The Ten - 2025's Best Sober Moments

  

  A whole year of beer boiled down to ten spots. Just ten moments that lingered in my mind and helped get me through the last 365 days make this list and while there were a lot of low points in 2025, these beers gave light and hope to an often dreary world.  It's been an adjustment talking about NA beers versus regular pints, the alcohol effect being absent makes for a whole different vibe to be sure. But the options are getting better and as the market for NA offerings grows, so should the quality. I'm here for the beer, so let's get on with this year's Sober Ten.

10. One for the Road Brewing Proceed with Caution Amber (January 26th)

  One of the first non-alcoholic beers that really wowed me this year, One for the Road Brewing certainly tries to deliver as close to the real thing in a whole lotta styles as anyone out there. Prolific in number, they try to find an NA offering for every taste and this nutty, toasted malt beauty hit all the marks. Lacking nothing, satisfying the promise of the style. 

Full video here.

9. Lake of the Woods Brewing No Wake Blonde Ale (October 23rd)

  With this full bodied, bitter and bubbly Ale, Lake of the Woods Brewing brings an ode to classics like 50 or OV. Easy drinking, absolutely bang on flavours and a really wallet friendly price are all positives in my book. It scratches that itch for a beer that tastes like a damn beer real well and should find a place in the fridge or cooler anytime of year,

Full video here.

8. Sober Carpenter Brewing Oktoberfest Lager (September 21st)

  I keep coming back to comparing what Sober Carpenter is doing in the NA world with what Beau's All Natural Brewing was doing in the craft beer one about 10 to 15 years ago and I really appreciate the style chances they've taken, even if I don't always dig what the result is. This Oktoberfest Lager was the best of the best this year from SC though, just topping out the Black and regular IPAs in my book. Bready with a caramel and rye spice feel, it was a grand addition to a sober September afternoon.

Full video here.

7. Cowbell Brewing Pretty Near Lager (April 19th)

  The ability to create an NA lager is profoundly difficult. Off flavours often abound and the appearance in the glass is sometimes secondary and ignored. Cowbell Brewing goes to great lengths here to not only bring a great but simple crisp and clean Lager to us, but it has the head retention and carbonation to make the entire experience just like a regular pint. That's golden.

Full Video here.

6. Harmon's Craft Brewing Jack Pine Pale Ale (January 23rd)

  The search for a non-alcoholic West Coast IPA/Pale Ale is perhaps my foremost desire when it comes to this whole journey through this NA world. I am an unabashed lover of malty, bitter beers and in Harmon's Craft Brewing flagship Pale Ale, I first found a spark to fuel that love. Toasty malt back with a floral, orange and pine bitterness caught my imagination and this one has found it's way back to my glass many times over the year.

Full video here.

5. Big Spruce Brewing Kitchen Partly Pale Ale (January 15th)

  A take on their classic Kitchen Party Pale Ale, this quickly became a must have whenever I placed an order with Designated Drinks. Big Spruce has found a fantastic way to bring an NA beer to life that is full bodied, has a real beer feel, lots of citrus and pine bitterness, leaning West into an almost full IPA hit. This one helped me start to feel like there was hope for this trip through the sober world, perhaps some joy could be found after all.

Full video here.

4. Left Field Brewing Everyday Player Lager (February 15th)

  There was little doubt when I first saw this Left Field Brewing offering available that it would be good. I trust and love the pedigree of LF beers over the years and this Lager raised and set the standard going forward for the style. Grainy, floral with a solid bitterness, a firm carbonation, crisp and clean with no aftertaste, nothing but real beer goodness all the way through. It remains the best NA Lager I tried in 2025 and one of the best beers overall. It found it's way into my glass all year long.

Full video here.

3. Guinness (September 4th)

  The best NA stout is widely available and comes with an international pedigree for consistency and quality. Guinness 0 was one of the first NA beers I tried back in 2024 and has set the standard for every stout that comes after it. I have encountered very few that can match up to it, most devolving into a smoky, ashy mess...but not Guinness. Rich and velvety smooth, it has dark chocolate and coffee with just the right amount of bitterness and has never let me down. A beer I've bought almost every month this year, it's one I know I can count on all the time.

