Who Changed? You or Your Beer?

 

It happens every year. Your favourite seasonal release is eagerly awaited and talked about with rising anticipation on social media. Maybe you plan a special trip to the brewery or anxiously scan their website or your LCBO app for the moment it appears in stock.  Your glee at its eminent return is finally met with fruition on release day when you acquire and then prepare for a return to the glory of yesteryear. Pouring carefully so as not to spill a drop, your happiness grows and you take your first sniff and sip...and are left pondering what your purpose in life was and what the hell did they do to my beer.
"It's not the same"
"They changed the recipe"
"It used to be so Juicy/dank (or whatever)"
  The beer nerd in me sometimes agrees and we look to the brewer for answers. Did they change something about the recipe? Cut corners on costs or perhaps it was the new equipment/staff? We want accountability and ask these questions privately and often very publicly. When you anticipate something for so long and then it doesn't measure up, you are disappointed writ large. I get messages from friends all the time about how this or that beer has changed. I experienced it myself with the year to year release of Mill Street Brewing's Vanilla Porter, finding it falling from my favourite beer in 2015 to a watered down mess in 2017. But did it really change or is there a more plausible explanation. While Labatt's acquisition of that particular brand had me walking past them on principle, they didn't suddenly forget how to brew great beer just because they now answer to the lizard people of macro beer and pseudo craft.

Did Great Lakes change the hop bill of Lake Effect or Karma Citra? Unlikely, in fact if you ask them, they'll tell you it's the same beer, year after year, Mike Lackey doesn't skimp when it comes to quality and you can see every time you crack open a GLB product. This is true for the majority of our Ontario Craft Brewers and their commitment to making good beer. I am not naïve enough to think that it never happens, but I think the reason we are seeing more people questioning their beer is much more personal.

  Maybe we are the ones who've changed.
  There is little doubt in my mind that my palate has grown. My ability to perceive flavours I didn't know existed 3 years ago continues to amaze me and when I talk about beer with my pals, we are getting deeper into it every time. Is it possible that as we grow and change as beer drinkers, our perceptions of past releases is tinted with rose coloured glasses. My first foray into IPAs left me hating them, all pine tree bitter and nothing else was what I got out of it. But for the sake of Untappd and logging new beers I kept at it, pour after pour. Slowly I began to perceive the citrus notes, the complex relationship between the malt body and the hops used. Did they suddenly make Headstock better or did I understand what was in my glass because I had worked to train myself to? There is truth to learning flavours, I grew up with a pretty boring approach to food and drink, simple was best and I didn't venture far from the cores of middle class meat and potatoes, so to speak. As I've grown older, I have tried to open up to new culinary experiences and with beer it has been even more dramatic. Where before we would look to a sixer as a way to escape reality, we now turn to our fridge for flavour, texture and an experience to transport our taste buds to a magical place. We want our beer to be special, unique and offering us a chance to transcend from the everyday. But from your first stout to the 15 % Bourbon barrel aged bombers you'll find as the snow flies, you have changed and that has to be part of the conversation.

  For me with Mill Street in 2015, the Vanilla Porter just clicked one day. It went from being a bitter coffee to a smooth dessert in a glass. I bought it every week and lamented its disappearance as the spring came around. My pursuit of great beer continued and when the next year headed for its last few months, I couldn't wait to get my favourite beer back. Spying it on the shelf, I bought a few and headed home with great joy. Turns out it was short lived and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth and a beer that I felt let me down, Truth was I had learned so much about myself through my beer in the year that despite my memory, it was the same beer but I could perceive it differently now. The growth of our own ability to pick out flavours and textures has to be part of what we discuss when we talk about the changing nature of any beer. The influx of new and very creative craft beer makers has challenged our long held notions of what is normal and we are confronted with things we couldn't have imagined not so long ago.
  This isn't to say that variations and changes don't happen. There have been instances when I have had a beer that doesn't measure up and I always check with the brewery privately to see what's up. Most will be straightforward, a conversation is always better than a confrontation in my books and they are still a business trying to sell beer and grow their market share. So it doesn't do them any good to put out substandard beer or treat an inquiry with disdain. Do some of them do those two things? Sure, but they don't last long and the quality of your product and the way you treat your consumers flies along the craft beer pipeline really quick. Certain brewers are avoided just because their attention to detail or lack thereof is well known and time will bear out the pretenders.
  I try to approach every beer with an open mind. I want to understand what the brewer is doing and if they are on point with the style they have chosen. My memory of a beer is often tinted with the happiness of the first time I had it because it was so new. That IPA you gushed about last year led you to try so many more and now you have a better grasp on what to expect. Maybe when you had it this year, it was still a great beer, but the wow factor was gone. Your personal growth didn't change the beer but it did change how you perceived it. I am living proof that we can and do become when we are more attuned to what's in our beer. Going from only perceiving the outside to digging deep and learning what true flavour is there.
  First love is always bittersweet, be it human or beer. So take a moment and look inward to see what has changed about yourself in the last year and then go deeper into the beer. A true examination requires you to be honest and understand what the pursuit of the perfect pint has brought into your life. You know more than you think you do and that knowledge has given you insight you didn't know you had. And as always, remember that it's just beer...try and enjoy it while it lasts!


