This is not entirely odd but what is odd about the story is that the offender then tried to hide the evidence by flushing the can down the toilet!

The pilot decided to land the plane early and call police. The Air Canada Jazz flight was going from Vancouver to Fort McMurray, Alberta and the pilot made the unscheduled stop in Kelowna, B.C.

I guess he didn’t see a beer can on the sign and thought it was okay…

Here’s my two cents on the ad.

To those who are complaining… Lighten up!

To those who don’t care… Have yourself a beer. You’re officially COOLER (not COLDER) than those who take offense.

You could even take it as a compliment. Perhaps this sign is telling us that most Torontonians are warm and inviting… Maybe that’s a stretch. But just lighten up. Even Kathryn Gallagher Morton from Newmarket says “We actually saw the humour in it all.” That was of course after running to the National Post claiming to be upset and saying “We just thought Torontonians should know about this and make their own decision.”

Well I say, Learn to laugh at yourself or you’ll never really enjoy life.

This video (commercial?) for Johnnie Walker is absolutely awesome! It tells the story of the brand in an interesting way and it stars none other than Robert Carlyle!

When I first watched the video I thought to myself… “Why! I do say! Self! That looks like it may be filmed in Inverlochlarig, Pertshire, Scotland!” and at the end of the video it was confirmed!

Now if I could only subscribe to The Striding Man Society on their website I’d be a lot happier… Alas some do not test as thoroughly as I when making a site and their forms seem to be broken on every major browser!

UPDATE:Looks like someone’s filed some copyright claims to youtube and the video has been taken down

UPDATE #2 Dec 2009: It’s back! This time hosted on Johnnie’s own site!

From what I understand he’s taken a little bit of flack for his original post on the subject for singling out craft brewers as not taking action on the thought of drinking and driving.

Now we don’t want to look like the over-the-top MADD in anyway. They left the sane train a long time ago. But I think it’s a good idea for brewers and beer fans to make it known that drinking and driving is nothing to be thought of lightly. It’s not cool!

I have been an advocate of a strict view on drinking and driving since I started operating motor vehicles and I will continue to be so till the day I die. There’s no reason to put yourself and more importantly others at risk. That’s why I’m happy to display this BADD sign on ThirsyMates.com. Alan had a previous version of it on his site but I cleaned it up a bit and sent it off to him.

Anyone else interested in a set can Download a pack here including a psd and three sizes 100×100, 200×200, and 700×700 in gif and jpg.

P.S. Thanks Alan for the Shout out!

Alcohol is quite common at many European coffee houses and Starbucks seems to think that it will help out their dwindling profits in the face of many closings of their traditional coffee houses.

For now the test location will offer a variety of beers and wines ranging from $4 – $7.

Could this tip the scales in the coffee crusade? What are the chances of this coming to Canada? I’m thinking pretty slim for the next few years at least.

Miller Canada with help from Molson has released Miller Genuine Draught in clear plastic bottles.

Um… What?

This flexible packaging option offers many benefits over traditional glass and cans, including quick chilling, retaining cold longer than glass and cans, being re-sealable and virtually unbreakable.

MGD already comes in cans which takes away all of the benefits listed above minus the re-sealable aspect. This is simply a gimmick on the part of the manufacturer to try to sell more bland MGD.

The clear plastic bottle isn’t even better for the environment seeing as how Ontario has the best recycling program in the world set up just for beer bottles!

Plastic bottles allow more light exposure to the beer than glass causing skunky tastes (although any taste WOULD be an improvement in MGD). They also cause beer to flatten a lot quicker (anyone who has tried to disguise beer in a gingerale bottle will notice this). I fully understand a quicker chill time with plastic over glass but I can’t see a beer staying colder in a plastic bottle. There’s just less insulation there.

From now on drivers with a blood-alcohol reading between 0.05 to 0.08 will have their licence suspended for three days. A second offense will get the driver a seven day suspension and a trip to an alcohol education program. If the moron in question still doesn’t learn and gets caught for a third time they’ll get a 30 day suspension, be required to attend a remedial alcohol treatment program and have an ignition interlock condition placed on their licence for six months. Meaning they will not be allowed to drive any vehicle that does not have a breathalyzer device installed.

There’s also another law set to take effect around 2010 that will impose a zero tolerance blood-alcohol limit on all drivers 21.

Before today drivers between 0.05 and 0.08 only had a 12-hour licence suspension, no matter how many times they managed to get caught. A minor slap on the wrist as far as I’m concerned.

I’m glad our province is taking measures to get drinkers off the roads. I’m sure a lot of the people receiving suspensions between that 0.05 and 0.08 range (known as the warn range) put themselves in the “I only had a few drinks I’ll be fine” category but I have no sympathy for them. I personally don’t own a car now but when I did I had a 1 beer 1 hour rule for myself. 1 beer then a 1 hour wait to drive. I’m sure that even then at times I may have been able to blow between that range. Now my only mode of transport is my motorcycle and I have a strict zero alcohol tolerance for myself (not only that but so does the govt. as I am still under my M2 licence).

