Rhymes with Polk

another beer won't make a difference

another pint won't let me down

another bottle tossed to my way

another chance for me to drown

  Why poetry?
  Long ago, I was a rather capable wordsmith. My younger years were filled with awards and citations for my ability to communicate with both the written and spoken word. I was a voracious reader and I enjoyed distilling that information while I was at school to no end. I actually found peace in the pursuit of knowledge until I didn't and then things changed. Part of that life was poems, short stories and other musings but I had long since given up hope of ever rekindling that love of words as the darkness enveloped me and I lost direction with abandon. 
  But of course, you know I found my way back and here we are.
The original question remains though, why poetry? It isn't particularly clever and often isn't good, but it is a very large part of how I deal with and process events in my life on a daily basis.  I like the way the words make me feel when I can fit them into a pattern and craft a narrative in 280  characters or less, although I often do have to start a three or four tweet thread to accommodate a larger one. The tenor and voice of each poem reflects what is happening to me at that very moment, they do not sit waiting for a particular special time to be published. I don't hoard them and to be honest, they seem to come in bunches and despite the fact that I know they get lost in the void, I would rather they exist that way than in what would feel like a false time to me.
                                    

The muse is often beer

Of this I am quite certain

The drunker that I get

The more open the curtain

  A world where I can express my inner thoughts with poetry is one where I seem to not be so anxious, so tired and so down. It lifts me in a way that getting drunk used to and when I have gone to long without finding a way to create something from this ordinary life. I sometimes can be crude and other times reflective, but always I seek words that will bring the ravenous beast in my head to heel. It lunges from under my happiness and snaps at my heels as I work to stay one step ahead and above ground. These are not just words and rhyming, they are stanzas that shield me from the worst I have inside me, trying to get out. The flow from line to line and seeking words that work is part of the purity I find when inspired to create. It is never just about what is written, it is the fact that I can write at all that means the most to me.

Strike hard upon the corner

Cap falls quickly to the ground

Pour gentle with a soft hand

Then raise up and drink it down

Cheers!

Polk

The Polk, Myself and I

  There are three of us living here. Polk, who lives life through beer. Robert, who works 50+ hours a week to provide for this family and Rob, who is rarely seen and never heard from outside of this house.

  I am not suffering a break down or losing my mind, as it were, but rather looking at how compartmentalized my life has become in the last few years. I spent the majority of my adult years wandering through life with little direction, lurching from disaster to disaster and drowning my sorrows nightly in copious amounts of terrible beer and liquor. Things have changed for the better in the last few years but my struggle with alcohol, depression and life in general have only morphed and become more confusing.
  For most of my life I have been the good time guy, the party dude. I was the one planning and hosting bashes and family events, bringing people together and generally floating through life without much self reflection. My ability to close of parts of my life from others was reflected in my not caring if I was on the slow road to self destruction even as the walls came down around me. I fiddled while my personal Rome burned and it almost consumed me along with it.
  It wasn't that I didn't care, I am a reasonably intelligent guy and I watched, almost detached, as I careened down a path I didn't want to choose but was drawn to nonetheless. Catching a branch on that hill, craft beer became my hand up, my way out and I scrambled to find my footing as it slowly became more and more who I was. In a positive way, it changed the way I looked at my beer and after a little over 2 years, I have left the darkness behind...I hope.
  Getting back to the original inspiration for this post, my life has begun to feel even more and more like I am living 3 different lives in 1.  When we go to work, we try to put our best self forward. For me it is working with the public and having people I am responsible for that has me putting on that mask every morning and bing the most positive and cheerful fellow you know. I emphasize the bright side in all things and work very hard to make sure that I help bring that kind of energy to my interactions with everyone I meet. I do not allow myself to have a bad day and any negativity must be swept away with humour and a smile. Always the good guy, the day can weigh heavy but when someone is paying you to do a job, that shouldn't matter. Working in an ultra competitive industry with constant pressure to be better, sell more and keep the standards high has it`s pressures but that is Robert`s problem and where we leave them when closing time hits.
  Coming home leaves me only a few minutes to put everything away in my mind and move into my self for a while. I worry, I vent, I get angry and I let it go. As with the early morning hours before a shift, Rob spends that brief time trying to convince himself that life will be okay, that he can go to work, that the world will not collapse about his ears every single day. He is naturally pessimistic and this is why I spend as little time as possible in this state. It isn't like I switch them on and off but by focusing my energy in a specific direction, I can make that doubting, sad man disappear for a while.
  Polk is an easy going guy, most of the time. Occasional Twitter rants aside, I maintain a very happy go lucky attitude that looks for the best in people and does it genuinely. I always feel like this is me at my best and strive to put that me out there. Different from work me because there it can be forced and strained to keep my cool, while inside my little world of Polk, I`m actually happy.
  Craft beer helped me find something inside myself I didn't know existed and while I try to keep that kind of attitude all the time, being that guy can be just as draining as work Robert.
  Balance in all things is what I seek and while this may be a little tongue in cheek, it feels very real sometimes. But as a way to deal with what life can throw at me and still find some joy after a lifetime of making mistakes, it works and that is what really matters.

