Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion 2.0

What happens when you find a Hab in the corner? You double-team the
guy! Poor Danny, down from Sudbury, just looking to have a good time
got the gears from Greg and myself for being a Montreal Canadiens fan.
Danny, since the two teams are basically neck-and-neck in the standings,
you may have the last laugh yet. (But you won't because the Habs suck!)

Okay, so Day 2 of the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion was basically the main day.

I mean, we had Friday night set up at two breweries, Cameron's in Oakville and Stonehooker in Port Credit, for any early birds, just as Matty, Ben and Joel had done in Ottawa this past Summer. But co-organizers Kimmy, Greg and myself knew that Saturday was, in essence, the real deal. The Big Tamale. The Whole Enchilada. Other Mexican food.

Saturday was a five brewery day... that turned into a six brewery day. But we'll get to take in a minute.

Our Saturday would begin at Nickel Brook in Burlington and if you know anything about me, it's that Nickel Brook and I go back a fair ways. Co-owner John Romano (with brother Peter) was the first brewery owner I ever met and for every other brewery owner I would meet subsequently, John set the bar pretty high for honesty.

Nichole and Curtis came down from Guelph for the
905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion and,
while she planned to only stay for a brewery or two,
Nichole was having so much fun, she pretty much
ran the entire day with us. Cool to have them both!

He is pretty much the most "No BS Zone" guy I've ever met.

Much like Cameron's the night before, Nickel Brook would be our launching for the Saturday festivities, the big day of fun.

Now I had been in contact with Retail Manager Robbie and said to him, "If there's any way John could be there, that'd be great." Robbie promised nothing owner-wise, though added if anyone wanted a tour, he'd be more than glad to walk us through.
More than good enough. (And hey, we got John.)

That tour never happened because Nickel Brook became the humongous Meet and Greet for the day. Homebrewer Graeme came down from King City. Hamilton artist-cartoonist David arrived from the Hammer. Nichole and our favourite Ciccerone Curtis came in from Guelph. And this was just adding to the core group from Friday - myself, Beer Bro Glenn, the always-lovely Candice, Sudbury Danny, Newmarket's The Big Peezy Paul, Polk and Lady Polk and my Oakville compatriots and co-organizers Kimmy and Greg.

Okay, story to go with this one. John was bidding on this autographed
(on the back) picture of Gord Downie at a Silent Auction a couple of
Summers back when someone kept bidding $10 more each time. He had
to track the person down. "He was a kid in his early 20s," John told us,
"and when I found him, I said to him, 'Look, I've partied with Gord and
the band and you are NOT getting this picture!' Finally, he stopped his
bids and I won it. But I think I scared the shit out of him." I have no
doubt. John added, "This story better be in your blog!" So here ya go.

But there were even more people who joined us but couldn't stay for the day. They basically dropped into Nickel Brook to say hey to all the folks they talk to regularly on Twitter but had never met in the flesh.

Our favourite Peel Region high school teacher, Paulie G, who has a pretty big aversion to crowds, stopped by to meet everyone and see the people from Beer Twitter. Also joining us was Burlington's Dan from @CraftBeersBlog, who could only stay briefly because he was in the middle of packing to move up to Port Sydney, Ontario, where they've already received 85 feet of snow.

But you know what was the most welcome with this Brewery Invasion - something we haven't really seen in the past? Women. Candice has joined us on a couple (the Whitby and Barrie Brewery Invasions), this time we also had Kimmy, Lady Polk and Nichole.

Glenn and John in deep conversation during our time at
Nickel Brook. Every time Glenn visited me when I lived
in Burlington, Nickel Brook has been a must-visit for
him. But he hadn't seen their new tap-room and lemme
tell you, he and everyone else were very impressed with
the new space. A real cog in the Burlington community. 

It wasn't exactly 50/50 but hey, this time, roughly a third of the Brew Crew were female and that's not a bad start. If nothing else, it could possibly mean we guys might just act a little more civil. In theory anyway. Okay, bad theory. Sorry.

