Next week I leave for California on a research trip for my new book. The book will be a collection of short stories with Los Angeles being the background (and sometimes key character) within all of the tales. If you know my work, the stories will more than likely be darker in nature. #losangeles #newbook #writer #author
More than thrilled to announce that my first novel was just released.
Ready for sale immediately.
Each book is $20.
Thank you for everyone’s support throughout the years. Truly honored!
I will be delivering the books myself so just let me know the best way to deliver them if interested.
When Radiohead released In Rainbows in 2007, the band made the decision to distribute the album through download for whatever price the consumer decided upon.
It was a decision that rocked a music industry already ravaged by the onslaught of digital downloading.
Was Radiohead constructing a new method of how music was to be received in the digital era?
It was a choice that perplexed many but intrigued others.
But here’s the issue, would Radiohead have attempted this experiment if it had been their debut album?
Considering this was their seventh album, Radiohead had the financial security to experiment with the original blueprint of how music could be released and digested.
In essence, Radiohead was a mainstream success already, so how much actual risk was involved with the experiment?
In fact, this idea was brilliant in its marketing tactics, and probably gained the band extra (financial?) incentives as a result of all the publicity garnered around their decision. What better way to conjure up attention for an upcoming album release than to announce that you are distributing it in an entirely new and innovative way.
The idea alone was enough to create a full-blown buzz within the industry, and Radiohead took full advantage of it.
They seem to comprehend how the traditional marketing wheel spins.
The Smashing Pumpkins
As innovative as Radiohead’s approach was to releasing In Rainbows, it should be noted that The Smashing Pumpkins released their sixth studio album, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music back in September of 2000 (7 years before In Rainbows) as a free download.
Though it wasn’t a great success at the time (which may be why it tends to get forgotten), it may be the first example of a band using the internet as a way of marketing and releasing an album without the benefit and support of a record label.
In fact, the main reason why The Pumpkins released the album online for free (through Corgan’s own label) was because their previous record label was not exactly eager to release it as a result of the band’s recent lack of album success (Adore, The Machina/The Machines of God).
In an interview with Ultimate Guitar in 2010, Corgan was asked if he knew how impactful this decision was to be over the coming years. Corgan responded with, “Not really. At the time I saw it as a one-time thing. I never thought we would see a near collapse of the music business and its dominant control on how music reaches people”.
This model was definitely popularized by Radiohead, but it seems that Corgan was beginning to understand the capabilities of what the internet could do…Even back in 2000.
A stranger observes the home of David and Janine from across the street. Bathed in darkness, the man makes no movements…he simply watches.
Beset by a dark secret long kept dormant, David and Janine’s seemingly happy marriage will be tested by this stranger.
But by confronting their past, this enigmatic watcher may be the least of their concerns.
The short story is currently available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes& Noble, and many other eBook-related sites.
This story was recently adapted into a short film, and here is the teaser trailer.
http://vimeo.com/110153984
The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place. It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. Nothing hits as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you’re hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!
Rocky Balboa
Whether it’s a jab, a sucker punch or a blinding knockout blow, life can have a masochistic sense of personality when distributing its challenges to humanity.
It maintains an heir of indifference, and unapologetically scatters people’s lives about as if they were contents of a jigsaw puzzle.
But one must remember that life’s a journey…not a destination, and that it’s crucial to resist the will to wave that white flag, no matter how bleak it can appear at times.
The following individuals have all encountered divergent obstacles in life, but yet are linked together through the nature of their enduring spirits. Faith, hope, and perseverance help to define who they are, and have greatly assisted in guiding them on their roads to recovery.
Through the support of family, friends and even strangers, these combatants have rallied against life’s greatest attacks, and have made a stand of their own.
There is a drive within them to battle…to overcome…to succeed.
Life will not get the best of them.
Greg Bailey
To say Greg Bailey is passionate about life would be an understatement. A man brimming with unbridled zealousness, Bailey’s positivity continues to resonate despite his July 1995 diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative neurological illness that impedes motor functionality.
“It was the day before my 44th birthday, and the news absolutely devastated me” recounts Bailey with tinges of sorrow clouding his eyes.
The reaction is not uncommon to individuals who have been diagnosed with the disease. One of the key emotional symptoms of Parkinson’s is depression and anxiety.
For nearly thirteen years, Greg’s body deteriorated at an alarming rate. Inflicted by body tremors, impaired balance and the decreasing ability to perform common bodily movements, Greg, with his wife Babette and two children, Dayna and Alexander, all agreed that the most plausible way to combat the attack against his body would be to undergo Deep Brain Stimulation (DSS) surgery.
Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2002 as a productive method of treating Parkinson’s, DSS involves implantation of electrodes within particular areas of your brain. These electrodes produce electrical impulses that regulate irregular impulses. The amount of stimulation in Deep Brain Stimulation is controlled by a pacemaker-like device positioned under the skin in your upper chest (it is replaced every 4-5 years). A wire that travels under your skin connects this device to the electrodes in your brain.
It is a surgery that comes with great risk. But to Greg (a former pilot for Niagara Helicopters), the opportunity to possibly reclaim the stolen aspects of his life was well worth that risk.
So, in April of 2007, Greg underwent the surgery, and within a month, positive results were presenting themselves. In fact, his story was so compelling that CogecoTV documented Greg’s pre-and-post surgery with a TV special dedicated to him entitled One Man’s Journey.
To watch the feature is to fully comprehend where Greg once was, and where he is presently.
At the moment, there is no cure for Parkinson’s Disease, and Greg is still physically accosted by it. But to meet him now, one may find difficulty in specifically labelling him with the disease.
Apart from his physical improvements, his emotional and mental states have also been vastly upgraded.
“I could feel down all the time, but I choose not to live like that. I strive to remain positive, and to never give up. In the morning when I wake up, I tell myself I’m going to have a good day…and I work towards that”.
In striving towards that, Greg is using his experience with the disease to help mentor those newly diagnosed with it. When provided the opportunity, Greg makes himself available to those willing to discuss the feelings he experienced nearly twenty years ago, and still sometimes struggles with today. He makes regular appearances at Parkinson’s charity events, and is readily active in the fight against it.
To many, he is considered a model of inspiration because of his unwavering selflessness.
But to Greg, he’s just a regular guy.
“I don’t see myself as an influential person. I’m simply someone who enjoys assisting others on how to cope with Parkinson’s, and how important it is to always remain positive.”
Lana Hill
Kelsey Hill believed that it was better to give than it was to receive.
The compassionate and outgoing eleven-year old from Stevensville had always been a fervent believer in the importance of philanthropic endeavours. Even as she was earning the honour of being selected as Valedictorian of her Grade 6 class, Kelsey continued to remain a steadfast supporter of charitable causes, selfless in her actions to assist others in need.
When she participated in a walk-a-thon at her school (Stevensville Public School) to help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House, Kelsey had been the top earner.
But in September 2010, Kelsey and her family’s lives were forever altered when it was discovered that Kelsey was suffering from a Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour, a rare and aggressive form of brain tumour.
Following her diagnosis, Kelsey underwent three brain surgeries. One of which resulted in the left side of her body becoming paralyzed, ultimately leaving her wheelchair dependent.
She underwent thirty-one daily radiation treatments to her brain and spine, which was then succeeded by six months of aggressive chemotherapy.
But Kelsey’s hope never faltered, and a smile brimming with the fearlessness of an innocent child continued to permeate her face each and every day.
“She was always happy, and would be the one comforting us when we should have been the ones comforting her”, says Kelsey’s mom, Lana Hill. “She was strong as a rock. She would never give up, no matter how difficult it became for her”.
Though the amount of medical procedures Kelsey would undergo each day could be overwhelming both emotionally and physically, she never lost her drive to assist others. And in 2011, still battling for her life, she created Team Kelsey, a foundation dedicated to raising awareness of childhood cancer, and to assist children already affected by it.
Kelsey’s biggest wish was simply to live in a world where children could live without fear of a shortened life…a world without cancer. And this is what Team Kelsey continues to fight for, even after Kelsey’s passing in December of 2011 at the age of 13.
“She was our role model, and we wanted to continue her legacy”, notes Lana. “People were so inspired by her because all she wanted to do was to help others, and that, in turn, inspired us. There are so many families battling through situations like these, and we feel it is important to continue to raise money for these charities”.
In just two years, Team Kelsey has raised nearly $90,000 for charities that include Ronald McDonald House Hamilton (RMHH), McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, and families affected by childhood cancer.
As a result of their continuing charitable efforts for RMHH, the children’s underwater themed playroom and a wheelchair accessible bedroom were named in Kelsey’s honour.
Team Kelsey has had strong support from the community, and as a result have had many parents/volunteers donate their time to the fundraisers held by the foundation like a blood donor clinic (to honour childhood cancer survivors and those who’ve lost the fight) and the Kelsey Hill Memorial Pasta Dinner Fundraiser.
