Circles of Style

  I've been talking a lot about my palate these days. Looking back on a half decade of changing beer habits and how I consume has been my mission since I started writing again and it isn't often that I don't talk to someone about how we got started and where we think we are headed next when it comes to styles, trends and the like. Seeking new and different beers has become easier since I began and anyone new to craft beer is now blessed with a myriad of not only local breweries, but a completely different LCBO approach when it comes to this emerging market of beer drinkers. What was a search and hope for a lucky find has now become a weekly stroll through the beer fridge and maybe a couple of brewery stops to round out the collection for the weekend. While there is no doubt room for improvement in the distribution and access to even more breweries from here and abroad, it is night and day compared to what I saw when I started to explore my options just 5 years ago.

    The development of ones own distinct palate and the subsequent training needed to continue that development falls squarely on the drinker themselves. There are so many styles and subsets contained therein that we could travel the world in an evening for a long time without repeating ourselves and this is the Circle of Style I refer to when I talk about my own trip. Starting with the most basic representation of any style is necessary to appreciate the deviations and off shoots of anything. From lager to pilsner to ale and beyond, the starting point should always help establish a base knowledge that you can then build a palate worthy of anyone who loves a good and adventurous pint. The English IPA or Pale Ale led me to classic toasted malt, pithy and resinous pine West Coast IPAs which bled into hard core Double IPAs before veering left into the soft and hazy dank tropical juice New England or Vermont style IPAs. Lambic beer styles are augmented in my mind by the wide variety of sour ales available close to home and those who mimic the traditional Belgian brewing styles help expand my knowledge with different takes on the iconic Monk beers I love so much. A quad in Ontario is growing my ability to appreciate the originals while also introducing some new world tweaks to satisfy my curious palate.

  The Circle of my beer drinking life was for a long time a tiny one, confined by lack of options and an ignorant view of what beer was. Drinking only to get drunk, the social aspect of pounding a case of beer with the boys was not about taste at all, just inebriation. As the UnTappd generation began, we sought out new beers to increase our score and get rewarded with electronic badges for our success, flavour was still not the end game of any night spent drinking.

  But the Circle widened.
  Life became a little more when we started to find that we liked a new style of beer and despite still not letting go of our macro lagers, we started to see Circles within Circles inspiring even more Circles until the Venn diagram of our consumption choices was a Spiral graph of epic dimensions. The ability to transfer the knowledge of what went before to what your are experiencing now will help you discover new and exciting flavours and subtle nuances you didn't know existed. You can take each successive Circle of Style and tie it backwards and forwards along any number of lines from hop choice, malt, body, texture and so on. This can only grow your palate and by choosing to push forward, you keep your self from both palate fatigue and style lock, the most depressing things for a beer loving person to see. There is nothing wrong with having a favourite style of beer, but don't let that be your only style of beer...that's what we used to do and no one wants to return to the days when your Circle of Beer was tiny and hidden from the world. I've come back around in my own trip to really appreciating a solid Pilsner and that is a beautiful thing indeed. But without all those other Circles interlocking and helping me grow, I truly do not think I could appreciate the simple joy of drinking beer for the pleasure alone.

Cheers!

Polk

 

Beer Saint 2.0

 

Sharing is caring!

Early last summer, I wrote about how sharing beer now was like making a mixtape for that girl I loved back in the day(Check it out, here). It echoed the sentiment that I was after when I would put together that collection of songs, trying to convey certain feelings and using the music I loved to do it. Being a Beer Saint is not just about trading beer, it's about spreading the love and joy that great craft beer has brought to your life. Whether it is a straight up trade, sending a care package of local brews, buying a pint or pulling something from the cellar or fridge, the act of sharing shows our commitment to not just drinking better beer, but preaching the gospel of the community. There is no higher recognition of what a beer means to you than to buy a few of them and share them with fellow craft beer lovers. Perhaps I preach a little much about sharing and maybe I am the lucky recipient of many beer saint moments, but the absolute joy I get when I open beer mail or meet up to trade beers is true and real.

Tabernac Crew from August in Quebec City

It should never be about hoarding or trying to one up someone. The truth about craft beer lies not in the singular experience or drinking alone. To be truly enjoyed, it must be shared and there is no better way to do that than with friends, new and old.

Meet up and swap stories with friends, new and old.

As the craft beer movement picks up speed and approaches the mainstream conscious of drinkers every day, its growth can only be enhanced by those who take up the mantle of being Beer Saints. From the singular bottle share to a night of multiple flights and pints at a local brewery, it can be the most wonderful way to bring people together. The next year will see more growth, new breweries, beers and experiences. To be able to do them all is impossible and sharing your latest discovery with the people who mean the most to you is but the start of what you can do to help keep our movement going. Social media is a great way to keep people informed of what's going on in your area, offering to trade that new find for something someone else has far away from you can spread that joy outward. I am a firm believer in the act of sharing coming back to you in double if you just put yourself out there. You will find a world of people who want nothing more than to see and hear what you think of their favourite brew and you will get that same feeling when you receive a notification that your friend tagged you in their post about that beer you sent them. Using the #beersaint to describe them is but one way to show the love.

 There is a real sense of excitement when I finally get to meet a friend I didn't know I had to trade a few beers or raise a pint or two in friendship. The smiles and handshakes are genuine and the banter quickly turns into friendly inquiries about your experinces and life before craft beer. How we got to this point, what we used to drink and what is your favourite beer now are questions that sometimes lead to an afternoon of laughter and happy new friends. Even the beer mail delivery can bring a smile to your face, especially if it is unexpected. It's like grown up Christmas morning when you open that box containing someone else's fave beer and their sincere gesture of sharing it with you.

Better than just sending beers and trading them, why not do what my friend Paul The Beer Guy is doing and organize a day of visiting a local brewery or two for some of your crafty friends who maybe haven't been to your area yet. Make it even better by having everyone bring something from their local or favourite craft brewer to share with everyone after the day is done and the party begins. Get the guys or gals together and do a beer run to a few places, then head back to someone's house for a night of new brews, styles and flavours. You might make some discoveries that you didn't know you liked and maybe make a few new friends along the way.

Beer Saints meet at Luois Cifer last Summer

Experience the feeling of becoming a Beer Saint not just because you want that limited edition barrel aged stout, but because you want to share that very beer with someone else. If you can truly let go of the macro and join the movement, it will change how you see beer, it will open a world you didn't know existed and you will be a better person for it. Go out and meet some new folks, share a pint and get to know them. I think you'll find, much like I did, that good people drink good beer.
Be a Beer Saint, it really does make the world a better place.
And we could all use a little more love right now.


Raise your glass and your standards,
One beer at a time.
Cheers!