Mystery is a-brewin' at Cameron's...

My old Toronto buddy, Foggy (who was christened Craig but nobody
ever calls him that), his ladyfriend Denise and I check out the band
during Cameron's 20th Anniversary Bash last September. Remember
when it was still warm enough for shorts? Winter, go away... please!!

So what's new at my hometown homeys, Cameron's Brewing?

Well, that's the thing. We don't know exactly. Except that we do know something big besides actual (and exceptional) craft beer brewing is going on. But details are a little hard to come by at the moment.

It all started when I zipped down the hill to the brewery to pick up some beer and a glass for my Beer Store Brother Ben, who toils at the Nepean Beer Store, just outside of Ottawa.

Someone on Twitter had posted a picture of Cameron's Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale and we were all heaping praise upon it because it's - what's that word again? - oh yeah, fantastic! Brewmaster Jason Britton hit a bases-loaded dinger with this one.

Yes, the sign is there but the Cameron's Beer
Store is missing in action. Well, physically, it's
still there but it's a hollowed out shell of its
former self, just two empty rooms at this exact
moment. What will it be rebuilt into? That's
the question on this Beer Geek's curious mind.

But suddenly, Ben comes on and says he hasn't had it and would very much like to. The problem? Dark & Sticky was only available in Cameron's Brewmaster Taster Selection Four-Pack (long gone now as it was released last Autumn) or individually at Cameron's Retail. Being as Ben is located 485 kilometres (301 miles) away, it's a bit of a hike for a single beer. If only he knew someone just, say, a two-minute drive away from Cameron's? Oh wait, he does. That would be me. The dude just up the hill from them. The above-identified Beer Geek.

So I told him to PM his address and I'd send a good, old-fashioned Cameron's Care Package. Ben quickly sent me his geographical info and here's where our story begins. I walked up to the Retail and saw... nothing. An empty locked room with an empty office beside it. On the door was a sign reading, "Ring the bell. Enter through side entrance." Because I am, at times, able to follow instruction (that shrieking laughter you just heard is two ex-wives and a handful of ex-girlfriends), I walked through the side entrance. (See, ladies? See?)

That put me in the brewing portion of the brewery - a mystery-shrouded cave-like expanse within the building only seen by street strangers like myself thousands of times at their many Cask Nights, parties, Bar Mitzvah's and Dean Martin Comedy Roasts.

In the Cameron's Retail, this is what is affectionately called "The Donny
Vegas Six-Pack." (Don't ask them. They'll pretend they don't know what
you're talking about. It's a little game we play.) It's three of those tasty
Dark & Sticky India Brown Ales and three of those equally-tasty 12 Mile
India Pale Lagers. I tell you, these guys keep me coming back for more!

There was a make-shift retail counter and their familiar beer cooler adjacent to it. A nice lady came over to help me. So I bought Ben's beer and a brewery glass but then started in with the questions. Starting with "What the hell is going on here?" Turns out, they're doing a little remodeling up front. She noted she didn't have all the details but she knew they were putting their Growler Station up there, redoing their retail area and perhaps even putting in some seats. So finally, a tasting, drinking section, I asked? Well, she wasn't sure. "I guess we'll find out as it's going on," she smiled.

While I got Beer Store Brother Ben three Dark & Sticky
IBA's and two 12 Mile India Pale Lagers, I threw one of
their Black Forest Dark Lagers into the Beer Mail, as well.
Pretty sure my man Ben was happy with the stash but hey,
Cameron's fresh from the brewery in the mail? Ka-ching!

It was kind of weird because I had been there just a week earlier and everything was as it always was. A little jarring to see my hometown homeys torn asunder. But... a new drinking section? Hey, man, I got time for dat. So I dug a little deeper with a friend there. They confirmed that yeah, the growler station info was correct, there would be more fridge space and there would be some seating, though it sounds limited. However, they added, "It will be more for by-the-glass, not a destination set-up." But they added they didn't think it was going to be a tasting room before your purchase. Ultimately, it doesn't matter because I'm two minutes away. I buy my beer, go home and drink it in the safety and security of the Man Cave.

So what do we know from the clues thus far? Not a destination set-up. A by-the-glass place, quite possibly. But not a tasting room. Confused? I know I am. Well, yeah, I always am but about this specifically, I mean. Even my befuddled friend was clear on the partial secrecy. "They aren't sharing all of the details."

Is it possible the Captain's Log Lager was named after Cameron's CEO
and co-owner, Bill Coleman, the thumbs-up dude here, after his time as
a pirate? Or that the Ambear Red Ale is named after that time he went
one-on-one with a brown bear and won? Or that the rebranded Cosmic
Cream Ale is actually a nod to his time as a NASA astronaut? Well, I
suppose it is possible in that "anything is possible" way. We don't know.

So you know what? Maybe I should just wait like the rest of the public and be surprised when the brewery has finally finished its new interior design, right?

Wrong. To put it into 14-year-old girl parlance, "O-M-G!! This is Cameron's. I love them because they're my hometown brewery. Until I know, I can't even..."

So I gave it another shot. With my brother in town, pile-driving into my craft-laden beer fridge, I was in dire need of a Donny Vegas 12-Pack, which consists of six 12 Miles India Pale Lager (a beer I will be heaping praise upon in an upcoming lager column) and six of their Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale. So down the hill I scooted to the brewery to see if I could find out anything else from a lost, wandering and potentially-chatty worker within the brewery. Now this visit, the "Ring Bell" portion of the sign had been covered up so I followed the remainder of the posted instructions and simply walked in the side-door.

I am standing where an administrative office used to be to take
this photo of the hollowed-out retail area. Once the renovations
are done, a growler stand will be set up where I am standing,
the beer fridge and other brewery products will be on the left
and on the right - yes! - a few chairs for people to enjoy a beer!

