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| I posted this picture of my absolute favourite person, Lady Polkaroo, with Troy Burtch, the social media spokesguy for Great Lakes Brewing early in the day. The response was, well, a little different than I expected. But let's carry on. |
My Sunday, September 29th of the year 2019 started off pretty good. I was on my way to the Southern Ontario Beer Boys' now annual Brewers' Ball. First one was last year. I was at that one, too. It's a lot of fun but mostly, it's for a good cause. Proceeds from the event go to the McMaster's Hospital Sick Children's wing.
(Not to sound obtuse but technically, every hospital has a Pediatric ward. Hence, they're ALL sick kids' hospitals. But I digress.)
But as I was leaving my cozy Oakville house to head down to Cameron's Brewing so I could grab some beer for the prize table, the Ontario Craft Brewers association posted a picture.
It was with a couple of Tory MPPs, Stan Cho and Sam Oosterhoff, and it was all about opening up hours for craft breweries to sell their beer. Instead of closing at 9 pm, they will now be allowed to close at midnight. (Not sure that's actually necessary but okay...) The meeting between the OCB, the breweries and the two MPPs was held at Bench Brewing in Beamsville.
This will become relevant in less than a minute or so, depending on how quickly you read.
Now Stan Cho? Wouldn't know him if I tripped over him. And if he frequents the same bars as I do, that's a possibility. The worse thing I read about this second-generation Korean-Canadian chap is that "he's not always accessible" through his Willowdale office. Well, he's a Tory. I'd be pretty inaccessible, too. Who wants to answer Doug Ford questions all day? ("Yes, ma'am, he used to sell drugs in high school. No, ma'am, I don't know why the Province is now losing money selling drugs. Yes, I agree. That doesn't make sense.")
But young Sam Oosteroff? Well, this kid's a work of art... and I don't mean that in the Mona Lisa way. Young Sam ("Can I call you Young Sam? Shut the f**k up, Junior. I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing!") has decided that abortions should become a thing of the past. And here's the thing. Discussions of such nature already are a thing of the past. Those discussions go back to 1969, long before Young Sam was born, when the country we live in legalized it. For the record, our country of record is Canada, not Arkansas or Alabama.
Young Sam, this shit was settled long ago by politicians who would be your grandparents' age now. So pipe the f**k down, Squeaky. Oh, he also hates the gay community.
However... and this is where things get sticky and I mean "jam on your hands" sticky... the OCB wanted a photo op to thank the Queen's Park rogues for opening up their sales hours. They chose to do so at Bench Brewing in Beamsville. Some brewery owners we know and love took part in said photo op. And that's when the spam hit the fan.
Ontario craft beer drinkers, in no small amount, were outraged. Men and women alike railed against the photo and the people within that photo. And let's face it, women and the LGBTQ folks have far more at stake here. And I do agree. The only way I would be in a photo with Young Sam is if I had him in a Full Nelson and he was kissing the cold hard concrete with his young nose. But that's just me. My young son has taught me not to hate anyone so the most I can confess to is disliking Young Sam. Intensely disliking.
But every movement, whether driven by anger, pride or moral outrage, can spill over to other things. And here's where it did.
We are at a charity event, helping out, volunteering and the Twitterverse was suddenly plastering our event with the politics of that photo op. The good thing we were doing was getting tarnished on Twitter with a not-good thing that had nothing to do with us.
The first photo I posted from the day was of my good friend, Kat, aka Lady Polkaroo and Troy Burtch, the social media dude from Great Lakes Brewing. The first response to the picture came from a friend.
A friend who is passionately opposed to the Conservative government presently in charge. Truth to tell, I feel the same way. Minus the passion. Politics robbed me of that 20 some years ago (which takes us back to dislikes. Intensely.)
He wondered how Troy felt about his boss, Peter, being in a picture with a homophobic, anti-women fellow such as Young Sam. And here's the thing. I didn't ask Troy. He wasn't in the picture. His boss was. That has nothing to do with Troy. It's very much treading on a "For the sins of my father" quagmire here.
Now before I continue, let me clarify the relationship I have with Troy. The guy basically worships the ground I walk upon. That's a little embarrassing because we're the same. My butler puts my pants on one leg at a time... just like everyone else. And on my end? I think Troy is... y'know, okay. He hasn't killed any hobos as far as I know. So he's got that going for him.
BUT... and that's a capital B but - when the Doug Ford government was pushing buck-a-beer not so long ago, guess who was on TV, pushing back? That would be Troy. He was only speaking for Great Lakes Brewing on TV but in reality, he was speaking passionately for all Ontario craft brewers. And frankly, he did a fantastic job of it. He was a voice of reason.
I think that may have been forgotten yesterday so I'm just here to remind you. Troy is not the enemy in this battle. He is a friend. He is an ally. And he is the guy I would trust with my butler.
