The Polkies - The Year in Beer 2020

 

  I used to make my Best of the Best lists a week long writing extravaganza...that was way too much work and to be honest, not as much fun as writing 'The Ten'. The act of ranking a beer is very personal, it reflects not just a palate pleaser, but whether it is indeed what it claims to be. A stout with an adjunct added like coconut can be overwhelmed by the addition or made even more enjoyable. A dry hopped lager can be enhanced by the extra attention or rendered a mess if not handled properly. But at the end of every glass, it's just your opinion or mine. One person's Sparklechunks is another's favourite beer...but not mine...seriously...

  So with more than 800 reviews this year and more than 4000 in the last 6 years, not all of them Headstock, I have a small grasp on what I like and know a little bit of what I'm looking for when I drink a beer. I seek truth in every glass, I want what the label tells me the style is to be reflected in what I'm tasting and while I am not the best palate around, heck in my own house Kathryn is far better than I, I know my own self very well. I wish I could try more beers of every style, the exploration of diverse options is what drives the engine of so many of us here in the craft beer world, but I am also good with not worrying about things I cannot try or that slip away into the ether of the past. 

  Drink what you got, drink what you're able, if you're drinking with me, let's peel back the label!

Beer that tastes like a Damn Beer

Lagers

1. Collective Arts Brewing Audio Visual

  This beer just kept appearing in our fridge every week or so, whether it was a pickup at the brewery, grocery store or LCBO. A no nonsense, full bodied lager that delivered a simple, yet nuanced experience every time. No doubt a staple for many, it is a gateway beer to bring your macro pals over to the side of beer where taste matters over how cold your beer is.

2. Anderson Craft Ales Gold

3. Sawdust City Brewing Rice Lager

4. Merit Brewing No Limit American Lager

5. Godspeed Brewing Otsukaresama

Light Lager

1. Muskoka Brewery Tread Lightly

  This one caught everyone who tried it completely by surprise this year, Muskoka launched into this growing market with a superior rocket indeed. Full bodied, balanced bitterness and a delightfully crushable 355ml (my personal choice for this one) availability made for one hell of an entrance. Lacking nothing in a light beer like most macros, it was worthy of inclusion in The Ten most memorable beers of 2020.

2. Clifford Brewing The Crusher

3. Steamwhistle Brewing Session Lager

4. Forked River Lo Town

5. Gateway Brewing Slightly Startled

Pilsners

1. Tooth and Nail Vim & Vigor

  A close race, perhaps the toughest decision of the year with last year's Beer of the Year Donna coming in a very close second, Tooth and Nail are deserving of the spot with their super clean and crisp Vim & Vigor. It brings a simple, yet complex, grassy front, noble hop spice and a subtle beautifully balanced delivery in every sip. Classic, legendary and a must have for a true beer lover.

2. Fairweather Brewing Donna

3. Fairweather Brewing Jr.

4. Counterpart Brewing Pure

5. Red Circle Brewing Crystal Park

Blonde Ales

1. Royal City Brewing Two Rivers

  A style made for BBQs, late nights and long afternoons, Royal City nailed it with their Two Rivers. Full bodied, lightly bitter and touched with some fruitiness, its got session written all over it. Get a 24, you'll appreciate having it around.

2. Collective Arts Brewing Dry Hopped Blonde Ale

3. Forked River Brewing Capital

4. Nickel Brook Brewing Cause & Effect

5. Collective Arts Brewing Saint of Circumstance

Come to the Dark Side, we have Beer 

Porters

1. Muddy York Brewing Porter

  A long time favourite. it is among a handful of beers that are consistently included on this list every year. It is the go to definition of a classic porter. Roasted malt notes of cocoa, dark chocolate and a dry bitter finish always seems like the perfect fit in every sip. After all these years, it never fails to deliver an excellent experience whenever I can wrestle one away from the Lady of the Manor.

2. Oast House Brewers Pitchfork Porter

3. Collective Arts Brewing Stranger than Fiction 

4. Silversmith Brewing Horchata Porter

5. Trestle Brewing Red Rock

Stouts

1. Cameron's Brewing Crooked Nose Stout

  A late entry into the beer scene this year, Cameron's Crooked Nose stout was an outstandingly balanced dark roasted beauty. Smooth and full with a huge chocolate front, it was a fine thing to be able to pick up as the snow began to fall.

2. Anderson Craft Ales Stout

3. Stonehooker Brewing Wrought Iron

4. Kensington Brewing It's a Stout

5. Royal City Brewing 100 Steps

Adjunct Stout

1.Sawdust City Brewing Viva la Stout
  This beer returned in 2020, albeit at a lower ABV, and Sawdust City sent it into the larger world of LCBO and Grocery stores with an eye to that sessionable trend and to deliver a real treat of a dessert beer. Loved it from start to finish and it should be an easy buy for anyone with a taste for chocolate and fruit.

2. Fairweather Brewing Long Shadow

3. Collective Arts Brewing All the Things

4. Nickel Brook Brewing Wonky Bastard

5. Omnipollo Agamemnon

Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts

1. Nickel Brook Brewing 2020 Kentucky Bastard 

  This is probably the hardest category for me to pick because I am an unabashed lover of the big, boozy slow-sippers of the world and I always have a bunch on hand in the cellar for when the mood strikes me, adding new ones as they are released throughout the year. 2020 saw a hell of a stiff competition from Wellington and their UVB-76 series, along with the usual Amsterdam Double Tempest options, but one rose above and even in its initial drop was an absolute beast of a balanced pint. Nickel Brook managed to come within a barley grain of topping the famous 2016 version with this late October release. While this style usually comes out of the gate still rocking a lot of that bourbon heat, the gang at NB nailed a balance on this I haven't seen before. Outstanding now and sure to age into something even more spectacular in the years to come. I have a few aging now, available at the LCBO for you adventurous types!

2. Wellington Brewery UVB-76 Daniil

3. Collective Arts Brewing & Civil Society Brewing Origins of Darkness

4. Nickel Brook Brewing 2020 Cafe del Bastardo

5. Fairweather Brewing 2019 Wishing Well

Black Lager

1.Silversmith Brewing The Black Lager

 Simply the best. Silversmith has long held this category and while GLB and Muddy York each had fantastic Black Lagers this year, the OG Polk favourite continued to deliver a perfect pint of dark lagered joy everytime. Can or bottle, doesn't matter, it is the perfect representation of that the style should be.