Cheers!

Polk
 

That Seems Like a Lot - A real look at what I spent on Craft Beer in 2018

I got nuthin'



10%
  By itself, not a terrible number. Well, maybe if it was your chances of surviving the year or something like that but saying you spent 10% of your money on something over a full year doesn't sound so bad. Groceries maybe? Sure, that would be a pretty good guess but if you know me you know where all that money went...
Craft beer.
Yep.
I know, right?
Wait, you heard I got everything for free and was basically a paid spokesperson or (according to some) a shill? Oh, don't I wish...
Numbers Don't Lie
  Why I thought I should go back through 2018 and see exactly where we spent all of our hard earned cash is beyond me but with the dawn of the new year I guess I hoped it would be beneficial for us to look what we bought and how we could do better when it comes to our finances. But still, the total even shocked me. At that level, we could have enjoyed a vacation somewhere warm a couple times over and still spent less than most people do on beer, with money for Starbuck's coffee every damn day left.
  How did this happen? To be honest, it kind of crept up on me without me even knowing. We visit a lot of breweries in a month, some for the first time, others because we love returning for the beer and the people but even I was not prepared for just how much money we laid out. So let's break it down and see where we went and how we spent.

we do this often

  In 2018 we visited 91 Ontario Craft Breweries, primarily in the first half of the year as the last 6 months were a trying time personally with 2 job changes and some anxiety issues. Of those, their were 22 we went to more than once and 7 we visited more than 10 times. A part of why our number of individual breweries visited was lower last year than the previous one was the 5 Hamilton breweries that I could hit up easily whenever they had a new release available or just wanted some fresh beer made longer trips unnecessary. Collective Arts (25 times), Clifford (23), Fairweather (19), Merit (12) and Grain and Grit (11) make up 90 of the over 220 times we visited a brewery in 2018 or around 40%. Having great beer so close to home made it easy to not go exploring when I wasn't feeling quite like myself.

Collective Arts Ransack the Universe
Our most visited brewery in 2018

  A lot of numbers and I have no doubt that many people visited more breweries or hit up their locals more than 25 times but it is what it is. To get into what we spent is a little too much but I will use the most extreme example of what this hobby costs us, also taking into account the cost of lodging, food or gas when we travel around Ontario in search of stories to tell and beer to drink.

one of our favourites, Muddy York Brewing on Toronto's East side
10 visits in 2018

Polkapolooza 3 : Rise of Polk 2018

 Most of you know we take a week every year, for the last 3 years, to celebrate Ontario Craft Beer with the Polkapolooza tour. This year was the largest and most ambitious as we hit 61 breweries in 7 days from Windsor to Muskoka and all points in between for a total of over 2400 kilometres. We did day trips for most with one overnighter in Windsor mid week. Lodging, food and gas ran us a fairly reasonable $850, not bad when you are travelling from early morning to late at night and need that Timmies to fuel your passion. It was what we spent on beer that caught my eye as I examined our purchases month to month. At just a little over $1060, we perhaps were a little too generous in our support and despite some freebies along the way, we wanted to spread the love and make sure we bought something at each stop. It only averages out to $17 a brewery, but when you're visiting 61 of them, it adds up fast.

a good chunk of Polkapolooza

  Now I know a lot of people will be taken aback by spending two grand on a week of driving around visiting breweries but for us it is a passion we have and we enjoy each others company as we travel the long stretches of Ontario's highways. It was a most wonderful vacation filled with new friends, old friends and memories to last a lifetime.

meeting Sam for the first time was amazing

LCBO and Asking my Pals

 That one month was a big chunk of what we spent and the 100 plus LCBO visits were perhaps the other. Hitting different ones in the city a couple times a week wasn't uncommon as I sought out new releases and old favourites alike and while I should perhaps stop going in so much, it is still the most convenient way to get beer from further a field and of course a few international gems. My overall average spend was much lower, under $10 for the most part as I usually only bought one or two things.

