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

Beer Money : What we spent in 2020

  I go to work to make money. 

  I use that money to pay for the things I need and the things I want, because a man cannot work just to survive alone, there must be some reward, no matter how small it may seem.

  Enter beer. Well, beer, wine, Irish cream and a little whiskey for good measure. We enjoy our spirits here at The Manor, a glass of Riesling while dinner is made or perhaps a dollop of Bailey's in our morning cuppa on our day off. A few pints after dinner and maybe a few more than that when there is no labour for the next day in our schedule, but all in all, the libations do flow with a little heavier pour in the last year or so and our wrap up of 2020 makes a stop at budget town to see where all that money went. 

  To start things off, we are pretty lucky to have been able to both continue working full time throughout the pandemic and that dual middle class income coupled with no children means we have both a bit more free time while doing the whole social distancing thing and a little more disposable income than we usually would if we did our normal routines. Perhaps we spend more than other folks when it comes to booze, but it is what it is when the truth in numbers hits the eyes. 

  I track all of our expenses and review them at the end of every year to see how close we stuck to our budget, the alcohol one is always the most fun and often the most frightening. But  I love numbers, statistics and diving deep into what they meant. Without sharing the real and whole numbers, I'll breaak down some highlights.

 So, let's dive right in...

  Where we spent our boozy dollars

  1. LCBO (52 visits)

  The product we sought had to come from somewhere and in 2020 we made a concerted effort to get most of our beer direct from the breweries, utilizing the local liquor monopoly only for wine or spirits. We did somehow manage to still visit the LCBO 52 times last year and factoring in a box of wine and a bottle of Irish cream a month, on average, we still managed to drop a decent amount of cash on craft beer despite our best intentions. All told we spent 21.22% of our alcohol budget here, far and away the largest expenditure in our book despite our expanded ability to get almost everything delivered right to our door as the year went on. We certainly saw a real decline in the amount of actual physical visits to the LCBO from previous years, as the pandemic made us think about every trip outside our home with a second glance.

  2. Nickel Brook Brewing (50 visits/orders)

  Not really a surprise per se, almost a weekly stop on the way home from work for whatever was new and a six pack of my 2020 Beer of the Year, Headstock, make Nickel Brook the far and away winner of my hard earned cash when it comes to beer last year. 13.2% of all the booze we bought last year was from this OG Ontario brewery in real dollars and accounted for 25.25% of all beer picked up or delivered for the year. A trend that will probably continue for the foreseeable future with the lockdowns continuing to tighten.

3. Collective Arts Brewing (31visits/orders)

  My Hometown Heroes are a quick jaunt down the Nikola Tesla speedway on my way home from work and given the sheer number of releases they pumped out last year, this seems like a reasonable number of stops down by the bay. Accounting for 10.5% of all our beer spending, the bulk most likely being the huge IPA releases that probably numbered more than a dozen. A few lagers of course and that wicked $40 for a 24 of IPA No 11 back in March was an easy buy. I've not missed a single CA release in 5 years and hope to keep that streak alive as long as possible, doubling up now with their newly opened Toronto microbrew pub. 

4. Clifford Brewing (19 visits/orders)

  This number is much lower than 2019 for one reason only, the pandemic. We didn't stop in for a beer at all, even when we were allowed to do so, preferring to imbibe at home and honestly, we used to Uber over so we could both have a couple of pints, but that was not happening in 2020. Still a monthly or so stop to pick up the classics like Clifford Porter and Pinball with newer releases like Marigold and Artificial Paradise getting a generous percentage of our 12 packs. Clifford still accounted for almost 10% of all our beer orders in 2020 and that will likely rise later this year when, hopefully, we can get back in the taproom for a night of music and beer.

