I don't see the point in Bud Light bashing.

[newell456]

How about we all fight the fire, you know, where the actual fire is. Where are these unchallenged BMC bashing threads?

I haven't looked for them. My original post mentioned how I see it in general on this site and run into people who think that because I'm a homebrewer, I must be a beer snob. This is so common that I think it's a well deserved opinions that non homebrewers have of us, and I am more irritated by beer snobs than people who drink BMC. Unless they're BMC snobs. There's some of that too. Liking BMC is one thing- thinking it's the One True Beer is another.

 

[sirsloop]

I don't drink BMC, enough said.

 

[McKBrew]

I don't drink BMC, enough said.

+1

I'm a beer snob, I can live with myself unless there is a 12step program that can help. I figured it out when I quit drinking beer out of bottles.

 

[newell456]

I was actually asked a couple days ago what I thought of BMC (forgot who asked) and I thought for a moment and told them this.

"I generally don't like the American lagers. My first try at beer was Bud, and I didn't drink beer again for years after that. They are just not my thing. However, I have *immense* respect for the technical skill and mastery of brewing that goes into brewing consistently at that scale. You basically have to be at the peak of your field to consistently brew BMC."

This immediately piqued their interest, and we got into a conversation about how BMC is so unforgiving of mistakes and variation. That lead to a general discussion of beer styles, and the golden question:

"So what is it about BMC that you like?" or "What *don't* you like in beer?" and suddenly you've gone from critique to their taste profile, and you can suggest styles of beer that will expand their drinking experience, and avoid making them feel bad.

This is usually how it goes whenever I say something "nice" about a BMC, like to being hard to duplicate at home. It's not really a compliment, (as one poster said, it's hard to make twinkies and saltines at home) but they take it as a compliment, and the discussion of delicate flavors leads into the difference between ales and lagers, esters and all that. A lot of people are curious at that point- some are not.

 

[jpsloan]

When I have conversations with folk regarding my beer brewing, and particularly with regard to how they don't like the taste of craft beers, I come to the opinion that the average BMC drinker is expecting the taste of what they've come to expect from beer.

In the way of a metaphor, I'd compare it to going to McDonald's versus grilling your own hamburger at home. You could do it worse if you mess up, or you could generally produce something that has more flavor and better texture. But... when the average person just wants to grab a quick McD's cheeseburger, they just want that cheap piece of gray meat.

One thing that McD's and BMC corporations do is to provide consistency across a very wide market. When someone pops open a can of Bud, they can expect the next can to taste exactly the same. It'll taste exactly the same if they pop open a can in Seattle or Miami. It'll taste exactly the same when they pop open a can six months from now. The average person relies on this consistency, as it is familiar. I think this is also why many people are so dogmatic about their BMC of choice.

And this is also why I like the term "craft beer". Each homebrew is different batch-to-batch... not to mention bottle-to-bottle, when enough time passes. The complexity of the craft beers' flavors, and its organic maturing in the bottle/keg are what homebrewers relish.

But these same issues violate the impression of BMC, and its unflappable consistency, for the average person out there. And for that reason, they will pass on my homebrew in favor of a Coors or a Michelob.

Personally, I think of BMC as a perfectly acceptable beverage, not relating to my desire for a beer. If someone asks me if I prefer beer or tea, I can't say. It depends on my mood. If someone offers me a BMC, and I'm in the mood for tea, I'll refuse. I'll accept if I'm in the mood. I'll drink anything I'm in the mood for!

 

[Sea]

I have to point out that while it may be hard for any of us to recreate a BMC product, complimenting BMC producers because they are so consistant with an unforgiving style is a little dis-ingenuous.

I'll wager that any one of us could, with A-B's equipment, make our favorite recipes (ale or lager) with just the same consistancy as they do. Once you learn to run a brewery/labratory like that, ther's no more "missing your mash temp," or "forgetting to change the ice in your fermentation tub."