2. Great Lakes Brewery Black Lager

3. Muddy York Brewing Black Opal

4. Black Lab Brewing Cornerstone

5. Napanee Brewing Blacklist

All Things Good and Hoppy 

Pale Ales

 1. Great Lakes Brewery Canuck

 This is a family favourite and another of those comfort beers we leaned into so hard in 2020. The best deal in Ontario at only $54 for a 24, it is the epitome of an easy drinking pale ale. They often say that it runs through the veins of GLB like a lifeblood and it is a trusted go to pint around here on a most consistent basis. The fact that I can get it for delivery now is just another mark in it's favour.

2. Bellwoods Brewery Jutsu

3. Merit Brewing More Than

4. Fairweather Brewing Menagerie Citra

5. Nickel Brook Brewing Juicy Scoops 2

New England or Hazy Pale Ales

1. Great Lakes Brewery Burst!

  They cannot stop with the awesome releases to the wider world this year and GLB once again nailed it with Burst! Peach, mango and strawberry with a light pine back and under $3 a can makes for a crushable and well enjoyed tropical pint!

2. Lake of Bays Brewing Off the Grid

3. Nickel Brook Brewing Hazy Neighbour

4. Prince Eddy's Brewing So Many Friends

5. Great Lakes Brewing Empowered

IPAs

American

1. Merit Brewing Young Rival

  The gradual climb of Merit to the top of the American style IPA category has been one of subtle refinements along the way. They have tinkered with the original recipe as this relatively new brewery were getting their legs underneath them. Citrus and stone fruit, pith and pine, all together a beautifully balanced and crafted IPA.

2. Badlands Brewing King Kang

3. Barncat Artisinal Ales Extra Juice

4. Fairweather Brewing High Grade

5. Great Lakes Brewing Octopus Wants to Fight

New England Style or Hazy IPAs

1. Sawdust City Brewing Everyday Magic 

  Dropping a brand new hazy IPA into the LCBO at the start of the lockdowns broght some brightness to the darkness of early March and this peach, mango and pineapple gem was and is greatly appreciated. Sawdust City has always been solid when it comes to bringing exactly what they promise to every pint they sell and this smooth tropical delight was in my glass many, many times this year. 

2. Third Moon Brewing Bone Tree

3. Town Brewery One Tree Planted

4. Great Lakes Brewery HazeMama

5. Merit Brewing Way Too

West Coast IPAs (not a real category on UNtappd, but it is in my heart so here we are)

1. Nickel Brook Brewing Headstock 

  I've said all I need to say about this one on 'The Ten"

It's simply the best.

2. Great Lakes Brewery 2010

3. Sawdust City Brewing Lone Pine

4. Indie Alehouse Instigator

5. Fairweather Brewing California King

Double or Imperial IPA

1. Sawdust City Brewing Binary System 2

  You could probably make a case for any of the 4 beers in this series on any best of 2020 list, they are playful, exuberant and solidly put together. This iteration just grabbed my attention and held on enough to be included among The Ten, so to the top of the big slow sippers it goes.

2. Counterpart Brewing Crowned

3. Barncat Artisinal Ales Cat Nap

4. Collective Arts Brewing IPA No 15

5. Merit Brewing Unrivalled

Triple IPAs

 1. Collective Arts Brewing Triple IPA

  Dangerous and beautiful, this 10%er landed in mid November and brought all the berry, mango and orange with it. Pithy and a little warming made for an exceptionally smooth big beer. More of this style in 2021 please!!

2. Barncat Artisanal Ales We Miss Growlers

3. Redline Brewhouse White Knuckle

4. Lake of Bays Brewing Apex

5. Montibello Brewing Tripa 3

Belgian IPAs

1. Block Three Brewing Cathedral

  A category near and dear to my heart, I am in love with this hybrid style of Belgian yeast and North American hops to create a truly unique experience and it is no surprise that St. Jacob's Block Three Brewing takes it home this year with their early 2020 release, the 6.5% Cathedral. The interplay of notes was so well tuned, I can still envision it almost 11 months later. They have one of the prettiest looking breweries in the province and crank out a variety of styles, lagers and IPAs to go with farmhouse ales and sours. But this Belgian IPA is my big love this year! 

2. New Limburgh Brewing Belgian IPA

3. Block Three Brewing Danger Zone

4. Napanee Brewing Extremist

5. Shacklands Brewing Blessed Acceleration

Black IPAs

1. Sawdust City Brewing Darkness on the Edge of Town 

  Another difficult decision had to be made in this category of the 2020 countdown. GLB Apocalypse Later and Problem Bears from Silversmith both warrant a mention in this category, but Sawdust City took it to another level this year. I called it elegant and this delicate balance of roasted malt bitterness, citrus pith and pine was like a well timed dance of the highest order. A joy to drink and a moment I remember well as the sun set in early April. 

2. Great Lakes Brewery Apocalypse LAter

3. Silversmith Brewing Problem Bears

4. Manantler Brewing Dark Prince

5. Henderson Brewing Henderson Cup

Session IPAs

1. Fairweather Brewing Forever Eva
  A repeat champion, this Vic Secret, Ekuanot and Citra hopped little IPA brings way more to the table than you'd think for that low ABV. Melon, peach orange and a light spice gave me a singular experience in session IPAs this year, far outpacing the other contenders, a runaway victory!

2. Nickel Brook Brewing Party Dad

3. Royal City Brewing Exhibition

4. Collective Arts Brewing Hazy State

5. Sawdust City Brewing We Belong to the Thunder

Sour IPAs

1. Fairweather Brewing Golden Hour Mango

  This one still pops in my mind, even though it has almost been a calendar year since I had it. Bright sunshine in a glass at a time when my world was very dark and Jinx had just left this mortal world. Absolute banger of a beer.

2. Sawdust City Brewing Electric Storm

3. Fairweather Brewing miiNG

4. Nickel Brook Brewing Zap!

5. Grain & Grit Beer Co. Dog Days

New for 2020!!

Kveik IPA (another not a real style, but again its my list, so here we go)

1. Nickel Brook Brewing Cold Pop

  At 6.5% and 0 IBUs, this smooth and tropical mango, pineapple and pine example of that Norwegian yeast  was a revelation in late May as the Summer approached. Super crushable and an instant classic.

2. Collective Arts Brewing Kveik IPA

3. Clifford Brewing Valhalla

4. Wellington Brewery Kveik IPA

5. Collective Arts Brewing Dalliance

Tart Puckers - Sour Ales

1. Merit Brewing Waves Peach

  It was mid June and the day had been no good, rotten and terrible. The I opened this Peach, Plum and Vanilla variant of Merit's Waves series and all was right with the world. It was a journey through each flavour and they all came together at the right point to deliver a fantastic beer all around.