5. Merit Brewing (17 visits/orders )

  My favourite (non west coast) IPA is Merit's Young Rival and with their plethora of lagers and wine/beer hybrids, I make at least one stop a month on James Street to talk to Tej and Spinney and enjoy their company. One of the few patio pints we had in 2020 was at Merit and while we miss their taproom like crazy, being able to get their food delivered is a decided positive amongst a negative year in 2020. Big bottles of intriguing ideas appear like a star in the night and I find my cellar always has something lurking that Merit has created. Accounting for almost 6.5% of all alcohol bought in 2020, I am sure if the taproom was open, we'd spend more money there on food as well and be better off for it. Best fries in Hamilton.

The Curve did not Flatten

  One thing I really caught onto as the year went on was the not so gradual rise in spending when it came to booze. Even as we settled into to the Quarantine Routine, we seemed to acquire more beer to do it with. Early in 2020, we spent an average amount per week, roughly what we did in the previous 2 years based on my numbers. But once March hit, we saw an increase in pure dollars of 25%, most of which came from ordering directly from the breweries. With shipping charges and minimum orders hovering around $50 a pop, we gave in and did our part to support our favourite places. The onset of summer saw yet another jump of around 25% and our beer fridge outside was never left wanting for space. A few orders of well over $90 drove August to be our highest spending month of the year, not coincidentally that was also the month we both took our summer week off and just hung out at home in The Grotto enjoying a solitary life. 

  The rest of the year played out much the same, although it centered mostly on the 6 local Craft breweries in Hamilton and Burlington, they all piled on the releases and we happily bought them up. The final month of the year saw a doubling in what we bought compared to January of 2020 and even December of 2019. Leaning hard into those numbers once again saw a plethora of local orders, indeed more than 46% of all our spending was done at just those 6 local breweries closest to us. We have still quite a bit of beer lingering from the last months of the year as January heads towards its midpoint and have seen a significant slowdown in purchases so far in the new year, mindful of what we spent last year at the very forefront of our minds.

What Does it all Mean?

  The hard part about being honest with yourself is that you can't lie or spin the numbers in any way. The truth is the truth and while I know the pandemic certainly played a role in our purchases this year, the thing is that we just enjoy a few pints or a glass of wine each day and that's on us. Our orders tended to be smaller this year as we tried to support more Ontario breweries (40 in all that we ordered from) and to highlight the growing number of them offering home delivery. Sometimes it would be a particular returning beer that would catch our eye and lead to an order or perhaps a mini road trip if they were close enough. Ordering beer for two people with very different tastes also made for some interesting choices and also kept me from putting other orders in where there was nothing for Kat to enjoy. I'll admit the shipping charges ate up a slight portion of our expenses and there were some breweries we didn't order from simply because we couldn't justify the charge to get it delivered. Most of our orders were for between 8 to 12 beers, often getting a few doubles of certain beers to share out with folks we know who haven't been so fortunate as us when it comes to working and others for friends whom we give beer back and forth with. 

  I know just how privileged we are to have this kind of money to be able to spend on something so unnecessary for our survival. I cannot fathom how hard some people have it right now and am mindful of just how lucky we have been in the last few years as I dragged myself out of the financial and mental disaster of 2012 when I almost lost everything I had. I know the very bottom and working to get back to level has not been something I've taken for granted. So I do look at this dissection of how we spent our money with an eye to why and what we can do to improve going forward. It used to be that we would buy every beer a brewery had in the fridge when we stopped in, even if the styles weren't something we desired. That stopped a few years back when I first did this deep dive into our beer budget and I think with this revisit 2 years later, I can see a change coming again in relation to what we buy and how much we spend per order. Do I need 4 of that new IPA every time? Well, need is not the word I'd use and I hope I can change a little for the better as we move into a still very bizarre year in 2021 to come. 

  I like to buy beer, but I like to drink it too and both should be done with a touch more moderation than 2020 showed. Awareness and sticking to the monthly budget will be a good starting point and in 12 months we shall return to this subject again and see just how well I managed to do.

Stay safe out there!

