Best of 2019: The People, The Places, The Things

Okay these two beers very seriously divided the ranks of the Brew Crew.
With the Muskoka Black Raspberry Thunder Milkshake IPA, there was
a significant number that found it far too sweet. With the Whitewater
Peanut Butter Shake Stout, there were many (myself included) who
thought the peanut extract used left a harsh after-taste. I wondered
if you could take two divisive beers with complementary tastes and
somehow meld them into something good. Turns out you absolutely can.

Okay, last at bat, folks. This is the one that finally wraps up 2019 so I can get on with my damn year.

This is the one that looks at the people who mattered in Ontario Craft Beer. The breweries that mattered. A few styles that do matter but have no real place in the first three year-enders. The misfits, the malcontents, the loners and the strangers. But hey, we drank 'em anyway. No, they're not the latest haze-bomb IPAs or the big barrel-aged Stouts but we drink them because how do you know you won't like something until you've tried it? I think that's how the whole #PolkPoursPilsners movement started. And yes, I just made that up. Also yes, he wishes he had thought of that first.

Okay, in 2019, aside from Flying Monkeys' Sparklepuff Triple IPA, the beers I saw split the Brew Crew divide into Yay and Nay camps very quickly were these two - the Muskoka Brewing Black Raspberry Thunder Milkshake IPA and the Whitewater Brewing Peanut Butter Shake Stout.

Okay, this just may sound stupid to anyone outside the
retail world but bear with me. The LCBO in my mall
completely renovated their inside, creating an actual
beer walk-in fridge. Their craft selection hugely expanded
with the reno's. When I saw Stonehooker's Broad Reach
Nor'easter IPA in there, I was thrilled! But the cans were
kinda facing every which way. That was on a Saturday. It
bothered me so much on the weekend that I went back on
the Monday morning and front-faced every single can in
two trays. Owners Ross and Adam are friends and I want
people to see their beer. Because that's the thing you do.

Some found the Black Thunder Raspberry far too sweet. I was perfectly fine with it. Others found the Peanut Butter Shake with its peanut extract as a base far too harsh. I was far less fine with this one.

But one day, I kinda looked at the two beers, both in my Batcave fridge and realized, "Hey, these actually have complementary tastes. Peanut butter and jam. What if...?" So that night when I got home from work, I poured them into the same glass... 50/50. Then I did the sign of the cross, which is weird because I actually dislike all religion to a very large degree... and, well, down the hatch it went.

And? Sonuvabeech, it actually worked. It was as close to a PB&J sandwich as I guess a beer could be. The sweetness of one canceled the harshness of the other... and vice-versa. It had the taste of youth long forgotten before Peanut Butter became Public Enemy #1 when our kids started going to school. This is the kind of weird shit I do in my life now and the odd thing is I kinda look and go, "Meh, I could waste time in way worse ways, I suppose." We all find fun where we can get it.

Okay, let's wrap this shit up. Y'all know the rules at this point. Rule #1, no repeat winners. You've won here before, hey, good on ya, now bugger off. It's a big Province with lots of beers. Which brings us to Rule #2. Ontario only!

When I pulled up Herald Haus Brewing's info sheet on their Abandoned
At The Altar Raspberry Sour, one of the first things they mention is its
"light body." Uhhhh, no. This is a much much thicker body than you are
used to in a sour. Probably more tart than sour. Yes, there's a difference.

Wasn't always a rule here. Became one about four or five years ago. We have so much good beer here that Saskatchewan can fend for itself. And finally, Rule #3, this is where I'm supposed to say something rude about Premier Doug Ford. Got nothing left in the tank. I'm more pissed at Stephen Lecce these days. Okay, this isn't about politics so let's get this Beer Gong Show going and leave the politics for the lying bastards.

Best Sour: So I'm quietly working away at the Beer Store one day back in September, (Lie: I'm never quiet), just minding my own business (Lie #2) when this dude rolls in with a two-wheel trolley and three cases of beer. I didn't recognize it so I asked, whatchu got for us there? It was the Herald Haus Brewing's Abandoned At The Altar Raspberry Sour. Well, I was 99% sure he was at the wrong store. We're lower volume so we don't get sours. Decent IPA selection, though.