  As I compiled all this data I got curious as to what the beer people around me were spending and I did a Twitter poll and another one on Facebook. The vast majority of beer drinkers who I know tend to fall (they think) into the $100 to $200 dollar a month average when it comes to their beer. Even a decent macro lager consumer is probably at say 2 or 3 cases month and hitting the hundred easily so I am pretty comfortable with that being the average. While I am not comfortable posting the actual total of what we spent because at that point I am pretty sure I would have way too much explaining to do to concerned family members, let's just say I was way above average when it came to monthly expenditures in beer...

  Perhaps the only time in my life that I am in the 1%.
  But what fuelled this mad spending? I have a few thoughts and I know that most of them are about my love of sharing my day with the world. I enjoy the posts I get to make everyday on Instagram and the short videos on YouTube. It is like leaving a part of me that will last long after I have left this earth to say that I was here and I existed. It is my legacy and my way of communicating with a world I often have trouble being a part of. Outside of work and home, I sometimes struggle to go anywhere. Visiting a taproom makes me feel like I am part of something special and it brings me peace to hang out or even stop in for a little bit to just get a few beers for home. I enjoy trying new and unusual beers and while I have gotten better at not buying one of everything when we are at a brewery, I think that is where I could learn a little self control.
What I learned and what I hope to do 

 It would be a lie if I told you I will now totally cut back my beer purchases and pledge to cut back on our trips to breweries. I know myself well enough to know that it doesn't work that way but this exploration of where our money went in 2018 has given me enough pause to see that as part of a new way to approach beer in 2019, I need to add this delectable beverage to the budget and try to stick to it as best I can. I need to learn to just buy the beer that truly interests me and not think I have to one of everything or multiples so I look cool or some other nonsense that pops into my head. I need to drink what's in my fridge and maybe make a little room for new beer. And finally I need to find a way to accept that I am so very lucky to have a good job, an active partner in this and a community that is so much fun to be a part of that I don't have to buy all of the damn beer I come into contact with.

  I promise I am looking at myself with a jaded eye after all of my past forays into trying to be moderate but I do have an end game in mind when it comes to saving some beer money for something a little more grand and I hope that goal will help me along the way. Spending a week somewhere with some cold cervezas, warm sun and white sand would be a right proper thing to aspire to and it is just what I am going to do.

 The empties most certainly won't pay for that...well, not all of it anyway.

Cheers!
Polk

Enjoy the Core - Flagship beers in a FOMO Era : Polk's Opinion

  

2019 begins and once again we start our year in beer with a look at what we drink while we think.
 The last 4 years have personally been a tremendous period of exploring and finding exciting, unique craft beers from new and favourite brewers alike, but I was reminded last week of the other part of what we do. Drink those beers that got us here and those we have around almost all the time, or used to. Should we be going back more often to those original and introductory beers? Indeed and we should do it with an eye to seeing just how far we've come as consumers of this wonderful, happy elixir.

Enjoy the Core.

My first craft beer love

  We will always persue the new and different, the returning favourites and the one-off collaboration brews but it is the ones we pour week in and week out that we have come to talk about today. While the sheer number of breweries in this province means we are never short of the novel and shiny bright, new beer feel, we have favourites and that is okay too.

1st mad tom, 2014

  For me, the word core or flagship can mean a couple of things, especially given that not every beer hits the LCBO and your local craft brewery may have a beer that sticks around most of the time, enough that you have it pretty regularly anyway, and so it is core to you. When talking returning or seasonal beers, these factor into the conversation for the sake of their constantly appearing at a certain time each year to fill in a void in the beer calendar, but  For today, let's stick to the beers you can usually count on getting when you want them.
The Flagship journey begins with my first favourite beers...

my beer fridge circa 2014

  For as long as I can remember I was a Molson guy. My go to beers were almost always a Canadian or (blech) Molson Dry and I was content to sit around, day after day, just pounding back this tasteless, albeit well made and unchanging, macro beer. The odd foray into MGD or Stella when I wanted something fancy was not uncommon, although when a 24 of anything went on sale or had some cool swag, I would have no problem switching allegiance to save a couple bucks or get a new shirt. The market is filled with people like I was, like maybe you were too, buying case after case, unending and uninterested in Craft beer or any other such nonsense. As I started to drink heavily, I drifted to the discount brands to save even more money and increase the stretch of my beer money. Lakeport led to Brava led to Brava Light and that was rock bottom as 6 packs of BL would disappear within minutes and the beer barely registered on it's way down.