Full video here.

2. Bellwoods Brewery Stay Classy IPA (January 11th)

  One thing I have discovered in the last year is that it's easy to release an NA beer, but it takes a real dedication to bring a quality product to the market. Bellwoods has long been one of the best breweries in Ontario (probably Canada and beyond, imho) and they don't fool around when it comes to delivering  great beer. This extended to their non-alcoholic Stay Classy IPA, a pint that feels like the real thing and you know you're drinking a Bellwoods from the sniff to last sip. A beautifully constructed beer with notes of white grapefruit, lemon and pine, bitter and full with lingering pithiness. A go-to IPA that made my world a better place. 

Full video here. 

1. Nickel Brook Brewing Wicked Tame IPA (September 1st)

  It wasn't difficult to choose my top NA beer from the last year, this one from Nickel Brook stood out from the first time I had it and was the most regular purchase and only 24 I bought in the last year and a half. Aside from its fantastic flavour profile of lemon, tangerine, pineapple and pine, the full bodied texture was such a lovely thing to behold. Many non-alcoholic offerings are thin and watery, but Nickel Brook delivers an as close to the full test IPA as possible and their care in crafting this shows. Along with their NA Blonde Ale, they've given us two great options when seeking sober living. Wicked Tame earned its spot at the top of my list by giving me the break from the worry of the world and just letting me enjoy a beer for beer's sake. 

Full video here.

  

Happy New Year!

Polk

December 29yh, 2025

From Bad Beer to Exceptional Pints : Rise Up

 I've been drinking beer for the better part of 3 decades and thinking more critically about what's in my glass for the last 10 or so, examining the context as much as the contents as it were, occasionally traipsing into philosophy while still operating as the low-key drunk that I am. I have scored thousands of pints in video and the written word, some in as short as a few sentences and others as long as is way past what any sane person would consider necessary for a beer, always with an eye to style and truth in advertising when it comes to what I encounter. I've led with my heart, held grudges and soft spots in my soul at the same time and tried to always seek the good in every beer I encounter...even when that isn't possible... 

  What all this preamble is getting to is that after all this time, as I seek more balance and even more value for the things I have in my day-to-day life, I wonder why some of the beers we see hit the market even bother existing? Why do some breweries set such high standards and benchmarks for themselves, never deviating or sending out inferior products and why do so many others just let anything ride as long as they think it will sell? There are more options than ever out there when it comes to beer and I understand not everyone can attain the very highest level of what can be described as art writ liquid, but the sheer number of low level uninspired offerings is disheartening from not only the standpoint of someone who loves to explore new things, but from the perspective of people who are new to this all and will walk away wondering why they should spend more for something that isn't noticeably different or better than what the big corporate brewers are offering. Releasing a sub-par beer and not investing in quality ingredients or time to develop recipes that exceed expectations doesn't sit well with me and I think the flatlining of growth, while not exclusively because of this, certainly isn't being helped by it. Legacy brewers who have let reputation drift them into irrelevance and ineptitude has left me pondering what level of beer we are willing to tolerate because we are "supporting" local or provincial business. Incompetence and ignorance shouldn't be something to applaud, your dollars give way to encouraging the things you praise, and we should be far more demanding of quality in this day of rising costs and diminishing returns. 

  Having said all this, there are bright and shining lights in this segment. There are people who care a whole lot about not only the highest quality, but also in delivering something that is what they say it is and to style every time. It matters and if we tolerate it any less, we will get the beer we deserve in the end. SO, let's talk about some categories I'd like to see the beer we are being offered put into and just how we should treat them going forward... 

