Cameron's Brewing gets its shiny make-over

You meet the strangest people at a craft brewery...
sometimes even the Brewmaster. Not that they are
strange people (yes, they are) but when I popped
into Cameron's Brewing in Oakville to check out
their renovations, I ran into Brewmaster Jason
Britton quite by accident and bombarded the poor
fellow with intrusive questions about IPAs, pales
ales and all manner of things. He was very nice,
courteous (and wisely vague) with his responses. 

Have you ever been watching a TV show and had it preempted by some major news story? And you're just kinda sitting on the edge of the cliff, thinking, I dunno, "Were Ross and Rachel about to kiss?" or something lame like that?

Well, that happened to me late last week. But it wasn't a TV show that was preempted. It was me. You see, I was in the middle of writing a blog about how I managed to side-step the entire ice storm in Ontario, simply by staying in Las Vegas a few extra days. Frankly, it was a easiest decision of my life. But, well, my blog got preempted. Or at least, the continued writing thereof did.

It took 11 words and they came to me on Twitter from my hometown homeys at Cameron's Brewing. Those words were: "Don, come check out our revamped Cameron's retail store - pretty swank!" I replied (with words to the effect of) "Are you cereal?" And then they replied (with words to the effect of) "Yupper do, Buckaroo!" and *bam* I was in my car, camera in hand and on my way. I guess, in essence, I was "Leaving Las Vegas" for the second time in the same week. Although this time, it didn't involve a plane.

After the arduous two-minute, 17-second drive to Cameron's (I unfortunately got stopped at the only light along the way, adding 30 unnecessary seconds to the journey and yes, my Town Councillor has been alerted as to my inconvenience), I was there.

Danielle holds up my two favourite Cameron's
offerings - their 12 Mile India Pale Lager and their
Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale. Unfortunately, the
Dark & Sticky will very soon be relegated to their
"seasonal" rotation, meaning maybe once a year.
I've also alerted my Town Councillor about that.

What a difference a month makes. The former retail area, which was, well, serviceable before in that you could buy your fresh craft beer there, as well as various and sundry related products, has now been magically transformed into a destination location. Three big tables are now situated at the windows where the retail counter formerly resided. And if you look out the windows, you can see... okay, the business across the street. But the thing is you can now stay and have a pint or two!! You see when Cameron's set up shop a couple of decades back, that was less of a thing. People popped in, grabbed their beer and simply left. But over the years, that dynamic has dramatically changed. Folks now want to not only drink that beer but also enjoy their pint in the cool atmosphere of relaxing in a craft brewery. And then they post the shit out of it on Instagram, Twitter and what-have-you. It's actually kind of a win-win for the brewery (any brewery) because, hey, free advertising! And social media has far more impact these day than the old-school traditional media. Granted, that's because traditional media, such as newspapers, is slowly disappearing but that's another story altogether.

The other big part of their renovation is the fact the growler station is now up front. In the past, you handed them your empty jug, they disappeared into the back and then magically reappeared with a full jug of beer.

Sales Rep Extraordinaire Robbie holds up their
brand new First Light Session Lager, At just 4%,
Cameron's now has a truly sessionable beer and
it's a tasty little bugger. It won't replace 12 Mile
India Pale Lager in my heart but nothing could.

It was all very Harry Potter. You weren't exactly sure what happened... but you were handed 1.9 litres (64 ounces) of brewery-fresh beer so you weren't inclined to care all that much. Hogwarts won. Voldemort lost. The Muggles cheered. The End.

But when I landed there on Friday morning, it was a great day for meeting people. And first on deck was their Sales Rep Extraordinaire Robbie. And while Robbie and I have connected on the private message backstage of social media several times, we had actually never met. But we have another connection. His wife, Jenny, used to work for Cameron's and one of the things she did as part of her job was their social media. And I knew her quite well while she was at the brewery. She invited me to a Cask Night and we talked about Cameron's and craft beer on countless occasions. Jenny now works for the Kerr Street Mission here in Oakville, an organization that does a mega-ton of good charitable work and helps so many people, especially children, in need that it would take five columns to go through all their contributions. They're an outstanding organization, Jenny's part of it and well, you get the gist. Just plain good folks doing good things for others and hey, the world can use as many of those as possible. We need more Jenny's. If you need to contact Jenny, her number is 867-5309.

