Hanging with the craft beer reps...

Another Saturday, another successful Food Truck at Nickel
 Brook Brewing in Burlington. This past weekend saw Jonny
Blonde, centre, bring his associate, Layal, to the Drury
Lane brewery on December 13. On the left is Tony Cox,
the Nickel Brook employee who has made Food Truck
Saturday a reality. Getting them off-season as he does,
he has been gaining a lot of fans in the food truck world!

That I would stop into Burlington's Nickel Brook Brewing on a Saturday for a multi-growler refill shouldn't come as news to anyone. My loyalty to them is somewhat akin to the Stormtroopers' allegiance to the evil Galactic Empire in Star Wars - minus all that "dark side of the Force" rhetoric. Now granted, I'm not gonna actually compare myself to Stormtroopers because as anyone who's watched any Star Wars movie can tell you, these guys are the crappiest shots in the world. It's like the first criteria for being a Stormtrooper is being seriously cross-eyed or even visually-impaired. You may as well hand these clowns feather dusters and tell them to go clean the Death Star like the precious little French Maids they are... except they'd probably miss the wall.

But this past Saturday when I popped into Nickel Brook, there were a few extras for me. I got to meet Jonny of Jonny Blonde food truck fame, as well as his associate Layal. Both great people and I got to sample a delicious potato wedge and sausage dish, liberally coated with melted cheese. If I can't literally feel my arteries harden when I eat something, don't serve it to me. Ain't nobody got time for healthy eating at Donny's Bar and Grill...

My beloved Labatt's Blue melton jacket with
distressed leather sleeves looks a lot like this!

But because I was on my way to my Beer Store shift and was wearing my uniform, Nickel Brook owner John, of course, happily took the opportunity to give me some harmless grief. (Craft breweries view the Beer Store the same way Kia Motors views Ford, no doubt.) That was only compounded by the fact I was wearing my winter hack-about Labatt's Blue bomber jacket. I got this jacket about 20 years ago at a silent auction during a Celebrity Sports Banquet. A die-hard Blue drinker in those days (how times have changed, eh?), I was determined to win this jacket, standing no more than 10 feet away from it at any time. Whenever I saw someone write their bid for it, I walked right over and bid a dollar more. Not $5 or $10 or even $25... a dollar. I call that "The Price Is Right Bidding Strategy" and guess what? It works. For $76, the jacket was mine! (But I would have gone as high as $78 - just sayin'...)

So naturally, John teased me about that, too, since Labatt (along with Molson's and Sleeman's) is one of the huge corporate owners of my place of business.

I have always loved the beers made by Founders Brewing
out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and it turns out their
beer philosophy on the side of this tank is the reason!!!

If he and I ever bet on anything and he loses, I plan on making him wear my Blue jacket for a solid week. But the point of all this is that my growlers were filled by Amy this day, an employee of theirs I had actually never met - believe me, that's a rarity. A very nice young lady, it turns out that she is a Nickel Brook sales rep, who just happened to be working that day at the brewery. And one of the favourite parts of my job is meeting brewery reps.

Now the reps for the Big Three are seasoned pros though if you are clever enough, you can pick the odd industry secret out of them, particularly about their competition.

But no, it's the smaller craft brewery reps that I love talking to the most, simply because as the days pass, I know more and more about their products. Sometimes more than they do. About a year ago, we got a visit from the Flying Monkeys' rep and of course, one of my co-workers yelled out: "Don, the rep for Flying Monkeys is here!!!" so I excitedly rushed out to introduce myself and immediately took her into our self-serve cooler where her product was prominently displayed. And then I began quizzing her on some of their upcoming releases, notably their Shoulders of Giants Imperial IPA. The poor lass was floundering a little, not knowing much about it so I dialed it down to the releases that we carry, instead out of courtesy. She was very well-versed in those!

