a lot beer on tap at Rust City? I think they do

It was a long drive. I was hungry, okay?

Tej, one of Merit's co-owners, stopped by to chat as well - it seems Robert knows nearly every one in the Hamilton beer scene - and after a stop at the bottle shop we were off to wander Hamilton's downtown in search of more beer.

Our next stop was Hambrgr, a beer and burger mecca just around the corner from Merit, and we had every intention of sampling their epic burgers (and grabbing a pint or two from their bountiful tap list), but the long wait for a table - which is typical for this place, I'm told - forced us to look for our next adventure.

But not before we lingered by the patio while Rob chatted with his cousin - I swear the man can't walk down the street in the Hammer without running into someone he knows - and I noted with considerable interest Hamilton's effort to revitalize its downtown.

The street - King William - is a bit of a microcosm of Hamilton's downtown. The entire north side of the street is devoted to restaurants and shops with patios - very chic - while the view to the south is an abandoned warehouse in the throes of demolition.

Reminds me of Oshawa, though on a much larger scale. As Pops would say on Luke Cage, "forward. Always forward."

Rust City Brewing

Anyway, we eventually got thirsty and moved on to Rust City Brewing, where there were plenty of tables available, so we got one near the bar. To be closer to the beer, of course.

This place has a great atmosphere and one of Hamilton's best selection of craft brews, as well as great coffee. The brewery part, however, has been delayed - they were supposed to be up and running this month - because of some feet dragging by the local council.

"The current zoning in downtown Hamilton does not allow microbreweries, and although changes to allow brewing are coming it won't be until June that these changes will be presented to City Council for approval," owners Nancy and James Malcom and partner Gabriel Spiegelshrift explained on their website. "This situation has forced us to delay the introduction of our on-site brewing until the near future. Rest assured, we are working on it."

So we'll be back, no?

In the meantime we were forced to settle (!) for some Bellwoods beer: the very awesome Goblin Sauce Imperial IPA (which is finally back in the Bellwoods bottle shop this weekend), the Monogamy IPA with Vic Secret (one of Don's favourite hops) and a mystery, label-less bottle.

I was convinced after sampling it that it was one of their Runes series of beers, but it turned out to be the Monogamy with Mosaic hops. Tasty, but a touch on the peppery side.

A trip to Fairweather Brewing was also on the agenda on this day, but after returning to Merit for another pint and a bite to eat we decided that Fairweather would have to wait for another day.

And another day with Don and the Polkeroos, in a city that is fast becoming a craft beer capital, will be a good day indeed.

Beer O'Clock

This blog has gone long already, not to mention the six weeks between the experience and the writing of it, but I have to mention a few of the beers I enjoyed from the weekend.

Goblin Sauce is another lupulin powder creation from the creative brewers at Bellwoods and it instantly became a finalist for my Double IPA of the year. The aromatics are front and centre, with pineapple, mango and something lighter, like strawberry. It's a big bomb on the palate, with more tropical fruit, resin and pungent hops.

Dayslayer, an Imperial IPL from Stone and Maine

I picked up a bunch of beers from the American side and Beer-Sainted some of them to my pals (who tweeted about it for days). Three of them in particular stood out.

The best of the bunch was, surprisingly, a lager. Dayslayer, which was labelled as an Imperial Pale Lager on the bottle and Imperial Pilsner in the descriptive (I prefer the latter - fancier), was a collaboration brew between Stone (Escondido in San Diego County) and Maine (Freeport, Maine) that delivered toffee sweetness, lemony citrus and a dash of pine. The aroma was fantastic and the beer tasted like ripe citrus and resiny deliciousness met and had a torrid affair.

Manta Ray, an Imperial IPA from Ballast Point (San Diego), was all pine, ripe citrus and dankness on the nose. The taste is candy sweetness with a good lashing of resin.

Finally, there was Passion Fruit Kicker from Green Flash (also San Diego), which was so popular among my friends (craft and non-craft) that I only enjoyed one small bottle.

There was plenty of passion fruit, along with a bit of spiciness. The taste was tart with lemon, more passion fruit, spices and a bit of saltiness.

Cheers!

IPA Tales

The Moving Day Days Week

Moving is a bitch. Usually, anyway.