So anyway, Robbie came out, introduced himself and pretty much instantly, we started talking beer. Being the brave soul he is, he gave me the bad news first. The brewery's Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale, the super hoppy brown ale that he knows I love, wasn't going to be in their regular rotation. That was a decision the brewery had to make after gauging public and bar reaction. Bars sales are Robbie's end and he admitted the beer hadn't caught on - or at least in the way they had hoped. The beer had its many fans to be certain, me among them but not enough to make it into the regular rotation. However, he added, it will be on their seasonal rotation, which means, we'll see it from time to time.

I was so happy with the renovations at Cameron's that I bought a split-
pack - 12 Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale and a dozen 12 Mile India Pale
Lager. I suggested to the brewery that I would call it the Donny Vegas
Pleasurable Pack and asked if the name was already taken. The joke
being Molson's used to have a Pleasure Pack with 12 Canadian and 12
Export. They suggested I copyright the name ASAP. I suggested that I
had enough "cease and desist" orders already. Oh, I still call it the Donny
Vegas Pleasurable Pack. In my own home. Quietly. With no one around...

You know what? When it's your hometown homeys, you understand they gotta do what they gotta do. (As craft beer drinkers, we sometimes forget this is actually a business.)

But a good sale rep knows to follow bad news with good news. And Robbie had some of that for me. Right now, the beer is available to licensees (bars) at a discounted price - something in the neighbourhood of $45-$50 a case. Soon, that will also be the price for the public. Did I mention that I live two minutes away? Yeah, think I did. Oh, did I also mention they have a skid-full of the delicious dark brown nectar in the back? Okay, I may have left that part out. But when they do drop the price for us, it's Little House on the Prairie Dinner Table Rules, meaning simply if John-Boy grabs the last piece of corn-bread, hey, Laura, you're shit outta luck. Or in my case, the race goes not to the swiftest but rather the closest.

Whatever happened to Cameron's outstanding California
Sunshine American Pale Ale? Well, it seems it ran into a
"cease and desist" order of its own as back in 2014 as an
American craft brewery said, "Hey, we use that name so
stop it or get sued!" And Cameron's pretty much had to.

Now at about this point, Brewmaster Jason Britton came wandering out. He was looking to meet someone who was definitely not me. He got me, instead. That poor bastard. As soon as we were introduced, I started peppering him with questions.

Would Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale be coming out every Autumn or Winter since it was now a seasonal? He wasn't sure. That was still under discussion, he assured me.

Whatever happened to their outstanding California Sunshine American Pale Ale, which hasn't been seen since 2014? Well, it turns out they got a "cease and desist" letter on that one because an American brewery was using the same name. That's a crying shame because it was excellent. But it also occurs to me that there are many other names. Just sayin'. (*Ahem* Donny Vegas Pale Ale...)

We gotta end this with the big man, co-owner
and president Bill Coleman, who had a hand in
a commercial that connected to the Canadian
psyche like no other before it. I suspect you may
find it somewhat familiar. I dunno. You tell me.

Are they gonna finally brew an IPA, just so I'll shut up about it? He smiled and said they have a lot of plans, well, brewing so just hang in and stay tuned.

And he slowly backed away from the insane man with the million questions. You know that GIF of Homer Simpson backing into the bushes? Yeah. Like that.

Okay, let's finish this off with a little story about Cameron's big man, president and co-owner Bill Coleman. You see, Bill is responsible for a big slice of Canadiana folklore that many people will recognize without knowing about his involvement. After Bill graduated from UWO's Ivey Business School in London, he went to Nestle and quickly worked his way up the ranks. From there, he went to a beer-related job that we'll discuss in a minute. But after that, in late 2010, he went to high-tech companies called Alias and Softimage where both companies developed leading 3D tech still used today.

