Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion 3.0

When we stopped into Grain & Grit Small Batch Beers, we were all
pretty pumped to see Joe Mrav, co-owner of the brewery with his wife
Lindsey, working the counter. I'd say he was thrilled to see our huge
posse but the place was already jammed! Here, Drunk Polkaroo and
the lovely Lady Polk are glasses full up with Joe. Fantastic brewery!

Okay, let's wrap up the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion, shall we? Mostly because it happened more than a month ago. Besides that, I am busy trying to sort out my Best of 2019 list and what I'm seeing so far is this. Thanks to Ben, Matty and Joel, Ottawa, our nation's capital, is very well represented.

But we're not just there yet. I have this nasty tendency to jump ahead when I should be acknowledging the past. My bad. I'd like to be able to say that's my worst trait but I have many far, far worse.

However, pulling Craft Brewery Invasions together seems to be repetitive behaviour of mine so let's emphasize one of my selectively few solid points as a carbon unit on this mudball. Done a few of these before - Whitby in 2017, Barrie and the Muskokas in 2018, IPA Brew Day in Huntsville back in April - but those places are not where I live. The Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion is very much where I live. There was a seriously stronger element of "Don't Screw This Up."

Candice and Glenn crashed at my place on the Friday
night. Candice took my son's David bedroom which he
never uses, preferring the couch in his alcove. So when
I woke up Saturday morning, I was informed by David
that "There is a beautiful woman in my bed." My son,
someday that will be about the best news ever for you!

It had to be a lot of fun. It had to be the most comprehensive group of breweries for the out-of-towners who have heard me sing the praises of our local beverage makers. It had to be perfect.

I don't do perfect. On a good day, maybe I can scrape up a mediocre. I was gonna need some help. Fortunately, I had a couple of stellar compatriots right here in Oakville ready to step it up to A-Game levels - Greg and Kimmy. We each brought our skill set. Greg was the Type A dude all the way, drafting up driving and brewery schedules right down to the minute. I'm more the Type B guy, just a leaf blowing in the wind, going in any direction the breeze dictates. Kimmy, suffice it to say, was the solid balance in our troika, bringing her level-headed savvy and brewery connections into the mix. And truth to tell, it all meshed beautifully. I'm going give all three of us a pat on the back. The 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion saw us visit eight breweries on a Friday night and a Saturday day-run - the largest Craft Brewery Invasion to date. This was a geographical chunk of brewery real estate that was, indeed, well-represented.

Okay, I've gone through Cameron's in Oakville, Stonehooker in Port Credit, Nickel Brook in Burlington and Clifford in East Hamilton.

Here's Kimmy and King City's Graeme swapping beer
notes at Fairweather Brewing. Graeme, as well as
Sudbury Danny and Guelph Curtis, all provide me
with an invaluable service. As two homebrewers and a
Cicerone, they will correct me when I'm wrong on any
given beer. When you make as many mistakes as I do,
that's insightful collective expertise in my back pocket.

Let's run down the last four then, shall we?

From East Hamilton, we all traveled west to the Twin Newbies of the McMaster-area turf - Grain & Grit Small Batch Beers and Fairweather Brewing, each outstanding in its own way.

Landing first at Grain & Grit, I was pumped to see Joe Mrav, who co-owns the brewery with wife Lindsey, actually working the bar along with his troops. That takes me back to their early days (all of two years ago) when the pair had little choice but to show up six days a week. Because owning a craft brewery is glamourous, right?

With the addition of Nickel Brook's Brandon at Clifford, this had become - by far - the best attended Craft Brewery Invasion, as it included Danny, Polk, Lady Polk, Big Peezy Paul, Glenn, Candice, Graeme, Curtis, Nichole, Kimmy, Greg, David and myself. And I thought it may get even bigger when we crossed paths with Hamilton Craft Beer Couple, Paul and Kristal, at Grain & Grit. They, of course, joined us way back in April at the Huntsville Brewhouse when we created our Lake of Bays Bucket List IPA. Alas, they were just stopping by but at the same time, pretty happy for the opportunity to say "Happy Invasion" to everyone. Yeah, it's a small world but I feel like we took up at least half of it on November 2nd.

"Okay, does someone have a permit for this bear?" Kat
seems to be saying. This St Bernard-Great Dane mix was
called Frank. He weighs in at a hefty 160 pounds, about 10
pounds shy of me. We ran into him here at Grain & Grit
and again at Fairweather Brewing a few minutes away.
The reason he was not inside? There was no room for him.

I tell you our roster size simply for this reason. Okay, sure, pretty proud of me, Greg and Kimmy. But the actual reason? Both Grain & Grit and Fairweather were already "It's Saturday afternoon" jam-packed. And G&G is not what you'd call spacious by any means. We descend on both with a Party of 13? Make sure your property insurance is up-to-date and you have the extra kegs readily available.

But the thing is anyone in our group from, say, Oakville to Guelph is within striking distance of these two breweries. We post their pictures often, describing their beers in elaborate detail, carefully wrapped with colourful praise. (Nod to Christmas Day there.) I personally send them in Beer Mails across the province and they have always been well-received. The out-of-towners HAD to go to these two breweries. None of their products ever see the inside of an LCBO in Ontario. Retail at the breweries only. Our friends literally have no access to the beers from these two unless they are gifted them.

So yeah, we were going. No doubt. To me, these two particular breweries were pretty much the ones the out-of-town folks wanted - or perhaps needed - to see the most.

Okay, look at Nichole's glass. Now look at Candice's and Glenn's. Now
look back at Nichole's. And now back at Candice's and Glenn's. Okay,
so a friend named Nichole brought her Game Day face to the Invasion.
That's why we are so fond of her. You know, it wasn't all that warm out
on November 2nd (despite the fact Glenn has no coat) but all of us were
pretty happy on the patio at Fairweather. Okay, for starters, it was the
only place to sit so there's that. Drinking on a cool day is so Canadian.

Grain & Grit was a stop many longed to see and we warned them, "Hey, the place is not huge." I think they got a sense of what we've been talking about these past couple of years. Kimmy checked into it and for X dollars (I forget how much) we could have taken a tour. Which is great, except for one thing. You can see the entire set-up the second you walk through the front door. So a tour? Perhaps not all that necessary. In the end, I think that may have impressed out-of-town Brew Crew the most. That a brewery this small - truly the working definition of a Small Batch brewery - produced such big beers. Believe me, it has impressed the rest of us, lo, these not-that-many years.

Fairweather Brewing, a three-minute walk away, does offer a little more leg-room, so to speak, but the place is a bit of a mystery wrapped in a riddle cloaked in an enigma to even us locals.

Dave at Collective Arts, left, gave probably the best brewery tour I've
ever been on and the poor guy... well, it was our fifth stop of the day and
a couple of us (so mainly, me) were a touch chirpy due to the prior influx
of beer. Nothing mean, mind you. Chatty might be a better description.
But man, did this dude know his stuff. I may go back and do a sober one.
As you can see, both Big Peezy Paul and Lady Polk were listening here.

