Beer People are Annoying

[radwizard]

I just never really talk about beer, unless it is another home brewer. In Portland, the Craft Beer Revolution made every alcoholic think they are a connoisseur...

 

[tagz]

I don't know. You guys must not read many other forums. This is by far the least snarky and most positive forum I read.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I don't know. You guys must not read many other forums. This is by far the least snarky and most positive forum I read.

It's not this forum in particular.

It's people in public who think they know beer and don't really know it but then act arrogant about other people's choices.

I also equate the thought to haters like the people who slam Classic American Pilsners, but will think Heineken, Stella, Budvar and Urquell are the bees knees.

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

I posted this in a different thread but thought I'd start a new one specific to this topic...

Uninformed people talking about beer... Slightly informed guy at a brewfest talking about beer... Equally annoying. It's beer. I wish people could just enjoy it and drink what they like. Being a homebrewer for 8 years, knowledgeable, interested, etc... I almost hate to talk beer with people lately.

There's the guy who means well throwing around buzz words like "sessionable", "balanced", etc. He doesn't actually know a damn thing about the beer. He just knows we should all like it based on whatever nonsense review he read. And he's lecturing people in the bar about why they should like certain things, etc.

I want to correct this guy but I never will. Beer is like the band I used to like but now is popular and on the radio. I will continue to brew, drink, and appreciate beer. I guess I'm just more inclined to do it in private, avoiding all the "beer people" and nonsense all together.

The Craft beer re-revolution has certainly attracted more hipsters and jerkoffs than I can stomach, but there is still a majority that could share your passion for beer with and not walk away thinking about what a incredible tool that person was.

 

[kaffeenjunkie]

Try being a classically trained chef and listen a "foodie" drone on and on and on.
They call themselves foodies and it's so painfully obvious they can't even freaking cook.

 

[Bosh]

In pretty much any hobby people who participate in it by buying stuff are going to be a lot more annoying than the people who participate in it by doing stuff. If you're a homebrewer all you need to do is brew good beer and people will know you're awesome but if all you do is buy stuff then how will people know you're awesome unless you tell them?

 

[Dirt_McGirt]

I was in a few home brew clubs when I first started brewing, now that I have moved and rejoined another club only to stop going after awhile because of this this particular subject.

The people were pretty cool but, one particular outspoken person just made it annoying to me. Its like he started taking over the meetings with his agenda. They didn't have elected officers or an agenda meeting minutes. It was bring beer, share beer, talk beer and drink beer. Which is perfect for me up to a point. (I was a member both kinds of beer clubs. The more organized clubs had engineers, IT and scientist-like folks. They had too much business and not enough drinking and general beer talk)

Anyhow, this guy just showed up one day, my guess a friend of friend thing got him invited, seemed to take over. I had been going for 6-8 months then said f-it after this guy came into the picture.

This guy was one brewing maybe 2 years and was now AG-know-it-all. Having a discussion with him was difficult. He was wrong much of the time. I didn't want to be the annoying "know it all", 25% were AG'rs the rest were extracts brewers or noobs.

He wanted the club to brew a bourbon barrel stout. He got a 50 gallon whiskey barrel somewhere then wanted each member to brew 5 gallon batch of stout to add to this big barrel. After several meetings of this discussion I decided it wasn't for me.

I like brewing what I like to drink. While I like bourbon barrel stouts a bottle here a bottle there, not 5 gallons, much less make it a monthly club communion with 50 gallons.

I like the beer geek vs beer snob classification of beer enthusiasts.

None of the people in my main social circle are that into craft beer, much less homebrew, so I'm planning to check out my local club's meeting in a couple weeks. I'm bracing myself for the possibility of there being one or two of "that guy" who's a know-it-all and judgemental prick. I assume the risk comes with the territory.

9/10ths of the reviews I read on BA make me roll my eyes back into my head.
They all seem to be copying the writing styles and language of the handful of actual cicerones who post reviews there, and apeing it to appear smart.

I'm the first person to tell you that my palate is not terribly refined in terms of picking out individual flavors, and that I'm much better at recognizing good beer than being revolted by sub-par beer. While it's a limitation I have as a brewer, at the very least I can take solace that it's preventing me from snobbing out on what others brew.

 

[Stillraining]

to tell the truth I think people in general are annoying

I hate people. people are aholes and I hate aholes.

guess a career in customer service wasn't such a wise choice, but here I am

.

 

[mattdee1]

I also don't have anybody (except for two friends who are slowly coming around) in my inner circle who cares about craft beer or brewing.

Generally speaking I just keep all of it to myself. The vast majority of beer I consume is at home where nobody but my girlfriend sees what I drink. In social situations, I just bring (or order) what suits my fancy at the time, and don't draw much attention to the fact that I am seeking something different from most others.

The one thing that drives me nuts though is the odd time when I'll be pouring a can into a glass and one of my buddies will be standing there with a Bud Light in his hand going "man, what gay ass crap are you drinking now?" or something to that effect. At that point I have no qualms about letting that person know what I think about their beer of choice.

 

[jonny24]

The one thing that drives me nuts though is the odd time when I'll be pouring a can into a glass and one of my buddies will be standing there with a Bud Light in his hand going "man, what gay ass crap are you drinking now?" or something to that effect. At that point I have no qualms about letting that person know what I think about their beer of choice.

My dad is the worst for this. It started from my brother and I teasing him when he was all happy when he found Canadian 67 (3% ABV, 67 calories) because he couldn't find Canadian Light. He was like hey this is pretty good, nice and light! And we pointed out that it was because it's basically water.

