The Good, The Bad & The Hairy

Howdy Y'all, firstly this blog post has nothing to do with Clint Eastwood.  As much as I'd like it to, it just doesn't, so if you have any problems with the title, send a letter.

Also, there really isn't any "The Bad", this is mostly a Good & Hairy post, but that just didn't roll off the tongue quite as well.  So again, any problems, I direct you to write that letter again.

And for those of you who do want to write a letter, please do, cause it's always nice to receive a letter in the mail isn't it?

Well that's enough of that, on with the post!

So Toronto Beer Week came and went last week and what a week it was! My liver has served me papers and officially brought suit against the rest of my person...but outside of that I thought it was a purdy darn good week.  We officially Rocked The Danforth with our good friends at Great Lakes and Bartowel. Some of us rocked it a little too irresponsibly but that happens.  That happens.  We met some good folks and tasted some great beers at the C'est What? "New Brewers" night.  Chris Schryer broadcasted my ugly mug all over the interwebs with the Brewer's Round Table.  But seriously thanks Chris, Iain and Mike it was a blast and hopefully it will happen again.  And "Just The Mention of Berlin Makes Me Sexy" tasted just dandy at barVolo's, We Live For the Funk night.  But what I really wanted to get into was The Mighty Mustache Competition at The Only Cafe.  I gotta say, it was the highlight of my week.  Fabian and the crew at The Only put on a great show and as far as I'm concerned it went off brilliantly!

I don't know exactly what I was expecting. We aren't much for planning, a lot of flying by the seat of our pants. But let me just say this, what did end up happening that night, it was exactly what I was expecting!

Like always, The Only had the bar prepped (they are clearly much much better at planning than me). We got there and the taps were ready to go.

All labeled and looking oh so handsome

The Princess was there to do some judging.

All dressed up and looking oh so handsome.

And he brought along his lovely wife Jen and our good friend and great sport Mike D from The Atomic Geeks to help him with the judging.

Now let me lay it out for you, we had a number of contestants, with varying degrees of facial hair and mustache styles, so we needed to level the playing field and make this a fair competition.  So before we could start the show we had to learn them on the rules.  The contestants had to not only parade their fantastic 'staches in front of the judges and the audience but they also had to wow the crowd with the stories behind said 'stache.  And I gotta say,everyone of them, to a man, did an absolutely bang up job.  We threw this curve ball at them last minute and they all pulled it off.  Kudos to all of you and thank you so much for taking part in the 1st Annual Mighty Mustache Competition.

So here they are, with out further adieu..The Contestants!

Zee Devil!

Zee Lover!

Zee Lumberjack!

Zee Pugilist!

Zee Farmer!

 And er..Zee Hedgeman!

I apologize for all of those names, I made them up...well except for one.  They are all terrible, terrible names.

Like I said, they not only had to have some serious 'stache, but they also had to sell the story.  So after each one of them took the mic and spun some great yarns, the judges tabulated the scores.

Unfortunately none of our judges were very strong with the maths, so Mike D had to tabulate the exceedingly high scores on his electronic phonemachine.

And after his electronic phonemachine spit out the resulting tallies, the winner of The Golden Cant Hook and the bragging rights for The Most Ballin' 'Stache, This Side of the Don, was....The Hedgeman!

 Seriously, that is one badass mustache!

But again thank you to all the contestants for coming out, cause with out you, there would be no ballin' 'staches.  It's my honour to share the stage with all of you.

And thanks to Chris Grimley for taking on the role of MC for the evening, you did a bang up job and we really do appreciate it. And of course, thanks to the mighty, The Only Cafe for putting it all together. What more can I say, you gotta love The Only.

So what's up next for Sawdust City? Well we have a few events in the West end of the province over the next few weeks.  On Thursday, September 27th we will be in picturesque Cambridge, ON at The Kiwi for Caskstravaganza.  Along with our good pals at Nicklebrook and Lake Of Bays, we'll be showing off our wares to great drinkers of the tri-city area.  Peep the poster.

And then on Wednesday, October 3rd we are heading even more Westerer, to London, ON and The Grand Theater for the Arts & Draughts Gala Event. There is going to be some great local craft beer pouring that night and all the money goes to help the theater and the local art scene so come on out and support.  Peep the poster.

Well again, Toronto Beer Week was a blast, thanks to all the organizers, bars, breweries and just about everyone that came together to make it all happen.  It was awesome and I can't wait til next year.

Anyhoo, that's about it for now.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mugs and the sawdust beneath your feet.

And The Days Are Short Again...