Raise your glass and your standards
One Beer at a time!


Cheers!
Polk

5 Years Ago - Rock Bottom and A Way Out

"I just hope you don't end up homeless."
  Actual words said to me 5 years ago by a CRA agent while my business and personal life were crumbling down around me. Said with a serious tone and some malice, she was scathing in attacking my undeniable failure and her hope for my own personal downfall. The funny part to me then was that I thought 'Why would I be homeless? I have a family that loves me and I am pretty sure someone would take me in if I truly lost everything.' I look back at her words now and chuckle because she wanted me scared and I was so lost in the haze of having been embarrassed publicly by my failing and subjecting myself to being treated like a giant loser for doing so, fear was taking a backseat to numbness.
  I took the only lifeline I could see and used (what I thought) was the one skill I had, being a low paid fry cook who wasn't worthy of any happiness, let alone hope. At the very depths of my despair, I heard her words ringing in my ears as I struggled working 70 hours a week just to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I was turning 40 in less than a year and I had just lost everything I had worked over a decade to build, life was bleak, dark and empty. Clinging to the only route I had out of this self created mess was getting shitty drunk on cheap beer every night when I got home around midnight, rarely having a day off and even then, spending it cramming Brava light one after the other until the fear was quieted. The absolute of my end was that I would never again be happy, let alone ambitious enough to try to make life better...deeper I went.
  The treatment of a failure who has to subject himself to the reminder of his downfall was in my face every day and I was constantly put down and forced to accept that I was only worthy because I could stand in place for 16 hours a day and hate myself for everything I had become. It was wearing me down, minute by minute I was losing parts of my soul, my sanity and my life. And then the break came that gave me a glimmer of hope for something better. The last thing I expected was to reach rock bottom and find a hand come out to help me up, but when it came I felt the first breathe of hope enter my lungs in months.
  A friend of Kat's had a family cottage and with our constant struggle to even live, she offered it to us for a few days in August of 2013, gratis, no strings attached and we jumped at it. Money would be tight in the coming weeks if we went, but it turned out that 4 days at somewhere not around here was not only necessary, it literally turned out to be the place that saved my life. 
  I had been intermittently applying to other jobs, not with much hope given my many years of self employment and low self worth, but the spark was there, I just had to believe. While at work on my last day before we left for our mini vacation, I received a call from a prospective employer and actually did the phone interview just before my long shift started...was this the one?
 Later that day, I received another call asking if I could come in for an interview that week and even with the 45 minute drive from the cottage, something told me to take the chance. I was nervous and with almost no experience in what to say or do on a job interview, I went in with the best thing I could bring, my open and honest way of speaking the simple truths of life. I talked of my skills in building teams, helping people realise their potential and of course, my dream of starting over and growing with an established and well known company that had a bright future. I was done trying to hold on to who I was before and it must have come through because even before I left the parking lot after the interview, I got another call to come back the next day for a 2nd one. Driving back to the cottage, I could feel a weight coming off my shoulders, my head clearing. We celebrated a bit that night and the next day felt like a step out of the grave, a sliver of hope. I once again went in with a positive demeanour and felt good as I left to return to the oddest vacation I'd ever had. We heard nothing on our final day at the cottage and tried to just enjoy our brief respite from the darkness that awaited us at home. It was a quiet time, my mind racing but unable to process if there actually was a way up and out from the hell I had created, Kat sensed it and didn't push too hard. We both were hoping against all odds that something, anything would swing our way and gives us one more shot at a life without the weight of the past dragging it down.
  Coming back to the house and hearing my phone ring that Friday before I headed back into work was like a choir singing to my heart. An offer was made and while I was staring a 40 hour work weekend, I was never happier. Accepting and planning to say goodbye to the people who had helped keep my head above water was all I could think of as I worked away the next few days, waiting to sign the papers before handing in my resignation. I felt light and happy and when I finally put my signature on the line and shook my new employer's hand, it truly gave me a second shot at a life I thought long gone. My immediate superior at my then job had become a good friend and when I told him I had found a new job, he was elated for me. He had watched me slowly drowning and knew my only way up was out. Good bye came fast and hard that week and while I was grateful that they had taken me in and given me a space, I knew I didn't belong there anymore. New feelings of having some worth could be felt as I drove home after my last late night shift as a fry cook and the new day and job were starting only hours later. I was definitely a little scared at starting over, sad to say good bye to something I had been involved with since my early 20's and a little choked up because I still couldn't believe anything had gone my way.
  The road to my recovery from those dark days was far from over, many valleys came before the sun broke through darkness and life still had a lot to teach me about humility and patience. But that all was at least in front of me, hope had come back to my life and that alone made this the first step in becoming a better man, one day at a time.
  4 years later and I can still feel those butterflies, my world is brighter and the future keeps showing me promise of amazing things to come. I'd love to meet that woman again just so I could tell her that despite her assurances of my imminent destruction, I'm not only surviving, I am living a life with purpose and love.
  Keep on keeping on and the world may just give you what you need when you least expect it. The new chapter begins when you finally open you heart to what can be. I did and now there is no limit to where I can go. Trust me, I've been there.