But I had to tell Nichole a little story. But when we did the Ottawa Craft Brewery Invasion in August, Curtis was part of the crew. While we set up camp in Waller Street Brewing, a trio of people came into the place - an obvious couple and a young lady. When I saw the young lady, I thought, "She seems somehow familiar. Do I know her?" I didn't really look over at them much because we were in the middle of our tour but I couldn't shake the feeling. My Spider Sense was tingling. Eventually I shrugged it off, realizing there was literally no chance I'd know a woman in her 20s living in Ottawa.

As we gathered on the sidewalk afterwards, plotting our next course, the couple and single lady popped out of the place. She gave Curtis a little peck on the neck and the three of them quickly disappeared into the day. Suddenly, I realized, "Holy shit, that's Nichole." The couple turned out to be Curtis' brother, Mitch and his wife, Anne. But I had on some level recognized Nichole from her tiny quarter-inch wide avatar on Twitter. So it was a genuine pleasure to actually meet her.

When John Romano says please do this, we do it. He gave
us all Nickel Brook toques and said, "Wear them and pose
in front of a Clifford Brewing sign!" And that is precisely
what we did. Brad Clifford thought it was hilarious when
we all told him. So here's (left to right) Nichole, Big Peezy
Paul, myself, Glenn, Candice and David. We stylin' here!

I'm not sure how long we stayed at Nickel Brook - well over an hour, certainly - but eventually it was time to move along. John sent us out with parting gifts, though - Nickel Brook toques - and a very specific set of instructions. For that story, read the cutline under the photo to the left. He's a wascally wabbit and an imp, that John.

While Grain & Grit Small Batch Beers and its neighbour, Fairweather Brewing, were originally next on the agenda, Polk had made an additional suggestion on Friday night. That we go from Nickel Brook to Clifford Brewing in the east end of Hamilton as Stop #2.

Being as Clifford is the reigning Canadian Brewery of the Year after the 2019 Canadian Brewing Awards, well, pretty hard to say no to that suggestion. It also gives you an idea of how fluid these brewery invasions are. You can plan to the Nth degree but things will always change on a dime. The Craft Brewery Invasion Universe unfolds as it should.

Well, lemme just say flat-out that it was a great suggestion as Clifford Brewing was hands down my favourite stop of the day.

Brad Clifford started up Clifford Brewing in 2015,
at first contracting out their Porter and Pinball
Wizard Pale Ale. Eventually he found the location
of their brewery (398 Nash Road North) and began
to create their bricks-and-mortar facility. They
finally opened their tap-room and retail in 2018.
Since then, *bam* the place has just taken off...

For starters, while most of the day's breweries were new to some members of the Brew Crew, they were all very familiar to me. Except Clifford. I had never been.

I know it is the closest brewery to the Polk's Stoney Creek home and I also know the pair were at its Grand Opening of its bricks-and-mortar facility in 2018. Clifford had previously contract-brewed its award-winning Porter and Pinball Wizard Pale Ale. Alongside Muddy York's Porter, Lady Polk has long been a fan of Clifford's Porter. (I'm also a fan.) And they both regularly sing the praises of owner Brad Clifford. So really, what more recommendation do you need? It's the Polks. If they say it's a worthy and necessary stop, it is. Period. Nuff said.

They weren't wrong. Holy crap, whatta space! Right off the top, 10,000 square feet of former industrial - I think Brad told me what used to be in there (because that's the kind of question I would ask) but honestly, I forget. I mean, who cares? It's a killer-huge brewery now. And Brad has gone open-concept where the tanks are right alongside you - always a personal preference for me. Yeah, you're having a tasty beverage but the tank where it may have come from? Oh, about 25 feet over there. You can touch it if you want. And the games. A legit working pinball machine, air hockey, all sorts of fun stuff. But really, just a great set-up, tons of tables, tons of leg-stretching space, tons of brewing equipment.

