Idiot beer snobs-

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if you really think about it, a Beer Wars snob (specifically beer wars snob) got their opinion from something s/he watched. Just as a BMC drinker go their opinion from something s/he watched... (commercials anyone)

Good point jsweet. i am happy to see someone else of intelligence here in rochester
 
Here's my thing, you can be a beer snob, and you can appreciate beer, AND you can appreciate what macros do. The fact of the matter is that it can be incredibly difficult to put out a refreshing pale lager that has that slight grainy flavor, and doesn't give you any off-flavors. Although I have definitely have a taste for flavorful beers, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy and appreciate the the occasional budweiser and corona (but not bud light, of course), and it most certainly doesn't mean I can't go grab a case of beast and appreciate what THAT IS, (a cheap beer meant to get you hammered!)

For me, my love of beer is about more than flavors, aromas etc.., Its also about participating in a social function that is as old as civilization itself.
 
motobrewer said:
yeah, i mean, if your friends are into trying different craft beers, that's fine. but, if your intent is to educate the unwashed, it's condescending. i don't really care if you're being condescending. i do it all the time. lol.

but, i think that's what ace and revvy's point was - you are self defining yourself as the "teacher" and they are the "student" of something they might not even care about.

come to jesus, children.....
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I never really considered myself a teacher. That was just an example of someone exposing another to ideas they may not know about.
 
Tinga said:
I never really considered myself a teacher. That was just an example of someone exposing another to ideas they may not know about.
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I've found that if we will just go through life being ourselves the we will leave a big enough wake that anyone who wants to follow easily can. We don't have to make waves to get their attention.
 
Revvy said:
In this decade you'd have to be living in a fallout shelter not to know that there are beers other than BMC in this world.

It's on every grocery store shelf, newspapers and magazines do stories on craft beer and even homebrewing all the time. The food network, the discovery channel, the history channel all regularly have things about beer. Almost any city any more has a beer fest, which are covered by the local media. There are commercials for sam adams on tv constantly, sam caligione had a tv show for christ sakes
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When you have friends that call everything except BMC "Dark Beers" like it's a style, friends that ask what hops are, friends that don't know there were things living in their beer at one time, friends that say they only drink lagers and mean adjunct beers, or that lagers are different than beer itself it's hard to believe craft brewing has made the impact you describe.
 
I would think if you wanted to be a beer snob that's ok. If you enjoy bcjp 1a from the big 3 then that's ok too.

I am probably perceived a beer snob because i bring my own beer to any parties I go to and of course bring extra for anyone that wants my free beer. Now days, I would rather brew my own beer than buy any beer off your local walmart shelf. That said, I do support select microbrewers.

Let's be honest with each other here. How did you get into homebrewing? Me it was options, quality, taste, cost and doing a hobby. If your path is similar to mine doesn't that automatically put you in a snob category to some degree? (ie the big 3 are not doing it for ya)

You can be a snob but respect others' taste and that's how I roll. My goal is to convert the big 3 drinkers into homebrewers or at least microbrew supporters one pint at a time.
 
pwndabear said:
Good point jsweet. i am happy to see someone else of intelligence here in rochester
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Heh, I'd been meaning to thank you for talking me out of continuing to buy my homebrew ingredients at BotW. I still stop by if I need something in a pinch, since they are so close... but damn dude, last time I was there they were out of freakin' crystal malt. Really guys?!?!?
 
Revvy said:
In this decade you'd have to be living in a fallout shelter not to know that there are beers other than BMC in this world.

It's on every grocery store shelf, newspapers and magazines do stories on craft beer and even homebrewing all the time. The food network, the discovery channel, the history channel all regularly have things about beer. Almost any city any more has a beer fest, which are covered by the local media. There are commercials for sam adams on tv constantly, sam caligione had a tv show for christ sakes.

I don't think people don't know there are alternatives to their beloved BMC anymore. Like I said even in 1985 I knew there were beers out there that I like better.
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I think it depends on what part of the country you are living. I live in upstate NY, and the situation here is much as Revvy describes. I have cousins who live in Columbus, OH, and the situation is much close to what Tinga describes.
 
