theMediaman.com

In spite of the title, microbrews in Toronto and elsewhere around South Central Ontario don’t tend to disappint me.  Just yesterday I had a Tank House Ale (Mill St. Brewery) while on a patio in the Distillery District, and it was one of the tastiest beers I’ve had in a while.

My issue is with the cost of beer.  At the Queens in Barrie, a ten-spot could buy you three bottles of Canadian. In Waterloo, a ‘premium’ beer would usually go for around $4.75 (give or take 50 cents depending on how reputable the place was). As soon as I moved to Toronto in 1999, I was upset to find pints for over 5 bucks, and over 6 for premiums. I probably wouldn’t have as much of an issue with it if the “domestics” weren’t always the same Golden 4… Canadian, Blue, Coors Light and Bud. A “premium” beer includes Rickards Red and Alexander Keiths.

It took me a loooong time to get used to six dollar pints. For many years I was always on the lookout for places that had it cheaper… even by half a dollar. Usually such places served highly carbonated beers, or were notorious for recycling beer.

When the beers are poured the same everywhere, I am offended by such pricing schemes. In 98% of the establishments with taps throughout the GTA, if you order a beer for $3 or $6, you usually get the same crappy pour - opening the tap with the glass underneath, leaving large bubbles on top, and when the glass overflows there is no effort - NO EFFORT - in cleaning off the sides.

Participate in some (but by no means all) of the steps for pulling a perfect pint of Stella.

In spite of my gross disappointment with 98% of bartenders in this city, after eight years of living in Toronto (and the GTA), I’ve finally decided I’m ready to be comfortable paying six bucks for a premium pint…

…sometime recently they’ve moved to $7.

Six-ninety-nine, six ninety-five, seven even, whatever. I’ve only just adjusted to paying that previously unearned value and they’ve raised it again. Why must they mock me?

Simone, Michelle and I went to the Pickel Barrel Grande at Yonge/Dundas Saturday night. The pints were once again, seven bucks for a 20 oz. pint of “premium” Keiths. Since the ‘fancy’ drinks were the same price, I figured that I’d make them work for their seven bucks.

I ordered a Toronto Margarita. Whatever connection that has to Toronto I haven’t figured yet, but it was the least sweet and sugary drink on the menu. Basically, it was Gold tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and some other crap. Very tasty, and I felt so content in making them work for the money that I didn’t care that I had ordered a girly drink.

One of - if not my absolute favourite drinking holes is still The Gem. When Simone used to live right around the corner, we would often drop in. I’d order a pint of whatever of two or three beers were on tap (usually microbrews or Amsterdam discount beer), and Simone would get a glass of wine. The beers were poured to the brim, and the wine would be served in a drinking glass, again filled almost to the brim. The whole cost after taxes would come to $10 even.

Still, by the city as a whole, I feel cheated.  $7 for a pint is too damned much, unless you earn it.

I’m going to have to do an email change soon. I’m starting to get dozens of spam per day again.

Everyone has their stories on spam, and I don’t intend to focus on that in this entry. However, one of the more interesting series of spams that I’ve been receiving is “pre-approved mortgage”, “your loan approval has gone through”, and so on. I’m not really sure if this is a phishing scam, a spam for a shifty bank in the Cayman Islands, or a bit of both. In any case, I was a little upset to get such a phone call from my very own Financial Advisor through CIBC.

“Our system has chosen you for a pre-approved Line-of-Credit for up to X dollars.” I found this funny, since I had just arranged a LoC with this person for the exact same amount two years earlier.

“Well, I don’t think I need that now. I’ll take a look at my finances this weekend and let you know next week?” That was fair enough, I thought. I don’t need it, but it might be handy if there’s a lower interest rate than some other loans I’ve got.

“No, you see, this is a ‘pre-approved‘ Line of Credit without any need to show proof of revenue. If you apply for a Line of Credit next week, then we’ll need to go through the whole approval process with proof of revenue.” So, because a computer thinks I’m worth it, then I get to go further in debt with them while they don’t have to do as much paperwork. I’m starting to see how this ‘relationship’ is balancing out.

Frankly, I didn’t like having a ‘limited-time offer’ proposed to me by the one person who should be encouraging me to value careful, rational thought when it comes to my money. “No thanks, I’m not interested”, was the nicest thing I could think to say.

In addition to that event, my FA used to work Saturdays on appointment up in York Region. No longer. However, with both Simone and I living downtown and working five days a week, there’s no time when when we can go meet with our own, personal representative of CIBC.

Nothing against our FA, but clearly there’s a portfolio of clients that doesn’t require the effort to work on Saturday anymore. That’s no good for us since the branch is way up in York Region. So now I’m seriously considering moving FA’s, or even banks.

I wonder what the Caymans are like, this time of year?