Christine's California Collection

Go back many decades and you'll find pictures of me
and Christine back then are remarkable similar. A
pretty lady under my arm and a beer in my hand...

Just to give you an indication of how much of a wine connoisseur I am, when my high school sweetheart Christine was flying into town from Santa Barbara, California at the end of September to visit her family, she asked me what kind of wine my long-time best friend, Dave, drank. She wanted to bring him a California vintage.

Should be no problem, right? Dude's been my bestie since Kindergarten so obviously, I know I'm gonna what the man drinks. So I answered (quite confidently, I might add): "White!" Well, it seems that's a bit of a vague description in wine world. It didn't take too much effort to find out that Dave is partial to Sauvignon Blanc, which quite literally translates to "white grape" but is also a specific type of white grape. Mystery solved... okay, mystery to me anyway.

But since I knew a group of us would be getting together during her visit, I decided to drop a oh-so-subtle hint. "And I'm partial to IPAs, you know, in case you're curious," I messaged. She laughingly assured me that she was well aware of that, having read some of these columns and that I, too, could expect some Cali-Treats. I love it when a hint is just broad enough to be caught.

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, this happy trio all
attended the same high school - White Oaks Secondary School.
And so it was that Danny, Dave and Christine all came together
at the end of September at Boston Manor bar in Burlington to
reminisce about the old days, talk of the present and drink a lot.

So that's exactly what she did. But not without a moment or two of lightly-panicked questions. Did the beer have to remain chilled? Would they explode in her luggage down in the cargo-hold? The answers: no and highly unlikely. Beer Bro Stevil St Evil made it here to Burlington from Wellington, New Zealand last Summer on four separate, connecting flights with 11 bombers of IPAs and zero casualties. He may have arrived half-trashed, a medical condition that only worsened once he was transported to Donny's Bar and Grill. But the beer? Hey, it was fine. And even though she was a novice, Chris had on her own clearly learned the Golden Rule of Beer Smuggling when she noted, "Bubble wrap is my new best friend."

With the possible exception of at least one sketchy boyfriend choice in her distant past, she was always a highly intelligent young lady. Now we'll get to the IPAs she brought me from California in a minute because holy crap, nice job! But first we all had to get together.

Christine and Dave at a party in her basement many
years ago during high school. I don't want to say how
long ago this was but you could get a dining room set
at The Brick for $29 back then. We can only imagine
the high-end swag that Dollarama had in those days.

And so it turned out that me, Christine, Dave, his lady, Joann and our long-time high school buddy, Danny, all descended to Burlington's Boston Manor bar on a warm September night. Yes, we were a small group but yet one that was repeatedly told by the bar staff to keep out of the waitresses' way. Is there anything more fun than being chastized by people who are decades younger than you? No, I think not. Giving all their numerous warnings the dutiful concern they warranted (so basically, none), we carried on with our reindeer games.

Being a musician all his life, Danny seemed particularly intrigued with the 11-piece house band, The 905 Band. "These guys are really good," he told me not long after they started. Two or three songs later, he upgraded that to, "Okay, I'm pretty sure these guys are all professional musicians." Oh ho, there was a mystery a-foot... a musical mystery.

It didn't take long to crack that mystery when, during their first break, the trumpet player approached me and said, "Hopedale Beer Store?"

The 905 Band has a horn section in its 11-piece ensemble
and it turns out the trumpet player recognized me from
my Beer Store. Despite all my contributions to society at
large - selfless deeds that have me in perennial contention
for a Nobel Peace Price - it always comes down to Guy
Who Works At The Beer Store. Is there an award for that?

Why, yes, I know the place all too well. And thus, with the ice now broken, Danny jumped in to quiz him. In the end, turns out he was all-too-correct. Not only were they pros, all of them were music teachers. So while they happily chatted away, I was off to the bar to find a beer to my liking. Surveying the taps, I didn't see anything overwhelming so I asked the bartender if they had any craft beer. "Yeah," he said, "we have lots of craft beer! Look here at the taps. Belgian Moon, Granville Island Pale Ale, Creemore Lager! See? Lots!" Okay, then, a beer brewed by Molson's followed by two owned by Molson's. Everyone's definition of "craft" is different, it would seem. In the end, I am fine with Granville Island so I opted for their English Bay Pale Ale while Danny carried the Creemore banner on our behalf.

And so the night rolled on as it always does when even a small crowd of us gathers together... remembering old stories, bringing up new ones, talking family, as well as Danny and I trying to out-quip each other. That usually ends in a tie but truth to tell, his twin brother, Dennis, is funnier than both of us. We don't tell him that and you shouldn't either.

Now THIS is an assortment of some of California's finest IPAs right here!
Christine smuggled me up, from left, a Firestone Walker Double Jack
Double IPA, a Kern River Brewing Shuttle Bunny Double IPA, a Modern
Times Brewing Orderville IPA, a Lost Coast Brewing Indica IPA, an M.
Special Brewing Greatland Special IPA and last but certainly not least,
a Stone IPA. For a wine drinker, she did a pretty amazing job on beers!

I'll round this out with a couple of highlights from our fun night out but looking at my wrist, I see it's Beer O'Clock at Donny's Bar and Grill. Granted, I'm not wearing a watch. I just have "Beer O'Clock" written in ink on my wrist. It's a handy reminder in case I forget to drink some beer. (Stop laughing! It could happen!)

Now of the six beers Christine smuggled me, I have already had two and they are both damn good ones in the Stone IPA and Firestone Walker Double Jack Double IPA. Stone IPA was one of the first beers I had (repeatedly) during my last trip to Las Vegas. Its big brother, Stone Ruination Double IPA, has long been my American favourite.

Taking the blue ribbon from the California Collection
would probably be the Firestone Walker Double Jack
Double IPA. This fanny-banger packs 9.5% firepower
with 85 IBUs of grapefruit, tangerine and tropical fruit
aroma and flavour into the bottle with a solid malt base

And the Firestone Walker (Paso Robles) Double Jack Double IPA was previously gifted to me by both Beer Bro Glenn and Rib Eye Jack Ale House's lovely beer technician Kylie. Of the six in Christine's California Collection, the Double Jack absolutely has the biggest taste and it was a treat to have another. Quick sidebar: Actually, all six beers here are from California, something that was, no doubt, intentional on Christine's part. After all, when someone visits here, I make sure to give them Ontario's best craft beers, knowing they stack up among the finest in North America.

The Kern River Brewing (Kernville) Shuttle Bunny is an Imperial White IPA, meaning both wheat and Belgian yeast, were slipped into this, the Eighth Anniversary version of this recipe. For the White IPA style, this is outstanding. You do get some wheat and spices on the nose, courtesy of the Belgian style, but you also get orange, tropical fruit and a layer of malt on the tongue. At 8.5% and roughly 85 IBUs (international bitterness units), this cloudy off-white beer packs a nice punch. It's a style of IPA (Belgian white) with which I don't have a lot of experience just yet but, of course, I will continue to experiment in that Mad Scientist Likes Drinking way because someone's gotta do it and I'm somewhat insistent that it be me.

The Lost Coast Indica IPA has the funkiest label of the
six brews, hands down. In fact, the brewery has some
great cartoon labels with a nod to Picasso in the art...