They had social media presence. And then they did not. Nobody really knows what happened and there's no one there to really respond to whatever happened because they've gone completely off the social media grid. Trust me, we've all had those "Well, this is just total bullshit! Why do I bother?" days when it comes to social media.

All of that being said... who gives a damn? We're there for the beer and they do that very, very well. Their Silky American Oat Porter and High Grade IPA are two of the absolute finest examples of their styles I've ever enjoyed. You wanna speak loudly in the marketplace without social media? Make beers this excellent. That'll shut most people up. (But, y'know, social media so not everyone.) And even though the place was packed, we still managed to score some seating on the patio. It was a brisk but not brutally cold day so we were all happily onboard.

Collective Arts Brewing, if you put a sign like this on your
barrels, you have to know that's like an open invitation for
people like us. The scofflaws. The renegades. The somewhat
inebriated. Besides, Drunk Polkaroo barely touched it. It was
a passing tap at the very most. Anyway, we're all banned now.

Our second last stop - so Brewery #5 on the day - was Hamilton's biggest gun, Collective Arts Brewing. Thanks to the generosity of Toni Shelton, we got a comprehensive tour of the place... which is huge. Used to be the Lakeport Brewing plant. Prior to that, the Canadian plant for Amstel. It's got some serious history.

Some personal history for me, too. I remember driving there from the west end of Toronto back in the Summer of 1985 during the Beer Store (Brewer's Retail) strike. I think the strike lasted a month. (I wonder if anyone reading this even remembers that. I'm thinking you'd have to be at least 55 years old now.) I waited in line for well over an hour and walked away with three cases of Amstel. That's all I could carry as there were no carts available. The restaurants had every single cart tied up. Solid enough beer for a macro drinker but oh my, dark times. So yeah, not exactly my first time at that brewery.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right, the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion so let's fast-forward 34 years to November 2019 again.

Glenn had to come back to my place in Oakville on the Sunday because he
forgot his bag at my pad. While here, he and I talked about Curtis, shown
above with a knight's suit at Clifford Brewing in east Hamilton. Glenn
asked, "Is it just me or is Curtis, like, the nicest guy in the world?" No, I
answered him, "I think Curtis makes Tom Hanks look like a scheming,
miserable bastard." And then Glenn and I probably talked about beer.

So we had the big tour at Collective Arts Brewing and I gotta say, pretty much the best leader ever in a young guide named Dave.

This guy seriously knew his stuff. The history of the place (too young to remember the Brewer's Retail strike but that's cool), what they're doing they're now (some of which I did not know) and some of their plans for the future.

I mean, he was seriously great. What young Dave got as an audience: two beer bloggers, one vlogger, three homebrewers, two Beer Store employees and one Ontario Beer Writer of the Year. All of us on our fifth brewery of the day. The poor guy.

I'd like to say we weren't terrible because I don't really think we were. But some of us (myself, leading the pack) may have been a little bit of a handful. That said, the great majority, including all of the women for sure, were, to a large degree, appreciative and respectful. (At that point, I realized the only thing I had eaten all day was a Timmie's bacon breakfast sandwich. You know how you can drink yourself past hungry? Yeah... so, me.) Sometimes, with a few brews in me, I don't remember "listen" and "silent" are spelled with the same letters. All I know is I woke up Sunday feeling a tad guilty.

Here's most of our Brew Crew at Merit Brewing in Hamilton. It would
appear that I'm standing on a chair to take this photo which was likely
very ill-advised at this point. Anyway, the 905 Halton-Hamilton Brew
Crew here, from left, Drunk Polkaroo, David, Graeme, Lady Polk, very
blurry Candice, Danny and Greg. It was simply a fantastic and fun day.

Anyway, Dave, both Greg and I myself are willing to come back, pay full-freight and listen to you do your thing without any goofy interruptions. I get the feeling I may have missed a few things.

Okay, last stop. Merit Brewing in central downtown Hamilton. Thank frikkin gawd, finally food! Merit has always done the sausage thing very well (like 12 different versions) but they've now added burgers to their repertoire. And man (I said, looking in a mirror), did some of us need that!

Merit's beers are on par excellence-wise with both Grain & Grit and Fairweather. Just freakin' outstanding but you can only get them retail. Their Young Rivals IPA has long been a favourite of mine. That's what I enjoyed, washing down my burger and fries.

The day after the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion
is when my boy, David, and I took Sudbury Danny to the Tim
Horton's by his hotel for breakfast. Danny was driving all that
way home and we wanted to make sure at least he had some
food in his stomach. But here we have a Leafs fan and a Habs
fan happily sitting together, proving that food conquers all...

But that's a wrap on the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion. Greg, Kimmy and I want to thank, in order, Cameron's, Stonehooker. Nickel Brook, Clifford, Grain & Grit, Fairweather, Collective Arts and Merit all for being such great stops for our out-of-towners and letting them know, hey, our craft breweries down in this neck of the woods are second to none. As Drunk Polkaroo is wont to say, we are seriously spoiled when it comes to craft beers in this area and we all know it.

To the four lovely, lively ladies involved, co-organizer Kimmy, Lady Polk, Candice and Nichole, thank you all for lending a little gender equality to our event and, well, just enjoying the ride alongside a bunch of rowdy guys. All of you spared us hailing down Ubers and the like by providing rides from place to place, which was awesome. (Greg actually had transportation in place but we never needed it.) Just a fantastic gathering of friends, who are now considered family.

But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. I'll be back soon with the Best of 2019. But until then, I remain...

Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion 2.0

What happens when you find a Hab in the corner? You double-team the
guy! Poor Danny, down from Sudbury, just looking to have a good time
got the gears from Greg and myself for being a Montreal Canadiens fan.
Danny, since the two teams are basically neck-and-neck in the standings,
you may have the last laugh yet. (But you won't because the Habs suck!)

Okay, so Day 2 of the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion was basically the main day.

I mean, we had Friday night set up at two breweries, Cameron's in Oakville and Stonehooker in Port Credit, for any early birds, just as Matty, Ben and Joel had done in Ottawa this past Summer. But co-organizers Kimmy, Greg and myself knew that Saturday was, in essence, the real deal. The Big Tamale. The Whole Enchilada. Other Mexican food.

Saturday was a five brewery day... that turned into a six brewery day. But we'll get to take in a minute.

Our Saturday would begin at Nickel Brook in Burlington and if you know anything about me, it's that Nickel Brook and I go back a fair ways. Co-owner John Romano (with brother Peter) was the first brewery owner I ever met and for every other brewery owner I would meet subsequently, John set the bar pretty high for honesty.

Nichole and Curtis came down from Guelph for the
905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion and,
while she planned to only stay for a brewery or two,
Nichole was having so much fun, she pretty much
ran the entire day with us. Cool to have them both!

He is pretty much the most "No BS Zone" guy I've ever met.

Much like Cameron's the night before, Nickel Brook would be our launching for the Saturday festivities, the big day of fun.

Now I had been in contact with Retail Manager Robbie and said to him, "If there's any way John could be there, that'd be great." Robbie promised nothing owner-wise, though added if anyone wanted a tour, he'd be more than glad to walk us through.
More than good enough. (And hey, we got John.)

