I started this blog in February, at which point I didn’t know where I was going with it. Truth be told, I still don’t actually know where I’m going with it. I write when I feel inspired. Sometimes that inspiration hits, sometimes it doesn’t.
While I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to write about, I did know what I did NOT want to write about. Beer reviews, brewery visits and beer news weren’t even an option. There are a ton of other beer blogs out there that cover these things already. Some great, some not so great.
The other thing that I didn’t want to do was accept free beer, T-shirts or other swag in exchange for a positive write up about the brewery that provided me with said gifts.
Integrity is VERY important to me.
Several weeks ago, I tweeted out my love for Great Lake’s Conways Irish Ale.
I love that beer. That is the God’s honest truth. The day after I tweeted that, Great Lakes tweeted me back and asked me for my email address. Shortly after I provided it to them, I had an email in my inbox asking for my T-shirt size and home address. Three weeks later, a signed Great Lakes T-shirt with a hand written note showed up at my doorstep.
The thought never crossed my mind while I was corresponding with them that they sent this to me because I have a beer blog. It didn’t. As the weeks went on, I thought about it more and more. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe they did send it to me because I have a beer blog and by chance, I may write something positive about them.
Most of the time I dismissed that thought. My site traffic isn’t that great. Logically it wouldn’t make sense for a brewery to send me anything. Barely anybody would read about the write up. But then again, who knows? In the wild wild west we call “The Internet” when something catches fire, the forest can be set ablaze almost immediately.
That brings us to this post and my inner struggle on whether to write something about Great Lakes. If you’ve been reading this blog by now you may have figured out that I write directly from my heart. It’s the only way I know how to write. People have always told me that I’m genuine. That means a lot to me.
So here it goes...
Great Lakes is not my favorite brewery. With that said, I don’t know what my favorite brewery is. I go back and forth week after week giving people different answers when they ask. Revolution. New Glarus. Alaskan. You get the idea.
Great Lakes is, however, one OF my favorite breweries. When I started drinking good beer 8 years ago, Great Lakes was one of the first breweries I was turned on to. To this day I still love Dortmunder Gold, Christmas Ale, and Blackout Stout. They are and always have been wonderful beers.
Is Great Lakes always in my fridge? No. NO brewery is always in my fridge. There are certain “styles” of beer that are always in my fridge (looking at you, Saison) but rarely do I always have something from any particular brewery. There is so much great beer out there that I try to spread around the love as much as possible.
And that is what I’ll continue to do. My purchasing of Great Lakes beer will not go up, but it won’t go down. I’ll continue to buy the beers I love from them every so often and try something new if anything they make catches my eye. I have always recommended the brewery and will continue to do so regardless of any outside influences.
To anyone reading this blog, please buy beer that you want to try. Never buy a beer just because someone else tells you to.
And if anyone from Great Lakes ever reads this, please know that I in no way, shape or form mean to disrespect you with this post. I love your brewery and am very thankful for the T-shirt.
Cheers!
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