I do not dislike BMC for the products or gimmicky crap. I dislike them for the political influence they can carry as well as everything they represent. HOWEVER, I do not parade around and tell my FIL he is hurting the craft breweries in WI every time he has a MGD. I personally try to boycott all BMC products because that is the only recourse I have, it is NOT easy to do and like I said, it is NOT because I dislike ALL their products. It is because I dislike the company/corporation and what they stand for.

I try REALLY hard to let people come to their own conclusions, not tell them read/listen/watch "X" thing. I feel I am well versed enough if someone really wanted to talk to me about why I dislike BMC to be able to do so with out directly quoting "X". If people like my home brew and that opens them up to try some new stuff, great. If they tell me,"no thanks, I do not like it/I am allergic to it/I only drink "X"/I had home brew before and it made me violently ill" I leave them alone...More for me! I think craft beer snobs should take a more "none shall pry a sleeper's eye awake." approach. People should be offered good beer and if they do not want it shouldn't be chastised for not wanting it. On the same side if the "Non-Beer educated" should offer in the other direction they should not be ridiculed either.

Not all snobs are the same. I LOVE to use "2 Buck Chuck" as a prime example. 2 Buck Chuck is normally in the top 10 wines for its class and is continually ranked high. Yet no "Wine Snob" would ever let themselves been seen drinking it amongst peers or open it up at a tasting. (FYI I know wine snobs, I am not one...) So there is not always a "mine is better" mentality. I believe some of this boils down into the beer crowd as well.

I drink craft beer and home brew because I LIKE IT! If I am to be branded a snob because I have a loathing for BMC then I am fine with that. Just do not think all snobs are equal if this is the case. It is funny because I do not think myself as a beer snob...

SEMI :off:
The argument can be made to me "why not boycott Walmart" or any other mega company? I can honestly say I REALLY try hard to not spend my money in those places. Do I spend some? Yes but that is because there is no place else to get the product reasonably priced and I am unable to create it on my own. I use the #40 lbs bag of mesquite wood lump charcoal as an example. I have looked EVERYWHERE in my area and have not found anything comparable and I love the stuff! On the other side of the coin, I shop at the farmer's market and stores downtown when I can. I feel good supporting the "Mom and Pop" stores and local businesses, when they have decent products at reasonable prices. If one of the shops downtown carried a similar charcoal, even if it was a little more than what Sam's Club carried it for, I would buy it from them. I understand that every dollar spent locally will stay in the community for an average of 5 or more transactions. This is why some communities have/are adopting their own local currencies. (Google it for yourself...)

The next thing is "Documentaries" and what gets labeled as one. If I recall correctly shouldn't New York city be underwater because all the ice caps have melted? or was the "documentary" a lie? People watch movies and take it as if JC himself came down in a pillar of light and spoke the plot to them. Remember the NON-documentary "The Blair Witch Project"? Remember all the nut jobs that raided the city of Blair demanding "The Truth"? because they thought it was real? I take any "Documentary" with a grain of salt at this point. Being a Parrot is a bad thing, thinking for yourself is a good thing.
 
Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:
Luckily, there are very few of us. :)
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Yeah, it drives me crazy when I go to a friend's house and the have those giant coroprate fortune cookies. I really like the locally made ones. Our little china town has some of the best. They just care more. They aren't in it for the profit and to please their shareholders, they're keeping it real. The micro cookie producers have a flavor the big guys just can't match.
 
jsweet said:
I hate fortune cookie snobs.
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Fortune cookies are just cheap American waffles wrapped around a pointless proverb to make the uneducated American Orinental restaurant goer buy more often. I think such cheep market tricks are just scam. We should aviod all Orinental food stores and restuarants just to prove our point.



:drunk:


:D
 
TotemWolf said:
Fortune cookies are just cheap American waffles wrapped around a pointless proverb to make the uneducated American Orinental restaurant goer buy more often. I think such cheep market tricks are just scam. We should aviod all Orinental food stores and restuarants just to prove our point.



