 |
| Jeff, an Oshawa member of the Brew Crew, was there to act as a doorman at Kingston Brewing, the oldest microbrewery in Ontario, having first started in 1984. I have to admit this was pretty much my favourite stop on the day. Fantastic! |
Now look at this craptastic world we live in. WTF? To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, change comes at you fast sometimes, eh? Suddenly, your best friend accidentally trashing his father's prized Ferrari doesn't seem like such a big deal in the grand scheme.
Okay, aside from two cancelled trips to Vegas in March and May (and if you know me, you know that's like a dagger directly to the heart), there's been some COVID-19 scares a little too frikkin close to home for me. First and foremost, I work with the public daily and while I am glad to have a job, I'm also in charge of and living with a 90 year old mother.
In the same mall at my place of employment, there's a Metro grocery store where four employees got COVID-19 in the space of one week at the end of April. At first, I thought, "Oh man, that sucks" because I know many of them. Then I realize I had been in that same store FIVE times during that same week. When that finally dawned on me, I freaked.
 |
| Braden MacRae, owner and brewer at the Kingston Brewing Company, walked us through their history, which is considerable since they opened in 1984, as well as fed us one of the best meals (it was catered in courtesy of Tourism Kingston) most of us have ever eaten. For a group visiting breweries, I gotta say that "The Lunch" seemed to be a huge favourite memory. |
Okay, back to business. To recap, Josh Hayter, co-owner of Spearhead Brewing, ably aided and abetted by his brewery's communications manager, Amanda Richardson, organized this Kingston brewery tour way in late-February - you know, way back in the pioneer days when you could shake hands or hug someone without worrying about killing them. And you two, I sincerely apologize for the delay here. You did such a wonderful job with this! So anyway, Part One (written in late March - ouch!) chronicled our first group meeting at Delta Lakeside Hotel and subsequent trips to newcomer Daft Brewing and Stone City Ales, one of the older ones at five years of existence.
Before I get into it, let me establish one thing. To honour our hard-working and industrious host, Josh and hostess Amanda, Spearhead Brewery was EVERYONE'S favourite stop of the day! So, from this point, if I mention anyone's favourite brewery, you are to read it very specifically in your head as "second favourite brewery" behind Spearhead (which actually was the favourite stop for many.)
 |
| No idea whose picture this is but who cares? It was someone in our group. But Tourism Kingston got us a lunch we all would remember from a catering place. Pork ribs, brisket, crazy good mac-and-cheese, cole slaw... and some leafy substance. I asked what it was and was told it was something called "Sah Lad." You know, I hate when people just make up words on me. |
Aside from the beer, which I'll get to shortly, there was something else about this place... but I'm struggling to remember. It was so long ago now. Lemme turn to some of the Brew Crew to see what they recollect about that brewery. First up, Hamilton Artist and Cartoonist Extraordinaire David, what do you remember about Stop #3? "Obviously, the food was amazing at Kingston Brewing Company." Hmmm, starting to ring a bell. Hey, King City homebrewer Graeme, how about you? "The lunch was epic and that place (KBC) was so cool." I feel like I'm getting warmer here. Okay, Oakville Brew Crew member Greg, what do you have? "Lunch!!! That spread - can still taste the brisket." Oh man, I feel like I'm so close to the answer.
 |
| Okay, the samplers at Kingston Brewing Company are exactly the top three on this menu and in order. The Whitetail Cream Ale, very solid for its style, a beautifully British-style, malty Dragoon's Pale Ale and my top one (I bought plenty - you should too) their Double Dry-Hopped IPA. I remember that beer as fondly as the lunch. Which is saying something!! |
Whoop, there it is. Because Josh had enlisted both Tourism Kingston and Kingston Economic Development to foot the bill for lunch and dinner (later at Spearhead), we feasted like royalty. And when you drink as much beer as you do on these Brewery Invasions, padding the stomach is never a bad move.