2. Left Field Brewing Lo Viste

3. Shacklands Brewing Razzle Blazzle

4. Collective Arts Brewing Smoothie Sour

5. Muddy York Brewing Staring Down the Sun

Those Belgian Beauties

Saisons

1. Shacklands Brewing Saison Davenport

  Another returning champ, this time available at the LCBO and in cans at that! I know I go out on a limb with this proclamation, but it is perhaps the best Saison in the world and that is the truth as I see it. Everything a saison should be this is and more. That noble hop spice on the finish is perfection.
2. Merit Brewing Chanan

3. Little Beasts Brewing La Petite Duchesse

4. Shacklands Brewing Wit Saison

5. Bellwoods Brewery Saison Maison

Tripels

1. Shacklands Brewing Tripel

  Another spot on Belgian Banger from the best of the best this side of the Atlantic when it comes to these kinds of beers. It is full bodied, loaded to the hilt with all the things that make this style one of my favourites.

2. Merit Brewing Tomorrows

3. Royal City Brewing Tripel Entente

4. New Limburgh Brewing St. Barbara

5. Forked River Brewing The Oracle

Wheat Ales

1. Silversmith Brewing Breakfast Wheat

  A real fine wake me up one early June morning, this flagship wheat is all about that orange peel, lemon zest and bubblegum before the dry and spiced up finish. it was just a great way to sit and enjoy a sunny, warm morning outside with no work in my near future.

2. Tooth and Nail Brewing Sparrowhawk

3. Gateway CIty Brewing Cloud Captain

4. Grain & Grit Beer Co. Zigge Zagge

5. Bandit Brewing Solstice

Malty Goodness

Barleywine

1.Great Lakes Brewery 2020 Beard of Zeus
  Barleywines are rare creatures here in Ontario, but the ones I've managed to track down have been quite the happy circumstance. Great Lakes dropped Beard of Zeus into the LCBO early in the year and this 11.8% behemoth was a godsend in the chilly, homebound months that followed. And since most folks had never encountered this style before, making it more easily attainable, with an eye-catching label to boot, Great Lakes hit a home run in more ways than one.
2. Granite Brewery Gin Lane
3. Cameron's Brewing Early Bird
4. Wellington Brewery Yuletide 2019
5. Garrison Brewing Fog Burner

Brown Ales

1. Fairweather Brewing Baby Steps

  A one off, not repeated since piece of heaven hit the bottle shop at Fairweather in late July and disappeared almost at once. They nailed the balance between sweet and bitter with an eye to super crushability all the way through. May it return in 2021 with a wider availability, I would advise you order early and large.

2. Counterpart Brewing Rise

3. Concession Road Brewing Lumber Jacket

4. Black Oak Brewing Nut Brown

5. Royal City Brewing Smoked Honey

Extra Special Bitters

1. Clifford Brewing Dark Streets of London

  This one is close to my heart, a bready malty sessionable ESB that is a constant pickup whenever it returns to the taproom at Clifford. When this is all over and we can head back to sit in taprooms with impunity and fully vaccinated, I may spend my first afternoon drinking this pint after pint.

2. SIlversmith Brewing Dam Buster

3. Great Lakes Brewery Monty

4. HIgh Park Brewing Across the Pond

5. Concession Road Brewing Little Britain

Red Ales

1. Gateway City Brewing Devil's Dessert

  This Imperial Red was a big hit as I floated in the pool in early June. Big and bready malts with loads of caramel and a nice kick of hop spice on the back made for a very memorable pint.

2. Cowbell Brewing Doc Perdue's Bobcat

3. Beau's All Natural Brewing Strong Patrick

4. Cameron's Brewing Ambear

5. New Ontario Brewing Tree Topper

The Mish-Mash - The Best of the Rest

Styles that I had less than 5 examples of in 2019. Any less than that and it's just not worth telling you about.

Amber Ale - Block Three Brewing Beauty & The Belgian

Belgian Strong Ale -  Sawdust City Brewing L'il Man

Brett IPA - Shacklands Brewing Fuzzier Peach

Brut IPA - Muddy York Brewing Paper Moon

Dubbel - Chimay Red

Fruited Ale - Oast House Brewers Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb

Gose - Merit Brewing What Dreams May Come

Helles Lager - Trestle Brewing Hole in The Wall

Imperial Stout - Merit Brewing Black is Beautiful

Milkshake IPA - Collective Arts Brewing Collective Arts Fest

Pumpkin Ale - Great Lakes Brewery Pumpkin Ale

Scottish Ale - Second Wedge Brewing Monday Night Piper

Vienna Lager - Clifford Brewing Chain Link

Wild Ale - Fairweather Brewing Wide World

  That's a wrap on 2020 from this corner of the world, may this next year bring more great beer, better times and a chance to sit down together and share a few pints.

Cheers! 
Polk

The Ten - 2020 in 10 Memorable Beers

 

  This was a year unlike any other, and while we are still a long way off from seeing the end of the pandemic and what I can only hope will be a new and changed world, we still drank beer and found ways to enjoy some moments of joy.

  Every year I put this list out, I call it 'The Ten' in honour of the ten most memorable or impactful beers to cross my path this year. Are they the best? Well, best is subjective to each and everyone of us and I will later lay bare my favourites in various categories, but this is not that. This is about impact, memories, moments and beer that stayed with me through the year. It is tied to the time and place when it came to my glass, although this year that is almost exclusively at home. It is more about the pleasure of consumption, contemplation and sometimes elation at what is in every pint poured this year. 

  The value of the ten beers found below is not just measured by their high quality, but by their constantly staying in the periphery and then forefront of my mind. It is not just beer at this point, it has become an intrinsic part of the life I lead and the world I want to see. It is comfort, consistency and honour. It is joy and pride and creativity writ barley meets hops and this list barely scratches the surface of the amazing things I have been lucky enough to find when I popped the top almost 800 times this year. 

  You can argue what the best IPA or Stout is, your palate may differ from mine and vice versa. This list is not just about great beer, it is about beer that mattered to me for a variety of reason I have already enunciated above. So welcome to 'The Ten' 2020, pour a pint and let's begin...

10. Collective Arts IPA No 15

  Remember a one off beer that you wished would come back again? Not a seasonal, but a singular experience that was much enjoyed and then gone in a wisp of time. We had jokingly been tweeting at Collective Arts for a while with the hashtag #Keep5Alive (courtesy the SOBeerBoys) and while they always teased us along, we never thought we would see it in our glasses again. 

