A couple times a year, all of the tasting, exploring and training you do as a Beerologist ends up leading up to an epic event of foamy proportions. You scour the shelves of the beer section for everything new. You visit the breweries near and far. You learn which of the bars and restaurants in town will carry the best and most varied selection of craft beer draft taps. All in hopes of getting THE call from one of the premier restaurant tycoons in town with an invitation to the event of the year.
Here, we have said handsome tycoon who goes by many names including Rob Wigan. I have reviewed the Revival House https://www.revival.house/ a few times before and you know it is one of the most unique and grandiose venues not only in this town, but anywhere.
This post will be most aptly narrated in your head as if you are watching kids open presents on Christmas morning. I decided I would be searching for different and bold for the theme of my adventure today.
This is Beer Christmas
I was very pleased to receive the VIP welcome from the lovely yet judgy greeting crew upon entry. I did note later on that everyone seemed to receive that same treatment to perhaps I was not the only celebrity beer blogger at the event? It would be a magical event for all no doubt.
Revival Vinyl Society
Before getting into the golden goodness, I have to set the stage properly and highlight the sultans of sound who provided the music. Revival Vinyl Society https://www.facebook.com/events/revival-house/revival-vinyl-society-byov-bring-your-own-vinyl/513755882131055/ is the group of wax addicts who not only spin a great deal of the music in town, but draw all other collectors from their dens all year around at Bring Your Own Vinyl nights......effectively building the on the great musical community. DJ Edward Bear and Mista D representing with the largeness.
Simply put, the tunes were as tasty for our ear holes as the beer was to our mouth holes.
One more stop before I get into the beer. You have to take a look at the bounty supplied by the breweries and sponsors in the form of prizes for the attendees. Plenty of beer and gear for your cheers to make the event even more rewarding.
Here are a couple of the many lucky winners who took home the prizes with the extra bonus meet and greet with the Revival Vinyl Society celebrities ;) D and Edward are as excited as they are.
GET TO THE BEER!
Here we have Jamie manning the main bar and serving place of honour in the name of the local Black Swan Breweryhttps://www.blackswanbrewing.ca/. I discovered recently that this fellow who has poured me SO MANY pints of IPA and playground beer at the brewery, is also the guy I listen to every morning on the local radio morning show. Mista D prefers the Wild Child Sour while others love the Porter but everyone in town seems to have a favourite from probably the most beloved brewery in town.
I sampled the Belgian IPA which is a little bit of a contradiction in terms/tastes. It was a great start on my exploration of the day and very tasty.
My second stop was to visit my buddy Dean at Jobsite Brewery https://jobsitebrewing.ca as he held down the fort and appeared to be prepared to renovate it at the same time. He is freshly married and I had to get him to wipe the grin off his face for this serious photo.
Regular followers will know I am a big fan of Jobsite as well having worked hard to help them open, and drink just as hard to keep them open this first year. Great IPA right out of the gate and the most wonderful playground beers I have enjoyed no matter what style. Such a neat variation on styles of growler, crowlers, big cans and even the little 355ml ones make it easy to buy. The culture propagated by the owners is the best.
My next stop was one I was looking forward to ever since Rob announced that a brand that represented Phillips Brewing https://phillipsbeer.com/ and Omnipolo https://omnipollo.com/ was going to be in attendance! This beer veteran joined Craft Brand Co and would have the key to my frustrating search for the truth behind one of my all time favourite IPAs: Zodiac.
As it turns out, there is a brewhouse in a college bar we used to go to back in the day that we unflatteringly called the trough. Without going into too much detail, he brought with him a really neat selection of sour, strange and succulent. Pictured here is the Double IPA I settled upon and my new friend Craig who really should blog about his beer exploits on STEEM.
Here is a shot of a great new rep and a local guitar legend in the making Mike (fresh off a tour with Honeymoon Suite and a bunch of other awesome bands)
Cameron's Brewing https://www.cameronsbrewing.com/ may not be overly well known in this area because of the glut of newer breweries it shares in the 125 kilometer radius. That aside, they have been at it long enough to have been one of my gateways into craft beer back in the day. It was Cameron's, Creemore, Upper Canada and maybe Muskoka that ushered me in from too many years swilling Molson and Labatt. They seem to have a little bit of either a mess or adventure in branding but have a DECENT IPA called Jurassic IPA.
What kept me glued to this table longer than many of the others (besides the awesome stories of the road from Mike) was the discovery of 
Cowbell Brewing is an awesome story you should look into here https://cowbellbrewing.com/ There is probably no other reason you would have heard of Blyth Ontario unless you attend the tractor pull. Cowbell has put them on the map for me with their insane brewery and acclaimed restaurant. This is a road trip and date night in the making for sure.
I often buy their Boxing Bruin IPA https://cowbellbrewing.com/beer/doc-perdues-boxing-bruin for a nice change while staying relatively local, and my better half always has an Absent Landlord https://cowbellbrewing.com/beer/absent-landlord or two in the fridge. Such a good guy and a neat story behind each of the brands and brewery itself.
This funny shot is of the main man from Shakespeare Brewing Company https://shakespearebrewingcompany.ca/ just a couple miles down the road. Younger than Black Swan but older than Jobsite, they join Herald Hause as the mighty foursome of craft beer in and around town. It is a different IPA than most and a really good Milkshake Stout they boast among a couple other neat brews.
Shakespeare has taken home some hardware despite only recently joining the competition and is poised for the judging this event as well.
Speaking of Judges
I spied a couple of the esteemed judges discussing and deliberating over who would take away the hardware. So tough to choose when the reps were all so eager to be there, the beer was all so great, and we all probably had so much of it. The heavy local presence can sway the votes to the hometown breweries but there are progressive folks among us who love the new guys.....I know you are ITCHING for the results and have probably skipped to the next picture rather than read this whole sentence. Fine....be that way.
I think this is the second or third time in a row to congratulate Shakespeare Brewing for taking home the runner up award. Being a bridesmaid among this company and in this epic wedding destination venue is definitely cause for excitement.
And the Winner is......
Craig from Craft Brand Co just brought too much to the table with the combo punch sequence of Omnipolo, Phillips and a neat new story. A well deserved Golden Growler will be taken home to Toronto and I am sure that a few cans of that awesome sour (raspberry/lemon) was left at the dj table for the happy award presenters.
Zeke's Top 3 Discoveries of the Day
- Knucklebone IPA - To discover an IPA with Galaxy and Mosaic hops from a brewery I have enjoyed for 20 years was such an unexpected surprise.
- Omnipolo - I FINALLY got to the bottom of how this awesome beer made it to my hometown from a story that originates in Europe. The journey from Stockholm Sweden to my fridge has been demystified.
- Jobsite Cucumber Mint Pale Ale - When I was pulling wores through the brewery with Phil, and he told me about his vision of this beer, I couldn't help but laugh. To see it sitting in front of me a year and a half later was an awesome surprise. To have it taste excellent and different has to be the highlight of the day. Congrats Phil! You are laughing last.
In the end, it was another fantastic beer festival. I lost steem enough to not have a piece about Flying Monkeys Brewing http://www.flyingmonkeys.ca/ who serve some of my all time favourite IPAs and have one hell of a punk rock story. The beer would have been good enough but it was superbly augmented by the best venue in town, and some of the best drinkin' buddies a Beerologist could ask for. I love you guys! Am I a pretty girl?