I saw a blog post yesterday that perfectly captures the overall principle governing Growler Fills.  It’s All Relative.  I’ve been around plenty of beer drinker’s to know how relative taste is. It is as varied as it is personal. My favorite beer – and there’s a few jostling for the top spot at any given moment – may or may not be anything close to your favorite beer.  While there is a general consensus that The Abyss, one of my all time favorites, is a world class beer, I know it is definitely not a beer for everyone and would never insist you must like it.

Sean Wilson, CEO of Durham, NC’s Fullsteam Brewery, posted a blog entry this week on the brewery’s website entitled “That Brewery Sucks.”   In it, Sean articulately and positively invites beer drinkers to resist the temptation to declare a craft brewery sucks simply because you didn’t like one of their beers.  He suggests you try one of the brewery’s other offerings or find a different brewery that might better fit your taste. Having a favorite, he says, doesn’t “obligate you to insult other breweries you don’t like.”  Well said.

There ARE differences in quality among Montana’s breweries, just as there are everywhere. A few seem to struggle with depth and complexity. A couple seem stretched thin across too many styles. Yet, nearly all I have visited or tried have at least one brew that is delicious and satisfying. It is rare to find a brewery anywhere that hits top quality across all styles throughout its lineup, but we’ve got a couple in Montana that do. And don’t forget, given the wide variety of personal taste, it is nearly impossible to be a good judge of every style.  For me, I won’t pretend to be a good judge of Belgians and their rapidly increasing number of sour offspring. I’ve also entirely lost the ability to distinguish between the pale ale and IPA categories, though that’s a discussion for another day.

At Growler Fills, you haven’t and won’t read about beers that suck. There are beers I don’t like, but that doesn’t mean they suck. There are whole breweries I struggle with whose beers nevertheless win many awards. I’ve offered some constructive criticism from time to time, but see no reason to take up space in this blog telling you about beers I won’t drink again.   It is far more fun to generate good conversation in support of Montana’s breweries and the broader craft brewing industry.