Fine, I'll admit it...I...am...a...sigh...a snob! Now wait I am not a snob just in everyday life, no I feel that I am a very easy person to get along with. It's just with beer and maybe some music, but for today's purpose we will only talk about the beer snob thing. On another note now that I have admitted my fault (yes the only one just don't ask my wife) can we please not remind me of it just call me a beer geek!
Have you ever liked a band or artist or anything really, before anyone else you know has heard of said item? Have you then spent countless minutes, hours, days or months researching everything about that item and immersing yourself in that information so much so that everything you do can then be traced back to that interest? If not, then really there is no hope for you! If yes, then you know how I feel about craft beer. As I mentioned in my post "My Journey", I have spent my free time of the last year or so immersed in all that is the awesome world of craft beer. I have spent time researching breweries, the beer they brew, how they brew it and what ingredients they use. I have read books, other blogs and sought out like minded people and home brewers. What I have learned is that I will never know all that there is to know and I think others in the industry feel the same way. Craft beer is ever evolving and changing and brewers will always push the limits of what they know is beer.
The issue that I seem to have is that while I love to talk, drink, read about and research craft beer; when I hear someone talking about craft beer and not being knowledgeable it really frustrates me. Frustrates me to the point of annoyance that someone is willing to accept a beer that does not taste good, so long as it gets you drunk...ugh, why would you want to get drunk while not enjoying your drink!?
So what if I am a beer snob, I do not see that as a bad thing. I obviously just enjoy the passion, heart and effort that goes into each one of the beers I drink. Am I a snob because I do not want to see this amazing industry watered down any further than what macro beer has done to it?
Does being a snob make me a hypocrite because I would rather see craft beer stay small than expand and lose it's origins, while at the same time I myself hope to turn my own passion into a career some how, be it with this blog or at a brewery thus expanding the reach of flavorful beverages.
I am also left with the thought, what happens when craft beer is no longer "craft beer". When it hits the mainstream like it almost has. Is Samuel Adams still on the same level as Dogfish Head? What about when Dogfish continues on its path and takes over the world of beer, will we as craft beer drinkers start to push away from these breweries just because they have been able to take their product and bring it to the masses? Will we call these companies sell outs? I hope not, there is enough beer to go around to everyone and there will always be people still in the dark or at least with a can of Bud in their hand.
Happy reading and cheers!
I think you will see more and more people come into drinking craft beer. The larger craft brewers may lose a few drinkers that stick to smaller, truly local craft beer as these big brewers go nationwide but with the wider consumption of craft beer the big craft breweries will find no shortage of consumers.
ReplyDeleteGreat point! I feel this might be where Sam Adams has been and they are using these small one off batches to get back to where they came from...Which is awesome for us drinkers!
DeleteThanks for the comment!
Hey Andrew. I remember the moment when I first quaffed the brew that changed my understanding of beer. It was in Vermont, at a very well known (no longer existent) brewpub. I haven't looked back since. That being said, the more time that goes by, the more my understanding of the beer universe evolves. I believe craft beer is defined by the quality with which a beer is produced, not entirely the size of the brewery producing it. The last paragraph indicates to me that you're evolving a profound view of beer. May I suggest that you are in fact a beer lover and not a snob?
ReplyDeleteBrett; I completely agree with you in that craft beer is more of the quality of the beer in question, however I also feel its the mindset in the brewing process that really defines a craft brewery.
DeleteThanks for the post, I hope to make my way to Tryst in the next couple weeks, I'll besure to say hello.
Cheers!
A little late to the party but Andrew thanks for commenting over on my blog for a related post.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out Andrew, we are going to have to be careful with the size stipulation when some of today's craftiest big brewers get even bigger.
There is also a "trendy" thing going on that makes the older, yet still great quality craft brewers seem so yesterday.
It's going to be a fun ride either way.