Cracking Open a Cold One

Ontario's summer this year to date has been a sizzler. According to Environment Canada's records, July 2010 saw 10 days with temperatures that were over 30 degrees celsius. There weren't any days last July that reached such highs. Peterborough experienced the highest humidex value of 45 on July 8 but values of 44 were recorded at Toronto Pearson on July 5, and in London on July 7. The UV index - the strength of the sun's ultraviolet rays - has also been setting records. Using that index, a reading of 6 or 7 is "High" while 8 to 10 is "Very High". During that same period, "Extreme" UV index readings of 11+ were forecast for more than one location, an occurrence that is rare, indeed, in Canada. All the while, the government has been issuing air-quality warnings and extreme heat alerts.
Now, it seems that August will head in the same direction, with yesterday's humidex talking Toronto temps into the low 40's. How to survive the heat is becoming the topic de jour around the water cooler, but being Canadian generally means taking a phlegmatic approach to most problems, including those posed by the weather. Of course, everyone with air conditioning has been keeping it cranked up, but many have sought out another antidote to the high temps; a relaxed, laid-back one that doesn't strain the power grid. A recent Ipsos-Reid poll shows that 33 per cent of Canadians choose the brown bottle as their favorite summer drink, and the latest figures from the LCBO more than back that up. The figures show that sales of barley pop have been pushed to new highs by the heat baking Ontario so far this summer. Chris Layton, an LCBO spokesperson, says that, "(T)he volume sales of beers and ciders were up 11.5 per cent or 2.4 million litres." for the past month, Layton explained that's a million more six-packs this year than last, in the same four-week period. He also announced that sales of single cans of Ontario brewskis have shot up by 46 per cent.
If you find yourself this summer in the same straits as Ontario, baking in a heatwave that brings new meaning to "prickly heat", there's really no need to get your knickers in a knot. Just do like the Canucks - head to the fridge, or your favourite watering hole, and crack open a cold one. It should help you get by 'til the weather changes and the summer's heat is gone.