THUNDER BAY - It was an intense beer pong match like no other and for good reason – there was a lot riding on this one beyond simple bragging rights.
But in the end, it was Carlie Pennock who beat fellow competitor, Patricia DePiero, to be named the first Sleeping Giant Brewing Company Real Northern Logger.
“I’m excited and I’m relieved that it’s over,” Pennock said.
The final round in a competition that began earlier this year to find the Real Northern Logger wrapped up in the Sleeping Giant Brewery Pop-up Shop at the Intercity Shopping Centre on Saturday.
Last weekend, five competitors faced off in an obstacle course at the Brewery, with Pennock and DePiero being named the two finalists.
Seeing the final competition was a mock beer pong match, which used cups of water and small sample cups of beer, received mixed emotions from the two competitors.
“I was pretty excited that it was beer bong,” Pennock said. “And it went really well. I do have some experience.”
“I was very upset, because I absolutely despise beer bong,” DePiero said, adding that she was hoping for maybe something a little more trivia based.
“This week I was reading up on lumberjack trivia,” she said. “Seriously, hours and hours of reading lumberjack stuff, for nothing.”
In a best of three competition, Pennock took the first round quite handily. During the second round, DePiero kept it close and the two were down to three cups each, but Pennock was able to nail her shots, knocking DePiero out of the running.
“I’m trying to stop myself from crying,” DePiero said after the match.
Pennock walks away with the label as the Real Northern Logger, an engraved axe, and a year of free beer.
“I just tried to relax and do my best and it worked out for me,” Pennock said. "For Halloween I made a Mr. Canoehead costume, and they came up with this contest, so I decided to do the contest and the rest is history.”
For Joanna Dowhos, Sleeping Giant Brewery Pop-up Shop manager, the first Real Northern Logger competition was a huge success.
“We had two great contestants that are really good at representing what it is to be the Northern Logger but Carlie came on through and won the pong challenge,” she said.
The contest is named after Northern Logger, one of Sleeping Giant Brewery’s most popular craft beers.
“We really wanted to engage the community and give Northwestern Ontario an identity when it comes who the Northern Logger is,” Dowhos said. “We really believe in supporting local and this is a really great event to bring people into that kind of environment.”
Dowhos added the fact that the two final contestants were women shows that women not only enjoy craft beer just as much as men, but also breaks down stereotypes of what the Real Northern Logger should be.
“When they won the obstacle course, I said future is female,” Dowhos said. “That is a great thing. It just shows you don’t have to be a guy with a beard to be the Northern Logger.”
“I’m not surprised at all,” DePiero added. “I’m a strong, independent woman. I feel bad for the guys, but hashtag sorry, not sorry.”
Pennock said she will be back next year to defend her title if she can. DePiero, who signed up to represent her local roller derby team, the Grizzly Madams, said she won’t be back, but this probably won’t be the last time you see the Grizzly Madams.
“They’ve seen all my tricks,” she said. “I busted out my flag, my outfits, my red lips, which is my staple for roller derby. But maybe someone else from the Grizzly Madams will.”