1. Bad Beer 

  This is a simple category, although thankfully not the largest part of what we can find when we hit the liquor store or taproom. Without getting into the whole "macro beer is basically water" nonsense, I do have some respect for the consistent, if unimaginative product those multinationals offer, I am referring to what should be a premium product, priced as such, that is littered with flaws, off flavours and doesn't do what the label or brewer says it will. Whenever I find one of these offenders, I do my best to let folks know because it isn't right or sane to let such things fly. I don't care if it's a local business, bad beer hurts the whole industry because it cheapens the values we hold for our community and the decent standards of what we consume. Labelling a low abv pale ale an IPA to try and sell more? Knowingly releasing a beer that doesn't taste like you say it does? Sending an underwhelming, diacetyl ridden lager out before it is ready for market because you don't really care? All things I have seen, talked about and often been threatened with retaliation for. Bad beer hurts the cause, I'd rather take one for the good of all, review and spread truth and save you some money by keeping you informed. Don't encourage garbage marketing and shitty beer, call out that nonsense and lift up better things. 

2. Meh Beer 

  This is beer that isn't bad, it is meh and that may be just slightly worse in some ways. It's uninspired, lazy and seeks to somehow catch onto the trends of the day, without actually doing the work or inputting the quality ingredients or time needed to deliver such things. It is often found with a visually attractive label and all the right words on the can and then when you pour it in your glass, the thing you see, smell and taste is so underwhelming, you sigh, wonder what else you have as you quickly get past this and never seek it, nor think about it ever again.  A bad beer is something you'll remember, a Meh beer is something you'll forget as soon as the last drop is gone, never to return. 

3. Mid Beer 

  This is actually not a terrible beer, despite being something of a disappointment. It's someone's favourite thing, something neither a Bad Beer or Meh Beer will ever be and its most exciting characteristic is that it isn't special. It exists, it can be enjoyable, but ultimately it doesn't really move the needle when it comes to excitement and joy. It is the Wonder Bread of beer, it could be any style or ABV, but it is a minivan that just gets you from A to Buzzed without much else to discuss. 

4. Good Beer 

  This is one of my favourite categories, because there is a decent amount of this out there. We have a lot of breweries that deliver consistently Good Beer at different price points and styles and while this is not the most exciting kind of beer, it is the most common and includes most people's go to favourites and fridge fillers. It's the beer you buy most consistently and frequently. It's beer that lives in your mind when someone says "Wanna grab a beer?", it is what you picture when I ask you to imagine a pint. It's nothing special, but it certainly is worth having around. 

5. Great Beer 

  Here we start to leave the stratosphere and get into some of the seasonal releases, special beers and perhaps, big ABV offerings. But it also includes a lager that delivers pure joy, a saison that transports you somewhere special, or maybe a Mild that becomes so much a part of the day, you don't realize you've poured another and another. Great beer transcends itself sometimes, it doesn't have to be talked about outside of acknowledging what it is and eagerly awaiting its return. It can inspire misty eyes and wistful dreams, and it can be as simple as your everyday beer, if that is what you have chosen to seek out. Not perfect, but so close, you almost don't care. 

6. Exceptional Beer 

  There was a time when I thought all "craft" beer fell into this category. Some folks still do... 

  But after all this time and finding myself utterly left speechless by truly Exceptional Beer on some occasions, I know now that this category is not so easily attainable and certainly is where only the very best we can seek out will live. I am talking about Pliny, 2016 Kentucky Bastard and that first sip of Apocalypse Later. I am talking about beer that goes deeper than you understand and often leaves you with the sense that something special happened and you cannot quite grasp it. It exists outside time and space; it occupies a part of your mind that often casts a shadow you cannot quite catch a glimpse of. It is a moment you carry forward, knowing it may never come again, truly inspirational and often aspirational. It may be as simple as the perfect pilsner on a warm summer day, a soft and gentle wind bringing the laughter of a nearby park to your ears as you tip back that first wonderful sip and feel the cascade of everything good in life trickle down into you very being. It isn't just whales or bucket list beers, it is the very essence of life, the experiences we have, the people we love and the life we wish to have. Exceptional Beer is there, it just takes an exceptional brewery to deliver it to the world. Unafraid and bold, true to everything we hold dear about this thing we do, it makes me wonder why we demand any less, accept any less...this is the beer you see when your dreams become reality. 

I wish you all only the finest of pints as this summer approaches.

Polk

April 21st, 2024