That tour never happened because Nickel Brook became the humongous Meet and Greet for the day. Homebrewer Graeme came down from King City. Hamilton artist-cartoonist David arrived from the Hammer. Nichole and our favourite Ciccerone Curtis came in from Guelph. And this was just adding to the core group from Friday - myself, Beer Bro Glenn, the always-lovely Candice, Sudbury Danny, Newmarket's The Big Peezy Paul, Polk and Lady Polk and my Oakville compatriots and co-organizers Kimmy and Greg.

Okay, story to go with this one. John was bidding on this autographed
(on the back) picture of Gord Downie at a Silent Auction a couple of
Summers back when someone kept bidding $10 more each time. He had
to track the person down. "He was a kid in his early 20s," John told us,
"and when I found him, I said to him, 'Look, I've partied with Gord and
the band and you are NOT getting this picture!' Finally, he stopped his
bids and I won it. But I think I scared the shit out of him." I have no
doubt. John added, "This story better be in your blog!" So here ya go.

But there were even more people who joined us but couldn't stay for the day. They basically dropped into Nickel Brook to say hey to all the folks they talk to regularly on Twitter but had never met in the flesh.

Our favourite Peel Region high school teacher, Paulie G, who has a pretty big aversion to crowds, stopped by to meet everyone and see the people from Beer Twitter. Also joining us was Burlington's Dan from @CraftBeersBlog, who could only stay briefly because he was in the middle of packing to move up to Port Sydney, Ontario, where they've already received 85 feet of snow.

But you know what was the most welcome with this Brewery Invasion - something we haven't really seen in the past? Women. Candice has joined us on a couple (the Whitby and Barrie Brewery Invasions), this time we also had Kimmy, Lady Polk and Nichole.

Glenn and John in deep conversation during our time at
Nickel Brook. Every time Glenn visited me when I lived
in Burlington, Nickel Brook has been a must-visit for
him. But he hadn't seen their new tap-room and lemme
tell you, he and everyone else were very impressed with
the new space. A real cog in the Burlington community. 

It wasn't exactly 50/50 but hey, this time, roughly a third of the Brew Crew were female and that's not a bad start. If nothing else, it could possibly mean we guys might just act a little more civil. In theory anyway. Okay, bad theory. Sorry.

But I had to tell Nichole a little story. But when we did the Ottawa Craft Brewery Invasion in August, Curtis was part of the crew. While we set up camp in Waller Street Brewing, a trio of people came into the place - an obvious couple and a young lady. When I saw the young lady, I thought, "She seems somehow familiar. Do I know her?" I didn't really look over at them much because we were in the middle of our tour but I couldn't shake the feeling. My Spider Sense was tingling. Eventually I shrugged it off, realizing there was literally no chance I'd know a woman in her 20s living in Ottawa.

As we gathered on the sidewalk afterwards, plotting our next course, the couple and single lady popped out of the place. She gave Curtis a little peck on the neck and the three of them quickly disappeared into the day. Suddenly, I realized, "Holy shit, that's Nichole." The couple turned out to be Curtis' brother, Mitch and his wife, Anne. But I had on some level recognized Nichole from her tiny quarter-inch wide avatar on Twitter. So it was a genuine pleasure to actually meet her.

When John Romano says please do this, we do it. He gave
us all Nickel Brook toques and said, "Wear them and pose
in front of a Clifford Brewing sign!" And that is precisely
what we did. Brad Clifford thought it was hilarious when
we all told him. So here's (left to right) Nichole, Big Peezy
Paul, myself, Glenn, Candice and David. We stylin' here!

I'm not sure how long we stayed at Nickel Brook - well over an hour, certainly - but eventually it was time to move along. John sent us out with parting gifts, though - Nickel Brook toques - and a very specific set of instructions. For that story, read the cutline under the photo to the left. He's a wascally wabbit and an imp, that John.

While Grain & Grit Small Batch Beers and its neighbour, Fairweather Brewing, were originally next on the agenda, Polk had made an additional suggestion on Friday night. That we go from Nickel Brook to Clifford Brewing in the east end of Hamilton as Stop #2.

Being as Clifford is the reigning Canadian Brewery of the Year after the 2019 Canadian Brewing Awards, well, pretty hard to say no to that suggestion. It also gives you an idea of how fluid these brewery invasions are. You can plan to the Nth degree but things will always change on a dime. The Craft Brewery Invasion Universe unfolds as it should.

Well, lemme just say flat-out that it was a great suggestion as Clifford Brewing was hands down my favourite stop of the day.

Brad Clifford started up Clifford Brewing in 2015,
at first contracting out their Porter and Pinball
Wizard Pale Ale. Eventually he found the location
of their brewery (398 Nash Road North) and began
to create their bricks-and-mortar facility. They
finally opened their tap-room and retail in 2018.
Since then, *bam* the place has just taken off...

For starters, while most of the day's breweries were new to some members of the Brew Crew, they were all very familiar to me. Except Clifford. I had never been.

I know it is the closest brewery to the Polk's Stoney Creek home and I also know the pair were at its Grand Opening of its bricks-and-mortar facility in 2018. Clifford had previously contract-brewed its award-winning Porter and Pinball Wizard Pale Ale. Alongside Muddy York's Porter, Lady Polk has long been a fan of Clifford's Porter. (I'm also a fan.) And they both regularly sing the praises of owner Brad Clifford. So really, what more recommendation do you need? It's the Polks. If they say it's a worthy and necessary stop, it is. Period. Nuff said.

They weren't wrong. Holy crap, whatta space! Right off the top, 10,000 square feet of former industrial - I think Brad told me what used to be in there (because that's the kind of question I would ask) but honestly, I forget. I mean, who cares? It's a killer-huge brewery now. And Brad has gone open-concept where the tanks are right alongside you - always a personal preference for me. Yeah, you're having a tasty beverage but the tank where it may have come from? Oh, about 25 feet over there. You can touch it if you want. And the games. A legit working pinball machine, air hockey, all sorts of fun stuff. But really, just a great set-up, tons of tables, tons of leg-stretching space, tons of brewing equipment.

On December 14, Drunk Polkaroo dressed up as Santa
Claus and held a Toy Drive at Clifford Brewing. The
drive asked for an unwrapped toy and a $10 donation
for a free pint with all the toys going to young children
in need. Here, Brad, left and a helper load all the gifts
into a minivan. Santa Polk was a resounding success!

This was the brewery where both the Polks (Rob was trapped at work during Stop #1) and Brandon, Nickel Brook's social media liaison, would join into the fun. I saw him at Nickel Brook but his jumping aboard was a pleasant surprise. Great guy. We were basically a traveling circus, picking up more performers along the way (heavy emphasis on the clowns... but not Murder Clowns, just the regular ones.)

Meeting Brad was great. Super good-natured dude, happy to answer any questions about the brewery, the challenges or the industry itself.

But also on hand was his father, Barclay, or just "Barc," as he prefers. I'm guessing he's probably late-60s and lemme tell you for free, this is one animated and enthusiastic fellow. I was heading to that special room where you conveniently get rid of the beer you've recently imbibed when he approached me and we engaged in a very lively conversation.

