Is the Von Bugle experiment over?

It's all fun and games until your TV show gets canceled. Then
it's all "well, WTF happens now?" The word from the Evans
Avenue Von Bugle brewery in Etobicoke is that the brewery
has ceased production of the fledgling Munich Lager. Ooops!

I didn't think twice when my store got an email saying to yank our remaining Von Bugle Munich Lager stock and send it back with our Steam Whistle bottle returns.

Truthfully, it happens all the time. Breweries review their sales at each individual store and tend to yank their lowest-selling product. Why? Because individual shelf space costs them money, both where I work, as well as at the LCBO. So they yank the bottom performers and replace them with another beer or a brand new sku in the hopes that it will perform a little better sales-wise.

With Steam Whistle Pilsner being our largest selling craft beer (by a humongous margin) and the Steam Whistle Session Lager selling fairly well, Von Bugle, owned by Steam Whistle, was bound to have a, well, limited shelf life, so to speak. And that's why I wasn't the least bit surprised when I went into the cooler to grab the last of the Von Bugle for return.

Seeing this Jessie Milns photo of Von Bugle, taken for BlogTO, reminded me that
I've never actually visited the brewery. I was kinda, "So THAT'S what it looks
like!" That's odd because I'm in and around the area all the time, stopping at
places like Great Lakes Brewing and Black Oak Brewing. Now I HAVE to go
just to see what happens with this sign. And that car. Now a collector's item???

However, it didn't take long for me to hear that no, this wasn't simply a shift out of my store. It was a full movement out of all the stores and the LCBOs. In fact, according to a couple of folks inside the Etobicoke plant, they haven't brewed or canned Von Bugle since the beginning of the Summer. Geez, where will I get my Munich Lagers now, I cried??? This is seriously the kind of thing that keeps me up all night. Okay, call it indigestion if you wanna get all technical and medical about it.

Cecil!!!! I haven't seen this guy in probably six years when I was at a different
Beer Store in Oakville. Back then, he was filling in for someone on maternity
leave. This time, when he popped into my store in May, he was filling in for
someone... on maternity leave. But it's funny. When we first met, I was still
a clean-cut fellow (okay, certainly less hairy, sloth-like and disheveled) and
he had maybe four-inch dreads. Now I'm a hippie and he piles his foot-long
dreads into his cap. "What happened to us?" I laughed when we met again.
"We used to be so cut-clean and respectable!" Granted, Cecil still is. It's me.

So if Von Bugle has been discontinued (no official statement issued yet), does that mean its namesake brewery on Evans Avenue in Etobicoke is shutting down?

Well, no, it can't. You see, in that world that existed pre-plague (remember that - it was called 2018 and whoever thought we'd look back at that craptastic year with any sense of nostalgic joy?), the folks at Steam Whistle shifted most of their brewing equipment out of the historic Roundhouse and into the Evans Avenue facility. And why would they do that? I mean, that's the OG brewery. What's the dealio?

I apologize for the kaiser as everyone knows I much prefer
my super-famous roast beef and Swiss cheese sandwiches
on an onion bun. However, Metro was out, letting down
not just me but society itself. Anyhow, this past Summer,
Steam Whistle, under contract with New Belgium Brewing
out of Colorado, finally started brewing Voodoo Ranger
IPA. The malt level is under dispute within the Brew Crew.

Well, when founders Greg Taylor, Cam Heaps and Greg Cromwell all left the brewery (Cromwell quite early in the run though I believe Taylor is now back in the fold), the brewery became run by a Board of Directors. In the shrewd financial wisdom of a board filled with business minds, they realized they were sitting on - or rather, in - a cash cow. The Steam Whistle Roundhouse. Given its historical significance in Toronto and desirable on-the-lake location beside whatever the Sky Dome is called now, it seemed it was a preferred location for things such as wedding receptions and smallish business conventions. That's some Big Cheddar right there. Kahhh-ching!

So a couple years back, they shifted almost all brewing equipment to Evan Avenue, leaving just enough in the Roundhouse to fill kegs... for all those Toronto and area restaurants that are about to be shut down tight for the second time this year. The equipment shift opened up tons of new floor space and I think they now have four separate banquet spaces there... for all those weddings that aren't happening this year.

This would be Bryan serving me up a New
Belgian Fat Tire Amber Ale at The Golden
Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas back in
September 2019. The on-tap version was
so metallic, I had to return it instantly. But
Bryan graciously replaced it with a Stone
IPA (which tasted as fantastic as always...)