Well, in late October we received a much needed good news moment as Collective brought us IPA No 15, the rebrew of IPA No 5 in all its 8.2% Simcoe and Citra Double IPA glory.  It was a spectacular return and we rejoiced as much as those who had never experienced it before and would now understand our devotion. It was nice to see a brewery as big as they have become still care what their most ardent fans wanted to see. Lots of love for my Hometown Heroes.

What I said then : 

It's back.

#Keep5Alive and in 2020, @collectivebrew delivered a happy moment amidst the chaos this year has been. IPA No 15 is the first ReBrew of the Collective Arts IPA series that has been riding along for more than 3 years with a new one every so often that showcases different styles, hops and malts. To return to this powerful release is a good things for a lot of us to be able to revisit and see if we can remember a beer from almost 3 years ago and for all those who haven't been able to try it, a chance to peek behind the mania and experience our joy. Still loving the 8.2% and mega hop combo of Citra and Simcoe, it is a hazy beauty with loads of citrus right from the top of the pour. Orange, grapefruit, pineapple, apricot, pine, dank and lightly resinous with a juicy tropical lingering pith for good measure. So do I remember IPA No 5 super clearly? Well that was a lot of beers ago, but I remember the feeling of happiness when I drank it and damned if I'm not feeling that now. Thank you to my friends at Collective for this surprise beer drop, you know I never miss a release and this one, hitting the bottle shops tomorrow, is gonna be on repeat buy for a while. LCBO bound in the coming weeks for all of you not bound for The Hammer or the new location in Toronto. Cheers! 4.75/5

Link to Pints with Polk video Review here. 

9. Wellington Brewery Arkell Best Bitter in a Box 

  Celebrating 35 years brewing beer in Ontario during a pandemic wasn't the easiest thing for Wellington Brewery to do, but damned if they didn't pump out some absolutely amazing pints in 2020. Along with a plethora of LCBO available releases, they seemed to have something unique and special almost every week at the brewery bottle shop and this was one of them that I was not going to miss. I cut my craft beer teeth going to Cask Nights back in the middle of the decade and when Welly dropped a box of their super crushable. 4.0% Arkell Best Bitter in late September I sprinted to Guelph ASAP. 

  When I returned home, Kathryn and I sat outside in The Grotto and enjoyed a warm early fall evening pouring glass after glass until the entire contents of the box were empty. It was a lovely evening of music and conversation, the low ABV giving rise to a sessionable, pub patio like feel and as the lights twinkled in the dark of night, we were thankful to have had this singular, 2020 experience.

What I said then : 

I'm not gonna do anything for the next two days except relax, drink beer and enjoy this late September heat out in the Grotto.

May the beer gods bless @wellingtonbrewery with another 35 great years as we celebrate their 35th anniversary with the return of Cask Ale in a 4 litre box! Arkell Best Bitter is a 4.0% throwback that brings a low carbonation, bready toasted malts, caramel and toffee with a soft bitterness and an easy drinking way about it to the patio as the sun shines! I can't encourage you enough to get this if they bring it back, it crushes like a dream, pours more than 8 pints and  rewards all the hard work you did to enjoy a nice night off. Well done Welly, bravo! Cheers! 5/5

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here

8. Sawdust City Brewing Binary System 2 Double IPA

This entire series of 2 Malt and 2 Hop releases from Sawdust City was truly outstanding, I was lucky enough to be able try all 4 thanks to a very good beer friend and I have no doubt that that friendship played no small part in making this even more memorable. They took a simple approach and brought together the ingredients with that ever watchful eye to experimentation and keeping the drinkers informed and enlightened. To seek out the combinations of malts and hops lets us understand better the workings of our own palates and by always letting us know what is inside, we are better educated going forward.

That sounds a little dry for this beer, it wasn't meant to just be an educational moment, it felt transcendent in the late May heat, the sunshine gave rise to rest and happiness as this dank and bitter beauty poured in The Grotto. A friendship interrupted, but kept together through the sharing of beer makes this one even better and that's saying something about how damn good it was.

What I said then : 

 Sunset in The Grotto.

Peace, perhaps.

Beer, indeed.

@sawdustcitybeer Binary System 2 Double IPA is the second offering in their exploration of  2 malt and 2 hop combos, this time a coming in at 7.8% and 45IBUs and using my favourite hop in simcoe and the sexy, sexy Sabro. A hazy gold pour with a fluffy, cloud like head and aromas of coconut, passionfruit and mango. On the sip, as solid as you will find, smooth and juicy tropical mangos passionfruit, coconut, berries and pineapple with some orange notes as well as a dank, piney finish that lingers in ways I wish I could describe better. Is this magic? Is it all just computer simulation? If it is, refill my glass, I'm gonna be here a while. This is epic and shall become part of the contender list for Beer of the Year in my books. 

Wow.

Damn wow.

Cheers! 5/5 #craftbeer #ontariocraftbeer

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here.

7. Counterpart Brewing Crowned Double IPA

  The fact that we have almost come round again to when I first had this particular Double IPA speaks volumes about just how good it was. Counterpart Brewing is down in Niagara Falls and we had taken an early January road trip down the Niagara bound QEW to visit all the breweries along the way, with an eye to planning the 2020 Polkapolooza tour in March. Little did we know what was coming as we stopped into the brewery for a meal and some beer to take home. This relative newcomer has been putting out hit after hit from what I have heard and seen on social media and it behooves us to get some more of their brews into our fridge again. But for now, I'll savour that memory of a wonderful meal and the beer we brought home that was bold, tropical and now reminds me of what we had and the loss to come in the following year. 

What I said then : 

The best part of a new year is that I get to start the search for my favourite beer all over again. 2020 is a week old and damn if @counterpartbrewing hasn't rocketed to the top of the list with their Crowned, an 8.2% Double IPA. Pouring orange and hazy, it has a thick and lacing white head to go with big tropical aromas of orange, grapefruit and pineapple with so dank hitting you. On the sip, an utter delight, smothered, juicy and tropical with big pithy orange and grapefruit, pineapple, mango and a softly bitter, dank pine finish that lingers with more citrus punch. No hint of that ABV, this one is balanced to the nth degree...just a beautiful beer all the way through. This could be a very, very good year of beer if this is any indication of what's to come. Cheers! 5/5 #craftbeer #ontariocraftbeer

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here.