Turns out he's a pretty big fan of the attention his son's brewery gets on social media and actively thanked our entire group for doing what we do pretty much daily on the interwebs. Drinking beer and praising it is remarkably easy but okay.

My Oakville co-organizer Kimmy didn't like a photo I used in the
last one (it was a group photo so let's face it, someone's always got
their eyes closed) so here's a better one of my friend. Clockwise
from bottom left, Glenn, David, Kimmy herself, random stranger,
Lady Polk, Danny and Greg all raising their glasses on November
2 on the Fairweather Brewing patio. Yup, November 2nd and we all
sat on a patio, drinking beer. Could we BE more Canadian? Nope.

But as he continued on, I began to realize that some of this was aimed at me specifically. You'll see why in a second. When he asked, "But you know what my favourite part is?" I respond with my usual erudite, "Dunno, whazzat?" His eyes lit up. "Your pictures from Vegas!"

Ahhh, turns out Barc is a pretty big Vegas fan, too. He follows me on Twitter so he's been watching all these Vegas pictures I post on my many trips to Sin City. And, apparently, loving them. Talked to Brad afterwards and he noted, "Oh yeah, he's just like you. Constantly going to Vegas."

Well, that's cool. So I said, "Look, one of my things down there is repping Ontario craft breweries by wearing their T-Shirts. So remind me and I'll buy one of yours on my way out. That way I can rep Clifford Brewing in two weeks when I'm back in Vegas."

Barc was having none of that. "No, you will show me the T-Shirt you want and I will give it to you!!" Okay, what can I say? I respect my elders so game on, Barc!

November 18, 2019. At The D Hotel and Casino on
Fremont Street in Las Vegas. Under a spotlight in the
casino, Clifford Brewing of East Hamilton gets it rep
moment in Sin City. Barc was pretty happy to see it,
I reckon. And Brad? Told me to bet it all on black...

Long story short, if you haven't been to Clifford Brewing in east Hamilton, GO! Like now! The place is amazing and the beer - particularly their Super Crawl Hazy Pale Ale - is fantastic. But don't ignore their Porter, either. It's won a combined two golds and three silvers at the Ontario and Canadian Brewing Awards. Not too shabby.

Also, it should go without saying - and yet I'm about to say it - if you haven't seen Nickel Brook's year-old tap room, get yer butt over there, too. Some of the finest sours and Bretts in Ontario. Make a few damn fine IPAs, too.

Okay, next up is the final installment on the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion where we, as a group of reckless and by the end, soused warriors, take over Grain & Grit, followed by Fairweather, take a super tour at Collective Arts and finally, drink and dine like queens and kings at Merit Brewing. What can I say, it was one helluva day. And the Brew Crew finally got some female representation so I'm pretty happy about that. Mostly because I suspect that if they put their minds to it, they could drink all us guys under the table. Gotta respect that.

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

Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion 1.0

Every journey begins somewhere and the journey to the 905 Halton-
Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion began at Cameron's Brewing in
Oakville on the Friday night. The brewery stayed open an extra hour
so we could marshal our forces. That'd be me, Sudbury Danny, Greg,
Lady Polk and Drunk Polkaroo, all enjoying a beverage at the brewery.

Truth to tell, I had kind of forgotten about the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion.

Not because it wasn't fun. No, it was A LOT of fun but it happened over a month ago, I was in Las Vegas for a eight day trip since, then, well, work happened and shit slips my mind. Regularly.

But Greg, who co-organized the day with Kimmy and myself, popped into my Beer Store last week to pick up that special edition of Nickel Brook Brewing's Glory & Gold Bourbon Barrel-Aged Cuvee that I had offered up on Twitter. He DMed me in milliseconds when I threw it out there. Not at all a fan of Cuvee's but much appreciate my Nickel Brook dude, Brandon, thinking of me.

Glenn and Adam Cherry, co-owner and Brewmaster at Stonehooker
Brewing in Port Credit, raise a glass during our visit. Since opening
in the Summer, Stonehooker has earned a lot of praise. They always
have a wide variety, some dynamite IPAs and are simply finestkind.

Granted, Greg also *huge sigh* brought his empties back. Greg's my good buddy so I'm not gonna say that's a dick move. Totally is, though, dude. (Kidding, empties are just part of the job. Yours were nothing compared to others.)

But while he was there, he mentioned that we hadn't seen each other in the month since the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion. One night, the following day, seven breweries.

When he mentioned it, I stopped and thought, "I don't think I ever wrote about that." You know, precisely the sorta shit I might just write about in a space exactly like this??

As lame as it sounds, I blame Vegas. No joke, when I return each time, you may as well call me "Tabula Rasa" because frankly, at that point, my mind is a blank slate. My first shift back at the Beer Store, I stared at the alarm touch-pad, unable to remember my PIN. It's all of four digits.

Adam takes us all for a tour of the brewery, including Polk, Candice
(kinda hidden behind Polk), Kat and Kimmy. It was Kimmy who did
the organizing for the Stonehooker portion of the evening as she's
gotten to know Adam pretty well since they opened in the Summer.

Been the same for years. I drew a blank. I think someone's dropping goofballs in my Stone IPAs down there.

Okay, let's get this party started. Which is precisely what we did on the evening of Friday, November 1st. We were not the full squad yet but we were a decent core of it.

Rob, aka Drunk Polkaroo and the lovely Kat, aka Lady Polk had decided that they had missed too many of these Brewery Invasion shindigs so this time, they were full steam ahead, lending us a certain level of Ontario Craft Beer Royalty in the shenanigans. Also, as Hamilton was key to this invasion, well, you gotta have the Polks. That's their wheelhouse.

Okay, so the first stop on Friday night was Cameron's Brewing in Oakville. Basically, our launching pad for the evening.

Greg and Candice give us a howdy from the Brazilian food-
truck that was out front of Stonehooker Brewing. From all
accounts, the food was amazeballs. And hey, a Brazilian food-
truck is just a damn cool thing to have out front of a brewery.

Now, Cameron's traditionally closes at 6 pm on a Friday but I talked to Head of Sales, Kyle Riddell, who in turn talked to Director of Operations, Clint Israel, and the brewery stayed open for an extra hour so that we could marshal our forces. Also out-of-towners, such as Sudbury Danny, really wanted to see the place. Being a hometown boy has its advantages.

Now granted, both Kyle and Clint would have happily arranged for a tour except for one small thing. The brewery portion is being ripped apart to add new tanks. A portion of their core beverages are being brewed out-of-house simply because they don't have the capacity. Cameron's is looking to level that playing field a little.

Now the game plan was that me, the Polks, Greg and Danny would meet at Cameron's to wait for "The Big Peezy" Paul, coming from Newmarket, as well as Glenn and Candice, coming our way from Oshawa. But I warned Polk ahead of time that Glenn has this habit of getting side-tracked somewhere along the simplest A-to-B route. It's his hallmark.

