Beer beer beer beer (hand-made Ontario craft) beer beer!

Forgive me, dear readers, for a short delay in posting. I’ve been otherwise occupied, what with taking on the dream job of every red-blooded journalist and all.

This weekend past, I got to do a tour of Ontario’s craft beer route for a story to be printed in a few different foodish/touristish magazines. Over two gloriously sunny days, my partner in crime and I spanned a good chunk of the province’s southwest, stopping at no fewer than seven different breweries.

The universal consensus: microbrewers are awesome people. We met and toasted with some of the most quirky, friendly, dedicated and opinionated individuals I’ve met in some time, all the while sampling some mighty fine beers and seeing some stunning rural countryside. We sampled unfiltered ale with its creator on a sunny patio in Neustadt. We drove through Mount Forest, whose motto of “High, Healthy and Happy” is either delightfully oblivious or wickedly clever, depending on what you choose to believe. We saw a hand-printed sign for something called Wallypalooza, and it was only with great regret that we didn’t follow the sideroad.

All told, it may have been the coolest assignment I’ve ever had (yes, even topping the Bachman).