My favourite glass comes back!

This beer glass, holding my beloved Nickel Brook Headstock IPA, was gifted to
me by my Nickel Brook buddy Tony Cox. Now, actually, it's a Samuel Adams'
beer glass but I usually turn it around for my beer pictures because as you can
see, on the back it says: "Take pride in your beer." I like that sentiment. But I
broke this one so I put in a frantic text to Tony to see if he had a replacement.

Once upon a time... in a galaxy far far away... someone once gifted me with a pair of Spiegelau glasses. For those who are unfamiliar with that beer glass style (there's an example below), these particular glasses were meant to revolutionize the way we Beer Geeks enjoy our IPAs.

I remember Beer Bro Stevil St Evil being so pumped that he had found some Spiegelau glasses that he actually did a video review of the glasses when they landed onto his craft beer scene in Wellington, New Zealand.

The idea behind the glass was that it was constantly aerating the beer every time you tilted it for a sip, in essence, kicking the carbonation back up and re-releasing the hop aroma with your common "aim for the pie-hole" beer-drinking movement. This particular miracle of Glass Science Wizardry was due to the fact that the stem of the glass was ribbed - the part of the glass that Stevil actually described as the "butt plug" stem. The glass was actually created back in 2012 when US craft giants Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head teamed up with glass-making company Spiegelau to create "the ultimate IPA glass."

Okay, THIS is a Spiegelau glass, meant specifically for
IPAs. After breaking the previous two I owned, I was
actually excited to see this style pop up in Collective Arts'
glass selection. Not because it's a Spiegelau but rather
that is a Spiegelau with Collective Arts' branding on it.

Now, I'm not sure how much stock I put in a particular glass shape either enhancing or distracting from a beer's quality when being enjoyed. Well, actually, that's not true. I put zero stock in such claims. But because trends are... trendy, I guess, Beer Bro Glenn and myself found ourselves as new owners of a pair of Spiegelau glasses one warm Easter weekend on the patio at Donny's Bar and Grill several years back. A friend brought them to us both as gifts. So Glenn and I had the latest in highly-lauded IPA glasses. For the record, that day, both Glenn and I eschewed our fancy new glasses and opted to choose glassware from my son's superhero collection instead. (I know you want to know - Glenn went with Captain America while I chose Batman.) While Glenn and I were both happy with the gift because of free stuff reasons, we both had the same complaint - with its unusually thin glass, the Spiegelau seemed very fragile. And true to form (for us), we had both broken our individual pairs within six months - though that might speak more to our clumsiness than the glass' sturdiness.

That's my buddy, Tony Cox, on the left,
posing with Canadian crooner Matt Dusk.
Truth to tell, I don't know who Matt Dusk
is so I had to Google him. He's apparently
a jazz singer of some renown. Good to
know but irrelevant to beer glasses...

Now I would have been distraught over the loss if I even had a sliver of belief that the glasses were all that and a bag of chips. But I didn't and frankly, I soon acquired a new favourite go-to beer glass, anyway. I stopped into my local Nickel Brook Brewing to refill my growlers with some tasty-ass Headstock IPA one afternoon and my long-time Nickel Brook buddy, Tony, spotted me from the production floor. He came out with a bag, handed it over to me and simply said, "Here, I got you some beer glasses." Happily accepting the gift for, once again, free stuff reasons, I took the bag home and checked it out there. Inside were two Okanagan Spring Brewing (Vernon, BC) draft glasses, the same style as used in bars and a Samuel Adams (Boston) beer glass. I instantly fell in love with the Sammy A's glass, shown up top. To me, the shape was similar to the Spiegelau (without the ridged butt plug element) but it was super-sturdy with thicker glass.

From that day forward, it became my all-time, go-to IPA glass. Oh sure, I know I poured other styles into my Sammy A's glass but for IPAs, that glass was a must. I happily used it for years until recently, when I accidentally knocked it off my bedside table. (Of course, I take beer to bed. Don't you?) So I fired off an emergency text to Tony asking if he had another. Turns out yes, he did. When he traveled to Calgary some time ago, the local liquor store had six-packs of Samuel Adams Boston Lager with the glasses attached as a bonus. So he had a healthy handful of them. Or at least he did.

As you can see, my Samuel Adams beer glass comes with
its own schematic diagram, explaining its efficiency in
delivering the maximum threshold for beer deliciousness.

It seems his lovely wife, Charis, was doing Spring Cleaning one day and decided the beer glass collection was hugely over-populated in the glass cupboard. Since Tony has more than enough beer glasses, he didn't mind her thinning the herd a little. So she collected a bunch of them up and took them to the Value Village (like a Salvation Army store) just down the street from Nickel Brook. "If you want more," Tony offered, giving me a new one, "that's where you'll find them."

No, I decided, one was plenty. I have a cupboard full of beer glasses so duplicates and triplicates seemed unnecessary. After all, the Spiegelau Twins died in beer-related accidents and I barely batted an eye. If the Spiegelau Twins were on Star Trek, they'd be dressed in red ensign shirts, which signals the fact your short life can be measured in TV minutes. Except for Chief Engineer Scottie, who, despite wearing the red shirt ensign shirt, was just too damn Scottish to die. They're like thistles, those Scots. But none of this has anything to do with the fact that my main man, Tony, not only gave me what would become my favourite glass, he also replaced it when it broke. That's why he's such a great friend.

Seems like an innocent enough picture, right? Two of my
favourites beers when I visited a friend in the Summer.
One, the Golden Beach Pale Ale, meant for the daytime
when all the kids were still up. The other, Smashbomb
Atomic IPA, for the adults-only night-time. But no, it was
the macro glass in the middle that got some attention...

But because I am constantly posting beer photos on Instagram (to the exclusion of pretty much everything else in my life), the glass issue raised its humourous head. I included one this past Summer when I visited my life-long buddy Johnny in Whitby. It featured the two beers I would be drinking that day - Sawdust City's Golden Beach Pale Ale, a dynamite 4.5% session ale, goosed with four different hops. That would be my mild beer for the day where all our kids were up, splashing in the pool. But for the night, when the kids were inside, watching movies and chilling, my patio fare shifted to Flying Monkeys' Smashbomb Atomic IPA, a 6%, 72 IBU (international bitterness units) hop-blast for the adult portion of the evening. Surveying Johnny's glasses, I could find only two different beers ones - a number of Budweiser glasses since that's his beverage of choice and a lonely Miller Genuine Draft glass. I opted for the MGD as back before my craft beer journey begun, that was my beverage of choice when I flew down to Las Vegas. Also, it looked cleaner.

A trip to Johnny's earlier in the Summer proved with
absolute certainty that I am not afraid to pour a really good
beer into a bad beer glass. In fact, when he spotted the
Miller Genuine Draft pic, Drunk Polkaroo suggested we
all use a macro glass to pour our micro beers into one
day just for fun on Instagram. This would be my entry... 

But that MGD glass caught the attention of Twitter-Instagram buddy Adam (@thebrewhead) who jokingly suggested to another buddy, Robert, aka Drunk Polkaroo, that the next time he visited me, he was to "Smash this glassware." Now granted, it's not my glass but in all honesty, I do have some macro glasses so far in the back of the cupboard that they are seldom, if ever, used. They include some from Molson's, a couple of Keith's glasses. some Stella Artois goblets. And all of these macro glasses have one thing in common. They were stolen from bars back in my macro-drinking days. Because let's face it, when you'll drink anything, theft is a much smaller concern.