:drunk:


:D
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One must walk a mile in the shoes of a centipede to truly appreciate the cost of 50 pairs of shoes.
 
bluemoose said:
Yeah, it drives me crazy when I go to a friend's house and the have those giant coroprate fortune cookies. I really like the locally made ones. Our little china town has some of the best. They just care more. They aren't in it for the profit and to please their shareholders, they're keeping it real. The micro cookie producers have a flavor the big guys just can't match.
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You kid, but it is possible to make your own fortune cookies, and while I've never had a homemade one, I'd bet serious money they taste way better than the cardboard-y ones that Chinese restaurants get in bulk.

If somebody was really into some alternative fortune cookie vendor that made really tasty high-quality cookies, and was disdainful of the ones you get everywhere else, I might think they were a little funny in the head, but I certainly wouldn't complain about how they were making all of the regular fortune cookie lovers feel bad.

Like I said in my previous post, 1) it's natural for those on the fringe to resent the mainstream, regardless of whether it is fair or deserved; and 2) you don't get to whine about criticism if you are in a super-majority. If a real honest-to-gosh fortune cookie snob came around and was dismissive of the bulk fortune cookies, and knew about some micro fortune cookie place that was way better, I would not feel the need to call her an "idiot" or anything.
 
jsweet said:
You kid, but it is possible to make your own fortune cookies, and while I've never had a homemade one, I'd bet serious money they taste way better than the cardboard-y ones that Chinese restaurants get in bulk.

If somebody was really into some alternative fortune cookie vendor that made really tasty high-quality cookies, and was disdainful of the ones you get everywhere else, I might think they were a little funny in the head, but I certainly wouldn't complain about how they were making all of the regular fortune cookie lovers feel bad.

Like I said in my previous post, 1) it's natural for those on the fringe to resent the mainstream, regardless of whether it is fair or deserved; and 2) you don't get to whine about criticism if you are in a super-majority. If a real honest-to-gosh fortune cookie snob came around and was dismissive of the bulk fortune cookies, and knew about some micro fortune cookie place that was way better, I would not feel the need to call her an "idiot" or anything.
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Click on my profile for the link to the fortune cookie forum! Come check it out. We bash FWL (Fu, Wang and Lee) cookies.
 
Dude holy crap: [ame]http://www.cafepress.com/+fortune_cookie_golf_shirt,127390854[/ame]
 
I'm kinda late getting into this but I'd like to make the point that opinions can't be formed in a vacuum. Opinions have to come from outside sources of information. If that guy on the phone had no idea how big and powerful the big three are before watching Beer Wars and felt enlightened by it then power to him. I agree that documentaries tend to over inflate issues at times to prove their point but there is usually at least some good information there. Maybe I'm different than some but I don't like when massive corporations come in and take over everything and I dislike them enough to not buy their products. There are so many other choices and so many smaller businesses that are struggling to sell equal or better products so WTF would I buy from the monster. F that! What I also don't like is when a snob can't admit they are a snob and then they call others snobs and have a holier than thou attitude. Come on guys, were all f'ing beer snobs, we make beer and are obsessed with it. If you can't admit that you are in denial. Being a beer snob does not mean that you can't enjoy a pabst or a budweiser here and there (or buy an 18 pack and get hammered off it just because you can), it just means that you have strong opinions about it. The beer snob I don't like is the one that doesn't really know very much and will only buy expensive Belgians and show it off like its a fricken status symbol. Believe me, I'm from the S.F. Bay Area where there's a disgusting amount of rich idiots who seriously have themselves convinced that anything less than a $12 bottle of beer, $50 bottle of wine, or a $100 meal is crap. Those are the real a$$hole snobs to which our disgust should be directed. Not some guy who just found out that AB spends a $hitload of money on advertising.
 