If I thought Glenn and Candice were gonna get
side-tracked, I clearly had no idea what The Big
Peezy himself was capable of. Paul completely
overshot Oakville and just kept driving out to
Cambridge so he could pop into Barncat Artisan
Ales. Not exactly a quick sidetrip but their beers
are definitely worth the extra travel. Solid call...

Sure enough, I got a message from Candice, who was driving, saying that Glenn had insisted on a couple of Toronto stops along the way - Rainhard Brewing, Shacklands Brewing and The Indie Alehouse, all of which are in Toronto's somewhat traffic-congested west end. Only Glenn would think that was a good idea on a Friday night.

No matter. People catch up wherever they catch up. But we did have some fun at Cameron's, which was a great kick-off to the big weekend. Clint and Kyle made sure everyone's first beverage was on the house (thanks, guys!) and, of course, most of us were all about their big Summer releases, the Jurassic IPA and the Skeleton Crew Knucklebone IPA.

In retrospect, looking back on Cameron's over 2019, I suspect they created Skeleton Crew to be the off-shoot that does the beers that brewmaster Jason Britton has previously shied away from but knew in his heart of hearts, "Well, to some degree, you have to play to the market" - you know, the IPA haze bombs, the sours and other less-traditional styles. In a lot of ways, I admire Jason's previous resolve.

That said, my hophead patience was rewarded this past Summer with the release of two IPAs and one session IPA all in the space of two weeks. I think they knew, "We have a cash cow living just three minutes up the hill. This guy could pay our Hydro bill for a year!"

Hamilton artist-cartoonist David Buist had his own unique take on the
Skeleton Crew Skull-Mobile, which in actual fact is a 1966 Cadillac that
has been redone as a cool-looking hearse. A big hit at the various events.

(Jason, if it's any help, don't bother with Brut IPAs. That fad lasted all of 10 minutes.)

Anyway, because of my friendship with the brewery, our initial meet-and-greet at Cameron's set the tone for the evening. And I thank them for that. You guys rock and certainly deserve the many accolades you've received in 2019.

But it was Stop #2 where co-organizer Kimmy saw the spotlight shine on her and again, deservedly so. You see, our next destination was Stonehookers Brewing in Port Credit.

When co-organizer Greg and Drunk Polkaroo get to talking, you
just know it's about world politics and the socio-political impact
of the partisan divisions with society itself. Yeah, I'm just shittin'
ya. The pair talked about beer, more beer and then finally beer!

Since the brewery opened in the Summer, I think Kimmy has spent as much time there as the co-owners, Ross Noel and brewmaster Adam Cherry. While I met Ross just once in passing - long enough to introduce myself - it seemed Kimmy has a real connection with the Stonehooker folks.

She not only got a tour arranged for us prior to our arrival, it was actually run by Adam himself. That's right - the owner took care of us on this beautiful November evening.

Happily hoisting his own product right alongside of us, Adam regaled the Brew Crew with stories of the brewery's origins, the various challenges and pitfalls of business ownership and basically answered any questions we had.

And if you know this Brew Crew, as well as bringing along our thirst, we come armed with questions. As crazy as it sounds, I think we're always excited to discover a brewer is just a Regular Joe or Jane like the rest of us.

"No, Glenn," Adam patiently explained, "That is not what Stonehooker
means." Poor Candice shifts uncomfortably as Glenn labours under yet
another misconception. I'm joking, of course. We gave Glenn a list of
some acceptable questions long before we allowed him into the brewery.

I'm not saying we put them up on a pedestal or anything but then again, yes, we absolutely do and the Brew Crew is always thrilled when the hop-and-malt gods walk among us.

And the brewery name itself? Well, let's clear that up quickly as it's been known to raise an eyebrow or two in the past. Stonehookers are the men who, back in the mid-1800s, sailed along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. They quite literally would hook stone out of the shallower waters and drag it up onto their boats. Those stones were then sailed to the wharf at the base of Bathurst Street in Toronto where they were transported via horse and cart to be used as foundations for buildings or the base for roads. Keep in mind, there was no concrete or cinder blocks back in those days. But that stone-hooking often took place in Port Credit where the brewery is located.

Cheers at Stonehooker Brewing for a successful start
to the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion.
And wait until you see what's coming up because on
Saturday, the Brew Crew swelled with countless more
participants and six breweries visited in one single day.

But back to the brewery invasion at hand. The big beers here were their flagship Broad Reach Nor'easter (New England) IPA, their Three Sheets Belgian IPA that Polk was very insistent that I try (no surprise there as it's fantastic) and, of course, their Mae West Bodacious Orange Milkshake IPA. I believe Kimmy and I were both singing the praises of the Mae West on Twitter late into the Summer so there was some interest in that one, for sure.

Anyway, Adam, thanks again for charting our course (you see what I did there?) on a Friday night and making the beginning of the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion such a fun start to the proceedings. And, oh, Paul, the Big Peezy? Yeah, after a side-trip to Cambridge, he finally caught up to us just as Adam's tour of the brewery ended. That's our Peezy, always charting his own individual course.

Okay, next up, our first two stops on Saturday - Nickel Brook Brewing in Burlington and Clifford Brewing in East Hamilton. This is where it gets crazy as the Brew Crew more than doubles in size and the according shenanigans basically triple. But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Back soon with Part Two of the 905 Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion. Until next time, I remain...

Playing a bit of catch-up

You idiots! I said "catch-up" not ketchup! Really, WTF?
Get me Graphics on Line 1. Goddammit, heads are gonna
roll this time!! Who's in charge around here? I pay you to
do one simple thing! Appropriate graphics! That's it. So
simple. Were you dropped on your heads as babies? Geez!

I had just started writing up the adventures (misadventures?) of November's 905 Halton-Hamilton Crafy Brewery Invasion when all sorts of other beer-related stuff just... happened?

And so, as we sometimes do in life, I threw the pause button on the two-day event that will fill, no doubt, at least two blogs (I am not known for my brevity) to circle back and take a quick boo at this other stuff.

Okay, last time I sat down to tap-tap-type one of these out, we had just learned that a little-known Highwood, Illinois brewery called Kings & Convicts had bought out industry giant Ballast Point Brewing from mega-distributors Constellation Brands. So I wrote about it the same day in the same "WTF just happened?" daze that pretty much everyone shared. The only thing I knew for certain was that Constellation had really effed up when they purchased Ballast Point for $1 billion back in 2015. But everyone knew that.

Everyone's favourite Hamilton cartoonist-artist David Buist has actually
visited the Ballast Point Brewery in Long Beach (they have four locations
in southern California) and reported that while very busy, it was quite
something to see. You can watch the sunset over the ocean while sipping.

When I first posted the picture of Kings & Convicts provided to me by former Chicago Tribune reporter Greg Trotter, it was Monday night, the day it was announced. Trotter noted the brewery was closed on Mondays and took a night shot with the brewery illuminated by only the office lights inside.

Beside it, I posted a picture of one of the Ballast Point facilities, apparently the one from Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

I have taken Greg Trotter's photo of Kings & Convicts Brewing, which is
literally down the street from his home, and lightened it somewhat so
you can get a clear sense of its size. It's small. Far too small to be buying
a brewery the size of Ballast Point. So how did this happen? Well, an
industrious reporter for goodbeerhunting.com dug a little deeper and by
morning, she had interviewed co-owner Brendan Watters over the big
news. There's still a lot of questions on this but she did get some answers.