6. Clifford Brewing Artificial Paradise IPA

 Simply put, this one is a beer that never lasts long in my fridge, because it comes home and is pouring that night every single time. When Brad Clifford opened his brewery in East Hamilton a couple of years ago ten minutes from Polk Manor, it instantly became my go to stop on the way home for a quick pint and a 6 pack of something for me and Kathryn. It was and is the only brewery we know will always have something for both of us with their world class Porter always available and my sheer love of anything Clifford brews. The taproom is a welcome refuge from the workday and many nights were spent Ubering there and back so we could both enjoy a few pints without worry. Covid changed a lot of that, but not our stops for favourite and new beers throughout 2020. Artificial Paradise IPA first appeared in November of 2018 and was well received in my glass and a whole lot of other folks too. It remained an occasional buy until this year when I found myself always grabbing 2 or 3 of them and filling out my 6 with something for Kat or something new. Then I'd head home, drop a review or two of whatever struck my fancy that day and finally drink my couple of cans of Artificial, just enjoying the slight buzz and happiness at a day closing into night. It is a wonderful beer anytime, but it never lasts long when I bring it home and for that I give it a huge thumbs up and a spot in 'The Ten'.

What I said then : 

Paradise found.

@cliffordbrewingcompany Artificial Paradise IPA is now available at your local LCBO and that is pretty awesome, but I'd say order it and a host of other great Clifford beers right from the source  for delivery if you can. This Citra, Simcoe and Galaxy beauty has been a favourite of mine since it first came out and I truly believe it is bang on ready for prime time right now. Big tropical orange and grapefruit pith with a sharp and bitter pine resin on the bitter finish, it also has some pineapple kicking in for good measure. Citrusy and tight, it belies that big ABV and becomes a slow sipping pool beer by default as I bring the 6 pack down to The Grotto Proper and float on for the rest of the day...Cheers! 4.5/5 #craftbeer #ontariocraftbeer

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here.

5. Merit Brewing Black is Beautiful Imperial Stout

  Part of a Worldwide collaboration created by the Black owned, Texas based Weathered Souls Brewing Company, the concept of the Black is Beautiful initiative (read more here) was meant to raise awareness and much needed funds to help underfunded organizations that promote equality and justice against police brutality and the systemic racism inherent in our current system. Brewed by more than 1100 breweries in 22 countries, including 35 here in Ontario, the base recipe was a 10.0% Imperial Stout and brewers could use that as a template to do what they wished as long as 100% of the proceeds went to an organization doing the work listed above. While I didn't get to try all of them that I'd have liked too, the Merit Brewing one stood out as a great example not just because it was a great damn beer. Spinney stuck closely to the recipe from Weathered Souls and delivered a real gem of a beer that not only was tribute to the cause but raised money for The Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (more on their work here). The work is not done and the fight for equality and justice must remain top of mind as the year ends and a new one begins. No justice, no peace.

What I said : 

Be good.

Do good.

Drink good.

But more importantly, don't just say you're not a racist, be aggressively anti racist. Black Lives Matter is not just a movement, it is a paradigm shift in addressing centuries of abuse, inequality and outright violence against people of colour. It is but a small thing we do when we spend money on great beer that supports a greater cause, but it is a start that should push us to do more.

Black is Beautiful Imperial Stout was created by the Black owned Texas brewery @weatheredsoulsbrewing and more than 1000 breweries across the world have taken up the initiative to raise money to help organizations and people fighting injustice and inequality. 

Our friends at @meritbrewing have jumped on board and their iteration of this 8.7% slow sipper is a fine example of the style and all money raised will be donated to the Hamilton Center for Civic Inclusion (@hamiltoncivic ). 

I know for a fact, I've seen my privilege as a white guy in beer right in front of me and while it is a small microcosm of the much larger problems in the world, making things better here can help make things better everywhere. It is about recognizing our ability to come together to lift others up, to raise everyone to the same level of opportunity and access to the things we may take for granted. It is about addressing concerns about how the police have treated Indigenous and Black communities and how we can change things for the future. Far too many lives have been lost because we seek peace without change, the future is in each of our hands to shape...be better and make a difference in any way you can.

Cheers!

4.5/5

 Link to the Pints with Polk Video Review here.

4. Great Lakes Brewery HazeMama New England IPA

  GLB has long been a big part of whatever I do in beer. Simply put, they care about quality, freshness and fair pricing as much as I've seen in my 5 plus years writing about the subject. Always pumping out one offs and returning seasonals at the brewery proper, they also have a wide portfolio of styles available at both grocery stores and LCBOs. Add in their recently expanded home delivery and you have an absolute juggernaut in this province. They also give back to their community, like many of their fellow Ontario Craft breweries, and continue to inspire us with updated artwork and new beers. HazeMama is a 7.0% New England style IPA that dropped into their core rotation in late spring and while it is a top notch example of the style and keeps on doing so all over the province, it comes in at a mind boggling price of only $3.50 for a 473ml tall boy. That is near impossible for anyone else to do and while their size does give them some advantage, to not hike that price on a beer that could easily retail at plus $4 without anyone batting an eye. Quality meets Consistency equals a lifetime fan of GLB.

What I said then ; 

I think I'm in love.

@greatlakesbeer's latest core addition and LCBO available pint is the 7.0%, 35 IBU HazeMama New England style IPA and at only $3.50 a tall can, that's a steal and a half. Hazy, opaque orange juice pour with a fluffy white head, which leaves behind some classic #GLBLacing and gives way to aromas of pineapple, tangerine and mango. On the sip, as promised...as delivered. Big juicy pineapple, orange and mango with lemon and a touch of sweet honey, bit of booziness on the dry tropical finish. One of the best in the biz drops another beauty in your local LCBO and that is a present all of us can appreciate. For my money, it is a no brainer to add to your regular rotation. Cheers! 4.5/5 #craftbeer #ontariocraftbeer

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here.

3. Tooth and Nail Brewing Vim & Vigor Pilsner

  The last two years have really rekindled my love of the simple flavours great straight up lagers and ales can bring to the party. While I'm an unabashed lover of big and boozy beers, there is nothing like a crisp and clean pilsner with a little noble hop spice on the back. Effervescent with some bitterness, grass or hay like notes and happiness delivered in the hardest beer to brew with care. I appreciate the subtle nuances of these "beers that taste like beer" far more now than I ever did and there is no doubt that in 2020, Tooth and Nail hit it right on the head with their flagship pilsner, the 5.2% Vim & Vigor. It is everything a true pilsner needs to be, right on par with last year's beer of the year, Fairweather Donna. I could drink these full time and be a happy, happy man.

What I said then : 

Simple, yet complex.

Subtle, yet loudly beautiful.

@toothandnailbeer 5.2% Vim & Vigor Pilsner returns to my glass and hot damn if it isn't an absolute juggernaut of what the style should be. Grassy, cereal notes, light citrus, noble hop spice and a singular beauty on each and every sip mean you are in the presence of true genius. The most difficult thing to do is to deliver a consistently clean and crisp pilsner, nowhere to hide, no room for error and Tooth & Nail hit this one from every conceivable side. Just a moment of  heaven in a world gone mad...