Polk

Three Craft Beer Thoughts on 2017

I'm not much of a prognosticator, leaving that to those who've been around the beer industry a lot longer and with more contact to what's coming down the pike. But I have been noticing some things and thought I'd share them with you because I always let my friends in on whatever happens to cross my path. Three things in particular have been floating around my mind for the last week or so and it has to do with the growth and direction of beer in this province.

Milkshake IPA's

I have noticed a newish trend coming from the west coast and decided to look a little deeper into the adding of lactose or milk sugar to ales, particularly IPAs. A brief history of the creation of the Milkshake ale by Pennsylvania's Tired Hands Brewing can be found at Punch Drink, but what we are starting to see coming from Canada's original craft beer scene in British Columbia is a hazy, silky smooth, IPA that has me intrigued. I have a few pals on the coast and have been following the slowly growing movement of these beers. Is it a matter of time before the juggernaut that is Ontario Craft Beer begins to experiment and put out this twist on the ever so popular India Pale Ale? We chase the hoppy dragon with higher IBUs and bigger, bolder bitterness but is the time coming where we see a smoother, yet still bitter style of this industry leader. There is little our local craft brewers won't try and experiment with and I think by the fall, we may see a few Milkshake IPAs come on to the market. Failing that, maybe I'll send a few of Ontario's best to my pals on the Left coast and ask for some of these hazy interlopers in return, in order to see what all the fuss is about. Science, my friends, is what it is all about. Keep your eyes peeled to see if this trend migrates east.

Expansion or Consolidation?

Late in December 2016, Ontario crossed the 200 bricks and mortar brewery threshold and that is quite rapid growth in the last few years. While there are many more new micro and nano breweries slated to come online this year and an ever growing list of contact brewers trying to shoe horn their product onto the shelves at the LCBO, I always wonder what the upper limit is before we are saturated. So far, most of the brewers seem to have found a dedicated local following, especially in the smaller towns where the one or two bars serve macro lagers and the breweries tend to place a premium on being both a place to get beer and a social hub. Many of them form clubs and hold events within the brewery (i.e. running, yoga, paint nights) to help connect to their community and it is this kind of place that will continue to grow their business as well as their footprint in my opinion. Being a part of the larger community not only raises your brand awareness, it connects your beer to more than just a drink, it makes it a part of peoples' lives.

While there are some who have gotten into brewing or contract brewing to take advantage of the current explosion and clamour for better beer, I can only hope that time will help shake the pretenders loose from the world I have come to know and love. There are real and passionate folks who want to make a living brewing beer, but also want to be part of something bigger than themselves; working tirelessly to bring amazing and well crafted beer to your glass and it will inevitably be we, the consumers, who direct the growth of our local brewers.

I don't think we've hit the top of the bubble yet, our love affair with craft beer is just beginning in many cases and while the time may come for consolidation and market corrections, I don't think it will be soon.

Does the size of your bottle matter?