“Losing Kelsey was a tremendous tragedy for our family”, says Lana. “But we are doing our best to turn this negative into some sort of positive because that’s what she would have wanted. Her spirit and legacy are very much alive, and they continue to direct us everyday”.
Jordan Scott
At the age of twenty-two, Jordan Scott has experienced the dark realities of this world.
“My father was addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol. One year, when I was twelve, my dad blew all of the Christmas money on drugs. It wasn’t long after that that we lost our car and house because of his addictions.”
Jordan’s father entered rehab, and exited a changed man.
He had quit drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, and was introduced to members of the community who would help guide him on his road to redemption.
It was during this transitional time period that Jordan’s mother and father became extremely controlling of her life. Never one to partake in the “extracurricular activities” of adolescent curiosity, Jordan’s life was, nevertheless, under the scrutiny of her parents’ watchful eyes and vehement tongues.
It was only a matter of time before the tension proceeded to boil beyond the edges.
One day at school, Jordan was behind on a school project, and chose to skip her next class to complete it.
It was the first and only time her father would physically abuse her.
Out of despair, Jordan confided in a guidance counsellor at her school in Kincardine, Ontario, and was immediately placed in a woman’s shelter. She remained there for two weeks until her aunt took her to live with her in London, Ontario.
After a few months of peaceful domesticity, Jordan moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, to reside with her parents (who had recently moved back after having originally lived here). But the tension of past strife continued to mount, and she was soon kicked out after her inability to pay her parents rent money.
Left with nowhere to go, Jordan moved to the YWCA, and was finally rewarded with the inspirational support she had been seeking her entire life.
Amidst the turmoil of the times, Jordan graduated high school.
She applied and was accepted to Centennial College for Art and Design, and it appeared her life was finally set upon a definitive course of action. But regrettably, Jordan dropped out soon after a number of personal issues (one of which was the passing of her grandfather) caused her to lose her focus.
It wasn’t long before she began finding solace in alcohol.
As a result, her behaviour grew increasingly unhinged, and eventually she was embracing life with reckless abandon. She was drinking heavily every day, was in and out of transitional housing projects, and was even apprehended for shoplifting.
Her life’s vision was becoming blurrier by the moment.
She met with an addictions counsellor, and was soon on the road to recovery. She was accepted to Mohawk College for Photography, but encountered further personal struggles which ultimately reignited her fling with alcohol dependency.
She dropped out after one semester.
It took her approximately one year to realize she once again needed support, so Jordan reached out to the Community Addictions Services of Niagara (CASON) for guidance.
It took time but her life regained traction, and for a third time, Jordan reenlisted in school.
This time determined to succeed.
In October 2013, Jordan did just that by graduating from Trillium College with a certificate for Community Service Worker.
“There were times I gave up on myself…never giving myself enough credit. But I never lost that dream of earning an education. The support I received from others reminded me that that I wasn’t alone. The key now is to simply take one day at a time, and see where it all leads”.
Quinn and Keenan Baker
It would be a simple solution for Quinn and Keenan Baker to bear hostility towards this world.
To allow their personal tragedies direct them down a path emanating with animosity and bitterness.
But then again, seventeen year-old Quinn and fifteen year-old Keenan have never allowed their circumstances to become their crutch.
“It’s all about the choices you make in life. You make your own road by walking it”, says Quinn.
Quinn was seven and Keenan was four when their mother passed away from breast cancer in 2003 at the age of thirty-four. Just over four years later, their father died from lung cancer at the age of forty.
Orphaned prior to their teenage years, the boys moved from Wilson, New York to St. Catharines to live with their grandparents in the summer of 2007.
Assuming the role of guardians, their grandparents did what they could to make the transition as seamless as possible. But without the benefit of knowing many in the Niagara Region, Quinn and Keenan were basically forced into re-starting their lives from scratch.
Understanding their need for companionship at such a crucial time, their friends from Wilson did what they could to support them, from performing fundraisers for the family to the donation of money.
“If it wasn’t for the kindness of our friends and family, it would have definitely been a lot more difficult to persevere during this time period” says Keenan. “We were humbled and honoured by their selfless generosity”.
Consequently, these philanthropic endeavours appear to have had a profound influence on their own lives.
As of now, Quinn and Keenan have donated their time to numerous charitable institutions such as the Rankin Cancer Run, the Walk a Mile in HER Shoes campaign for Gillian’s Place, numerous car wash fundraisers, and the collection of non-perishable food items for Community Care.