Our Side Launch Brewing rep was a little more than surprised
when I identified their Dark Lager as the old Denison's Dunkel

Just last month, I heard the siren song again: "Don, the rep for Flying Monkeys is here!!!" But this was a new rep, Jaime, so I was all gung-ho to quiz her as well. When I started talking to her, she quickly flipped through her note-pad, stopped on a page and said with a big smile, "Okay, you're that guy!" Gotta be honest - my apparent reputation as a quasi-knowledgeable Beer Geek with the small brewery reps is now preceding me and believe me, that is a personal point of pride. Granted, my ability to magically turn alcohol into regret and bad decisions is another personal point of pride so let's face it - my bar for my pride is set pretty damn low. Jamaican dudes couldn't limbo under that bar. Fire ants, cockroaches and beetles would be sorely tested to clear it.

This is how fast I move when someone tells me there's a craft
brewery rep visiting my Beer Store. I'm there... in a Flash...

But more of the same when Side Launch Brewing (Collingwood) sent their rep, Jen, into my store with their Dark Lager, which was gracing our shelves the very next day. Talking to myself and co-worker Saga, the friendly young lady came in, introduced herself and started talking up their Dark Lager. I stopped her quickly by saying, "Yeah, great beer! This used to be Denison's Dunkel." She smiled at me, wide-eyed, staggered that a Beer Store dude would actually know that. Saga laughed at her deer-in-the-headlights reaction and said quickly, "He writes a beer blog."

Shhhhhh... Truth to tell, a Side Launch server at the Burlington Beer Festival told me back in the Summer so I researched it and later wrote about it here back on July 25th. So I'm not some genius beer savant here. Just a thirsty beer-exploring dude... like Christopher Columbus with no boats to speak of, unless it's the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa DrinksLikeAFish.

One of my favourite beers from Lake of
Bays Brewing - their Spark House Red
Ale, as well as their Mocha Porter, as
well as their 10 Point IPA, as well as...

However, I want full credit for retaining that knowledge because every time I learn something new about beer, something else I learned long ago gets pushed out of my brain to make room for the new info. Like, say, car keys. Where do you put those on the car to make it start? Touching the steering wheel with them doesn't work. Also, shoe-tying has become a real challenge.

Okay, Lake of Bays Brewing went a different route than the pretty young female beer rep, sending in burly beer-loving dude Tim. About a year ago, Tim came in to check out my Beer Store. Naturally, I was all over it, singing the praises of both my self-serve store and how it could help their brands, as well as heaping praise on their Winter-only release, the delicious Mocha Porter.
A few weeks back, he popped back in to let me know their Baysville, Ontario brewery would be selling their Spark House Red Ale, Crosswinds Pale Ale, Rock Cut Baysville Lager and Top Shelf Classic Lager in my store. He actually waited for me to be finished dealing with a customer, telling my co-worker, "No, it's okay. I know this guy over here." After a year, he remembered our little show-and-tell. But I also happened to be the guy on the phone when the brewery called to place its order with us. I ordered a couple of trays of each and when the delivery came within two days, the invoice said at the bottom, "... as ordered by Don with many thanks." You gotta love the small touches made by the boys and girls of the craft beer world. But slide me some Mocha Porter just so I feel, y'know, truly appreciated. Joking! (Not really.)

Okay, the Innocente Conscience American
IPA is murky and smells funny but doesn't
taste too bad though I've certainly had better.

In the span of 14 days, we have also added Toronto's Collective Arts' Rhyme & Reason Pale Ale (one of Ontario's best pale ales) and their Saints of Circumstance Citrus-Infused Blonde Ale, making it seven new craft beers on our shelves in just two weeks. (Trust me, I will be the first to admit this is a rarity.) But my work environment just keeps getting craftier and craftier, though space for all the new products is actually becoming an issue. Talk about your #firstworldproblems. Of all these new-to-us beers, the only one I haven't tried is the Saints of Circumstance because, well, "the eagle has just landed" but I sometimes call this horse-and-pony show a beer blog and well, that means it's Beer O'Clock here at Brew Ha Ha. Let's get our drinking hats on, kids...