One thing I think we will see for sure is the rise of smaller can and bottle sizes in 2017. The ubiquitous Tall Boy is favoured by most because that is what the LCBO finds easiest to carry. But there is a growing trend of craft beer drinkers towards the 355 ml. can or bottle. Many want to grabbed a six pack of their favourite craft beer to stick in the fridge and I think the brewers will respond in kind. Anderson Craft Ales in London opened last year and that was how they made their offerings available right from the start, along with, more recently, Descendant's in Kitchener and Side Launch from Collingwood with their Mountain Lager. There are others moving into smaller serving sizes and it is a trend worth noting. Collective Arts in Hamilton have long offered most of their core brands in 6 pack bottle format and they make an easy grab when heading to a party or poker game. While I personally love grabbing a mixed bag of tall boys and I am certain that will not change, I think you will see more of a mix of offerings size wise as the year goes on. As always, consumer demand will direct the market and with the growing number of beer drinkers coming to the craft side, we will see which way the can goes.

Another development worth noting is the just under 1 litre crowler, or can growler. A few brewers use this alternative to the glass growlers, including Redline Brewhouse in Barrie and the aforementioned Descendant's. While smaller sizes will drive that section of beer drinkers toward certain brews, this size promises to be a great way to share a pint with a pal or slow sip an evening on your own. Keeping the beer fresher than a growler or half growler is one advantage, the other being less chance of infection from improperly stored or cleaned bottles. Many people do not clean their growlers right when they finish them, leading to a sticky mess on the bottom. A quick rinse will not solve this problem and it can lead to some off flavours in your beer. The crowler solves these problems and still gives you a larger format to experience your beer with.

Take your pick, but I think the trend toward smaller sizes of both regular and growler options will be a continuing story in 2017. The Tall boy isn't going anywhere and the 750 ml. bomber bottle will remain the choice of many brewers, but I think we have glimpsed the future of many a craft brewer and it is trending smaller cans and bottles.

That's all for this Friday my friends, I hope you have great weekend and maybe it's time to take a little road trip and visit some Ontario Craft Brewers to see what is going on. Drink local and support your community at the same time.

Happy Weekend!!

Raise your glass and your standards,

One beer at a time.

Cheers!



Time

 

 

Always time for my beer cat and constant companion.
 Jinx is a real example of being present.
Cats only care about the now.

What do we all wish we had more of and eventually run out of? What is the most precious commodity on earth that some people have a lot of and others get almost none?

Time.

 

I constantly hear people talk about how busy they are and how they have no time. Granted if you have kids or two jobs you are probably pressed for some alone time, but it's the context of that "busyness" that makes me wonder.

I sat down one day and tried to plan some time to work on the various Drunk Polkaroo irons I have in the fire. Between work, sleep and my chores, I figured out that I have four to five hours a day for myself. That's pretty outstanding in my books and yet I am always feeling pressured to do more. I know part of it is procrastination, who doesn't get caught up in a Netflix marathon every now and then or a good book. The black hole of the internet and where that can take you is one of my biggest weaknesses. I can get lost for hours reading other peoples blogs, researching beer related things and general nonsense. Wikipedia can gobble up an hour in the blink of an eye.

My issue always comes with catching myself and others complaining about how we have no time. I have been honest with people before when they tell me they haven't seen me in a while and try to let me off the hook with " I know you're busy". I tell them that I'm just as busy as they are, but lazy and a poor planner of my free time. I think that is true of most people, you try to make time for what is important and excuse yourself from anything else with fooling yourself that you're just too busy to do anything about it.

I've been pondering this problem for a while now and it is part of getting north of 40 that triggers my wanting more time. I can look back on what time I've already squandered and know that I only have a finite time left to accomplish something with my life. Not that I think I've wasted my life, just took a different path to arrive at the same spot. Wool gathering about the past is a dangerous place to go and I'll just move on. The big thing is how to make the most of what I've got left and the best way to do that is to be in the present more. That's a constant theme of my beer travels and the one thing I can control about my life.

Sometimes beer reminds you of the past and you just go with it.
Sawdust City won a Gold at the OBA and it took me to my first trophy as a kid.
Little Norway Pale Lager. 

I am constantly trying to be on top of my game when it comes to enjoying the moment and when I sit down to write my nightly beer reviews, I take stock of where I am and where I want to go. I use the past, present and future to illustrate the brew in my glass and that has led me to some interesting places indeed. Because the beer always demands my attention to figure out what it is trying to tell me, my mind becomes focused and calm with the flavours and textures speaking to me. When I was a guy who pounded 15 or 20 Coors Light's a night, the only thing I could think of was how much I hated everything and wanted the sweet release of the blackout. No longer is that a goal and one I can use beer as a solution to.

Beer as dessert and a great slow sipper.
Dinner out with friends and family is as great use of my time!
Stranger than Fiction from Collective Arts.