But the lunch? Look, you don't expect food to be a central theme at a brewery invasion but it was all any of us could talk about for a goodly chunk of the afternoon. As Curtis said, the brisket and ribs were mind-blowingly awesome and the mac-and-cheese side? Still haven't replicated it for me and my son despite a couple of tries. If I just knew which cheese.
 |
| Because I'm a smoker, I think I got to see something that the balance of the Brew Crew likely missed. In the alley beside the brewery leading to a courtyard, there was this plaque commemorating Sir John A MacDonald, Canada's first Prime Minister and notorious imbiber. The top of this tells the story about how he used to relieve himself on this very wall after a night of politicking and drinking way back in the 1860s and leads to the punchline, "John A MacDonald, Urination Builder if we ever saw one..." |
Okay, beer time. As you can see above, the samplers lined up perfectly with the top three items on their beer menu - their Whitetail Cream Ale, Dragoon's Pale Ale and Double Dry-Hopped IPA. Of course, I loved the Double Dry-Hopped IPA the most, taking home a sixer but the Dragoon's was something I don't have nearly enough of - a true malt heavy, hop light British-style Pale Ale. Exactly as the style was brewed in its UK infancy 100 or whatever years ago.
But one of the even cooler aspects at DBC? We were gathered downstairs, ready to go up for our lunch and samplers when Curtis nudged me, saying "Donny, check this out." It was their guest tap lines, written on a chalkboard, listing something like 20 of the greatest beers from the top breweries across the Province. Just an unbelievable assortment in pretty much every style. Anyway, as I said, my favourite stop of the day. If I lived in Kingston (after a brief stint as a Queen's University student, I feel certain I'm banned from residency there), this place would see a lot of me.
 |
| Hey, Nichole, what was Stop #4? That's right. Riverhead Brewing Company. Nichole's so sweet. Every time I need a model for a photo, it lands on her shoulders. She says she's happy to do it, though. It's tough being in the Brew Crew! |
Okay, Stop #4 - Riverhead Brewing Company. Another favourite stop but for a very different reason as you shall soon read. That is, if you're still in the room. I do tend to babble on. Doesn't matter. Still registers as a hit if you clicked on this and bailed by the second paragraph. Suckah.
First up, whereas the other breweries gave us each three tasters, Riverhead's approach was "Grab a full pint and then hussle yer asses into the brewery for a tour." Out of the 20 of us, I suspect at least 18 grabbed a Tropical IPA before we, well, hussled our asses in.
Brewmaster and part-owner Aaron Martin (an award-winning Niagara College Brewing alum) was giving us the low-down on the brewery's history and eventually threw it open to questions.
That's when King City homebrewer Graeme stepped up with one. It was about the type of yeast the brewery favoured. Before long, April Thibert, who handles Waller St Brewing's social media with hubby Chuck) jumped in with some of her brewery's yeast preferences.
 |
| Let's call this photo "A Meeting Of Like Minds." From left, that's April Thibert, marketing director and public face of Waller St Brewing up in Ottawa, Josh Hayter, co-owner of Kingston's Spearhead Brewing, one very interested-in-ingredients homebrewer Graeme and Aaron Martin, co-owner and brewmaster of Riverhead Brewing. Know what they were talking about here? Yeast. I kid you not. Didn't understand a word of it. |
In fact, when I spoke to April afterwards, it turned out this was a favourite memory from the day. When asked, she remembered "chatting with the brewer at Riverhead, listening to him answer questions honestly that others might have tried to 'pass' off."
Others, in fact, such as Oakville Greg, simply loved being around this kind of acumen.
 |
| No idea whose pic this is. No idea whose hand that is. No idea which beer this. But I can say with 100% certainty where it was taken. I'm a little like Batman that way in that I can take obscure clues and solve any mystery. If you'll excuse me, Catwoman's calling now. |
As for Graeme, well, let me tell you, I was sitting in front of him on the bus and this was like a Christmas Wish come true for a steadfast homebrewer. Asked for some comments on the day, he offered me more than a few but finished with "Overall, though, everyone was so wide open to my questions. They told me everything. It makes me want to take the family and do the same tour."
Okay, so that wraps up Part Two of Kingston #BeerFam 2020 Brewery Tour but I'll be back very soon with the big wrap-up, including a hugely educational stop at Skeleton Park Brewing (especially how they got their name), the big finale at Spearhead Brewing (of course) and a Waller St Suite after-party that just killed it.
Again, Josh and Amanda, I sincerely apologize for my tardiness with this. While the person April Thibert is definitely a big favourite of mine, the month April 2020 sucked all kinds of ass. Wish the month was more like the person. We'd all be better off. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...
No comments:
Post a Comment