The Lost Coast Brewery (Eureka) Indica IPA was pretty damn good. At 6.5% and roughly 75 IBUs, the brewery tosses Columbus, Willamette and Centennial hops into the mix. Deep gold on the pour (perhaps orange, accounting for my colourblindness), this has lots of grapefruit and citrus on the nose followed by more grapefruit, fruit and a slight bitterness on the tongue.

One of the most impressive things about Lost Coast is that in the male-dominated world of craft beer, it was founded by two women, Wendy Pound and Barbara Groom. That might seem like less of a big deal these days but it was established in 1990 when women were virtually invisible on the beer landscape. The label for Indica caused quite a controversy back in 2004 among the East Indian community, given what they felt were disrespectful religious overtones. Eventually, the California Supreme Court struck down the complaint, citing freedom of speech but the brewery nonetheless altered the label slightly to placate the protesters. However, the one thing no one can contest is that this is a pretty solid beer. I've found their 8-Ball Stout up here in the past and it's a big black glass of delicious.

M. Special Brewmaster Josh Ellis pulls a tulip
glass worth from their taps at the brewery.
which was created last September by brothers
Brendan and Emmett Malloy with an assist
from cousin Chris Miller, a craft beer veteran.

Moving on to a much-newer brewery, M. Special Brewery opened last September in Goleta and as such, they have only released 11 beers so far. But Christine managed to find their The Greatland Special IPA in her travels. When they held their three-day Grand Opening at the brewery last September 18-20, The Greatland was already in their stable of six beers, an impressive opening beer count on its own. The brewery, created by brothers Brendan and Emmett Malloy, got a huge solid from their cousin Chris Miller, who hooked them up with award-winning brewer Josh Ellis. Miller knew Ellis through his day job as the co-owner of Local Craft Distribution, which specializes in the distribution of craft beers in that section of California, just north of Los Angeles in the Santa Barbara County.

The beer itself is a pretty nice IPA but certainly a different one. Pouring a copper colour, there's a real grassiness and a bit of pine on the nose while there's a bit of orange and bits of malts and a touch of sweetness. This 7.2% brew must have a low IBU (guessing about 55-60) as it doesn't come off as overly-hoppy, giving it almost a session ale feel. A lot milder but in this group of heavy-weights, it was actually a nice break.

This photo, found on Google+ and taken by Sy
Bernot (cybernaut, get it?), is a beautiful pic of
a really good IPA. It started as a wet-hop IPA
(where hops are used right off the vine rather
than the dried pellet form) but switched to dry
hops shortly after because of delivery issues.

Last up was definitely the best of the four I hadn't previously enjoyed - the Modern Times Beer's Orderville IPA. I was a little curious when I saw the words "dank" and "mosaic" on the label, thinking maybe this was wet-hopped based on the word "dank" alone. In the end, I wasn't far off the mark. This beer started as a wet-hop IPA but switched shortly after to a dry-hopped beer. The problem is early in their San Diego history, a hop distributor told them if they wanted to wet-hop their beers, they had to move quickly. So they ordered a lot of different wet hops that, in the end, all arrived at different times, making it impossible to use them in the same beer. So yes, it was wet-hopped at first using two of the hops and then switched to the far more reliable dry-hop deliveries.

The San Diego brewery, owned by Jacob McKean, which opened in 2013, is as well-known for its specialty coffee as their beer, an interesting combo. As for the Orderville, I wonder if they're using Belgian yeast because it has that slightly spicy tinge to it. That said, if so, it's a mild influence as this 7.2%, 75 IBU is all west coast on the nose, using Mosaic and Simcoe hops to give it a grapefruit and tropical fruit nose with more grapefruit and some pine on the tongue. But also that light touch of spice that had me curious. In the end, a bomb-blast of hoppy fun. So that's a wrap on the beers but not the night we all shared at Boston Manor, which was punctuated with laughs.

 A goofy, no-flash shot taken late in the evening. While this
one was taken by Danny, I had to hold this pose forever
earlier while our new friend, Andrea, tried to figure out
 a not-so-complicated digital camera, owned by Dave. 

When Dave, Joann, Danny and I all arrived at the bar pretty much simultaneously, despite coming from three different direction, Christine was already there. She had struck up a "bar friendship" with the couple beside her because it's nice to talk to someone while you wait. I forget the fellow's name but I remember his lady, Andrea. At one point, we wanted a group shot and handed her Dave's digital camera. Now Andrea was pretty wobbly at this point but hey, it's a digital - point and shoot, right? On a whim, I picked up Christine and held her up high off the ground at the end of the group and waited for the picture to be taken. And waited. And waited. And... well, Andrea could not master the fine art of pushing a button. Not her fault. They're called idiot-proof, not drunk-proof. At a certain point, I finally noted, "It's okay. Take your time. Christine doesn't weigh anything because we're on the moon!" The photo was never taken because of Andrea reasons but truth to tell, Christine weighs the same as she did in high school - maybe 90 pounds soaking wet - so I could wait.

I also noticed something about the way we guys dressed.

That's my new trumpet buddy, background left, from
The 905 Band. The one with, uh, slightly less hair. Great
band that goes heavy on the 1970s-80s rock classic tunes.

While Danny and Dave opt for nice golf shirts these days, I still wear black T-shirts and flannel overshirts, much like I did in high school. Why? Totally Christine's fault. In my Grade 12 yearbook, she wrote, "Don't ever change!" You wouldn't believe how many holes I've sewn up in one black Led Zeppelin T-shirt. The Keep On Truckin' shirt has seen better days, as well. Another shirt may be single-handedly preserving the memory of Foghat many decades too late. It dawns on me now she may not have been talking about clothes. Too late. My sartorial choices have been made.

The final thing is yet another musical mystery and that is, why does Danny defend one-hit-wonders Dexy's Midnight Runners. I mean, what they asked us to do to Eileen alone is cause for concern. Danny counters by calling me a closet Rick Astley fan. I'm not at all but if I was, I'd know he's never gonna give me up, never gonna let me down, never gonna run around and desert me. And in one fell swoop, I have Rick-Rolled all of you. Okay, I've gone through the beers that Christine brought me but I still have the beers that Beer Bro Glenn and co-worker Marie brought me. Now, we can add coworker Jay-Dawg, who just handed me four bombers from Kingston's Stone City Ales. I'll catch up someday. But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

Beer Fest hits the "epic" button

With a half-hour to go before noon admittance, there was already a line-up
out front of Rib Eye Jack's Ale House for their annual Beer Fest on
Sunday.  All proceeds from the event went to the Joseph Brant Hospital
Foundation, which, of course, means we were drinking and eating for
charity. Which is a pretty damn noble thing if you ask me (and only me.)

"This is my favourite day of the year!" Jonny Lee exclaimed as I greeted him and his girlfriend Alex at the front door.

Indeed, Sunday, October 23 would be a great day, indeed, for those of us who are incredibly noble and love to give to charity. Now granted, there's two ways to give to charity - in this case, the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation. You can write a cheque, get a receipt for your donation and wait for the government to slide a little back your way at income tax time.