But this brings us nicely and neatly to a bigger question. How much responsibility do we bear for our employers? The ones who sign our cheques. I say zero and here's why.
At my last newspaper, I had a boss named Stephen. He was the publisher. British chap. Great sayings that were, by and large, unfamiliar to North Americans. He would ask me as his editor, "Are they playing Silly Buggers with us?" whenever a shiftless politician hedged on something. "Silly buggers." Still makes me smile.
But here's the thing and this is where I'd prefer not to wear the "For the sins of my father" cloak. Every once in a while, I would hear him on the phone. And he said more than once to whomever was on the other end, "You know, not all of Hitler's idea were bad..." I was mortified. I told him repeatedly that he couldn't - or at least shouldn't - say that. But he didn't stop saying stuff like that right up until the day the paper closed its doors for good in 2012. Yes, my last newspaper boss thought Hitler did some good things. And I hope and pray to this day that he actually meant Das Fuhrer got the trains running on schedule.
Now at that time, would I have worn or taken any responsibility for what my boss said or did? Hell to the no. Neither should Troy. Or my butler. They've done nothing wrong.
But I get that sometimes anger is misplaced or at the very least aimed in the wrong direction. I've done it myself. We all have.
Like anyone else, the people at Ontario craft breweries are not responsible for what their bosses say and do any more than the guy or woman on the Ford assembly line is responsible for how his foreman votes in an election.
So, if you're pissed about something connected to the Ontario craft beer industry, by all means, take it out on the brewery if you so desire. But don't take it out on the people toiling there. They're just Joes and Janes like the rest of us, trying to make a buck
Hell, I wake up in fevered anticipation of checking out Twitter every morning to see who we're boycotting today. It's a jolly good sport.
But we all showed up yesterday for charity and frankly, a pretty damn good one. Last year, the first year of the Brewers Ball, we raised about $1,100. This year, Steve suggested to me yesterday, we might be pushing over $3,000. Maybe, in the grand scheme of things, that's not a huge chunk of change.
But again, in the grand scheme of things, there's a lot of bad stuff out there that we can't change. And for one day, we focused on something we could change. I'll take that.
But as I was leaving my cozy Oakville house to head down to Cameron's Brewing so I could grab some beer for the prize table, the Ontario Craft Brewers association posted a picture.
It was with a couple of Tory MPPs, Stan Cho and Sam Oosterhoff, and it was all about opening up hours for craft breweries to sell their beer. Instead of closing at 9 pm, they will now be allowed to close at midnight. (Not sure that's actually necessary but okay...) The meeting between the OCB, the breweries and the two MPPs was held at Bench Brewing in Beamsville.
This will become relevant in less than a minute or so, depending on how quickly you read.
 |
| That's MPP Stan Cho on the left. Might be a nice guy. I don't know. But that tall drink of sewer water on the right? Yeah, that's MPP Sam Oosterhoff. He's a piece of shit. This youngster, who just turned 22 yo, has decided he knows what's best for women and is now insisting abortions be outlawed. I said "piece of shit" right? Go to the childrens' table, Sam. |
But young Sam Oosteroff? Well, this kid's a work of art... and I don't mean that in the Mona Lisa way. Young Sam ("Can I call you Young Sam? Shut the f**k up, Junior. I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing!") has decided that abortions should become a thing of the past. And here's the thing. Discussions of such nature already are a thing of the past. Those discussions go back to 1969, long before Young Sam was born, when the country we live in legalized it. For the record, our country of record is Canada, not Arkansas or Alabama.
Young Sam, this shit was settled long ago by politicians who would be your grandparents' age now. So pipe the f**k down, Squeaky. Oh, he also hates the gay community.
However... and this is where things get sticky and I mean "jam on your hands" sticky... the OCB wanted a photo op to thank the Queen's Park rogues for opening up their sales hours. They chose to do so at Bench Brewing in Beamsville. Some brewery owners we know and love took part in said photo op. And that's when the spam hit the fan.
 |
| These two no-good-niks, Drunk Polkaroo and Sam from Sawdust City Brewing, actually did some good yesterday, braving the very chilly weather to get into the Dunk Tunk for charity at the Southern Ontario Beer Boys' fundraiser for McMaster Sick Kids. |
Ontario craft beer drinkers, in no small amount, were outraged. Men and women alike railed against the photo and the people within that photo. And let's face it, women and the LGBTQ folks have far more at stake here. And I do agree. The only way I would be in a photo with Young Sam is if I had him in a Full Nelson and he was kissing the cold hard concrete with his young nose. But that's just me. My young son has taught me not to hate anyone so the most I can confess to is disliking Young Sam. Intensely disliking.
