First off: An apology. I failed you. I am weak. Two months into the year of Ontario craft beer and it's over. I couldn't do it.
Let me explain myself:
Over the last two months, I drank A LOT of Great Lakes Beer, and they make great beer. But who else is making interesting one-off beer in the same way? Many of the other one-off makers are too far for me to get to. Amsterdam's good stuff comes out at a slow trickle at best (I'm hoping it's because they just moved and the floodgates are about to open). There just hasn't been enough out there to keep me going. And sticking to only one brand of beer--in this case Great Lakes--defeats the spirit of craft beer. I just didn't have access to a wide enough variety of beer to keep my satisfied.
Also: I feel like I'm at the point where I've tried almost everything I have access to. And here's the kicker: I'm not learning anymore. The whole beer thing, for me, is fun because I'm always learning. But if I can't drink the non-Ontario stuff, I lose the context of our beer scene with respect to others. I can't compare anymore. My education is at a stand still and that's no good.
Also, Dude: Westy 12 is coming to the lcbo. So's Rochefort 10 and a bunch of other world class Belgian stuff. This is what I've been waiting for and I have no intention of missing this.
So, yeah, I'm sorry if you feel mislead. My intentions were good, and I honestly went into this hoping to do it. I learned that I can't live on Ontario beer alone. I don't think we're there as a province. But then again, maybe it's less a judgment on Ontario, and more on me and craft beer in general. I'm not sure I could survive on any one region's beer alone (I realize the word survive is a strange one to use). I think the easy conclusion to draw would be that Ontario's craft beer scene isn't up to snuff. But that would be wrong. I had a great 2 months and am very happy with where our scene is. And when taken together with a few select imports, I'm a very happy man.
I'm not going to dwell, though. The blog will remain the same-I'm still dedicated to Ontario craft beer. The quest continues. But without the guilt.
Life's too short for guilt. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a Heady Topper in the fridge with my name on it.
Overall, I think your Ontario beer experiment was great. You tried to make the most of your immediate surroundings to hunt out small-batch locally made specialty beers. Hey, you got me into a bunch of stuff I otherwise would have overlooked probably. Really, you did put a spotlight on local brewers who were being very creative -- that's a good thing.
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