Just as Monty Python warned us that "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!" neither did we expect a massive global pandemic of this magnitude. (Anyone else suffering from Covid Fatigue because I sure am and I don't even think we're halfway through yet.)

So what happens with Von Bugle now? Well, we know the building stays put as it is a necessity to Steam Whistle. Actually, it pretty much is Steam Whistle minus the Roundhouse. The Munich Lager seems done but that doesn't preclude a new brew (Von Bugle Porter, anyone?) in the future. And Steam Whistle's licensing deal with Colorado's New Belgium Brewing likely means many more beers on top of Fat Tire Amber Ale and Voodoo Ranger IPA. (If I can suggest the Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA? I've heard tell those hazy beers are popular up here. Outside the IPA genre, that Fat Tire Belgian White Ale would be cool and I think more than a few of my friends would enjoy their 8.5% Trippel Belgian Style Ale.)

But let's look back a bit at the release of the Fat Tire Amber Ale up here. Amidst much hoopla, Steam Whistle released the beer with a special party on May 7, 2019. Being super familiar with it through my Las Vegas trips, I was thrilled. It's my favourite American Red Ale. My morning routine down there is "coffee, a little breakie to pad the gut, a Fat Tire for a smooth transition into the drinking portion of the inevitable shit-show and then come the IPAs!"

This happy chap is noted Toronto Beer Historian Gary
Gillman. I got to meet Gary and his wife, Libby, in an
Oakville parking lot back in early June so that they
could give me some cans of a collaboration beer that
Gary did with Amsterdam Brewing. The result, using
a historic recipe, was the English Bitter 1870 AK . It
was brewed with all British ingredients. Lots of fun to
 try a beer from a 150 year old recipe. Old school cool.

Within a week or two, the Fat Tire landed in my store - six-pack bottles, identical to the ones used in America. Naturally, I was thrilled and dove in head-first. And in fact, I was so impressed with the Steam Whistle Fat Tire that I declared on Twitter that it might actually be superior to the one brewed in Colorado.

"Uhh, not so fast there, cowboy," said noted Toronto Beer Historian Gary Gillman (quote is not even remotely accurate), who's exceptionally well-travelled and incredibly knowledgeable about beer and other beverages. Food, too, now that I think of it, Basically, he's a Renaissance Man. Turns out Gary had the Fat Tire on tap at a Toronto pub and having enjoyed the American version many times, he wasn't wowed. A little acrid, I believe he said. I suggested that perhaps the lines weren't clean and that he should try the bottles. Eventually he did and while the bottles were a significant step-up in the direction of the original, he still preferred the American version.

Well, since I only take carry-ons when I go to Vegas, meaning no liquids, I decided when I returned to my favourite vacation destination, I would have to sample yet more Fat Tire to decide which version was better in my mind.

The only thing cooler than enjoying a New Belgium Fat Tire Amber
Ale on a slot machine in Las Vegas would be me actually being in
Las Vegas, like, right now!! Damn you Covid. You are stealing my
most simple joy!!! That said, I think Gary's right. The Colorado
version of Fat Tire might just have a wee step up on our version.

So I did. When I returned in September 2019, I landed at The Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street. Like many casinos, they happened to have Fat Tire on tap so on Night One, I ordered it.

My bartender, Bryan, who two days into my trip just started calling me "Canada" (as in "Hey, Canada, what's up?"), poured me a pint of the Fat Tire. Man, I wish it was just a little acrid. It was flat-out metallic. Nothing like it is in the bottle you see to the left. I quickly returned it and Bryan replaced it with a Stone IPA which was flat-out perfect. So, in conclusion there, both Gary and myself were 0-for-2 on the tap version.

Simple enough, mind you. On Day Two, I had it from the bottle and it was perfect. Better than our version?

When I arrived at the Downtown Grand just off Fremont Street in Downtown
Las Vegas for Birthday Week in mid-February 2020, the young fellow at the
check-in desk asked if I wanted a room fridge. I simply replied, "Mmmm K."
Whereas my friends Mark from London and Laura from El Paso need room
fridges for their diabetes medicine, I was left wondering what medicine I
could put in my fridge. Found a couple of high-ABV IPAs that could cure me.

Well now, I'm not gonna say Gary was right and I was wrong. But I will say this. Gary was right and I was wrong. But I was only marginally wrong. The Canadian version, I still maintain, is top-notch. But the American version is a little deeper and richer in flavour. Perhaps my often-stated love for Red Ales made me root for the home team a little more.