Big, slow sipper beers are ones that have a high alcohol content and demand some respect. Anything north of 7 % is in this category for me and when I pour these big boys into my glass, I can slow down and be present. Mindful drinking is part of utilising my time better and enjoying what I have more. But I now find myself slow sipping almost every beer I have so I can work on something, be it the blog, reviews, videos or future plans. I still feel pressured to be more things than I am comfortable with, but for those few moments when the beer hits my lips, time stops and I get to just be me.

It's funny to think that the cause of my biggest problems for more than 20 years can be used as a solution to them now, but it's true. It takes dedication to the principals I have given myself, but it is possible to remake your beer drinking life, no matter your age. Utilizing time as a measure of what is important to you allows you to plan better the future you want to see happen. I work very hard to make each minute count and while I may feel like the walls get close sometimes, I push back with hope and dreams.

 But still the feeling of needing more time persists and I know you feel it too. I am not sure what we can do except put a stop to all the ridiculous attempts to "Have it all" and be content with what we have. Strive for a better life, but don't ignore the amazing things you already have. Maybe you should sit back, crack a beer and just enjoy it all. It's okay to watch the world go by sometime and when you stop and look, you may be surprised by how much more time you have. Slow sipping beats macro pounding any day. Stay present my friends.
Raise your glass and your Standards.

Cheers!

Why are my Instagram Posts so Long?

Artsy!

I am a naturally "wordy" person. I love to talk about just about anything, but to be honest, Craft Beer has become my passion and if you've been following along at home, you know why. My life has been transformed by these tasty and well made beers and I can't help but share that love with the world.

All this means one thing. When I post a review on Instagram, it can go a little long. I mean I've bumped into their character limit many times and it isn't small like the 140 you get on Twitter. Most people just double tap and scroll along when they are on this app, but I always make sure I read whatever is written because I am trying to find out anything about the beer in the picture, the brewery that made it and the person behind the account. I have been surprised by how many people I have met through the simple act of sharing pictures on a social media site. I suppose I shouldn't be, but being a person who struggles with anxiety means I often times miss out on things. On Instagram, I didn't have to leave my home to share stories, support my beer friends and even make new ones. This picture sharing site has helped me weather the winter in a relatively positive mood and it is due in part to those people who take the time to not only check out my pictures, but actually make their way through the often long winded stories that come from my beer.

 So back to the original premise of why are my Instagram posts so long. I would like to think it is because I can't control myself and get lost in the moment and to some extent that is true. But the most basic reason I will try to link the new beer I am drinking to a story from my life is that it helps me to slow down and appreciate everything about the brew. It makes me consider what I am drinking and not just reach into the fridge for another...and another...and another. I still feel the strong pull of just getting snackered on cheap beer and I know I have to remain vigilant against sliding back into that oblivion. Crafting a narrative about what is happening now or in the past and relating it to the picture I am taking or the name of the beer takes time and that is what I need.

  Along with expanding from just talking about the flavours and textures of my beer to tying it together with my past, present and even future in the description, I have been bitten by the artistic photo bug. I was never a "artsy" person, not surprisingly more of a wordsmith, so I have a ways to go to be as good as some of the people I follow in terms of presentation. But I really feel like I am stepping my game up every time. I am learning about lighting, depth, framing and other interesting photography related things. It has become a real challenge to think about how I want to present my beer and then tie it into a story I want to tell. This is how I bring calm to the chaos and reel in my old Polkaroo ways. 

Snow Beers!

   Perhaps the best part of all of this site has been the events I've attended and actual new friends I have made. When I decided to start this blog, do reviews on Instagram and subsequently post video reviews on YouTube, I did not think it would lead to helping me crack out of my shell and start to experience life again. I am grateful for the new people I have met in person and online and hope to widen that circle as the weather warms and we can get together on a patio somewhere for some delicious craft beer.

Going to breweries to get new beers, refill my growlers and pick up a new pint glass has become something I look forward to every day off. Ontario Craft Brewers not only make great beer, they have a passion for what they do and that translates into a great experience when you visit them. They are so welcoming and for the most part will talk about their brews all day if you have the time.

  So whether you just scroll on after the double tap to leave a heart or read all the way through and leave a comment, I thank you. Without this amazing community of Craft Beer enthusiasts and supporters, I wouldn't have found my voice again. My journey is truly just beginning and having new friends, old friends and great beer come together makes this Polkaroo's heart sing.

  That's an idea. Maybe I should start a singing beer review page. I do love a good tune......

Cheers and Thank you once again for following along!