But Polkaroo had an equally-hilarious response, noting to Adam, "But it's what is indie glass that is the most important, isn't it?" Indie... glass... you see what he did there. The issue came up again when another buddy, Paul The Beer Guy, posted a pic, using a stemmed low glass that looked like the kind in which a restaurant would serve you breakfast orange juice.

This Detroit Beer Company glass, gifted to me by my high
school buddy Cheesy, is a staple in my beer photos. For
one, I really like the logo. Further to that, the draft-style
glass holds about 20 ounces (591-ml) so it's good for any
tall boy or 500-ml (a popular size) craft beer offering.
Also, it says "Detroit" and that alone means a lot to Greg.

One of his buddies was like, "That glass!" This time it was me, jumping in to note, "Meh, it's a glass. It's doing its job." But it was Paul himself who noted the teasing was deserved as he was well-known among his peers for his craft beer glass collection.

But that lead me to ask Paul, "Exactly how many craft brewery glasses do you own?" Paul answered that it was 70-plus but that his collection paled in comparison to Polkaroo's. So the same question was put to Polk, who answered it was about 150-plus in his collection. "I have no shame," he grinningly confessed. Well, I've known Polk less than a year but I would suggest what he does have, instead, is an insane amount of cupboard space. TV's master contractor Mike Holmes couldn't build cabinet space quickly enough to keep up with Polkaroo's collection. But then it also dawned on me that both Paul and Polkaroo were showing true hard-core support for Ontario craft brewers by buying their glassware and related products, as well as their beer. I, on the other hand, was not.

Okay, when I saw this inverted tulip glass at Great Lakes
Brewery in Etobicoke, I knew that it was coming home with
me... along with their fine beers. The collection is growing.

I mean, I do have a dozen or so craft brewery glasses but all of them were given to me. And some of them - Mill Street and Okanagan Spring - can't even be classified as craft due to their ownership. During all those many visits to breweries, it never once dawned on me to buy a glass. In my mind, I had plenty of beer glasses so why buy more? And it wasn't just me who thought that way.

When my son, David, visits, one of his chores is putting away the dishes. Now last May, we had a mini high-school reunion and my buddy, Greg, aka Cheesy, brought me a whole bunch of beers from Motor City Brewing Works in the Detroit area. As well, he tucked a few T-shirts into the mix and some glassware from the brewery, as well as Detroit Beer Company glasses and some etched-logo Carlsberg glasses. Poor David was here when I unwrapped them all and nearly had a meltdown. "Daddy, we don't have room for all these glasses!" he exclaimed. So I went to the plate cupboard on the other side of the sink and saw dozens of glasses that were over there on an upper shelf, sitting in that spot simply because they were never used.

There was absolutely NO WAY I was leaving Halifax
without a glass from Greg Nash's Unfiltered Brewing.
Visiting that hop-laden locale has been a dream of
mine ever since I heard of the budding brewery. Also,
is that not the coolest brewery logo you've ever seen?

"How about if I get rid of all these glasses," I negotiated, "to make room for the new ones?" David thought about it for a few seconds and simply replied, "Okay." So that's what I did. You see, when it comes to craft beer glassware, Tony from Nickel Brook is not the only one who answers to a higher authority.

And since that time, I have been adding a craft brewery glass here and there to bolster my collection. I know that I'll never have the shelf space to attain Paul The Beer Guy or Drunk Polkaroo levels of glassery. But I feel like I'm doing my extra bit for craft breweries in my own way.

As you can see from the photos above, I have found myself a few beauties, including a new Spiegelau glass that means far more to me than the old ones simply because it has a Collective Arts logo on it. A recent visit to Great Lakes Brewery saw one of their inverted tulip glasses come home. I just got a Beau's All-Natural Brewing glass, as well as one from my all-time favourite Oakville brewer, Cameron's. And there was no way I was going to my niece Genny's wedding in Halifax without a side-trip to Greg Nash's Unfiltered Brewing, as well as coming home with one of his glasses. So Paul and Polkaroo, I'll never catch you two. But at least I'm in the race now, boys. Guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

When Glenn comes to B-Town...

Beer Bro Glenn holds up the only pumpkin beer that I will ever buy -
Nickel Brook's Pissed Off Pete's Pumpkin Porter - during a recent
trip to Donny's Bar and Grill. Turns out the spices used to make
pumpkin pie (nutmeg, cinnamon, whatever) actually add some cool
flavours to a porter. But Pumpkin Ales are usually frowned upon.

Despite living way over in Oshawa on the snowier, frost-bound, Arctic-tundra side of Toronto, my old college buddy and Beer Bro Glenn makes the trek to visit Donny's Bar and Grill in Burlington probably twice a year, if I'm lucky.

Maybe three or four times a year, if I'm far less lucky. (Ohhh, call the Burn Unit - Savage Bro Smackdown Aleft.) I'm kidding, of course, all of my jests are said with love... respect... affection... okay, just said out loud. (Seriously, get the shock paddles ready! I'm killing it here. "Attention, shoppers, we have a totally burned Bro down in Aisle 3. Bring ice!")

Okay, done dissing Glenn (for this paragraph anyway) because last weekend he made a special trip out here for a couple of reasons. When Hamilton's Collective Arts Brewing created their Imperial IPA and recreated their Black IPA (the same formula as last year's Collective Project Black IPA), I promised Glenn I would get him some cans of both.

But gawd bless his tiny, coal-black heart, which is rapidly faltering as we speak due to years of artery-hardening, fat-saturated, deep-fried foods, as well as a general apathy and indifference towards the pain and suffering of others, except for the neighbour's dog who he really likes. Hang on.... lemme read that back. Oh goddamn, that's not Glenn - that's me! Don't I have egg on my face? (Quick aside to "Buddy") "Who's a good boy! Yes, you are!"

Great Lakes Brewing's most recent gift from their prolific
Tank 10 series is Thrust! An IPA. I could heap praise on this
beer for the countless awards it's won or the critical acclaim
it's received. But I won't because come on, I just told you...

But knowing I had the "Gift of Beer" (cue the celestial harmony of beautiful angels singing) for him, Glenn made sure he wasn't coming empty-handed. So he stopped along the way at Etobicoke's Great Lake Brewing to pick me up some of their recently-released Thrust! An IPA, as well as their ass-kicking Life Sentence Triple IPA, their now-annual collaboration with their pals across town at Amsterdam Brewing. Oh, and for good measure, he also brought me a bomber of their bourbon-barrel-aged Solstice Imperial Stout, which I haven't had yet because of two reasons. Number one, I was too busy, downing those delicious IPAs like Homer Simpson with a plate of doughnuts. And number two, Solstice itself refers to exactly two things - the point of the year when the Sun is closest to the Earth, creating the Summer Solstice or the day that is the longest in terms of sunlight - so June 20th. Or conversely the day when the Northern Hemisphere is farthest from the Sun, making it the shortest day of the year or the Winter Solstice. And that's December 21st. So dammit, I will drink my Solstice on the day of Winter Solstice when the stars and planets are aligned perfectly. Thus the prophets have spoken.

Did I sit there and drink GLB's and Amsterdam's Life
Sentence Triple IPA in the snow on the patio like some
kind of addled, freezing loser? Photographs don't lie, man.
Unless they're profile pictures on Tinder. Those always lie.