When I posted the Herald Haus Abandoned At The Altar Raspberry
Sour on Twitter, the first thing our home-brewing Brew Crew member
Graeme asked was: "How does it stack up to Nickel Brook's Raspberry
Uber?" Good question. Both Berliner Weisses. While the tastes were
very similar, the Herald Haus Abandoned added a lot more heft to the
body. A little heavier than the Berliner Weisses we are used to. Thick!

There's a self-serve Beer Store (which has a huge selection) 10 klicks west of us on the same street so I figure, oops, wrong store. Happens all the time. He shows me the invoice. Yup, our address. Okay, cool, lemme sign then. I was happy. Mistake or not, we finally had a sour in the store.

And it was damn good. For starters - and you should be able to tell simply by looking at it - this one had some serious body to it. That's something we don't usually see in a sour, which tends to be a much thinner style. The brew is a Berliner Weisse so, you know, a long German tradition and yadda, yadda, yadda. Brewers care more about things like that than we do but as they brew them, we have a tendency to follow up if for no other reason than to see what the fuss is all about.

Most of us have forgotten this now but the weather
in May and June was so cold and rainy throughout
Ontario that it felt like we skipped Spring and went
directly from Winter to Summer in July. In fact, it
was so bad that Drunk Polkaroo drank a Coors Slice
to appease the Sun Gods and beg them to make an
appearance. David Buist captured that moment here.

In the end, yes, we received the beer in error (theirs, not ours). We were supposed to get the Herald Haus H2 Blonde Ale (which we eventually did a few weeks later) but the brewery left the Abandoned in our store... because it was selling. And quite well. By that, I mean being bought by customers and not just me for a change. I'm not surprised. This one came with a lovely whack of raspberry, a light hint of citrus in the background and went down super smoothly.

And, of course, there's a back story to the name. When the Herald Building in Stratford, built in 1890, was renovated more recently to accommodate the brewery, all sorts of past secrets and papers were found in the floorboards and hidden cubbies, including one of a man who, in 1905, was, indeed, abandoned at the altar. Maybe he dodged a bullet, maybe she did, we'll never know. (Previous winners: Bench Citra Grove Dry-Hopped Sour, 5 Paddles Skull Pucker Sour IPA - now just a straight-up sour, Bellwoods' Motley Cru 2016, Bellwoods' Jelly King.)

Best Fruit Beer: I should start by saying this was pretty much a lock on Best Milkshake Beer but when you see the winner there next, you'll know why I shifted this to the Fruit Beer category, instead. Doesn't matter. A winner is a winner is a winner.

A huge Summer-time favourite of Brew Crew's Kimmy
and myself, the Stonehooker Mae West Bodacious
Orange Milkshake IPA actually DID taste exactly like a
 Creamsicle. The addition of lactose lent itself to the
creamy filling inside the popular popsicle. Bang-on!!

I'm virtually certain that Oakville Brew Crew member Kimmy and I both found Stonehooker Brewing's Mae West Bodacious Orange Milkshake IPA at about the same time in the Summer because it kept coming up on our Twitter feeds at the same time. Okay, there's a healthy handful of orange ales and what-have-you that say they taste like a Creamsicle. And they do... IF you're thinking about a Creamsicle while you drink them. Where this was different is as a 6.5% Milkshake IPA, there was the addition of lactose that beautifully reflected the inside of a Creamsicle, the ice cream part. This wasn't close - it was bang-on! Had it on tap during our Stonehooker as part of the Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion and while it lacked a little of the creaminess from the Summer batch, it was still damn solid. Guessing this is a tricky recipe to replicate exactly each time. (Previous winners: Little Beasts' Pale Blue Ale,  Lake of the Woods Forgotten Lakes Blueberry Ale, Wellington Rhubarb Saison and Turtle Island's SMASHed Cherry Ale. Is Turtle Island Brewing from the Ottawa area still around? No website and it's been four years since I last heard about them.)