How do I know this? Because when I posted this "WTF happened?" photo juxtaposition on Twitter, the post got over 40 comments, 71 retweets and 270 likes. By tagging both Kings and Convicts and Ballast Point in my post, my little tweet was reacted to across North America. (My usual posts might garner four comments, one retweet and maybe 20 likes.)

The general consensus from Twitter was disbelief. "Money laundering" was a close second.

Well, an industrious reporter named Kate Bernot had dug a little deeper and by Tuesday morning, she had interviewed Kings & Convicts co-owner Brendan Watters, the Australian half of the team with British owner and brewmaster Chris Bradley. Bernot, a Montana resident, wears a lot of hats within North American craft beer writing world but in this case, her story was for the website goodbeerhunting.com.

Kate Bernot was the first one to actually
speak to a Kings and Convicts owner to
uncover some information about their
purchase of Ballast Point. She found out
a fair bit but got shut down on who the
investors were and the cost of the deal.

Noting that Kings & Convicts' annual output was 600 barrels annually (a barrel is the equivalent of 31 gallons or 117 litres) as opposed to Ballast Point's 200,000 barrels a year, Bernot tried to pin down the "but how?" of the deal. Watters acknowledged to her that his brewery had a "small group of investors" behind it, revealing only that they were outside the beer industry. (Small group with huge pockets, I would surmise.) He would not identify them to Bernot.

Neither was he willing to put the purchase's price tag on the table though $100 million is the figure most bandied about within the industry. However, Watters did note that in the course of constructing a new 48,000-square-foot facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, his group reached out to Ballast Point for some tips in July. That lead to Watters meeting a senior Constellation Brands executive where eventually, he struck up the idea of Kings & Convicts purchasing Ballast Point.

And while Kings & Convicts and Ballast Point will now clearly be under the same umbrella, Watters admitted to Bernot that they would remain separate entities. Why? "This is one company with two brands. We've got one that does 600 barrels and then we've got a big boy." He further cited loyalty to their first brand, Kings & Convicts in the case of keeping the two entities separate.

The entrance to the main Ballast Point brewery in San Diego. It will soon
by owned by a brewery that produces 600 barrels of beer annually. That
is equivalent to 0.3 per cent of what Ballast Point currently produces. A
bit odd? Yeah, you could say so. But it looks like the deal will go through.

That new Wisconsin facility will now be exclusively used by Ballast Point, Watters noted, to produce Ballast Point beer for sale in the Midwest and East, once the deal closes. (Constellation Brands held onto Ballast Point's Virginia-based production facility as part of the deal.) Watters told Bernot that their intention was to hire dozens of new staff to reignite passion for Ballast Point, which has been seen by many as flagging after the Constellation Brands purchase. At their peak in 2016, Ballast Point produced 431,000 barrels of beer, more than twice their current output.

But Bernot went onto LinkedIn and discovered Kings & Convicts has exactly six employees. It looks like that number is about to increase somewhat. Hell, you could even say significantly.

Hamilton artist-cartoonist David Buist, shown here with
Collective Arts Brewing media coordinator Toni Shelton
at September's fundraising Brewers' Ball, has his own
special charity set up with Drunk Polkaroo where all the
merchandise they sell sends money directly to charities.

Anyway, I'll attach the link to Bernot's story at the bottom because it's a fascinating and well-constructed read.

But one of the responses to my Twitter post was from Linzy Rother, who pointed out that the photo I used was the Ballast Point Disneyland facility. noting that if I thought that was impressive, I should really check out their Long Beach facility.

My Hamilton artist-cartoonist friend, David Buist, responded that he had been there and that the place was jammed. Not unusual, responded Linzy, but "you can catch the most beautiful sunsets there with a beer in hand."

David told me, "It was a huge building right on the water with a great balcony on the top overlooking the (Pacific Ocean). It was packed when we went and really busy. Huge list of beers."

Okay, moving along to our next bit of beer news!!! It seems that David and another friend, Rob, better known as Drunk Polkaroo, have gotten into the full spirit of the holiday season by creating a not-for-profit online merchandising business.

Who is this holly-jolly fellow? Well, don't tell your
children but this is actually Drunk Polkaroo dressed
up as Santa. Why? Well, on Saturday, December 14,
Polk-as-Santa will be at Clifford Brewing from 4 to
7 pm. A new, unwrapped toy or even just $10 will
get you a pint PLUS the opportunity to pose with
Santa Polk! I suspect by Saturday night, there will
be a large number of posts from beer buddies who
parked it on Polk's knee. Probably kids too but...

The pair have created a site called "Beer Saints" that sells clothing, greeting cards, postcards, coasters, tote bags and stickers, all adorned with David's art and inspired by the loquacious words of Polk. (Again, the link will be included at the bottom.)

Even though I know both men fairly well, it seemed like the whole thing just popped up unexpectedly out of nowhere.

Not quite, the pair confessed, as they've been looking to stop, drop and collaborate for quite some time now.

"We've been talking about it on and off for a little while and finally at the (Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion November 2), we talked again and decided to go for it," David told me.

Added Polk: "We've discussed doing a book a few times but I asked him if he was in to create some designs to go with my words and give the profits to charity if we could sell some merchandise."

Polk continued, "We both talked about how we have pretty good lives and wanted to give back (to the local community)." And so, the two did precisely that, setting up merchandise to sell through an online distributor with which David has previously dealt.

Paul of the Southern Ontario Beer Boys, who are no
strangers to charity themselves, poses with one of
Polk's and David's shirts, this one promoting beer
diversity. If I am not mistaken - and I'm 99.9%
certain I'm not - that's Ren Navarro in the bottom
left of the cartoon. Can't think of anything more apt.

"I've been using RedBubble for a while to do prints and shirts because they were a print-on-demand company that are fairly well-priced and seemed to have a reach around the world," David said. "We decided to go this way so we wouldn't have to worry about inventory or added problems. Polk set up the account and has the profits from products going into an account that we will donate."

Polk told me, "David uploads the images and the merchandise only gets made if someone orders it. (So we're) not having to invest in stock. I think we will get better at it over the next few months, looking at pricing and partnerships with breweries."

Colour me sold. You see that beer diversity shirt on Paul from Southern Ontario Beer Boys? I ordered that same shirt this past week. All in, it was $33. I can guarantee you that shirt's going see some Vegas face-time when I return for my Birthday Week in February. Live from Las Vegas, you two!

Okay, if you want to read up on the whole Kings & Convicts purchase of Ballast Point, Kate Bernot's excellent piece is right here at: I Still Can't Believe It!! And if you want to check out David and Polk's new venture, it's here at: Beer Saints Forever! But Scooby Doo Gang, that's it, that's all and I am outta here. Until next time with the Halton-Hamilton Craft Brewery Invasion, I remain...

Tiny Illinois brewery buys Ballast Point. But how?