But every movement, whether driven by anger, pride or moral outrage, can spill over to other things. And here's where it did.
We are at a charity event, helping out, volunteering and the Twitterverse was suddenly plastering our event with the politics of that photo op. The good thing we were doing was getting tarnished on Twitter with a not-good thing that had nothing to do with us.
The first photo I posted from the day was of my good friend, Kat, aka Lady Polkaroo and Troy Burtch, the social media dude from Great Lakes Brewing. The first response to the picture came from a friend.
 |
| Violetta and Steve Hukari (of Southern Ontario Beer Boys) worked pretty hard at pulling the fund-raising event together. The morning after, I hope they feel good about what their group accomplished. I know it felt tarnished yesterday but that doesn't make the event any less noble. Money was raised for a good cause. |
He wondered how Troy felt about his boss, Peter, being in a picture with a homophobic, anti-women fellow such as Young Sam. And here's the thing. I didn't ask Troy. He wasn't in the picture. His boss was. That has nothing to do with Troy. It's very much treading on a "For the sins of my father" quagmire here.
Now before I continue, let me clarify the relationship I have with Troy. The guy basically worships the ground I walk upon. That's a little embarrassing because we're the same. My butler puts my pants on one leg at a time... just like everyone else. And on my end? I think Troy is... y'know, okay. He hasn't killed any hobos as far as I know. So he's got that going for him.
BUT... and that's a capital B but - when the Doug Ford government was pushing buck-a-beer not so long ago, guess who was on TV, pushing back? That would be Troy. He was only speaking for Great Lakes Brewing on TV but in reality, he was speaking passionately for all Ontario craft brewers. And frankly, he did a fantastic job of it. He was a voice of reason.
 |
| There are bigger fights in the world than the Province and how craft breweries do and don't relate to said government. For instance, I got to meet Drunk Polkaroo's folks yesterday. Papa Arsenault is fighting his own battle these days. Against cancer. He had an operation but it looks like he'll be back for at least two more. Will he beat the beastly disease? Of course, he will. He's Drunk Polkaroo's old man. Think of what he had to put up with when Rob was growing up. Tough old goat. |
But this brings us nicely and neatly to a bigger question. How much responsibility do we bear for our employers? The ones who sign our cheques. I say zero and here's why.
At my last newspaper, I had a boss named Stephen. He was the publisher. British chap. Great sayings that were, by and large, unfamiliar to North Americans. He would ask me as his editor, "Are they playing Silly Buggers with us?" whenever a shiftless politician hedged on something. "Silly buggers." Still makes me smile.
 |
| When Toni Shelton, left, the social media pro and big old Ray of Sunshine for Collective Arts Brewing, found out that Hamilton artist-cartoonist David Buist was there, she ask if I could arrange an introduction. You see, some of David's art will soon be on a brewery can so we're all a little pumped about that. So Toni, meet artist David. |
But here's the thing and this is where I'd prefer not to wear the "For the sins of my father" cloak. Every once in a while, I would hear him on the phone. And he said more than once to whomever was on the other end, "You know, not all of Hitler's idea were bad..." I was mortified. I told him repeatedly that he couldn't - or at least shouldn't - say that. But he didn't stop saying stuff like that right up until the day the paper closed its doors for good in 2012. Yes, my last newspaper boss thought Hitler did some good things. And I hope and pray to this day that he actually meant Das Fuhrer got the trains running on schedule.
Now at that time, would I have worn or taken any responsibility for what my boss said or did? Hell to the no. Neither should Troy. Or my butler. They've done nothing wrong.
But I get that sometimes anger is misplaced or at the very least aimed in the wrong direction. I've done it myself. We all have.
Like anyone else, the people at Ontario craft breweries are not responsible for what their bosses say and do any more than the guy or woman on the Ford assembly line is responsible for how his foreman votes in an election.
 |
| This is how I prefer to remember my day ending. With one of the prettiest and most genuine smiles I saw on a long day filled with acrimony. This whole tourney was about charity and not politics. Her smile puts back some polish on a tarnished day. And I truly thank her for that. |
So, if you're pissed about something connected to the Ontario craft beer industry, by all means, take it out on the brewery if you so desire. But don't take it out on the people toiling there. They're just Joes and Janes like the rest of us, trying to make a buck
Hell, I wake up in fevered anticipation of checking out Twitter every morning to see who we're boycotting today. It's a jolly good sport.
But we all showed up yesterday for charity and frankly, a pretty damn good one. Last year, the first year of the Brewers Ball, we raised about $1,100. This year, Steve suggested to me yesterday, we might be pushing over $3,000. Maybe, in the grand scheme of things, that's not a huge chunk of change.
But again, in the grand scheme of things, there's a lot of bad stuff out there that we can't change. And for one day, we focused on something we could change. I'll take that.
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