Why is it so anti-craft beer to get drunk?

[quadbikerjosh]

+1

Right now I'm brewing session beers, all under 4%. I call them "Dad Beers" because I need to a) be able to keep up with my destructive dinosaur of a two-year-old and b) be able to drive said dinosaur to the emergency room if he is able to follow through on one of his plans of self-destruction.

Said child:

I was a frat boy in college. I drank...hard. I still do on occasion. I'm an enthusiastic member of a bourbon-drinking website. I have more bottles of wine in my cellar than I have relatives in my extended family.

I think my current signature quote by Roland Barthes sums up my current philosophy quite well. He's describing the French attitude toward wine.

"drunkenness is a consequence, never an intention. A drink is felt as the spinning out of a pleasure, not as the necessary cause of an effect which is sought."
--Roland Barthes

+1 on dad responsibilities. that is one fracking awsome kid.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Irony going on with the thread and the sub-forum name.

 

[BenjaminBier]

I want to be addicted to home-brewing but not addicted to alcohol. It's important for all of us to moderate our consumption, even if we indulge our preoccupation with procuring homebrew.

 

[drathbone]

My only confusion would be this: Why would anybody who wants to make hooch (sh*t to get drunk with no quality to it) buy any ingredients and go through a process that creates something that even resembles beer? There are easier ways to make some swill without DME/LME etc. Go to sams club, buy a f*** ton of sugar, go to LHBS and buy distillers yeast. Boil sugar, cool, add yeast. Wait, drink then done.

Now I'm still an amateur brewer, but isn't anything that's "imperial" just a higher ABV than the original style? What would be the purpose of this other than the obvious which I might think the OP could be referring too.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I rarely brew anything imperial, but those beers do tend to taste differently than their regular siblings.

 

[drathbone]

I rarely brew anything imperial, but those beers do tend to taste differently than their regular siblings.

I agree. I'm sure they do taste differently (I'm still not experienced enough to entirely recognize this). I've tasted plenty of high(er) grav beers that are amazing and hide the ABV well. Is this taste in part simply due to the ABV? Or could the flavor profile be replicated without the added ABV which in turn makes it moot right? Other than getting the greater ABV effect of it.

 

[emjay]

I agree. I'm sure they do taste differently (I'm still not experienced enough to entirely recognize this). I've tasted plenty of high(er) grav beers that are amazing and hide the ABV well. Is this taste in part simply due to the ABV? Or could the flavor profile be replicated without the added ABV which in turn makes it moot right? Other than getting the greater ABV effect of it.

They get the added flavor because they are using more pounds of grain per gallon of beer, which will give any beer a more intense flavor just due to the fact that more stuff is being used for the same-sized batch. If you're making coffee and double the amount of grounds, you'd expect a stronger taste, right?

But the grain is also what contains the sugars that the yeast convert to alcohol, so more grain ALSO means a higher ABV. That's just an unavoidable fact in brewing - if you want to intensify the maltiness by using more grain, you're also going to have to deal with a higher alcohol content.

So even those of us who don't really care about getting buzzed will still drink and sometimes brew beers exceeding 10% ABV because these kinds of beers provide an intensity of flavor that simply can't be obtained any other way.

 

[McMalty]

Now I'm still an amateur brewer, but isn't anything that's "imperial" just a higher ABV than the original style? What would be the purpose of this other than the obvious which I might think the OP could be referring too.

Imperials are not just about having higher ABV. There is so much more flavor in an imperial. When your palette gets to a certain point, you may desire to have stronger flavors in your beer. An imperial is a juiced up version of it's non-imperial brethren, in all respects, not just alcohol. If you crave more intensity, you might try an imperial to satiate your craving.

I often have an imperial after work and just sit outside and enjoy it like one would a glass of wine.

 

[JoeyChopps]

like many I love to drink beer. but, i will admit something that no one else has yet. I usually have 2 kegs in the frig and 2 to 3 beers bottle and always have some keystone or high life in there too. I drink my homebrew till i know i am starting to waste it and then if i want some more on a weekend I move to cheap beer. I got a lot going on in my life and deserve an escape on the weekends. JMO

 

[phenry]

Anti-craft beer to get drunk? Tell that to the $3 pint fire sale they had of Stone IPA at the Flying Saucer last night. Sooo much better on tap than out of the bottle.

But yeah, while I see no problem in "indulging" one's self from time to time, getting drunk and acting like an idiot is what makes alcohol such a controversial substance. It only takes a few bad apples to ruin a bunch, but sadly we have way too many bad apples when it comes to beer drinkers.

It's just sad that in law makers and politicians eyes craft beer falls in line with the BMC swill that fills just about every bar and frat party.

 

[BenjaminBier]

Who wants to spend $11 on a 12 oz Russian River when you're too spacey-wacey to remember it?

 

[Acoma]

I do!

 

[rockgardenlove]

Drink two crafts, then a few Pabst tallboys. You remember just the right parts of your evening.