Cheers! 5/5

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here.

2. Muskoka Brewery Tread Lightly Light Lager

  There is no way I could have foreseen the love I would have for the most dangerous beers on the planet when it comes to style...the Light Lager. I kid a little bit, but let's be honest with each other, its not been that long since I was getting all knackered up on light macro beer without regards to flavour or texture or anything resembling taste. Light beer has been driven to be so bland and inoffensive that it's only remaining quality is to drink it cold and that is just facts.

Enter Muskoka Brewery and this year's surprise of surprises, the 4.0% Tread Lightly Light Lager. A serious contender for Beer of the Year, its easy crushability and subtle nuances bringing you a pint for every time of the year. Seriously full bodied, lacking nothing in flavour and texture, a treat of being a beer for everyone who just wants a damn beer. They've even gone and released their first 24 and at $45 for a 24, its easy to keep in the fridge for the times when you need it. We BBQ year round and having a beer i don't mind drinking out of the can during winter is not to be overlooked. This is seriously good beer made by a brewery committed to environmental causes, paying their employees a living wage and continuing to do good works in their community to uplift and support those in need. Good stuff, must buy.

What I said then : 

This is the best Light Lager in the land right now.

@muskokabrewery absolutley nailed Tread Lightly, at 4.0% a patio worthy crusher and definitely a sessionable Lager of some renown. Simply put, it has sacrificed none of the texture, flavour or component parts of what makes a great Lager in pursuit of giving us a pint of solid beer at that lower ABV. Crisp, grainy malts, light fruit, a little hop bite, bitter but not cloying, it is a damn fine beer that tastes like a beer and then a little more. I like seeing the options improving for lager lovers this summer and this one is an easy grab anytime. Cheers! 4.5/5

Link to Pints with Polk Video Review here. 

1. Nickel Brook Brewing Headstock IPA

  If you've spent anytime with me anywhere online this year, you knew this was coming, didn't you?

In a year of pandemics, isolation, essential working and missing family, friends and not getting to meet up for beers with anyone, it was destined that my ultimate Comfort Beer takes home the crown as The Most Memorable Beer of 2020. Headstock is a classic West Coast 7.0% IPA that is everything good about the beginning of the craft beer revolution continuing to deliver in a world of haze and sour craze. I posted about it 18 times on Instagram and if my picture was just a Nickel Brook glass or me drinking a beer, it was probably Headstock. When I was worried when the first lockdown hit that they might close down breweries or the LCBO/Beer store, this was the 24 I bought to tide me over. It is my 6 pack pickup when I'm heading home on my last day of work for the week and it is the constant companion when I need a reliable friend by my side. It is a classic beer, no doubt some would say I should be looking to one of the newer, more buzz worthy breweries for a hazy tropical IPA, and I do enjoy them immensely as well, this year, this year of uncertainty and anxiety, I found the one thing I could always count on to deliver the same great pint, pour after pour.

The ironic thing is that Nickel Brook releases so many new beers, I am constantly stopping in to pick them up and they topped my review list with 73 appearances, many of them hazy or sour beers. Their Funk Lab brings a lot of fun to my life and I look forward to 2021 and all the new stuff coming.

But there will always be room for a couple Headstocks whenever I stop by, this beer is, in 2020 and beyond, the one that brings joy to my life.

What I said then (out of 18 times, I just went with a pint from August when I had enjoyed 3 other West Coast IPAs and Headstock came out on top in the head to head competition) :

1 afternoon in The Grotto Pool.

1 Spiegelau.

1 Polk.

4 fantastic West Coast IPAs.

1 Champion.

Still holding the belt as the best of the best, @nickelbrookbrewing 7.0%, 80 IBU Headstock delivers everything the style demands using Simcoe, Amarillo and the secret weapon of Mosaic to balance the biscuity toasted malt body with grapefruit and orange pith, resinous pine and intense bitterness in a balanced and approachable IPA. Fresh or with a few months on it, it remains the very top of the hop here in Ontario. But let's be honest, drinking 4 great beers means I am the ultimate winner here...

Cheers! 5/5

Link to the Pints with Polk Video Review here.

  Thank you all for playing along this year, on whatever platform you see my stuff, I'm humbled by it all every time. At the end of the day, beer is supposed to be fun and uplifting and while we all enjoy it maybe a little more than most, let's be a positive place in the world as we head into 2021. I hope to see more people writing, recording and making videos about their beer in the new year, I'm here for it all, my support and help is but a message away, I got you, my friends.

Until we meet again...

Cheers,

Polk

The Beer I want to Share...

 

I have a lot of very good beer in my cellar, Lots of Barrel aged beauties and Farmhouse Ales, Belgian and other notable pints wait for a day to made special by their presence. I long ago gave up the notion that a beer need be saved for a special occasion, without children those come a lot less frequently than you could imagine; and outside of our annual tradition of drinking the cellar during our beer advent calendar at Christmas, we drink them when the fancy strikes us. So as I've opined before, letting a special beer make the day special has become our mantra and I'll tell you that it has been a great way to get ourselves through this year of turmoil and isolation. A Bourbon Barrel aged stout in the pool on a random Wednesday in August was purely sublime and that one on a not so good day in October helped to lift our spirits up when we needed it. Beer in and of itself cannot be the answer to sadness or happiness, but it can be used to ease the former and enhance the latter. 

But.

  I am saving a special bottle for an occasion I hope to see in 2021, on the hope that we can all get right with the vaccination and gather together in friendship and beer. 2 years ago, my pal Karol dropped into Hamilton on his yearly jaunt from Europe and we finally were able to meet in person and share a few beers at Collective Arts and Merit Brewing. As he was leaving to go home, he stopped by my work with some treats from his native Slovakia and one particular beauty from Belgium. A bottle of Belgium's Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio, a rare treat for this Belgian beer loving guy. Profuse thanks were handed out and a speedy return to visit again was wished...then, well, 2020 happened and that was rendered impossible. But I know the future will bring more visits and I will do my level best to repay the kindness of my new European friends with some Ontario pints of renown. He is not the person for this beer though, I've got another one waiting for him.