(By the way, all the Science I just laid on you came from the Bible, just after the part about the dinosaurs but before the part where Santa Claus shows up for the big manger scene.)

But while I only had six Collective Arts beers for Glenn, he had brought me a six of Thrust!, a six of Life Sentence, as well as the Solstice. There was great inequity that day at Donny's Bar and Grill, my friends. So I slid him some cheddar to make up for it. And when he finished the cheese plate, I gave him cash. I'm all about fairness but usually only fairness for me in every single aspect of my life, not for others. Stupid "giving time of the year."

But while I have praised Thrust! many times in this space, telling it how "pretty you look today" and "Have you lost a little weight?", inevitably I always get down to dull, technical terms such as how the 6.5%, 72 IBU (international bitterness units) beer is "chockful of luscious grapefruit and mango on the nose followed a resiny, tropical fruit finish on the tongue." You know, real Bill Nye The Science Guy kind of stuff. Without the Bill. Or the Nye. Or the Science even. Just beer, really.

Last year, Amsterdam head brewer Iain McOustra
found himself about 100-kgs (220 pounds) of late harvest
Chinook hops in Washington Yakima Valley. So he and
GLB head brewer Mike Lackey dropped the entire
batch, shown here, into a big vat and created Life
Sentence Triple IPA. But the story varies this year...

So let's move on to this year's Life Sentence Triple IPA then, shall we? As you may (but probably don't) remember from last year, Amsterdam Brewmaster Iain McOustra was in Washington state's Yakima Valley last year and stumbled across 100 kgs (220 pounds) of late harvest Chinook hops. And I mean, he literally tripped over them. So he picked up the phone and called GLB head brewer Mike Lackey. The phone call went something exactly like this:
McOustra: "Hi, can you put me through to Mike?"
Receptionist: "Mike, it's Iain from Amsterdam."
Lackey: "The brewery or the city? I know Iain's from both. I'm very well-traveled, y'know."
Receptionist: "The brewery."
Lackey: "Tell him I'm at lunch."
McOustra: "I heard that! We're on speaker!"
Lackey: "Damn my luck. Hey, man, what's up?"
McOustra: "Hey, I just found 100 kgs of those hops mentioned above in this fictitious account of our conversation. What should I do with them?"
Lackey: "We could... I dunno... make beer?"
McOustra: "Oh man, why didn't I think of that?"
And thus, Life Sentence Triple IPA 2015 was created following a conversation that went absolutely nothing like that.

Behold, if you will, the wonderous glory that is the
Pacifica Hop from New Zealand. It's big, it's green,
it's the Incredible Hulk of the Hop World. For my
American readers, that 5-cm equals about two inches.
As your President-Elect would say... they're YUGE...
everybody loves them!!! They are the best hops ever!
Oh and Life Sentence was dry-hopped using both
Pacifica and Nelson Sauvin hops, also an NZ staple.

But the Brewery Boys decided to throw us a curveball for the 2016 edition of Life Sentence. If you look carefully at the can shown above, you will notice the words "Southern Hemisphere" just below the name. So what's that mean? Well, the Southern Hemisphere is all that stuff below the equator, those rat-bastard countries who are enjoying mid-Summer right now while we freeze our nards off up here. Instead of using Chinook this year, Mike and Iain opted for Pacifica Hops from New Zealand in the 2016 batch.

Why? Well, according to Lackey, they thought it would be "great to change the hop bill in Life Sentence each year." Why would they do that if last year's Chinook version was such a huge success? That's simple. Brewers be all cray cray.

So how is the 2016 version? Well, certainly a bit different than last year's but ultimately, still 100 pounds of dynamite in a 473-ml (16 ounce) can. The brewers both liked the pineapple profile of the hop so there is little doubt both that and mango come through on the nose of this 10%, 100 IBU berserker. (So you know, Berserkers were Norse warriors who, according to Icelandic literature, fought in a trance-like state. A few of these and I was in a similar state.) You do get some of that booze on the tongue but not alarmingly so. A little bit fruity but more slyly dry and malty on the tongue than last year's version.

If Joan of Arc had "the face that launched 1,000
ships," then my Beer Bro Glenn has "the face that
frightened 1,000 small children." (Man, my disses
are on point today!) But hey, Manantler Brewing in
Bowmanville used his face as part of their Lesions
(ooops, sorry, LEGENDS - damn, I'm really on fire )
Imperial Stout label series. Actually, this was a very
cool initiative from the brewery, honouring a small
 group of local, faithful customers who had shown
them tons of support in their early stages. Very nice.

Final verdict? Absolutely loved it, just as I did last year's. One of the year's best. Again. So we'll let the brewers relax (Amarillo) for a year (Amarillo) while they decide (Amarillo) what hop to use (Amarillo) next year and which additional hop (Simcoe or Citra) to pair it with for the dry hopping at the end. Totally their call, obviously.

Okay, moving on up to the East Side... what else can I say about Glenn, other than the fact he brought me some damn great beers? Lessee, in 2016, he has thus far eluded the Durham Region Police force on any major charges. (In his defence, minor charges are exactly that - minor. Sorry, I just can't stop. I'm on a sick roll. My bad.) He's a damn good Dad to both his son and two step-sons. I don't know. That's about it. Oh, wait, right, he also had his pretty-boy face plastered on the label of a Manantler Craft Brewing (Bowmanville) Imperial Stout. Not too shabby for my little college buddy of 35 years.

Yup, at some point in the Summer, Manantler decided to honour Glenn, another dude much more manly than Glenn, a couple (twice as manly) and two brothers (more manly squared) on four separate labels for the same Imperial Stout. Glenn swears his sold out first but that could just mean Glenn bought all his labels up first, Still, it would be super-cynical for me to say that. Or type that. Or publish that. (My Diss-A-Bro Button is clearly stuck. Too late now.) No, actually, I honestly thought it was one of the coolest things ever to happen to a friend, except perhaps my buddy, Larry, who won $133,000 in the 6/49 lottery about 10 years ago. No disses for Larry. He has money.

Just a couple of college buddies tearing the hell out of
the last day of the 2015 Burlington Beer Festival. The
day ended up with both of us arriving alive at Donny's
Bar and Grill, despite leaving the fun at different times
as we somehow (copious amounts of beer) got separated
during the fun. Tried retracing our steps the next day.
What happened between us losing each other and both
getting back safely to my place is still a mystery to us.

So Glenn gave me a couple of bottles of their Legends Imperial Stout, which I enjoyed recently and should review. Except it's Glenn's beer, not mine, so let's check out his RateBeer review of this brave 9% Imperial Stout that dared to put his face on a label.

Here we go, folks. Buckle up for Glenn's review. "Roasted coffee on the nose and coffee, bitter chocolate and a touch of licorice on the tongue. Smooth and rich and delicious." Dude, seriously? I can't get you to shut up, like, ever and Manantler gets two sentences? You didn't even use any vowels! What, were you paying for words that day? Did the Word People charge by the syllable? Manantler, I actually agree with his review but would add there was a nice bitterness on the back end and some nice roasty malts on the nose. Really great stout, gang.