But let's go back to that brewery job. It was with Molson's and Bill was responsible for marketing two of their biggest brands, Canadian and Export. Under Bill's leadership, a TV (and then radio and newsprint) ad came out in 2000 that, hey, maybe you'll remember. A nice-looking fellow walks out on a stage.

In March 2000, Joe Canada (aka actor Jeff Douglas)
took to the stage on a TV commercial and told us all
why we should be proud to be Canadian. Yes, it is a
beer ad but it has been taught in marketing classes
shortly after the moment it came out as one of the most
effective ads ever to hit the airwaves. Canadian gold.

He's dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and an open flannel shirt. And he starts talking. And with each sentence, he gets a little louder and a little more adamant until the very end. At that point, he is yelling over cheers from the audience.

"Hey, I'm not a lumberjack or a fur trader. I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dogsled. And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie from Canada although I'm certain they're really, really nice. I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American! And I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'! I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack! I believe in peace-keeping, not policing, diversity, not assimilation and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal! A toque is a hat! A chesterfield is a sofa! And it is pronounced 'zed', not 'zee'! 'Zed'! Canada is the second-largest landmass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America! My name is Joe! And... I... Am... Canadian!!"

Yup, Bill, who came to Cameron's in 2010, was the guy behind it, the man who green-lit that iconic Molson Canadian ad. It is probably the best-remembered Canadian-centric ad ever unveiled. Anyway, that's another reason to come visit Cameron's swanky new set-up. You may just meet the guy who was in charge of the Joe Canada ad. I have. Several times. Great dude. Always smiling. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Back soon with Vegas and the ice storm but until then, I remain...

Steam Whistle splits their cards

The site of many a wild and fun party in Toronto is the Steam
Whistle Roundhouse. It seems that Steam Whistle is opening
a second brewery in Etobicoke at a building they've held for
several years now and have been using as a distribution centre.

In the game of Blackjack, splitting your cards simply means you have the chance to places two bets on different cards. If you are dealt a pair of tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces, splitting them gives you the opportunity to play the house with two separate hands and wagers, which could potentially be profitable.

If you are dealt a pair of fives or sixes and you split those, Las Vegas will probably pay you to come visit.

And for months now, Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto has been looking to split their cards. The brewery that does "one thing really, really well" is about to add a second one to their arsenal.

Well, not exactly but kind of. You see, this is a little complicated. I have known about bits and pieces of this for months, which means a lot of other people far more important than me (so, basically everyone) must have also known. But I was asked to hold off writing anything by a nice fellow at the new brewery, who promised me free beer and a cool tour at Grand Opening. So I happily agreed. But that does beg the question: How does everyone in the Ontario Craft Beer Industry know the promise of a single free beer is my Achilles Heel?? Am I that transparent? And also... please, don't answer that.

Well, yesterday, the cat was out of the bag as dailyhive.com reported it, which was followed up in a story by Ontario Beverage Network, which linked to the Daily Hive story. 

This is my Steam Whistle Sales Rep, Craig, and his super-cool Dodge
Charger Steam Whistle ride. Hearing months and months of whispers,
I finally pinned him down at my Beer Store and basically said, "Okay,
what the hell are you guys up to?" He and a few others offered some
nuggets and yesterday's report certainly pads a lot more information.

So now I can tell you most of what I know... but not all.

Several years ago, Steam Whistle got a property in Etobicoke, which it has been using for distribution. I knew this because my Steam Whistle driver, Vince (aka Ginger Jesus), found himself working out of that location. I knew it was in the Evans Avenue-Horner Avenue area of the city so I asked him once, "How close are you to Black Oak (Brewing)?"

"Close enough that I could hit them with a stone," nodded Vince, adding with a smile, "But let them know I've never done that. Or have never even tried."

The Von Bugle Brewery in Etobicoke
will operate as a second and separate
facility, despite the fact it is very much
operated by Steam Whistle. However,
like Steam Whistle, they will make just
one beer. Probably "really really well."