Brava Light birthday cake

An actual thing that I used to do

  Moving on and up, my trips into craft beer were slow and steady, pushing out the room I once made for the super light and crushable barley pops and I turned to PBR and Old Milwaukee as my own personal core and "cleanser" (what we called the cans we would drink between sharing a new beer) drinks, still loyal to the idea of drinking one thing all the time with little sparks of genius lighting the path far down the line. Slowly the tide turned and despite the Untappd check-ins and badge whoredom, eventually even certain craft beers became regulars amidst the pursuit of the new.

  My first loves and pints of much return were toasty and a little bitter as Great Lakes Brewery Pompous Ass and Grand River Curmudgeon gained a foothold in my heart.

I miss this

These were followed by Mill Street vanilla Porter and finally the big and piney Nickel Brook Headstock and Amsterdam Boneshaker before my much beloved Collective Arts Ransack the Universe gave me a hometown option I am still in love with to this day. I am an unabashed west coast loving IPA guy and it all stems from my core fridge beers moving in a slow but steady rise in bitterness. I buy the 1st one and the latter 3 fairly often and indeed in 2018 I talked about core beers over 180 times (out of 976 posts on Instagram) just because they still make me smile when I pour them in my glass. While they are decidedly hoppy in their nature, I love to look at the beers that helped bring to where I am now so I can see how much I've learned and if it is me or they who have changed.

vintage can, beauty beer

  Having said all that about my personal trip round the beer world, I was reminded of the core beer and their perceived decline in pursuit of the new when Stephen Beaumont (link here) tweeted about the drop in sales of certain classic American Craft beers like Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada Pale ale and had the idea of doing a Flagship February, sort of a look back at where we came from and what they meant to us then and now. A fine idea and one I am fully intending to get down with, as it is one I already do on occasion now. But more on that when February gets closer.

all time fave that is always on hand

  While I have no doubt market saturation fuels some of that and the sheer rise in options available to beer drinkers at a local level must come into play, I wonder if it is the same here in Canada, specifically Ontario. While I lack the data to say for sure, based on what I see in my extensive feed and the response I get to my own writing about those beers we get all the time, I don't think it is as bad as all that. A world that saw little in the way of choice at the LCBO and no local options would obviously have kept sales of personal staples like Muskoka Mad Tom or GLB's Canuck higher than they are now but that is not only the result of those who pursue what we like to call "Ticking" or checking in on Untappd or any other app for tracking your beer. There are simply more choices and that is excellent for beer drinkers. But still the question remains...
  Is it a bad thing to want to try and experience new and different beers?
  Isn't that what attracted us to craft beer in the first place?
  Innovation and the rise in the number of available options has had to have some impact on core sales but that doesn't mean we don't love them just the same. I seek them out fairly regularly and write about how much I have changed since I first tried them. Often I come to appreciate them far more now that I understand myself and my palate much better after exploring all that has passed through my glass. A look through the many good beer folk I know on social media shows a near constant thread of new beers but an equal number of them enjoying their local or first favourites. We love to share what we enjoy regularly and that is part of what we do on social media. Especially if it is your local craft brewery where you have come to know the people who work there and become a regular at the tap room.

Refilled many times with my favourite beers

  So while I will admit I feel like there is a decline in the long standing flagship beers of yore, it is not necessarily that we have turned away from them but rather that we now have close by and local options that have become our new regular beers. The changing landscape of craft beer in Ontario has been ramped up in the last 3 years and with the continued expansion into more towns and even neighbourhoods, we will see new favourite core beers emerge for those who live close by.

constantly one of the best

Life is all about exploring and learning, keep looking for new and wonderful creations but don't forget where you came from and who helped get you here.