Polk

Drink the Fridge - It's time to clean out and drink up

 

 I like to come up with new ideas to celebrate my love of beer. Sometimes those ideas come from things I see or hear and other times they are thrust upon me by my own ineptitude or bad timing. A week of unexpected expenses has left me bereft of my usual beer money and I was left staring at myself in the mirror with a feeling of unease as I am a pretty regular (every other day at least) purchaser and peruser of local breweries and liquor or beer stores. To say I enjoy the acquiring of beer almost as much as the drinking would not be an understatement and I didn't relish the thought of the next two weeks without being able to add to what is already a pretty full series of fridge spaces in and around my home. While the budget conscious part of my mind saw this as a time to tighten the belt and reset my off kilter ways of spending, my totally irrational beer brain was apocalyptic at the prospect of not bringing home some new and favourite beers until the middle of the month. Luckily for me, my rational brain has been winning a few more of these types of battles lately and I committed to what I'd like to think is the wholly fun and interesting campaign of Drink the Fridge.
  After spending a few hours with my budget for the next couple of months, making sure we were planning ahead and setting aside to rebuild our now depleted savings, I then turned my mind to this concept of clearing out and drinking up the beers I had bought, was given or thought I needed at some time or another. A walk through the house yielded some real gems lost in the back of the food fridge and downstairs in the now seldom used bar fridge, beers forgotten or left for another time, now fast approaching. A lot of fruity sours, dry hopped this or that, lagers, ales, stouts and various one offs that somehow caught my eye when I first purchased them but then found a way to the darkest recesses of my mind and my fridge.
  So out of necessity and really, about damn time, I'm taking the better part of the next two weeks to clean out the beer backlog that has built up as I constantly pursued the next beer and the one after that, even though I had and have a bulging collection of beer spread across the house and beyond that was just waiting for me to drink them. Perhaps this lesson learned will help me to value my dollar a little more, respect the budget I make and drink my beer when I should. This isn't about the cellared stuff, the ones we are keeping for later in the year or beyond, this is simply about the beer we buy and then set aside, pushing back as we buy more and more. It isn't that it is bad beer (for the most part), it's that I am as guilty as the next person of picking up something a few times a week because its new, shiny or I just wanted to. I guarantee you that many craft beer drinkers have a similar predicament but maybe the rest of their lives are better organized than mine so they aren't pushed to confront this compulsion to buy everything as often as I seem to find myself doing.
  Drink the Fridge will hopefully reset my mind to what I am buying and give me an opportunity to catch up with some stuff I am now seeing again for the first time. Will it be all sunshine and roses? Hell no, some stuff may have turned, gone bad or just plain not be what I thought it was. But the need to confront myself and bring order to this chaos is just what I need to get right with the beer gods and the universe I live in.


Cheers!
Polk

The Price of Beer

  I used to spend a lot of money on beer.
  I mean I still do, but I used to too.
  A couple of 24's a week wasn't unusual around here and supplemented with a trip or two to the bar, we were dropping a bit of cash on our own personal social lubricant without much thought. While my choice in beer has changed decidedly, my spending habits haven't drifted much with the exception of going out, I've become a stay at home drinker for the most part, my beer fridge usually has a better selection than the bars in my area. But where my $100 would before yield 4 dozen bottles, that same money now lands me perhaps half that amount of beer and while I am very happy with the quality of the product I now consume, I can't help but think of what kind of lucky privilege it is to be able to afford Craft beer as my regular purchase.
  The cost of our beer is changing and our buying power is now focused more on quality than quantity. Some fantastic prices exist of amazing beer (Great Lakes Canuck for $2.80 anyone?), but generally we are spending more per millilitre on our beer than ever before and that is a choice we gladly make to support both the local craft beer scene and a shift in how we identify as consumers. The upwardly mobile buyer of craft beer is evident by the enormous growth and footprint this scene has acquired in the last half decade. But who is buying and when does it become too expensive for all but the upper middle class and beyond to be regular drinkers of what we term "better beer"?