(That bell/buzzer was really loud so I suspect one day, an annoyed worker probably covered that portion of the sign. I know I would've.)

Here comes the weird part. Turns out that bell-buzzer thing actually serves a purpose. Because I stood alone at the retail counter for a little bit. Finally, I asked a passing worker if someone was working retail. He was very apologetic.

(Truth to tell, I was there less than two minutes and took the opportunity to wander into the ripped-up retail and make-shift retail to snap off a couple of photos. Was I suppose to wander freely like that? Probably not but hey, when Judgement Day comes, we can just add this to an exceptionally long list of my many misdeeds.)

So the worker walked to the front door, opened it and, yup, pressed the buzzer. A man emerged from a nearby hallway, ready to happily serve me. But hey, here I was, face-to-face with another employee so what the hell, I figured, let's see if he could fill in a few of the blanks.

This makeshift retail area within the actual brewery is actually a
combination of their former growler pouring station and the beer
fridge and products that previously adorned the retail area. Soon,
this'll all be shifted upfront to their brand spankin' new retail area.

And he did, which was actually him giving me confirmation of some of the bits and pieces I had been told so far. The east end of the retail where an administrative office once stood is where they are setting up the growler station. Prior to this, the station was always in the brewery so you handed the jug to them, they disappeared and then reappeared with a filled growler. The beer fridge and related products, such as T-Shirts and glasses, will be on the south wall while on the north wall, right beside the window where the retail counter previously stood? Yes, a small, probably three or four-seat window ledge table "where you can enjoy a beer before you buy some."

Because outside contractors, such as painters and electricians, are involved in the project, he confessed it was a little bit behind schedule. But he optimistically suggested it would be ready in three weeks so about halfway through April.

If you missed the Cameron's Brewmaster Taster Selection Four-Pack,
you missed a doozy. President and co-owner Bill Coleman handed this
bad boy to me when I had wandered in on the first day that the Dark &
Sticky India Brown Ale was available in individual cans. With the Black
Forest Dark Lager, Dark & Sticky and Ambear Red Ale, this lastest
mixed pack was, to my mind, the best and definitely darkest one yet. 

The poor fellow must not have dealt with many contractors in the past so I'm calling it mid-May. Since my neighbours have an extension being put on their house that was guaranteed to be done "well before Christmas" and I continue to see workers tracking mud in and out of their place, I perhaps have a little less faith in estimated timelines.

However, the contractors' portion of what needs to be done isn't extensive from his description so fingers crossed that I will happily be sitting in a brand new retail area by April 14th or so. I'm out of town in Las Vegas from April 9 to 13th and if their new retail was all sexy, sassy and set up when I got back... well, talk about a reason to be very happy I dragged my tired ass home.

Anyways, that's it for today. I'll be back soon with a look at Ontario's best craft lagers, a peek into the inner-working of Collective Arts with my old pal, Tony Cox and even a look at some of the big beers I had during my Birthday Week in Sin City. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

When a picture's worth 1,000 words...

My son, David, has what I call the "Batman Angle" down in this pic
which he hoped would find its way into Daddy's Beer Blog. Well, call
me a sucker or a sentimental fool but of course, I'm gonna use this!!!
It's Daddy's proudest moment when his son takes his first beer pic.

The strangest thing happened a couple of weekends back. I had driven my son, David, to London, the city where his Mom and I traditionally do what I like to call the "prisoner exchange." She lives in Sarnia, I live in Oakville so we split the difference when shuttling my boy between his two distant homes.

Later that evening, after he went back to his Mom's, I got a text from her. This sometimes can be bad news, though usually of the "David ate a whole container of ice cream and is now puking" variety. Or perhaps "David has a weird rash on his ass. Any ideas?" And then there's my all-time favourite phone call from her when he was in Grade 4 - "Your son pulled the fire alarm at school!!!" When I couldn't stop laughing, she added to the gravity of the situation by explaining, "This is serious! The fire trucks showed up and everything!" This, of course, put me quite literally on the floor, howling with more laughter, almost unable to breathe.

While David has never taken a beer picture for this blog, he
has been in many pics as he often accompanies Dad to the
best craft breweries. Here he is at Barnstormer Brewing in
Barrie with our favourite dude and soldier Brother Hago!!

.
Once you become parent, you get a keen awareness that Mommies and Daddies don't always have the same senses of humour when it comes to a child's shenanigans. But these are things parents deal with all the time. You simply adjust accordingly. Turns out it's not funny when your child pees on Mommy's shoes, even if they're those butt-ugly purple and black pumps. Just as Moms learn it's also not funny when he takes the scissors to your old high school football jersey (no matter how many times Mom has tried to throw it away.) And if you do find it funny, well, take your laughter elsewhere.

Anyway, back to the text from his Mom. It was two beer pictures of a Belgian Moon wheat in a Guinness glass as you see above. One was kind of from a distance and not as sharp but the other? There it is right up top there. A really great beer picture! It has the tilted Batman angle, favoured by two of the best craft beer photographers around, Drunk Polkaroo and Beer Brother Hago. It came with the message, "Don, David got you two pics for the beer blog."

Last Father's Day, David presented me
with this Toronto Maple Leafs sweater.
Upon learning I would be in Las Vegas,
watching our Leafs on New Years Eve,
he asked if I was wearing his gift to the
game. Well, of course I would, I told him.
It was a great gift so I was thrilled to put
that wool sweater on come game time!

I instantly texted back, "Did David really take these?" Well, she replied, not only did he take them, he also wrote the attached text, pretending to be her.

