I’m going to do something a little odd here and use the blog briefly as a platform for a public service announcement.

I got into the Niagara College Brewmaster program this year, and that’ll be starting up on the 7^th of September. Apparently there are going to be 36 students this year. So far, I’ve only met one of them. Sebastian something or other from Flying Monkeys. I don’t recall the last name because at the time I met the fellow, he was serving me a 3300 IBU beer with a very high alcohol content and it was the end of Ontario Craft Beer Week. That means that somewhere out there are 34 slightly inebriated miscreants with nothing better to do with their lives than brew some beer.

Anyway, if it’s anything like last year, there are going to be people commuting from Toronto to Niagara-on-the-lake. That probably means that carpools are a good idea. Not only is it cheaper in terms of mileage, but also better for the environment. Unfortunately, due to the college’s stringent privacy policies, there’s no way of getting a list of who’s going to be in the class of 2013. They’re noted for their almost legendary stringency. My god, are they ever stringent. I talked to a couple of profs about it and they looked as though I had suggested some incredibly devious and unconscionable act. It was almost as though they had misheard “is there a list of students going into the program this fall?” as “I’m just going to go over there, put a puppy in a blender and hit liquefy.”

For that reason, I’m posting this in order to see if we can’t get some kind of organization going. It would be fun to meet up prior to the start of school in Toronto for a late summer afternoon meet and greet style event. Possibly at the Only Café, since it’s inexpensive and has a pretty good selection.

If you’re going into Niagara College’s brewing program this fall, go ahead and contact me by email at Jordan.stjohn@gmail.com or on twitter (@saints_gambit). You might also want to try and get into the facebook group that the school has organized.