Okay, poor Glenn, I've slammed him pretty good here. But this is how life-long guy friends talk to each other. Women compliment each other all the time... but really don't really mean it. Guys crap on each other... but also don't mean it at all. He made a special trip to GLB just to bring me those beers. That was the only reason he stopped there. Well, actually, he grabbed some for himself, too, so let's not get all "He's a modern-day Mother Teresa" here. But Great Lakes, Amsterdam and Manantler, thank you for those outstanding beers. And Glenn, you disgusting and hideous piece of filth, thank you for getting them to me. Love ya, Broseph. But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

Shacklands makes it one street, three breweries

I make a kind of a big deal about both Rainhard Brewing and
Junction Craft Brewing both being located on Symes Road.
But I neglected to mention Shacklands Brewing was going to
be there, too. So three breweries, one West Toronto street...

During the past couple of months, I have stated here several times that I am kind of awed by the fact that Barrie, Ontario, a city of just 154,000 people has three top-end craft breweries - Flying Monkeys, Barnstormer and now Redline. So basically, one craft brewery for every 50,000 people.

Granted, you also have to remember that industry giant Molson had a 520,000-square-foot brewery there from 1974 to 2000. Molson's took over the plant built in 1971 for Formosa Springs Brewing, a little independent that produced an almost-okay beer. (The story of Formosa Springs began in 1870 and is far too convoluted to get into today.) But that Molson plant is probably best known for being busted as Canada's largest illegal marijuana grow-op outfit back in 2004. That, of course, had nothing to do with Molson but rather the subsequent property owners. Still, you could say it was a little ironic that people were enjoying some "Bud" in a former Molson facility.

But back to my point. While Barrie does have three craft breweries, at some point in the Summer of 2017, one West Toronto street will be home to three craft breweries.

Ahhh, yes, Shacklands Brewing opened up on
Saturday at 100 Symes Road, the same building
which has housed Rainhard Brewing since 2014.

That's right - one street called Symes Road. It's not even a particularly big street. The southern-most portion of it, which turns 90-degrees away from the road's previous direction and is firmly rooted in industrial lands, is a tiny little stretch, maybe two football fields in length. As explained (ever-so-eloquently) in this space 11 days ago, it is presently home to Rainhard Brewing and will next Summer be the new address of Junction Craft Brewing.

After I wrote and published the perhaps-not-so-eloquent-in-retrospect piece, Rainhard piped up on Twitter that it was a nice read with some solid photos but it was worth noting that the addition of Shacklands Brewing will make it "One street, three breweries."

And the weird part was that I actually knew that. I took that picture at the top. I tried walking in there, thinking it was somehow connected to Rainhard, simply because I couldn't see their entrance from the far end of the building. (I eventually found Rainhard by... well... walking to their actual door.)

And what are "shacklands" exactly? Well, it was a term
used in 1900-era Toronto when immigrants would build
small shacks on the edge of their properties while using
weekends and holiday to build their main, permanent
homes in the middle of the property. Here, a scene of
shacklands is depicted by artist Lawren Harris' piece
"January Thaw, Edge of Town." Today's art lesson...

And even when I just dropping some Rainhard brews off to Rib Eye Jack's Ale House's GM Steve, I pulled up the Shackland pic on my phone and asked him who or what they are. Steve knew of them (because if it has anything to do with craft beer, Steve always knows) and told me it was to be a new brewery, specializing in Belgian styles and other eclectic brews such as Farmhouse ales and sours.

But even armed with that info, I still forgot about Shacklands when I wrote the piece on Brock Street Brewing and Junction Craft getting new homes, as well as sharing the goods on the Rainhard beers I scored from my road trip. And this is despite the fact that Shacklands and Rainhard share the same building at 100 Symes Road. The building was last operated for decades by Houghton Canada which makes industrial lubricants, such as hydraulic fluids, lubricating oils and grease, industrial cleaners, etc. Frankly, maybe it's just me but I far prefer the upper-scale lubricants coming out of 100 Symes Road these days.

Shacklands held their "soft opening" on December 10 at
noon while their Grand Opening will be held January
21st, 2017. Bring cash as credit-debit isn't set up at the
brand new brewery just yet. I tell you, by the time that
Junction Craft gets set up this Summer in their new
digs, Symes Road becomes a one-stop-shopping zone!

The reason Shacklands is coming up today (other than my previous omission) is that they held their soft opening Saturday at noon. The brewery, owned by now-former-homebrewer Jason Tremblay and business partner Dave Watts, has for the past few years been contract-brewing out of Innocente Brewing in Waterloo and, hey, soon-to-be next door neighbour Junction Craft. The new brewery has long been a dream for Tremblay who has been "an avid homebrewer for nearly 20 years and a stay-at-home parent for the past 10 years."

Their Grand Opening will be on January 21, 2017 which unlike Saturday's opening will not coincide with building buddy Rainhard's Christmas Party. So there should be a pretty decent crowd of craft beer lovers, as well as a likely smattering of area politicians, who will be constantly referring to small pieces of paper in their hands or their phones to remind them where they are, what the business does and why they think that's so great. ("Wait? This is a brewery? I thought Shacklands built sheds...")

I am not looking to crap on anyone's baby here but it is
getting alarming how often craft brewers are pandering to
the micro crowd. In this case, I am talking about Shawn
and Ed's Brewing's LagerShed Original Lager, which is
far too close to a micro for my liking. But the Dundas guys
are not the only ones doing this. Many craft breweries are
giving in to the urge to crank out a mild one for the masses

Suffice it to say, I will likely be at their Grand Opening (weather permitting) just so I can ask the politicians if they can name the four main ingredients in beer. And yes, "water" counts. As well, by next Summer, Symes Road can expect to see a lot of me. Three breweries, one street? That's like putting a BBQed steak on a plate in front of me.

Okay, back to Rib Eye Jack's GM Steve who told me once, long ago, "Just because it's craft beer doesn't necessarily mean it's good beer." (And, by extension, just because it's macro, it doesn't mean it sucks - I was very impressed by Molson's 1908 Historic Pale Ale.) As TV funnyman Stephen Colbert would say, with that statement, Rib Eye Steve laid some serious "truthiness" on me

But this is territory that I am entering warily. I've always considered myself a Beer Geek rather than one of those full-fledged Craft Beer Douches who are so cleverly and accurately mocked on both TV sitcoms and "Funny or Die" skits. Believe me when I say that's a fine line none of us want to cross.

Let's call this Redemption In A Single Glass. Shawn and
Ed's Brewing's BarrelShed No. 1 Amber Ale was a really
outstanding red-wine barrel-aged brew. You got the wood
on the aroma instantly with some spiciness on the tongue.

That point was recently hammered home for me when Beer Writing Buddy Robert, aka Drunk Polkaroo, invited his rye-drinking brother Mike to sample beers with him in a series of hilarious videos. At one point, Mike barked, "Where are you getting all these smells from? All I smell is beer!"

So straddling that fine line between geekery and douchery, on Instagram, I recently called out a beer made by Dundas outfit, Shawn & Ed's Brewing. It was their Original Lager. To me, it tasted far too close to a macro lager. Graininess on the nose, some malt on the tongue... not much else. I noted (not too meanly, I hope) that I understood their desire to brew a beer that would appeal to the macro drinkers. I can name no less than a dozen other craft breweries who have done the same - that is, put out a pale lager or blonde ale that simply had me asking, "Why bother?" I get the macro audience they are trying to appeal to but brewery guys and gals, let's not forget the craft audience you already have.