The actual address is 249 Evans Avenue, which puts them just around the corner from Black Oak on Horner Avenue but yes, still a stone's throw away. And to be honest, I have no idea if Steam Whistle owns or lease-rents the building. I assume they own it but you know that old saying about assumptions. "If you assume, you're just a big asshole!" That's the saying, right? It's something like that, anyway.

But many months ago, employees (more than just our Ginger Jesus) heard noise that some of the brewing equipment was going to be moving into the Etobicoke digs from the Steam Whistle's Roundhouse location, which I should mention is right across the street from the SkyDome, home of "Your Toronto Blue Jays!" That's damn convenient. And also never call it the Roger's Centre in front of me. Because I will also maim a man for a free beer. But to paraphrase Vince, "Please note I never have done that and I also have never tried. Also, the influence of several beers convinces me that I have Karate skills. And I do not. So really, this is more about my safety than anyone else's."

So it's been months and months of "What are they doing over there?" for me. Fortunately, I am not the obsessive type because I can be easily distracted by a beer. And the Internet. Also any TV show or movie with super-heroes in it. Random squirrels. Finally, my Steam Whistle sales rep, Craig, popped in - a man I hadn't seen in 1,000 years, give or take 999. So I asked him... what the bloody hell are ye doin', mate?

Okay, this has nothing to so with Steam
Whistle but rather their neighbours at
Black Oak. When they rebranded a few
months ago, I noticed initials carved into
the Oak tree on their Pale Ale. So I asked
their people who they belonged to. They
confirmed yes, it was owner Ken Woods'
parents. I asked Ken, "What were their
names? We think it's John and Mary."
His response? "Yes, pretty close." That
elusive fox! Turns out it was a tree from
his childhood house. So it's a cool story.

Craig's actually of French background and yet, my question makes him sound like I think he's Scottish. But a few beers in me and I also think I'm Scotty on Star Trek, the only bastard on the show to wear a red shirt and live. So really, I have many delusional qualities.

This is now going back a few months now but Craig confirmed they were opening a second brewery, very separate from Steam Whistle but like the original, they were only brewing one beer. He knew the name of the new brewery but wouldn't tell me because it wasn't finalized.

As confirmed by the Daily Hive story, it's Von Bugle Brewing. So that combines two very popular things - the Von Trapp family from The Sound of Music, which is the only family-friendly musical movie I know about escaping Nazis through the virtue of song. And Bugles, the only snack food you spent more time sticking on the end of your fingers than actually eating. Because they taste like crap.

What else did Craig tell me? The style of beer they would be brewing. But I can't tell you that - just in case Craig actually does know Karate. Then I'm screwed. But I think I can safely tell you this. It won't be another Czech-style Pilsner. Why? Because then they'd have to change Steam Whistle's motto to "We do one thing really really well" to "We do one thing so damn well that we decided to do it again but under a different name." As stated by that Daily Hive story, which I'll link to at the end, it's a darker style. But I'll leave it to the Von Bugle gang to tell you whether it's an ale, lager or even something else. Also, there's still going to be enough brewing equipment at the Roundhouse to fill kegs but bottles and cans of Steam Whistle Pilsner are going to be coming out Etobicoke very soon.

Meet my favourite all-time Steam Whistle Brewing employee who
is an unpaid volunteer. "Paul From Shipping". He's Vince's very
beloved Bull Terrior who travels the countryside in Vince's cab.
He's got himself a little bed set-up in there and all the cool toys. 

Same great taste, though, I have been assured because it's the same tanks.

And the now-free, exceptionally large space that's suddenly opened up at the Roundhouse due to the vacating tanks? Well, here's an interesting little tidbid.

It turns out that tons of Toronto people (and even outside-of-Toronto people because we exist, as well) rent their present open banquet area for wedding receptions and other official-type non-wedding-related events. Indeed, I have attended a wedding reception there myself. In fact, because it was an early evening wedding, the groom's party and some guests had spent the afternoon at a Jays' game, drinking. As such, they were slightly (or very much) trashed when it was time for the official stuff. The groom skipped the ball game to clean up some last minute details and was in considerably better shape. However, when I greeted him, he smelled like he had just arrived from a Kid Rock concert, if you catch my drift.