  I do have a budget I have to stick to when it comes to anything, we are not wealthy people but rather that most Canadian of middle class folks.  Double income, but not too much, a little more than paycheque to paycheque living most months. We choose to buy craft beer exclusively because we love the options available and have adjusted our consumption and acquisition habits accordingly, but the fact that we have this kind of discretion and extra income available is definitely a privilege not accorded everyone.  The shift toward higher prices for a lot of places is simple business math. Spending more to make a unique product has costs all along the supply chain and at the end, the consumer must decide if that product is worth the money being asked. A 12% Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout costs more than a pale ale based on a whole host of factors, including initial ingredients, storage, risk and loss of a beer that takes time and patience to see if it will even turn out.
  We may not have hesitated when we first started buying craft beer to pay any price for certain beers or breweries but as the industry grows, leaders in quality and value begin to emerge and our dollars gravitate toward those who return our investment with a product worthy of the higher prices. Past performance predicts future results seems to be what is happening when it comes to beer and some inflation and perhaps even price gouging seems to emerge when it comes to both the source purchase and subsequent secondary market. There exists low ABV Pale Ales retailing for $3.50 and above and this stinks a little of taking advantage of new to craft beer drinkers and those who want to try anything new alike. No doubt not all craft brewery owners are just in it for the love of better beer and the chance to own a small business in a thriving community, some are cashing in on the hype in hopes of making a quick buck before the inevitable contraction.
  Besides the obvious pricing issues of certain beers, we must also be mindful that the ability to travel all over visiting different breweries and buying whatever we want, when we want to, is a class privilege writ large.  I understand all too well the desire to have a cold beer after a long day at work and not having the discretionary funds to afford one. Being broke because you have just enough for bills and food isn't a unique thing and their are millions of folks who work 2 jobs, 7 days a week, just to keep a roof over their heads. Drained of any respite, they look for the best price they can get to have a few pints in the fridge for their all too uncommon moments of rest. Do they spend $5 a can (times 2) for a double IPA or $11 for 4 tall boys of Old Milwaukee, getting a nice evening on the patio with a buzz so desperately needed in a world that moves faster all the time. While you or I may choose to get the 2 double IPAs because we have changed palates and perhaps seek what we see as the better product, but for someone who is new to craft beer, this kind of math seems off and will send them back to the comfort of the known and the better bargain. There is no shame in drinking what you can afford and what brings you the most joy. It has taken me a long time to stop beer shaming and learn to enjoy life at my own price and pace. For sure I will have a little fun, at my own expense, to highlight why craft beer is a better deal in the end but  without needing to mock or put down anyone's choice in beer. Economic decisions about your beer can be as simple as quantity over perceived quality because you just want to have a beer.
  So while we may be blessed to have the ability to buy better beer and support local small businesses, but that is not always possible for everyone, all the time. A treat of a few tall boys of a favourite IPA may be all someone can afford in a pay period and despite working their fingers to the bones, we can't all afford to buy everything we'd like to, beer or otherwise.
  Everyone has a story and a struggle, try to remember that when your having a pint. Bottle shares are pretty awesome and it's nice to pour something special with your pals when you can. Beer choice shouldn't cause anyone stress, it should be a joyful part of any day when you get to have one. Be kind and be the one lifting people up, it makes the world better every single time you do.

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

Budget Life

Drinking good beer on a budget isn't always easy and when you are a guy who loves to try new and different ones all the time, it can get downright difficult. I will admit this is a very first world problem and do not wish to diminish the struggles myself or anyone else has in their life when it comes to money and survival but this isn't about that, it is about how I spend what money I budget and still enjoy many different beers.
 Contrary to popular belief, I don't receive much in the way of free beer. I have had the occasional brewery send me a beer or two, sometimes it is people who I have met online or in real life that give the gift of beer to me. But that isn't a weekly or even monthly occurrence and while I treasure anything someone sends me, I don't rely on the largesse of others to explore beer. I buy the majority of what you see me consume either at the breweries themselves or the LCBO. It pains me sometimes to receive a beer saint gift because at the end of the day, I don't have the means to return the favour, no matter how much I want to.

