Beer snobs SUCK!!! (rant)

[northernlad]

pace, I realize the above is your opinion and as stated isn't full-on snobbery, but a restaurant can still be 5 Star even if you don't like everythng on the menu.
It is true, though that those beers that mblew many of us away have been far syrpasssed in some ways by newer brewers.

 

[pacebrew]

Northern land. I agree with you. However, it really depends on what goes into the rating. Taste, is one of the senses, and as such is objective to the taster. I'm not here to tell anyone what is good and what isn't. If you think Coors is the best brew ever, and 5 stars, at least you find something in this world you enjoy.

Quality -- an obvious component to any "star" system. Quality of product is important, which is why i get so pissed when i open up and ale smith or lost abbey and it has NO CARBO. Quality control is better at the bigger guys.

So i do agree that many aspects can go into rating a brewery. But in just looking at taste. i dont think a SA, or BMC can be 5 star -- however, if we are to rate their brewery operations, obviously its 5 star.

 

[Edcculus]

Its only a matter of time until Pliny The Elder is considered "a step above BMC".

 

[pacebrew]

edcculus,

I have noticed, that Pliny does not taste the same as a few years ago. RR is my fav brewery too. Also the new batch of consecration not as good as the last batch.

Does that mean its BMC? Absolutely not, however, it cant be denied that as scale is magnified, taste can change somewhat. Its still my top IPA under Alpine Nelson. really nelson IPA's should be reviewed separate.

 

[Alehouserock]

BMC beer sucks. Sam Adams sucks, purely and absolutely. I really, really do not like Sam Adams, and i'm a beer snob, sure. However, their beer is not that good. IMO it is only one step up from BMC. After all doesn't it get brewed in a miller facility? (could be wrong on that, but i heard they were contract brewed.)

Maybe at one time Sam Adams was good, but it sucks. Plain and simple.

As a fellow Cali resident, I can tell you that the Sam Adams in Cali is not even close to as good as the stuff they get in Boston.

 

[carnevoodoo]

edcculus,

I have noticed, that Pliny does not taste the same as a few years ago. RR is my fav brewery too. Also the new batch of consecration not as good as the last batch.

Does that mean its BMC? Absolutely not, however, it cant be denied that as scale is magnified, taste can change somewhat. Its still my top IPA under Alpine Nelson. really nelson IPA's should be reviewed separate.

About Consecration... You're talking about a wild beer here. Batches will vary, as fermentation with bugs is always going to be tricky. Consecration is still hands down the second best beer Vinnie has produced in terms of sours (Toro 20th being the first in my opinion) and while there have been variations, they're not that great. Batch 003 was better than 001 and 002. Batch 004 is somewhere around where 002 was. Still phenomenal and there is no shift in quality at all, just a variation of a specialized, wild, and blended beer.

About Pliny... The beer is still stupid good. Have the tastes of that beer shifted? Maybe? But so has your palate. I don't think that Pliny is any worse off today than a few years ago, but it now has to compete with beer like Sculpin, and that's tough.

 

[Strave19]

BMC beer sucks. Sam Adams sucks, purely and absolutely. I really, really do not like Sam Adams, and i'm a beer snob, sure. However, their beer is not that good. IMO it is only one step up from BMC. After all doesn't it get brewed in a miller facility? (could be wrong on that, but i heard they were contract brewed.)

Maybe at one time Sam Adams was good, but it sucks. Plain and simple.

Rogue. Rogue is what got me into brewing in the first place. I have made the trip up there from CA, and I loved the brewery its the best one i have been to, i had a great time. But lets be honest, Rogue makes some awesome brews. But compared to other breweries, they are surpassed in both quality and taste. I'm not knocking on Rogue here, i love rogue beer, however, there are some other breweries i like more (RR, jolly pumpkin, Ale smith).

Dogfish Head.. I kind of lump this into the same category as rogue. Good beer, crazy recipes, and a real passionate brewer testing the limits of feasibility. However, i have only had one or two DFH brews where i was like WOW, this is AMAZING. (world wide stout). However, in practically every style possible, they are surpassed by other breweries(except the crazy stuff).

in response to the original rant, i believe others share my tastes and opinions regarding these breweries, and I at least dont knock them i just realize there are better alternatives out there. And i wont ever turn my nose at them.