Or you can buy a $29 ticket to Rib Eye Jack's Ale House's annual Beer Fest and see an immediate return on your charity investment by drinking and eating for free from noon to 4 pm.

Being a philanthropist - a person such as myself who gives selflessly to charity for the simple purpose of graciously helping others - takes on one of two forms. You can slam down great food and some outstanding craft beers for four solid hours. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and break out the cheque-book. I won't judge you. If you want to wait for the Canadian government to maybe, possibly, (probably not) give you some money back, go nuts... dumbass. To me, drinking while at the same time contributing to charity makes more fiscal sense. Okay, more fun. Small wonder it's Jonny's favourite day of the year. (He, too, is a giver.)

As always, the music was delivered by the talented
"Andrew Hill". I'm putting his name in quotations
because the posters and tickets have it in quotations,
which leads me to wonder... Is this man, in actual fact,
Andrew Hill? Or just a clever, deceptive imposter?
I quizzed him on it and he just smiled. Who this man
actually is may be a secret forever. I think he's a spy.

But the guy who really busted his hump for charity on this beautiful sunny Autumn day would be Rib Eye Jack's general manager Steve, who convinced 14 major (and newer) craft breweries to donate both their time and their beers for the event. Those breweries brought some 55 different beers, as well as one cider. The lone cider was a nice touch but hey, we were there to get our craft beer drink on, baby. Now I'm not lauding praise upon Steve because he's a buddy. No, I'm praising him because he's one of my few friends who's actually doing something positive for the community with his time. And also isn't in jail or on parole. Yeah, sure, he's a certified wine sommelier who's somehow running a craft beer bar but that just shows with hard work and dedication, you can overcome any hurdle. Even wine.

I'm kidding, of course, because knowing a lot about wine is considered impressive in many social circles that don't include me. But the fact is putting this on means getting small breweries to donate their product and people for the cause, which is no small feat for either Steve or Caitlin VanBallegooie, his counterpart at the Streetsville Rib Eye Jacks, who does the same event at her bar every April. (*Double-checks spelling of Caitlin's last name... triple-checks... screw it... if it's wrong, she's the only one in the world who would ever know...*)

The always-smiling Amy from Nickel Brook holds up
a Headstock IPA. She told me, "You should try this one
because I think you'd like it!" The joke there is that
before she shifted positions at the brewery, Amy was
the one filling my growlers with Headstock IPA some
1,357 times (give or take) over the span of a few years.
Amy also slid a Nickel Brook bumper-sticker my way,
noting, "I can't believe you don't already have one."

And let's not forget the staff at Rib Eye Jacks, who spend that four hours, running around, cleaning up after us while the festivities were going on. Because while we're charitable, we are also slobs. And unlike, say, suburban Moms scurrying after toddlers making a mess, these people can't down a box of wine while they do the job. And the food? Whoa. Delicious assortment from the kitchen staff. Hell, I alone am responsible for a goodly portion of some cow, given the amount of roast beef sliders and meatballs I slammed down.

But hey, we're here for the beer so let's jump into the fermenting vats that made the scene. My Burlington homeboys, Nickel Brook, lead the charge, bringing eight different beers (Headstock IPA, Naughty Neighbour Pale Ale, Maple Porter, Brett Pale Ale, 11-05 Saison, Raspberry Uber Berliner, Wet Hop Ale and Cause and Effect Blonde Ale.) Not far behind was my home-away-from-homeboys at Muskoka in Bracebridge, whose rep Vince landed in town with seven different brews (Mad Tom IPA, Twice as Mad Tom Double IPA, Winterweisse Dark Wheat, Kirby's Kolsch, Cream Ale, Harvest Ale and their new Shinnicked Stout.) Between these two of my favourite Ontario breweries, they brought well more than a quarter of the beers available on the day's festivities. See? That's why I relate to these two breweries the most on days like this. They're also givers. Just like me.

"That's it! Event over! It's 4 pm and I'm downing a
brew!" joked Peter, who runs Big Rig Brewing's sale
territory from Kitchener to Mississauga. The Ottawa
brewery is in good hands with Peter down in our turf.

I was also pretty happy to see a couple of newbies there in attendance - Toronto's High Park Brewing, founded in 2014 and Barrie's Redline Brewing, established just last year. I love seeing new brewery faces at these events because, well, they bring new beers. Beers I might love. Beers I might like less. But dammit, beers I will drink regardless! Charity, remember?

Actually, Redline is a brewery whose product I have been very eager to try. My coworker, Jay-Dawg (Jonny's older brother) and I made our way to their table early on because I saw they had brought their Kollision Hoppy Lager (which I've been seeing pop up all over social media) while Jay set his sights on their Clutch Pale Ale. I was telling their man, Dennis, that I was impressed with Barrie as they are well-served by three separate craft breweries (the other two being Barnstormer and craft giant Flying Monkeys) for a population of, what, 130,000 people? "Well, actually," noted Dennis, "We're up to about 155,000 people these days and it's kind of funny because Barrie isn't really a big craft beer town. None of the local bars are carrying much craft beer." Wow, that level of unparalleled beery goodness in such a small area and their bars are resisting it? There's a word for that. Idiotic.

My main man, Vince, from Muskoka, pours me one of
their Shinnicked Stouts, now available in the brewery's
Winter Survival Pack. Vince is Muskoka's sales rep
for Rib Eye Jacks, as well as my Beer Store in Oakville
so I gotta say, this guy gets around in his sweet ride. Oh,
did I forget to mention? He drive the Mad Tom Mobile!

I don't usually review beers from a beer fest because a sample isn't enough to get a decent assessment of any product. You need a full beer to review it because you don't get enough in the way of after-taste (or deep reflection... because obviously my benevolent charity work means I'm deep... and a giver, which I may have previously mentioned) from four or five ounces. That said, I have no problems with giving initial impressions on new brews so hey, Redline's Kollision is a plucky little punk of a lager. Got a nice kick, especially for that style. I also had a chance to try their Clutch American Pale Ale and Hops Across the Pond Belgian Pale Ale and was equally impressed, particularly with the latter. But I missed their Check Engine American Amber and their 501 Golden Ale so I'm thinking a road trip to Barrie is in order. Three craft breweries have done for Barrie what nothing else could - made it a travel destination. When it's not snowing there. Which is always.

And speaking of Flying Monkeys since we're on the subject of Barrie, they got around that whole local-bars-not-being-into-craft-beer thing quite easily. They built their own fully-functional, full-sized bar at the brewery and according to Jay and his lovely lady Cara, who visited it in the Summer, it's pretty damn sweet. Sixteen taps, comfy couches and a very cool vibe, the Dynamic Duo told me. It's Flying Monkeys. I believe them.

Two lovely ladies with two lovely beers. That would be
my former coworker (and Jonny's girlfriend) Alex on
the left while Catherine on the right is the sales rep for
Innis & Gunn, our Scottish friends who make all that
dynamite oak-aged beer. It turns out Alex enjoys their
beers as much as I do. My friend has some good taste.