But back to the vacant space at the Roundhouse. According to Craig, the brewery makes a lovely little side-pile of dough, renting out those very facilities, especially for wedding receptions. Makes sense. It's a historic building, hugely picturesque and, well, just a fun and relaxed environment. Now they may have twice as much space to rent out for those shenanigans, according to Craig. So structural changes are coming to the Roundhouse, too. And that's what I know. Except for the beer style, which I ain't sayin'. But Scooby Doo Gang, this is a short column so thank your lucky stars. Oh yeah, that Daily Hive link is here and it's called, ummm: I called you "Daily Hive" link. As for me, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

"My favourite definition of craft is that...in industrial brewing, the marketing department tells the brewing department what to brew. In craft brewing, the brewers tell the marketing department what to sell,"

Collective tour and the #keep5alive drive

Tony now continues his trade at Collective Arts
Brewing in Hamilton, a mere 10-minute drive
from his home. Talking to both him and his wife,
Charis, neither misses the rush-hour commute.
Oh... and that's her hand holding him upright.

On March 23rd, I got a text from Tony Cox saying, "Wish David a Happy Birthday for me." Now I have known Tony since I started this little column in 2013 and became a regular customer at Nickel Brook Brewing in Burlington where he was their cellar-man. And David, well, that's my boy.

You see, way back on March 23, 2014, I went into Nickel Brook with David to get a couple of growlers filled with Headstock IPA, which is - and forever will be - one of my favourite IPAs. When Tony came out from the back into retail, I introduced him to my son and explained this was a "big day" as it was his birthday. "Oh, well, then," said Tony to David, "Since it's your birthday, would you like a tour?" David enthusiastically agreed and soon we were in the back where Tony showed him all the shiny equipment. My boy was an instant fan of the big silver canning machine because it was big... silver... and a machine. Boys are ridiculously easy to please. Be big. Be shiny.

Now there's a birthday tie between Tony and myself. My birthday, February 14th, is the same as his father's, who passed in 1988. So, I dunno, maybe it's kinda nice for him to have someone to wish Happy Birthday to on Valentine's Day again. And Tony shares his birthday, May 2nd, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. So my birthday texts (when I remember) tend to be of the "Can you SMELL... what the COX... is COOKING?" variety.

The sexy-ass building, Collective Arts Brewing, is now Tony's
new digs. When he gave me the tour a couple of weeks back,
I asked, "So what do you do here?" His answer: "Whatever
they need me to do." So he jumps around from station to
station here. And he's pretty damn happy to do exactly that.

But every year since that little tour, Tony texts me on March 23rd with birthday greetings to pass along to David. There's no family connection or person or celebrity he knows with the same birthday. So how then does he remember David's birthday?

He just does. Every year. I have no idea how he remembers but I think it's pretty cool he does. I mean, he's not even using a Facebook reminder, without which I'd be seriously screwed because I wouldn't know anyone's birthday ever. Most days I'm happy to simply remember people's names, much less their birthday.

But that's Tony. He's a better person than me (which, in all honesty, just makes him part of a pretty huge club.)

Anyway, moving along, Tony recently shifted from Nickel Brook to Collective Arts Brewing in Hamilton. He now has a 10 minute commute to work, which is pretty sweet. And a while back, he asked what day I was off. He wanted to give me the tour of his new digs.

On my birthday - which was a big one - I decided I would pose by
the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign but I took five brewery
shirts with me. In the end, I decided Collective Arts would get the
Las Vegas Sign honours. This is me getting easily five inches of air. I
know, that's impressive, right? An amazing vertical leap like that?

Turns out my son isn't the only one to whom that appeals. Bigly.

As an added bonus, Tony was going to show me their new canning machine. They already have one, obviously, I say, looking at my can of Ransack The Universe IPA. But a new one? Big! Shiny! Silver! That hits all of the check-marks on my list.