My most recent move wasn't so bad because more than half my stuff was already in boxes in the garage, on account of me downsizing at the beginning of the year and moving in with my son.

So when I got the keys to my new downtown digs on a Wednesday, I started moving my boxes in - one car load at a time. And when it was time for the big stuff three days later, I borrowed a truck from work, borrowed the muscle of my pal Brandon, and two trips later I was all moved in.

Easy peasy. Sort of.

Not that the day was without its little adventures. What move is without those, huh?

For starters, the couch wouldn't fit, so back to the old place and its garage it went. The box spring and frame wouldn't fit down the stairs either, so the box went into the garbage and the frame went into my new garage for later disassemble.

I now sleep on a mattress only, which makes me feel very tall until I have to get out of it. Then I just feel very old.

And then there was the hooker Brandon and I met on our travels.

We were just south of downtown - a block away from the one-way street that would take us north, almost all the way to my new place - when she hailed me down.

At first I thought I knew her, with her waving and all (and it being the middle of the day) and when I realized she was a working girl I thought she was a step up from the usual 90-pound sleep-walking street walkers of our fair city. But as she got closer I could see in her face the signs of drug abuse.

"Can I service you," she asked, and that is something I can say I never heard before. Then she noticed Brandon in the passenger seat. "Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were with somebody."

I'm not exactly sure how to take that last comment. Brandon wasn't sure either.

There was another, even sweeter, highlight on Moving Day: beer.

We were nearly finished loading the truck back at the house I shared with Most Awesome and Number Two Son Cameron, when I decided a beer break was in order. (I was smart for a change and had beer stashed at BOTH houses.) And not just any beer, but a homebrew from Linda and John, courtesy of my pal Josh. It was an American Pale Ale called Stress Buster and it was ... incredible.

I've had a few of their creations before but this was just bursting with flavour. Two thumbs up from Brandon as well.

Anyway, we finished the move and I was left with an apartment full of boxes. For anybody who has moved (except for the supper efficient types and you know who you are), that's when the real work begins.

As I write this a week later, my apartment is still full of boxes. But at least I can sit down on my futon and stare at the space on the wall where my television would go if I had one. And at least I can sit down at my computer and write this story if I had internet.

Scratch that last line. I finally have internet. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't. But I went four days - nearly a week if you count from the day I received the keys - without the life-saving internet.

(My son Matt said I was turning into a Millennial because I was complaining about it so much.)

My phone also died during the transition period and I went three days with no phone, no TV and no internet. The J Man refused to visit me - "there's nothing to do Dad!" - he would tell me, forcing me to go up and visit him in his air-conditioned mansion if I wanted to help him with his homework.

Ungrateful teenagers, right?

But it's all good now. The apartment is now functional, though cluttered, with only the problem of finding homes for my many boxes of books I cart from one move to the next, finding an outlet for my microwave that won't trip a fuse (thank God for breakers), hanging up pictures - my comic book, beer and sports posters are already push-pinned to the wall - and doing all those little things that turn a basement apartment into a home.

Now if only someone would visit me. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller's sister maybe?

Manantler. We've been apart too long

I popped into Bowmanville the other day, partly because my fridge had more food than beer in it (a situation that had to be remedied), but mostly because it had been a while since I saw my peeps at Manantler, my favourite local brewery.

And any brewery that puts my face on a beer will ALWAYS have my love, though just making great beer is usually enough for that.

There was nothing new on the shelves, but there were three old stand-bys that never cease to gladden my heart.

Dark Prince, one of the finest Black IPAs in Ontario and a silver medal winner at the 2015 Ontario Brewing Awards, was there, and so was Liquid Swords, the Wu Tang inspired IPA that is the flagship beer of the nearly three year-old brewery.

But the highlight of my visit - besides chatting with the lovely Mariska - was definitely Hot Tropics Belgian Table IPA.

The last recipe created by former brewmaster Jim before he left for the Left Coast, this is a beautiful 3.6 per cent beer (that is not a typo) that seems even better than the last time I enjoyed it. Perhaps Chris has tweaked the recipe, I dunno. But it is fantastic.

There's a big blast of citrus on the nose with loads of flavour. Citrus, a hint of melon and a lashing of spice follow. The best under-four per cent beer I've ever had.

Cheers!

