When Beer Bro Glenn comes to town...

Hug Buddies Glenn and David check out a video on Glenn's phone while
we dine at The Three Brewers brewpub on Winston Churchill Blvd in
Oakville. The restaurant is right next to the Cineplex Odeon theatre and
that is usually our primary destination. Glenn joins in with us these days.

Beer Bro Glenn has a couple more reasons to drive into Oakville these days when superhero movies come out.

You see, his son, Jake, is now in his mid-teens and has little interest in hanging with either Mom or Dad. I'm sure we remember that phase in our teenage years all too well. Frankly, it'd be far odder if he did want to hang with them.

However, even at age 27, my son, David, is still very much a young and loving soul (with occasional teenage attitude) and still digs hanging with Dad, especially for superhero movies. To that end, when David is in town, if there is a superhero movie playing, I have taken to inviting Glenn as he and David are long-time Hug Buddies.

When we went to the Cineplex Odeon in Oakville to
see Ant-Man and The Wasp, both Glenn and I were
stunned to see this beer vendor in the lobby. All on
ice, he had the usual macro assortment (which I have
cropped out) but right in the middle were these two
Amsterdam Brewing beauties - their Boneshaker IPA
and their Cruiser All Day Session Ale. Pretty sweet!

So far, Glenn has been invited twice and has made the effort both times to drive here from Oshawa, where he hangs his hat. The first time was a couple months back when Deadpool 2 came out. I hadn't seen it as I was waiting for David's impending visit from Sarnia. (With a movie that blockbuster, a two week wait is no easy task.) I was messaging Glenn asking what it was like and he confessed he hadn't seen it. That's when he told me Jake wasn't currently interested in seeing movies with Dad, which, while completely understandable, does take a little wind out of a guy's sails. That said, we all know, wait five or six years and Jake will come around to appreciate his parents again. The early 20s are the "When did Mom and Dad get so smart?" years. Because, of course, parents know shit when their kids are teenagers.

So anyway, Glenn made it down to Oakville first for the Deadpool movie and then, a few weeks later, this time for Ant-Man and The Wasp. In his best Siskel and Ebert, Glenn has declared these two movies, as well as Thor: Ragnarok to be the three funniest superhero movies of all time. I tend to agree. In the Ant-Man movies, there's a Hispanic character named Luis (actor Michael Pena), the best friend of the hero Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who frankly steals both movies in the budding franchise.

When we went to see Ant-Man and The Wasp, the show
we were going to see was sold out so we had to wait an
hour for the next one. In the meanwhile, we killed that
hour at Boston Pizza. While they were a Molson's bar,
they did have Muskoka Detour Session IPA so hell to the
yeah! Unfortunately, their glassware was quite limited.

As soon as he starts talking, the theatre starts laughing. He's frikkin hilarious. If this guy narrated Schindler's List, I'd still piss myself laughing and I'm Jewish! No, wait, I'm Irish. I always confuse those two.

But anyway, as the three of us went up to the Ticket ATM for Ant-Man and the Wasp, it turned out our show was sold out. Fortunately, it was Opening Weekend so we just grabbed tickets for the next one an hour later. The Three Brewers brew-pub next to the Cineplex was closed for an hour for a private event so we wandered across the parking lot to Boston Pizza for a quick libation. While they turned out to be a Molson's bar, they had recently introduced Muskoka Brewing Detour Session IPA to their beer list. Sold! But when I asked the waitress for a couple of beer glasses, she brought us two freezer-frosted Coors Light glasses. While I thought that was hilarious and posted it on Twitter, poor Muskoka was clearly distraught, responding, "Avert your gaze!" (Sorry, gang, my bitchin' Muskoka glass, gifted to me by Barrie Beer Bro Hago, was at home. Oddly, I never think to bring it to the movies.)

The last time Glenn came down, among the assortment of beers
he brought was Really Good Friends Saison from our friends
at Whitby's Little Beasts Brewing. The beer was brewed in
collaboration with writer Robin Leblanc and Renee Navarro
with proceeds going to PFLAG-Durham, who advocate on the
behalf of gay and lesbians, offering support and resources on
issues of sexual orientation. It's a great beer and a great cause.

But it's when we walked into the Cineplex that Glenn and I got a pleasant surprise. There stood a vendor in front of an ice-filled tray with cans of beer. Yeah sure, the macros were there (Bud and Bud Lite, I think), pretend-micro (Shock Top), used-to-be-micro (Mill St Organic Lager) but hot damn, right in the middle, Amsterdam Brewing's Boneshaker IPA and their Cruiser All Day Pale Ale! Also a cider but I forget whose. Colour us thrilled. I took a Boneshaker, Glenn took a Cruiser and David got bottled water, you know, in case the adults got unruly. So off we went to see Ant-Man and The Wasp with real beer in our hands. I hope that's a full-time thing for that Cineplex now.

But let's look past the movies and towards the fact that when Glenn lands here from Oshawa, he never comes empty-handed. He comes complete with a box of tasty-ass beers from east of Toronto (I gift back with west of Toronto beers) and now is as good a time as any to look at a few of the highlights of his recent benevolence.

Let's start with Little Beast Brewing's (Whitby) Really Good Friends Saison.

When Matt Allott, owner of Manantler Craft Brewing,
sees Glenn, he always has a couple of beauties tucked
away for him. This was a stellar one! Brewed with their
pals at Boshkung Brewing, the All Shook Up Chocolate
Peanut Butter Imperial Milkshake Porter was a winner!!