I know how my boy's mind works. He didn't want to say, "Here, Daddy, please put this in your beer blog" so he pretended it was Mom doing the asking. He thinks it makes a better and stronger case for blog inclusion if it's coming from Mom. That said, he's taken dozens of photos that have appeared here. He's very handy with my digital camera but as my iced-tea drinking boy, he's never taken an actual beer photo on a cell phone because he's never actually had a beer. In fact, the Belgian Moon was being drunk by Mom's boyfriend and David just decided to go into Beer Picture Taking Mode on the spur of the moment.

So I threw the photo up on Facebook, explained it was David's first-ever beer photo and basically said: What do you guys think? Because it's Facebook and David is very much loved by my friends on there, the response was, as expected, overwhelmingly positive. Hago was first on deck, suggesting the picture was worthy of a blog of its own. After that, dozens more weighed in, praising it through the roof. But when Yellowbelly Brewing's (St. John's, Newfoundland) very own Brewmaster Liam Mckenna simply replied, "Brilliant," I knew, well, this was a certified award-winner.

I also put it on Twitter reluctantly because, well, it can be way crankier than Facebook so I prefaced it with "Please no nasty comments about the beer or the glass" and went on to explain it was my son's first beer photo.

This is Shehan De Silva, founder of Lost Craft Beer, in a picture used by
Bay Street Bull for an online story. You see, the financial website follows
"money people" such as Shehan, who worked for a handful of years with
the Royal Bank of Scotland before ditching it all to start a brewery. Now
I personally think that's pretty noble but hang on as we are about to tell
the story of how his gin-joint, Lost Craft Beers, got started back in 2016.

Because Belgian Moon is brewed by a Canadian macro, Molson's and Guinness is far too large to be a craft brewery, I was nervous there might be a few nasty shots across the bow from the many craft beer drinkers on my followers' list. David's not on Twitter but I wasn't prepared to read negative stuff about this photo. But knowing it was my kid, everyone was both cool and awesome. In fact, I ran a poll with very pointed answers, asking should I run this picture in my blog? So 15% answered "Use it in your beer blog." Then 20% clicked on "Why are you even asking?" A solid 25% hit the "Seriously good pic! Use it!" option while an overwhelming 40% opted for "Don't be a dick! Use it!" 

I knew putting the word "dick" in an answer would make it, by far, the favourite. But that's the story of how David got a beer picture in here.

I got my high school friend, Sandy, to hold up my Lost
Craft Revivale Lagered Ale at St Louis Wings here in
Oakville and suggested she was stealing it. The joke
here is that even in high school, Sandy despised beer..

And unlike many of my long-winded openings, at least this one has something to do with beer.

Which brings us to the beer portion of this little horse-and-pony show. It seems I've been drinking an inordinately high amount of Kolsch (lagered ales) lately. Not my first style choice when I'm purchasing but it seems to be one favoured by local restaurants. I'm not at all surprised as the style is long considered to be a strong crossover between macro and micro.

First, it was at The Keg, which has always served up a big-time favourite of mine, Collective Arts Brewing's (Hamilton) Ransack The Universe IPA. But my beloved Ransack is no longer there. Fearing the worst when I scanned their beer menu, I was happy to see that Beau's All Natural Brewing's (Vankleek Hills, Ontario) Lug Tread Lagered Ale was added. So when long-time best bud, Dave and I went to The Keg for my belated birthday dinner, I was happily piling back the Province's premier Kolsch with my prime rib dinner. You know what beer goes well with medium-rare prime rib? Any damn craft beer they have! At that point, it's "mainly because of the meat." Dave, who's old like me, will get that reference.

Here's a marketing fact for us.  Shehan De Silva believes their products'
minimalist design makes his three beers stand out more prominently at
the LCBO. He may be onto something. Sometimes less is, indeed, more.

Quick question: Do vegans even know about prime rib because, frankly, I think that might be a deal-breaker!

But there's been another Kolsch in my life lately. You see, my high school buddy, Danny, has played two recent music gigs at St Louis Wings in Oakville and the only craft beer they have in stock is Lost Craft Beer's Revivale Lagered Ale. 

Now, after extensive trips to Europe, notably Germany, Lost Craft founder Shehan De Silva decided their flagship beer when he was kicking things off a few years back should probably be a Kolsch.

In what is now a time-honoured tradition (so it's happened twice), Sandi,
right, the organizer of so many White Oaks reunions, pours a beer for
our musician Danny, left, while Dave the photographer snaps a pic. But
Sandi was pouring Danny a craft beer - the Lost Craft Revivale Lagered
Ale at my suggestion. Danny drinks any beer but he really loved this one.

In my mind, that's a smart choice. You want your first beer to be accessible to beer drinkers at large.

Initially contract-brewed out of Etobicoke's Cool Brewing, De Silva later shifted in 2016 to Common Good Beer Company in Scarborough, which, under the watchful eye of Brewmaster Jamie Mistry, contract brews a large number of small Ontario craft breweries' fare. Don't get me wrong - I like to see craft breweries as bricks-and-mortar facilities unto themselves but even breweries as big as Collective Arts began as contract brewers in Nickel Brook Brewing in Burlington. You gotta start somewhere. And if the beer is really good, well, we're less concerned about an actual structure.

So is the Revivale Lagered Ale any good? Oh hell to the yeah, for its style, it's top notch.

During its brief beer existence, Sextant Craft
Brewery put out the Why So Sirius? Pale Ale,
a beer later purchased by Lost Craft Beer and
remarketed as Sirius Premium Pale Ale. Brand
new can but the same great taste and still made
at Common Good Brewing out in Scarborough.

After all, at the 2017 Ontario Brewing Awards, it took gold for the Best Lagered Ale.

As with most lagered ales, it's got a somewhat grassy, grainy nose but there's a light fruit that comes through on the tongue as you're drinking this 4.8%, 19 IBU (international bitterness units) beer that makes it, well, a dandy, little bar beer that's a solid step-and-a-half above the macros on tap.