Cheers!
Polk

 

2019 - Polk's Thoughts and Hopes

With 2018 starting it's fade to black, I return to my tradition and look forward to what the coming year may bring for Ontario Craft beer. I have no inside knowledge, nor am I by any means an expert on anything but my own palate and observations, I am just a guy who really loves the community and of course, the beer. 
  The following thoughts are perhaps best described as hopes, dreams and a little reality as the calendar surges forward and craft beer grows and matures along with us as consumers.
 Predictions, thoughts and a little look into the mirror as we begin 2019.
1. All beer is Local
  Well of course it is Polk, everything is local somewhere. While this is facetious but factual, the point I have come to make is that it will become even more hyper localised as we go forward. with the exception of the strong regional breweries (Great Lakes, Muskoka, Amsterdam, et all), the future of the smaller, nano and micro breweries will be in serving their communities and the surrounding environs with both liquid and social refreshment. Not a large economic concern but rather a smaller, more sensitive to the seasons and the ebb and flow of the population around them, these breweries will do well to serve as both touristy beer destinations and hubs of local activity. From hosting their own events to bringing in civic organizations for fundraising nights, these breweries will do well serving the immediate area around them, encompassing small town bars and restaurants with an eye to the bottom line as many will have to stay small to maximize profit but perhaps also provide a nice life for the owners/brewers and a dedicated staff.

2. It's in the Mail
  While a nice chunk, about 20%, of Ontario Craft brewers offer online sales and home delivery through Canada Post, the majority have yet to seize on this excellent resource for getting their beer into the hands of consumers far away. Part of the problem is the need to build the website to handle the ordering, which without an in-house option could be an expense not worth its creation. packaging and what to offer online are core questions as well as what the market will bear when it comes to the dreaded shipping charges. Minimum orders or even a lack of interest in the product outside of the immediate environs will also be deal breakers for many small brewers. As with the LCBO or Beer Store, the online sales provide a secondary revenue stream which can provide much needed income to an out of the way stop. The larger brewers who have extensive listings at the provincial level stay away from this, with a few exceptions like Sawdust City and my own hometown Collective Arts, simply because I imagine they just can't justify the need to add to an already heavy sales schedule. Perhaps I am reaching but I see a continuing rise of online sales with the most sought after and unique offerings driving those brewers profits higher and leading to an even larger footprint without the traditional sales plan.

3. Your Unique and I want You
  The rise of the Whale is always part of any expansion of great craft beer. Some magical genius with hops and barley hits the jackpot with their ability to create the next big thing and people all over are clamouring for it. Be it a far away location from the big urban centres, a small production or just the sheer purchasing of
a brewery's fans who scoop up every release in copious amounts whenever a new or returning favourite hits the fridge. While the envy will always be there for some, the larger population of craft beer drinkers nod their heads and then go to their local favourite for what they would tell you is great beer no one knows about. These highly regarded and much sought after beers come from all sizes of brewer and will make for special road trips and beer mail but at some point, if people can't get your beer, they will move on to what they can.