But since they were here at the Beer Fest, I finally got to try their Deep Tracks American Brown Ale. Now I don't rush into trying a brown ale. Like, ever. One of my least favourite styles. But I had checked the stat sheet on this one and it sounded promising. For starters, it's 45 IBUs (international bitterness units) which is way high for a brown ale and 6.2%, also on the higher side. It lived up to my expectations. Lots of malty caramel but with a real Centennial hop kick. Time to grab a couple at the LCBO and give it a proper test-run. Turns out brown ales may not just be for Civil War re-enactment fans anymore. The American Civil War, I mean... not the Captain America vs Iron Man one. Though in 10 years, I suspect when American high school students are asked which side won, there will be a debate over Marvel characters rather than the North vs the South. Stupid kids. Captain America's side obviously won.

I was pretty happy to see Ottawa's Big Rig Brewing in attendance with both their outstanding Alpha Bomb Unfiltered IPA (a murky, glorious mess of hoppiness) and the newer Midnight Kissed My Cow Chocolate Milk Stout. I had already enjoyed the Midnight stout when Jonny and Alex approached me to sing its praises. "You gotta try it! It's delicious," Jonny raved while Alex added enthusiastically, "They use real Belgian chocolate in it!"

If Great Lakes Brewing had just shown up with
their Canuck Pale Ale and Pompous Ass Pale
Ale, that would have been plenty. But as you see
here, Amy is pouring me their award-winning
Karma Citra IPA so thank you, Great Lakes!!

Indeed, they do and like many beers from this fledgling brewery, they do it very well. In fact, their rep Peter was telling me the Alpha Bomb was supposed to be a one-time deal on the taps at Rib Eye Jacks. But its popularity has made it a repeat performer with the bar's patrons for a few months now. Granted, it's been my go-to IPA since its arrival and that alone could potentially sustain any tap choice at Rib Eye Jacks.

When I visited the booth for newbie High Park Brewing, I assumed it was their Off The Leash IPA I would enjoy the most. But I also knew their Across The Pond Special ESB had won a medal at the Ontario Brewing Award this past Spring. In the end and against all odds, it was actually their 4.5% Against The Grain Golden Lager that I picked as my winner. Grainy (as advertised), nicely malted with a touch of fruit. Dandy little lager.

When I visited my buddy Vince at the Muskoka booth, I had one target in mind - their brand new Shinnicked Stout, now available in their six-can Winter Survival Pack. As it turns out, the word "shinnicked" is cottage-country slang for "that numbing, gasp-for-breath feeling you get when you plunge into a Muskoka lake for a chilly late-night dip in the fall or a walk outside on a -20C winter day." Okay, I wouldn't do either, especially that one about the lake. This city boy would replace "numbing, gasp-for-breath feeling" with "that crazy, out-of-your-mind feeling."

Flannel shirt? Check. Big-ass ginger beard? Check.
Yup, Sleeman's rep Alex brought his Craft A-Game
to the Beer Fest. Here he is, holding up their Railside
Session Ale which is proving to be a hit with customers 
at my Beer Store. We seem to be selling a lot of it now.

But cottage folk are a much tougher breed than me. For my money, huddle in front of that stone fireplace with a blanket and happily sip the 5.2% Shinnicked Stout which uses the Lumberjack beans from the local Muskoka Roastery coffee company. I definitely got the java scent and taste from this coffee-oatmeal stout but not the latter. However, my beer writing bud, Drunk Polkaroo, did a video review of it last week and later assured me that warmth and layering of the oatmeal kicks in about halfway through. Again, that's why it's tough to review beers from a small sample so that Survival Pack will now find its way to Donny's Bar and Grill. The sacrifices I make for the sake of research.

Another new brew I got a chance to try was Amsterdam Brewing's Starke Pilsner. When server Corey poured one for me, he noted that the malts (French Strisselpalt and Czech Saaz) were balanced out with a slight hoppy aftertaste, a description that was pretty much on the money. This is a great and punchy pilsner.

But probably the most entertaining review I got on the day was from Alex and Jonny on the Nickel Brook-Sawdust City 2015 collaborative 11-05 Saison. Their two respective brewmasters Ryan and Sam get together every year to create a new 11-05 offering as they share November 5th as their birthdays.

Side Launch rep Jeff offers up a Mountain
Lager to me which, of course, I eagerly had.
Because that's how charity works, people!

It's also Guy Fawkes Day for historically-minded people who are fans of explosions that never actually went off. Wile E. Coyote comes to mind.

But back to the beer. Jonny excitedly offered up that the Saison has "all the same flavours as (citrus drink) Five-Alive!" While that is exactly right, I'm not sure he and Alex realized the ABV in this beer was also 11.05%. I remember enjoying a couple on my patio in the Spring and when I went to stand up, I had completely lost my land legs. After getting my bearings, I did that awkward walk that slightly-intoxicated people do when they're trying to act sober. I call it Newborn Giraffe Trying To Stand. Damn tasty and also exceptionally potent. And the trick here is you don't taste that high ABV at all in any of the 11-05 beers thus far. These annual beers are like a sniper using a silencer from 500 yards away. The bullet's in you long before before you realize you're shot and frankly, you never heard it coming. Turns out even a saison can also be "silent but deadly."

As an aside, the Brewmaster Birthday Twins will be back at it with a new one in about... *looks at calendar*... one week when they release their fourth 11-05, a Brett-style (a form of "funky" yeast) Belgian Tripel, a style already known for its traditionally-high ABV. So may God have mercy on our wretched souls and yes, pass one my way.

Redline Brewing dude Dennis gets some of that
Kollision Hoppy Lager coming in my direction.
The light behind him makes this all very angelic.
That said, I can't decide whether Dennis looks
like (much younger) Billy Joel or Gord Downie.

So anyway, huge thanks from all of us charity-givers to all the breweries who drove to Burlington to do their part, which, after the already-mentioned, also included Steam Whistle, Creemore, Granville Island, Central City and Mill Street.

As well, a shout-out to The Artist Formerly Known As "Andrew Hill" (and his sick dreads) because while he's damn good and always plays these cool charity Beer Fests every time, those quotation marks around his name make me nervous. Who is this man?

It was truly a great day, a great event and a great charity because let's face it, I'm bound to land face-down in the Joseph Brant Hospital's emergency ward some day. That I've dodged that likely scenario after all these years flies in the face of probability. This was the best Rib Eye Jacks' Beer Fest yet. This is the third one I've enjoyed so frankly, at this point, I've earned my inevitable admittance to Jo Brant, as we call it here in B-Town. I have no idea why I'll land there but I feel it's certain a stomach pump will be involved. Well, perhaps I have something of an idea. Remember: while time heals all wounds, hospitals do it much quicker and with pain-killers. Well, except fatal wounds. They're a bitch.

Stay turned for more beery goodness coming in this space very soon as I look at beers gifted to me by coworker Marie, high school sweetheart Christine, Beer Bro Glenn and a special look at a three-brewery bus trip being organized by one of my favourite Rib Eye Jack's servers, The Tiffers. So back in a couple of days for more fun. But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

An East Coast beer wrap-up

The whole fam-damily! This would be the bride's side of the big day,
from left, my nephew Thomas, niece Nora, my sister/their mom Carly,
bride Genny, father Paddy and Maid of Honour Emily. Lookin' good...