But you know, it's not always my beer opinion that counts. So when my man, Danny, pulled the plumb St Paddy's Day gig at St Louis Wings, there was a bunch of us there. And one was Sandi, the lovely lady who organizes our White Oaks Secondary School reunions every Summer. She had made the trek in from Woodstock for the gig. But while Danny was playing, she said, "I have to buy him a beer. What do you suggest?" So I handed her my empty can of Revivale and said to get one of those. So she did. When Danny was finished his set, I asked him what he thought of it. "That's a really good beer!" he responded. So there we go. Another man on the path to good craft beer. I'm bringing them over, one musician at a time.

But Lost Craft has two more beers (one with an odd but interesting twist) to look at here so let's start with their Crimzen Premium Red Ale because any time I get a good red ale in my hands, I am the happiest of campers (despite the fact I only camp in comfy hotels because... indoor toilets, bears and stuff.) Whenever I see Crimzen at the LCBO, I always grab a couple of cans because I like having a nice British-style red in my fridge and frankly, a smooth red ale is a great starter beer. This is exactly that. Pouring a nice amber-red (that's a glass of Crimzen in the above picture), this 4.7% charmer is all apple on the nose with some light caramel and spice on the tongue. As a good red should be, it's quite refreshing. Call me a fan.

The third and last beer in the Lost Craft stable is an interesting story in itself.

You may wonder why my buddy, Danny, as well as the
Leafs-Habs game behind him is in perfect focus while I
am but a blur on cowbell. That's just how speedy I am.
Like The Flash, it's hard to get a focused picture of me.
I'm just that fast. And oh yes, the Leafs blanked the
Habs that night 4-0 so it sucks to be a Habs fan now!

In the shared Common Good brewing facility was another small contract brewery called Sextent Craft Brewery which made one beer - the Why So Sirius? American Style Pale Ale. So in February 2017, Lost Craft ended up purchasing Sextent for an undisclosed amount and added a third beer to their ranks - the now renamed Sirius Premium Pale Ale. I find that all very interesting because I have never heard of a contract brewery buying out another contract brewery. As far as I can tell, the beer did not change one lick during the transition - it's still an evenly-balanced mix of malts and hops with no emphasis of one over the other.

Which is precisely what De Silva wanted when he made the purchase. In a release at that time, he noted, "The transaction adds a refreshing American-style Pale Ale that is complimentary to Lost Craft's core year-round product portfolio. Sextant's flagship beer, Why So Sirius? is well-balanced and sessionable, consistent with Lost Craft's brewing philosophy." And, indeed, that is precisely what you get with Sirius. It's a reasonable 4.9%, roughly 35 IBU ale that pours golden with some nice citrus on the nose and light pine on the tongue. So exactly as it was under Sextant. A solid west coast pale ale.

A huge shout-out to this lady, Megan, the manager of the St Louis
Wings outlet in Oakville. She invited Danny to be the entertainment
on St Paddy's Day and man, did we have some good old Irish fun on
that, the most sacred of all Irish traditions. Plus she keeps that tasty
Lost Craft Revivale Lagered Ale icy cold for me when I get there...

So there you have it. A column that started with a boy Finding Craft in his photos and a brewery called Lost Craft to finish this up. That's what I call full circle.

Okay, coming up are a few big reads. A lot of us who used to drink macros lagers, such as myself, Beer Bro Glenn and Drunk Polkaroo don't pay too much attention to the style anymore. Is that because there is no solid craft lagers out there, my friends? Oh no no no. I went on a very deliberate hunt and found a few beauties for us to enjoy.

My pal, Tony Cox, recently made the shift from Nickel Brook Brewing in Burlington to Collective Arts Brewing in Hamilton, a mere 10-minute drive from his Hammer home. So he invited me over to his new digs and gave me the, ahem, "nickel tour." Some big stuff coming out of his new turf.

And while I am returning to Las Vegas on April 9th because I am so goddamn sick of this Winter That Will Not Leave, there's still the matter of the many tasty beverages I had while I was down there for my birthday week in February. So we'll have to investigate what really stood out and how Nevada stacks up in the craft beer sweepstakes! And, of course, where you find the best craft brewski's in Sin City. But Scooby Doo gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here for today. Until next time, I remain as always...

The Cowbell Caper...

I tell you, it doesn't matter whether it's the biggest concert of the year or
a gig at a bar, my friend Dave, right, always scores front row seats. It's
like he has these magical connections or something. Here, he has our
high school buddy, Danny, practically playing the guitar just for him!!

This is the story of how the St Louis Wings restaurant in Oakville got the cowbell it so desperately needed. Not that they knew it at the time, mind you. Some things you just discover as life ambles along around you.

It all starts with my high school buddy, Danny, who does solo gigs with his guitar all over Ontario. Well, the west of Toronto area anyway. He's played his gigs in places as prestigious as Port Credit and Streetsville, often referred to the Caribbean of the North. Now, he's finally cracked the elusive Oakville market, which is clearly akin to the Mayan Riviera in these northern parts.
This latest gig came when he was at the restaurant one night and saw another musician on the upper level. So he tracked down the manager, Megan, and said, "Hey I do that, too, if you're interested..."

The chalkboard at the front of St. Louis Wings
said it all on February 23rd. Yes, Dan Ford was
coming and yes, those little musical notes let you
know this guy's a musician and perhaps a felon.
"Live music" was yet another helpful clue. It's all
about being able to read between the lines, folks.

So I suspect Megan did what any bar manager would do and checked Danny's criminal record to make sure he had the minimum number of misdemeanors to ensure that he was, in fact, a legitimate musician. Since Danny's penchant for jaywalking (and getting ticketed for said crime) brought his numbers well into the acceptable musician levels, the gig was on for February 23rd. That is, of course, the same day that in 1945, US Marines raised the USA flag into the ground in Iwo Jima, which is relevant in that both Danny getting this gig and that Marine flag thing represent huge victories for North Americans at large. We'll let the future historians debate which victory was more significant. (Okay, it's probably the first one since 20 million soldiers on both sides didn't live to see who won World War 2. But a fresh gig is big, too.)