On December 14, Drunk Polkaroo dressed up as Santa
Claus and held a Toy Drive at Clifford Brewing. The
drive asked for an unwrapped toy and a $10 donation
for a free pint with all the toys going to young children
in need. Here, Brad, left and a helper load all the gifts
into a minivan. Santa Polk was a resounding success!

This was the brewery where both the Polks (Rob was trapped at work during Stop #1) and Brandon, Nickel Brook's social media liaison, would join into the fun. I saw him at Nickel Brook but his jumping aboard was a pleasant surprise. Great guy. We were basically a traveling circus, picking up more performers along the way (heavy emphasis on the clowns... but not Murder Clowns, just the regular ones.)

Meeting Brad was great. Super good-natured dude, happy to answer any questions about the brewery, the challenges or the industry itself.

But also on hand was his father, Barclay, or just "Barc," as he prefers. I'm guessing he's probably late-60s and lemme tell you for free, this is one animated and enthusiastic fellow. I was heading to that special room where you conveniently get rid of the beer you've recently imbibed when he approached me and we engaged in a very lively conversation.

Turns out he's a pretty big fan of the attention his son's brewery gets on social media and actively thanked our entire group for doing what we do pretty much daily on the interwebs. Drinking beer and praising it is remarkably easy but okay.

My Oakville co-organizer Kimmy didn't like a photo I used in the
last one (it was a group photo so let's face it, someone's always got
their eyes closed) so here's a better one of my friend. Clockwise
from bottom left, Glenn, David, Kimmy herself, random stranger,
Lady Polk, Danny and Greg all raising their glasses on November
2 on the Fairweather Brewing patio. Yup, November 2nd and we all
sat on a patio, drinking beer. Could we BE more Canadian? Nope.

But as he continued on, I began to realize that some of this was aimed at me specifically. You'll see why in a second. When he asked, "But you know what my favourite part is?" I respond with my usual erudite, "Dunno, whazzat?" His eyes lit up. "Your pictures from Vegas!"

Ahhh, turns out Barc is a pretty big Vegas fan, too. He follows me on Twitter so he's been watching all these Vegas pictures I post on my many trips to Sin City. And, apparently, loving them. Talked to Brad afterwards and he noted, "Oh yeah, he's just like you. Constantly going to Vegas."

Well, that's cool. So I said, "Look, one of my things down there is repping Ontario craft breweries by wearing their T-Shirts. So remind me and I'll buy one of yours on my way out. That way I can rep Clifford Brewing in two weeks when I'm back in Vegas."

Barc was having none of that. "No, you will show me the T-Shirt you want and I will give it to you!!" Okay, what can I say? I respect my elders so game on, Barc!

November 18, 2019. At The D Hotel and Casino on
Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Under a spotlight in the
casino, Clifford Brewing of East Hamilton gets it rep
moment in Sin City. Barc was pretty happy to see it,
I reckon. And Brad? Told me to bet it all on black...

Long story short, if you haven't been to Clifford Brewing in east Hamilton, GO! Like now! The place is amazing and the beer - particularly their Super Crawl Hazy Pale Ale - is fantastic. But don't ignore their Porter, either. It's won a combined two golds and three silvers at the Ontario and Canadian Brewing Awards. Not too shabby.

Also, it should go without saying - and yet I'm about to say it - if you haven't seen Nickel Brook's year-old tap room, get yer butt over there, too. Some of the finest sours and Bretts in Ontario. Make a few damn fine IPAs, too.

Okay, next up is the final installment on the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion where we, as a group of reckless and by the end, soused warriors, take over Grain & Grit, followed by Fairweather, take a super tour at Collective Arts and finally, drink and dine like queens and kings at Merit Brewing. What can I say, it was one helluva day. And the Brew Crew finally got some female representation so I'm pretty happy about that. Mostly because I suspect that if they put their minds to it, they could drink all us guys under the table. Gotta respect that.

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