  Now Polk, you may be wondering, where is this all going? Indeed, I understand it has been a circuitous journey and now we come to what to do with the singular experience this beer is sure to bring, for Kathryn is no fan of anything Lambic, so she has no interest in what's inside. The pandemic and isolation make sharing it out right now impossible, so it must wait and wait we will. But the person I wish to share it with has become a dear friend, even though most of our interactions are online and the occasional phone call, a friendship founded in beer and forged in a love of justice, truth and doing what is right. He has become a sounding board for my words, a voice in a lost fog of a year and a true-blue friend when I thought it not possible to find another as I approach 50 years on this planet. Our mutual love of so many of the same styles of beer, not just the big IPAs or Bourbon Barrel aged stouts, but the red ales and ESBs of the world also includes all things Belgian, from Wit to Quad and everywhere in-between. 

You know where this is going now, eh?

When we come out the other side of this pandemic, a little tired and beat up, missing so much of the life outside our own homes and ready to see a little more of the world again, I have a lot of folks I cannot wait to raise a pint or two with. Good friends and family whom I miss dearly and fondly wait to reunite with, but this bottle, this singular experience will be saved for some random day when he and I can finally break bread, raise a glass or 6 and enjoy this double friendship beer together with our families. We will let the beer make the day even more special because it will no doubt be a pretty amazing day on its own. A silly little wish in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, but one I hold onto with my heart.

Let the world heal, one pint at a time.

Cheers,

Polk

The Disappointments - 2020

 

 This year was unlike anything we could have imagined and yet, amidst the chaos and lockdowns, people fell in love, got married, had babies, broke up…hopefully not all the same people…but as Jeff Goldblum opines “Life finds a way.” As with all things, the beer we drank continued to flow and for a good chunk of the year you could even have a pint or two at your local, either on the patio or perhaps even luckier, the taproom itself. There was no shortage of outstanding beer this year and while that conversation is coming up in this years “The Ten”, today we will spend a little time with things that didn’t quite reach the level of even merely adequate, perhaps not bad beer, but disappointing beer.

   To be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time with beer that doesn’t work for me, I pour it out and move on, not wanting to waste the ABV or my time and effort to write about it because let's face it, most folks just scroll on by the picture with little care for the content. Did I have some stinkers? Oh hell yeah, but I gave them so little thought that it escapes me why I should be keeping track of them. So here we are in late December 2020 and I start my final posts with the disappointing beers of the year and one trip to a brewery that resulted in the most bizarre response I’ve ever had to a private conversation overheard…

   The beers that found the bottom of my Instagram or Youtube reviewed list are all macro, often done as a little poke of fun at the whole crushable pint crowd, tongue in cheek all the way but nonetheless egregious beer altogether.

With little flourish, here we go…

5^th - Bohemian Pils from Caledon Hills (2.25/5) - Bland, almost no noble hop presence with little apple sweetness happening. It was early in the year and let’s face it, the Donna Pils of the world have set the bar high, this was a miss for me.

^4th - Peppermint IPA from Moosehead Breweries (2/5) - It was as a west leaning body with some citrus pith that was just overpowered by the toothpaste like peppermint that enveloped every part of your palate after a few sips. It was like drinking a macro lager with a piece of bread after you had just brushed your teeth, hard no.

^3rd - Miller High Life Light (1.5/5) - I might be a drunk, but this was just an exercise in boring and little else. Not even very bubbly, lacking almost everything with an aftertaste of shame and frustration.

2^nd - Budweiser Bud Light Strawberry Lemonade (0.5/5) - Offensively artificially flavoured to the point of warranting an investigation into assault on your senses, this was sickly sweet and the “strawberry” flavour lingered for more than a half hour after I poured out this abomination.

And the “winner” is…

1^st - Molson Ultra (0.5/5) - I mean...why bother?

Drink tap water. Warm tap water. And you might get more out of it than shame and sadness.

I drink em so you don't have to...Molson Ultra is a 3.0% Light Lager and well, it is light on everything a beer should be. I've had light lagers, a lot of them in fact recently and this is not that. Not even that bubbly, leaves a dry, salt like chemical finish after hinting of hops and barley. Blah, but I had to know, didn't I.

Sometimes even I worry about me.

  I probably should keep more track of “craft” beer that disappoints me, and to that extent I’m making some adjustments to my entire system next year which you can read all about over on my earlier post entitled “Polk 2021 - The Truth”, link at the bottom of this post.

As for the worst experience of my year, it came very early on and the story behind it was the most unusual one I’ve ever had in my 5 years writing about beer. I’m going to leave the name of the brewery out because we have not been able to get back there and see if things got better, the quality of the things we had was less than stellar all the way through.

When we arrived, we grabbed a flight and proceeded to do what we always do, share them back and forth and discuss what we are tasting, Kathryn’s palate being far superior to mine, I appreciate her take on what we have in our glasses. It was a difficult flight of beers to get through, some were passable, but the majority were riddled with off flavours and plain poor delivery from start to finish. We quietly were discussing these things and after we left, the messages came in that someone had overheard us and immediately contacted the owners to let them know we weren’t happy. We had said nothing ourselves to anyone and yet were quickly sent missives on all social media platforms inquiring about our experience. As I always do, I responded with honesty and frankness, open to hearing them out because it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to return and see what they’ve grown into. The pandemic hit hard and to be honest, I forgot about them until I started getting ready for all this end of the year stuff, a forgotten moment of mediocre in a year of tremendous loss and stress.

So until we can go back and purchase some beers to bring back and see if things have indeed changed, I’ll keep them in my back pocket with the promise that if I find nothing has changed, I’ll bring forth a final rendition of the most deserving kind.

What beer was so off that it led me to feel the way I did? Well, here are two of the reviews in my folder, just the bottom two in a line of empty promises…

A 5.2% Japanese Rice Lager that was off flavoured and delivered almost nothing to the palate save diacetyl and malt. Extreme disappointment given my love of lagers. 0.75/5

A 7.0%, 15 IBU Brut IPA that is supposed to be a fruity, dry, highly carbonated and effervescent beer that was fermented with Pinot Grigio grape juice. What it is is a mess. Not highly carbonated, the wine notes feels Artificial and the fruit is muted beneath off flavours and a vegetal effect on the dry finish. I've had many Brut IPAs and ones done with grapes....a big miss here. 0.50/5

So with some luck, we will revisit this place if they survive till spring, the market will not tolerate bad beer as the lockdown makes where you spend your money even more important.

Better beer to come this week as my List of Favourite beer by style and of course My Ten Most Memorable Pints of 2020.

Cheers! 

