"Beer Geeks" who don't brew

Awesome clip!

 

I feel the same way about some one who doesnt brew talking about beer as I do about someone talking about music who dosnt play. Everyone talks, it doesnt mean thy know what they are talking about. I like IPA's so I brew a lot of IPA's. I like punk so I play a lot of punk. I wonder if some one that makes movies gets mad when they hear people talk about movies

 

Some of that beer gets a little pricy when you add in a plane ticket, hotel room, and rental car. The wider distribution stuff like stone, dfh, etc. is readily available, but the obscure (PTY, heady topper, kern river citra, British milds that don't travel) are easier to try and clone than to get access to. Then again I'm in Pittsburgh, so I'm not in striking distance of a lot of these beers.

I try not to be "that guy," and know-it-alls tend to annoy me a bit. Then again, as long as they don't talk down on anyone, I don't mind. If they're cool, I'm all ears.

 

So you don't want anyone to comment on your beers or your music unless they are a brewer or play punk. Do I take it to mean you don't ever discuss or give opinions on movies? Or for that matter the food at a restaurant, or a piece of art, an article of clothing? Granted lots of people are truly clueless, and the obnoxious ones can be irritating. But isn't the opposite extreme - that no one should discuss anything unless they are in the "business" - equally ridiculous?

 

In all fairness, becoming a brewer doesn't automatically grace you with omniscient knowledge of beer. In fact, I'd say most people who brew learned to taste beer before they learned to brew, otherwise why start brewing in the first place? I know a ton of non-brewers who know their way around beer and its descriptors. People that are way better at tasting beer than you or I likely ever will be.

The problem is that we've attached this stereotype to non-brewers that says they don't know anything about beer. Is it a true stereotype? Maybe. But if you're the non-brewer who knows how to talk about beer, how would you feel if a brewer treated you like an idiot just because you're a non-brewer? That's on the same level as racism as far as how much sense it makes.* Beer is one of those things you don't have to make to understand, so you need to get off you frickin' high horse.

*I think racism and racists are fooking retarded.

 

Otherwise known as "lazy people."

 

Holy ****! You guys are going to make my brain explode from its inability to comprehend the level elitist, snobbish, dickheadery going on in this thread. Since when do you have to be a brewer to enjoy beer? Seriously, chill the fook out.

 

Dude, I'm just getting warmed up. You might want to leave.

 

Very true. But your average brewer is going to understand the beer way more than just your average craft beer nerd. Because I can eat food does not mean I understand the process of making gourmet. I think your mistaking that I might not value a uninformed opinion means I dont like a person. Your strangely hostile over a opinion, which you compared to racism.

 

No, brewing beer does not grace you with knowledge of what a great beer is supposed to taste like.

Sure, there are a lot of highly skilled beer tasters / beer geeks that are really good at critiquing beers that have never brewed a batch.

But this website is dedicated to those who take the plunge and make beer of their own. Nearly everybody on this website believes that it's pretty easy to make beer. We have a mission to get as many people to start brewing beer of their own. Beer geeks that don't want to start brewing their own just aren't as highly rated as guys that do brew their own, even if their palates are more refined than the homebrewers.

Beer snobs that don't brew have their own website. It's called "beeradvocate."

I don't know if there's a website dedicated to beer geeks that don't brew. But this one isn't it.

 

The point is that how hard is it to be a "beer geek" if you don't brew? You basically sit around drink and read about beer. Yes you can be super knowledgeable.. to a degree. The same can be said about any subject. However it changes when you choose to be a PARTICIPANT. Your knowledge level increases because of your experiences. It is impossible for you to gain that knowledge WITHOUT those experiences.

 

I think you're mistaking that non-brewer equals uninformed.

 

Wow, you all would hate someone like me then. I dont brew, but i certainly consider myself to be a beer snob. I try any beer i can. I travel to breweries sometimes. i trade for beer. I have a mug at my local brewpub. I talk about beer. I read up about breweries and am pretty certain that my taste buds are just as defined as anyone who posted on this thread.

And you know what, i cant think of one reason why brewing beer would be more impressive than drinking a beer. It is a nice hobby for some, enjoy jt....but it doesnt make you special or smarter. Unless you brewed that anarchy ale i was drinking or were a part of the alllagash team that brewed this black i just finished....then you know nothing more than i can know.

 

Why are you on a home brewers forum?

 

I am a member of the sister site/forum, beerforum. Someone mentioned the thread and i decided to read it.

 

Welcome aboard Chuck. Since you are obviously a beer enthusiast, might I suggest you try your hand at crafting your own. It's not hard and you can get into the hobby really inexpensively. You might be surprised how good your beer can be. With solid technique and quality ingredients you can make beer as good as anything you can buy and you will gain added enjoyment knowing that it's yours. Best of all you've already discovered HBT. There is no question the collective membership here cannot advise you on.

 

cheers

 

I definately don't think being a brewer makes you all knowing or whatever. But it definately gives you a way better understanding of ingredients and how each one including yeast contributes to a beer.

 

We don't hate anyone...or at least I don't. My point is that we gain knowledge through direct experiences. How much knowledge are you going to gain if you don't have those experiences? You remind me of the baseball fan who has never played an inning.....ever. Your knowledge is limited because you only know baseball from a fan perspective. Just like ultimately your beer experiences will be limited because you have never experienced them from a brewer's perspective.