In a world consumed with self-gratification, it’s always sobering to be reminded about the importance of giving back.
“We were raised to be polite and to help others in need”, says Keenan. “Simple acts of caring are important to us, so we’re constantly asking ourselves, ‘what can we do to help’?”
Their benevolence was recognized earlier this year when Mike’s Miracles announced the brothers as co-winners of the Mike Vandendool Hero Award. An honour awarded to humanitarians readily active within their community.
Though they were humbled by the acclaim, they don’t necessarily desire the attention.
“We don’t advertise it”, says Quinn. “We’re just happy volunteering our time. We prefer telling our story through our actions rather than our words”.
Apart from their charitable contributions, both brothers have become enamoured with the arts, a field their parents passionately embraced.
Quinn is heavily involved with music (and tries to incorporate it into his acts of charity whenever possible) while Keenan is driven by visual arts, possibly inspired by his mother’s art book growing up.
In fact, as a career, Quinn is working towards becoming a music teacher while Keenan has aspirations of becoming a concept artist for video games (his second option is to become an Oncologist-a specialist in cancer treatment).
But for now, their plan is to continue helping those in need.
“The most important thing we’ve realized is to have love for yourself and others” says Quinn. “We truly believe that any little act of generosity can help make this world a better place”.
***This Feature Article appeared in the Winter (2013) edition of Niagara Magazine.
In grade 9, no band captivated my fuzzed-out imagination quite like Green Day. 1994’s Dookie and 1995’s Insomniac were interconnected like the best of friends, bristling with electrifying sonic compositions and thematically-focused notions of self-destructive teen angst. To this day, both albums continue to resonate fondly within my soul, as most albums do when one “comes of age” during their teenage years.
But one tends to grow weary of the vanilla flavourings of familiarity. With music, a musician’s relevance tends to rely heavily on that musician’s willingness to alternate styles and texts throughout the duration of their career. Performers like U2, Madonna, David Bowie, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones (the list does continue) have had continued success over the years because of their ability to experiment and adapt to alternative modes of musicianship.
The same can be said for Green Day.
Though, as much as I’m inclined to loathe the “new and improved” Green Day (a Green Day concerned with the nature of politics, daring to write a song lasting over the pop-punk maximum of three minutes), I can’t fault them for their decision to do so.
During the mid 90s, alternative music seized control of the music scene, and all but guaranteed that any notion of music (no matter how experimentally obtuse) would find acceptance somewhere. But by the late 90s (and in regards to the Pop-Punk scene), society grew tired of bands like Green Day, The Offspring, and Rancid because their sound was frozen within the confines of a musical movement.
Arguably, Pop-Punk garnered worldwide recognition as a result of Green Day’s Dookie, which included hit tracks like Longview, Basket Case and When I Come Around. But musical movements have expiration dates, and tend to eventually wear out their welcome, thanks in large part to the exploitive nature of record labels.
Thus, by the end of the 90s, alternative rock began to reek of banality. Green Day’s musical niche was no longer captivating the eardrums of music fans now focused on boy bands (Backstreet Boys, N Sync) and Nu Metal (Korn, Limp Bizkit)*.
So Green Day went back to the drawing board, and made the decision to reinvent themselves with a new focus and drive dedicated to issues that were far more important than the selfish ideologies of a teenager. The days of mom and dad not understanding me were gone, substituted by social and national issues.
Republican politics became the subject of Green Day’s ire on the 2004 concept album American Idiot.
This transformation exposed Green Day to an entirely new fan base, but tended to ostracize many of the supporters that grew up listening to their 3-chord in-your-face sonic explosions. 21st century Green Day were now about issues affecting the world as a whole, and it was vividly displayed in their three minute-plus tracks. The songs no longer had that sense of urgency that helped to fuel their mid 90s success. Rather, these songs were the epitome of a mainstream rock n’ roll cliché**.
Now, here comes the contradiction. This “new and improved” Green Day does not satisfy me the way they once did. BUT, if they hadn’t altered their sonic styles, wouldn’t I be complaining about their need to grow up and create a new sound?
I make these complaints about Blink 182 all the time.
So here’s what it comes down to…I don’t like that Green Day changed, but I would be angry if they hadn’t changed.
So where is the solution to my problem?
The way I look at it is very simple. During my “coming of age” in grade 9, those two Green Day albums became examples of how important personal soundtracks would be on my journey towards personal growth. If American Idiot had been released when I was in grade 9, I’m almost positive that I would be looking back on that album as a soundtrack to my life, and viewing their current musical output as disappointingly lacklustre.