Scotland and my Family Reunion

It is impossible for me to think about the annual Gatt family reunion without getting a little giddy with excitement.

Family is the best, and my Scottish fam - Gatt was Nana Hendry's maiden name and the common link to all of us in attendance - is the best of the best.

I don't see my cousins much, and I think we can all understand how life gets in the way of getting what we want. Hell, five of my cousins - spanning three generations - live minutes from my workplace and I've visited just once, so I am as guilty as anyone. So these reunions - and we are into our second decade now - are wonderful opportunities for us to get together.

And we do and from far and wide as well, though our international connections are mostly gone now.

The reunions used to be every two years at my cousin Steve's place in Lindsay, with the two year cycle created to accommodate the difficulties for family hailing from places as far away as Texas and even South Africa.

Then the party moved to my Auntie Jan's home in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto and it morphed into an annual affair to recognize the fact that we are all getting older and the opportunities for us all to get together are dwindling rapidly.

Pennan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

The last two years the event has been in Orangeville; home of my cousin Christine and her husband Mike. They have a pool, a big backyard to throw the football around and plenty of shade for those so inclined.

The connection to all of us, as I mentioned, is my paternal grandmother, a strong and very awesome woman who hailed from the tiny and absolutely beautiful Scottish seaside village of Pennan, which is just 11 miles from Fraserburgh, a port city located on Scotland's broad shoulder and the place where she met my grandfather, (Al)Fred Hendry, and where my Dad and his sisters grew up.

Nana left us 30 years ago but her legacy lives on in these reunions.

We always have a fantastic time. Adrianne and her clan were dealing with a family crisis so they couldn't attend - get better soon Hope! - and Number 2 Son Cameron was working, so it was just Matt, Jacob and I from our side. But my cousins were there: Janice, Jill, both Steves, Christine, Ian and their families. My brother Craig and my lovely parents were there. My aunts Jan and Norma were in the house. And the adorable scene-stealer Addison was there as well.

White balloons released to honour the
lives of Chris and Kathy

But we weren't all there, as time and that bastard cancer catches up to everyone. We lost Auntie Chris  - the oldest one in the family - late last year and her daughter Kathleen, who lived in Seabrook, Texas with her husband Peter, died of lung cancer just this spring.

We gathered in the yard to release white balloons - one for everyone there - to honour Chris and Kathy.

It was a beautiful moment.

I miss them. Chris was in her 90s and always had a 'presence' at these affairs and I always looked forward to seeing Kathy and Peter. Kathy was the epitome of class and I could always talk beer with Peter, who loved his IPAs, with Stone IPA being his favourite.

Auntie Jan

A man after my own heart. Here's hoping Peter can come to a future reunion.

With Auntie Chris gone, the mantle of Matriarch of our family has fallen to my Auntie Jan, my Dad's older sister. Jan is 86 and a cancer survivor herself. She is also the very picture of dignity and one of the toughest women I know. She wears the title well.

With an entire generation of my family on the wrong side of 80, including Auntie Jan and my parents, making it to these reunions are that much more important to all of us.

Besides, Christine has a pool, which I used several times and unlike last year, I did not bring my phone with me for the swim.

She has that awesome back yard as well, and Matt and I did our usual routine with the football, which involves me running patterns, making circus catches (one, anyway) and trying not hurt my ancient body.

Brother Craig, cousin Steve and me

And there are the people here. As I said at the top, my family is the best of the best, and I spent some time chatting with my Aunt Norma about our family history.

I learnt about what life was like in Northeast Scotland during the Second World War, about my Great-Grandparents and how they spoiled (in 1940s terms) my Dad, and about the circumstances that led my Grandfather to give up a good job in Canada during the Depression and return to Scotland just as war was breaking out.

The stories we can all tell about family, huh?

Is it 2018 yet? 'Cause I'm ready to do this again. See you next year Christine!

Cheers!

Beer Sessions are better with IPAs

It was early in Beer Sessions - IPA when Sheila Mazur, our host at this deliciously beery event was asked a very important question: Why, she was asked, did IPAs become so popular?

"I think people were just rebelling against mediocrity," she responded.

That was an answer that warmed the heart of this IPA lover and was the line of the night until Sheila was talking to our group about aromatics in beer a little later in the evening. She was explaining how wood - especially cedar - was a common aroma in many styles of beer.