But Danny texted me earlier in the day to say he would need my assistance on a song. My response was an always-erudite "Huh?" because I have no prior misdemeanors (I'm more of an actual criminal - I rip those tags that say "Do not remove" off mattresses) and thus really don't belong on a musical stage. He assured me my participation could be easily handled - he needed me to play the cowbell at the beginning of one song.

"For America, for the Allies, for democracy and for
Danny Ford getting a gig 73 years from now, we
declare these are not ideal flag planting conditions."

Well, since the cowbell is easier to play than even the tambourine (hell, Betty of The Archies could play the tambourine and she's a damn cartoon), I agreed but of course, had no idea what song it was. I would find out when called upon in Danny's third set of the evening that it was The Rolling Stones' 1969 hit "Honky Tonk Woman." Well, that seemed simple enough... except no story involving either Danny or myself is ever really that simple. My life-long friend since Day One of Kindergarten, Dave, (the handsome clappy chappy in the first picture) was there with his ladylove, Joann, who insisted this could be a musical performance worthy of Facebook Live. Meh, why the hell not? I've posted far more ridiculous things on social media. "But you have to really play the cowbell!" Joann insisted somewhat emphatically.

Well, alrighty then... So my moment in the spotlight (there was no spotlight - why was there no spotlight?) came and I happily started cowbelling. In my mind, I knew exactly when Danny's guitar would kick in. But it didn't. After a brief hesitation on my end, I resumed. Why did Danny miss his cue, I wondered. He's a seasoned musician. He's been doing this for decades now.

After my Cowbell Extravaganza, my best bud, Dave,
told me he was getting lessons from a pro and posted
a picture of a cow wearing a cowbell. However, as a
craft beer drinker, I was able to one-up him on this.

Well, upon YouTube video review when I got home, I actually stopped a full 10 seconds short of the guitar kick-in. Danny was fine. It was me. Again, in my defence, no musical background.

But once I restarted, I just kept going. It was a cowbell extravaganza, as they may or may not say in the music industry. On Facebook Live, Joann filmed the opening part of my performance and then the big close. And then the comments started rolling in. For days afterwards, cowbell memes were created, challenges to my Cowbell Throne were issued, all from high school friends.

Most of the comments were of the "Needs more cowbell" variety, a riff off the famous Saturday Night Live skit but there was one voice of reason amidst the din. Danny's twin brother, Dennis, also a musician, was vacationing down in Mexico with his lovely wife, Kim, during the whole debacle and he took the time to weigh in after viewing the video evidence. "This song needs less cowbell" was his succinct reply. He was not wrong.

However, what I did not realize was that there was a familiar face at the bar that night. My coworker, Patchy, was there with a buddy. Turns out he didn't see me but he certainly heard me.

My poor Beer Store co-worker Patchy was an unwitting
audience member at St Louis Wings when I was showing
off my cowbell skills. It was a total coincidence he was
there but it is, in fact, his regular hang-out, he told me.

When I came wandering down the stairs to the bar's main area with my cowbell, I stopped at the bottom, gave them a little taste of my talent and headed back upstairs. Patchy's buddy, who was facing me, told him, "There's some lunatic over there hitting a cowbell." Patchy told me later, "I only saw you walking back up but I recognized the hair." Rock star hair without the rock star talent or rock star bank account - a concise summation of my life. What was previously confined to a reasonable handful of high school friends on Facebook was about to spread to my work-place.

So Patchy had to show our other co-worker, Trey, the video evidence from the previous night. Knowing that I would be involved in some kind of cowbell calisthenics on that night because I love boring coworkers with all the mundane munitiae in my life beforehand, Trey watched the video of me jumping around like a deranged orangutan, shook his head and simply said, "What a goofball. I thought you'd do it with more style." Trey has know me since 1999 when Prince told us we should party like it was, you know, that year. Why he would think I'd do anything ever with style is well beyond my comprehension.

I think my home-boy Drunk Polkaroo had this on the last
Polkapalooza, which was late last year. In fact, in Blyth,
he and Mrs Polkaroo stayed overnight, above a bakery. In
the end, I was almost as pumped about that as the visit to
the brewery. But I was just having this for the first time.

All of this finally brings me to the beer portion of this alleged beer blog. You see, when my buddy Dave jokingly told me that an actual cow with a cowbell was training him on the instrument so he could best me, I had to tell him I had an unfair advantage. And I told him, "Up in tiny Blyth, Ontario, there is a brewery called Cowbell Brewing. I have been drinking their product for nearly two years and thus, I always have the Cowbell within me."

But I actually had the "Cowbell" within me on this night. I had a day shift and there was still hours before Danny's gig so I went to Oakville's best LCBO in the Oak Park plaza, five minutes up the street from me. Lo and behold, they had Cowbell's Doc Perdue's Boxing Bruin IPA there as their craft selection is fantastic. Reasoning that if I was gonna to play the cowbell, I should drink some Cowbell was justification enough for a pre-show beverage. Also, that's pretty much what I'd do - cowbell or not.

Well, I am glad I finally had this one as it is everything that was advertised.

Twitter friend Jen Heaslip was super clever with this one picture as she
actually put a Grain & Grit In The Palms IPA in a freaking palm leaf. I
have eight or nine different photos of this beer and that didn't dawn on
me once. So @crftbeernkittns (that's Jen), I will say job very well done!