Do I expect every craft beer to have the hop punch of Great
Lakes and Amsterdam Breweries collaborative Life Sentence
Triple IPA? Of course not. This is not a perfect world. And
speaking of this, Beer Bro Glenn just dropped a half-dozen of
these bad boys in my lap. It's a somber reminder that I am just
a man, standing in front of a hop-laden glass, saying, "You are
the tasty beer of my dreams." The romance never dies here...

That said, I do recognize that the brewers used better ingredients and took more time with that lager than a mass-produced one. So that is very much appreciated. And with this next beer, it's pretty clear that the brewery knows its craft audience all too well. I am talking about Shawn & Ed's BarrelShed No. 1 Amber Ale, a delicious 6.5% blood-red brew that was aged in a red wine barrel. Despite the fact I am not a fan of wine, there is no denying the extra flavour boost that barrel-aging can add to an amber ale. I got both wood and berries on the nose, as well as some breadiness and nice light spice on the tongue. So while I will take a pass on their lager, I will be back for more of this one. I have always maintained that every beer has its audience and well, count me in for this one.

Okay, moving along to the gift of beer since we're in that holiday season. Beer Bro Glenn was a visitor to Donny's Bar and Grill yesterday and as usual, he did not come empty-handed. No sirree, Bob, (who?) in his grab-bag from Great Lakes Brewing was six Thrust! An IPA, another six of their Life Sentence Triple IPA, a collaboration with Amsterdam Brewing and finally a bomber of GLB's Solstice Imperial Stout.

Great Lakes' Hanlan Point Coconut Coffee Porter is a
stark reminder that GLB's Tank Ten series cranks out
more than just delicious IPA after IPA. What can I say
except that this is one fermenting vat that never fails us.

I will get to all three in due time (so, like, next time) but today, I want to talk about Great Lakes' Tank Ten series. All we all know, GLB cranks out some phenomenal IPAs out of their legendary Tank Three - Thrust!, Octopus Wants to Fight, Lake Effects, Maniacal Hopshop, Karma Citra, Citradiction Extra Pale Ale and this year's Sunnyside Session Ale. And here's the thing - each of these, despite being the same IPA or session ale style, are different and unique. It's uncanny, really. But every once in a while, Brewmaster and Evil Scientist Mike cleans out that vat and goes in a different direction. Such was the case with their Hanlan's Point Coconut Coffee Porter, a collaboration with the good folks at Toronto's Bar Hop. Purchased late in the Summer, I wanted to save this for the colder Winter months but I simply could not. It sounded too tasty as I love coconut, coffee and porters - not equally, mind you, as coffee will always have the edge in this grouping.

Next up, I will be looking at the brews dropped at Donny's
Bar and Grill by Beer Bro Glenn, as well as talk about a
Manantler Imperial Stout with his mug right on the label.

Once again, with its magical and mythical powers, Tank Ten did not disappoint. The 6.5% Hanlan's Point was rich, deep coffee on the nose (good coffee, not Folger's in your cup) while on the tongue, more coffee, bitter chocolate, a pinch of vanilla and yes, at the end, a little dried coconut. Delicious!

Next up, we will be looking at those very GLB beers that Glenn delivered me (from Oshawa to Burlington through the snow, I might add) with a special look at what makes this year's Life Sentence Triple IPA a little different from the 2015 version. And with all this cold and snow, is there a better time to dive mouth-first into that Solstice Imperial Stout? Oh, I think not, my friends. For now, however, I have to brave my way through all this snow to buy groceries. And for once, there's no need to stop for beer as my fridge is bursting at the seams. Well, it's not like I bother to write "Beer" on my shopping list anyway. Not gonna forget that. Toilet paper, yes, that actually could happen. Hell, it has. I don't wanna talk about that time. But beer? Get real. But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

Using Nickelback to fight drunk driving

Yes, we applaud Prince Edward Island's Kensington Police
Department for doing their part in getting drunk drivers
off the road. But have they crossed the line with this new
punishment? Arresting the driver is one thing but, man...

Prince Edward Island is a cool little Province. It's like the Canadian version of Rhode Island. It's only 224 kilometres (139 miles) long and its width ranges anywhere from 64 kilometres (40 miles) to just six kilometres (less than four miles).

So basically, at its narrowest, you could walk from one side to the other without breaking too much of a sweat. Unless you're me... in which case, you would collapse in a heap about 250 steps in. Frankly, I'm more into upper body core strength, specifically my right arm, the one that holds the beer. I could be wrong but I don't ever remember dropping one in my life. That, my friends, is core strength.

But back to PEI and even more specifically, its tiny town of Kensington, which gained national and then international attention last week for something posted on social media. I thought it was very funny, rather than controversial, but I'll let you be the judge.

Back in February, while attending a New Zealand
vs Australia cricket match at Westpac Stadium in
Wellington, NZ, renowned beer writer Neil Miller
and his friend Annika Corley held this sign to taunt
Aussie cricket star David Warner. When told of the
sign, Warner was confused, having never heard of
Nickelback. But it all swept the social media there.

Noting that Christmas season was upon us, meaning seasonal parties and social events that usually involve alcohol, Kensington Police Constable Robb Hartlin posted that his department would be out in full force, "looking for those dumb enough to feel they can drink and drive." He further warned that, "When we catch you - and we will catch you - on top of a hefty fine, a criminal charge and a year's driving suspension, we will also provide you with the bonus gift of playing the office's copy of Nickelback in the cruiser on the way to jail."

Now obviously, the last bit was tongue-in-cheek. Perhaps a means to capture attention towards what is a problem (drunk driving) that certainly increases with this particular season. And the thing is, it did get attention. A lot of social media attention. World-wide, even. In fact, far more attention than Hartlin's comfort zone allowed him. And he began to feel bad because in the end, he very much likes the band and their music. He made that much perfectly clear in the original media release. He flat-out said big fan, love them. But, well, mocking Nickelback is kinda universal - everyone does it. So Hartlin was having some fun with the anti-Nickelback folks out there as they seem to be... well, pretty much everyone.

♫ Never made it as a wise man. Couldn't cut it as a
poor man stealing. Ran out of occupational ideas
after that. None of them were too appealing... ♫ See?
Nickelback songs are so formulatic,  I can write one!

Now personally, I actually believe the band is a little more successful because of it. Still, Hartlin felt guilty. He invoked the name of a band he quite likes to use humour against a serious problem. He felt that perhaps he had made light of the consequences of drunk driving after his "threat" got the attention it did. So he did what any good Canadian would do.

He apologized. He said, "I'm sorry" to both the band and anyone who thought his light-hearted approach trivialized a serious issue. And believe me, it was sincere. He followed it up by saying, "How would I tell my son he was wrong for picking on a kid in the playground when I was doing the same thing? But I was not doing it on a local playground. No, I was doing it on a global scale to a global audience."

Personally, I thought it was as funny as hell and my dark secret is that I am a Nickelback fan. I think their songs are undeniably catchy, certainly not complicated but still a lot of fun. And they're ridiculously easy to sing-along to when they come on the car radio. In fact, I remember telling my step-son Ryan that I was going to a Nickelback concert several years back.

My Beer Bro Stevil St Evil had a little fun with the David
Warner "controversy" by taking Annika and Neil's photo
and superimposing it onto a still image from Nickelback's
"Photograph" video. The whole thing was a great ride...