Okay, well, Saints of Circumstance is contract-brewed at Nickel Brook under the watchful eye of Brewmaster Ryan so it's not gonna suck. As advertised, we're talking a blonde ale with a citrus punch. That, this 4.7% beer has - citrus up the wazoo. But I was a little surprised to see they used Citra, Centennial and Amarillo hops in this because this does taste like a light summer beer. But with those guns? I want war wounds. It should maim me. At 17 IBUs (international bitterness units), it doesn't. That said, a solid blonde ale. A really good very lightly-hopped summer beer... that I drank in the winter. (Rhyme & Reason has spoiled me - one of the best pale ales in the world.)

Sleeping Giant Skullrock Stout is
malty coffee treat on the tastebuds

Next on the court docket, Sassy Cassy is back home for Christmas from university in Thunder Bay and, well, my little girl came back bearing a one-litre (33 ounce) gift - the seasonally-appropriate gift of Sleeping Giant Brewing's Skullrock Stout. This delicious dark brown oatmeal-infused treat with the creamy tan head is all coffee on the nose with some malty nuttiness on the tongue. This tiny brewery which, I believe, is the northern-most brewery in the Ontario Craft Brewers group, is quickly making a name for itself. Cassy has a real jewel within minutes of her university campus. I am dying to try their Coffee Vanilla Porter next... but no pressure there, Cassy. I don't believe in extortion but I'm gonna guess your car keys may mysteriously reappear as soon as I have one of these babies in my possession. Not that I know where your car keys are. (Seriously, officer, put away the cuffs - you have no proof...)

Okay, popped into Rib Eye Jack's Ale House a couple of Thursdays back because that night is Cask Night and where there is a cask to be tapped, dammit, I will be there. Again, that's the whole delusional Christopher Columbus of the Craft Beer World thing at play here.

This Dunkelweizen combines the best of two very
different styles, infusing wheat into a dark lager...

The bar and its beer technician Kylie did not disappoint as they tapped into a mini-cask of Muskoka Winter Weiss, my first-ever winter wheat offering. Because it's a winter beer, they combine a dunkel and a wheat giving this a unique taste - this is not a light summer offering but one much better suited for these Jack Frost Days. Though unfairly (I think) punished on RateBeer, I thought this was the best of both worlds - the banana of a wheat on the nose, this also had the fruit of a wheat and the rich caramel malt of a dunkel on the tongue. Like peanut butter in a chocolate cup, I thought this was a dynamite combo. (To those who don't enjoy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I ask only this: how does it feel to be one of Satan's minions?)

While there, I also cracked open an Innocente Brewing's Conscience American IPA. Assuming from their French name that they were based in Quebec, it turns out this is actually a Waterloo brewery - quelle surprise!

There be bears ahead!!! Go into the bar!!!

Okay, this has one funky smell. I asked Kylie what she was getting on the nose. She got tropical fruit. I got dark fruit... and gym socks. Murky as hell with all sorts of floaties in it, this was a different IPA to be certain. However, as advertised on its label, at just 5.7% with a hefty 80 IBUs, it was as bitter as hell but did have some fruit charms on the tongue. No doubt, an interesting one.

Well, we live in a world where I continue to hope Jessica Biel will name her first-born son Batmo... but next on deck should be a fun one. A horde of us are descending on Rib Eye Jack's Ale House this Saturday to celebrate co-worker Marie's 40th birthday. You see, every year, Marie gets gypped because her birthday is December 25th and someone else grabbed the spotlight on that day. That's unfair because Marie was also born in a manger... or a bar-room floor... or in the back of a car... maybe on a ferris-wheel. Actually, I have no idea - it happened 40 years ago. But I will bringing you all the aftermath and hard-to-digest details of the big Marie Versus The Baby Jeebus Party a day or two after. The bar is on high alert, the local police have been informed and hey, Cassy might even get her car keys back. (To be clear, Cassy, that's Sleeping Giant's Coffee Vanilla Porter and no, I have no idea where they are. Still.) But guys and dolls, that's it, that all and I am outta here!!! Until next time, I remain...

The Trouble With Tribbles and Growlers

My... name... is... James... Tiberius... Kirk... and... I... am... SURROUNDED...
by... Tribbles!!! And WHY... do... I... talk... haltingly... like... this... anyway?

