THIS IS SHAPING UP TO BE QUITE THE WEEK FOR BEER. Watching this Sunday night’s Super Bowl — and especially the ads — it will be easy to be reminded of the hold giant brands like Bud, Miller, and Coors have on our collective consciousness. At the other end of the sudsy spectrum, later in the week hundreds of craft beer drinkers will gather at the South End Cyclorama for BeerAdvocate’s Extreme Beer Fest. Hosted by the popular beer-rating website (for which I write a column), the event will feature the likes of The Funky Buddha’s Last Snow, a coffee porter made with coconut, white chocolate, and caramel. Take it from me, this will not be a Miller Time crowd.
Craft beer geeks are an increasingly vocal group these days, and perhaps that’s because of their status as underdogs. The entire craft beer industry — including local “giants” Samuel Adams and Harpoon — makes up only about 9 percent of the US beer market. No wonder fans of the brews feel so marginalized. Forums like the BeerAdvocate site, beer bars, and stores such as Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont offer a sense of community for a niche group, but the devotion can be taken too far. In being vocal about not being among The 91 Percent — in refusing to drink anything at the party other than the obscure six-packs they bring — beer geeks risk being labeled snobs.
Comments
Just so,Sir.
Generally speaking, "Try new things" is good advice.
Regarding beer, I subscribe to the snobbish opinion that barley malt, hops, water and yeast go into beer. Not rice, not corn, not candy and coffee and unicorn horn, but okay, sometimes wheat for a heffervisen.
For the casual beer drinker, it's probably a good idea to understand the difference between a pilsner, an ale, a porter and a stout before going sample crazy. The crazy stuff like Abbey Quads are more like graduate school. Pilseners are obviously the gateway beer from the likes of American style Budweiser, although many ales are also not too far a reach from American pilsners like Bud and Coors.
Actually, the best way to learn to appreciate beer and how the flavors play out is to brew a few batches.
Also, there is no such thing as a vodka martini...
This article misses the point that the reason that many of us craft beer fans choose not support brands owned by AB InBev or MillerCoors is not because of snobbery about taste, but for the same reasons that those concerned with supporting local businesses choose not to shop at Wal-Mart. The business practices of these large conglomerates put smaller breweries and hops farmers out of business. When it acquires a brand, AB InBev often institutes cost-saving measures such as changing traditional recipes or brewing locations. These changes hurt the people who work in the beer industry, as well as the taste of the beer itself.
When faced with the choice, this "beer snob" would order a Narragansett lager, which is locally owned (for now) and quite affordable, over a Goose Island brew, which I agree is still of high quality. Many of us enjoy LOTS of different kinds of quality beer, and would like to keep lots of quality choices available by supporting smaller breweries, up to and including Boston Brewing Company, that have been able to resist the monopolies of AB InBev and MillerCoors. It's not about drinking "obscure six packs," it's about being mindful of what my money is supporting.