Cowbell Head Brewer Stephen Rich, who leads a team of six brewers, may have a misstep at some point in his career but I certainly haven't seen it yet. Both their Absent Landlord Country Kolsch and Doc Perdue's Bobcat Red Coast Red Ale are winners of awards in my annual "Best Of" year-end lists and the hits just keep on coming with the Boxing Bruin IPA. Using five different hops, they always put a touch a Belgian Candi Syrup in the mix (don't worry - there was no weird sweetness) and the 6.3%, relatively low 50 IBU (international bitterness units) ale pops with citrus and mango flavours. Hoppy and bitter, which is everything we ask for with a good west coast IPA.

And while I have never visited the brewery in Blyth, Ontario (though I will), one brewery that has seen a lot of me lately is Grit & Grain Small Batch Beer, a small but vibrant operation in west Hamilton. In fact, I have popped in there, three times in the last four weeks. The first time was with Beer Bro Glenn, who was a sickly lad at the time. But Joe Mrav, who founded the place with his wife Lindsey, back in October, gave us both a sample of their In The Palm IPA straight from the vat. But you can't (or maybe shouldn't) review a beer from a sample.

I think Glenn tried this when we first visited Grain & Grit
but due to excessive nasal congestion (eeeeww), he couldn't
really taste anything. He missed another beauty from them.

So after my son, David, and I saw Black Panther on a Sunday matinee (if you haven't, go see it - awesome!), we scooted back out to Hamilton the following weekend because In The Palms had just been released two days prior. I had to see if full cans (so six of them, of course - plus others) lived up to the aroma I remembered from the sample. Lemme put it this way. I opened the can on a chilly day outside in a medium breeze to take a picture and all I could smell was grapefruit in the air. I shouldn't have been able to smell anything as I was pouring it into the glass above my head on an upper wall in the wind. But I got blasted with grapefruit, nonetheless. At just 5% but a wicked high 90 IBUs, this one was as punchy as hell. While Glenn remembers getting some pineapple on the nose, I didn't but man, I got tons of grapefruit and a pine back-end on this bad boy, which is just an outstanding low-alcohol IPA.

But I also saw Joe again, as well as Lindsey this time around and have a brief chance to talk to both separately. Great people, friendly as the day is long and truly this small brewery is a labour of love for them both.

No, it's not the season for Saisons (which is actually the
word "season" in French) but at Donny's Bar and Grill,
it's always the season for a citrusy beer so I had to dive
into this warm weather fare before the Spring sprung!!!

But I was back again last weekend because Fairweather Brewing, another new Hamilton brewery on the same street was releasing their Sundrop Wheat IPA and I wanted me some of that. I'll review that in a few days but there was a couple of new offerings in the Grain & Grit retail fridge. Well, at least new to me. Well, Glenn, I'm happy to report that one of their beers is definitely riddled with pineapple goodness - their Pineapple Rye Pale Ale. At 5.3% (yes, this pale ale has a higher ABV than their signature IPA) and 47 IBUs, Brewed with pineapple puree and rye malts, as well as Mosaic and Amarillo hops, this has the light sweetness of the pineapple, the subtle twang of the rye malts and well, the hops give it a nice dry, bitter finish. Head Brewer Alex Sporn just keeps cranking it beauties.

But when I saw Joe this time, I came bearing gifts. I had a pile of those plastic snap-lids for either a four or six-packs of cans. I noticed Grain & Grit used those in their retail outlet. I figure that those aren't free and knowing they're still a small operation, I figured I'd help defray at least a little cost for them.

Childrens' book artist and all-around great guy David Buist, a Twitter buddy, lives
very close to Grain & Grit in Hamilton and when he saw their Light Ray Session IPA
and Circuit Breaker Session Saison in their retail, he said it reminded him of super
hero names. So he created this cartoon for the brewery! Buist is also the creator of
the famous Drunk Polkaroo-Donny Inception shirt that I wore to Vegas last time!!

I also bought a brewery shirt to wear on the strip for my next trip to Las Vegas as I think they have earned that high honour already. I travel to the brewery almost as much as I do to Vegas, after all.

But one more from these guys because I think they're fantastic to close this out - their Citrus Saison. Well, there's plenty of citrus on the nose on this 6%, 38 IBU one with some nice fruit and a bit of banana on the tongue. Pleasantly mild and a solid example of the style.

Well, that closes out this edition but coming full circle, my man, Danny, will be back at St Louis Wings this Saturday for the all-important Saint Patrick's Day gig. Will the cowbell come out and get play once again? Doubtful. I can't see me topping my last performance because, well, I was exceptional and that leaves me just one direction to go. Sadly, that's down. Forget about it. If you need proof, well, here's Manager Megan's brief taping of my last performance on Instagram. I call it: Who's That Idiot With The Cowbell? But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain as always...

A sick swing through Hamilton

The exterior of Grain & Grit Small Batch Beer with me and the
co-owner Joe Mrav inset under the spotlight there. That beer we
are holding up are samples of their In The Palms IPA, which will
not be released until it's canned and kegged for March 1st. But
Joe came to our table with samples tapped from the vat itself...

On Sunday, February 18th, I almost watched a man die in front of my very eyes.

Well, "die" might be a little strong. However, "Unravel at the seams" applies while "Fall apart like a Smart Car getting T-Boned by a Big Wheel" may be even more accurate.

Getting to the point, the guy was Beer Bro Glenn and I am happy to announce that he survived. Like most people who drink with me, he certainly finished the night in far worse shape than he started but at least this time, a nasty bug gets the blame, not me.

When Glenn drove all the way from Oshawa to Oakville, he was just a sniffly lad to start. Lots of nose blowing but essentially, he was still in one piece. As we traveled into Hamilton for a mini three craft brewery tour, well... shit started to turn south for my old college buddy. As we talked, laughed and continued the beer sampling journey together that day, I was pretending to check Twitter on my phone but was actually Googling which Hamilton hospital was the nearest to us at any given moment.