When I was pulling the brews out of the box on one of his recent trips, I spotted one - Little Beasts Brewng (Whitby) Really Good Friends Saison - and immediately blurted out, "Hey, that's Robin's beer!" I was referring to Robin LeBlanc, the co-author of The Ontario Craft Beer Guide, Vol. 1 and 2. I had been following the creation of this beer on her Twitter. But it was more than just Robin. Right beside her was Ren Navarro, a speaker and educator (the role of diversity in society.) And, of course, let's not forget the actual brewers, Erin Broadfoot and John Henley, the owners of Little Beasts. As I understand it, they kinda helped a little, too.

So the unique aspect about this beer's creation is that part of the proceeds through sales go to PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Durham Region. It was initially released on July 17, right around the time of one of Glenn's visits and good golly Miss Molly, he happened to grab me one. The 5.5% saison was a tasty one - lots of orange on the nose and spiced on the back end, pepper for sure. And the name - Really Good Friends? Turns out that's what gay couples call their significant other when introducing them to their older relatives, like homophobic Uncle Bob.

This was the Milkshake IPA that Glenn was convinced would
turn me on to the style. But, hey, I had already had a few that I
did, in fact, enjoy but hey, it's from Bellwoods so don't tell him.

No one needs to see ol' Bob's head explode at the Thanksgiving table. Although that could be fun. Nahhhh. Leave him in the dark. He's used to living there.

Okay, whenever Glenn visits me, it seems like Manantler Craft Brewing out there in Bowmanville has just released yet another (or more) big beer. Now I believe Glenn asked owner Matt Allott to hold aside a couple of their All Shook Up Chocolate Peanut Butter Imperial Milkshake Porters if he could. Turns out hey, Matt could. Thank gawd because this was a frikkin choco-bomb! A collaboration with their friends at Boshkung Brewing (Minden), this was the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of porters. At 8.5%, it was all chocolate malts and nuttiness. Just insanely tasty. But you know what the problem with tasting like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is? Nothing!!! What are you - crazy? They're nature's most perfect, completely-artificial, commercially-produced food!!! Mankind will never do better!! And shouldn't try. Once you hit the mountain-top, there's only one direction to go.

As you can see, only one beer out of Glenn's last trip was reviewed here,
which means there a whole lotta Glenn beers to go and, of course, Glenn
stories to start this little column with, including the time he split his
pants in front of the Queen of England. Oh wait, I think I dreamed that
one. Man, that was a funny dream. He still got knighted, which is odd.
But she accidentally sliced off his ear, which was some Van Gogh shit...

One thing Glenn always tries to do before he lands here is pop into Bellwoods Brewing, up on Hafis Road in North York. I think they're sorta close to his parents' place. Which is dope because the original brewery at Queen and Ossington in Toronto is tough to get land at, especially on the weekend for us out-of-towners. So the Hafis Road opening was a blessing for most of us.

So last time, Glenn was bound and determined to find me a Milkshake IPA that I would enjoy. The fact is I had already enjoyed a couple at that point after my initial resistance to them. I did not like the mouthfeel of lactose in my IPAs.

Okay, what we have here is five-sevenths of last December's Whitby
Craft Brewery Invasion. Last weekend at Buster Rhino Southern BBQ's
closing night were, from left, Beer Bro Glenn, Newmarket Beer Store
Brother Paul, our Main Man at GM Joe, the lovely Candice and the
Ontario Carpenter of the Year Josh. It's a real award. Don't Google it.

That said, by the time Glenn landed with a beauty, Flying Monkeys' Live Transmission Milkshake IPA and Collective Arts' Liquid Art Fest Milkshake IPA had already won me over after a few early "I'll Pass, Thanks" failed tastings of the style. Wasn't my kettle of fish.

So anyhoo, Glenn brought me a Bellwoods' Milkshark Pineapple Milkshake IPA and declared, "This will make you like Milkshake IPAs!!!" (Again, a tad late out of the starting gate but shhhh, don't tell him - free beer!) Okay, this 7% bad boy was huge pineapple and vanilla on the nose so I was a little worried about over sweetness. Turns out that wasn't really a concern. You can't tell from the picture but this had a fairly hefty body to it.

Glenn doing his wannabe Ciccerone thing down in the Batcave. "Hmm,
I'm detecting fruity notes and an unusual haze to this..." Glenn, it's a
frikkin Naughty Neighbour APA. Just drink it!! But this dude brings
some great beers to Donny's Bar and Grill so no complaints on my end!

There was almost an element of "ice cream float" to this but there was a tangy quality which was hard to resist. It's funny. I would never eat pineapple as a fruit straight-up and the notion of it being on a pizza makes me wanna reach for the Hurl Bucket. But in a beer? Damn, I do love me some pineapple! And this one did it perfectly. Surprise, surprise, another strong outing from Bellwoods.

Okay, I still have dozens of "Glenn Beers" to talk about in the future but I'm wings up for Las Vegas on Saturday night and there's still one more of these "pithy little nuggets of wisdom" (shut up - I put that in quotes) that I want to crank out before I'm airborne.

The next one is mostly a quick look at recent events and the business end of things - a brewery opening in a huge cathedral, an Ontario brewery starting a second one in the United States, old friends finally landing their own brewpub to beat the contract brewers status and a few other things. You know, dry, boring stuff that I'll try to make slightly less dry and boring.

And Glenn, just remember, within five years, your son will shed his teenage cocoon and appreciate how much Mom and Dad do for him. It's a waiting game for every parent. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...