All posts by Red Hunt

A former journalist and business analyst that now works in the world of travel marketing. Based in Toronto, Red Hunt has travelled to more than 50 countries over the past 15 years. You can follow Red on Instagram or Twitter.

Beer

The Evolution of Breweries in Toronto

June 19, 2012 Red Hunt 1 Comment

This week is officially ‘Ontario Craft Beer‘ week, with literally hundreds of beer events happening across Ontario, promoted by local breweries, bars and the Ontario Craft Brewers Association.

In Toronto, it seems that there are new brewpubs and breweries sprouting up every couple of months now. This evolution of breweries in Toronto means it is exciting times for the local craft beer lover!

Spearhead Brewery helped to get it started last year, with the successful launch of their hoppy Hawaiian-style IPA beer. Building on that success, they’re planning to get their beer into the LCBO and start producing two new beers. Since then the Indie Alehouse, Kensington Brewing Company, Junction Craft Brewing, Hogtown Brewers and Bellwoods Brewery have come into existence.

A Glass of Spearhead Hawaiian Pale Ale at Smokeless Joe in Toronto

If that isn’t enough, more new breweries, like Sawdust City in Huntsville, are showing up around the province.

The best part about this influx of new breweries is that willing or not, established breweries in Toronto and Ontario are upping their game to meet the demand for new styles and flavourful beers.

Amsterdam Brewery, Downtown Toronto — Amsterdam Brewery – One Toronto Brewery producing One-Off and Seasonal-Release Beers

Flying Monkeys is a great example of this. Their re-branding quickly launched them to fandom amongst craft beer lovers a few years ago and their Smashbomb Atomic IPA helped fuel the local hop craze. But Black Oak has 10 Bitter Years, Great Lakes has Karma Citra and Amsterdam has Boneshaker IPA. They’re all pumping out special beers at a near constant rate; plus these are just a few examples of local breweries upping their game.

The most promising thing is that a number of these special beers are turning into regular releases at the LCBO, as the awareness of and interest in craft beer has become more mainstream. With enough demand, it seems almost any style of beer has a chance of succeeding in Ontario, and specifically, Toronto these days.

All in all, it is going to be a great summer for beer lovers in Ontario. If you want to know more about some of the newest local beers and breweries, check out the links above and enjoy Ontario Craft Beer Week!

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Rose-ringed Parakeet

June 13, 2012 Red Hunt Leave a comment

This wild Parakeet in Sri Lanka caught my eye because of it’s fantastic colours.

I had never seen a Parakeet in the wild before, I actually never knew where they came from – I jsut knew they seemed to pop up in pet stores all of the time, so it was nice to see one out in the open spaces of Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka.

This Rose-ringed, or Ring-necked Parakeet was one of a handful that I saw flying around in the park, which is a popular spot for people who enjoy birding.

Wildlife and Nature

Piranha Fishing in the Pantanal

June 11, 2012 Red Hunt 3 Comments

Whenever I mention going fishing for Piranhas, people seem shocked.

I suppose they envision me fighting off a school of man-eating fish with my bare hands. It’s not quite like that, it’s really more of a laid-back afternoon in the sun, using long fishing poles while dangling morsels of meat in the water.

It seems the Piranhas are smart little things too, as they don’t all go crazy at the first sight of flesh. Heck, when I was safely fishing from a top a bridge a local Pantanal fisherman was wading through waist high water nearby. So, really, how dangerous could they be?

What most people don’t know is that there are anywhere from 30-60 different types of Piranhas in the world!

The Pantanal Wetlands – A Pretty Place even if you don’t catch Piranhas

One type, the Red-Bellied Piranha, is the one that is most aggressive and frequently resorts to cannibalism. As far as I could tell, the Pirhanas I was fishing for were one of the much lazier, less scary species. But – they still had damn sharp teeth!

It was a fun day, despite not really catching anything. A few people I was with had better success, so we were able to dine on some Piranha for dinner. What I enjoyed most was just being out in nature, in the world’s largest wetlands. Birds, fish, caiman and all sorts of wildlife live in the Pantanal in Brazil.