"And who doesn't like a little wood?" she asked rhetorically. "Besides me."

That sent our table of a dozen or so beer enthusiasts - most of whom knew Sheila and her wife Tracy well - into convulsions; hilarity ensued and the tone was set for the rest of the night.

Our host - Sheila Mazur

And an evening tasting West Coast IPAs, East Coast IPAs, Imperial IPAs, Session IPAs, White IPAs, British IPAs, IPAs with brettanomyces and IPAs with lupulin powder is most definitely a fun way to while away a few hours, yes?

Beer Sessions is a monthly event at Buster Rhino's in Oshawa hosted by Sheila, who is a certified BJCP judge and one of the happiest people I know. I creeped her Facebook page looking for a picture to use in this blog and couldn't find one without a huge smile on her face; that kind of happy.

Each session is devoted to a different style of beer and when the IPA event came up I knew I had to plunk down my  $29.95 and show up.

We enjoyed the oft-told tale of the history of the IPA; a science lesson on hops (with feedback from Matt of Brewer's Pantry, who was in attendance with the lovely Jessica); campfire and survival skills; and talked some on sexism in craft beer marketing.

And I haven't even got to the best part yet: the beer.

Eight flights, plus a couple of bonus samples at the end. Until the 'bonus' round, only the Passion Fruit Day Game from Left Field - which I enjoyed a pint of before the session thinking, "what's one more 3.9 per cent beer gonna hurt?" - was under 6.7 per cent ABV. Three were Imperial IPAs as well and all were awesome.

Our happy group definitely got our money's worth.

Sheila hit us with a palate crusher to begin the session, opting for Scary Mary, a, Imperial IPA from Old Flame, and while most of the others were getting the mango and peaches as advertised. I picked up none of the that and got mostly pine.

Bellwoods Runes-
Galaxy & Enigma

I was a little closer to the brewer's intention with the second beer: Runes (Galaxy and Enigma) from Bellwoods. I got the citrus and stone fruit in the aroma as per the billing, but the black tea and basil in the descriptive was a bit of a reach for this rookie nose.

I did get a peppery aftertaste. Close enough.

Juicin, a New England-style IPA from Sawdust City was up next and the discussion centred around how the beer seems to be so much better on tap than from the brewery's 473 ml can. We had samples from the can, and it was unanimous that the aroma was understated.

Monogamy - Columbus, another IPA from Bellwoods, was next ("tropical fruit; earthy") and the Passion Fruit Day Game Session IPA from the clever minds at Left Field followed.  "Jammy, tart and delicious" was how Sheila described it and I agreed.

A glass of Thrust!, a much sought after IPA from Great Lakes (it's only released a few times each year), was then placed in front of us and the bready, piney citrus brew sparked a little dialogue on the West Coast (Thrust!) vs East Coast (Juicin) beer styles debate.

Thrust! from GLB.
Matt's favourite

I cast a vote for Biggie, but it was clear that Matt was in the West Coast camp after Darryl, the silver-tongued, steadfast and surprisingly sensitive proprietor of Buster Rhino's (who joined us for the first half of the session), told us the story of when Thrust! was first released and ended up on tap at the bar. Matt was there, glass in hand and seated comfortably on a bar stool, when the first tap was opened.

"What's going on Matt," Darryl greeted him when he walked into the bar that night. "I'm staying here," Matt replied, "until the Thrust! runs out."

Laser Show, an eight per cent Imperial New England-style IPA  (the only one I know) was the seventh beer on the agenda, and it was followed by Witchshark, a nine per cent hop monster from Bellwoods that has always been one of my favourite beers.

But I didn't need to praise the brewery; Sheila had done it already, urging the handful of beer lovers who hadn't visited the iconic Toronto brewery to go. Right away even.

"If you haven't had a chance to go to Bellwoods you're missing something."

Rabbit of Caerbannog
White IPA from Indie Ale House

Sheila encouraged our group to experiment with beers to try and pick out the different flavours. Witchshark, she said, was dank and piney and resiny. "Imagine a campfire in the bush. What would that taste like?"

"I don't want you to have an inflated opinion of my capabilities," she added playfully, "but there are some beer tips and survival skills too."