Oh yea ... STONE. IMO, the Vertical Epics are just not that good. And Stone beer in general, is probably lumped into Rogue and DFH. To me its just gone down hill or my tastes have changed. But the last time i had an Arrogant Bastard i was looking for the drain. their IPA's have been somewhat rough (though i could have had old bottles), and their RIS is a bit like soy sauce.

So i think the larger breweries who once headed up the craftbeer movement, have just inspired others to do it better.

Just my opinion.

I'd have to somewhat agree with this post. I dont really consider myself a beer snob, I like what I like... and a lot of the beer that I used to think was wonderful I have become bored with and it started to seem one-dimensional and boring. Sam Adams IMO, is not really very good. A step up from the piss-water that is BMC, but I've had 6-8 or so of SA beers and only really liked 1 or 2. The Macro-craft breweries of the Seattle area (pyramid, redhook, etc) are garbage to me. New Belgium got me into the micro-brew scene, I'll drink their beer, they make decent stuff - but its not going to blow me away. Their Ranger IPA was average and very drinkable, Abbey is good, and I'll drink most any of their beers and enjoy it, but I dont go seeking it out, you know? Sierra Nevada makes good beer, they are pretty big, but I feel they have really tried to stay true to making good beers. Torpedo is a prime example... its like 7%alc, full of flavor and they definitely didnt skimp on the hops. For a macro-micro brewery its as good as you can get while still paying 7$ a six-pack.

The Rogue, Stone, DFH type breweries I still love, and get excited when trying their new beers, but even ruination, Bastard, DeadGuy dont blow my mind anymore... Good beers, but expensive for what you get. Their beers may have been the best when they first started brewing, but people are doing bigger and better things (IPA's are the most prime example of this IMO, the best IPA I had tasted 3 years ago is average to me now) I dont know, I'm kindof ranting, but my point is that my tastes have changed over time. I dont think that makes you a snobby-******* if you recognize how bad BMC beers are, and the fact that even DFH can make some bad brews. Bottom line is drink what you like and what you enjoy. IF a local brewery makes beer that you love, support them! My local brewery makes average beers...so I dont go out of my way to give them my business... Brew beer that blows me away and I'll buy it! Who cares if someone will snub a BMC, a local brew, or even a Sam Adams because to them it tastes bad?

 

[Edcculus]

Yea, I was kind of joking with that comment. I'm an east coaster and have actually never had Pliny before. I have had a Concecration a friend in my brew club bought at liquid solutions though. Great beer.

 

[pacebrew]

yea its absolutely delicious, should try some supplication too, its also awesome.

 

[pacebrew]

carnevoodoo,

yea, i understand its a wild ale, i was not knocking the quality of either Pliny or consecration. Just noting that, to my taste buds, this consecration batch was not as good as the last one. Its still amazing. That's in my top 5beers of all time. Variability is the great factor in what makes the wild ales and sours so good.

And with IPA's, its almost the idea that a rising tide will lift all boats. They were the leader and still are, but there are a lot of good breweries producing some sick sick sick IPA's.(sick in a GOOD way!) Ive really grown fond of Alpine in SD. Their nelson and EH are just fantastic beers. But your right, my taste buds have changed, Pliny doesn't blow me away as I have had so many. But its still a damn good IPA(if not the best IMO). I may take detours here and there from pliny, but i always come back!



Also, just bought a growler of Citra, from Kern river brewing. Fantastic beer, the hops that are being used in both the alpine and and kern brew (citra, nelson), are new to my taste buds, therefore, just like when i first tried pliny, a light went on.

 

[doctorRobert]

Oh bitch bitch bitch.... who cares.

 

[pacebrew]

i do when i'm spending 20/bottle.

 

[Shepherd5]

It is hard to be a beer snob when most people I know aren't even into finer beers, and I get really frustrated because I want to be snobby. Instead, I share my beer with them, get them a little drunk, then they will let me talk all I want about beer brewing.

