One person can make a difference

 

That is my handsome son, David, between these two smiling faces at Cowbell
Brewing in the tiny town of Blyth, Ontario. David and his Mom were in the
neighbourhood back in August, David spotted the brewery and told his Mom
they had to stop so he could buy Daddy some beer. They also ate there and I
will say his Mom told me the food was really great. That's where this starts.

This is the story of a young boy and a full-grown woman.

They have never met. Indeed, their paths have never once crossed but to me, they are now connected. Neither of them would know how. But that's why I'm here. I'm the narrator of this fanciful tale.

So this is the story of a boy named David Redmond and a woman named Ren Navarro. Oh, and also a very popular Ontario establishment and tourist attraction called Cowbell Brewing.

This beer, Black Is Beautiful, a collaboration effort between Grain & Grit Small
Batch Beers in Hamilton and Ren Navarro, was a tricky one to explain to David.
The best I could do is tell him that many people are not treated fairly by others
and that he and I should always want everyone to be treated exactly the same. 

So, one day this past August, David's Mom texted me to say that they had stopped into a brewery and that my boy had bought me some beer. Obviously, I was pumped. That's a pretty big father-son moment right there.

When she sent the picture up top, well, my heart sank a little. They had gone to Cowbell. Ouch.

There's little point in beating around the bush on this one because the story is well-known in Ontario craft beer circles. Long story short, early in the Summer, a couple went to the brewery. He's black, she's white. Not particularly note-worthy to most of us. I would hope.

Now this is a picturesque looking brewery. And in fact, after his first trip there,
Drunk Polkaroo wrote, "Pictures do not do justice to this cathedral of beer."
But the brewery that was doing absolutely everything right slipped this year.

When they got to the front of the line, the hostess told them the dining room was fully booked but they were welcome to sit on the outdoor patio. Seems fair enough. Except the wife notices more and more couples being let into the dining room. Her Spider-Sense was tingling. So she walks up solo, sans hubby, to see if she can get an indoor seat. Yes, she can immediately, says the hostess. Now none of us can claim to know what was actually going on in that young lady's head. But let's face it - the optics were not good. Dreadful, actually.

While he and his Mom forgot to pack this four-pack
of Cowbell Brewing beverages that David bought for
me in his August visit, it was remembered for his
September stay-with-Dad. And it was consumed!

When the lady posted the story on Facebook, it did not take long to make the social media rounds. Same-day service, if you will. And believe me, we all noticed. In fact, most of us noticed furiously.

Before long, Cowbell also noticed and quickly issued an apology that was sadly lacking in one regard. The apology itself. That further infuriated people. However, I was somewhat heartened to read that they were planning to reach out to Ren, Ontario's reigning Beer Diversity Monarch, (a hail and hearty "Long live the Queen!") to come to the brewery and do that thing she does so well. And that is, "plain-splain" why the Ontario Craft Beer industry needs to be to be more inclusive towards the BIPOC and LGBTQ2 communities. As a member of both, Ren is uniquely equipped to calmly, rationally and even happily explain its importance to people, even those as dense as myself. (Seriously. Never bother to ask me what day it is. Just assume I don't know. Because I don't.)

But let's step away from Ren for just a moment (a brief moment, a mere second in time) and get back to David because while I believe both have hearts of gold, the reality is I have only known one for 29 years. 

I am not sure who took this photo of our Beer Diversity
Queen Ren but, whoa, that is one million dollar smile! 

Back when I got the Cowbell picture with my boy, I honestly thought, "What do I do? I don't want to be insensitive to all this but, man, it's David! This means the world to me."

So I threw the old "rock and a hard place - what do I do here, folks?" out there to the Twitterverse. The answers came quickly. Boston Adam from Fergus noted, "It's the thought that counts. Enjoy the beers" which was pretty much echoed by Greg, who said, "Don't say a word. This is definitely a case of 'It's the thought that counts'." Danny up there in Sudbury chipped in, "I think the good outweighs the bad in this case." Drunk Polkaroo offered up, "Honest gestures of love are far more important than a dumb PR response."

But it was Paulie G who got me all verklempt with his touching thoughts. "Don, we all know you are a despicable person. This doesn't really change anything. Carry on." I tell you, that Paulie G guy could make a statue weep. The old softie.

Graeme screen-captured this image of Cowbell's
diversity training with Ren. According to the
brewery itself, it is just "Phase One" of ongoing
training. Some questioned the singular use of
just posting on Instagram but Ren stepped in to
say that was her suggestion. I get that. If you
throw it on every social media platform, then it
all seems very force-fed, doesn't it? Clever lady.

So having been given what I suspect is the "David Hall Pass," (whereby if David is involved, it's all good) I went ahead and drank those beers. Somewhat guilt-free, I should add. Again, it was a gift that meant a lot to me. Also among the four was their Doc Perdue's Bobcat West Coast Red Ale, a huge favourite of both Danny and myself.

And I continued to watch the situation up there in Blyth as Ren came into the town, floating on an umbrella, much like Mary Poppins. *Checks notes* Never mind. She drove there. Turns out there are no bullet trains non-stop between Blyth and Kitchener. (If GO Transit could get on that, that'd be great.)

I mean, I knew she was up there doing her thing but wondered how it was going. On October 15, I got my answer. On their Twitter feed, Cowbell released a video with Ren narrating. After establishing shots of the brewery itself, Ren came onscreen and told us all this. "I'm Ren Navarro. I run a company called Beer Diversity. Yeah, I talk about beer. Yeah, I talk about diversity. But I also talk about inclusion and why craft beer is such a great liquid. How we all love it and how it's accessible for all of us. Working with Cowbell the last few months, I'm learning a lot from them and they're learning a lot from me because it's all about conversations. Opening it up and having safe spaces where we can try and make some change. So when you're sitting at the craft beer family table, don't ask someone to leave. Just shove over a little bit. Make a little more room and share your favourite beverage. Cheers."

When Ren was called upon by Cowbell to head up and help out,
she quipped to Hamilton artist-cartoonist David Buist that she
needed some kind of Bat Signal, designed specifically for her.
Within the hour, David responded, posting this beauty, which
totally nails it. Like Ren herself, David never lets us down.

That was enough for me. However, I hasten to add it was not for others. I see posts from folks not willing to Cowbell it up just yet. Which is perfectly fair.

But I was hoping for a better ending and I think I got it. They're back on my Spendy-Spend List. You see, Cowbell's strength has always been in its sense of community. Since its inception back in 2017, the brewery has donated five cents a can of their flagship beer, Absent Landlord Country Kolsch, to four children's hospital in Ontario. David spent the first week of his life in an incubator at Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital so when Cowbell hit $500,000 in hospital donations last week, well, that was a pretty big deal to me. 

Yeah, they slipped. But Ren reached down, grabbed their hand and pulled them back up onto their feet. So why is that enough for me? Because it's Ren. She will always be enough. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...