Before I flew out to Halifax a few weekends back with my Mom and my son, David, in tow, I was telling a few people how I was at that weird age where I am, in essence, a parent to both my own child and my mother who just turned 87. I was the part of that three-generational trio that would make sure we got to the airport on time. I was the guy who got our boarding passes out of the touch screen machine in the airports and make sure our luggage got properly checked in. I was the guy who was basically given the job of getting us all to the east coast safely for the nuptials of my oldest niece Genny.

I was the guy in charge; I was the parent. Or at least I thought I was. As it turns out, I'd be somewhat useless at the smaller things, such as starting a rental car or even making an unfamiliar shower work, without David there to guide me. I kid you not.

Our Halifax "Beer Fest" companion Jeff is shown
happily at the bar with our four-sample paddle at Good
Robot Brewing. Or I suppose muffin tray in this case. 

When we landed in Halifax, the three of us went directly to the Dollar Car Rental kiosk (believe me, they understated their prices a little with that name) and picked up our reserved car. Whereas I am used to hatchbacks and small sedans, this was a fancy-ass Chrysler mid-size with a lot more horses under the hood than I am used to. That too-big-for-me engine came into play when we were driving back to the airport three days later through the tail-end of Hurricane Matthew. But I'll get to that later.

When they handed me the key fob, I recognized it as one of those keys that pop up like a switchblade when you press a button. So as my Mom hopped into the back and David climbed into the passenger seat while I loaded the luggage in the trunk, I was pressing little buttons, trying to pop the key up. Sliding into the driver's seat, I was having little luck. "Hmmm," I told my Mom, "I can't make the key pop up." David piped up: "There is no key. You push the brake and the button." I chuckled lightly, "I don't think so, buddy. Every car has a key." And I continued to struggle with the fob, pressing every square inch of it. I just could not make that key pop up and it was getting a little frustrating.

Our Propeller server Adam manned the bar when we
stopped in. He explained to us how the brewery had
expanded to nearby Dartmouth (just across the bay
from Halifax) and that the bulk of their production
was done at the newer brewery with good reason.

But the thing about David is that in the end, he will make sure his voice is heard. "Daddy," he said with some sternness in his voice, "Push that button and press on the brake!" Since I was getting nowhere with the key fob, I did that. The car started up. "How did you know that, buddy?" I asked, genuinely astonished. "It says so right there," he replied, pointing to the high-tech dashboard. *Heavy sigh* I used to know stuff but now, it seems the student has surpassed the teacher. And it was more of the same at the downtown Prince George Hotel. Neither my Mom nor I could make the shower work. It took David to come into the bathroom and show us both how.

But anyway, I'm here to talk about the Halifax breweries that David, myself and our new friend Jeff visited during our "Beer Fest" tour on Saturday. (For the record, David named our little excursion, too.) Last time, I spoke at length about both Unfiltered Brewing and Good Robot Brewing in north-end Halifax. This time, I'm looking at our first two stops - the big guns, Garrison Brewing and Propeller Brewing in the south end. These two breweries basically created the craft beer wave in Nova Scotia when they both opened back in 1997.

This is a good bird's-eye view of Garrison's front patio
and to the left (but not seen) is a much longer patio
along the south side of the building, which is actually
much larger than this picture indicates. This is just
a shot of the front where you go into the retail section.

Now in this space, I chronicled the history of both these breweries in September 2015 after my young friend, Megan, sent me a handful of their beers. I'll include that link at the bottom if you wanna brush up on some east coast beer history. So for now, let's jump straight into their beers, many of which were damn impressive.

After we got settled into the Prince George on the Friday - a day before Beer Fest - I headed out to the closest Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) to grab some crafties for the room. Since the closest NSLC was in an underground mall, it wasn't particularly large (I was since assured the stand-alone NSLCs are huge) so their craft selection was somewhat limited. It was also on a separate, non-refrigerated shelf, which very much sucks. So I grabbed myself a handful of singles, some of which I've had plus a few newbies. But I would need a beer that I could drink at room temperature while the others chilled in my room's mini-fridge. Fortunately, Garrison had their Irish Red Ale in six-packs on that shelf.

Call this the Propeller's "Starter" brewery as their main
brewing is now done in nearby Dartmouth. But this little
brewery still pops out one-offs in their small basement vats
for a reason. They have to brew here for this to continue as
their main retail outlet. Same rules as Ontario's, it seems.

Not many of the craft beer drinkers I know are huge fans of the red ale style but I have always enjoyed it and frankly, it's an easy drinker, almost especially at room temperature.

And this little 5% banger gave me exactly what I wanted in my red ales - some Crystal and Carastan malts on the nose, giving it a light fruit and caramel aroma with just that nice touch of apple on the tongue. Like I said, I love a good red ale and this one certainly was. It was the perfect "stand-by" beer while the others chilled. So well done, Garrison, on a not-complicated but always-satisfying style.

After a few of these disappeared (Scottish accent) into mah belly, it was time to graduate to a big boy - the Propeller Double IPA. As one of the few beers in my fridge I hadn't tried, I was looking forward to this one.

Okay, this one hits all the right bells and
whistles. In a funky 500-ml (17 ounce)
bottle, the Double IPA was my first blast
of anticipated hops in Halifax. Delicious!

As I explained last time, while their regular IPA is readily available in Ontario, I have had it a handful of times and enjoyed it just enough but I am an exceptionally tough sell on IPAs as I have enjoyed many outstanding ones. With Propeller's, there was no "wow" factor for me.

However, in absolute fairness, I discovered their Pale Ale on this trip and that landed me right back on Team Propeller as I loved it. It became my go-to brew at the hotel's bar where it was bottle-served. So we need a tie-breaker.

Their Double IPA did not break the tie but rather, it smashed it. And thus, my first IPA on Nova Scotia soil was a real beauty. Using a truckload of Pacific Northwest hops and aggressively dry-hopping it, the 8.2%, 85 IBU (international brewing units) brew hit all the keys (unlike my rental car.) Big pine, floral and citrus notes on the nose, a slick hop finish with a noticeable malt backbone, this was a perfectly balanced Imperial IPA. So "Welcome to Halifax, Donny" as this beer gave me all the creature comforts in my new home away from home. If my executive jet (the one I'll own after my impending lottery win with the huge Avengers logo painted on the side) ever has to make an overnight emergency landing at Halifax's Robert Stanfield Airport, I'll simply have my limo chauffeur scoot me over to the brewery, knowing I'm among (much poorer but still pretty nice) new friends.

Revolution is bang-on! The Propellor
Russian Imperial Stout was a YUGE
favourite as Jeff and I split it in the
hotel room. While I am a hophead,
Jeff is a stout sipper and this one was a
winner for both of us. Some dark gold!

More Propeller offerings in a moment but first an interesting sidebar gleaned during our visit to the brewery. When David, Jeff and I landed in the brewery for a visit - Stop #2 of Beer Fest 2016 - we were served by the very knowledgeable Adam, an enthusiastic, easy-going young man. After peppering us with the traditional "where are you from?' and "what brought you here?" openers, he had little problem answering my questions about the brewery. When I noted how small it was, given their output, Adam explained that they were unable to keep up with the demand for Propeller and in 2013, they opened a much larger second brewery on Windmill Road in nearby Dartmouth to keep up.

