Pints with Polk: From Bad Beer to Exceptional Pints : Rise Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Polk

April 21st, 2024