4. Craft Beer Stores
  The holy grail and be all, end all for enthusiasts is the belief that someday we will get "our own" beer stores filled with every imaginable release from all the best Ontario craft brewers. While someday this may be true and we can all rejoice at the prospect of knowledgeable staff selling beer at the proper temps with glassware and pairing advice, I wouldn't hold my breath. The best bet is a consortium, like the Ontario Craft Brewers association and their members getting a few licences to open boutique stores. These would most likely be located in already busy urban markets and despite a wish from some, the LCBO will continue to administer the sale of beer within the province. Cross selling or regional stores would be a little easier to fathom as most brewers have fairly friendly and close relationships with their close by neighbouring breweries and this could be a much more doable option. But for the near future, it is the Grocery store and LCBO which will continue to be the only outlets outside of the brewers walls where people can physically pick up the product.
  But still we dream and hope...soon.
5. The Haze Craze Continues or The Chronicles of Dank
  Every year I say it is going to be a resurgence of lagers and pilsners with low ABV beers coming in hard...and every year I am still surrounded by the love and search for big old juicy, hazy and tropical dank hop bombs. While the mass market still is dominated by Bud Lights and the like, most of the people I know who drink craft beer are either in search of the latest New England style IPA or something of the like. Hazy is a descriptor but it is the soft citrus pithy bitterness to go with that dank pine that brings the most joy to those who love them. The other side of that coin is my dark and slow sipping friends who pursue barley wines, bourbon, rum or cognac barrelled beauties to enjoy and warm the sub cockles of their hearts with. No doubt the market exists for crispy bois and clean pils but make no mistake that the ever growing craft beer world is still deep in the grips of all the hops.
  The Haze remains the same.
6. How deep is our love?
  With around 300 brick and mortar breweries operating in Ontario and even more in various stages of planning, this province of 10 million plus people is either under or over saturated depending on who you listen too. Peak Craft beer, to steal a phrase, is perhaps the biggest fear for anyone thinking of getting into the game and wondering if there is room at the tap handle. While I have already talked about the hyper-local focus of a lot of new brewers in Point 1 today, I see trouble for some places as the knowledge and sheer number of consumers rise. We have begun to see people turn from beer that isn't good, not well thought out or rushed to market. There will always be a segment that will never be critical of anything for fear of upsetting their local brewer, but if we are to continue to see expansion on par with what the last 3 years have seen we need to begin thinking and buying with an eye to supporting those who are making it worth our dollars.
7. A Larger Tent
  While this one probably needs a deeper look and is something I promise to do as the year moves on, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about why it is important for us to make a bigger door and be far more sensitive and inclusive when it comes to craft beer.
Just as we wish to be part of drinking something that is different and better than when we drank Coors or Molson Canadian, we must also look at how we welcome those who seek to make the world itself better. While I am not really qualified to talk about diversity or inclusivity, I feel like I have to continue to push the envelope and help or encourage those whose voices are being raised and need to be heard. We want craft beer to be a place where everyone feels like they belong and that begins with standing up for what is right and being an ally to those who seek that truth. I think 2019 will continue to see people try to open doors and make craft beer the truly special place we see it can be. But the work remains and vigilance will be needed to keep those who seek to muffle or silence criticism and serious conversation about change. Arm in arm we go forward and that will be our strength.
  A good place to start is with my friend Ren over at Beer.Diversity., the good ladies at The Society of Beer Drinking Ladies or even Hamilton's own Iron Beer Maidens. Look for local groups and breweries who are doing things right and support them with your dollars and your voice.
8. Buy-Outs, Sell-Outs
  For the most part, since Mill Street sold to Ab-Inbev in 2015, the Ontario Craft beer scene has been relatively quiet when it comes to "selling out". Whether it is a lack of options or just people standing firm on sub par offers, it has been a peaceful period when it comes to the mergers and acquisitions of our favourite breweries. With the exception of a few contract LCBO SKU buys made by Lost Craft, the odd purchase of Grand River by Magnotta and All or Nothing taking on Trafalgar, there has been little action. I am sure some sniffing around has been done and who knows, this year may see a shocking purchase but in my heart, I can't see it being anyone but the few "lifestyle" brands who always seem to be looking for a big payday anyway. Ace Hill continues to defy my predictions of being a perfect fit for Molson/Coors and perhaps it is the coming attempts at cannabis related beer that has the big boys focus.
  The craft beer portion of the market approaches somewhat of 10% and that has to have someone's attention but perhaps I'm still tilting at windmills here...
9. Do you like my #beerselfie?
  While I know I am often a social media tidal wave and live very much every day out in the open, there is a rising tide of new and more talented photographers, writers and video lovers out there who just need a little encouragement to join our cause. I continue to help push them forward and despite the fact that there are a few who wish they alone could be the "voice" of craft beer, the truth is many voices are needed to help raise the chorus and that in numbers we truly have strength.
  Every picture or story about craft beer helps to widen our reach and as more people join us, we can help craft the narrative. We can start to control the future and ensure that the vision of  a better world with craft beer leading the way happens. 
  Not everything of course is hunky-dory when it somes to social media and craft beer. Some still use sex to sell and achieve followers/likes, some try to court controversy for the sake of controversy and we all need to be aware of beer shaming our friends and family online and in real life.
The boobs, butts and muscle crowd will always exist in any form of media, so it is up to each person to decide what they feel is right for them.
Being an asshole about beer or anything only goes so far and while I too can fall into the trap of negative vibes, I will do my best to try to be more Beer Positive myself in 2019.
And finally, let us do what we can to help reduce beer shaming as the year goes on. Sure we want more of those around us to join us in enjoying the amazing things we are getting, but making fun of or calling them out for making poor choices when it comes to their beer only reduces the likelihood that they will ever feel comfortable trying something new. We all started somewhere and maybe we would do good to remember that. Be a guide and a friend, not a gatekeeper who sneers at those they feel are beneath them. Expand the love and make it easy for folks to feel comfortable joining the community and you will see us grow.


  There you go my friends, 9 things I think could happen or that we can work at to make better in the coming 365 days. I'll be doing my best to help spread the Gospel according to Craft and hope you will join me as we delve headlong into what is sure to another year of beautiful beer, new friends and experiences that will help shape the stories we tell when once again we gather to look back.

Cheers!
Polk