Polk

Polk 2021 - The Truth

A year in Beer, Polk The Truth 2021

  

  When 2020 started, I had decided to check every beer I had all year long into UnTappd to see just how many beers I really consumed and stuck to it for the first 3 months. Through the loss of Jinx at the end of January to the very early lockdown portion of Covi-19 I was keeping it up but then felt the weight of the year closing in and kind of let the project drop, mainly because I was a little scared at the sheer number I had hit. From January 1st through March 25th, I entered 400 check ins, in only 85 days…a rate of almost 5 per day and even with the grief of losing best little pal factored in, I was firing a little hot for even my pace. I know I probably drink more than the average person, no sane individual drinks a beer and writes about it every single day for more than 5 years without some complications, but the sheer volume of the consumption was a shock. Oddly enough, I had more than half of those as distinct beers, so for a lot of the time, it was still about talking about what was in my glass rather than the pain and anxiety that was in my head. I do love my small moments of authorship each day, sometimes a strictly by the book review and others a free flowing narrative inspired by events and beers in my glass. But I have no delusions of why I drink that much beer, I like the way I feel after a couple and some days that turns hard into more than just a couple. Is it addiction? I would be fool hardy to deny it, I know what I am and while I remain a functional, 50 hour a week working stiff, a drunk at heart I will always be. 

  I jokingly said beer is my love language the other day, but it has a spark of truth to it as I use beer to express my hopes and dreams, thoughts and emotions every single day. It has become the medium of my message and while I think it wouldn’t hurt to cut back on the volume, a beer a day is something I still think brings some merit to what I do. I could try to be cute, but the truth is some days that beer is the very best thing I do for myself. 

  So, what is the whole point of this exercise in self analysis? Well, I really do want to track an entire year of beer, much like I did in May of 2018 when I did “The Truth in May” and posted every pint I drank that month on Instagram. By using Untappd, it will be much simpler, entering beers, quick score for my own records and a true tally of every single pint that crosses my path for an entire calendar year. I don’t know if by observing my behaviour I can change it or will I feel the need to keep things much as they are now, but I figure since I’m gonna be drinking them anyway, might as well see what is what. 

  It will also simplify the tracking of the best and new importantly worst beers I have all year as I rarely bother to post bad beers or drain pours, but wanting to waste the ABV or my time with things that don't work. 

If you’d like to follow along, head over to Untappd and be my drinkin’ buddy as we look to use Polk_TheTruth_2021 to really pull back the curtains on what has been a long ride down the Barley Highway.

Cheers,

Polk 

  Polk_TheTruth_2021

Noon at The Pandemic

Morning isn’t the best time to be a drunk. You’re hours from your first pint of the day and still feeling the effects of last evenings late night poor decisions. Work looms large and the clock stops for no hangover, you make yourself as presentable as possible and meander out into the world to do what you have to so later you can do what you want. Some days it’s just a couple of pints, but others, the deep and steady decline of your own precipitous grasp on reality is evident. You seek not just a release from the troubles of a world gone mad, but the liquid redemption from a life perhaps lived a little below expectations, yours and theirs. The steady buzz that builds is felt with each pour, each bottle or can opened, each shot poured. There is no rush, you know the path and it’s well worn grooves to where you want to go. The only difference is how deep into that forest are you headed tonight and will you come out the other side intact once again. Repeat. The true seeker of darkness doesn’t want for the world to end, no that would be far to simple and easy. They search at the bottom of every bottle for the answer to who they are and why are they here. A litany of playback rolls in their mind until the saturation point is reached and the clouded happiness begins. A sort of fog washes in and the world seems far away, safely at a distance, you can now relax and let go. Smile and wave at the mirror, your in for the long haul. So where is that line between drunk and enthusiast? Who says what is what and how many is too many? Is it a case of you know it when you see it or is more the matter of public consensus, 4 is fine but 5 is over the line. Where does addiction take over and what was once a few beers to relax becomes many beers to survive? How do you know when it is all just over… The thing about beer now is that it has stopped being about pounding a 24 of macro lager to just get hammered and more about the quality and flavour that you find while you get hammered. We’ve just replaced a dozen 5% lagers with four or five 7% IPAs and told ourselves we are appreciating the subtle nuances and notes when in reality, the ABV plays as much a role now as it ever has. Not everyone leans hard into their own heads when it comes to their relationship with beer, but as someone who has consumed and written about “craft beer” every day for more than 5 years straight, I see so many rolling along with me, maybe a little slower, but headed my way. I used to talk about the journey or how “craft beer” changed my approach to drinking and in a way it totally has, I don’t think I could handle 24 tall boys of my favourite IPA the way I used to crush a 24 of Pabst back in the day. The sheer volume of my intake into my early 40s was a spectacle and while that amount isn’t something I can fathom anymore, 6 to 8 big beers gets the same job done in a context of exploring style and appreciating the “craft”. I lived that particular narrative for a while and it is a noble idea indeed, but let’s not forget that a drunkard is a wino with a place to drink. Not everyone is a drunk of course, given the circumstances of the world right now though, who could blame us for a little indulgence when we return to the cocoon of our homes safely each day. Take the edge off is not always about getting knee deep into a bottle of whiskey or 10 pints, it is usually about finding that happy little buzz where the day becomes muted and the worries fade into tomorrow. It isn’t about ignoring your problems, but rather putting them aside for a little while because you just need a break. I see you out there, maybe you have a better handle on it than I do or maybe you think you do and your revelation will come to you as it did to me much later into your days. Does sharing pictures and writing a little blurb, tasting note or whatever sort of communication make consumption any more acceptable or is it all part of the same conversation, slightly slurred and bleary eyed while we wander down the road to oblivion? Pandemically speaking, we are just approaching noon of this thing, day drinking anyone?

Beer, life and more

It's 3 p.m on an October Tuesday afternoon. All around the world a pandemic rages and we are witness to the decline of the modern day Rome in real time every, single minute. I have no rage, I witness without emotion the sad decline of what was, for a brief and shining moment, the epitome of Capitalism and the cult of individualism. We are compelled to watch the unravelling of an empire, the end of a hegemony of white supremacy, the steady repudiation of what many consider the American dream. What could have been the envy of the world, a true chance to champion the singular rights of humankind to live and work toward a better day has been replaced by a slavish devotion to corporations, the bottom line and the exploitation of human capital in pursuit of billions by a select few. Do not kid yourselves, the money does not trickle down, it most assuredly runs up the creek, away and quickly at that from the working men and women of the western world. 

Rant over...?

Sure, it's been a day of fun, let's keep that going.
@grainandgritbeer Off Duty Citra Dry Hopped 6.0%, 50 IBU IPA has been a big hit here at The Manor with its lemon and orange pith, grapefruit and pineapple citrus middle, smooth but piney bitter back. A delightfully gun addition to the Grain & Grit lineup and an easy pickup whenever we stop by the brewery. Cheers! 4.25/5