I truly believe that the music existent during your transformative years will always remain relevant within the deepest depths of your heart. The music of the 90s will continue to resonate with me (no matter how awful some of it may be) because it was present during those “awkward” years.
That’s why I tend to despise most modern-day music because it’s ‘just not the same’. I’m sure 80s kids fret over the same issues concerning the music of the 90s.
The cycle continues from there.
I have tremendous faith in my belief that the music from here on out in my life will never match the emotional connection I have with the music of the 90s.
Call me closed-minded.
But that’s not to say that modern music doesn’t have its moments… It just doesn’t have that compelling allure like music once did.
*Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins originally disbanded the band because they could no longer compete in a “Backstreet Boy” world.
**There is nothing necessarily wrong with the American Idiot or 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown material, but for me personally, there is no emotional connection to the material.
Hype is a manipulator of the heart, of the mind, and of the soul.
Hype is a seductress, a teaser, a conniver, a user.
Hype exists to dazzle the eye, to stimulate the brain, to salivate the mouth. Hype is there to provoke excitement, and to conjure up energetic murmurs about the “amazingness” of Hype itself.
Hype is a wanderer with a purpose. It walks amongst us in our everyday lives. It connects with us, and dares to remind us that life doesn’t always have to revolve around the banality of routine.
Hype is a drug, and we wilfully give into its tantalizing allure.
But Hype is a one night stand. It plays with us, takes us home, has its way with us and once it’s over, it slips out undetected, leaving us to ponder the question, “Was it worth it??
But Hype never remains undetected for too long. It always dares to show its face again, but of course, never embodying the same form as before.
And being blinded by the sexiness of Hype, we continue to commit the same foul again and again.
I have never really been a Superman fan. The character never really appealed to me, and I tended to ignore many of the films and television shows associated with his character.
That is, until the day Hype knocked on my door. Her scintillating and curvaceous features staggered me, and I knew I was in trouble.
I had fallen hard.
It began last year when I began to see small snippets of my new obsession appear on the internet. Not revealing the whole show, but enough of a wink to grab my attention.
But crushes only last so long, and I moved onto a slightly different (darker) version of Hype when I became obsessed with seeing the final instalment of The Dark Knight Trilogy.
But “new” Hype would not be deterred. Playing my emotions like a classic femme fatale, she revealed herself once again a few months later.
Though, if I wanted a date with her, I would have to wait until June.
JUNE????
“But I want to see you now!”
“No”, she said with smoky seductiveness. “You have to wait until June…trust me, I’m worth it”.
So I did.
I tried not to think about the day of my big “date”, but how could I not?
And if the situation wasn’t difficult already, Hype kept teasing me with new footage of herself as June got closer.
But after months of anticipation, I finally got my date with Hype on Monday, June 17.
She had played hard to get. Had teased and tempted me for months, but I held out (persevered you could say) and proved my dedication to her.
And I did things classy. I just didn’t show up in my pinto with my jogging suit on. I went all out for her because I knew she would be worth it.
So I drove almost an hour to see her in 3D and on the IMAX screen.
And then it happened, the lights went down, the sound erupted from all around me, and Hype appeared on the screen in all her glory.
Though there were many other people in the theatre, in my mind, this was OUR moment.
Two and a half hours later, I heard Hype sneak out on me, but I neglected to stop her.
You see, I was too preoccupied with the pondering of one important question.
“Was she worth it?”
“Not sure”.
But hey, I hear a new Batman film is in the works.
Welcome back, “Dark” Hype….
“We cherish the traditions of brewing history, while being creatively innovative about the future of it.”
Kevin Somerville
Brewmaster/Partner
BEER. A word that is simplistic in its pronunciation, but yet a word that elicits copious amounts of stereotypical connotations when spoken.
For most, it is a cheap and inexpensive alcoholic treat that appeals to university students and blue collar/working-class aficionados infatuated by the notion of sporting events, video games and social events devoid of any sort of hors d’oeuvres.
You can blame the marketing agenda of beer advertisements for this sort of hazy-eyed perspective.
In reality, beer is rarely discussed in conversation as a beverage that can compare with the alluring seductiveness of wine or spirits.
Beer is, to put it simply, a beverage marketed to mass amounts of people rather than to a specific demographic. This general understanding of what a beer is typically supposed to represent (anti-elitist) only helps to undermine the vastness of what it is actually capable of.