He asked why and I said, "Honestly, everyone says they hate these guys. So I wanna see who goes to their shows!" Ryan thought about it for a second and said, "Okay, that's the only acceptable answer for going to see Nickelback." He then referred to the band's front-man Chad Kroeger as "Poodlehead" and we moved on to weightier matters.

And while I feel bad for Constable Hartlin's failed joke - which I still find funny - there was a far bigger Nickelback war waged in New Zealand back in February. You see, my buddy, Neil, the country's 2014 Beer Writer of the Year, happened to be attending a championship cricket match between New Zealand and arch-rivals Australia.

Australian cricketer David Warner eyes a
beer writer in the stands and vows that the
next pitch will be coming right at his head...

And as spectators often do, Neil created a sign to rattle the Aussie squad, specifically Australia batsman David Warner, a skilled but often-controversial player. The sign simply read: "David Warner Likes Nickelback." The bright yellow sign (Neil and I assume, both being colour-blind) got a ton of attention from both the game's commentators, as well as social media.

One small problem. Warner didn't get it. He apparently was one of the dozen or so people on the planet who's never heard of the band. So the athlete actually asked Neil on Twitter to explain it to him. (Is there anything worse than having to explain a joke? Oh, right... Nickelback.) So Neil simply tweeted back that it was "a reference to being successful, yet controversial to many." The pair took some mild jabs at each other, back and forth on Twitter, before Warner finally tweeted, "Good comeback, bro. You want me to get you more followers. You look like you might need some. Haha." Being a professional athlete, Warner has 1.1 million followers whereas Miller has 3,660. But it was game, set and match to Miller, who tweeted back: "Apart from batting, the only advice I'd take from you is how to grow a mo (moustache) that looks like a 70s porn star playing a traffic cop."

Drunk Polkaroo recently gifted me with my first ever
Muddy York Brewing beer - the R-100 IPA. This is
also Polk's photo which I'm using because mine was
taken on concrete steps while Polk went to the effort
of including some nice Autumn foliage in his picture.

And since both countries are Down Under and neither are Canada, the debate ended without apologies as both men simply carried on with their lives. While short-lived, it was fun to watch while it lasted.

Okay, that ends the Nickelback portion of this (I suspect for the only time ever) so I guess it must be Beer O'Clock around these parts. *Looks at clock - not even 9 am * Well, time to talk about beer. I'll drink some later.

A couple of Sundays back, I got a nice visit here at Donny's Bar and Grill from Mrs Polkaroo, the lovely wife of my Beer Writing Buddy Drunk Polkaroo. She had a bag filled with four beauties from Polk and I had some to send back his way. Polk calls it #beersaint whereas I simply call it #PrisonerExchange because let's face it, those soldiers are gonna die. But while two are still in my fridge (one a bourbon barrel-aged one from Cameron's), two soldiers were struck down on the field of battle (my patio table) so let's look at them.

First of all, I was excited to get a Muddy York Brewing R-100 IPA for three reasons. Number one, it's an IPA. Two, my first Muddy York beer. And three, look at that label! It would be a perfect Led Zeppelin album cover!

While Polkaroo gifted me with a Redline Brewing Kollision
Hoppy Lager, this picture belongs to Paul The Beer Guy,
who loves to employ the funky Batman angle into his pics!

Stoner #1: Hey man, what's your favourite song on Zep's R-100 IPA album?
Stoner #2: Oh, definitely When The Hobbits Arise. You?
Stoner #1: Oh, totally Vikings in Valhalla, man.
(Note: All Led Zeppelin songs boil down to only five different things - hobbits, trolls, Vikings, sex or shrubbery.)

But that R-100 IPA? Oh baby, it was nice! The 7%, 70 IBUs (international bitterness units) brew had some dynamite citrus and pine on the nose while on the tongue, it was all grapefruit and a wee touch of pineapple. Some light malt on the back-end gave this beautiful balance. As first beers from a brewery go, I couldn't have asked for a better starter! There will be more Muddy York in my future. And probably mud due to seasonal conditions.

Okay, next up, Redline Brewing's Kollision Hoppy Lager, a beer I had sampled at the recent Rib Eye Jack's Beer Fest but never enjoyed in its entirety, meaning simply a whole one.

Black and gold... black and gold!!! While those colours
are synonymous with Hamilton's football team, they
were also what I brought home from Hamilton's
Collective Arts Brewing when I grabbed some cans of
their Black IPA and brand new Imperial IPA. Nice!

Good ol' Polkaroo fixed that for me, as well, dropping one in the Gift Bag. The 5.3% ABV is well within the norm for a lager but the 37 IBUs? Okay, then, this is pretty hopped up for the mild style. I got some nice orange peel on the nose while the strong malt on the tongue lets you know it's a lager but the added pine flavour tell you it's also something much more. Great lager and as Polk likes to say, very "crushable" meaning you could easily down a few of these without breaking a sweat. The opposite of the "slow sippers" he and I also both enjoy. Two more Polk beers to come. I just have to drink them first, which is a "Challenge Accepted" scenario.

Speaking of #PrisonerExchange, when my son, David and his Mom moved to Sarnia last year, we decided the fairest thing to do when transferring him back and forth was to meet in London. And as we travel home to Burlington along Highway 403, I usually take the opportunity to pop into Hamilton to visit either the Dundurn LCBO or Collective Arts Brewing on the waterfront. This time around, the choice was a no-brainer as Collective Arts had recently released their Imperial IPA, as well as re-released their Collective Project Black IPA, now a year later, simply called Black IPA. But that Imperial IPA has been anticipated by many of us for quite some time now.

David loves visiting Collective Arts Brewing in
Hamilton simply because they have a working
pinball machine in their retail section. "Yeah, it's
pretty cool having that," said the girl at the counter

I've reviewed the Black IPA in the past (with much praise) but before I get to the Imperial, I want to point out one thing about the Black IPA. Whereas most really good Black IPAs give you a whiff of something familiar, like grapefruit or citrus, they also give you a whiff of coffee or chocolate like a porter. Not this one. If you close your eyes and smell it, it's exactly like a gold IPA. It's not until it's on your tongue that you get some of the porter-stout tastes expected of this style. That makes it fairly unique to me.

But that Imperial IPA? Holy crap-on-a-cross, that's a sexy beer! At 8.5% and roughly 90 IBUs, it punches you in the face with its mango and peach aroma which is followed by a dynamite pine thickness and tropical fruits on the tongue. As expected, there is a much-needed malt backbone on the finish because beers this big and hoppy need the aid of their friends, the malts. Sales of this beer - if any remain - were limited to four per customer per visit. So hopefully, you didn't miss it because man, that is one tasty-ass beer. I have one left, which I will enjoy after this but I may scoot back to see if any are left. If not, there's always more Black IPA and their incomparable Ransack The Universe IPA. I can't really lose either way which is almost always the situation when it comes to me and beer. Hashtag #DonnyCantLose...

While we have always carried Hop City's Barking Squirrel
Amber at my Beer Store, we recently added three more
from their roster - the HopBot IPA, the Big Mouth Pale
Ale and the Polly Want A Pilsner. I hadn't tried the
HopBot in quite a while so it was high time for Round 2.