Also, it is so fun to grab a few beers I have never tried, and sit down with a close friend or family member, taste each one and just have a good time getting a buzz on.

 

[z987k]

BMC beer sucks. Sam Adams sucks, purely and absolutely. I really, really do not like Sam Adams, and i'm a beer snob, sure. However, their beer is not that good. IMO it is only one step up from BMC. After all doesn't it get brewed in a miller facility? (could be wrong on that, but i heard they were contract brewed.)

Maybe at one time Sam Adams was good, but it sucks. Plain and simple.

Rogue. Rogue is what got me into brewing in the first place. I have made the trip up there from CA, and I loved the brewery its the best one i have been to, i had a great time. But lets be honest, Rogue makes some awesome brews. But compared to other breweries, they are surpassed in both quality and taste. I'm not knocking on Rogue here, i love rogue beer, however, there are some other breweries i like more (RR, jolly pumpkin, Ale smith).

Dogfish Head.. I kind of lump this into the same category as rogue. Good beer, crazy recipes, and a real passionate brewer testing the limits of feasibility. However, i have only had one or two DFH brews where i was like WOW, this is AMAZING. (world wide stout). However, in practically every style possible, they are surpassed by other breweries(except the crazy stuff).

in response to the original rant, i believe others share my tastes and opinions regarding these breweries, and I at least dont knock them i just realize there are better alternatives out there. And i wont ever turn my nose at them.

Oh yea ... STONE. IMO, the Vertical Epics are just not that good. And Stone beer in general, is probably lumped into Rogue and DFH. To me its just gone down hill or my tastes have changed. But the last time i had an Arrogant Bastard i was looking for the drain. their IPA's have been somewhat rough (though i could have had old bottles), and their RIS is a bit like soy sauce.

So i think the larger breweries who once headed up the craftbeer movement, have just inspired others to do it better.

Just my opinion.

I pretty much agree. Sam sucks.... except for the noble pils. Best beer Sam Adams has ever made and a very good pilsner at that.
I actually have never had a rouge product I enjoyed.. even their attempt at esoteric stuff falls short... or they had a chocolate stout a bit ago that was hoppy and terrible.

I'm still a fan of DFH 60min.

 

[jorrydude]

You know what it is about BMC drinkers that just bothers me is?

Most of the time these BMC drinkers, like my friends, scoff at me for anything thats not a bottle of Molson Canadian, Keiths or Bud and are completely unwilling to get their feet wet in anything else, In a world with literally hundreds of different beer styles. Its just dissapointing when someone claims to love beer, but only drink a single beer style when there are sooooo many. What is so scary about trying different beer?

It seems to me like alot of these people who drink these beers but steer well away from microbrews do so more because they drink for the ritual of drinking beer then actually to enjoy the flavour of the beer itself. They like the idea of "having a beer" and the getting drunk aspect of it, but none of them REALLY like the taste of beer, at least this is the way it seems to me. They shy away from anything that actually has a flavour profile, and they cant drink their beer without it being ice cold, and reallly love their "light beer" that has even less flavour. I cant even count the number of times I have heard the expression "this beer is piss warm" from BMC drinkers. THAT IS THE ACTUAL FLAVOUR OF THE BEER UNMASKED BY THE COLD!

The moral of the story is, there are people like most of us here that enjoy beer and everything about it, and the hardcore BMC drinkers who enjoy the "idea of drinking beer". Obviously this isnt completely universal but I think its true in a hell of a lot of situations

I think Pivot is on to something here.

 

[carnevoodoo]

It is hard to be a beer snob when most people I know aren't even into finer beers, and I get really frustrated because I want to be snobby. Instead, I share my beer with them, get them a little drunk, then they will let me talk all I want about beer brewing.

Also, it is so fun to grab a few beers I have never tried, and sit down with a close friend or family member, taste each one and just have a good time getting a buzz on.

There are plenty of snobs in this town if you ever wanted to talk to beer nerds about beer. Trust me, I know lots.