I know, right? This selection as Best Milkshake Beer is probably very
shocking to you all. I mean, I barely mentioned it at all. Ever. And I
certainly didn't drive all the way to a Burlington LCBO just to buy
countless Muskoka's Hopsonic IPA Mixer Packs so I could get more
of this beer! I mean, that would just be crazy, right? And I've been
analyzed by some of the best psychotherapists around and they agree
that I'm not nuts. Society is nuts. I have a piece of paper that says so.

Best Milkshake Beer: In a decision that will shock absolutely no one who follows me on Twitter, this year's Best Milkshake Beer (meaning, of course, the addition of lactose) is Muskoka Brewing's Berry Springer Milkshake IPA. Now I'll be honest. The first couple of times I had a different lactose IPA two Summers back, I was no fan. Weird and foreign milky thickness. But every once in a while, I'd try another... and another. Now I don't know if I just got used to them or the brewers started doing a better job with them better, to be honest. Whatever the case, eventually I was on board. And this one? Holy Frijole, it's a beauty. While I tasted raspberry, Danny tasted strawberry and Curtis tasted ALL the berries. And we all agreed on one thing. It was worth buying the Muskoka Hopsonic IPA Mixer Pack just to get this beer. Granted, that the other five beers were also IPAs? Yeah, not gonna lie. Didn't hurt. (Previous winners: Collective Arts' Liquid Arts Fest IPA, Merit's Neapolitan Milkshake Stout - more Milkshake Stouts, please - so good!)

Is it a cheat letting a Belgian IPA win as this year's Best Belgian
Ale? I say thee nay. This was far more Belgian Ale than it was an
IPA. In fact, blind-folded, IPA would be off your list for styles
this beer is. Belgian Ale would be very much on that list. Ergo...

Best Belgian Style Ale: Okay, when we stopped into Stonehooker Brewing in Port Credit on the first leg of the Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion, Drunk Polkaroo leaned over to me and said, "You gotta try the Three Sheets Belgian IPA." To be honest, I heard the word "IPA" and that was more than enough for me. Now I've had my fair share of Belgian IPAs over the year but not one was as close to the straight-up European style as this beer. It was like it was shipped directly across the ocean directly on a boat from Brussels. The only hint to the North American hops was the nice orange in it but the rest was Belgian - lightly spiced and banana essence. It was 7.5% and 54 IBU (another nod to the hops). And the term "three sheets (to the wind)" is also nautical, the brewery's underlying theme. It simply means the ropes holding the three main sails has become unfastened and the sails are flapping like flags, rather than controlling the power of the wind. Thus the ship is in imminent danger of crashing... much like a drunk person. (The more you know... *star slide!!!!*)

The Best Ontario-American Collaboration goes to - yet again - Collective
Arts, who teamed up with the gang at Alvarado Street Brewery down in
 Monterey, California to make this Big Cat Roars Double IPA. Insane!

(Previous winners: Sawdust City-Nickel Brook 11~05 2018 Belgian Quad with Oak and Cherries, Great Lakes' 30th Anniversary Barrel Aged Belgian Quad with Cherries)

Best Ontario-American Collaboration: Let's harken back yet again to the Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion in November. Collective Arts communications director Toni Shelton had graciously set us up with a tour of the place but as we were going in, they told us a pint was included. We saw a Double IPA up on the board and I think nearly all of us grabbed it. I honestly had no idea what it was and being as this was the fifth brewery stop on the day, I also honestly didn't care. But I didn't even know the name of the DIPA... until later in the week when Drunk Polkaroo posted a video on it.

Want to know how hot the Wellington Raked Over IPA
was? Well, Hamilton cartoonist-artist David Buist kinda
captures that here. There is absolutely nothing about this
beer I should have loved. And yet, I kept going back to it.