Niagara Oast House Brewers is looking to alter this perception of what a beer has incorrectly been defined as.
Having just recently opened their doors in November of 2012, the diminutive microbrewery (located in a beautifully renovated, century-old red barn on 2017 Niagara Stone Road in Niagara-On-The-Lake) is investing a great amount of time and effort into the composition of flavourful craft beers that are produced in innovative and quality-driven ways.
Typically, a craft beer is formulated by a brewer that is small, independent and traditional. In other words, it has no affiliations with any major chain of brewery.
Niagara Oast House Brewers ownership consists of three partners, Mike Berlis (Manager of Finance), Cian MacNeill (Marketing Manager) and Kevin Somerville (Brewmaster).
All three men have extensive knowledge and experience within the wine and beer industries. Mike and Cian are highly-educated/certified sommeliers (Cian is also a winemaker) while Kevin was trained for brewing in Germany and Chicago, and also helped found and write the curriculum for Niagara College’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program. He continues to teach for it, as well.
With this amount of educated intelligence circulating amongst the three of them, it’s easy to understand why the company takes great strides to incorporate quality-driven methods of production.
According to Somerville, “Our goal as a company is to create top of the line craft beers that simultaneously push the limits. Craft beer culture is exploding throughout North America at the present moment, and we wish to bring that sensibility here to Niagara. We brew in small batches, and use ingredients locally sourced by Niagara Farmers who work with us to produce the freshest ingredients possible. We’re attempting to embrace and to be highly representative of the Niagara region’s famous motto of ‘farm to table.”
Adds MacNeill, “We want to do everything the Niagara way. Our desire is to respect the roots of the region.”
The microbrewery initially launched with two beers in November. A Belgian-style Saison, which is the first in the Farmhouse Ale collection of bottle-conditioned beers (historically, Farmhouse Ales were produced during the cooler months so that they could be released during the summer work season on the farm), and a Barnraiser Country Ale, a hoppy and very citrusy beer that is aromatically strong.
In April, the group has plans to release the Biere de Garde. A member of the Farmhouse Ale family, it is darker than the Saison with more malt character stepping forward.
Niagara Oast House Brewers is dedicated to maintaining an aura of fresh and contemporary, and promises to consistently have something new and innovative lurking on the horizon. Thus the beer options will constantly be in a state of transition in an attempt to offer certain types of beer during particular points of the season.
With that being said, though, it still seems that opening any sort of business within the heart of wine country would be a stressful endeavour. But the company appears to be at ease with their positioning deep within the historical heart of wine country.
The fundamental reason being that the group believes they’re not in direct competition with the wineries, but rather are there to help compliment and exhibit how multifarious (in regards to agriculture) the Niagara Region truly is.
According to Somerville, “We are aiming to add further dimension to the Niagara-On-The-Lake community, and to provide the traveller lodging in the area with another option to experience. As well, we also wish to create a more diverse food and beverage industry in the region.”
At the present moment, the microbrewery currently offers tours, tastings, retail sales and event space for social outings.
In regards to the notion of culinary, Niagara Oast House Brewers will soon incorporate the use of local chefs to help prepare and pair food with particular beers.
Though the company is influenced by the winery model, they feel they provide an alternative experience.
“We may base our existing structure on that of the winery,” says MacNeill, “but we feel that we articulate a different sort of vibe. Our initiative is to provide an experience for our visitors that is both fun and upbeat. We wish to create an energetic environment for them to be a part of.”
As noted prior, they have also just recently formed a partnership with local farmers to supply the brewery with hops for their use (though, they do wish that more hops were grown since they believe the Niagara Region is a perfect climate for it), and for sourcing other key ingredients from nearby suppliers.
The importance of engaging with the local agriculture is of utmost importance to the microbrewery because it provides for them a label of genuine authenticity. To utilize elements from the surrounding area also helps to promote the perception that the region is brimming with unbridled possibilities in regards to cultivation.
Somerville notes, “The Niagara region is blessed with such a bountiful amount of components to play with that it would be a shame not to take advantage of what’s in our very own backyard.”
To note that the company is driven by a passionate thirst for success would be an understatement.
Says MacNeill, “Niagara Oast House Breweries will elevate the status of craft beer in Ontario through creating consistent top-quality artisan beers. We’ll be good environmental stewards and support our local communities through the creations of strategic partnerships.”
A company in its infancy, free to explore all the possibilities this area has to offer is a key ingredient in the invigorating pleasure of discovering something new.