Okay, this is too much: [ame]http://www.cafepress.com/+fortune_cookie_classic_thong,127390880[/ame]
 
Beer snob = beer idiot. Most if not all the people I know who really know beer, can appreciate macro lagers for what they are and enjoy them as such.

There are a few knowledgeable snobs, but I have only ever met one.

Drink what you want, educate those who care to learn, then shut the hell up and drink your fancy beer.
 
Also, because xkcd came up... for those who don't read the strip regularly, hover your cursor over the comic to get a secondary comment.

xkcd is one of my favorite webcomics; they rock.
 
Revvy said:
In this decade you'd have to be living in a fallout shelter not to know that there are beers other than BMC in this world.

It's on every grocery store shelf, newspapers and magazines do stories on craft beer and even homebrewing all the time. The food network, the discovery channel, the history channel all regularly have things about beer. Almost any city any more has a beer fest, which are covered by the local media. There are commercials for sam adams on tv constantly, sam caligione had a tv show for christ sakes.

I don't think people don't know there are alternatives to their beloved BMC anymore. Like I said even in 1985 I knew there were beers out there that I like better.

I think I'm pretty hardcore beer advocate/beer educator, probably more so than you, and I would NEVER do what you do.

I think that's your problem, you have a "secret agenda" I just have a passion for beer. ALL BEER.
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Beer in the grocery store!? Lucky you, not in NJ. :mad:
 
Here's my take on this, for what it's worth...

I know a lot of people who are BMC drinkers, almost exclusively. I've heard arguments between them that went something like "miller is so much better than bud - I don't know why you drink that??". I can't taste a whole lot of difference myself, and that's fine. When I order a Sam Adams Boston Lager at a bar in front of them I hear "oh, I don't drink that dark stuff..."

And that's all fine with me. I'm not going to go out of my way to convince them in any way that what I drink, or brew, or buy is any better than what they have.

I personally won't buy any BMC or BMC related companies beer, unless I know one of those friends is coming over and might hate the Porter and Smoked Amber I have on tap here.... I didn't buy much of their stuff before Beer Wars, and I haven't bought their stuff since.... I don't complain about the taste, I just don't like their business practices, and it's not about price either - I'm clearly paying more for DFH/SA/SN/etc...

I also don't shop at Walmart, because of their practices. NOT because I don't like what the sell.... I STILL BUY TOWELS! Just now I buy them at other places.

Just like I don't shop at Best Buy. I still own a cell phone and computer though.

And to the conversation about bringing a 6 pack to a party and suggesting someone that 6 pack over a BMC brew, I'm fine with that too....

Look, you can say "you must be hiding under a rock to not know there are alternatives", but I disagree! When I buy tortilla chips at the grocery store, I don't have any brand I look for - I look for sales. But I might buy $3 worth of tortillas a month. Same with most things I buy. I'm not a "tortilla chip snob" and I don't care to be. I just buy what I see. If someone said "try these uber-awesome tortilla chips made by this local company" and they were WAY better tasting than Tostitos I might start changing my mind - but to me most tortilla chips taste the same.

I don't think the bulk of the country are as much of beer snobs as the people on this site are. They don't care, and they probably don't buy as much beer, or spend as much time picking out their 6 pack as we do. They buy what's on sale, or what they had "last week at the bar" or what they've always bought. When they've tried nothing but American Lagers, they probably consider "all beers are the same except for that dark guinness stuff".

I'm not a bourbon snob, but I'd like to be at some point. For years all I knew were Jack and Jim Beam, so that's what I would order when I was out, and what I would buy for my house. At some point someone suggested I try Maker's Mark out, I did, and I like it a lot better than Jack or Jim, and I'm happy they suggested it. Prior to that, I never spent more than 1 minute in the bourbon aisle at the liquor store, because again I just bought what was on sale or what I knew. Now I take a harder look, and when I'm at someone's house and they have more to offer I'll try those out too.

In the past 2 years or so I've gotten into wine. I never knew anything about it before and I still consider myself a n00b. If I went to a party and a wine snob suggested I try some good wine, I'd absolutely do it, and be happy someone guided me in such a way.

