Beer Money 2023 - A Deeper Dive

   

Well now, after a 3 year hiatus, I have returned to the scene of the crime and taken out my trusty spending spreadsheets to break down all our alcohol dollars, because who doesn't like a little self flagellation now and again.

  It's no secret that we spend most of our recreational money on old Mr. Booze, but this last year was a little more than even my predictions could have imagined and as our 2023 financial postmortem took shape, it certainly hopefully guide what the coming 12 months will bring...probably.

  Y'all know how much I like numbers, statistics, charts and breakdowns help me understand the world around me, even if I don't always put said info to good use. There is something clean and clear about raw data that can be processed and understood, but the truth don't lie and without any sugar coating, let's take a look at the State of Polk.

  We took far fewer trips out and about last year, only visiting or ordering from 35 different places, 36 if you include a plethora of LCBO stops and while that would seem to indicate a lower spending rate, it actually went up more than 28% from the last time I took this deep dive into the liquor money in 2020. A big part of that was my run of exploring bourbons and whiskeys the last two years, leading to a spike in LCBO visits, albeit it less than 3 years ago, but still spending increased to an average $51.33 a visit. That's a lot of wine, Irish cream, Amaretto and Rye. 

  Oddly enough, after I changed jobs and my overall life satisfaction increased, the stops for higher octane booze decreased and that dive has continued into the new year. It's amazing what not feeling completely defeated and beat down from work can do for someone's desire to get a little ripped every damn day. It never occurred to me that I didn't have to hate my job, I just thought that was what life was supposed to be like. but that's an entirely different post all on it's own.

  On just beer spending alone, we went to old reliable Nickel Brook the most, not a surprise again as they are close by both my old job and new one and make my go-to Headstock West Coast IPA. 30 trips to NB accounted for 19% of all beer purchased in 2023, only surpassed by the new kids on the block, Milton's Third Moon Brewing. Masters of the juicy, tropical haze bombs and adjunct barrel aged Imperial stouts, TM made the list second at 20 orders/visits but accounted for 22% of actual dollars spent because a man has got to treat himself once in awhile.

  Next on the list with 20 visits also is the closest brewery to us, Hamilton's Clifford Brewing. At 9% of all beer money, it may be less per visit but that's mostly because we would often just stop in for a pint and a 4 pack to take home, being close by meant we didn't have to load up to save on driving back. More visits in 2024 is likely, I wanna check out some of their events, comedy nights, live music and of course, Trivia.

  One brewery that has definitely taken a downward turn in turns of fridge space and purchases is the original Hometown Heroes Collective Arts Brewing. From a high of 30 plus visits/orders in 2020, this past year saw just 13 stops and 7% of all my beer money, of which the majority occurred before June when I was a member of their bi-monthly beer club. I found the value of my $89.95 membership was not there and after I cancelled it, we only went back 3 times in the last 6 months of 2023. In contrast to the two previous years when they had multiple new beers every week coming in from their Toronto operation, the shutting down of that production facility and a focus on more core offerings led to an overall decline in new stuff, the thing that had me stopping in weekly for years. The times, they are a changin'...

  Rounding out the top 5 are two more Hamilton legends, both with 8 direct visits in the last 12 months. Fairweather (3.5%) and Merit (3%) continue to deliver high quality, excellent beers and should hope to make it out to visit them far more often in 2024. The lack of stops does not indicate any kind of drop in offerings or quality, but more a malaise on my part in leaving the house or doing much else on the way home from work than just going straight from A to B. 

  I think one of the reasons I like to talk about and explore what we spend is that it is often times a quiet thing in craft beer that no one really wants to discuss. It costs more to drink "better" beer, whiskey or wine, no doubt, but it seems a taboo subject for most people. Perhaps a holdover of the "talking about money is in bad taste" notion we were taught as kids or more likely, the incredible privilege we have to be able to afford to spend more than average on a luxury product when the economy is leaving so many struggling with the most basic of necessities. It isn't cheap to keep up with new releases and travel to visit breweries. It isn't just a matter of pure dollars either, time and energy, being able to have that personal hours away from working to do these things is becoming increasingly difficult for a lot of people as more and more have to juggle multiple jobs to just stay afloat.

  I'm not saying we shouldn't enjoy our great beer, in fact, I wish more people could do the same. But I have come to recognize the luck I have in being able to do so and wish that could be part of the discussion. We see breweries closing and people losing their dreams and investments, more to come on that later this year as well, but we must also acknowledge that when so many people live less than paycheque to paycheque, beer is a luxury that may not be possible to indulge in. Affordable craft beer is something we will need to see more of, which may leave some smaller brewers in serious trouble unless we see more upturn in the coming months when it comes to real spending dollars in the pockets of consumers. 

  By diving deep into what we spent in the last year, it has given me a chance to reflect on the value of where we put our dollars. I am given pause to realize how fortunate I am to have the money to do what I do and understand that this isn't a guarantee, life is precarious and when I look around at the people who are not doing well, living so close to edge or even over it, it drives me to try and address my issues in a smarter way so I can be a better person and maybe try and help lift someone else up with me. It's okay to talk about the price of beer, it's okay to acknowledge what we spend and the sheer joy it brings us to have it in our glass. But it does also behoove us to look around at our communities and wonder if we truly understand just how lucky we are.

Polk

January 18th, 2024