Polkapolooza 3 : Rise of Polk



On the Road again!



  I live my life out in the open, large and loud with no filter except the ones on my pictures to clean up my days. I proudly enjoy my beer and shout from the rooftops my undying love for those who make it. Rescued from a fate surely locked in to an early grave, my journey from macro pounder to appreciator of the finer things in malted barley has been one of joy and exploration. For the third year in a row, we are taking that gratitude on the road in a week long road tripping, beer running trek of Ontario Craft Beer.

  Polkapolooza was conceived in March of 2016 to celebrate Ontario craft beer and what it had come to mean to me. I conveniently selected my birthday week and we made 22 stops at breweries over 5 days and 1200 kilometres as we tentatively put our toes in the water when it came to beer road trips. Many day jaunts followed and we fell in love with time spent in a tap room, often surrounded by new and old friends talking about beers past, present and future. 


Our first Charcuterie at Barnstormer's (2016)

  2017 saw us take Polkapolooza to another level with the 2nd annual tour being dubbed "Electric Polkaloo", encompassing 2500 kilometres, 7 days and a point of pride, for me anyway, 50 Ontario Craft Breweries from Ottawa to London. It was a pretty epic journey that included a few snowstorms, some luck and a whole lot of great people we met along the way. We found our friends waiting for us at many stops and that was a hell of a thing to discover. Heading out with no expectations and being blown away by the kindness and friendship we discovered was truly a blessing we are eternally grateful for.



Always together! From 2017 Polkapolooza tour

  Polkapolooza 3 : Rise of Polk commences Sunday March 11th and will go 7 days again this year, sending us east and west in a joyous exploration and pursuit of our next favourite beer, taproom and hopefully some new friends. I have pushed the limit to 61 Ontario Craft breweries and well over 2200 kilometres as we once again want to use this week to showcase so many of our gratitude and love for all this community has meant to us. It's about the people, the beer and what we can do to help spread the gospel of a better way of life and drinking.

Meeting friends we didn't know we had in 2017!

  I chose Rise of Polk because I still feel like we have only scratched the surface for what we can become. a market share that hasn't yet surpassed 10% and so many people we can help see the light means our work has just begun. I join with my fellow beer lovers who share their pictures, stories, videos and reviews in wanting to make sure the next beer you have is one that may alter the course of your life. I do this because I am utterly convinced that craft beer not only saved my life, it changed it and me for the better. It helped me to come to terms with a life lived in the shadows, learn to express myself in a way I thought I had lost and helped me connect with who I truly want to be. That work isn't done yet either and as my 45th birthday rushes toward me near the end of the trip, I can hope the backend of my life will be filled with more happiness and positive experiences than I thought possible.
  Follow along on Twitter (@DrunkPolkaroo ) and Instagram (Drunk Polkaroo) as we start my favourite road trip of the year. The stops for this year's tour are posted below, with any luck we will be able to make them all. I hope to see some of you as we pass by your town, come out and say hello, I've always got time for friends I just haven't met yet!




Cheers!

Day 1 (Sun Mar 11th) -
Something Polk this way comes (326 km)
1. Manantler Brewing
2. Sir Monty's Brewing
3. Little Beasts Brewing
4. Brock Street Brewing
5. 5 Paddles Brewing
6. Town Brewery
7. Falcon Brewing
8. Rouge River Brewing

Day 2 (Mon Mar 12th) -
D.Polk in the 6ix (169 km)
1. Black Oak Brewing
2. Great Lakes Brewery
3. Muddy York Brewing
4. Left Field Brewery
5. Eastbound Brewery
6. Steamwhistle Brewing
7. Amsterdam Brewhouse
8. Bellwoods Brewery
9. Henderson Brewing
10. Indie Alehouse

Day 3 (Tue Mar 13th) -
Polk goes North (575 km)
1. Muskoka Brewery
2. Sawdust City Brewing
3. Flying Monkey's Brewery
4. Barnstormer Brewing
5. Redline Brewhouse
6. Side Launch Brewing
7. Northwinds Brewhouse

Day 4 (Wed Mar 14th) -
Niagara Polks and Rec (256 km)
1. Brimstone Brewing
2. Niagara Brewing Company
3. Taps on Queen Brewhouse
4. The Exchange Brewery
5. Niagara Oast House Brewers
6. Silversmith Brewing
7. Lock Street Brewing
8. Kame and Kettle Brewing

Day 5 (Thur Mar 15th) -
Westward Polk (343 km)
1. Sons of Kent Brewing
2. Frank Brewing
3. Sandwich Brewing
4. Brew Microbrewery
5. Midian Brewing
6. Walkerville Brewing
7. Chapter 2 Brewing
8. Motor Craft Ales

Day 6 (Fri Mar 16th) (Also Polk's actual B-Day!!) -
Take the long Polk Home (478 km)
1. Refined Fool Brewing
2. Rusty Wrench Brewing
3. Strathroy Brewing
4. Storm Stayed Brewing
5. Toboggan Brewing
6. London Co-op Brewing
7. Anderson Craft Ales
8. Forked River Brewing
9. Railway City Brewing
10. New Limburg Brewing
11. Concession Road Brewing

Day 7 (Sat Mar 17th) -
Home Sweet Polk (102 km)
1. Cameron's Brewing
2. Nickel Brook Brewing
3. Shawn and Ed's Brewing
4. Fairweather Brewing
5. Grain and Grit Brewing
6. Merit Brewing
7. Rust City Brewery
8. Collective Arts Brewing
9. Clifford Brewing