"So do you still brew anything here or is this just your retail component now?" I asked him. Well, he explained, they have to continue to brew on-site in accordance to Nova Scotia law. So the smaller 1,000-litre (264 gallon) vats in the basement are now brewing one-offs so they can continue to use the original Gottingen Street brewery as a retail outlet. Also, the brewery was once upon a time (back in the 1950s, I believe) a strip club - it's likely the only one in Canada that can make that claim.

While the interior of the brewery and its tasting room is not as flashy and new as, say, Good Robot Brewing, it is cozy and old school with its long, worn wooden benches. It is exactly the atmosphere that would appeal to the university crowd as my nephew, Thomas, confirmed. During his stint at the local Dalhousie University, he and his gang of thugs were constantly landing at the Propeller doorstep to party the night away. "Had a lot of fun at Propeller over the years," he told me at some point on the weekend. "Some great times in that old place."

When I checked RateBeer to get a commercial
description for Garrison's Hoppy Buoy IPA, I did
notice that it was really undervalued with a score of
66 out of 100. Ignore RateBeer. This is a solid IPA.

With that said, let's look at a couple more of their specialty brews. One thing was established early into "Beer Fest 2016." While I am a renowned hophead, Jeff is a notorious stout sipper. He likes his beers rich, black and meaty. So basically, the same way the Kardashian sisters like their men. And hey, that's cool with me because I'm also a dark beer fan. So while I was at the Propeller retail desk, I grabbed a Revolution Russian Imperial Stout, as well as a Nocturne Dark Lager - a seasonal followed by a one-off. (For the record, David likes iced tea, apple juice and bottled water if anyone's keeping tabs on the group's one responsible person.)

When he returned to the Prince George (Jeff and his girlfriend Jackie were staying there for the wedding, as well), we all went up to David's and my room where Jeff and I split that Revolution. Holy Blin! (That's Russian for "shit" - more on that in a bit.) Beautiful tan head on this 8% thick, rich stout which fairly explodes with deep coffee and roasted malts on the nose. On the tongue, bitter (really bitter) chocolate with a lighter touch of vanilla and dried fruit. Both Jeff and I loved the hell out of this one. This is one of the better Imperial Stouts I have enjoyed in Canada, which tells me, again, I would make a perfectly good easterner should my sweet-ass Avengers Quinjet land there.

Propeller's Nocturne Dark Lager was a nice but
not dangerous in the least dark lager. Obviously,
a lot thinner than their tasty Revolution Russian
Imperial Stout but that's what dark lagers are...

Propeller's Nocturne Dark Lager actually made the flight home to Donny's Bar and Grill so I could enjoy it in the luxury of Burlington's bountiful splendor. (Not really - I just ran out of time in Halifax for all the beers I bought.) As expected, this dark lager was much lighter and thinner than their Revolution Imperial Stout but then again, it's supposed to be. At just 4.8%, it pours with a deceptively white head for a dark beer and offers up just gentle whiffs of coffee on the nose. On the tongue, there's some nice smoky chocolate and in the end, this is a nice representation of what a dark lager should be - the skinny awkward cousin of the stout. I quite enjoyed it as you could knock these back for an afternoon and still make it to work on time the next day.

When we made Garrison Stop #1 on the tour, it was simply because it was the southern-most (or was that eastern-most) of the breweries. That said, the brewery beautifully set the tone on this Summer-like October day. Splitting a paddle, Jeff and I both sampled their Raspberry Wheat, a seasonal one-and-done, while I opted for their Tall Ship Amber Ale and Jeff seconded with their Nut Brown Ale. Asked how it was, Jeff replied simply, "It's a brown ale." Say no more. Not an inspiring style. However, that Amber ale was a decent one with some malt and nut on the nose and a touch of apple on the tongue. I preferred their Irish Red but this was quite nice.

The front door of the Prince George Hotel in downtown
Halifax. This is the spot where you could regularly see
me wandering out front for a smoke in my Superman
pajama pants, Batman t-shirt, flannel over-shirt and, of
 course, my dollar store flip-flops. Stay classy, Halifax!

However, their retail outlet offered beer lovers a chance to create their own Mix-Six so I grabbed a couple more Tall Ship and four of their Hoppy Buoy IPA. I was quite impressed with the Hoppy Buoy. While a huge step below their Imperial IPA and quite light at just 50 IBUs, the 6.5% brew poured a nice light copper colour with a bit of mango on the nose. On the tongue, it was lightly bitter (as befits that low IBU) with some nice fruitiness and sly malt on the tongue. It kinda gets pounded on RateBeer and I'm not exactly sure why because I thought it was a pretty solid performer.

But that Halifax Beer Fest was hugely enjoyable for me, Jeff and David. One part of it that Jeff quite enjoyed was me regularly getting called out on swearing by my young son. While I seldom employ the F-bomb, unfortunately I tend to over-rely on "shit" in my vocabulary. It's usually followed with an exclamation point. David used to say, "Daddy, swearing!" when I spat out the word. Now it's simply, "Language!" I can tell you exactly where that comes from. In the opening scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, our good heroes are zeroing in on a Nazi fortress, which suspends the belief that any remaining Nazis would be like 115-years old.

Captain America - and my son David - would
like YOU to watch your language now, please

As they're moving in, a missile is fired at Iron Man, who exclaims, "Shit!" before deftly dodging it. At that moment, Captain America says through their collective head-sets, "Language!" Poor Cap is roundly mocked by his teammates for that during the remainder of the movie. However, David has picked up the clean-language mantle that was quickly discarded by Steve Rogers. As we proceeded through Halifax Beer Fest, David piped up "Language!" several times throughout the day but as Jeff happily noted, he never got called on it once. Yeah, I set one helluva good example. Real Father of the Year stuff.

Unfortunately, I got called on it several more time as we drove back to the Halifax Airport through the tail end of Hurricane Matthew. Sheets of water coated Highway 102 while high winds pushed the car like it was a ping-pong ball filled with helium. It was so bad that one car got blown into the ocean. We passed by the scene that was riddled with both tow trucks and news crews. While we breezed into town on Friday, we practically crawled out on the Monday as I white-knuckled our entire way back to the airport. I even pulled over once just to calm myself, worried that a strong gust would send us hydro-planing. Fortunately, both my son and Mom were blissfully unaware of my rapid heart movement. But "Language!" came into play several times during that journey.

See that oblong building in the foreground, across
the street from the Halifax Seaport Farmers'
Market and a couple of cruise ships, sitting in the
Atlantic Ocean. That would be Garrison Brewing

And that, my friends, is a wrap for both my niece Genny's wedding and the rowdy fun that was Halifax Beer Fest. We hugely enjoyed the four-stop tour that included Garrison, Propeller, Good Robot and especially Unfiltered Brewing, which treated me to some of the best IPAs I have ever enjoyed.

Next up is the Rib Eye Jacks' annual Beer Fest, which I attended yesterday and am still shaking off today. A stellar line-up of breweries for this year's charity event. (Yes, I drank for charity and no, you're wrong because it was noble.) After that, I'll be looking at the beers my high school sweetie, Christine, brought me up from California. Then the beers college cohort Glenn brought me from Niagara Falls, New York. And then the beers coworker Marie brought me from the tiny St Jacob's brewery Block 3. In other words, I'm about 327 miles behind on my beer news.