And I did see the new canning machine. Kinda, sorta. It was in three separate pieces on industrial-size skids. Covered with tarp. A brush with Kryptonite earlier in the day had left my X-Ray Vision on the fritz. However, I feel certain I can still describe it accurately with a 99.9% success rate. It's big! It's silver! It's shiny! But truth to tell, the trip into Hamilton was a chance to reconnect with Tony and check the insides of the brewery again more than anything else. When he told me he applied there and a week later, I got a phone call from him at my work, I answered my cell phone by saying simply, "This better be you telling me that you got the job at Collective Arts!" (Far Too Late Spoiler Alert: He did.)

After our tour, we were joined by his wife, Charis. Now Charis and I also share some comradery. You see, she collects those cool cat bottles from a German winery and I work at a Beer Store, where those bottles are brought to after consumption of said-Riesling wine. For some reason, they only seem to come out around Christmas. That said, it takes some people a while to clean out their garage. So they dribble our way throughout the year.

Why would I even go to Collective Arts Brewing
without my growler? That's where they keep all the
fresh Ransack The Universe Hemispheric IPA! I may
be foolish about many things but brewery-fresh beer?
Yeah, that's not gonna happen. One of my favourites.

My coworkers have always been instructed to set those aside, should they come back. From there, they are given to Tony, who, in turn, presents them to a very appreciative Charis. He gets the Husband Points. I get a hug when I see her. It's a win-win thing.

So I was joking with her how much Tony hated when I posted a Nickel Brook staff picture of him and captioned it in this space as "Ontario's Sexiest Cellarman." He really hated the photo (hey, I didn't take it!) so of course, I used it several times with the "sexy cellarman" tag because that's what guys do to their buddies. As she laughed, she showed me her phone. Tony's handle in his wife's phone? "A Sexy Cellarman" The poor guy. Even if he escapes me, he can't escape her. But that's the end of the Tony and Charis part, which brings me to Part Two of my Collective Arts Story. Because there's always a Part Two with these guys. (Nah, I'll get back to Tony in a bit.)

It was two days before Good Friday. Young co-worker Jordon and myself were doing our groove thang at the Beer Store. Now here's the thing. Because Easter Weekend is the first real long weekend of the year, a lot of very unfamilar faces do come in.

Hamilton artist David Buist does the COOLEST
illustrations for craft beers in his free time. This is
one of my favourites: his cartoon for Ransack The
Universe Hemispheric IPA by Collective Arts. While
he normally draws for childrens' books or comics,
when he crosses into the adult world, things get fun.

Because, you see, it doesn't matter if you're 25, 35, 45 or even 55 years old, everyone wants those wine, liquor and beer bottles out of the garage or basement before Mom and Dad show up for Easter Dinner. You know, the ones that have building up since Christmas? And you know why? Well, does anyone really want their parents knowing how much booze they plow through? Hell, no! Parents can and will always find reasons to lecture you. You don't hand them the bullets to put into the gun that will kill you with their "concern."

So we get a lot of newbies in the Beer Store at Easter, which is good. It's nice when your place of employment does a brisk business. But part-way through the night, Jordon looked at me and said, "It's weird tonight. It's like some of these people have never been into a Beer Store before." Well, yeah, that's because they haven't. Or at least haven't since last Easter. That means you do get a lot of questions like "I don't remember the name but it has a red or maybe green or perhaps blue label. Is there a beer with a purple label? Which beer is that?" I'm used to it because I have been dealing with it for so long. And also, if I had to find a specific wine at the LCBO but didn't have all the info, man, I'd be just as lost. I know beer. That's it. Wine and liquor? Nope. And as anyone in retail or the service industry, such as restaurants, can tell you, sometimes all you can just smile, be very patient and try your damned best.

One little picture posted on Twitter... so much Twitter chatter. Somehow,
posting a picture of two excellent IPAs - Sawdust City's Lone Pine and
Collective Arts' Ransack The Universe - turned into a side-discussion of
putting Collective Project's IPA No. 5 (New England Style Double IPA)
into the brewery's regular rotation. Will it happen? Well, we don't know,
do we? All we can do is ask. Or beg. Plead. Seriously, whatever it takes...

