On it goes...1400 days

  In 72 hours it will happen...
  1400 straight days.
  Almost 4 years of beer.
  Sunrise and sunset, elbows up and pints down for longer than I could have ever imagined doing anything. Since November 21st, 2015, I have drank at least one beer and wrote about it on Instagram. Well over 4000 posts, beer reviews, pictures and videos now reside in the vacuum of the internet to show the universe who I was long after I am gone...a little scary to be sure. Why did it happen? How? When will it stop? Should it?
  I don't know.

  In the beginning, it was all in fun, there was no intention of writing about beer every day, never mind sharing my life, grand failures and triumphs et all, with the world. I was just a guy discovering a new world and seeing beer differently for the first time since he discovered how good it made him feel two plus decades before. Slowly, things grew and changed organically, set pieces with thought out backgrounds and stories faded as I realised it was just about the beer and my daily existence with it that was what my purpose was. I began with a thought to share beer with the world and that became the driving force behind everything I do. I decided without consciously knowing it that I would write about things as I did them, as I drank them and with little thought to anything but my own truth.

  There is no master plan, no hustle to what I do every day. I don't have a cache of posts, blog or Instagram, YouTube videos or poems for Twitter saved up on my phone or computer. I try to live very much in the exact moment I am experiencing things and leave the well thought out and executed stuff to those far smarter and more dedicated than I. Truth be told, once done with something, I have left it there as a marker in my life, moving on with the knowledge that I was there, but now I'm gone.

I have too much respect for people who work so hard to create amazing images and videos, thoughtfully written treatises on craft beer and other things to believe that I possess the patience or structure to do any of that. I am a fan of the beautiful and the mundane, the words that flow and the pictures that capture my eye every damn day. I love the passion so many people have found for crafting a small part of this niche in the world for themselves, some for fun, some for profit and some because they just want to feel like they are part of something a little bigger than themselves. I am an encourager of expression, a minstrel of positive messages and a believer that craft beer has changed a lot of lives for the better in a world that often seems hell bent on taking away the joy and community of people who just want to live and love with abandon and an open heart.

  I have fallen out with people I thought were friends, made new ones and found old ones once again. I have offended and fought battles with words, given shots and taken them in defense of beliefs I didn't know I had. I have loved and lived with the idea that the simple act of sharing a beer picture can make the world a little better for someone not having a good day. If my videos make someone laugh or encourages them to do something creative because even this old war horse does it, then I feel like I've done my part right. If my pictures gave anyone the idea to do it themselves or my words moved them to write their own, then it was all worth every pint and every agonized moment after I hit send. I wish I had the drive to create a space in the world where my words and love of great beer made me an income, but I long ago came to grips with the direction and ambitions I have. I salute and will help lift up anyone who is trying to capture lightning in a bottle and create something of value for themselves and their future, I see you and will always have your back. I help promote things and people I believe in, my voice added to a cast that can be in single digits or tens of thousands, no matter the number, know that I believe in you and what you're doing if it is a positive impact on the world.
  Thank you, my friends, for being a part of this, a trip round the sun 4 years long and many, many pints deep. Things have changed so much in our community since I began and while I prefer to sit sidelines as home and share that experience with you, know that I am cheering you on as you go forth and find your own piece of the pie. What I do is who I am, be yourself and do things in a way that makes you proud, happy and filled with joy...I feel it everyday.

Cheers!
Polk
 

Gone Growler?

  When I first truly discovered craft beer, I was a major growler enthusiast. 2 litres of delicious beer in a big jug all for me? Sold! As a still confirmed mass consumer of beer, this was little trouble for me to get through in a single sitting and at the cusp of the revolution and explosion of new breweries, it was often the only choice to be able to bring home some of the more exciting brews from newcomers. Canning and bottling adds costs to any beer and many start ups tended to lean hard into growlers or howlers (1L) as a cheaper alternative to having to buy or rent the equipment or expertise of others. The deposit often a forgotten part of your growler purchase, a one time fee that usually set you back $5 but then allowed you to get a fill at the price posted afterward, while completely forgetting that you could return said vessel and get your deposit back. But in the beginning, it was all so glorious we just returned to have our brown bottles filled every time and off we would go in happy gratitude for such luck as we had.

  Over time, the availability of cans and bottles has increased at almost every stop. The rare or small one off batches may still be growler only, but for the most part, the growing public attention paid to craft beer seems to be shying away from such large volume purchases that must be consumed in a relatively short time.  My own personal collection of 24 Growlers and 20 Howlers is a testament to those early days and the fact that only a few of them have been purchased in the last year or so speaks to a changing landscape of both drinker and producer. There are people who still get their fills on the regular but I feel, anecdotely of course, that the days are numbered for these behemoth carriers of liquid dreams in terms of their percentage of purchases. They will never go away completely, but their popularity has certainly peaked as the public demands more options and leans hard into cans as the perfect delivery of both freshness and preservation for later consumption.

from 2016's Polkapolooza

How I used to feel about my growlers

 
  I know some will say the death knell for the 2 litre is premature and with places like Barncat going strong with little but growlers for their IPAs and selling out to boot, there will always be a market for them. But I feel the tide has turned as more people enjoy the idea of mixing a six pack with a few options, not just 4 pints of one thing. A recent Twitter poll showcases just this as over 85 % of people responded to my question about growler usage with either Never or only for Special releases. The world is changing all around us and craft beer is going right along with it.
The reason so many get into craft beer is the options available, not the same old thing glass after glass. The sharing of a growler still makes a strong case for it's continued use, but even that seems to be fading as it's easier to pick up an extra can of something special to share with a  pal, easier still if it is in the 355ml option, a growing segment of beer can choice. 
  But I will say that something about writing about this brings me joy as I reminisce about the heady days when I first started exploring beer in a new and exciting way and my growler felt like I belonged to a cool and exclusive club. I'll hang onto my beauties for now, for the times I get nostalgic and pick up a jug of Ransack or Headstock, maybe a trip to Barncat or some other old friend will bring me home with a night's worth of memories in one long pour.

Cheers!
Polk