One final parting note on our Halifax adventure would be the image of my Mom glued to CNN all weekend as they breathlessly reported on the Donald Trump-Billy Bush bus incident that invoked a powerful image of Mr. Trump grabbing kittens or something. I gotta tell you, America, your election is a lot rapier than I thought it was going to be. Oh, and that link to my first look at Halifax beers last year is here and called: Megan's East Coast Challenge But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

A very special day... done twice

My oldest niece, Genny, married her 10-year boyfriend
Rory during a service at the Halifax Trade Centre over
the weekend. It was the first marriage for any of my
nieces and nephews... but was being held a second time!

It was a very special day.... that actually happened twice. Yes, a little confusing but when it comes to the Redmonds and the Whelans, well, everything is confusing.

Let me back up. My oldest niece, Genny, married her 10-year boyfriend, Rory in a beautiful service before 50-plus friends and family at the Halifax Trade Centre this past Sunday. She was my first niece or nephew to get married. So that's a pretty big deal. Oddly, while she was seven years old two weeks ago and just entering Grade 2 in Uncle Donny Time, it turns out she's really 29 in Actual Time. I don't know how the hell that happened...

Now Genny is a product of both the Redmonds and the Whelans, meaning my sister, Carly and her former husband Paddy. Now for this event, the Whelans were out in full force - Paddy, brothers Timmy, Danny and Johnny and sister Mary. I have always felt a little sorry for Mary because when the Whelan boys are together in the same room, there is more testosterone and one-up-manship than your average NFL locker room. That said, they're entertaining, cool and very funny guys.

The Redmonds were a little more sparingly represented with her mom Carly, me, our Mom, my boy David... and that was about it.

Maid of Honour Emily, shown here with her cousin
David had us all in stitches and tears with her speech,
which she opened by saying, "I've been told by Genny
that I'm not allowed to discuss any situations that did
involve sex, drugs or alcohol. That leaves me scraping
the bottom of the barrel (for things I can talk about.)"

My brother lives in Spain and my father has been gone for more than a decade. However, while David and I alone can't match the Whelan boys for testosterone levels, due to sheer numbers, we do exceed them in volume. Every family has its strengths. And together, Carly and Paddy created three absolutely gorgeous daughters - Genny, Emily and Nora - and one exceptionally handsome son, Thomas. I'm not just saying that because Tom is the spitting image of me. Oh, wait... yes, I am. And much like their Whelan side, all are doctors, nurses or soon will be. So the smart stuff runs deep in this brood. But that also comes from Carly (doctor) and Grandma Jay (former nurse) but not so much from me (former journalist-Beer Store worker) or my brother Gary (we're still not sure.)

What the Redmonds, Whelans and now Rory's family, the MacLellan's, all do seem to have in common is a wicked sense of humour. Rory, his Best Man and brother, Genny and Emily kept us all is stitches during their speeches. Which is what this is all about.

But it was left to Paddy to explain why this was their second wedding during his speech. You see, the Whelan clan's Uncle Jimmy was the Archbishop of Halifax. Many months ago, Father Jimmy fell ill and it did not look good.

David at the front of Garrison's Brewing, a
Halifax institution since 1997. They have a
damn good IPA called Hoppy Buoy. This was
the first stop on what David called Beer Fest.

So while Father Jimmy was still here, Genny and Rory asked if he would marry them. In front of a dozen or so people this past Spring, Father Jimmy did precisely that. "It was the last religious ceremony he ever performed," Paddy told us in a halting voice on Sunday. "And it meant the world to him." If that gesture is not our combined families in a nut-shell, then I don't know what is. The scales are always balanced between laughter and love. When we're not fighting. Rory had a moment in his speech to Genny that pretty much summed it up. "I promise to love you with purpose. I promise to love you with passion," he said, before adding with a sly smile, "And sometimes I might completely misinterpret the situation." In about 20 words, this bright young man described every relationship ever. But you know, this is their second marriage this year. You'd hope they have this shit nailed down by now.

So the wedding, the reception and the reconnecting of all the Whelans and some of the Redmonds was completely awesome, as well as meeting all the new folks, particularly the MacLellans. Just a wonderful time and a warm memory that will last a lifetime for all of us.

But while the wedding was on Sunday, we landed Friday afternoon and weren't leaving until Monday afternoon. That left me some play-time. And you know I made good use of it by charting out every craft brewery in and around Halifax for a bit of a tour on Saturday.

My boy, David, entertained Jeff during our stop to
Greg Nash's Unfiltered Brewing. As I did have David
posing for a picture holding my beer, he got carded
for the first time ever. He was thrilled as I produced
his Health Card. Lots of fun for an iced tea drinker!

There were too many too visit in one day so I narrowed it down to Garrison's and Propeller, the standard bearers who have been there since 1997, effectively the pair that created the craft beer market in Halifax, as well as brash newcomers, Good Robot, North and brewmaster Greg Nash's hop-slaying monster Unfiltered Brewing.

Then a request came from Jackie, a long-time family friend and former girlfriend of Paddy's. Hearing of my planned excursion, she asked: Would we mind if her long-time boyfriend, Jeff, joined us? Of course not. If Jackie, very much loved by all of us, is with him, he's a good guy. Beginning and end of story, period. Also, Jackie volunteered to take my Mom on a tour of the coastline at the same time as she had little interest in our brewery shenanigans... so done deal. Win-win. And while David had already named this little excursion "Beer Fest," in the end, he was pretty much right. For me and Jeff, it certainly was.

While Jackie scooted off with my Mom, the three of us piled into the rental - me behind the wheel, Jeff on the passenger side acting as navigator with the downtown Halifax map I had prepared and David in the back as tour guide chatterbox. We started at Garrison's, pretty much right on the Atlantic Ocean.

One Propeller server, Kordeena, brightened up
after I asked if I could take her picture. She said
she had been in a crappy mood but having her
picture taken turned it around. Hey, that was easy.

We split a paddle of five samplers while David happily enjoyed his bottled water. After that, we began to realize how compact downtown Halifax truly is, compared to Toronto.

According to the map, the longest drive we would have this day would be from Garrison's to Propeller. With Jeff reading out "turn left here... turn right here", we were there in seven minutes. After that, it was pretty much, "Okay, turn left here and go for... oh wait, I think we just passed it." It was just that easy. We were stunned. Jeff and I are so used to Toronto distances that Halifax distances aren't even cab-worthy. They're walking distances. As we were told by many craft brewery workers on this day.

But Propeller was a lot of fun. I've had their Propeller IPA here in Ontario, which I thought was just okay but never their Propeller Double IPA, which is really good. I'll get to that next time, as it wasn't on their taps, so let's talk about their Propeller Pale Ale which was on our paddle. They call this a British-style pale ale but believe me, it has some nice west coast kick to it. It was bottle-served at the bar in the Prince George Hotel at which we were all staying and after sampling it on the paddle, it was my Home-Base Go-To Brew.

Jessica from Unfiltered Brewing (recently
landed out east from BC) took care of all my
hop needs on this wonderful Beer Fest day.