The first stop was to our friends at Collective Arts Brewing because I was intent on grabbing more of their Collective Project IPA No. 5 (New England Style Double IPA) as it is my runaway favourite of that style this year thus far. By a large margin, too, I should add. Well, lemme tell you, gang, my timing was pretty damn good for once.

This is the second selfie Glenn and I took while in Collective Arts. Glenn
ruled out the first one because his eyes, already watering, were far "too
squinty." It'll give you an idea of how bad that selfie must have looked if
this was the one given the green light. He's got that "I just sharted" look

Despite being three small separate rooms, there isn't a ton of space in the Collective Arts lounge area to start with so on a Sunday afternoon at around 3:30, lemme tell you, it was jammed. Nonetheless, we bellied up to the bar and got our on-site beers for the journey. Glenn grabbed their Life In The Cloud Hazy IPA, certainly a delicious choice while I, of course, opted for the IPA No. 5. Truth to tell, I was hoping the brewery's communications manager Toni Shelton would be around that day but she was nowhere to be seen on this sunny Sunday.

Once again, I have a Collective Arts Spiegelau IPA glass to go with the
proper brewery pint glass. After breaking two of their Spiegelau's, I
thought "nuts to that" and went for the far sturdier pint glass. But the
brewery's Toni Shelton read my plight and gifted me a new Spiegelau.

You see, before I left for Las Vegas to enjoy my Birthday Week (February 12-16) down there, I wrote one of these little columns on my issue with the Spiegelau IPA glasses. The issue is a remarkably simple one. They are insanely fragile and I have broken four of them thus far - two of which were Collective Arts branded. After that, I said, "No more. Nuh-huh. Not gonna do it" and bought their proper pint glass. While it, too, is made of glass, it may as well be titanium steel next to a Spiegelau.

Anyway, Toni read my spastic tale of woe and soon after, contacted me on Twitter to say she had set another Spiegelau aside for me. A very generous donation to a doomed cause?

Out front of Fairweather Brewing in Hamilton, you can see
I'm sporting this stylish "Drink Local" shirt gifted to me
by my friends Amy and Sandi at Christmas. While I am
always harping on about shopping locally, it's clear the
ladies know I'm not talking veggies. Drink local, folks!!!

But I was so pleased with her thoughtfulness that on my birthday, February 14th, in Vegas, I wore my new Collective Arts T-Shirt in front of the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. (That story will be coming up in the immediate future - oh man, the American beers I enjoyed! The million dollar jackpots I didn't win! The showgirls who shunned me!)

But before we left Collective Arts, there was the small matter of getting our to-go beers. While Glenn opted for a few different ones, I knew their supply of IPA No. 5 was dwindling and straight up went for a six-pack. "Oh," the young lady said, "Let me see what's left." Turns out I got the last four in stock. All I can say about that is, well, sucks to be the next one in line. And anyone after him or her.

Now initially, we were thinking of a four brewery tour but because Glenn was slowly descending into "Dammit, Jim, he's dead!" Territory, we bypassed Merit Brewing (just this one time, gang) and drove straight to the west end to land at the two newbies we were dying (almost literally in his case) to try - Fairweather Brewing and Grain & Grit Small Batch Beer.

Finding Fairweather Brewing at 5 Ofield Road in the Ainslie Wood neighbourhood (an industrial street literally a stone's throw from residential), it seems they, too, had a bustling Sunday afternoon crowd on the go. But as we parked, I couldn't help but marvel at the size of the facility. Clearly, it used to be some sort of manufacturing company. Though our very helpful server told me what was housed there in its previous incarnation, I forget now. That said, whatever the previous business was, there is no chance it was as pure and noble and honourable as a craft brewery.

Okay, this is Fairweather's High Grade
American IPA caught in the sunlight
through a side window as the sun was
beginning to set. You see, I like to use a
little nature in my pictures when I can.
Just kidding, it was convenient lighting.

So how big is this place, I asked her. Gotta be at least 10,000-square-feet. She laughed and said, no, it was actually closer to 20,000. Holy Cannoli, that ain't small. You could house a plane in that. Is it possible they're using all that space? Not at the moment, she told me, saying the two far back corners are being rented out to other businesses because, well, there's that much unused space. "But if we need it for the brewery in the future, that space is ours to expand into," she smiled.

Open since last May, Fairweather is the creation of friends Ram MacAllister and Brent Milcz, both of whom attended Niagara College's Brewmaster program, and Dan Ryan, a longtime homebrewer. Their philosophy (edited here) on their website makes it clear that this is truly a labour of love. 

"(Beer) should be swirled, wafted, clanged together, sipped, shared, gazed at, spoken loudly over, savoured, spilled and taken everywhere... We will tirelessly strive to create the best beer you will find anywhere. Period... If you are even a little bit interested in flavourful, thoughtful experiences with people who love what they're doing, we're going to have a lot of fun together. After all, this is for you."

Now, poor Glenn was fast approaching the point where he soon wouldn't be able to smell or taste anything, constantly blowing his nose and wiping his eyes. Nonetheless, he bravely soldiered on ordering their 6% Still Shining Citrus Pale Ale while I opted for their 6.6% High Grade American IPA.

If you like your pale ales with a higher ABV - 6% - and a
heapin' helpin' of citrus goodness, look no farther than
Fairweather's Still Shining Citrus Pale Ale. This is tasty-ass

Both were top-notch brews. The High Grade at roughly 65 IBUs (international bitterness units) was very tropical fruit and melon on both the nose and the tongue, Very tasty. And the Still Shining at roughly 40-45 IBUs was, as advertised, citrus with some more citrus, all topped off with citrus.