Only a handful of you will remember Star Trek, the original series. I'll be honest, I certainly never saw it during its original run back in the 1960s. It wasn't until my teenage years some time later that I began to watch the show's reruns which played on late night TV every night when I finally caught up to it. While it likely looks incredibly dated now, I recall it was pretty entertaining TV back in those days.

But there was one episode, which aired in December 1969, called "The Trouble With Tribbles" that I will always remember fondly because it took the show's usual dramatic sci-fi tension and enfused it with a humongous dose of humour.

Yes!!! I'm better than Kirk!!! SO MUCH WIN!!!

Now granted, when the far-superior Star Trek: The Next Generation came along in 1987, I followed it from the start and immediately loved Shakespearean-trained Patrick Stewart's portrayal of Jean Luc Picard as a Starship Captain, finding it far superior to William Shatner's somewhat (okay, very) ham-fisted, chew-the-scenary approach as Kirk from two decades prior. Yes, I said it, Picard beats Kirk. Angry Trekkies can express their outrage to me at: BiteMeHard@BrewHaHa.com. (Good luck with that, you little Sci-Fi geeks.)

But back to "The Trouble With Tribbles", if we can. The premise of that episode was this. A snake-oil-selling, fast-talking intergalactic salesman came onto the USS Enterprise and gifted Communications Officer Uhura with a pet Tribble. It didn't really have a face - or even legs, as far as I could tell - but it was soft and furry and cooed a lot. I mean, look at the top picture. It looked like a huge ball of hamster fur - minus the actual hamster.

These are not my growlers. These are, in fact, my OVERFLOW growlers as
somehow, I have gone from two to 11 from various different Ontario breweries

But here was the actual trouble with the tribble - without partners, tribbles reproduced, spawning more tribbles. One tribble quickly became 1,500 tribbles, which was a cause for concern for the old USS Enterprise because their much-vaunted "five-year mission" did not include Purina Tribble Food. Eventually, the problem was solved when Chief Engineer Scotty transported the lot of them onto a Klingon vessel because, you know, screw the damn Klingons. Tribbles didn't like Klingons and Klingons didn't like anything so match made in heaven. Have fun with that, you lumpy-headed grumpy Klingon bastards.

Okay, we just got Fuller's London Pride Ale
and Extra Special Bitter in stock. Both are
damn good but this one is a true winner!!!

So why am I talking about tribbles? Well, more than 40 years after the original broadcast, I found myself invoking their name. You see, not long ago, I started with two two-litre (64 ounce) growlers from my beloved Nickle Brook Brewing. Last week, I looked at my kitchen table (and floor) and counted 11 of them - six 2L growler and five 1L howlers from craft brewers scattered across Ontario. And I actually thought, "Geezuz, these things are like tribbles! They just keep multiplying!" Okay, as no beer geek actually needs 11 growlers and howlers, that left me in a dilemma - albeit in that First World white male without any actual problems who has too many of a good thing way. So, y'know, please, on my behalf, choke back those tears of sympathy. (No, seriously, I'll be fine.) I was telling Dale at Nickle Brook about my growler overload and he pointed to the top shelf of trophy case where they have a mini-museum for displaced growlers on the go. It's small now, he noted, just a couple but if I wanted to bring my excess to add to their collection (which would, in essence, more than triple it), I was welcome to do exactly that. And if some needy Nickel Brook employee wanted to scoop a free growler, well then, he noted, "You'd have a real good friend... for at least a day!" Sounds like a good plan. Sometimes, short friendships have their advantages. No Christmas presents, for starters. Or remembering of names.

What the hell was Le Trou Du Diable Brewing
La Saison du Tracteur doing in my fridge this
time of year? Uh, turning my fridge bilingual?