So now he calls all the craft beer we drink "horse piss" "that vile stuff" etc. and it's gotten pretty old. Can't tell if he still thinks it's funny or what oh well, more for me.

 

[Johow]

If you turned the discussion to fishing, he'd be an expert on that as well!!!
Some people are just like that and you can't change'm.

 

[erick0619]

I'll admit when I first got into craft beer I was THAT guy. It's almost embarrassing to think about.

Ooh look at you with your pisswater bud light you should drink real beer like me!!!!

Yeah what a ******. I fixed that by beginning to encourage people to drink craft rather than putting them down.

Proud to say I got a good amount of friends to switch over to the good stuff.

 

[normonster]

It's all good as long as no one uses the word "quaffer". That's just not necessary.

 

[m00ps]

It's all good as long as no one uses the word "quaffer". That's just not necessary.

Tell that to my latest brett IPA. Basically beer flavored ice cream sherbet. I quaffed the hell out of it last night

 

[normonster]

Damn it mOOps!!!! DAMN IT!!!!

 

[LostBoyScout]

Eh, there's jerks everywhere and in every group. The holier-than-thou attitude some beer folks exude is just the way they are and they'd do that with whatever they're into at the time. Plenty of homebrewers who think they're superior to non-homebrewer beer drinkers, too

 

[nDub]

... how will people know you're awesome unless you tell them?

This!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Eh, there's jerks everywhere and in every group. The holier-than-thou attitude some beer folks exude is just the way they are and they'd do that with whatever they're into at the time.
Plenty of homebrewers who think they're superior to non-homebrewer beer drinkers, too

Yeah, you see this in movies made in hollywood. Be it about Hackers, Surfers, Martial Arts, Sports, Stock Brokers, Lawyers. You name it, they usually have that egotistical character in the film.

As for homebrewers we are superior to non-brewers. We are willing and able to get drunk off of anything that resembles beer-like attributes. No beer is too big, too bitter, in some cases too sour to drink.

 

[mongoose33]

None of the people in my main social circle are that into craft beer, much less homebrew, so I'm planning to check out my local club's meeting in a couple weeks. I'm bracing myself for the possibility of there being one or two of "that guy" who's a know-it-all and judgemental prick. I assume the risk comes with the territory.

9/10ths of the reviews I read on BA make me roll my eyes back into my head.
They all seem to be copying the writing styles and language of the handful of actual cicerones who post reviews there, and apeing it to appear smart.

I'm the first person to tell you that my palate is not terribly refined in terms of picking out individual flavors, and that I'm much better at recognizing good beer than being revolted by sub-par beer. While it's a limitation I have as a brewer, at the very least I can take solace that it's preventing me from snobbing out on what others brew.

Wow, I was going to say pretty much the same thing--and you did.

I'm not a "super taster;" far from it. Certain flavors are lost on me, so I don't assume anything about a particular beer. I just know what I like, and I don't need to convince anybody else that "I'm right!"

Like you, there are few in my social circle who like good craft beer--they're BMC guys almost exclusively with the exception of one who might drink Spotted Cow (a beer I do not care for--but that doesn't mean other people can't like it). There are several in my family who *do* like Spotted Cow, so I'll probably try to brew a clone at some point.

But that said, the only guy I feel obligated to please with my brewing is...me.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Wow, I was going to say pretty much the same thing--and you did.

I'm not a "super taster;" far from it. Certain flavors are lost on me, so I don't assume anything about a particular beer. I just know what I like, and I don't need to convince anybody else that "I'm right!"

Like you, there are few in my social circle who like good craft beer--they're BMC guys almost exclusively with the exception of one who might drink Spotted Cow (a beer I do not care for--but that doesn't mean other people can't like it). There are several in my family who *do* like Spotted Cow, so I'll probably try to brew a clone at some point.

But that said, the only guy I feel obligated to please with my brewing is...me.

The seasoned homebrewer can be more opened minded to exploring different tastes. Frankly, more forgiving. If you don't recognize something, it might not be overt, subtle sipping of a beer you might detect "it" if you think objectively about the taste and talk about it... Thats the beauty of sharing a homebrew with friends like yourself.

 

[bbohanon]

The only person who finds my love of brewing beer annoying is my wife.
With everyone else, I dont talk about it too much outside of letting those who enjoy my beer know whats in the brew pipeline so I know what to bottle up for my friends and co-workers and what to keep home.
I always hand out homebrew to co-workers and friends and just tell them its "x style of beer" without the details of what that style is unless they ask. If they drink it and dont like it, I always ask why and if they could change anything with it to make it better, what would it be?

They seemed to be a bit scared to tell me bad things about my beer at first (mostly because they think I wont give them more), but I really encourage them to give me both the good and bad so I can then try to identify where the beer can be better.
I get alot of really interesting feedback this way and its allowed me to adjust things with those recipes that I would not have thought of otherwise.

As far as talking shop with a beer snob, I stay away from those folks where possible. Most beer snobs are those "super tasters" and honestly have NO idea what goes into making a really good beer, what the process is and could not tell you the difference between a base malt and a crystal malt.
Those folks may also one day be a customer of mine if my brewery dream ever does happen so I do listen and act interested even if I am not.

 

[Bamsdealer]

I'm over the beer festivals. I was even before I started brewing. I can talk with some people about beer, as long as they're not snobby... or uninformed to the point they have no business discussing the topic. The most annoying person is the one who is close minded and not open to having a discussion. Their way or no way