Anyways, that's all the latest Steam Whistle, New Belgium and Von Bugle news I have. So, Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

 

Hanging in the Hammer with Young Nick

For Stop #1 on our whirlwind Hamilton Brewery Tour, I took Nick
(well, actually, he was driving so I suppose he took me) to Clifford
Brewing in West Hamilton. It was an important stop because they are
the reigning Canadian Brewery of the Year. Also, owner Brad Clifford
was on hand (he's always there so I figured) to talk to us both and give
a little insight on the brewing world. So let's say the day started bigly.

The first time I ever worked with young Nick, it started with a chirp. That's right - the little bastard chirped me.

"I hear you're really horrible to work with," he grinned. "That's right," I replied in all seriousness. "I am literally the worst." (That's hyperbole. Working with Hitler was way worse. Probably.)

*Awkward pause* "Well," he sighed, "this is no fun if you don't play along..." (Rule #1: Let the newbies know their place in the hierarchy.)

Since that point, it has been one long series of chirps back and forth. Mostly me. (I know at my age I'm expected to be the mature one... but hey, man, he started it!!)

At one point during this pandemic, when my store opened back up to taking beer, wine and liquor bottles (in Ontario, you pre-pay your empty deposit at point of purchase), we divided the lobby into two zones. Two people with empties on the left, two people buying beer allowed on the right. I was usually the traffic cop at the door. Mostly because I'm loud. I like to say, "a voice that could command the gods." Perhaps my long-time co-worker, Trishan, would have the best measure of which. Whenever we get a new hire, they tend to start Mondays. I'm always off Mondays. He tells them, "Tomorrow, you'll meet Donny and realize just how quiet you've been all your life." Huh. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.

Stop #1 on the Nick and Donny Hamilton Brewery Tour
was our friend, Brad, at Clifford Brewery over there in
east Hamilton. (The elders still call it Stoney Creek.) So
anyway, here's young Nick enjoying a Fruition Fruited
Sour with coconut, pineapple and lime, something he said
was "interesting and unique." This kid enjoys his Sours.

So, anyway, Nick was usually on the selling beer side. And I started instructing people (with a smile, of course, blocked by a facemask) to go to the "ugly kid over there." Evil, yes, but once again in my defence, not exactly "Let's invade Poland."

Now because most beers upset his stomach, Nick started at my store as the guy who drank radlers - half beer, half fruit juice, usually grapefruit. It's not as severe as a gluten-allergy or anything but just enough to cause him discomfort. Eventually, though, he started trying Sour beers and found not only did they not irritate his gut, he quite enjoyed the taste. His father, Mike, who I've now met several times, is a little more like me in his beer tastes, enjoying his big IPAs though he's less keen on the stouts and porters. But Nick has a brother who drinks the dark beers (his favourite is Cameron's Ambear Red Ale so good on him!), as well as the lagers/pilsners. So the trio have most of the styles covered.

So for the past few months, Nick has submerged himself into the Sour Beer scene. And when we originally planned this little Brewery Getaway, he wanted to go to Toronto. Only West Toronto, I suggested, otherwise you're stuck in a huge headache of a traffic quagmire and trapped there for infinity... and beyond.

With Brad being at Clifford that day, we were
able to ask him: How exactly do you win Brewery
of the Year? Okay, say you enter eight beers at
the Canadian Brewing Awards in the various
categories, what brewers do is put four of them
forward as their competitors. Based solely on the
medals they win (with weighted points for gold
through bronze), they tally up your score and the
highest takes it all. Just like Clifford did in 2019.

Only it's not as funny and entertaining as Toy Story.

So a month ago, I threw out a half dozen brewery names and left it for Nick to decide. Basing his decision on the breweries with Sours he had not tried, he selected Rainhard Brewing, Junction Craft and Indie Alehouse. (Truth is he was driving so I left it up to him. Every brewery's got something for me.) Tough to argue those - all stellar choices. Except it turned out that two were closed Mondays. Earlier I had suggested Hamilton would be an easier run for us from Oakville so I threw all the Hamilton names at him, except Grain & Grit, which is closed Mondays and let him decide. My only caveat? Clifford Brewing, the 2019 Canadian Brewery of the Year, (I say that pretty much every time I mention them) had to be included.

Based on the Sours he saw from the list of Hamilton breweries, he decided we'd go to Clifford, Merit Brewing, Collective Arts Brewing and Fairweather Brewing. Again, all fine choices and certainly all brew beers I'm happy to buy!