There were some recent Hop City Brewing beers that landed in my Beer Store, including the new Polly Want A Pilsner and old favourites Big Mouth Pale Ale and HopBot IPA. The Pilsner is still in my fridge but I'd had both the others quite some time ago. Like three years or so. So I decided it was time to revisit the HopBot. The brewers use five premier west coast hops in this one - Citra, Cascade, Williamette, Mosaic and Simcoe. At 7.1% and roughly 70-75 IBUs, with that hop combo, it should make for a pretty punchy beer, yes? Well, actually, yes and no. Don't get me wrong because I did enjoy it. But while it has the prerequisite fruity aroma, in this case, melon, I found there was an unusual caramel back-end on the tongue. Not normally a flavour you'd associate with an IPA. However, it does make for an interesting break so give it a whirl.

I have always heaped praise on Nickel Brook Brewing's
Bolshevik Bastard Imperial Stout, which was, in fact,
the first stout I ever tried. Well, after Guinness, which
actually makes it the first really GOOD stout I ever had.

As the year winds down, I have quite literally dozens of "Best Of" awards coming from 2016 but in the spirit of that, I recently came across a one-sentence review of my long-time favourite Nickel Brook Bolshevik Bastard Imperial Stout that I have to share with you. Beer Buddy Hago Vanayan recently tried it and this was his one-sentence summation of the beer. "Pours like chocolate Communist blood of a Russian vampire..." I fell down laughing after reading that review. Outstanding!

And since we're talking about Hago and Polkaroo, both regularly release video reviews of beers and some of them are pretty damn funny. Drunk Polkaroo recently enlisted his brother, Mike, a long-time rye drinker who shuns beer, to be part of his reviews and the result was spectacular in its hilarious fail to draw a booze drinker over. As well, Hago often includes his teenage daughters in his reviews... in a non-drinking capacity, of course. In one, they engage in a Paddle Battle that soon turns into an Oar War. Wait until the end to hear one of his girls mimic his reviewing style. Here's Polkaroo's video at: Beers That Nearly Killed Mikey! and you can follow that with Hago's at: Teenage Paddle Battle!!! Both videos are hilarious so check them out. But guys and dolls, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

Two breweries get new digs

The new Brock Street Brewing restaurant-brewery at
Brock Street and Dunlop Street in Whitby doesn't mean
their Hopkins Street facility is going anywhere. The folks
will operate both with Hopkins acting as their retail outlet.
In fact, the brewery just got its Site Plan Approval today!

I got some very good news about one of my favourite out-of-town breweries back in August. After travelling to Whitby with my son to visit his Uncle Johnny and Aunt Trish, I made a point of stopping into Brock Street Brewing and 5 Paddles Brewing before we made the hour-plus trek back to Burlington.

Now 5 Paddles was a first-time stop for me and an enormously enjoyable one as I scored some really great beers and had a great talk with the dude running the retail counter.

But I had been to Brock Street Brewing once before a month earlier and quickly became a fan of the gang there. The first time I had visited them was in July with my boy after I showed Johnny the Google map of their location on Hopkins Street. I don't know Whitby all that well other than how to get to Johnny's, as well as the Beer Store and LCBO along the way. So I was hoping it wasn't too far away, like the other end of town or something. It wasn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Brock Street
Brewing, nestled in a location less than five minutes away
from my long-time friend Johnny in Whitby on Hopkins
Street. Close, convenient and man, oh so very tasty beers!

Johnny looked at the map on my phone and howled. "That's right around the corner! Big sign out front. I've passed by them a million times."

But I knew of Brock Street Brewing long before I landed in their facility. Beer Bro Glenn, who lives in nearby Oshawa ("the Shwa"), had mentioned them on numerous occasions since it opened in April 2015.

As well, this brewery is always the life of every Beer Fest it attends, including this past January's Burlington Winter Beer Festival. The young turks manning the booth, Phil and Andrew, brought a mini Ping-Pong table and were taking on all comers. They also shared with me a sample of some secret stash they had tucked away. I can't remember what it was except that it was barrel-aged and bloody tasty.

Now, as it turned out, Brock Street had an application into the Town to build a new 13,000-square-foot brewery-restaurant combo at the corner of Brock and Dunlop Streets in Whitby.

I was afraid I was going to lose Brock Street's
Hopkins location once they moved downtown
but no, they are keeping this one open. That's
a good thing because server Taylor gave me
about five free-flight coupons (one per visit).
I haven't used them yet so free beer for me!

When they got the go-ahead this past Summer for demolition of the old building at that spot and the construction of their new building, I was a vocal cheerleader from the far reaches of Burlington. I also jokingly assured them on Twitter that I had back-up sites in Burlington, should Whitby turn their application down. I even included a picture of Taj Mahal as a potential Burlington location, hoping they knew as little about my city (or India) as I do about Whitby. (We also have pyramids here. True story - no need to Snopes it.)

In fact, not only did Whitby give them the go-ahead, it also came with high praise from Mayor Don Mitchell who told the press, "It's a wonderful use for that corner. It's been through multiple uses over the years but nothing's really stuck. A craft brewing operation in the downtown, I think, will support exactly all the things we want to go down there." I don't usually have many positive things to say about politicians but, hey, this Don guy likes craft breweries. That's all I need to know.

Okay, I gotta admit that Junction Craft Brewing's new digs,
slated to open sometime in late 2017, are one helluva lot sexier
than their present location. As an added bonus, they are less
than 30 seconds away from Rainhard Brewing. That's a win!

But at the same time I also lamented that as much as I supported the new brewery, I tweeted that I would also miss the Hopkins Street one, assuming it would be gone. Their eagle-eyed social media person saw my sentiments and said words to the effect of "What you talkin' about, Willis? Hopkins is staying put!" It seems that while the new building, slated for late Summer 2017, will be up and running, the Hopkins Street one will continue to be their retail (and separate brewing) outlet.

Given their proximity to Johnny and Trish's house, I didn't want to lose that convenience of a quick and easy purchase from a favourite craftie when in town. That also means they are still across the street from 5 Paddles. There is no downside to this story as once again, everything's coming up Milhouse...

Okay, now let's look at a big move for Junction Craft Brewing, a brewery I visited in October with my boy, David, during a trip to Toronto for a photo shoot. (My son is a male model of Fabio-like proportions.)

This is a photo of Junction Craft Brewing just
before they opened in October 2012. As you can
see, their sign wasn't even up yet. And now the
sign will be on a new building on Symes Road.

After first visiting Great Lakes Brewing in Etobicoke and then Indie Alehouse in the Junction area of west Toronto, we drove over to their Cawthra Avenue location less than five minutes east of Indie at Keele and Dundas. Cawthra is a little back street lined with old-school industrial buildings that was much more gritty than glamorous. That said, who cares? I was there to buy some good craft beer, not high-end jewelry or mink coats. Also, as business plans go, that's an astute one. Start low-rent, build a solid clientele base (which they have done quite successfully) and then find some fancy new digs. Oh and also buy suits for the grand opening.

So it was that I described their present locale in this space and when the Junction Craft folks read my description of their turf, they reminded me that they were moving in 2017. And by reminded me, I mean informed me because I hadn't a clue. I mean, I just found this place, bought some outstanding beers from them and now they're moving?

But here's where serendipity comes into play. I found various online stories about their upcoming move to 150 Symes Road, filed it away in my brain from future reference and moved on to other things. Until a couple of weekends back when I had a Saturday off and decided to take a road trip into Toronto to Rainhard Brewing, another place I had always been eager to visit.

The worker bees were busy that day at Rainhard while
the rest of us slackers were enjoying their fine product.
That's okay. I know the feeling. When people come into
my Beer Store on a Saturday, they often tell me that "I
can't wait to get home and drink some beers." I smile,
nod and think, "Shut the hell up. I'm at work, A-hole."

Coworker Jay-Dawg pulled up their bottle shop listings for the weekend and quickly gave me his wish list. Since I was making a special trip in, I also checked with Rib Eye Jack's Ale House GM Steve to see what he fancied, as well as my pal Drunk Polkaroo. And off I went in my little fuel-efficient yet highly-stylish Ford Focus hatchback that makes the ladies weak in the knees. (The fuel-efficient part might possibly be true.)

So I Google-mapped Rainhard Brewing and simply wrote down the directions. My phone has some weird direction app that actually talks to me when I'm driving ("In 50 metres, you will turn left...") but I don't like taking verbal directions from my shirt pocket so I prefer just to write this stuff down. Also the app isn't programmed to say, "No, Don, your other left..." The fact is if I'm driving to any brewery, I will find it. So off I went to Rainhard at 100 Symes Road in west Toronto.

But of course, as I was driving, the thought nagged at me, "Why do I know Symes Road? Pretty sure I've never been there in my life." Back in my Toronto days, did I know someone living in that neighbourhood? Was I once arrested there? (The odds are more weighted towards the latter.)

It wasn't hard to find Rainhard Brewing on Symes
Road in Toronto. It's pretty much the only thing on
the short street. However, soon Junction Craft will
be their new neighbour. One street, two breweries...

Of course, it eventually dawned on me on the drive there that Symes was also the Junction Craft's new street. So I'd get the chance to see the refurbished exterior shell of what was once the Symes Road Incinerator, way back from its beginning in 1934 to the late-1950s because in those days, that's how cities got rid of garbage. The company rebuilding it has preserved the shell beautifully as the city long ago designated it a historical building created on the foundation that air pollution is truly awesome.

So long story short, a cool but long-derelict and boarded-up Art Deco-style building with a dubious purpose in the past is being rebuilt, refurbished and filled with vats for a much more noble and humanitarian cause - the making of great beer. Beyond that, two of Toronto's best award-winning craft breweries now share a street that's roughly two football fields in length. Once again, as it should be, everything continues to come up Milhouse.

Now I since have given a History lesson here, as well as a sneak peek into the near-future, it's time to take off the Beer Professor's Hat (it's like the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts with "Beer Professor" written in crayon on a piece of paper and stapled on it) and put on my Beer Reviewer Hat. (Same hat, actually. I just turn it around.)

Okay, this label is cool and spooky all at once. It
looks like the Grim Reaper is coming for me and
yet, he's bringing me a beer. Or maybe he just wants
to enjoy a beer as he sends my soul into the abyss.

Okay, since I have nothing new to share from either Junction Craft (I'll be back soon) or Brock Street (next visit to Whitby), let's look at what was in the Magic Beer Box from Rainhard, shall we? As per Jay-Dawg's request, I snagged him a Nosbeeratu Black IPA, a Burnout Dry-Hopped Pale Ale and a Rage & Love Dry-Hopped Sour. What did I get myself? The same three.

To shake things up, let's start with the heaviest beer and work our ways backwards, which would put the Nosbeeratu on deck. Now black IPAs are a style that are growing quickly on me, thanks in large part to Collective Arts' Collective Project Black IPA, a beer that popped up from the Hamilton brewery in the Spring and has recently resurfaced, now simply called Black IPA. The Nosbeeratu is cut from the same dark and dank cloth. The style provides all the sensations of a good IPA mixed with a darker porter or stout. The conflicting aromas of chocolate and grapefruit assails your nose in this 6%, 66 IBU (international bitterness units) glass of black magic.

As part of their Revolution Series - wait, what revolution?
The craft beer revolution, maybe? Oh well, regardless, the
Rage & Love (ever notice how those two go hand-in hand?)
is a sour that gets a nice IPA-ish bitterness bump for the
dry-hopping at the end of the brewing. Pretty nice beer!

On the tongue, it's more of the same as both pine (IPA) and coffee (porter-stout) splash down on your tongue. It's like two styles are having a gang war on your palate. Like the Jets and the Sharks in West Side Story but it's mostly just dancing and very little actual violence. (I'm not sure whether to applaud that or be a little appalled.)

Okay, Rainhard's Burnout Dry-Hopped Pale Ale is one of the better pale ales I've had this year and I have had more than a few (he said in the understatement of the year). Aggressively dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy hops, this is one of the driest pale ales I've had since... well, ever. The 5.6%, 50 IBU (nearing IPA levels) beer has some plucky citrus on the nose and while that citrus does carry to the tongue, the dry finish almost makes you think of a white wine. Almost. I mean, it's all beer. And a pretty damn good one.

Now if I had to guess, I would suggest the beer most eagerly awaited from my Rainhard trip by Jay-Dawg, Drunk Polkaroo, Rib Eye Steve and Rib Eye Jack's beer technician Kylie was probably the Rage & Love Dry-Hopped Sour.

Jordan Rainhard, the brewmaster and co-owner
of Rainhard Brewing along with his wife Katie
Armstrong, will soon have new neighbours as
Junction Craft Brewing is set to open the doors
of its brand new facility by the Summer of 2017.

All four are knee-deep into the sour style whereas I'm still sticking my toes into those waters. The Love & Rage is the second release in Rainhard's Revolution Series which they call "an expression of brewer freedom and experimentation, a revolt against the norm." So when you wanna drink good beer but stick it to The Man at the same time, I guess? Sadly, I'm probably more revolting than revolutionary.

But I am a little pissed at myself for missing their first Revolution release - the Double Kapow Double IPA back in September. Talk about being in Donny's wheelhouse. That said, I am glad I grabbed some of the Rage & Love, especially for my friends, because it was a limited 700-bottle run and it was the first sour ever produced by Rainhard. I actually didn't know either. I just happened to drive in on the right weekend. As this was dry-hopped with Galaxy and Citra hops, its IBU is an impressive 35, putting it into the pale ale zone (I've had sours that were zero IBUs). According to the brewery, it was "soured with a culture of seven different Lactobacillus strains." So... Science that no-one except brewers understand. All citrus on the nose and lemony on the tongue, I found it more tart than sour but again, still a style I haven't fully embraced.

So Brock Street Brewing and 5 Paddles are remaining
across the street from each other in Whitby. Junction
Craft Brewing and Rainhard Brewing will soon occupy
the same small street in Toronto. In craft beer circles,
we pretty much have to put those in the win column...

Of this Rainhard trio, I'm pretty much going to have to give that Nosbeeratu the blue ribbon this time around although all three certainly had their charms.

Okay, I will be back soon as I was recently #beersainted with numerous GTA-area craft bottles from Drunk Polkaroo... and some American ones from Beer Bro Glenn... and some southwest Ontario ones from coworker Marie. It's getting to be that I can't keep up and man, what a wonderful problem that is to have. When I say, "Hey, I'll drink to that!" this is one of those instances when you can take me quite literally. I find I have no choice but to imbibe... for Queen and country! (I mean the rock group, not that old lady in England.)

And as Christmas approaches, I would like to remind people that I only drink on the holidays. All 365 of them. (Since it's a leap year, I should probably say 366 but I think there was a day in March that I slept through.) But guys and doll, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...