Is it Saturday already? I suppose every day is #beersaturday but today, I am the Blockchain Beerologist!
I became a beer blogger years ago because of the blockchain, my need for a weekly column, and an age-old obsession with beer. Add that to the years I spent brewing for myself, and the breweries I work with now on their technology and marketing, you get the perfect recipe for a #blockchain #Beerologist.
This week, I head out on the road and visit a few old friends.
For the last while, I have highlighted a 'Shorty of the Week' as I love having 6 shorter (355ml) cans of craft beer in the fridge for when a tall can is just too much. With the recent reopening of restaurants after a month+ of lockdown, I find myself able to snag a pint of draft at restaurants! How I have missed that!
This week, while working with one of my local live music venue clients https://redlionroom.ca on their reopening strategy, I found what I had been missing. In preparation for the live music returning this weekend, they replenished their kegs and had a nice Black Swan IPA https://black-swan-brewing.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/india-pale-ale-ipa for me!
Can't wait for more of these pints of the week as the tap rooms all return to glory!
It has been years since I snagged one of these old-school imperial IPAs from Black Oak Brewing Co. https://blackoakbeer.com/pages/the-brewery located a little west from the downtown core of Toronto. I remember discovering them way back after their 1999 opening as we were close by for a hockey tournament, and they were having a beer festival. Beer and hockey go together like white and rice so we were in and mostly enjoying their stouts and brown ales, which was the style at the time.
They were a microbrewery before the wave of craft breweries popped up and have been doing this for decades so it was time to catch up and see how the IIPA presents nowadays.
I really should dedicate a blog to comparing Double or Imperial IPAs but my copy may be a little wobbly because of the high ABV of these serious, sport-hopped beers.
Last week, I got sour with https://muskokabrewery.com/ and their Hop Blaster Sour Cherry IPA @zekepickleman/beersaturday-too-chill-to-be-sour. They were partially responsible for the dawn of my IPA obsession because of Mad Tom https://muskokabrewery.com/beer/mad-tom-ipa/ Let us check out their juicy IPA!
The main label of Hazed & Confused Juicy IPA https://muskokabrewery.com/beer/hazed-confused/ looks to have a likeness of old Mad Tom himself while the side panel delivers a succinct bilingual calling card. I may have done a disservice to this beer by enjoying it after one of my top-5 IPAs as I cannot recall anything special about it. I do know I don't hate this beer, otherwise I would remember that, and will have to buy it again for a fair shake. Good enough!
Before moving to the small town, I lived in the big city in the same hood as Junction Craft Brewing https://www.junctioncraft.com/ I played hockey with the owner, my brother worked there for years, and I really got to dive deep into the wide variety of beers west end hipsters would buy. I recall the brewer turning his nose up at IPAs and I think I got the term 'sport-hopping' from him back in the day. Imagine my surprise when I discovered a new IPA from back home with a fresh look.
The side panel wears an unassuming stencil style and cool eclectic font with some damn good words. "Juicy, Hazy, fruity and aromatic New England IPA" is all any can has to say to convince me. It was nice and hazy and had that smooth wheat/oats texture to it and that vaguely familiar hop character with a twist. Well done Tom! Can't wait to hit the ice with you guys again eventually. 'Til then,cheers.
I am going to have to try this one again! For now, I love being proven wrong and hope this beer is as solid the next session.
@spirall on Twitter! Join the Hive marketing push with us.
It is week 191 of #beersaturday in the longest running blockchain drinkin' crew in the history of beer. I would suggest you get loaded, take a couple snaps and create your own #beersaturday post with some neat prizes and fellow piss-tanks here @detlev/beersaturday-week-191
I invite a friend to the party every week and this week it is 
Cheers DOODS!