On our way over to Clifford, our Stop #1, he was curious as to why I was so insistent on them. Couple of reasons, I said. First, owner Brad is bound to be there (he was) and second, they were Canada's reigning Brewery of the Year. Nick was startled. "Really?" Yupper do, man! To young Nick, his big brewery tour was starting perfectly. (To an old salt like me, ALL brewery tours start perfectly because of "I'm at a brewery, what else could you ever need?" reasons.)

Just want my Vegas buddies to know that they were
very well represented in Hamilton as I wore my buddy
Mark's Pennys4Vegas shirt, as well as my Bud-themed,
Modern Gothic-style Hogand2cent face-mask. Stylin'!

Well, very much NOT to my surprise, Nick seriously loved it there. Brad had plenty of time to talk to us. He dug Nick's 2019 burnt orange Dodge Challenger (the kid's got a pretty sweet little road-rocket) and asked him all about it. While the brewing area is fenced off, Nick got a chance to really see the vats, tanks and the inner workings of a legit Best-in-Canada brewery. Great spot, great fun and as always, great to see Brad. Missed his father, though. Next time, Barc... we'll talk some more Vegas another day since neither of us is getting there any time soon.

Okay, from there, Nick had booked a lunch slot at Hambrgr, a well-known (though not to me) backyard burger place in Hamilton, whose secondary appeal is that it's a five-minute walk from Merit Brewing.

I guess they've been open for a little while under Phase 3 (being an essential worker who hasn't stopped, I don't even remember when that started) because they've got their social distancing thing down between the tables, both inside where we sat and out on the patio.

Forgot to take a picture of the cheeseburger, which is a shame
because it was fantastic but I didn't forget to take a picture of
the beer! The craft selection at Hambrgr is outstanding so I
got myself a Junction Craft Brewing Hazy IPA, which is ironic
because it was set to be one of our stops in Toronto. Some
plum on the nose, all tropical and orange in the mouth, 6.2%
and seriously just a solid example of the East Coast style!

No one but no one does a backyard burger as well as places like this. Yeah, costs more than Burger King and worth every penny. Fantastic outfit!

But their craft beer selection was as stellar as their eats. High Grade IPA by Fairweather Brewing, Shawn & Ed Lagershed Lager, Great Lakes October Wants to Fight IPA, as well as two from Junction Craft Brewing, their Junction Stout and New England IPA. And that's what was just on tap. In bottles and cans, Steam Whistle Pilsner, Clifford Brewing Porter, Phillips Brewing (Victoria, BC) Tiger Shark Pale Ale, Forked River Capital Blonde and Muddy York Gaslight Helles.

Shit, I could have sat there all afternoon (and well into the evening) and had plenty of drinking options! That said, brewing tours involve movement so after Hambrgr, we wandered on over to Merit Brewing.

Poor Nick. Every time we went to a new brewery, I made
him point up to the sign. Why? Because every time, I
take my son, David, to a brewery, that's his job. Point
at the sign. David loves having his picture taken. Nick?
Not so much. Tough shit. Yeah, he bitched but meh...

Now this is where I was very lucky to be riding shotgun with Nick. Ever since he dove into the Craft Beer Pond, he meticulously researches everything - new Sours releases for himself, new IPA releases for me and his Dad.

My sole purpose in visiting Merit was to grab a bottle of their Black Is Beautiful Stout, as well as a couple of their Young Rival IPA for "because I'm there anyway" reasons. But Nick remembered there was a secondary interest for me while we were in their Bottle Shop. "Didn't you also want that 10.2% Coffee Cake Imperial Stout? Remember they have that collaboration one with Sawdust City?" he asked me. Geezuz, what a memory on that kid because yes... yes, I did say exactly that. Like, hours previously. Uncanny. So, yeah, because of Nick, I grabbed a one-litre howler of What Friends Are For Coffee Cake Stout and geezuz, it was exactly as advertised. Coffee, vanilla, cinnamon - it was a liquid coffee cake. So bloody delicious! The ultimate dessert beer.

Okay, because Merit was a quick stop-and-shop destination, next we were off to Collective Arts Brewing because they had a couple of Sours Nick wanted and let's be frank, they'll ALWAYS have IPAs for me and Mike.

Of all the breweries I have visited (a small handful) since their
retail reopenings during this pandemic, I have to admit that
Collective Arts seems to have the best combo of protective
shields and proper social distancing. They are completely
contactless, as the sign says, with safety measures in place.

It's Collective Arts. That's what they do.

