Crafty Snob

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!