Kings and Convicts Brewing in Highwood, Illinois, just bought out
Ballast Point Brewing from San Diego. Yes. THAT Ballast Point!! Last
we heard in November 2015, Ballast Point had been sold to Constellation
Brands, who owns Corona among others, for $1 billion!! Let's assume
then that Kings and Convicts got one helluva bargain basement price.

Well, if Ballast Point Brewing, a former independent brewing giant out of San Diego, wasn't already a very curious business case study four years ago, they certainly are now.

You see, it was back in November 2015 that Ballast Point, by all accounts a great American success story at that point, was bought out by mega-conglomerate Constellations Brands.

Constellation, which started as a small wine producer in upstate New York in 1945, has since become an industry giant, gaining control of a number of brands of liquor, wine and beer, including huge-selling Corona, Modelo... and yes, Ballast Point.

Not to put too fine a point on it but look at Ballast Point
here. Now look up at Kings and Convicts. Now look back
here. Now look back up there. So up there will soon own
down here. Turns out this is just the property at Disney!!

Now here's the kicker. When Constellation bought Ballast Point in November 2015, the price was... not even joking... $1 billion!

You see, usually when a well-respected independent craft brewery sells out to a multi-national, craft drinkers are furious.

This time, it was more like, "Those bastards! I can't believe that they'd sell out their loyal clientele like... wait... how much?"

I mean, a billion dollars. That's a thousand million. So like, a thousand more than the Barenaked Ladies even thought of having in a catchy little ditty. It all seemed somewhat outlandish.

So I pulled up the 2015 Ballast Point numbers on NASDAQ to see if that was the case. Back in 2015, Ballast Point had gross revenues of $89.5 million. Okay, starting to make some sense as a long-term investment as you could recoup your purchase price in 11 years.

EXCEPT (rule of thumb with financial transactions, there's always an 'except'...)

Is it just me or does Kings and Convicts Brewing look about the same
size as Grain & Grit Small Batch Beer in Hamilton? So you may well ask
yourself, how does an Illinois brewery, roughly the size of Grain & Grit
end up buying Ballast Point? Believe me, we're all a little curious there.

There are other numbers involved here. The assets, which included four San Diego properties, as well as any material, beer, etc on their properties in 2015, were worth $64.7 million. Not too shabby.

However, their liabilities (so, debt) that year were $40.6 million. And then there were their shareholders who, in total, pocketed a nifty $24.6 million.

Anyway, in the end, as far as the numbers came up on NASDAQ (as they were submitted, I'm sure) their net profits for 2015 were just $15.4 million. It would then take Constellation 65 years to recoup their $1 billion. Let's face it. The deal was a stanky dog for Constellation from Day One.

Everyone in this and any other universe trying to do the
Math on the Kings and Convicts buying Ballast Point deal.
If you're thinking it makes no sense at all, you're right...

So when Kings and Convicts Brewing, a tiny operation out of Highwood, Illinois announced today that they were buying Ballast Point, all of us kinda went, "Who the hell are Kings and Convicts?"

None of us had ever heard of them. But even more telling was the nearby residents who do know them.

Greg Trotter, a former Chicago Tribune reporter, was stunned. "Insane! Kings and Convicts is the wee brewery right down the street from me in Highwood. Truly shocking!" When I told him that size-wise, it looks like Grain & Grit in Hamilton, sending a picture, he replied with the picture at the top.

The full glass is what Constellation Brands
paid for Ballast Point in 2015. That little bit of
beer on the bottom is likely what Kings and
Convicts is going to pay for them. Or less.

"Yes, very small. Closed today but the lights were on! I was hoping to have a pint at Kings and Convicts and toast this utterly insane turn of events."

Well, of course, I first read about it on well-known Canadian beer author Stephen Beaumont's Twitter a few hours back when I got home so I clicked on Kings and Convicts Twitter link. They had 249 followers. I was 250. That's small. A couple hours later, they're now well over 500.

Like everyone, I want details, especially financial ones, meaning how much did they shell out for the "billion dollar brewery"? But their website - surprise, surprise - had crashed. That'll happen when half the craft beer drinkers in North American are trying to log on just to find out who the hell you are?? (It just came back up but with no mention of the big purchase.)

Some small details. They're a half hour (30 miles, 50 km) north of Chicago. Founded in 2017 by a Brit, Chris Bradley, and an Australian, Brendan Watters. The name is a play off the fact that back in the 1700s and 1800s, Britain exiled convicts to Australia.

Like I said, small details. Show us the money (details)! But sure as hell, I'm pretty certain none of us has heard of a deal like this. One final question. Does this mean Ballast Point is craft again? Or is it like a virginity thing, once gone, never to return? We'll find out soon.

Did Fleury's save change hockey?

Is this the save that cost Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock his
job? Well, truthfully, yes and no. No in that Babcock was already on his
way out. My prediction was by Christmas at the latest. But when I saw
the Leafs play the Golden Knights in Vegas on November 19th, goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury make this incredible save with the Knights up by just
3-2 late in the third - a sure-thing goal that would have tied the game -
well, let's just say it hastened Babcock's departure. Unbelievable to see.
But what happened in the aftermath of this save? Another story there.

Again to be clear, I write two blogs. The main one I've written for six and a half years ("Brew Ha Ha") is about beer. This secondary one ("61 Turning 16") is the one that's NOT ABOUT BEER... but rather people, places and things. Today, it's about Las Vegas. Oh, and hockey. That said, people and things are incredibly likely to pop up in here. And quite possibly beer at some point. Because it's Vegas. And hockey.

Most people go to Las Vegas to gamble. I don't think I'm telling anyone's dirty, little secrets here. Pretty much a fact. And hey, that's fine by me. I'm not much of a gambler but it's a lot of fun for me to watch. The noise. The neon. The cheering at the Craps tables.

That's basically what the city is built upon - a structural bedrock of gambling. Cool, cool, cool. Enjoy, have a blast, play to win, just don't lose your damn house.

Even in the nosebleed seats at T-Mobile
Arena in Vegas, you'll see the occasional
cheerleader pop by to say howdy. Just
part of the raucous atmosphere inside
the arena. A complete blast being there.

Okay, so I was down there from November 13 to 20 but the big reason was to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Las Vegas Golden Knights on November 19th.

This caused the American Customs agent some confusion at Pearson Airport in Toronto. When he asked why I was going to Vegas, I told him it was to see the Leafs game. It was on the Tuesday night. I was flying down there six days before on the Wednesday.

"The game isn't until next Tuesday," he noted, "Why are you going now?"
"Pre-game party," I smiled.
"But the game's on Tuesday," he insisted.
"Yup, sure is," I smiled.
"But that's still six..." He then stopped, handed me my passport and simply said, "Have a good time."

I mean, it's Vegas. No one's heading there for Prayer Circles or spiritual rounds of Kumbaya singing and hand-holding. Get a grip, Mr Customs Man. (They never smile, do they?)

Now since I've started with the end of the trip - the Leafs game - I may as well continue on in that vein and then maybe backtrack to the beginning. It'll be like that 2000 movie "Memento," just not as entertaining. However, I can promise you equally confusing.