Now I gotta say in these pandemic times, the way that Collective has set up their retail is pretty damn impressive. Plexi-glass screens everywhere, strong safe distance measures in place, absolutely contact-less in every way possible. Even a sign that basically says, "For gawd sake, don't touch anything!!" THIS is a brewery that is taking Covid seriously - as all should be - as well as being fully committed to protecting their staff from those coming in from the outside. So Toni, Matt and Bob, take a bow. People from any business across the board in Ontario could take a lesson from you! 

While there, we both bought a Mix-Six, which we tucked into Nick's trunk and promptly returned to enjoy a bevvie in the sunshine on the patio. We both chuckled at the fact that the very same beers we bought for four bucks and change at retail were eight bucks at a patio just 15 feet away.

That's right, Monkey Boy, you pose under that damn sign. I'll
tell you when you can stop. Like I said, David wasn't available
so Young Nicky was my surrogate sign son for the day. Lucky!

Hey, man, tasty beer and sweet, sweet sunshine come at a price and frankly, we were happy to pay it.

Our last stop, Fairweather Brewing, turned out to be a bust. Despite being posted as open on their website, when we arrived, there was a sign on their door that said (something like), "Gone Fishing - Open Again on Wednesday." Whoa, bummer. Made for a long ride home as that put us directly into rush-hour traffic. That said, had we gone the Toronto route, it would have been worse. At least the Hamilton breweries are closer to Oakville.

But some interesting chat during the car-ride. Nick was curious about David's functioning levels (as many people are - I get asked that a lot) and if there's one thing I'm always happy to talk about, it's my boy. So I gave him the run-down. Exceptional memory (far superior to mine), strong social skills, extensive vocabulary compared to his peers growing up.

Of all of the Brew Crew, I told Nick to pay a lot of attention
to anything Graeme, right, has to say. A proficient home-
brewer, strong knowledge of Ontario's craft brewing past
and capable of breaking down any beer at practically a
molecular level, he's the guy you want on your Beer Reach
For The Top team. Here, he's chatting with Kimmy, the
one informally responsible for keeping us yahoos in check.

On the other side of the coin, because he's deaf in one ear, his enunciation can be tricky to comprehend though he shows tons of patience repeating himself until you understand. And while he can be adult in some situations, rebellious teen in others, at heart he is still a young boy driven hard with his fascination of DC and Marvel superheroes, as well as other trappings usually left behind by adulthood.

Turns out Nick's curiosity was partially-based on a TV show he had been watching called Love On The Spectrum, an Australian-based (picked up here by Netflix) reality show that followed young Autistic adults through scenarios such as dating and relationships. It was a fascinating watch, Nick noted, as some handled the perils and pitfalls of dating remarkably well while others literally needed a parent along as a chaperone for coaching. (It sounds pretty damn interesting to me.)

I suspect Nick's interest was piqued because as a teen, he admitted, his social anxiety was so high that he couldn't even attend a party with friends. "What we are doing today (touring breweries) would have been impossible for me then."

When Brew Crew member Greg first met Nick at the Beer
Store, his greeting was, "Hey, it's Sour Nick," a nod, of
course, to Nick's preferred beer style. In that, he also has
a friend in Greg, the Brew Crew's most adventurous guy
when it comes to Sours. I'll try the odd one but IPAs are
more my things. But all of our interests are pretty wide.

Mike, I am happy to tell you that your son has conquered it and in fact, never shuts the hell up at work. Obviously, joking but lemme tell you, Nick is hard into watching every release in all of Ontario. If there's a new IPA released anywhere, trust me, I hear about it.

Nick was also deeply interested in the loose collection of no-good-niks we call the Brew Crew. First of all, I told him to pay close attention to Graeme. Our resident homebrewer's knowledge of beers and their mechanics runs so deep, if he says a beer tastes like a fish fart, guess what? It tastes like a fish fart. Told him to watch both Curtis and Paulie G for their exceptional photos, as well as Paulie G's phenomenal descriptions of beers. Follow Glenn for the bad jokes, follow Greg for the Dad jokes. Kimmy has an eclectic taste in beer styles, scattered across the board. If you wanna brush up on your French, Joel's the man. Danny, up there in Sudbury, is also a homebrewer and a solid pro at picking out subtle flavours. Like Nick, Paul "The Big Peezy" has FOMO - fear of missing out and has amassed such a huge collection of beer that the rest of us are staggered by its enormity. And, of course, follow Drunk Polkaroo... simply because he's Polk. Anyways, a fun day, I thank you, Nick but Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain, as always...