Okay, while we all ponder just how lazy the person who named the "fireplace" was (Really? The place where the fire is? Best you could do?), a quick look at the time tells me it's Beer O'Clock here at Brew Ha Ha so let's get busy. First up, we just got two of Britain's best in our store -  Fuller's London Pride Ale and their Extra Special Bitter. Okay, that London Pride is a truly nice ale. Got a wee bit of apple and a lot of malt on the nose, a lightly hopped and bitter (very lightly), dry and caramel taste on the tongue, this is a solid, decent ale. However, the ESB??? Now we're talking! Citrus but strong malt in the aroma, all bitterness and fruit on the tongue, this 5.9% import was a lot of fun. My buddy, Kevin, who loves a good British bitter would go nuts for this. Hell, throw me in that swanky posh Brit club, too! This is like the Prince Harry of beers. A bit ginger... cheeky... impudent... will drop its drawers in Las Vegas. You know how those bad-boy beers can get... Anyways, my eyes are peeled for more Fuller's product - these were both solid offerings, especially the ESB.

As I was telling Beer Musketeer Stevil St Evil, I find the strangest stuff in the back of the fridge at Donny's Bar and Grill and yesterday was no exception when I came across a Le Trou Du Diable Brewing (Shawinigan, Quebec) La Saison du Tracteur. While the beer's name is self-explanatory by the big tractor on the label, the brewery's name translates as "The Devil's Hole" which is a well-known cave in St-Casimir, Quebec.

Okay, props to Parallel 49 Brewing not just for a good dark
lager but also for one kick-ass great label on their Black Hops

Of course, the season for saisons (which in English means "season" so I'm actually saying 'the season for seasons' which is redundant but I don't know how to say 'season' in Klingon) is a few months past but well, it's in my fridge so it offered itself up for sacrifice - silly saison. Okay, this was lightly citrus and mango on the nose but its use of rye malts gives it a nice light touch of spice with the fruit on the tongue. Dry yet refreshing. Out of season/saison, yes but hey, a nice Summer touch.

Let's wrap this up with something bold and our friends at Parallel 49 Brewing's (Vancouver) Black Hops Cascadian Dark Lager - yet another that continues in the company's tradition of showcasing some of the best cartoon labels in the Canadian craft brewing industry. An impressive 41 IBU (international bitterness units) for a schwarzbier, this 6.5% lager is roasted malt and coffee on the nose with coffee and pine bitterness on the tongue. Beautiful brew.

Jonny Blonde and his delicious spiced meat dishes will be
served up hot and fresh at Nickle Brook on December 13

As the weather cools down, I love to switch to dark lagers just before I go nuts with the seasonal porters and stouts. It's the perfect transition beer!

Okay, next up, a lager that passed, a lager that really really failed, a couple from Beau's All Natural Brewing - one of which I know I will enjoy while the other, well, I'm concerned for my well-being. Also which popular craft ale did I steer co-worker Marie towards for use in a steak sauce and she actually said afterwards, "Perfect choice!" (Total fluke, I assure you.) Why is Marie's birthday getting the edge over Christmas... and much much more.

My main man Tony at Nickle Brook is back at it with his Food Truck Saturday this weekend when Jonny Blonde brings his fire-grilled meats and bold sauces to the brewery (864 Drury Lane in Burlington) from 11 am to 4:30 pm. This truck was there two weekends ago and did well over 100 orders. Said brewery owner John to Tony afterwards: "You have a friend for life! You will never go hungry. Ever!" A win-win for both the brewery and the trucks, which are off-season!

Well, I just watched "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" on TV and while it turns out that no, I am not smarter than a 10-year-old, I'll tell you this for free. Not one of those little peckerheads can buy beer! Suck on that, you brats! Okay, guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here!!! Until next time, I remain, as always...

Rib Eye Jack's Ale House, Part Duh...

Burlington's Rib Eye Jack's Ale House has become my
new Cheers - a place where everybody knows my beers.
What? You thought I was gonna say "name"? Uhhh, no,
can't do that since I'm in the Witness Relocation Program

When last we talked, (well, I wrote, you read, which is good because literacy is important - it's just a damn shame this blog does nothing to promote literacy and that you may, in fact, lose a few IQ points reading this thing), we had stopped in Rib Eye Jack's Ale House to celebrate my buddy Ernie's birthday. That was two Thursday ago. I have been back twice since - last Thursday and again on Saturday.