Last year's Tabernac Craft Beer haul from my Eastern Beer Saint friends

  Years of poor financial decisions left me almost broken and with a very bleak future staring me in the face. For far too long, I spent money on what I wanted and damn the bills. Even repeated warnings, final warnings and actual disconnections didn't scare me, I just kept blindly throwing money everywhere without regard to anyone or thing. While I have documented how craft beer has helped me control my over indulgent lifestyle, I rarely touch upon how it has changed my life when it comes to money. In order to try so many new beers and make sure the bills are paid, I had to do something most people do automatically, make a budget. But not just any pre fab program or idea would work and it took a few years of trial and error, slip ups and mistakes to finally arrive at a workable plan that has me less worried about the hydro bill and more concerned with living my life.

Issues man...

  To achieve this I had to get myself back to even on all my bills and then plan out the entire year, with some flexibility for emergencies, to make sure the utilities, mortgage, and other necessary things were always up to date and even a little ahead. I tracked years back on the bills and laid out a reasonable bi weekly amount that went to each and every one of them. Looking at an entire year of Hydro bills, for example, led me to see that $130 a pay to them meant I would always be in the black when the bill came due without wondering how I would be able to pay the entire thing. I did this with all the bills and began every payday with a few moments reviewing and then paying a certain amount to each bill. It was scary at first because my bank account would dwindle so fast but the money left was truly ours to spend and not borrowing from stuff that really needed to come first. I am still digging my way out of my poor decisions in the past but the light at the end of the tunnel is just over a year away and I am chugging along with the plan that has got me this far.

It was cheap and got me drunk, not my best choice.

 For the most part, I only buy 1 or 2 of any new beer that I find. Would I like to have 6 or 10 to try and then share/trade with my beer pals? Of course, but with a very limited budget, I had to make choices that respect the course I have found to bring me back to where I need to be. So I keep track of who has sent me something and when there is a little room in the budget, I try to return the favour. But I am indebted to those folks who just send Beer Saint gifts with no demand for a return, your karma is growing and one day I will show my thanks properly. The beer fridge is mostly full of whatever is new at the LCBO or the odd trip to a brewery, stuff friends give me and the rare thing sent from a brewery themselves. I am so lucky to get things from my friends in the industry and believe me I know how awesome any beer mail can be. So a big thank you to anyone who does this wonderfully thoughtful thing and I acknowledge my debt to you.

Durham Beer Saints Bottle share

  Respecting my budget and buying new beers leaves me with some cash left for a few favourites and regular craft beers to have when I just want a beer. These are usually purchased at the Liquor store and given that my free time is limited, like most people, that's where I am forced to do most of my shopping. Grocery stores are getting better with their craft offerings and as they see the sales and demand grow, hopefully it will continue to expand their selections. There is little doubt in my mind that without my turn to better beer, I would still be living paycheque to 4 days before paycheque and I will always continue to sing the praises of our local and not so local craft brewers for all the good they have brought into my life. I choose my regular beers based on knowing their quality, cost and what style I am feeling. There are many options for all price ranges and stuff like Great Lakes Canuck Pale or Collective Arts Ransack the Universe still provide the most bang for your buck and deliver great flavour. Look around at your local LCBO and breweries, they are sure to have something to fit your budget and taste. I have learned to let go of not being able to get every release I want. Given the sheer amount of breweries in Ontario that is a good approach because there is no way I could afford to buy every beer that comes out. Even when it comes to the ones that I really do want when I see them posted on social media, I remind myself that what is important is to contribute what I can to the cause and be joyful that my fridge has so many amazing things already. I wish I had an unlimited budget and the time to get the beer I want, but I have finally come to a point in my life when I accept what is and embrace what I have. I have learned to appreciate what is in my glass without worrying about what is in someone else's. I hope to be able to keep sharing when I can afford it and when the tide of my life has fully turned for the good, I will make it my mission to do more. Keep sharing and let's never doubt that this community is pretty damn amazing.

Raise your glass and your standards,
One Beer at a time.

Cheers!
Polk