Not sure how many of you out there will recognize it, but I stole the handle for this here blog post from the title of an old Furnaceface album...it always reminds me of this time of year.  A sorta sad mixture of melancholy and nostalgia. Of good times coming to an end.  I mean, the CNE has wrapped up, the kiddies are back at school and the last Summer long weekend has come and gone.  I know, I know, technically summer isn't over until September 21st and yes, technically the days started getting shorter again on June 21st...but who are we kidding, for all intents and purposes Summer ends the day after Labour Day.

Labour Day maybe the unofficial end of summer, but there are some good folks out there doing there best to remind us that Summer still has some good days left in her, and she's ain't going down with out a fight!

Take for example this Sunday, September 9th.  The 1st Annual Street Food Vendor Awards are being held at the Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto, ON.  Taking advantage of one of the few nice days Summer has left to offer, Ontario's best street food vendors are coming out to celebrate, showcase some of there wares and to educate the public on what great things are happening in the world of street food.  And Sawdust City will be there pouring at the event!  It'll be tough to stand behind the taps all day with so much great food right at our finger tips, but we'll do our best.

Here check out this here poster and get ye to the Brickworks on Sunday, it's sure to be a great event.

Then right on the heels of this fantastic event comes The Premium Beer Experience.  On Thursday, September 13th with just over a week left in Summer, at The Berkley Church in downtown Toronto comes this very special beer event.  With all participating breweries bringing special one-off beers or new brands that are set to launch, it's a great opportunity for beer lovers to get out and try some new and exciting beers from some of Ontario's finest craft brewers.  And guess what? Sawdust City will be there with not one, not two, but three beers!  So if you fancy yourself a beer fan, get ye to The Church on Berkley for this one of a kind event.  Check the website for details -

http://www.beerexperience.ca/

So now we're down to just one week left in Summer and what better way to spend it than by taking in as many events as you can during Toronto Beer Week!  From September 14th to September 22nd (yes I know that technically is Fall...but come on!) in venues all over the great city of Toronto, comes Toronto Beer Week. Now I can't sit here and list off all the events cause daggit, there is just way too many!  But I will tell you about all the events that Sawdust City will be taking part in.

First up we have The Danforth Pub Crawl.  On Monday, September 17th starting at 545p with our good friends from The Great Lakes Brewery and The Bar Towe,l we will be making our way from the close West to the far East of the mighty and historic Danforth Avenue.  Rockin' 5 bars along the way, it's a great way to get out and not only enjoy one of Summer's last remaining days, but to try some beer, meet some good people and find a new watering hole!  Check the poster -

It's probably going to be a long night, I've been known to get out of hand from time to time, but I've got to recovery quickly cause just two short days later we will be hosting an event at one of Toronto's best watering holes, The Only Cafe!  Now if you have a duster, a soup strainer, a 'stache or whatever name you've decided to give it, I suggest you get out to The Only Cafe on Wednesday, September 19th cause we're hosting the 1st Annual Mighty Mustache Competition and The Golden Cant Hook is on the line.  Well that and the bragging rights that you have the baddest 'stache this side of the Don River!

We'll be pouring 4 brands of Sawdust all night, rockin' great tunes and basically having fun in general.  So brush up your upper lip and get ye to The Only Cafe to show off your man hair.  Check the poster -

Blurrgh...don't read the date too carefully! That's Wednesday, September 19th!

Anyhoo the very next night, the second last day of Summer, at another of Toronto's finest beer bars, we will have one of our collaborations beers pouring at barVolo's fantastic event, "We Live For the Funk".  A 3.8% BerlinerWeiss brewed with Iain Mcoustra of The Amsterdam Brewing Co., "Just The Mention of Berlin Makes Me Sexy", is a tart little minx aged on grapefruit and lechee.  Very rare and very special, there is only one keg of this in existence, so get ye down to barVolo on Thursday, September 20th and get yer Funk On!

Alright, last day of summer, September 21st and we'll be at yet another beer institution in Toronto...C'est What?  The new brewers night is an event that gives folks the chance to come out and meet some of Ontario's newest craft brewers.  You can sit down and chat over a  few pints and find out a little bit more behind these odd fellows who call themselves brewers.  What motivates them to get up unholy hours, slave over kettles for god knows how long and work for minuscule amounts of money.  Please ask them all of those questions...

And then it's over...Summer will be gone for another year.  But don't fret good readers cause it will be back and well the Fall is pretty awesome too.  Cause now it's time for big beer season!  Break out the stout!

Anyhoo, that's just about does it for now.  Until next time, keep the beer in your mug and the sawdust beneath your feet.