15 things craft beer fans think but don't say

I would have to agree with most of the items on the list, such as the impending movement of focus to more local breweries, for those lucky enough to have a selection. Although there are plenty of people that have the passion but lack the technical knowledge to produce good beer. (Disclaimer: I am not perfect and have had a batch or two turn out not so great due to my lack of control of some variable).

Discuss.

http://firstwefeast.com/drink/15-things-craft-beer-fans-think-but-nobody-says/

Thank you for sharing this article. I honestly feel like every point the author made is very true. I feel like this should almost be a sticky that every new member of the forum should read to help get some perspective. I really don't want the world of craft brewing to become as exclusive and haughty as the world of fine wine, and I see an underlying theme in the article of this happening.

"My face is permanently puckered from hop bomb brews and those funky Belgian beers taste like old socks. -

I'm dying for a Bud."

Epimetheus said:

"My face is permanently puckered from hop bomb brews and those funky Belgian beers taste like old socks. -

I'm dying for a Bud."

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Said no one ever.

Sorry I couldn't help it. American Lagers have their place.

Great article! It's humbling to see that I myself am guilty of one or two things on that list. It should be required reading every six months or so.

This is a great article. The only thing that surprised me was the "all brewers are white" section. I don't think I've ever pondered on the race of the brewmaster while sipping a pint, craft or macro. The rest of 'em I agree with.

I used to write beer reviews on BA, and while it was really great for developing my palate, I could have accomplished the same thing with a notebook or Word file. The description of it being like Yelp for beer is a good comparison, and as much as I'd love to get my hands on some Heady Topper thanks to the hype, I'm rarely let down when I visit my local breweries for what they make.

Tupperwolf said:

This is a great article. The only thing that surprised me was the "all brewers are white" section. I don't think I've ever pondered on the race of the brewmaster while sipping a pint, craft or macro. The rest of 'em I agree with.

I used to write beer reviews on BA, and while it was really great for developing my palate, I could have accomplished the same thing with a notebook or Word file. The description of it being like Yelp for beer is a good comparison, and as much as I'd love to get my hands on some Heady Topper thanks to the hype, I'm rarely let down when I visit my local breweries for what they make.

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I want some Heady Topper for the yeast. And the beer. But mostly the yeast.

Honestly, I never thought about Craft brewers all being white. I guess craft is like the NHL of beer.

Then again, how many black people brew for Big Beer?? How many women brew for craft breweries? How many Asians??

I'd like to see a list of ways minorities are prohibited from becoming good brewers, or for getting brewer positions in a beer company. I suspect that there just aren't that many minorities interested in learning how to brew good beer and make a career out of it.

I really hate the irrational claims based on how many Whites, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, women/men are in a certain field. It is a logical fallacy, if few of a race, ethnicity or gender take part in an activity, to blame the activity, or those who take part in it, of being racist. I guess we could say: "No men are seen by gynecologists, so there must be some conspiracy against men among gynecologists."

As for the stuff about drunkenness, etc. I have been brewing since 2004 and have enjoyed craft brews since long before that time. The last time I got even close to drunk was in 1991.

Pretty interesting article, but one little quibble I have is that the author seems to appreciate conformity to a bit. He (or she) wants one simple definition for IPA or trumpeting the Weihenstephan even though it has kind of stifled creativity in Germany a little bit.

Or the complaint that craft breweries experiment too much. I don't necessarily disagree with that, but they do need to experiment a bit. For the Inland So Cal folks, Hangar 24 has a pretty stable line up of their "flagship" styles. They nailed the Orange Wheat, the Alt-Bier is pretty good, Chocolate Porter is freaking amazing, the IPAs are pretty good, etc and they all taste pretty damn consistent. Their seasonal beer is a dubbel brewed with dates right now. Haven't tried it, but it seems a little experimental to me and it could be great.

I would like to see a couple of the local breweries really focus on making at least one good beer. My buddies and I went to a place a few months back where everything had like crazy high ABVs and it just wasn't enjoyable (and we love Stone as a group, so we aren't opposed to higher ABVs). It seemed like the place was more interested in making big beers rather than making good beers.

That was another thing. I know some fests that charge maybe $35-40. They provide music to go along with the festival, and you get to sample a good many beers from places you maybe haven't got to try before.

But, a LOT of breweries send the same old stuff that's on the shelf at the local party store. A good one might bring one or two limit editions. I would prefer to see them brew up small batches of something unique to bring. I have good access to most of what's brought. I'd like to be able to try something different at a beer fest. People are bound to get a bit toasted at these things. When me and my wife go, she has a couple of samples of wine or cider and I sample the beer, sometimes mead or cider. We usually almost go through the drink tickets we are given. There just isn't any compelling reason for me to want to try more. It's often the same old same old.

Sure it's not bad beer, usually, but by then my tastebuds are shot and I just end up giving the last couple of tickets to people we've met earlier. Come on, guys! Bring us some NEW beers at these festivals! Most people have tried the usual stuff!

The last one I agree with whole heartily. Opening a brewery with 6 different kinds of beer all of which are meh beers is a recipe for failure. Some of my favorite breweries have 3 mainstays that are all good to great and then a "reserve" series which changes often. That is their experimentation beer, sometimes it is amazing, sometimes it is not worth the bottle it comes in( IMHO).

I guess I can only speak for myself when I say I was a bit put off by the notion that as an American I ignore the historical aspects of brewing when in fact that is my favorite part! I have some German heritage, and it makes me feel more connected to my roots when I read about the historical aspects of brewing.

I see I'm not alone in being surprised about the "all white" bullet point. Really, I have never met a racist homebrewer or a pro craft brewer. Every last one I've met has struck me as being an independent, open-minded, welcoming sort of person. I think it's disingenuous to suggest that brewing is an Aryan race activity just because of a lack of other ethnicities in the industry. And honestly, without any cited facts or studies to back up that claim, I'm none-too-inclined to care about that opinion.

There are a variety of different brewers in the American Craft Beer industry. Some of them want to innovate and experiment. This is the American way (and I think comes a lot from the German culture of engineering and experimenting.) Some of them do appreciate beer history and so brew some great examples of European and specifically German and English and Belgian beers, similar in style to what was brewed there before. Some are content to brew a very basic set of common styles, which isn't a downside if they are brewed properly and taste great.

If you haven't noticed, even in Germany and England the beer culture has gone downhill for a while. From what I've read the consolidation of breweries and reformulation of beer hasn't happened just in the US.

I'm happy to say that a visit to Dragonmead in SE Michigan provided some delicious English style ales. Lots of places are rediscovering English Ales and are reproducing them, including Cask Ales.