 

[greencoat]

How about people being snobs to beer snobs/enthusiests?? One of my friends recently posted this as his Facebook status:

Beer is ****ing trashy. In fact, all consumable alcohol is, except for wine. And, although I don't much care for either beverage, I just think it's funny that people try to make beer out to be this eloquent thing, like wine, but really it's just NASCAR vs. Formula One. If you disagree, you're in your Autumn of Denial.

...quickly followed by 30 comments of people citing his ignorance.

 

[bknifefight]

I like what you changed the "Originally Posted by " name to

 

[MeatyPortion]

I like lots of different beers. In no particular order:

Rochefort 6

Orval

Blatz

Capital Amber

New Glarus Moon Man

Berghoff Prairie Lager

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Augustiner Edelstoff

Ghettoblaster

Paulaner Lager

Fade to Black Stout

Fischer Blonde

etc....

So what does this make me?

 

[Shooter]

I like lots of different beers. In no particular order:

Rochefort 6

Orval

Blatz

Capital Amber

New Glarus Moon Man

Berghoff Prairie Lager

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Augustiner Edelstoff

Ghettoblaster

Paulaner Lager

Fade to Black Stout

Fischer Blonde

etc....

So what does this make me?

An Alcoholic?!?!?

 

[MeatyPortion]

An Alcoholic?!?!?

Oh snap son...

 

[munche]

No matter how good the flavours of their beers, their methods of advertising is about as tasteless as it gets. It doesn't help I suppose that their advertising department using key-word advertising rather than good, down-to-earth, honest methods as well.

Sam Adams generally tends to have advertisements that explain their methods they use to keep a quality beer. In fact, several people I know are familiar with the phenomenon of light skunking beer specifically because of the Sam Adams commercials.

Also @ the guy stating Sam Adams contracts their beer out, you're wrong. They're actually the largest American owned brewery in operation currently. Pabst, who contracts their brewing to MillerCoors, is larger in volume but does not have their own brewing facility.

It's one thing to say you don't like a brand's beer (i'm not a huge fan of most of SA's styles, tbh) but there's so much silly misinformation flying around it's ridiculous.

How hard of a formula is it? If you like it, drink it. If you don't, don't. All these silly reasons based in half facts that people are using to justify their holier than thou attitudes to this or that brewery are hilarious.

 

[doctorRobert]

Sam Adams do contract out some of their beer.

That's doesn't mean they still can't be the biggest in the US. I bet they probably have partial interest in the breweries they contract out too.

 

[carnevoodoo]

Also @ the guy stating Sam Adams contracts their beer out, you're wrong. They're actually the largest American owned brewery in operation currently. Pabst, who contracts their brewing to MillerCoors, is larger in volume but does not have their own brewing facility.

Today, approximately 30% of its beer is produced at its own recently-renovated Cincinnati brewery, and over 95% of its beer is produced in company-owned breweries, a change from its past of contracting out beer production to outside breweries (according to the company's annual report).

 

[munche]

Eating crow here, I was wrong about SA contracting

I still stand by that it's silly to compare them to AB and the ilk tho

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

They all seem to get me nice and hammered. That's what it's all about anyway isn't it?

 

[StAnthonyB]

As a fellow Cali resident, I can tell you that the Sam Adams in Cali is not even close to as good as the stuff they get in Boston.

As a man who has rested his head in Camp Pendleton I can vouch that this is certainly true. SA is really way better east of the Rockies.

Then again the best tasting beer I ever had was a Kilkenny, but that was in Okinawa... A long way from Ireland.... I must have been thirsty.

 

[StAnthonyB]

1. Never insult another man's brewery
2. Never insult another man's choice in beer.

That is all.

3. And never rag on a man's wife or his mom.

 

[bknifefight]

I pretty much agree. Sam sucks.... except for the noble pils. Best beer Sam Adams has ever made and a very good pilsner at that.

You should have tried the barrel aged Belgians they made last fall. They were all fantastic!

 

[FalmouthBrewmeister]

BKnife - You are right - they were AWESOME!:rockin: