Brewery news you may already know

That's my main man, Liam Mckenna, on the left, Brewmaster of Yellow
Belly Brewing in St John's, Newfoundland, beside the boys from Central
City Brewing and Distilling in Surrey, BC - head brewer Zak Plowright, 
Brewmaster Gary Lohin and lead hand Len Tremayne. YellowBelly is
this year's partner for Newfoundland in the annual Across The Nation
Collaboration Pack which features beers from one brewery in each of
the 10 provinces and two territories. Last year was the first year for the
split six-packs and was such a success, Lohin decided to keep it going...

If you're a craft beer lover, you already know the Red Racer line out of Surrey, BC. It's been available for years in Ontario and has some pretty huge popularity, particularly their Red Racer IPA.

But actually, Red Racer is just the beer line of the real company, Central City Brewing and Distilling, which, of course, also produces liquor, as well as beer. But most people are so familiar with Red Racer beers that they've just assumed that was the name of the brewery. So now you know. And you're a better person for learning something new because knowledge is power. Admit it, goddammit! Or don't. Thanos will snuff your ass either way. Snap of his fingers.

That George Clooney-looking bastard
up top is Liam Mckenna and the beer
below is Me Ol' Trout, his brewery's
contribution to the Red Racer Across
The Nation Collaboration Pack coming
all across this country this Summer...

Well. Red Racer Brewmaster Gary Lohin and his gang of rowdies at the brewery came up with an idea to help celebrate Canada's 150 Birthday last year. They enlisted one brewery from each of the 10 provinces and two territories to create a unique beer to be included in split six-packs called Across The Nation Collaboration. Ontario and east to the Maritimes would be in one pack; Manitoba to the west and north in the second pack.

Great idea for Canada's big birthday, right? A taste of every Province and Territory. Well, then something interesting happened. The six-packs flew off the liquor store shelves. Everyone, it seems, was eager to try good craft beer from regions outside their own. In fact, it was so successful that Lohin and his Red Racer gang decided to do it again this year. And this time, I actually know one of the brewers.

My Facebook buddy, Liam Mckenna, Brewmaster at YellowBelly Brewing in St John's, Newfoundland was selected to be the brewery from The Rock. Pretty big honour. Each brewery is expected to submit three different styles and then the Red Racer gang decide which from each to balance out the packs so that it's not all lagers or stouts or IPAs. (Though, Mr Lohin, sir, the latter would rock my world.)

Except Liam didn't announce it on Facebook or Twitter. I actually stumbled across a story from the island's alternative media newspaper website, theovercast.ca. In the story, Liam explained how one of Steam Whistle's founders, Greg Cromwell, who eventually moved to Australia and created Top Shed Brewing down under, popped into his brewery one day. He was in town for a wedding. Cromwell wanted to make a Cream Ale with Mckenna but it was tough pitch as Liam finds the style to be a little too easy, not much of a challenge for a brewer. However, Cromwell persisted and eventually, the pair brewed up the new East Coast Cream Ale. Well, it was a huge hit at YellowBelly so Liam has certainly warmed to it, making it a seasonal. And when Central City came knocking for his three different styles, he included the Cream Ale but tweaked even farther forward with some dry-hopping at the end. Turns out that was the one picked for the Across The Nation Collaboration Mixed Pack. 

As you can see the Across The Nation Collaboration Mixed Packs are
getting their big launch this weekend  So within a month or so, we can
expect the two separate six-packs to start showing up in Ontario's
LCBOs. So very soon, I will be able to try my first YellowBelly beer!

But Liam has given the beer a spiffy new name, Me Ol' Trout, which means... uhhh, it means... I haven't a frikkin' clue. So time to message the brewer directly.

"Me Ol' Trout is a term of endearment here," he told me. (Really? Because that would probably get you clobbered in Ontario.) He added that while the beer is just 4.8% and 18 IBUs, it was "redolent of hops with little bitterness. Pacific Gem and Mosaic are the hops. Dry-hopped both warm and cold with Mosaic. A Cream Ale with a little somethin' somethin'." And while I, too, find the Cream Ale style to be a little mild for my tastes at times (though it can be a solid evening starter), I can honestly say I'm excited about having my first YellowBelly beer. Former Beer Store buddy Tommy Salami, whose daughter goes to university in St. John's, has been to the brewery-restaurant and told me their Fighting Irish Red Ale was fantastic. I've never been this pumped for a Cream Ale, like, ever!

Okay, moving on, something really bad happened in my Beer Store recently. No, no one died or was seriously injured. I didn't rip the arm off a customer. It's way worse than that. An IPA in MY Beer Store went old-code, meaning simply it had passed unnoticed its best-before date. That has never happened to me before.

Beau's All Natural Brewing in Vankleek Hills, Ontario,
called my store last week to tell me their 600-ml (20 oz)
bottles, right, were going to be swapped out for 473-ml
(16 oz) cans. Being as it's my 2017 IPA of the Year, that
will make my life easier. No more going old code for this!

My coworker Patchy was shocked, appalled and even a little disgusted with me. He said words to the effect of "You've let me down! You've let the Ontario Craft Beer Industry down! You've let society itself down!"

You see, we only have a handful of craft IPAs available in my store and if I notice one is coming up on its best-before date, I do the proper thing. I buy it all up and drink it. IPAs deserve a Viking's funeral, not a pauper's one.

And this particular IPA - Beau's Full-Time IPA - was my IPA of the Year for 2017 so it deserves like a Norse God (think Thor) funeral. In my stomach. But because it came in tall 600-ml (20 ounce) bottles, it was stored on a top shelf way up high. It was easy to remember when it was in our store's lobby cooler but it got rotated out. And because it was well above eye level in the back cooler, I simply, well, forgot it was there.

When Oshawa Beer Buddy Paul The Beer Guy posted a picture of a
broken Brock St Brewing pint glass on Twitter, I got a little choked up.
But 20 minutes later, he was back with another Brock St Blonde, again
in a Brock St glass. I asked him how many he had from Brock St and he
answered straight out that he had three. I thought that was odd until I
saw I have three Cameron's Brewing glasses and two from many others.

To my friends at Beau's, I honestly feel badly over the whole situation. However, I have a plan to rectify my wanton carelessness.

You see, Beau's is making it way easier to always remember we stock this beer. Their sale rep called last week to say my store was getting both Full Time IPA and Lug Tread Lagered Ale in 473-ml (16 ounce) cans. Now we store cans at, just above or just below eye level in the back cooler. Same with regular bottles so IPA cans or regular bottles have never gone old-code at any Beer Store where I have worked. Ever. I won't allow it. My coworkers wish I had the same slavish adherence to working hard as I do to protecting IPAs within my store.

Has Von Bugle Brewing, an off-shoot of Steam Whistle,
let the new beer cat out of the bag? Perhaps. This was
sent to me from someone on Twitter after he read my
blog on Steam Whistle opening their second, different
brewery in Etobicoke. It looks legit but we'll see soon.

But that's just ridiculous. I don't know what they're thinking or if, in fact, they're on Meth. But gawd, talk about unrealistic. However, here is a realistic promise I will make to Beau's. Full Time IPA will never go old-code at my Beer Store again! Not on my watch! (Note to self - keep the cans at eye level!!!)  But we have a box of 12 fresh-code bottles up high again that came in last week. We just got the new cans, as well, this week, which, I think means the bottles are being phased out of stores. Those bottles are coming home with me. I am taking no chances with my sketchy memory and vision lines again. I will honour Beau's befittingly but mostly, I will honour myself by not being careless again. Patchy was right to (not really) yell at me.

Okay, a few blogs ago, I talked about how Steam Whistle in Toronto was creating a second brewery, Von Bugle Brewing, in Etobicoke. But I held back on some information about the new brewery and the new beer because I was asked to. Is the new beer known to the public now? It just may be. One fellow, simply named "gg" sent me a picture on Twitter that identified the new beer as a Munich Lager. While most Munich Lagers are pale and gold, there is certainly a handful of amber ones and we did know for sure the new beer was a darker style.

When one craft brewery buys another, it's always a big
news story. So when Old Tomorrow bought out Double
Trouble Brewing a couple of weeks back, they effectively
doubled their size and output. Both companies made some
fun beers that I have enjoyed. Let's see how this plays out.

But we'll know by the end of Summer if this is the real deal as "gg" just found a pamphlet in a bar with a bunch of text on the back about the new beer so he thinks it is. I suspect it probably is, as well, because they are getting closer to opening the second brewery in Etobicoke and they must want to stoke some public interest in the new product and brewery. Either way, we'll know soon enough.

When Old Tomorrow Brewing (Toronto) bought out Double Trouble Brewing (Guelph) two week ago, a few eyebrows were raised as craft breweries buying out other craft breweries doesn't happen often.

In fact, when one fellow on Twitter asked if this had ever happened before, I could only think of two examples - Lost Craft Brewing (Toronto) bought out Sextant Brewing (Toronto) last Summer, which was unusual in that they're both contract brewers. Where does a contract brewer get the cash for that? Lost Craft owner Shehan De Silva spent years working in banks so he knows his way around both money and investment of said money.

I first met Ian Mcdonald Jr at the 2015 Burlington
Beer Festival when his fledgling brewery had but one
beer - their Canadian Pale Ale. While the brewery's
beer line-up has become larger, so too has the brewery
itself with the May 2 news of their purchase of Double
Trouble Brewing. The two breweries operating under
one umbrella will now be called United Craft. Catchy.

And about three years ago, All Or Nothing Brewing (Oshawa) bought out Trafalgar Ales and Meads (Oakville) going from a contract brewery with one beer - their outstanding Hopfenweisse wheat ale - to a bricks and mortar brewery owner. That's a huge step up there.

But a couple of notes about Old Tomorrow and Double Trouble first. Old Tomorrow is owned by Ian Mcdonald Jr and his mother, Pat, founded in 2014. As far as I know that's the only mother-son owner tandem in Ontario. So that's cool. As for Double Trouble, founded by Claude Lefebvre and Nathan Dunsmoor in 2011, well, their flagship beer, Hops and Robbers, was one of the first IPAs I bought on a regular basis when I switched from macro to craft in 2013. It's a milder one to be certain but one helluva starter IPA and a consistent Top-40 seller in the LCBO.

So where did Old Tomorrow get the investment cash to buy out Double Trouble? Hmmm, it seems the firm of Tricapital Solutions represented them in the purchase. The financier on their behalf was - hey, how about that? - Ian Macdonald Sr. There you go. It helps having friends in high places. Anyways, the two breweries will now operate under one umbrella organization called United Craft. I've got to think two smaller minnows joining together to make a bigger fish is a smart idea in Ontario's congested craft beer market.

Here's your chance to get Cameron's Brewing's
outstanding Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale at a
deep discount price of $48 a case. Yup, $2 a can.
Yup, when they decided that it would be seasonal,
rather than full-time, they cut the price to clear it.

Okay, that's it for today but I'll be back with Ontario's best craft beer lagers this weekend because Twitter buddy, Paul G, is wondering where the hell that blog is, given we are crossing into easy beer-drinking weather. (I promised it months ago. D'oh!)

After that... yikes. A lot! A preview of the upcoming Liquid Arts Festival being put on by Hamilton's Collective Arts Brewing, which will feature over 50 breweries from around the world, as well as dozens of artists and bands over a two-day span at the brewery June 15 and 16. That's gonna be insane. (If you just added, "... in the membrane" quietly to yourself, then we can be friends).

My macro lager and Guinness-drinking brother, Gary, was in town for a week in April from Valencia, Spain. Which of the many craft beers in my fridge appealed to him? Also, whatta mooch he is. (Actually, my bad. I made the mistake of telling him to help himself. So that's on me.) As well, what beers did Nepean Beer Store Brother Ben mail to me here in Oakville, followed by a front door visit from Newmarket Beer Store Brother Paul, bearing American gifts? And more brewery news because I only got through half here, believe it or die. (That forces you to believe it a little more.) But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

Leaving Las Vegas... eventually

Night One in Vegas and I had to pay homage to my
hometown homeys at Cameron's Brewing with the
classic "Beer Geek" t-shirt. In my hand is the 10
Barrels Brewing's Apocalypse IPA, 6.5% and 70
IBUs of tasty-ass beer. I am standing at my usual
starting place - New York New York's Pour 24 bar!

Okay, so here's the short story, the Reader's Digest version if you will, on how I missed The Great Ice Storm of 2018. I'll put it in quotation marks so you know it's the story part.

"I wasn't here. I was in Las Vegas. Sin City. The Mecca Of The Decadent (and also me, a virtually sin-free lad.) The only ice I saw was in drinks and on the actual ice surface as the NHL Playoffs were now in full swing."

But that's leaving a sizable chunk out of the real story. And that's because I was supposed to be back here in Ontario for that gawd-awful shit-storm.

You see, my trip was from Monday, April 9th to Friday, April 13th. And believe me, five days in Vegas is a long time, even for me. And I love the place. But Monday was the cheapest flight in and Friday was the cheapest flight home so five days it is.

But something weird happened on Thursday. My phone started tweeting and buzzing throughout the afternoon - or evening in Toronto time. So much so that I heard it even in a loud casino. It seems pretty much all of my friends wanted to warn me that a humongous ice-storm was about to hit Southern Ontario (as well as northern Michigan, New York and Minnesota) and that it was entirely possible my home-bound plane would not be able to land.

Some dark night after the Las Vegas Golden Knights' first playoff win on
April 11, some clever people managed to get a humongous hockey jersey
on Lady Liberty outside of New York New York Resort and Casino. So
keep in mind, this is a YUGE statue so that's a lot of fabric. Eventually,
I noticed who ponied up for it. Some chap named Bud Weiser was the
name on the back. Yeah, yeah, they're macro but hey, this was very cool.

I was getting countless messages from old high school friends and much newer ones on Facebook. More messages from Twitter friends that I have never even met in real life. Pretty much everyone.

And with regards to the impending ice storm, they all said basically the same thing. "Stay put!!" So off to my room I went to check my laptop for a cheap, later flight home.

I found one on Monday night (April 16) that would allow me to sidestep the ice storm altogether. So, as tough as it was, I hung in Vegas for another three days, enduring sunshine and 25C (77F) temperatures while Ontario became encased in ice.

Yeah, I blew off my original airfare home but no way I was coming home to that.

While I was wandering the Las Vegas strip in Summer-
like temperatures, this is apparently what all of my
friends in Southern Ontario were dealing with. Ice,
ice and more ice! Not to mention power outages. So I
checked in on my Mom, who was fine, and on I went.

You see, an airplane ride entails three factors: Going up into the air very high above the clouds, flying forward to where you're going and then landing at your destination. You take any one of those three things out of the equation, it does not work. And it didn't sound like I would be able to land in Hamilton, due to a slick icy covering top to bottom.

So instead of five days in Vegas, I spent eight days. Which doesn't suck but to be honest? By the end, it was basically, "How would you like to feel really, really exhausted... but not at your actual home like you usually are?" So if I'm gonna be "stranded" somewhere, I can't think of a place better than Las Vegas and the Excalibur Resort and Casino. My home for the last four of nine trips to Vegas, I stick the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door on Night One and never take it off until I leave so that my room is the same comfy mess all week. Hey, man, that feels like home to me. And I don't believe life is meant to be lived in one place so you have to at least have two. Vegas is mine. Granted, I had brought enough money to last until Friday, not the following Monday, so my credit cards got a helluva work-out over that extended weekend. Oddly, I can live with that over frikkin' ice.

I'm pretty sure this was Photoshopped because
the flag pole looks, well, fake but hey, who cares?
Even Caesars Palace got into the Golden Knights
Lovefest on their Twitter, posting this photo after
their hometown team swept the LA Kings. Nice.

But because the NHL playoffs started on April 11th, I ended up seeing the first three Las Vegas Golden Knights games against the LA Kings (all close Vegas victories), as well as the first three Toronto Maple Leafs game against Boston (two very lop-sided losses before a Leaf win in Game Three.) So I was in Hockey Heaven, especially since those Leafs-Bruins games started at 3 pm, primo craft beer beverage hours!

Now the Knights are in the Western Conference Finals, just one step removed from the Stanley Cup Finals! The next round will be tough but hey, they're an expansion team. I didn't think they'd even make the playoffs at the beginning of the season. Their own fans probably didn't, either. A real Cinderella Story!

The beauty of Sin City is that even if you need a post-game nap - and I pretty much did after every game due to craft beer reasons - when you wake back up at 10 or 11 pm, you can head back out onto the strip and it's still as hoppin' as it was mid-afternoon. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, head back out. No need to adjust your wardrobe because you likely fell asleep in your clothes. Well, maybe put your pants back on. This city truly does not sleep. If you want to know what time it is, check the alarm clock in your room or have your phone on you because I've never seen a clock anywhere on the strip in my nine visits since 2007.

It's roughly 11 am on the Las Vegas Strip. That means
Starbucks gets the bench and Stone IPA is on the field
now. Coffee did its job but the time's arrived for beer!

But that's enough about ice... and ice hockey... and other things that aren't beer. Time to talk about the beer here in a little segment I like to call: "Hey, Redmond, You Asshat, Talk About The Damn  Beer Already!" That Redmond icehole. Amirite?

After my New Years Eve visit to watch the Leafs play the Knights, I talked all about the beers. But I've been back to Vegas twice since and written nada. Drank tons. Wrote zero. Not the way this is supposed to work. So here's some of the highlight-reel beers from my Birthday Week mid-February and this most recent visit in April.

The most accessible craft IPA on the strip is easily Samuel Adams Rebel IPA. That's a good thing because it's a solid brew. The first time I had it was up here in Canada when it popped into LCBOs in late 2015. It was a solid beer then. But it's gotten even better since. It seems the Boston Beer Company wanted to up its game.

Joshua at my favourite craft beer establishment in Las
Vegas, The Yard House on the LINQ Esplanade, holds
up a Uinta Brewing (Salt Lake City, Utah) Hop Nosh
IPA that I mightily enjoyed on my birthday. Nothing
but pine, citrus and grapefruit on this 7.3%, 82.4 IBU
bad boy. A sidenote? Yard House won't serve IPAs
above 7.5% in the half-yard glass show here and they
have some heavy duty Double IPAs on their menu.
The reason? High ABV plus this glass means death!

While it was a solid grapefruit-pine combo when it was first brewed in 2014, last year Sam Adams brewers decided to really Pump Up The Hop Jam, working with a hop farmer-breeder in Yakima Valley, Washington last year. They created a proprietary hop called HBC-566. No idea what it is but man, did it add some pop to that puppy. When I returned this year to Vegas, the Rebel IPA, while still a lowish 45 IBUs (international bitterness units) and a reasonable 6.5%, now has a lot more citrus and tropical fruit than the original version four years ago. It's a great up-and-down-the-Strip traveler brew and very drinkable straight from the can. In fact, it you can just look past the Buds and Miller Lites, Rebel IPA is pretty much available everywhere on the strip. Some clever sales rep at Sam Adams has done his or her job very, very well.

Another American classic that sees a good deal of exposure on the strip is one of North America's best-respected beers - Stone IPA. Our Stone Brewing friends in Escondido, California see their beer occasionally available at Ontario LCBOs but in Sin City? It's in a lot of places. I don't know what I can say about this one that I haven't said before but quick notes? Created 21 years ago, it's 6.9%, 71 IBUs, eight different hop, pine, citrus, beautiful aroma, outstanding. It not only lead the charge towards IPA's increasing popularity in North America, it may actually be the beer that initially created that thirst, that demand for the style.

Basking in the sun on some bushes along the strip,
Stone's Ripper San Diego Pale Ale was supposed to
be my session beer to start the day. Uhh, nope, it's
a little more hefty than any session beer, for sure.

And while I had my fair share of Stone IPA on my recent trips, I found a newer Stone brew on my most recent trip - their Ripper San Diego Pale Ale. Okay, when I first saw it, I thought, "Cool, a pale ale. Something milder and sessionable to start my drinking day." Uhhh, not so fast, Kid Canuck! At 5.7% and 40 IBUs, that's a pale ale that packs a wee punch. First brewed in late 2016, they source Cascade hops from both Washington State and... Australia? (Whatever works, man.) So this is not a sessioner. Full flavoured, grapefruit and in case you missed it the first time around, more grapefruit. My favourite new Strip Walkin' Brew from my last trip, hands down. Little 355-ml (12 ounce) cans, too. Less likely to go warm in the heat. I did mention it was hot down there during the ice storm up here, right? Good. I'm glad I didn't leave that part out.

But, of course, Stone already does have an outstanding sessioner - their Go To IPA, also available on the strip. With the motto "The Hop-Heavy IPA for every day" (the "every day in Vegas" is implied), this is a lower 4.8% but still hefty 65 IBU whack of pine and fruit. But it's the 4.8% that truly appeals to you at 11 am. You gotta start lighter.

When I went into the casino washroom at New York
New York Resort and Casino to do, uh, washroom
stuff, some dude had left his full Corona right on the
urinal. So I put my Stone Go To IPA on the top to
establish dominance and then gave that poor beer the
proper burial that its purchaser had not. Poor guy...

And this nifty tallboy was available in all those ABC (convenience-souvenir) Stores along the strip. I don't believe that starting to drink high-ABV beers a hour or more before the crack of noon makes you a swash-buckling pirate, a suave playboy, a roguish devil-may-care card shark or even an alcoholic. In Las Vegas, what it makes you is back in your room sound asleep in front of Seinfeld reruns on the TV at roughly 3:30 pm. Especially if it's a sunny, hot day.

So you don't start with a Double IPA!!! You could miss some playoff hockey from the eastern teams because with the time change, that's about when they start. I was very judicious on Leafs Game Days, padding my stomach with a three-pound Shrimp Burrito from Baja Fresh Mexican Grill right within Excalibur at about 10 am. This top-flight Mexican place is open 24 hours a day - I love this city! It takes hours to get light-headed with one of those bad boys padding your stomach. And if you can't eat a big-ass burrito for Breakfast, then you shouldn't eat burritos at all. Ever.

Okay, let's move on from Escondido, California (that would be our Stone buds) to San Clemente, California and our friends at Left Coast Brewing Company. I'm not sure how to tell you this but Lost Coast nearly killed me on my birthday in Vegas. You see, that birthday, because it was a significant one... well, that was the day I was gonna get my picture in front of the world-famous "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. And I did. In several ridiculous poses and everything. That was really all I wanted for that particular birthday. Me and that beautiful, elusive sign that I had never seen in all my times there.

So there's this tram (like an above-ground subway) that goes from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort further south on the strip, putting you that much closer to the sign.

Hmmm, this could take a while. Actually, not really.
I was at the front in 20 minutes. The Tourism Board
has a guy at the sign taking your pictures and he
uses your phone, digital camera or whatever. And
man, he sure knew how to take a picture or five...

And as I was leaving Mandalay Bay, I asked the door-guy how far a walk it was to the sign. "About 20 minutes," he assured me. And this is why they are no clocks in Vegas. No one there understands the concept of actual time.

Some 45 to 50 minutes later in "I'm Not Usain Bolt" Time, I was there. And then spent less than 20 minutes in a very long line-up. The Las Vegas Tourism Board (I assume) has very wisely put a person on the site to take pictures and this dude was really good at his job. Multiple poses for anyone or any group but he was fast, fast, fast! Everyone leaves happy and the line moves quickly. Phones, digital cameras, actual film cameras - I saw him use them all. "Stand back there!" "Now come closer to me!" "Arms in the air!" "Kiss her!" "Hug!" "Okay, jump!" 

So you know, I cleared at least five, six inches in my vertical leap. He had to take that one a second time to even get me in the air. The first shot, he wasn't expecting my jump to be so "lame old white dude" and I was on the ground before he caught it. He nailed it on the second take. He was ready for me. But what a great idea having a pro there to do it, rather than having people clumsily futz about with their own camera. He had that line moving quickly!

I have been to Vegas nine times and this Left Coast
Brewing Hop-Juice is by FAR the biggest beer I've
ever had enjoyed there. It knocked me on my ass.

But on my way back, I passed one of those booze superstores called Super Liquor in the same little strip plaza as a McDonald's. For the record, that's where I ate my birthday lunch because obviously, class oozes out of my pores. So I went and holy shit, did they have a lot of craft beers. Like fridges full. And I grabbed a bunch. Some big bottles and a healthy handful of cans because glass isn't allowed on the strip. And this is where our friends at Left Coast Brewing come in. One of the big bottles was their Hop-Juice Triple IPA. At 10% and 100 IBUs, that seemed like a reasonable birthday gift to myself. I had a couple of other beers first on my way back to the room before heading back out. Or at least, that was the plan. Decided to crack the Hop-Juice because "It's my damn birthday, blah, blah, blah" reasons.

Holy shit, this thing floored me! Or at least grounded me in my room for a while. I drifted in and out of four episodes of Jerry asking me, "Did you ever notice..." Well, Jerry, here's what I did notice. The brewery uses five premium hops in both the boil and later in the dry-hopping according to the stats on the label. I know they use American 2-Row for the malt base but there's also wheat in there. I'm sure of it.

At the Super Liquor, this was just the single
bottle craft beer fridge. There was another
with six packs and a third with single cans.
Yeah, sure, the rest were filled with macros
but this is still a lot of different craft choices.

But on the nose? Whoa, one big boozy bastard, as Drunk Polkaroo would say. Alcohol, heavy orange rind, every possible citrus combo, grapefruit... everything! Tons of pine, resin and a sturdy malt backbone on the tongue. This is one of the biggest beers I have ever consumed. But alas, a Big Mac and fries does not give you the same stomach padding as a three-pound burrito so the Birthday Boy had to rest beer-free for a while as he was seriously buzzed! (Fret not, I bounced back later and more birthday beers were definitely consumed.) 

Okay, I still have tons of Vegas and Nevada craft beers to talk about but I'll leave those for some Summer filler columns to help beat the heat. Also I need my passport renewed and the second I've got the new one in my hands, I think you know I'll be plotting a course back to Sin City sooner rather than later. If you listen on a quiet night, you can hear it call my name on the breeze, singing, "Hey, get the hell back here. You suck at gambling and we could use the dough."

So we're bouncing back to Ontario matters, breweries and delicious craft beers for the foreseeable future and upcoming are a catch-all of all the brewery news from the last month, as well as a look at Ontario's best craft lagers. (That one is a request from a Twitter buddy.) But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...

Cameron's Brewing gets its shiny make-over

You meet the strangest people at a craft brewery...
sometimes even the Brewmaster. Not that they are
strange people (yes, they are) but when I popped
into Cameron's Brewing in Oakville to check out
their renovations, I ran into Brewmaster Jason
Britton quite by accident and bombarded the poor
fellow with intrusive questions about IPAs, pales
ales and all manner of things. He was very nice,
courteous (and wisely vague) with his responses. 

Have you ever been watching a TV show and had it preempted by some major news story? And you're just kinda sitting on the edge of the cliff, thinking, I dunno, "Were Ross and Rachel about to kiss?" or something lame like that?

Well, that happened to me late last week. But it wasn't a TV show that was preempted. It was me. You see, I was in the middle of writing a blog about how I managed to side-step the entire ice storm in Ontario, simply by staying in Las Vegas a few extra days. Frankly, it was a easiest decision of my life. But, well, my blog got preempted. Or at least, the continued writing thereof did.

It took 11 words and they came to me on Twitter from my hometown homeys at Cameron's Brewing. Those words were: "Don, come check out our revamped Cameron's retail store - pretty swank!" I replied (with words to the effect of) "Are you cereal?" And then they replied (with words to the effect of) "Yupper do, Buckaroo!" and *bam* I was in my car, camera in hand and on my way. I guess, in essence, I was "Leaving Las Vegas" for the second time in the same week. Although this time, it didn't involve a plane.

After the arduous two-minute, 17-second drive to Cameron's (I unfortunately got stopped at the only light along the way, adding 30 unnecessary seconds to the journey and yes, my Town Councillor has been alerted as to my inconvenience), I was there.

Danielle holds up my two favourite Cameron's
offerings - their 12 Mile India Pale Lager and their
Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale. Unfortunately, the
Dark & Sticky will very soon be relegated to their
"seasonal" rotation, meaning maybe once a year.
I've also alerted my Town Councillor about that.

What a difference a month makes. The former retail area, which was, well, serviceable before in that you could buy your fresh craft beer there, as well as various and sundry related products, has now been magically transformed into a destination location. Three big tables are now situated at the windows where the retail counter formerly resided. And if you look out the windows, you can see... okay, the business across the street. But the thing is you can now stay and have a pint or two!! You see when Cameron's set up shop a couple of decades back, that was less of a thing. People popped in, grabbed their beer and simply left. But over the years, that dynamic has dramatically changed. Folks now want to not only drink that beer but also enjoy their pint in the cool atmosphere of relaxing in a craft brewery. And then they post the shit out of it on Instagram, Twitter and what-have-you. It's actually kind of a win-win for the brewery (any brewery) because, hey, free advertising! And social media has far more impact these day than the old-school traditional media. Granted, that's because traditional media, such as newspapers, is slowly disappearing but that's another story altogether.

The other big part of their renovation is the fact the growler station is now up front. In the past, you handed them your empty jug, they disappeared into the back and then magically reappeared with a full jug of beer.

Sales Rep Extraordinaire Robbie holds up their
brand new First Light Session Lager, At just 4%,
Cameron's now has a truly sessionable beer and
it's a tasty little bugger. It won't replace 12 Mile
India Pale Lager in my heart but nothing could.

It was all very Harry Potter. You weren't exactly sure what happened... but you were handed 1.9 litres (64 ounces) of brewery-fresh beer so you weren't inclined to care all that much. Hogwarts won. Voldemort lost. The Muggles cheered. The End.

But when I landed there on Friday morning, it was a great day for meeting people. And first on deck was their Sales Rep Extraordinaire Robbie. And while Robbie and I have connected on the private message backstage of social media several times, we had actually never met. But we have another connection. His wife, Jenny, used to work for Cameron's and one of the things she did as part of her job was their social media. And I knew her quite well while she was at the brewery. She invited me to a Cask Night and we talked about Cameron's and craft beer on countless occasions. Jenny now works for the Kerr Street Mission here in Oakville, an organization that does a mega-ton of good charitable work and helps so many people, especially children, in need that it would take five columns to go through all their contributions. They're an outstanding organization, Jenny's part of it and well, you get the gist. Just plain good folks doing good things for others and hey, the world can use as many of those as possible. We need more Jenny's. If you need to contact Jenny, her number is 867-5309.

So anyway, Robbie came out, introduced himself and pretty much instantly, we started talking beer. Being the brave soul he is, he gave me the bad news first. The brewery's Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale, the super hoppy brown ale that he knows I love, wasn't going to be in their regular rotation. That was a decision the brewery had to make after gauging public and bar reaction. Bars sales are Robbie's end and he admitted the beer hadn't caught on - or at least in the way they had hoped. The beer had its many fans to be certain, me among them but not enough to make it into the regular rotation. However, he added, it will be on their seasonal rotation, which means, we'll see it from time to time.

I was so happy with the renovations at Cameron's that I bought a split-
pack - 12 Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale and a dozen 12 Mile India Pale
Lager. I suggested to the brewery that I would call it the Donny Vegas
Pleasurable Pack and asked if the name was already taken. The joke
being Molson's used to have a Pleasure Pack with 12 Canadian and 12
Export. They suggested I copyright the name ASAP. I suggested that I
had enough "cease and desist" orders already. Oh, I still call it the Donny
Vegas Pleasurable Pack. In my own home. Quietly. With no one around...

You know what? When it's your hometown homeys, you understand they gotta do what they gotta do. (As craft beer drinkers, we sometimes forget this is actually a business.)

But a good sale rep knows to follow bad news with good news. And Robbie had some of that for me. Right now, the beer is available to licensees (bars) at a discounted price - something in the neighbourhood of $45-$50 a case. Soon, that will also be the price for the public. Did I mention that I live two minutes away? Yeah, think I did. Oh, did I also mention they have a skid-full of the delicious dark brown nectar in the back? Okay, I may have left that part out. But when they do drop the price for us, it's Little House on the Prairie Dinner Table Rules, meaning simply if John-Boy grabs the last piece of corn-bread, hey, Laura, you're shit outta luck. Or in my case, the race goes not to the swiftest but rather the closest.

Whatever happened to Cameron's outstanding California
Sunshine American Pale Ale? Well, it seems it ran into a
"cease and desist" order of its own as back in 2014 as an
American craft brewery said, "Hey, we use that name so
stop it or get sued!" And Cameron's pretty much had to.

Now at about this point, Brewmaster Jason Britton came wandering out. He was looking to meet someone who was definitely not me. He got me, instead. That poor bastard. As soon as we were introduced, I started peppering him with questions.

Would Dark & Sticky India Brown Ale be coming out every Autumn or Winter since it was now a seasonal? He wasn't sure. That was still under discussion, he assured me.

Whatever happened to their outstanding California Sunshine American Pale Ale, which hasn't been seen since 2014? Well, it turns out they got a "cease and desist" letter on that one because an American brewery was using the same name. That's a crying shame because it was excellent. But it also occurs to me that there are many other names. Just sayin'. (*Ahem* Donny Vegas Pale Ale...)

We gotta end this with the big man, co-owner
and president Bill Coleman, who had a hand in
a commercial that connected to the Canadian
psyche like no other before it. I suspect you may
find it somewhat familiar. I dunno. You tell me.

Are they gonna finally brew an IPA, just so I'll shut up about it? He smiled and said they have a lot of plans, well, brewing so just hang in and stay tuned.

And he slowly backed away from the insane man with the million questions. You know that GIF of Homer Simpson backing into the bushes? Yeah. Like that.

Okay, let's finish this off with a little story about Cameron's big man, president and co-owner Bill Coleman. You see, Bill is responsible for a big slice of Canadiana folklore that many people will recognize without knowing about his involvement. After Bill graduated from UWO's Ivey Business School in London, he went to Nestle and quickly worked his way up the ranks. From there, he went to a beer-related job that we'll discuss in a minute. But after that, in late 2010, he went to high-tech companies called Alias and Softimage where both companies developed leading 3D tech still used today.

But let's go back to that brewery job. It was with Molson's and Bill was responsible for marketing two of their biggest brands, Canadian and Export. Under Bill's leadership, a TV (and then radio and newsprint) ad came out in 2000 that, hey, maybe you'll remember. A nice-looking fellow walks out on a stage.

In March 2000, Joe Canada (aka actor Jeff Douglas)
took to the stage on a TV commercial and told us all
why we should be proud to be Canadian. Yes, it is a
beer ad but it has been taught in marketing classes
shortly after the moment it came out as one of the most
effective ads ever to hit the airwaves. Canadian gold.

He's dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and an open flannel shirt. And he starts talking. And with each sentence, he gets a little louder and a little more adamant until the very end. At that point, he is yelling over cheers from the audience.

"Hey, I'm not a lumberjack or a fur trader. I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dogsled. And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie from Canada although I'm certain they're really, really nice. I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American! And I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'! I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack! I believe in peace-keeping, not policing, diversity, not assimilation and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal! A toque is a hat! A chesterfield is a sofa! And it is pronounced 'zed', not 'zee'! 'Zed'! Canada is the second-largest landmass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America! My name is Joe! And... I... Am... Canadian!!"

Yup, Bill, who came to Cameron's in 2010, was the guy behind it, the man who green-lit that iconic Molson Canadian ad. It is probably the best-remembered Canadian-centric ad ever unveiled. Anyway, that's another reason to come visit Cameron's swanky new set-up. You may just meet the guy who was in charge of the Joe Canada ad. I have. Several times. Great dude. Always smiling. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Back soon with Vegas and the ice storm but until then, I remain...

Steam Whistle splits their cards

The site of many a wild and fun party in Toronto is the Steam
Whistle Roundhouse. It seems that Steam Whistle is opening
a second brewery in Etobicoke at a building they've held for
several years now and have been using as a distribution centre.

In the game of Blackjack, splitting your cards simply means you have the chance to places two bets on different cards. If you are dealt a pair of tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces, splitting them gives you the opportunity to play the house with two separate hands and wagers, which could potentially be profitable.

If you are dealt a pair of fives or sixes and you split those, Las Vegas will probably pay you to come visit.

And for months now, Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto has been looking to split their cards. The brewery that does "one thing really, really well" is about to add a second one to their arsenal.

Well, not exactly but kind of. You see, this is a little complicated. I have known about bits and pieces of this for months, which means a lot of other people far more important than me (so, basically everyone) must have also known. But I was asked to hold off writing anything by a nice fellow at the new brewery, who promised me free beer and a cool tour at Grand Opening. So I happily agreed. But that does beg the question: How does everyone in the Ontario Craft Beer Industry know the promise of a single free beer is my Achilles Heel?? Am I that transparent? And also... please, don't answer that.

Well, yesterday, the cat was out of the bag as dailyhive.com reported it, which was followed up in a story by Ontario Beverage Network, which linked to the Daily Hive story. 

This is my Steam Whistle Sales Rep, Craig, and his super-cool Dodge
Charger Steam Whistle ride. Hearing months and months of whispers,
I finally pinned him down at my Beer Store and basically said, "Okay,
what the hell are you guys up to?" He and a few others offered some
nuggets and yesterday's report certainly pads a lot more information.

So now I can tell you most of what I know... but not all.

Several years ago, Steam Whistle got a property in Etobicoke, which it has been using for distribution. I knew this because my Steam Whistle driver, Vince (aka Ginger Jesus), found himself working out of that location. I knew it was in the Evans Avenue-Horner Avenue area of the city so I asked him once, "How close are you to Black Oak (Brewing)?"

"Close enough that I could hit them with a stone," nodded Vince, adding with a smile, "But let them know I've never done that. Or have never even tried."

The Von Bugle Brewery in Etobicoke
will operate as a second and separate
facility, despite the fact it is very much
operated by Steam Whistle. However,
like Steam Whistle, they will make just
one beer. Probably "really really well."

The actual address is 249 Evans Avenue, which puts them just around the corner from Black Oak on Horner Avenue but yes, still a stone's throw away. And to be honest, I have no idea if Steam Whistle owns or lease-rents the building. I assume they own it but you know that old saying about assumptions. "If you assume, you're just a big asshole!" That's the saying, right? It's something like that, anyway.

But many months ago, employees (more than just our Ginger Jesus) heard noise that some of the brewing equipment was going to be moving into the Etobicoke digs from the Steam Whistle's Roundhouse location, which I should mention is right across the street from the SkyDome, home of "Your Toronto Blue Jays!" That's damn convenient. And also never call it the Roger's Centre in front of me. Because I will also maim a man for a free beer. But to paraphrase Vince, "Please note I never have done that and I also have never tried. Also, the influence of several beers convinces me that I have Karate skills. And I do not. So really, this is more about my safety than anyone else's."

So it's been months and months of "What are they doing over there?" for me. Fortunately, I am not the obsessive type because I can be easily distracted by a beer. And the Internet. Also any TV show or movie with super-heroes in it. Random squirrels. Finally, my Steam Whistle sales rep, Craig, popped in - a man I hadn't seen in 1,000 years, give or take 999. So I asked him... what the bloody hell are ye doin', mate?

Okay, this has nothing to so with Steam
Whistle but rather their neighbours at
Black Oak. When they rebranded a few
months ago, I noticed initials carved into
the Oak tree on their Pale Ale. So I asked
their people who they belonged to. They
confirmed yes, it was owner Ken Woods'
parents. I asked Ken, "What were their
names? We think it's John and Mary."
His response? "Yes, pretty close." That
elusive fox! Turns out it was a tree from
his childhood house. So it's a cool story.

Craig's actually of French background and yet, my question makes him sound like I think he's Scottish. But a few beers in me and I also think I'm Scotty on Star Trek, the only bastard on the show to wear a red shirt and live. So really, I have many delusional qualities.

This is now going back a few months now but Craig confirmed they were opening a second brewery, very separate from Steam Whistle but like the original, they were only brewing one beer. He knew the name of the new brewery but wouldn't tell me because it wasn't finalized.

As confirmed by the Daily Hive story, it's Von Bugle Brewing. So that combines two very popular things - the Von Trapp family from The Sound of Music, which is the only family-friendly musical movie I know about escaping Nazis through the virtue of song. And Bugles, the only snack food you spent more time sticking on the end of your fingers than actually eating. Because they taste like crap.

What else did Craig tell me? The style of beer they would be brewing. But I can't tell you that - just in case Craig actually does know Karate. Then I'm screwed. But I think I can safely tell you this. It won't be another Czech-style Pilsner. Why? Because then they'd have to change Steam Whistle's motto to "We do one thing really really well" to "We do one thing so damn well that we decided to do it again but under a different name." As stated by that Daily Hive story, which I'll link to at the end, it's a darker style. But I'll leave it to the Von Bugle gang to tell you whether it's an ale, lager or even something else. Also, there's still going to be enough brewing equipment at the Roundhouse to fill kegs but bottles and cans of Steam Whistle Pilsner are going to be coming out Etobicoke very soon.

Meet my favourite all-time Steam Whistle Brewing employee who
is an unpaid volunteer. "Paul From Shipping". He's Vince's very
beloved Bull Terrior who travels the countryside in Vince's cab.
He's got himself a little bed set-up in there and all the cool toys. 

Same great taste, though, I have been assured because it's the same tanks.

And the now-free, exceptionally large space that's suddenly opened up at the Roundhouse due to the vacating tanks? Well, here's an interesting little tidbid.

It turns out that tons of Toronto people (and even outside-of-Toronto people because we exist, as well) rent their present open banquet area for wedding receptions and other official-type non-wedding-related events. Indeed, I have attended a wedding reception there myself. In fact, because it was an early evening wedding, the groom's party and some guests had spent the afternoon at a Jays' game, drinking. As such, they were slightly (or very much) trashed when it was time for the official stuff. The groom skipped the ball game to clean up some last minute details and was in considerably better shape. However, when I greeted him, he smelled like he had just arrived from a Kid Rock concert, if you catch my drift.

But back to the vacant space at the Roundhouse. According to Craig, the brewery makes a lovely little side-pile of dough, renting out those very facilities, especially for wedding receptions. Makes sense. It's a historic building, hugely picturesque and, well, just a fun and relaxed environment. Now they may have twice as much space to rent out for those shenanigans, according to Craig. So structural changes are coming to the Roundhouse, too. And that's what I know. Except for the beer style, which I ain't sayin'. But Scooby Doo Gang, this is a short column so thank your lucky stars. Oh yeah, that Daily Hive link is here and it's called, ummm: I called you "Daily Hive" link. As for me, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...

"My favourite definition of craft is that...in industrial brewing, the marketing department tells the brewing department what to brew. In craft brewing, the brewers tell the marketing department what to sell,"

Collective tour and the #keep5alive drive

Tony now continues his trade at Collective Arts
Brewing in Hamilton, a mere 10-minute drive
from his home. Talking to both him and his wife,
Charis, neither misses the rush-hour commute.
Oh... and that's her hand holding him upright.

On March 23rd, I got a text from Tony Cox saying, "Wish David a Happy Birthday for me." Now I have known Tony since I started this little column in 2013 and became a regular customer at Nickel Brook Brewing in Burlington where he was their cellar-man. And David, well, that's my boy.

You see, way back on March 23, 2014, I went into Nickel Brook with David to get a couple of growlers filled with Headstock IPA, which is - and forever will be - one of my favourite IPAs. When Tony came out from the back into retail, I introduced him to my son and explained this was a "big day" as it was his birthday. "Oh, well, then," said Tony to David, "Since it's your birthday, would you like a tour?" David enthusiastically agreed and soon we were in the back where Tony showed him all the shiny equipment. My boy was an instant fan of the big silver canning machine because it was big... silver... and a machine. Boys are ridiculously easy to please. Be big. Be shiny.

Now there's a birthday tie between Tony and myself. My birthday, February 14th, is the same as his father's, who passed in 1988. So, I dunno, maybe it's kinda nice for him to have someone to wish Happy Birthday to on Valentine's Day again. And Tony shares his birthday, May 2nd, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. So my birthday texts (when I remember) tend to be of the "Can you SMELL... what the COX... is COOKING?" variety.

The sexy-ass building, Collective Arts Brewing, is now Tony's
new digs. When he gave me the tour a couple of weeks back,
I asked, "So what do you do here?" His answer: "Whatever
they need me to do." So he jumps around from station to
station here. And he's pretty damn happy to do exactly that.

But every year since that little tour, Tony texts me on March 23rd with birthday greetings to pass along to David. There's no family connection or person or celebrity he knows with the same birthday. So how then does he remember David's birthday?

He just does. Every year. I have no idea how he remembers but I think it's pretty cool he does. I mean, he's not even using a Facebook reminder, without which I'd be seriously screwed because I wouldn't know anyone's birthday ever. Most days I'm happy to simply remember people's names, much less their birthday.

But that's Tony. He's a better person than me (which, in all honesty, just makes him part of a pretty huge club.)

Anyway, moving along, Tony recently shifted from Nickel Brook to Collective Arts Brewing in Hamilton. He now has a 10 minute commute to work, which is pretty sweet. And a while back, he asked what day I was off. He wanted to give me the tour of his new digs.

On my birthday - which was a big one - I decided I would pose by
the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign but I took five brewery
shirts with me. In the end, I decided Collective Arts would get the
Las Vegas Sign honours. This is me getting easily five inches of air. I
know, that's impressive, right? An amazing vertical leap like that?

Turns out my son isn't the only one to whom that appeals. Bigly.

As an added bonus, Tony was going to show me their new canning machine. They already have one, obviously, I say, looking at my can of Ransack The Universe IPA. But a new one? Big! Shiny! Silver! That hits all of the check-marks on my list.

And I did see the new canning machine. Kinda, sorta. It was in three separate pieces on industrial-size skids. Covered with tarp. A brush with Kryptonite earlier in the day had left my X-Ray Vision on the fritz. However, I feel certain I can still describe it accurately with a 99.9% success rate. It's big! It's silver! It's shiny! But truth to tell, the trip into Hamilton was a chance to reconnect with Tony and check the insides of the brewery again more than anything else. When he told me he applied there and a week later, I got a phone call from him at my work, I answered my cell phone by saying simply, "This better be you telling me that you got the job at Collective Arts!" (Far Too Late Spoiler Alert: He did.)

After our tour, we were joined by his wife, Charis. Now Charis and I also share some comradery. You see, she collects those cool cat bottles from a German winery and I work at a Beer Store, where those bottles are brought to after consumption of said-Riesling wine. For some reason, they only seem to come out around Christmas. That said, it takes some people a while to clean out their garage. So they dribble our way throughout the year.

Why would I even go to Collective Arts Brewing
without my growler? That's where they keep all the
fresh Ransack The Universe Hemispheric IPA! I may
be foolish about many things but brewery-fresh beer?
Yeah, that's not gonna happen. One of my favourites.

My coworkers have always been instructed to set those aside, should they come back. From there, they are given to Tony, who, in turn, presents them to a very appreciative Charis. He gets the Husband Points. I get a hug when I see her. It's a win-win thing.

So I was joking with her how much Tony hated when I posted a Nickel Brook staff picture of him and captioned it in this space as "Ontario's Sexiest Cellarman." He really hated the photo (hey, I didn't take it!) so of course, I used it several times with the "sexy cellarman" tag because that's what guys do to their buddies. As she laughed, she showed me her phone. Tony's handle in his wife's phone? "A Sexy Cellarman" The poor guy. Even if he escapes me, he can't escape her. But that's the end of the Tony and Charis part, which brings me to Part Two of my Collective Arts Story. Because there's always a Part Two with these guys. (Nah, I'll get back to Tony in a bit.)

It was two days before Good Friday. Young co-worker Jordon and myself were doing our groove thang at the Beer Store. Now here's the thing. Because Easter Weekend is the first real long weekend of the year, a lot of very unfamilar faces do come in.

Hamilton artist David Buist does the COOLEST
illustrations for craft beers in his free time. This is
one of my favourites: his cartoon for Ransack The
Universe Hemispheric IPA by Collective Arts. While
he normally draws for childrens' books or comics,
when he crosses into the adult world, things get fun.

Because, you see, it doesn't matter if you're 25, 35, 45 or even 55 years old, everyone wants those wine, liquor and beer bottles out of the garage or basement before Mom and Dad show up for Easter Dinner. You know, the ones that have building up since Christmas? And you know why? Well, does anyone really want their parents knowing how much booze they plow through? Hell, no! Parents can and will always find reasons to lecture you. You don't hand them the bullets to put into the gun that will kill you with their "concern."

So we get a lot of newbies in the Beer Store at Easter, which is good. It's nice when your place of employment does a brisk business. But part-way through the night, Jordon looked at me and said, "It's weird tonight. It's like some of these people have never been into a Beer Store before." Well, yeah, that's because they haven't. Or at least haven't since last Easter. That means you do get a lot of questions like "I don't remember the name but it has a red or maybe green or perhaps blue label. Is there a beer with a purple label? Which beer is that?" I'm used to it because I have been dealing with it for so long. And also, if I had to find a specific wine at the LCBO but didn't have all the info, man, I'd be just as lost. I know beer. That's it. Wine and liquor? Nope. And as anyone in retail or the service industry, such as restaurants, can tell you, sometimes all you can just smile, be very patient and try your damned best.

One little picture posted on Twitter... so much Twitter chatter. Somehow,
posting a picture of two excellent IPAs - Sawdust City's Lone Pine and
Collective Arts' Ransack The Universe - turned into a side-discussion of
putting Collective Project's IPA No. 5 (New England Style Double IPA)
into the brewery's regular rotation. Will it happen? Well, we don't know,
do we? All we can do is ask. Or beg. Plead. Seriously, whatever it takes...

Sometimes with enough clues, you can help. But just like baseball, there's bound to be a few missed swings along the way. Suffice it to say, it was something of a tough shift. That said, Jordon and I survived it just fine. Still, I'll tell you one thing for free, I was ready for a beer - or two - when I got home.

And that's precisely what I did. I posted a picture on Twitter of a Collective Arts' Ransack The Universe IPA and a Sawdust City Brewing's Lone Pine IPA side-by-side and said words to the effect of, "Rough day. Don't know which of these I'm starting with but they'll both be in my stomach soon enough so it doesn't really matter."

Here this poor beer was... minding its own business when
suddenly it because the centre of a Twitter shit-storm but in a
good way. Long story short: the public is demanding that it
become a full-time release from Collective Arts. I mean, they
can say "no" but we have pitch-forks and torches and the like.

(For the record, Ransack was the first batter, having won the Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mo IPA Divisional Playoff. It caught the tiger by the toe, so to speak.)

But within seconds, someone jumped onto the post, noting that he wished Collective Arts' Radio The Mothership Imperial IPA was more readily available. That, in turn, was responded to by my young Nickel Brook homie, Charles - their inside sales dude who calls me once a week to see how much Headstock IPA needs to be replaced at my Beer Store because I've purchased about 87% of our stock. Charles noted: "I agree with you but have you had their IPA No. 5? That needs to be a full-time beer, Collective Arts."

And then it began. I very quietly and subtly responded, "Yes, Collective Arts, (co-owner) Matt Johnston and (media maven) Toni Shelton, just in case you didn't hear Charles, I'll speak loudly. PLEASE MAKE COLLECTIVE PROJECT NEW ENGLAND STYLE DOUBLE IPA No. 5 A REGULAR RELEASE. (Quieter now.) We'd be every so grateful. Thank you in advance."

When Tony took me on the Collective Arts' tour,
I saw this very huge stack of bourbon barrels,
complete with a "Do Not Touch" sign. So, of
course, I touched one as I was walking by. I'm
sorry but wood is not the boss of me. So pushy.

(Okay, for me, that actually is subtle.)

Having been tagged (and on Twitter, thus called out), Toni came onto the thread and noted, "Guys, Matt needs to be told a few times (he's getting to that age *winky face*) so maybe if we keep talking about it, he will listen. I HEAR YOU."

So Craft Beer Diaries (@CraftBeersBlog) helpfully suggested, "Can we put a sign around his neck that rings a bell anytime someone speaks of making IPA No. 5 an all-year beer?"

Responded Toni, "That would certainly make my days at the office more entertaining!" Well, yes, not only that but she'd also hear the boss coming from about 50 feet away. That's handy.

Twitter buddy Graeme (@needmycaffeine) concurred, noting, "Agree 100%. Getting low on my stock. Oh, by the way, it's at the top of my most purchased beers of 2018. It's leading the pack by a dozen."

And finally, S.O.Beer Boys (@SOBeerBoys) finished off by adding, "Four votes from us for more IPA No. 5" but added the clever #keep5alive hashtag. I like that. Gotta have a flashy hashtag. Also there's the fact I bought the last four cans in existence at the brewery.

With NHL playoffs slated to start next Wednesday,
Tony Cox gave me a specialty Toronto Maple Leafs
loonie that he's "had in my pocket for a few months
now." It is now in MY pocket where I hope it will
actually be a good luck charm for our boys in blue.

If I was capable of feeling guilt, I possibly would.

So, lessee, I'm on board with IPA No. 5 becoming permanent. As is Charles. As is Graeme. As is Craft Beer Diaries. As is S.O.Beer Boys. As is Toni Shelton herself.

Who does that leave? (Everyone's heads turn to stare at Matt Johnston.) Ahem, Matt, #keep5alive.

Okay, gang, that's it for today but I've got one coming up about which craft beers turned my macro-drinking brother's head when he flew recently in from Spain. Also I have some killer stuff from Ottawa's Dominion City Brewing, mailed to me from my Nepean Beer Store Brother Ben. And have we inadvertently stumbled across the new release from Muskoka Brewing that will actually cause this stupid freakin' Winter to finally end? We all hope so.

But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time, I remain...