Turns out it was the Big Cat Roars Double IPA, a collaboration between Collective Arts and Alvarado Street Brewing in Monterey, California. So I was right back at Collective Arts the following weekend to grab some. Holy snappin' catfish, Agnes, what a beer! As befits a California collaborator, west coast all the way. Big orange, big grapefruit, some back end pine, 8.2% and frikkin' unbelievable! You know, when people wonder if Canada and the US are getting along these days, it's always about Trudeau and Trump's relationship. Screw that. I've got your proof that we're just fine right here! (Previous winners: Redline Brewhouse-Thin Man Brewing [Buffalo] Squeeze Across The Border Hazy IPA, Collective Arts-Thin Man-Sloop Brewing [East Fishkill, NY] Smooth Maneuvers New England Style IPA)

Best Brewery Only One-Off: This is kind of an oddball category that I added last year but I'm pretty glad I did. Sometimes, big, new beers come out, never show up in the LCBO or TBS and you have to go to the brewery directly or hope they do Beer Mail. Now technically, Wellington's Raked Over IPA was available commercially at both the LBCO and TBS as part of one of their Welly Re-Boot Mix-Four Packs.

It burned. It burned. It burned so good. Wellington's
Raked Over IPA with Mango, Pineapple and Habanero
(peppers) was, on the first taste, a tasty IPA, And then, the
heat kicked in. After that, I was screaming in Spanish???

I wanna say it was Volume 6? Can't remember. But this was a crazy offering for one reason. The label billed it as having "Mango, Pineapple and Habanero." Very true. The mango and pineapple were very prominent... up front. But the back-end still came as a surprise, despite the peppery warning. It was hot. Like seriously hot. I can guarantee you that you've never had an IPA quite like this. And there's absolutely nothing I should have loved about that. Except I did. In fact, I became quite fixated on it, first ordering about 10 more cans of it online and then driving an hour out of my way after dropping my son off in London to get another dozen. My homebrewing buddy, Danny, up there in Sudbury, quite agreed. This caused some confusion recently when Danny went on Twitter and said he thought Spearhead Brewery's new Jamaican Fire Porter was "not really my thing" and "I doubt I'll order any." But he actually included the "thank you" card from the brewery congratulating on for being the first home delivery of the beer.

This is Spearhead Brewing co-owner Josh Hayter
in his happy place. Can't you tell? Actually, he is
because he's in Spearhead. But getting this dude
to laugh? F**king near killed me this Summer.

Some, myself included, missed the facetious tone (the internet being the internet) and were actually quite puzzled. Clearly, no IQ Tests are necessary (or mandatory) to be in our Brew Crew. Back to Welly's Raked Over, I nearly made this my Best IPA of 2019 but knew I'd be bumping a beauty and shifted it here, instead. Wellington, more of this please. (Previous winner: Cameron's Brewing Hazy With A Chance Of Hops Pale Ale.)

Best Craft Beer Executive: This one's a bitch. Seriously. So many great craft beer executives contributed to my and the Brew Crew's 2019 beer experience that singling out one is damn near impossible. For me personally, Kyle and Clint at Cameron's, absolutely. For the Brew Crew Craft Brewery Invasions, Celia and Jann at Orleans, Darren at Lake of Bays, Adam at Stonehookers, John at Nickel Brook, Brad (and Barc) at Clifford... this list goes on and on.

And the thing is these people, who are quite important in our eyes, seem just as excited to meet us as we are to meet them. Finestkind, the entire lot, I shit you not. I love this community.

But one guy kinda stood out. That would be Josh Hayter, co-owner of Spearhead Brewing.

Okay, so now we know what it takes to get a smile on Josh's
face. Surprised this didn't occur to us sooner. A little double
sided cheek kissing and look at him. He's one happy camper!

You see, way back in the Spring, my buddy Steve, a co-founder of the Southern Ontario Beer Boys, posted a tweet with Spearhead's Hawaiian Style Pale Ale and said basically, it's pretty solid but could use a little more pineapple. Despite the fact that this was my Best Pale Ale way back when I first started my Year-End's list in 2013, I agreed on Twitter because yeah, true story, you can't have enough pineapple. And off we went to sleep in our happy homes. When we woke up the following morning, there was a video on Twitter, waiting for us. In it, Josh was explaining the purpose of the pineapple juice used in Hawaiian Style - that it was there simply to tone down the bitterness of the hops and not meant to be a prominent or overwhelming flavour. Whoa. A video addressed to us (mostly Steve) personally. From a brewery owner. That, my friends, is customer service at its finest. The Brew Crew was all over it. This was a brewery we all wanted to back because it was a brewery that had our backs. From there, it stepped up a notch when Josh joined us all on the 613 Ottawa Craft Brewery Invasion.