We finished the night with a lively discussion on women in craft beer and that was followed by a few bonus beers: the delightfully spicy Rabbit of Caerbannog, a Belgian-style White IPA from Indie Ale House named after the famed killer rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Brettal Head, a pale ale from Bellwoods with brettanomycees (wild yeast) added for extra 'funkiness;' and another Bellwoods beer:  Mosaic and Citra IPA.

So many fantastic beers. So much information on the art of tasting beers. So much fun.

Thank you Sheila. I promise I don't have an inflated opinion of your capabilities. Just an informed one.

See you next time.

Witchcraft and women in beer

There are still a lot of people who haven't heard the story of brewers - almost exclusively women - who were burned at the stake as 'witches' half a millenia ago for the crime of making beer.

The pointy hat, by the way, was a marketing tool to identify them as brewers when they went to market to sell their wares (dubbed "medieval Gatorade" by Sheila). The cauldrons of boiling liquid are somewhat obvious and the cats (often black) were used to keep vermin away from the grain.

It all makes sense, yes?

Witches? Or just early brewers?
You decide

(I can't explain the cliched 'cackle,' but perhaps they were sampling the product too much. I would too.)

The story illustrates how difficult it has always been to be a woman in the beer business. Brewers aren't burned at the stake anymore, but modern women in the craft beer world have their own crosses to bear and flaming hoops to go through to gain respect.

"Sometimes it's weird being a woman in the craft beer world," Sheila admitted. "We don't want to be seen as 'square.'"

Sexist marketing is just as prevalent in craft beer as it is in the macro beer world, I pointed out, citing three of my favourite beers as examples. Naughty Neighbour (American Pale Ale) and Immodest (IIPA) from Nickel Brook both feature scantily clad women on the can design and while Juicy Ass from Flying Monkeys has nothing suggestive on the label, but that name...

Immodest Imperial India Pale Ale
from Nickel Brook

"Sex sells, for sure," Sheila said. "But I think it's just as sexist towards men too."

The sexist imagery is changing as the demographics of craft beer change, as evidenced by the demographics at the Beer Sessions table. Fully half of those in attendance were women.

"It's a complex and touchy subject but I'm glad there are finally more women in beer," Sheila said. "I'm glad there's 50 per cent women here."

Many of Ontario's up-and-coming new brewers are women, pointed out Matt, who, when he's not milling grain for his customers, brews his own beer AND sports an awesome brewer's beard.

"And I've seen a lot of women go from not drinking beer at all to drinking ONLY craft beer."

I'll drink to that.

Cheers!

The secret to winning at the track? Winning
And that ain't no Fake News)

I was at the track and I was on a roll.

It was Craft Beer Day at Ajax Downs, an event I attended last year with my protesting son in tow (They have Wi-Fi, right?), and I naturally popped in to the slots room to try my luck.

Ten bucks went in the machine and after nearly ten minutes of watching my credits creep down to zero territory I figured it was time to get out of this dungeon and into the sunshine, so I bet it all.

And won. How about that?

Three queens, I think, but I wasn't really paying attention and I couldn't see worth shit anyway.

So I stuck around another five minutes or so, won a few more little pots and cashed out happily, having beat the machine.

I was up $5.70, dammit!

And they're off! Quarter-horse racing at Ajax Downs

Trackside, I plunked down three dollars of my hard won money on three beer tickets and found the Flying Monkey's booth for a sample of their delicious Juicy Ass IPA.

I wasn't going to be here long, so I lined up to place a bet on the only race I was going to see, the penultimate sixth race on the card. Two bucks went on Gogo Jangles to win and $4 went on this horse, who was the favourite and listed in the program at 3-1, to show. Four more dollars was placed on Front Me Money, a 10-1 long shot.

With my big casino winnings still fresh on my mind, I was feeling confident as I headed to the rail to watch the race.

But betting is thirsty work, so I stopped at the Northern Maverick booth to refresh my glass first.

Matty from Northern Maverick Brewing
(and me) with Fake News Ale

I chose Northern Maverick - newcomers who just opened a huge 400-seat restaurant and brewery in Toronto's King West neighbourhood - partly because I had never heard of them, but mostly because the beer they were selling was called Fake News Ale and pictured on the label a caricature of the cartoonish buffoon running the country just to the south of us.