Particularly when a bunch of us guys ditched the reception to watch the last few innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat Texas in Game Three of the ALDS at the hotel bar. Yeah, that Propeller Pale Pale had a solid malt backbone but at just 5% and probably around 30 IBU (international bitterness units), it was also fruity on the nose with a nice citrus, bitter finish. Loved it.

But I have three more Propeller beers to talk about next time, as well as some really stellar stuff from Garrison's so you'll have to hang tight. Or hang loose. I've just landed back here from the East Coast so that Maritime looseness is still upon me. Believe me, it's a different atmosphere... waaaaay more laid back. But my favourite part of visiting Propeller was telling our server, Adam, that his place of business used to be a strip club back in his Grandfather's day. After he laid out some of the brewery's history to the three of us (as any knowledgeable server should), I dropped that little bombshell on him. His eyes lit up. "I didn't know that!" I think his brewery just gained some serious Street Cred in his young mind.

The next stop on our trip was accidental. I had meant for Beer Fest to end at Unfiltered Brewing as it was my primary goal all day. But the next three breweries by geographical order were North, Cool Robot and then finally Unfiltered. The thing is after leaving Propeller, we drove past them all within minutes.

Yes, despite being in a small strip-mall with only
two other places and having this huge grain solo
outside, Jeff and I drove right past Unfiltered...

We were still completely sober. They were just that close to Propeller that we expected them to be farther away. The map indicated that to a couple of Toronto guys. So it looked like Unfiltered Brewing was next on the list as it was the first one on the map when we turned around.

Now let me explain why Unfiltered Brewing was, in essence, my Holy Grail during this trip. More than a year ago, Liam McKenna, the Brewmaster at St. John's, Newfoundland's Yellowbelly Brewing, assured me that once renegade brewer Greg Nash got his new brewery up and running, it was gonna be a hop shit-show. That was confirmed by blushing bride Genny herself, who worked with him at a brew-pub many moons ago. "I love Greg Nash," she told me. "He's a genius." So the dude came with some seriously strong appraisals, both from a pro and family alike.

Was it earned? Oh hellz yeah! These are some of the best IPAs I've ever had in Canada. While Jeff, the stout and porter lover, helped himself to the Flat Black Jesus Stout at 7% and 70 IBUs, I jumped in with the Double Orange Double IPA, a Citra-hop monster at 7.5% and 100+ IBUs. I sipped Jeff's stout and it was outstanding but my Double Orange? Beautiful citrus aroma, tons of fruit on the tongue. This Nash guy knows how to goose the hell out of a hop.

I happily drank my Twelve Steps To Zion Imperial
IPA in my room at the Prince George Hotel. From
one hop bomb to another with Unfiltered Brewing...

While the hops in mine were instantly noticeable, Jeff noted that the heaviness of the stout masked the hops in his glass. But a nice, light-hearted moment came when I stepped outside the small bar to take a picture of Jeff hoisting his glass while I had David hold up mine. At that point, server Krista wisely came over to see if David had ID since, you know, he was holding a beer. (Good call.) So I gave her his Health Card and as it was, at age 25, he was a couple of years older than her. So the two of them happily chatted away for a few minutes as David poured on his usual charm.

After we finished, I walked into their retail shop where server Jessica totally talked me into buying a one-litre (34 ounce) howler of his Twelve Steps to Zion Imperial IPA as well as an Unfiltered tulip glass. (Not even remotely true. I was the insistent one. Jessica, who recently landed in Halifax from BC, was a sweetheart. I just couldn't buy more Unfiltered product quite fast enough.) Whoa, when I had some at back at the hotel, I learned this one kicked some major ass. On the nose, it's pine, peaches, citrus and hops. On the tongue, the 8%, also 100+ IBU nard-kicker delivers juicy hops and more fruit. Mr Nash is batting 1.000 with me!

As well as having a two-storey restaurant facility (on the right, not visible
in this picture), Good Robot Brewing has this huge patio area which was
bustling when we arrived. As facilities go, this was the most publicly-
accessible of all the breweries we visited during "Beer Fest." Just huge!

Even though we hadn't had very much beer in total, because I had a rental, we decided one more stop and that would be it. With both Good Robot and North in striking distance, we settled on Good Robot because our Propeller server Adam had suggested we get to their brewery and try their corn beer. That's precisely what Jeff did when we ordered our flight, adding the brewery's Tom Waits For No One Stout. On my end, I ordered a North Halifax Common Pale Ale and an Unfiltered Riddle of Steel IPA. Except for one thing. I didn't realize I was reading off the guest brewery chalkboard so the pale ale was made by North and yes, the IPA was made by Unfiltered. I honestly thought those were just their names.

A Good Robot and a Young Boy... David poses near one
of the vats at Good Robot Brewing painted up as a robot
(I think). It looks a little like a boom-box with legs but
still a great logo and some really good atmosphere there!

Three different Unfiltered IPAs in one day. I should have bought a lottery ticket!

To be honest, I don't think Jeff was overwhelmed with his Leave Me Blue Corn Lager, which the brewery describes as a California Common - a style where a micro does their own take on a macro beer, in this case, a pale lager. Well, he didn't say he disliked it but I think he found it far too mild, especially for a stout lover. Keep in mind, too, that many macro brewers use corn (as well as rice and oats) as adjuncts (filler) to save costs. At 5% and 16 IBU, this might be a little too close to a macro beer. However, that said, he loved their Tom Waits For No One Stout. Their 8% stout was perfectly roasty and coffee - right up his alley!

Well, due to my lack of attentiveness, an issue that dogs me in daily life, I found myself in Good Robot drinking two beers that weren't even theirs. But given their hugely accessible-to-the-public set-up, these guys aren't going anywhere. So next time I'm in Halifax, I'll start with them and then go to Unfiltered. And then go back and forth between the two until someone has to pour me into a cab. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I'm just that giving.

Hey, she's my oldest niece so I have to finish this with
her, right? After all, an invite to her wedding meant a
fun trip to four really great Halifax craft breweries!!

The 5% Halifax Common Pale Ale was a solid outing by the North crew - a touch of sweetness, spice and fruit on the nose while on the tongue, it was a little more spice and malt on the tongue. Oddly, this is a Summer Seasonal brew for the outfit whereas pale ales are year-round in Ontario. But just looking at their roster, these guys seem to specialize in saisons. Every brewery has their thing. But let's face it - realizing I had another Unfiltered IPA on my paddle meant anything else was merely an appetizer. The 7%, 70 IBU Riddle of Steel IPA was all fruit and citrus on the nose, tons of grapefruit on the beautifully-bitter tongue. Someone call Spinal Tap because Greg Nash also turned it up to 11.

Okay, I'll be back in a day or so with a closer look at what I had from Garrison's and Propeller because these guys aren't resting on their 20-year histories, cranking out fresh new and very cool stuff at every turn. And probably a couple more wedding bits because it was so much fun and Halifax stories because that's the farthest east in Canada I've ever been. But one thing I did learn watching late-night TV in my hotel is that there's still phone-sex ads. Really? These days, what kind of twisted bastard enjoys talking on the phone? But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time (very soon), I remain, as always...