Now the news that I found a bar to which I'll happily return is as about as surprising as your local newscaster coming on and seriously intoning, "This just in! Humans continue to need oxygen to survive! We'll follow that up with a special Eye-Witness News Action Report that water also remains wet at this point in time and still flows downhill with remarkable, almost liquid-like ease."

Have to take a whiz but the hockey game's gone into
overtime?? Not an issue. You can keep watching in the
Men's Washroom. Ladies, sorry, you're out of luck...

So when I popped in on the Thursday, I was on my way home from work because the bar is literally on the back-road route I take during rush hour to avoid the highway. The fact that every Thursday is Tap The Keg Thursday wasn't too much of a factor. (And in continuing news, fire can be warm to the touch.) The first Thursday I went, after we extensively talked craft beers, uber-knowledgeable Beer Technician To The Stars Kylie (the 'beer technician' part is her actual title and man, has she earned it) made sure I sampled the Flying Monkeys Netherworld Cascadian Dark Ale from the mini-keg on its side at the bar. "I think they hopped it up a little more," she smiled, knowing my fondness for all things hoppy. I reviewed it before so I won't repeat myself but yes, still a great dark ale! On the second Thursday, while I happily quaffed a Great Lakes Brewery Lake Effects IPA, it was a different brew in the keg (as it is every week). After noting that Lake Effects IPA now comes in a 473-ml (16 ounce) can whereas last year it was only available in a 650-ml (22 ounce) bottle with a really cool painted label that Kylie and I both preferred, it was time to try a sample from the new keg - the Niagara Teaching College's Tracie Does Portland IPA, a 6.9% offering. It was nicely fruity on the nose but to me, a bit too sweet on my tongue for an IPA. I want bitter and tangy, not sweet. Not bad but well, not great.

Apparently, you have to be famous like
Frank or Marilyn or Dino or Angelina to
end up on the walls at Rib Eye Jack's...
So no pictures of me. Until I put one up!

But it was the food that Marie and Ernie raved about after his birthday. Marie had their Kentucky Bastard Rib-Eye Steak (made with basting sauce using Nickel Brook Brewing's Old Kentucky Bastard Imperial Stout) while Ernie had the Tennessee Chicken basted in Wild Turkey Bourbon. They both raved and remember, Ernie and Marie are the ultimate foodies. When they enjoy a restaurant's food as much as their own, well, someone's doing something very, very right. But with Marie's young son, Marc, in tow, it was time to go decadent for dessert with something called Death By Chocolate. (Marc recently informed me very solemnly that there was a serious Lego shortage this Christmas so, uhhh, if you need more Legos, you should buy now, I guess. All I know about Legos is they hurt like shit if you step on one.) Okay, the ingredients in this dessert are the following: chocolate ice cream, chocolate brownie, chocolate fudge, peanut caramel chocolate bar pieces, chocolate chips topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. What can I say? Thank god, they added whipped cream to make this a much more balanced, healthy, nutritious dessert. Let's assume they called it Death By Chocolate because Big-Ass Bowl of Diabetes was taken.

But you know, despite not being much of a foodie, I had to try to try their food myself if I wanted to talk about it. So it was time on Saturday for a proper dinner date with the beautiful Lee. (She really enjoyed Flying Monkeys' Smashbomb Atomic IPA when she first tried it with me so that's pretty much all the qualifications she needs for a dinner date with me... The staggeringly beautiful thing, well, that also helps. Not gonna lie)

When Rib Eye Jack's held their Beer Fest
on October 17, the gang at Barrie's Flying
Monkeys Brewery were in the hizzouse!!!

I remembered Marie raving about Turtle Island Brewing's Smashed Cherry Ale and Lee did leave her beer choices in my hands, so that was first up. Now I first met Trish Watson, the Ottawa brewery's co-founder and "Beer Goddess" at the Burlington Beer Festival last summer. At that time, Beer Musketeer Cat also had their Smashed Cherry (I went for the Maple Porter) and also raved. But it was their 6.5% Ixcacao Triple Chocolate Stout that slayed us both. Anyways, back to Smashed Cherry... this beer is cherry (but medicinal, like Hall's Lozenge cherry) and malt on the nose with some tart bitterness on the tongue. A pretty solid Summer beer and three-for-three with the ladies who run in my circle.