 

6 pages and no one posted this?
[ame="http://vimeo.com/64558227"]http://vimeo.com/64558227[/ame]

 

Holy isht! That was funny!! I have seen some of that from guys at brew pubs. Been told that I don't know a single thing about beer or hops. I always just laugh and carry on.

 

I agree that homebrewing has CERTAINLY broadened my horizons and knowledge about beer, and the different flavors, aromas, origins, ingredients, etc.

However, do whiskey/scotch/bourbon aficionados make their own? Most do not as it is illegal to distill without the proper licenses. Do cigar aficionados grow their own tobacco, roll their own leaves, etc.? Not many that I have seen...

Homebrewing is somewhat unique in this aspect, but I don't think that necessarily means someone who doesn't personally brew beer can't be just as knowledgeable about beer as someone who does.

 

Some of the stupidest things I've heard about the history of beer came from home brewers.

 

Thank you for the welcome. I may or may not brew someday. I know I don't have the room to do so where I live at the moment. My apartment is too small. Luckily we have a new house coming in a few months.

 

You have plenty of room to brew- I brewed extract in my kitchen for about a year, and my place is 580sqft. Now we brew all-grain on the patio, and our sqft hasn't increased!

 

I'd explain how wrong you are, but you wouldn't understand it.

 

All true statements, but just because a non-brewer doesn't know much about the process doesn't make them any less able to describe a beer and enjoy its subtle nuances, even if they don't give that description in terms of how it was brewed.

Also, I don't think my hostility is at all strange. I will get hostile any time people try put down others just because they're not part of some special club. I did compare it to racism only as a measure of how retarded and ignorant the attitude is, not saying it's in any way nearly as bad as racism.

What does that have to do with anything? Where you discuss an issue doesn't change anything about the discussion itself, except maybe the relative proportion of elitists participating in said discussion.

Why?

 

Because we're homebrewers, which make us better than them. Duh. Are you really a homebrewer? I think you're going to have to supply us with some credentials.

 

I think before you start insulting someone's intelligence and ability to comprehend things you should know who you are talking to. Otherwise you are just showing yourself to be a buffoon. I'd take a guess that I am one of the most educated commentors on this thread and certainly have the ability to understand any "theory" you might present. I don't say that to be arrogant or insulting to the other posters, but just as a fact of life.

This crowd is certainly more hostile than the beerforum crowd, where we welcome everyone without trying to insult them or make digs at them.

I have tasted nukebrewer's homebrews and they are fantastically delicious.

 

I don't think it's elitist to believe that actually studying about something and actually experiencing the making of it makes you better able to understand that something. That's just logical.

In this case, being good or experienced in tasting beer does not elevate one to knowing as much about the beer itself as someone whose actually brewed it. It just means you are good at tasting it.

That said, even someone who hasn't brewed can read all about brewing and have a fairly detailed knowledge of brewing. I wouldn't go so far as to say they know as much as everyone in the hobby though. Because assuredly there are brewers who brew with very little knowledge and there are even more expert brewers in the homebrewing hobby. And I know from personal experience that even with years of study and practice there is plenty left to be learned.

The bottom line is the question of whether we question the beer itself? It sounds like people are confusing "The Beer" with "Tasting Beer" and "Making Beer". They are not the same things.

 

The elitist attitude always baffles me. Making beer is really easy. Its a 4 ingredient soup that you dump yeast in. Seriously, making toll house cookies is more difficult. The hardest part of home brewing is having patience. Sometime I feel like we need to get over ourselves.

 

Well, if you were a homebrewer, you'd be able to understand when people were just messing with you, but you are not one of the elite. Maybe one day you will be counted as one of us. I have my doubts.

 

Who has an elitist attitude? I don't see anybody with an elitist attitude in this thread.

 

I know plenty of people who love good music and can't play/sing a note. Don't seem any different to me. Some people make it, some people just like to admire it. To each their own

 

This will certainly endear you to all of us. Seems to me you came over here looking for conflict.

*Edit - but whatever. I have no issues with non-brewers. That would be stupid. I was one once.

 

Making beer is easy.

Making REALLY REALLY GOOD beer is a bit more difficult.

 

No one said making beer is hard. Making Very good beer is a practiced skill. But making beer is not hard. People are saying that brewing beer gives you a better perspective on beer than some one who is just a craft beer geek will have. Its not saying that some one cant have a outstanding and trained pallet and be able to detect all kinds of subtle tastes in beer. However, after brewing you get a more trained and experienced opinion as to what adding different hops in different times and amounts can do. How different grains affect the beer in different ways. Brewing beer is the same with all the many metaphors people have posted on this thread. Insider information always gives you a better perspective.

 

I appreciate your well reasoned post. I think we agree that making beer is a skill but not one that is insurmountable to the average person. Where I disagree is that it is not really the act of brewing that trains your pallet. It is the act of tasting combined with the knowledge of ingredients that allows you to identify the details of the beers flavor. A brewer might taste more beers and therefore have more opportunity to train their pallet or they might have less opportunities than the guy who's hobby is solely focused drinking beers to educate his pallet. The metaphors go both ways. We can all identify the flavor of burnt toast without actually burning the toast.

To each his own. Clearly there is more than one way to be a beer geek.

 

They are just lazy beer geeks....

 

I was on your side, until those two posts. You should try taking your own advice and not insulting someone's intelligence without knowing who you're talking to.