This man, Darren Smith, owns Lake of Bays Brewing up in
Baysville, Ontario. He has for over 10 years now and yes, he
is just now in his early 30s. Started it right out of university.
He also owns the Huntsville Brewhouse, shown here, where
he is serving me a Java The Hutt Stout on nitro. I probably
forgot to tip him because he owns the brewery. Despite being
sick, Darren hung with us all day and was a huge part of our
Huntsville Craft Brewery Invasion. We drank many beers...

He partied with us, ate a stupid amount of hotdogs with us (our group of nine ate ALL the hot dogs at Dominion City Brewing, leaving the balance of their clientele, well, mystery meat-less), And I think maybe even laughed with us. (The jury's still out of whether he actually laughed out loud or wholeheartedly chuckled inward. I say out loud.)

But he had so much fun that he's organized the Kingston Beer Fam 2020 next month. Got us group rates on the hotel, visiting six breweries, food, a bus, the whole nine yards. Worked in tandem with Tourism Kingston and the Kingston Economic Development Committee to pull this together, the dude's not splashing in puddles here. He's proud of Kingston and wants to show it off. I'll include the link at the end if you wanna join us but I'll tell you this for free. We are pumped! Kingston in February? Who could say no? And Josh... you, sir, are truly an Ontario classic. We're glad we know you. (Previous winners: Matt Allott of Manantler Craft Brewing, Mark Woitzik of Brock St Brewing, Garnet Pratt Sidell, formerly of Side Launch Brewing... seriously, don't even get me started. Years later, still pissed about that.) 

Our IPA Brew Day at Huntsville Brewhouse lead to this
classic moment, deftly illustrated by Hamilton cartoonist-
artist David Buist. It is called "Donny Phantomed." That
is David at the top left and moving clockwise, Glenn, Joel,
Danny, Matty and myself as Sleeping (But No) Beauty...

Best Brewery: The story of why The story of why Lake of Bays Brewing is my Brewery of the Year actually goes back to 2014 when I first met the brewery rep, Tim. This was wayyy back before they started with their new rebranding a couple of years ago. For the record, their rebranding could serve as a stellar "How To..." for any craft brewery out there, looking to scrape the barnacles off the boat. Anyway, for years, Tim and I would chat about the State of Craft Beer in Ontario and other like-minded topics. But back in January 2019, he approached me with a different idea. How would a gang of us like to come up to Huntsville and brew a beer? Umm, I said, speaking for others, yes, we would very much like to do that thing. Before long, he would bring his boss, Rob, Lake of Bays director of sales, in to meet me. (Good call - let him know what he's getting into with me.) And then, it was set. I threw the call-to-arms invitation out on Twitter and before long, the Brew Crew was born. You see, we had all talked daily on social media but had never met in person.

Half this table was well-behaved. The front half. But
those rowdies at the back? Geezuz! So this would be,
clockwise from bottom left, Graeme, Curtis, Danny,
David, myself, Joel, Matty, Glenn and Hago. Yikes!

And so, on April 13th, a gang of 13 thugs descended into Huntsville to make what would later be called Bucket List IPA. From the Hammer came artist David and Hamilton Craft Beer Couple Paul (an original Southern Ontario Beer Boy) and Kristal with their friends Pete and Colleen. From King City came homebrewer Graeme while Sudbury homebrewer Danny traveled south for it. Curtis came from Guelph while I traveled in from Oakville. Ottawa nerds Matty and Joel made the trek as did Soldier Boy Hago from Barrie. And finally from Jail came Glenn because apparently, you can't do the things you do playing Grand Theft Auto in real life. And, boy howdy, what a day. We made a beer with brewer Andrew Walsh, we feasted like kings, courtesy of Chef Brian and probably, our favourite part, we taste-tasted and did some market research on samples of new products. It was crazy. The whole time, despite being sick, owner Darren Smith, hung with us. As a group, we have since done the 613 Ottawa Craft Brewery Invasion, as well as the more recent Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion. But none of us will ever forget where this started. On a chilly but sun-drenched day in Huntsville. Probably a favourite 2019 moment for all of us. All made possible, courtesy of Lake of Bays Brewing. Fantastic people!