Next up, she had to try the Nickel Brook Naughty Neighbour American Pale Ale, a bar favourite. When I was there on Thursday, you could upgrade your 20 ounce pint of Naughty Neighbour to a 32 ounce stein for $1 more (yup, one buck) and the spigot, directly in front of me, was doing huge business in the stein sector. Kylie confessed when Nickel Brook Brewmaster Ryan was in the house, that was his preference, despite the countless cool Imperial IPAs on hand. Well, with Lee, Naughty Neighbour earned its 93 points on RateBeer as she called citrus and fruit on the nose, grapefruit on the tongue. (There's also some pine on the tongue, as well.) When she decided to go for a dirty martini as her third choice, I decided to get a beer for myself that she would really enjoy.

Trish Watson, co-founder of much-loved Turtle Island
Brewing in Ottawa, makes one helluva great cherry ale

Yes, it's past Summer so wheat and saison season is well gone but I thought a Mcauslan Apricot Wheat might be in order for my date. *Ding, ding, ding* We had a winner. Although far too sweet for me, she loved it. Actually, she went nuts for it. I dunno but to me, it's pretty cool when a confirmed wine drinker actually says, "I had no idea there were so many different tastes with beers. These are all delicious!" People, we may just have a craft beer convert.

On my end, I had pints of Mill Street Cobblestone Stout and Muskoka Mad Tom IPA (both of which have been given huge thumbs up in this space) but let's talk food. Lee, like Ernie, had the Tennessee Chicken while I opted for the Grilled Rainbow Trout. Okay, here's where we got to share. Hers came with garlic mashed potatoes while mine came with vegetable quinoa (no idea - like soft rice). I ate her potatoes, she ate my quinoa - it worked out well. Never had a food that started with a 'Q' before and well, Saturday, I wasn't about to start.

Anyone looking for a good Christmas present
for me, well, this would work well. Just sayin'...

The food was delicious but I have to give total props to our waitress, Tiffany. She was entertaining. She was engaging. She totally complimented me with a "holy crap, job well done, dude" for the Lovely Lee when my date left briefly for the lady's room. She was just plain a lot of fun and added a ton of happy chatter and friendship to our night. Between Tiffany's sparkle and Kylie's beer knowledge, well, there is just no downside to this Disneyland of Beers in Burlington. There will be many more beer reports from this locale. I'm sure they'll get quite sick of seeing my face but that's the beauty of being me. I don't care. But I'm sure if I actually had feelings, they'd be hurt. I guess.

Okay, some questions from Beer Musketeer Glenn get answered! First up, when I had the Mid-Autumn Night's Decadent Dangerous Craft Beer Festival at Donny's Bar and Grill, Glenn arrived hours before everyone else. He grabbed the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition off my coffee table for the patio but later asked, "Is there any actual sports in this?" I had no idea so I did my due diligence afterwards. No, there is not. Also, who cares?

Okay, Glenn Question #2: Does Guinness brew anything but Guinness? Again, a legitimate question - and I knew they made a Black Lager but beyond that, I had no idea.

Well, yeah, but seriously, isn't that a year-round sentiment?

Turns out Guinness makes dozens of beers, most of which I've never heard of.  And so, Donny's Beer Bucket List grows exponentially!

And finally a Glenn Vs Skype Question Moment... brought to you by my little October Beer Fest. Glenn, feeling pretty wobbly, is on Skype with Stevil St Evil in New Zealand and it went like this:
Glenn: Who's that in the bottom right corner?
Stevil: That's you.
Glenn: No, it's not!
Stevil: Yes, it is.
Glenn: *puts on his glasses* Hey, you're right! That's me! I'm better looking than I thought.
Stevil: No, you're not.
So back in a few day with more beer and much more fun. But for now, guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here!!!! Until next time I remain...