The new Viva Vision canopy on Fremont Street Experience
is frikkin awesome. It's so bright and colourful that even a
colourblind dude like me can appreciate it. However, it does
seem to be sending me a message here. Am I looking for a
sign to drink? In Vegas? I woke up!!! THAT'S my sign to
drink. But thank you for the reminder, Fremont St canopy!

So, anyway, the big game. Neither Toronto nor Vegas had been doing particularly well, both having lost five-in-a-row. Vegas snapped their losing streak, shutting out Calgary at T-Mobile Arena just two days before meeting Toronto but still, neither team was shining.

My good (and award-winning) buddy, Rob (@drunkpolkaroo), and I were messaging while I was down there, talking about what a dire situation it was in Leafs Nation. He suggested Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock could be on the chopping block if they dropped the match to Vegas. I knew Babcock was eventually going to be a goner but his big contract was always in the back of my mind. But if the Leafs continued down the same road, I figured he's gone before Christmas.

So I'm at the game and it's close. (And rowdy good fun.) Vegas is up 1-0 after two periods. In the second intermission, I'm at the queue at the guy's washroom. Finally make my way up to the urinal. Guy in a Vegas jersey beside me sees my Mitch Marner Leafs jersey and echoing Polk's thoughts, says to me, "If you lose tonight, I think Babcock's gone." Just in case you don't think Vegas fans are in tune with what's going on in the rest of the NHL.

With about four minutes left and Vegas up 3-2, a Leaf rattled one off the post. Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is caught completely out of position when the puck lands on Leafs Nic Petan's stick, who, in turn, send a backhander towards the open net. Perfect placement, three feet off the ice, headed to the top left corner. Should be a tie game.

Except Fleury miraculously scrambles back, dives and just gets it in his glove mesh. My seat was just behind the goal-line in the second tier. At full speed, it looks like a good save.

Walking up to the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on November
19, I had no idea the events that would unfold during the
week afterwards. Suffice it to say, I attended a hockey
game that would completely shake up the landscape of
the NHL and erode some of its old-school hockey culture.

I look to the couple beside me in the Vegas jerseys and say, "Yeah, that was a nice grab."

But then they start showing the save repeatedly on the scoreboard replay screens. We get the sense that this wasn't a "nice grab" or a "great save" or whatever any of us - Vegas and Leafs fans alike - thought it was. This was... THE SAVE. Vegas fans rose out of their seat to applaud, followed very quickly by Leafs fans. This save was different, distinct, once-in-a-lifetime. A save that realistically, Fleury had no business making... but did.

After the game, a 4-2 loss for the Leafs, I found the top photo online quite easily and posted it both on Twitter and a private Facebook group I belong to called "Hockey Should Be Fun." I mentioned how the save was so uncanny that even Leaf fans were up on their feet. Social media, being what it is, what I said was confirmed quickly. Dozens of Vegas fans posted that the Leafs fans around them all stood up to applaud.

A single save, as spectacular as this was, brought us all together in appreciation of the game we all love so much.

This was my vantage point in Section 217 when Marc-Andre Fleury made
that save. To be honest, it just looked like a good save at first. It wasn't
until that scoreboard started showing the slow-motion replay that we all,
Vegas and Leafs fans alike, got a sense of what we had just seen. Insane.

After the game, I hopped in my cab and headed back to The D Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas, posting thoughts on the game the entire time. Also beer and Vegas/Leafs fan party pictures because, well, I'm in Vegas.

Eventually, I went to sleep (I was likely up until 3 am Vegas time, enjoying post-game libations) and on Wednesday morning woke up to the news that Leafs coach Mike Babcock had been fired. To quote a very indifferent Jerry Seinfeld, "That's a shame."

Now naturally, my friends were all over me. To them, I was the last Leafs fan to actually see Babcock coach. (Truth to tell, there were quite literally thousands of us there.)

Okay, this is the blog that's NOT about beer. However,
a local Vegas brewery, Bad Beat Brewing, has a great
name for their latest Pale Ale. It's called "Garbage Idea
To Put A Team In The Desert," a clever nod to all the
naysayers who squawked when Vegas got a hockey team.

So, of course, I had to confess that from Section 217 in T-Mobile Arena, I had little to do with the decision. If I did have that kind of influence, Babcock's time-card would have been punched out on the clock last April after the Leafs' third consecutive first-round playoff loss.

So Babcock loses his job... end of story, right? Well, no, turns out it was just the beginning of the story. Within a day or two, stories started to surface about his bullying ways, particularly one story about Mitch Marner as a rookie. It seems that Babcock had young Mitch, just 18 at the time, write a list of his teammates with the hard-working at the top right down to the biggest slacker at the bottom. (Mitch wisely put himself at the bottom.) If that wasn't bad enough, Babcock then presented the list to a couple of players at the bottom, specifically Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak. Were they pissed? Oh hell to the yeah. But not at Marner. No, they were pissed at the coach who would put an 18-year-old rookie in this untenable position. And rightfully so.

Mike Babcock: "Look, Mitch, I know we just drafted you
but I want you to start ratting out on your teammates as
soon as possible. I'm sure this won't be uncomfortable for
you to do. Trust me. I know what I'm doing." Stupid asshat.

There were a few other Babcock bullying stories but that revelation brought about another tale. That Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters, a protege of Babcock's, was as racist as hell. During his Junior coaching days, Peters had a black player, Akim Aliu, and one day, he unleashed a torrent of n-words directed at Aliu for his choice of music in the dressing room. Yes, he decided that the music being played was reason enough to utter the n-word countless times. Because he's a racist asshole.

The issue dragged on for a full week (I believe intentionally on Calgary's end), giving Peters a chance to apologize before the two sides at the table decided it was time for Peters to tender his resignation. To me, that was some clever stickhandling on Calgary's end. The apology and eventual resignation greatly lessen the odds of a wrongful dismissal suit from Peters' camp.

Anyway, the week just got worse and worse for the coaches, as well as others like former coach Darryl Sutter and former Carolina Hurricane player Zach Boychuk. Just a mess.

When I saw this group of Cody Ceci fans at the T-Mobile Arena on
November 19, I was a little surprised. I mean, he's a good player but
the majority of the Leafs jerseys were either Matthews or Wendel
Clark. After posting it on Twitter, one sharp-eyed tweeter found an
Instagram pic of the entire Ceci family on a plane headed for Vegas.
She noted, "I think you caught the family out front of the arena..."

Probably the saddest story I heard was that Marner under Babcock used to draw a little happy face on his glove. Why? To remind himself that hockey should be fun. Geezuz.

But Babcock's firing and the subsequent breakdown of the old school hierarchy in the NHL over the space of one single week reminded me of that old German proverb, lamenting the loss of a single horseshoe nail and the bigger effect that small incident had. It is commonly referred to as "The Nail" and goes something like this.

"For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the knight was lost. For want of a knight, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. So a kingdom was lost, all for the want of a nail."

Except this time, it wasn't a nail. It was a brilliant save that began unraveling the old-school mentality surrounding the NHL in the space of just one week. All for the want of a goal.