I first had the Muskoka Hazed & Confused Juicy IPA in one of their
Survival Packs back in the Summer of 2018. It was the only way to get
your hands on it. So, remarkably similar to their Berry Springer in the
Hopsonic IPA Mixer Pack. I was pretty thankful when it became part of
their regular rotation this year because a beer this stellar should not be a
once-a-year-in-a-specialty-pack kind of offering. It deserves much more!

And Jackie and Emma, their social media liaisons? Hilarious. They keep us in our place. Well, the best they can, anyway. (Previous winners: Grain & Grit Small Batch Beer, Longslice Brewing, Brock St Brewing and the Barrie Craft Beer Mafia - Redline, Barnstormer and Flying Monkeys.)

Best Beer of the Year (aka The Wingman Award): Well, thankfully, the curtain's about to close on 2019 but hey, it's only... *checks calendar*... January 25? Are you shitting me? Nearly one-twelfth of 2020 has already passed us by? What the hell?

(I've been distracted but you'll see why next blog. This four-part series should have been done within the first week of January. I had all the winners. Just needed some words to go with each.) So anyway, let's continue on with the finale. The Beer of the Year.

According to the wonders of photo "properties," the
first time I had this beer was August 22, 2018. As you
can see, rather than "Juicy IPA," Muskoka called it
an "Unfiltered IPA" back then. But same great taste!

As you may have read above, the first time I had a Muskoka Hazed & Confused Juicy IPA was in the Summer of 2018. It was part of their Survival Pack. And the minute I did, I go on Twitter, raving like a loon about how exceptional this beer was.

That, in turn, lead to Sarah, at the time their social media liaison, quipping back with words to the effect of, "Well, if you love it so much, why don't you just marry it?" She quickly added that the brewery truly loved my love. What can I tell ya? Very love-filled day. Also I checked with Town Hall. In Ontario, you cannot legally marry a beer. What? I was curious.

But when three trays of it landed in my Beer Store back in April, I was ecstatic. And best of all, they just kept coming and continue to do so. One time, when I returned from a Las Vegas trip, a shipment had arrived that morning and my co-worker, Trishan, had jokingly tagged it with a Post-It Note, simply saying, "For Donny! Do not touch!"

This beer is pineapple, mango, orange and 6.5%. I'm not really certain what more a beer lover could ask for? Well, lactose, I suppose but milk sugar can't be in every beer. We'd all instantly be suspicious of Big Dairy's influence.

Sometimes Beer Twitter can be a tad fractious (I read but
avoid it at all costs) and many out there could heed this
 timely reminder. Yes, we are passionate because we love it.
But at the end of the day, let's remember its place in the
grand scheme of things. It's just beer. Great beer, though!

(Previous winners: Nickel Brook's Wicked Awesome, Great Lakes' Canuck Pale Ale, Collective Arts' Ransack The Universe, Muskoka Mad Tom)

So that's a wrap on 2019 but as a parting note, I was curious about one thing so I went back and counted. Of the 31 individual beer categories I covered over the four blogs, 17 of those winners were given to me by friends or in a couple of cases, breweries themselves. Only 14 were ones I purchased on my own. That boils down to one irrefutable reality. I was given more winners than I found on my own. Winners came from all over the province - Guelph, Sudbury and most especially Ottawa. Beers I could have never gotten on my own because as regional-only products, they weren't accessible to me.

Huh. In the end, my friends actually picked more of my winners than I did. I think that's pretty damn cool. Oh and here's the link to Josh's Kingston Beer Fam 2020, cleverly called: Josh's Kingston Beer Fam 2020 But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

Hello? Does anyone ever look way down here? I've always been curious...