So I have no problem with handing someone a 6 pack of "something good" to try out. For as many people that you read bashing BMC on here, you read just about as many "Ah HAH!" stories of their first time drinking a guinness/blue moon/sierra nev/belgian whatever/etc and realizing that there is much more to beer than BMC. Perhaps if they had a friend that handed them "something good" prior to that their Ah-HAH moment would've been sooner.
 
JonK331 said:
Come on guys, were all f'ing beer snobs, we make beer and are obsessed with it. If you can't admit that you are in denial.
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I'm always careful not to cast wide nets when I start making statements because the wider the next you cast, the more wrong you are going to end up being.

I most definitely do not care one iota what ANYONE drinks. As a matter of fact, I don't care if every brewer in America goes out of business. It is not my responsibility to promote beer, potato chips, or support for the Green Bay Packers and their awesome quarterback.

Why would one want to go through life caring about what other people enjoy doing, liking or drinking? Who cares?
 
I feel that a snob is a snob, whether it is over beer or furnishings or cars or anything that give the snob "stature" in a given community. i drank Natty Light for years before moving to Bud Light. i also enjoyed it!!! there, i said it. but i was slowly enlightened to a better area of beer. a beer lover and a beer snob are not the same. Beer Wars enlightened me to the gimicks that some of the bigger beer companies have used to move into the micro market. now i think of those gimicks when i go to the store to buy beer. does that stop me from drinking Shock Top, instead of Blue Moon? Nope, i drink one over the other because that is what i like. Beer Wars showed that some of the micros were being "bullied" by the big guys, but i personally never tried the caffiene beer that the chick was pedaling, but i am going to guess that it wasn't as good as she wished it was.

there was another show on the other day, the History channel showed it, on the history of beer in America. that was more interesting to me than Beer Wars. and i think America Eats did one on the micro brews in America. Check some of those out.
 
The beer snobs I really hate are the hipsters when u go to a craft beer bar and order something like a dfh ale and they tell u that is so mainstream. They make it out if u aren't drinkin something that just came out yesterday u don't know **** about beer
 
Revvy said:
In this decade you'd have to be living in a fallout shelter not to know that there are beers other than BMC in this world.
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This is not Entirely true depending on where you live, If you live in say Seattle, Yes this statement is VERY true, Craft beer is everywhere, it was the Grocery store Safe Way that turned me on to Dechutes when i lived in Seattle. Now if your talking about where i live NOW in Bryan,Ohio Population under 10,000 no that is not a true statement. The Big stores here, carry MOSTLY all BMC products, and MAYBE Guinness IF your lucky, Which i personally consider to be the BMC of Stout. In this town there is ONE store that carries an Extensive amount of craft brew, ONLY 1. The rest of this town is all BMC and MAYBE one craft choice if your lucky, i remember the shock when i went into the Circle K and saw Fireside brown ale, i about fainted, but that is the ONLY craft beer they have, well that and Guinness, which i personally dont consider craft beer. The one store that does carry Craft brew is owned by a guy who happens to be a home brewer/home winemaker, so he does tend to want more to choose from than BMC, which he does carry as well, but he carries more craft brew than he does BMC.
 
Beer is beer, use it as you see fit. Some of us like to pound down certain types while we work on our yards. Some of us like to pair it with a certain cut of beef, noting it's delicate pairing with the marbling of the fat and proteins. I love being a beer snob at all occasions. If you were to call me while I was weeding my flowerbeds and asked if you could visit with a sixxer, I'd say bring some Miller Lite! If I had spent the last 6 hours braising a lamb shank or Osso Buco, then if asked, I'd recommend something a little more deep in flavor profile. I have a beer for every occasion! Most likely, that occasion is "joy" with my friends and I'll share whatever seems to fit. I'm waaaay deep in beers for this evening and feel like spouting my opinion so to all the people who say they never drink BMC, I give a big "neener neener neener!" to you! It's just beer damn't!
 

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