Sometimes with enough clues, you can help. But just like baseball, there's bound to be a few missed swings along the way. Suffice it to say, it was something of a tough shift. That said, Jordon and I survived it just fine. Still, I'll tell you one thing for free, I was ready for a beer - or two - when I got home.

And that's precisely what I did. I posted a picture on Twitter of a Collective Arts' Ransack The Universe IPA and a Sawdust City Brewing's Lone Pine IPA side-by-side and said words to the effect of, "Rough day. Don't know which of these I'm starting with but they'll both be in my stomach soon enough so it doesn't really matter."

Here this poor beer was... minding its own business when
suddenly it because the centre of a Twitter shit-storm but in a
good way. Long story short: the public is demanding that it
become a full-time release from Collective Arts. I mean, they
can say "no" but we have pitch-forks and torches and the like.

(For the record, Ransack was the first batter, having won the Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mo IPA Divisional Playoff. It caught the tiger by the toe, so to speak.)

But within seconds, someone jumped onto the post, noting that he wished Collective Arts' Radio The Mothership Imperial IPA was more readily available. That, in turn, was responded to by my young Nickel Brook homie, Charles - their inside sales dude who calls me once a week to see how much Headstock IPA needs to be replaced at my Beer Store because I've purchased about 87% of our stock. Charles noted: "I agree with you but have you had their IPA No. 5? That needs to be a full-time beer, Collective Arts."

And then it began. I very quietly and subtly responded, "Yes, Collective Arts, (co-owner) Matt Johnston and (media maven) Toni Shelton, just in case you didn't hear Charles, I'll speak loudly. PLEASE MAKE COLLECTIVE PROJECT NEW ENGLAND STYLE DOUBLE IPA No. 5 A REGULAR RELEASE. (Quieter now.) We'd be every so grateful. Thank you in advance."

When Tony took me on the Collective Arts' tour,
I saw this very huge stack of bourbon barrels,
complete with a "Do Not Touch" sign. So, of
course, I touched one as I was walking by. I'm
sorry but wood is not the boss of me. So pushy.

(Okay, for me, that actually is subtle.)

Having been tagged (and on Twitter, thus called out), Toni came onto the thread and noted, "Guys, Matt needs to be told a few times (he's getting to that age *winky face*) so maybe if we keep talking about it, he will listen. I HEAR YOU."

So Craft Beer Diaries (@CraftBeersBlog) helpfully suggested, "Can we put a sign around his neck that rings a bell anytime someone speaks of making IPA No. 5 an all-year beer?"

Responded Toni, "That would certainly make my days at the office more entertaining!" Well, yes, not only that but she'd also hear the boss coming from about 50 feet away. That's handy.

Twitter buddy Graeme (@needmycaffeine) concurred, noting, "Agree 100%. Getting low on my stock. Oh, by the way, it's at the top of my most purchased beers of 2018. It's leading the pack by a dozen."

And finally, S.O.Beer Boys (@SOBeerBoys) finished off by adding, "Four votes from us for more IPA No. 5" but added the clever #keep5alive hashtag. I like that. Gotta have a flashy hashtag. Also there's the fact I bought the last four cans in existence at the brewery.

With NHL playoffs slated to start next Wednesday,
Tony Cox gave me a specialty Toronto Maple Leafs
loonie that he's "had in my pocket for a few months
now." It is now in MY pocket where I hope it will
actually be a good luck charm for our boys in blue.

If I was capable of feeling guilt, I possibly would.

So, lessee, I'm on board with IPA No. 5 becoming permanent. As is Charles. As is Graeme. As is Craft Beer Diaries. As is S.O.Beer Boys. As is Toni Shelton herself.

Who does that leave? (Everyone's heads turn to stare at Matt Johnston.) Ahem, Matt, #keep5alive.

Okay, gang, that's it for today but I've got one coming up about which craft beers turned my macro-drinking brother's head when he flew recently in from Spain. Also I have some killer stuff from Ottawa's Dominion City Brewing, mailed to me from my Nepean Beer Store Brother Ben. And have we inadvertently stumbled across the new release from Muskoka Brewing that will actually cause this stupid freakin' Winter to finally end? We all hope so.

But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...