It’s a place I’d love to return to in search of more wildlife like otters, anteaters and jaguars. Perhaps I’ll fare a little better with my Pirhana fishing skills next time too. If you’re wondering where my photos of the actual Piranhas are…well, the only photo of the too0thy little things I took came out blurry. Another reason to return…

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Spotted Hyena

June 6, 2012 Red Hunt Leave a comment

The Spotted Hyena is most famous for it’s eerie laughing sound, which gives it the nickname ‘Laughing Hyena’.

The most populous and most efficient carnivore in all of Africa, Hyenas have extremely strong jaws and digestive abilities that allow them to eat fur, bones and virtually any other types of animal remains.

They commonly hunt in large groups, but also hunt on their own or steal and scavenge from other predators like Lions and Leopards.

Wildlife and Nature

A Day at the Zoo in San Diego

June 4, 2012 Red Hunt 4 Comments

Are you a fan of Zoos?

I like to consider myself a wildlife enthusiast and explorer, so I generally steer clear of Zoos and Aquariums. Mostly because I just prefer to see animals in the wild, but partially because I have seen enough captive animals over the years to know that not all Zoos and Aquariums are created equal.

Some Zoos, however are doing great things in the name of science, conservation and the re-introduction of endangered plant an animal species into the wild. Once such organization is the San Diego Zoo.

An ‘Elephant’ outside the San Diego Zoo Entrance

When I visited, I had to choose between spending a day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, or the San Diego Zoo. The ‘Safari Park’ as the name implies is a wide open, outdoor park fashioned to be like the great plains of Africa, where wild animals roam free. As I’ve been on Safari in Africa, I was more curious to see how the original San Diego Zoo was. Could it really live up to the hype I’d heard? After all, many people have claimed it to be the best Zoo in the world!

In short, the answer was yes.

There was only one exhibit – one animal – I saw in the San Diego Zoo that seemed to be unhappy. It was a cat, which I briefly saw pacing around in it’s enclosure. Obviously not a natural habit, it was evident that the cat wasn’t perfectly happy. But with that said, it was in a temporary enclosure at the time, so by now it is hopefully roaming around in a bigger space and enjoying life a little more.

Zebra Closeup — Black with White stripes? Nope – White with Black stripes!

All the other animals I saw, seemed to be in healthy, happy shape. Many of them were quite active and in most cases they had what seemed to be tons of space, compared to exhibits at some other Zoos I have been to.

I was particularly impressed with the Tiger enclosure.

Tiger Attack! — Tiger Attacking a Toy Ball at San Diego Zoo

One of the staff members was doing a talk about the Tigers when I arrived and it was evident that they had put a lot of time and effort into making sure the Tigers were staying active and as ‘wild’ as they could be.

The many different kinds of Bears as well as the always fun Meerkats were quite entertaining as well. Even the long wait in line to see the ever-popular Panda Bears was worth it. While the Pandas weren’t exactly putting on an exciting show, the Red Pandas did provide some entertainment during the time in line.

Meerkat at San Diego Zoo — A Meerkat on the prowl at San Diego Zoo

A sign that I had a great time was that the day went by fast, I arrived when the Zoo opened at didn’t leave until it was getting ready to close. I had planned to check out more local attractions that day, but in the end I just headed back to my hostel. (If you’re going to San Diego – I stayed at the HI in Point Loma, a really nice place in a quiet part of the city – one of the best hostels I’ve stayed at.)

Red Panda Photo — A Red Panda photographed at San Diego Zoo

While I’d love to be able to see every animal from the San Diego Zoo in their natural habitat, I know I likely won’t have the chance to travel to so many far flung forests and deserts. If you’re a fan of Zoos, don’t miss the one in San Diego and if you’re not a fan of Zoos, I recommend it any ways just to see how well run a Zoo can be.

It’s easily the best Zoo I’ve been to for both how free the animals seemed and how educated and enthusiastic the staff were.

Red Hunt Travel