This is definitely a step in the right direction to getting drivers off the road after a few drinks.

When I was living in Oakville for school I held a job working in the local mall. There was an East Side Mario’s in this mall and it was a natural place for myself and my coworkers to drift after a long day of selling overpriced footwear and other skateboard paraphernalia to snotty nosed kids and their overpaid, underworked parents. This bar/restaurant became my local unbeknownst to me at the time.
After moving to Toronto there was always something missing for me in the way of drinking. Friends would visit from out of town and I’d have no idea where to go. No direction to take them to sit and have a quiet pint. Even when wanting to relax and unwind on a Saturday afternoon or after work there was something missing while sitting on the couch drinking beer from a can.

Now that I have put some time in though in the area and discovered one or two pubs that I don’t mind frequenting I’m happy with my drinking selection and my ability to leave the house and find some suds that I don’t have to pour myself.

My Locals

The local pub brings things that sitting at home can’t. I have two pubs that I consider my locals.

• The Gem - The Gem is located at 1159 Davenport Road and has a deep Rock-n-Roll feel to it. With a ’61 Seeburg (considered by many to be the Cadillac of jukeboxes) as the main focus when you walk in and a constant stream of good ol’ Rock-N’-Roll playing over the radio throughout the bar this place feels warm even on the coldest days. The owner Eddie is a great guy through and through and the bar staff are more than welcoming at all times. This place can get pretty packed on weekends and there’s no question as to why. Their food is incredible (I recommend the hummus or the quesadillas) as is the beer. In most cases one will not know what will be on tap at anytime but it’s sure to be something from Mill St. The Gem is a place that you just can’t go wrong with whether you’re sitting on the patio sipping a Mojito or nestled at a booth escaping the cold.
• PM Toronto - I consider PM Toronto (1245 Dupont Street in the Galleria Mall) not to be a local out of a love for the people or the food or even the beer. But out of sheer proximity to my residence. If I’m ever too lazy to take the ten minute walk over to The Gem, PM Toronto is where you’ll find me. The beer on tap isn’t marvellous and I’m pretty sure they need to clean their tap system. Being a sports bar they serve the regular domestics such as Molson Canadian and Labatt’s Blue and such but they have just acquired Steam Whistle on tap and this is enough to quell my inner beer snob (it also doesn’t force me to grumble and accept a pint of Keith’s “IPA”.

What makes a good local?

• Locality - A local has to be just that. Local. If it’s too far away it’s not a local it’s just a bar you like or frequent. In my opinion I’d say anything more than 15 minutes travel and you’re not in local territory anymore.
• Interactions with regulars - The regulars at my The Gem are one of the reasons I keep coming back (aside from their regular rotation of Mill St. product). I’ve made some pretty decent “at the bar” friends who have helped me out outside the bar as well. Being a Rockabilly-esque bar there’s a lot of motorcycle owners that frequent The Gem and their guidance has been essential to me finding and purchasing my first bike and helping me out when it broke down right outside.
• Interaction with strangers - Strangers in a small pub environment bring more life to it. Sitting on a barstool at your local chatting in passing with the bartender most often sparks up a conversation with someone sitting down the bar. At a true local you never feel as if you don’t have a place in the conversation. Some of my favourite times at The Gem have been had when a stranger has chimed in to a conversation and we’ve hit it off. Have I ever seen these people again? Most of them no. Even if I have there have been times when it hasn’t gone farther than a nod or a wave. Like the “Single Serving Friends” theory from Fight club. This point however does not apply to my #2 local. I stay as far away from the strangers here as I can due to the fact there is an adjoined off track betting parlour it can bring in some undesirables.
• Relaxability - Okay I made that word up. But it applies. If you can’t go to your local and relax you’re in trouble. I like to think of my locals as somewhere I would go by myself if I was in need of an unwind and I would be able to relax there.

My final thoughts

Without a local I can surely live. But I do enjoy having a place to go and relax that is outside my house. The local is a long standing tradition in the drinking culture and it’s one that earned some serious thought from myself and hopefully the few readers that frequent this blog.

What’s your local? Why do you love it? Put the thought in and I’m sure you’ll appreciate it a lot more after you’ve done so. How about a comment to let me know what you love about it?

And next time you’re in the Davenport area stop by The Gem and buy me a round!

Check out that nice golden color though! I had a few tastes and it seems to taste great already and it isn’t even done yet. It might be true what they say. That the best tasting beer is the one you brew yourself.

I didn’t have much time to take photos. It wasn’t much special to see. Maybe next time.

I managed to get 19.5L of the beautiful golden stuff!

Also sorry about the wonky alignment and berivity of this post but I’m about to fall asleep at the keyboard on account of 2am noisy Wednesday night neighbors. ugh.