Not bad at all. Strong malt character, but a decent beer to crush on a warm summer day.

The beer. Not the president, though that statement could apply to him as well.

Back on the rail, I watched the #1 horse, Snow Storming, break from the gate and go for a rip down the track - riderless - to the cheers of the crowd, before officials got everything sorted out and the race went on for real.

A bunch of horses at the finish line and a cloud of dust is what I saw, but the board told the real story: Gogo Jangles came first.

Like I said, I was on a roll.

But I would soon find out that winning was not all it cracked up to be. When Snow Storming was scratched the odds were duly adjusted and my horse ended up going off at 6/5 odds, which meant you would have to put up five bucks just to win back six.

My take on the Gogo Jangles win bet was $2.40. On the show bet? Twenty whole cents on top of my $4 bet. Couple that with the $4 I wagered on Front Me Money and I ended up losing $1.40.

Don't ask me to check my math.

Still. A win is a win and I celebrated by enjoying a tasty blonde ale from Henderson Brewing. Only fair, I thought, as Henderson sponsored the race.

To recap, I spent $4 on a program, $3 on beer and lost $1.40 wagering (while winning). Meanwhile, I won $5.70 at the slots.

So if I carry the three and ... never mind. Mathing is hard. All I know is winning is expensive.

The Passion Fruit Sour tap takeover

I'm standing behind the bar putting clean glasses away when Jessica approaches with a sample glass of beer in her hand.

"You can have a sip," she says. "It's the Passion Fruit Sour."

This is the beer that was the hit of the recent Durham Craft Beer Festival and it is also the beer that was long gone before I got my hands on it so yes, Jess, I'll have a sip.

It was all it cracked up to be. Tart and delicious: like drinking grapefruit juice. And everyone likes grapefruit juice. Except this was made with passion fruit. Whatever. It was awesome.

"So you're good then? she asked sweetly, perhaps hinting I should shut the hell up about it.

"No, not really," I muttered under my breath. "Sure. That was great. Thank you," I said aloud.

I wasn't worried about getting a full pint in me before the night was out. It was the Rouge River Brewery Tap Takeover at Buster Rhino's and ten different brews from the upstart Markham brewers were flowing and the place was hopping.

My shift was going to end soon and then the Passion Fruit Sour, the peachy-good Summer IPA and any other Rouge River brew that struck my fancy would be mine for the taking.

And at around ten o'clock I found myself on the patio with a plate of chicken fingers, a pint of Passion Fruit Sour and a flight of three other Rouge River beers in front of me.

Life could get a lot worse.

I spent some time chatting with Darryl and Beth at the Buster Rhino's Executive Table, talked to Rouge River Brewmaster Jordan about his philosophy on beer (and was gifted cool Rouge River glassware), got poked in the eye by a pretty young lady with green hair who thought I was her Dad, and finished the evening with a pint of the most delicious Summer IPA.

So yes, Jessica. I'm good. Thanks for asking.

Brewer's Pantry rises (👍) Tuesday!

*Updated (again)*
After a couple of devastating floods in the past month caused a shutdown of Brewer's Pantry there were fears that it would be a long time - if ever - before the Bowmanville brewer's supply store would re-open.

That would be tragic because Brewer's Pantry owner Matthew Chellew is one of the most popular guys in the local beer scene and one of my favourite people.

Not to mention the supplier for my homebrew pals.

Matthew Chellew of Brewer's Pantry.Yes, that's rum
in his glass. The man is allowed to diversify!

But fear not. Thanks to some hard work from Matt and his friends - the list of people he thanked on social media was quite extensive - and some understanding on the part of insurance companies, Brewer's Pantry is set to re-open early next week.

Construction has taken a little longer than expected to complete, but Matt hopes to be ready to go by Tuesday.

"We're moving location without moving location," Matt said in a Facebook post, adding that Brewer's Pantry is now located around the back at 116 King Street West. "Same building, different unit."

At the time of writing equipment and supplies were being moved to the new unit as a storage room and a custom milling room were being built.

I ran into Matt the other day and got the construction update but forgot to congratulate the man.  So congratulations Matt! And may local homebrewers now get back to happy brewing!