But the Fairweather beer that blew this hophead away was their Silky American Oat Porter. This is one of the best of this style I have tasted in quite some time. Always on the hunt for the next hop beast, when a darker style grabs me by the neck and tosses me around the room like a rag-doll, I pay attention. Good Golly Miss Molly, this was some kind of delicious. One of these guys scored 100% in Porter 101 at Niagara (or perhaps at home.) And if it's the brainchild of all three, well, then you can have too many chefs in the kitchen. Silky is certainly an appropriate name for this 5.5% offering with its smooth chocolate, coffee and rich oatmeal on the back-end. It seems we have an early contender for my Best of 2018 list.

That's Fairweather Brewing's Silky American Oat Porter on the left and
Grain & Grit Small Batch Beer's Winter White Stout on the right. It still
freaks me out a little to drink a stout that's not jet-black. Old habits, eh?
I liked the white stout but found it just a touch too sweet for my tastes.

One last note on Fairweather (or at least until my next visit), among their product was - hey now! - branded Spiegelau IPA glasses so that makes two breweries in Hamilton that carry them. But I also noticed another Spiegelau glass with a wide base and a huge round body. Equally thin glass, though. We're so used to our IPA glasses that we often forget that Spiegelau is the name of the company, not the glass style.

When we asked our friendly server where Grit & Grain was, she pointed out the window and said, "See that white building over there? That's them." I actually walked over while Glenn drove so I could have a smoke.

This isn't the full picture from their website as I've lopped
off a third on the right but it gives you both a good sense of
the customer area, as well as the size of their vats. And if you
look at the top right, yup, that's Joe Mrav behind the bar...

But we were in for a special treat on this day as Joe Mrav, who co-founded the brewery with his wife, Lindsey, was actually our server on this day. Set up in a former garage with two huge bay doors, Joe was telling us that after they opened last October, "You'll remember we still had some beautiful warm days so we were able to open up the door to the outside. Everyone loved it." 

Joe came into the brewery business from a Mechanical Engineer career while Lindsey left her calling as a Graphic Designer and Digital Strategist. Joe, a homebrewer, told us that it was Lindsey that nudged him to take a chance with opening a small brewery. The pair then found German ex-patriot, now Hamilton resident Alex Sporn with a background in Chemistry, Biology and wine-making but also an enthusiastic homebrewer to head up their beer production.

The only hold-up, he told us, in their starting date was bureaucracy. "We were supposed to get our permit (from the City of Hamilton) in three months but it took six months and that was with me chasing them every day."

This picture from their website gives you an idea of what this place will
be like in the Summer with the bay-door wide open and a food truck at
the ready. Joe told us that they will be applying to the city for a patio
permit so they can fence off 15 or 20 feet out front so we can sit outside.
Based on the direction the building faces, it'll see sun from noon til dusk.

So that took their 2017 Summer opening hopes out of play but I just checked my calendar and it turns out there's another Summer fast approaching (though not quite fast enough for most of us.)

But let's get to the nitty, uhh, Gritty here - the beer. Checking their menu, I was dumbfounded. Their Light Ray Session IPA is a very reasonable 4.5% but its IBU is off-the-charts at 80. Is that a typo, I asked him? "No, it's 80 IBU but don't let that scare you," he reassured. Scare me? Uhhh no, I was pumped! I've had Double IPAs with 80 IBUs. The Light Ray was beautifully hazy, huge aroma of pineapple and orange with some grapefruit back end. I'm beginning to think I could have my Best of 2018 list done by June with three (so far) winners in this column alone. It was a great day for beer!

Grain & Grit's Huell Melon Pale Ale was another dandy in a
day filled with beauties. I'm beginning to think someone took
Hamilton and swapped it out for Portland, Oregon while we
weren't paying attention. What a craft beer scene there now!

Glenn, whose pulse I was now checking in 20 minute intervals, gamely tried the Huell Melon Pale Ale, a 4.7%, 47 IBU offering. When I tried it at home, it had delicious melon (no idea which - there's like a hundred - Huell Melon is the hop) on both the nose and tongue. Just another solid soldier.

I wandered out for a cigarette at one point and kind of journeyed around to the back of the property to see what kind of room they had to play with there. It looked like a decent distance between the brewery and the business directly behind it. So I asked Joe about potential room to expand. "No," he said, "We have maybe about 15 or 20 feet behind us that's our property. That's it." Well, that rules out expansion (at this location) but also ensures us they will be staying small batch from some time to come. There's something very reassuring about it.

But Joe wasn't done with us yet. With their In The Palms IPA scheduled to be released this weekend (and yes, I am driving in for some), he poured both of us a sample glass directly from the vat.

If you have not had Grain & Grit's Light Ray Session IPA,
then haul your butt over to 11 Ewen Road in west Hamilton
and get some pronto. One of the best sessioners I've ever had.

And then the damnedest thing happened. "I can smell this!" Glenn exclaimed loudly. Well, if that's not a testament to the power of great craft beer and its healing potential, I don't know what is. Okay, okay, the aroma was just that powerful that it probably cut through the blockage in his nasal passage but still, I believe in miracles. I'll wait until I have a full can in front of me to properly review it but this sneak preview? Damn, that thing was popping with flavour!

Well, all fun days must come to an end so Glenn and I grabbed some more beers and hit the QEW back to Oakville. Since there was no chance I was letting him drive to Oshawa in that sickly condition, we set up shop in the Man Cave. With Glenn comfortably set up in the Lazy Boy with my son's Spider-Man blanket and pillow, we drank some more beers, watched X-Men 1 and 2 (which Glenn had oddly never seen.) I noticed his eyes slowly closing towards the end of the second one as he settled in for the night. He and my Lazy Boy are old friends. The thing is we could have packed it in at any point in the day but, no, Glenn insisted on soldiering on. My old college chum wasn't willing to let the small matter of being as sick as a dog stop him. That shows both dedication and the possibility of previous head trauma. But Scooby Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...