Beer snobs SUCK!!! (rant)

[Hawgbranch]

Dude!!! We had to have known each other! I was there the first time in '87 for Czech as a young private, went to Ft Drum, then came back as a SGT as a reclass to RU after the wall came down. I was in C co as a 98G RU from '91 to '92 as well!

I think you were in my class. COuldnt have been more than one Czech retread from Drum in the Turbo Russian 0191 class, could there?

 

[chefmike]

I see the same feeling to this discussion about beer and coffee that I saw through the election last year (and politics in general) and in so many other facets of life here in the USA. Partisanship to the exclusion of being able to accept another belief or stand.

Does anyone else think that the internet is a large factor in this culture of partisan aggressiveness? You learn the words and ways of a particular subculture of belief and google search your facts and figures to support a safe nest from which to attack anyone with opposing beliefs.

More and more information is published from experts, both acclaimed and self proclaimed, which is quoted, misquoted and reposted in a thousand different facets of the information underground.

I enjoyed the quote in one of the sig's in this thread: The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: deliberate, continued, and dishonest; but the myth: persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. - John F. Kennedy

Everyone these days has an outlet to present opinions and deem them self an expert, acquiring audiences both for being very right and for being wrong (or extremely off key!)

Could it be that underneath it all is a desire to belong, to be understood, appreciated, even loved for sharing the opinion of some group that has expert facts and figures that can be defended against all the horrible heathens that do not believe?

Bring back the neighborhood pub (and the neighborhood) by sharing whatever beer (or coffee) is to be had and enjoying the life shared together even more.

OK... too much coffee this morning... [dragging his own soapbox of expert opinion that he made everyone listen to back into the corner]

 

[ewbish]

I think you were in my class. COuldnt have been more than one Czech retread from Drum in the Turbo Russian 0191 class, could there?

Well, they retreaded all of us in one way or another. Myself and about 3 other's from Drum got RU, a couple got Farci or Arabic, a couple went to group because they still needed CZ's.

Let's see........I was in the oldest living E5 in the Army's squad, that Paul dude w/ the primer grey 60's VW van. I was also in the same section as that crazy ass nutjub squid from the Seals (Greg???? or Craig???) who drove the '41 mash ambulance and lived on the sailboat.

 

[Hawgbranch]

Yeah, Paul. He was actually a 1LT in Nam. Fought on Hamburger Hill. Joined the Reserves years later and was indeed the oldest living E5. The Seal took the gov money to haul his sailboat across America and then sailed the damn thing the the Panama Canal. Pocketed about $7,000.

 

[Pelikan]

I see the same feeling to this discussion about beer and coffee that I saw through the election last year (and politics in general) and in so many other facets of life here in the USA. Partisanship to the exclusion of being able to accept another belief or stand.

Does anyone else think that the internet is a large factor in this culture of partisan aggressiveness? You learn the words and ways of a particular subculture of belief and google search your facts and figures to support a safe nest from which to attack anyone with opposing beliefs.

More and more information is published from experts, both acclaimed and self proclaimed, which is quoted, misquoted and reposted in a thousand different facets of the information underground.

I enjoyed the quote in one of the sig's in this thread: The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: deliberate, continued, and dishonest; but the myth: persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. - John F. Kennedy

Everyone these days has an outlet to present opinions and deem them self an expert, acquiring audiences both for being very right and for being wrong (or extremely off key!)

Could it be that underneath it all is a desire to belong, to be understood, appreciated, even loved for sharing the opinion of some group that has expert facts and figures that can be defended against all the horrible heathens that do not believe?

Bring back the neighborhood pub (and the neighborhood) by sharing whatever beer (or coffee) is to be had and enjoying the life shared together even more.

OK... too much coffee this morning... [dragging his own soapbox of expert opinion that he made everyone listen to back into the corner]

You're kinda doing the same thing you're deriding, no? Projection -- its a bitch...

 

[zoebisch01]

While I remain highly opinionated about just about any commercial beer, I choose not to judge anyone with different tastes in beer than mine. I will call a spade a spade though. If it sucks then I'm not going to massage anybodies feelings about it .

Will I drink a beer if offered to me? Sure. Will I purchase swill or say it stacks up to such-and-such? No.

 

[ewbish]

Yeah, Paul. He was actually a 1LT in Nam. Fought on Hamburger Hill. Joined the Reserves years later and was indeed the oldest living E5. The Seal took the gov money to haul his sailboat across America and then sailed the damn thing the the Panama Canal. Pocketed about $7,000.

Yep, those are the ones! Speaking of great beer stories....you remember the great boat fiasco at that instructor's house? He made the mistake of letting one of the students house sit for him while him and his wife were on vacation.

You remember how Greg the Seal had his dinghy stolen? He was living on that boat anchored in the bay, and he'd row a dinghy into the CG dock to come to class.....and somebody stole it. So he was swimming back and forth to his sailboat. Meanwhile, he was building his own rowboat and using (he assumed) one of those empty garages on the presidio.

Anyway, the instructor and his wife left, so Greg immediately conned the dude watching the place into letting him build the boat in his garage, as the MP's had informed him the empty garage on post.......wasn't and he had to vacate.

So Greg moves into the intructors garage with like 20 gallons of fiberglass resin and this partially built boat. Meanwhile, we have a big ass party in the house, got licqoured up, and started making tiedye t-shirts. Naturally, the instructor and his wife come home early....and there's a 1940's MASH ambulance in their driveway, a homemade boat in their garage, fiberglass resin everywhere, and the house is full of drunk soldiers, empty beer cans and overflowing ashtrays. Tiedye shirts hanging all over the place, and the washingmachine is plugged up and tiedye water is everywhere.

It was epic.

Then there was the time Paul and I rebuilt this old outboard, fabricated a mounting bracket for this little walmart inflatable raft, and took it out in Monterey Bay to fish. Paul snagged the side with a hook and it started losing air, and then we got caught in the tide off Lover's Point. Sombody called the coastguard, and they come out in this rescue boat........Pauls pumping away on this cheap plastic airpump that came with the raft......I've got the cover off the engine trying to get it going because a wave swamped it......and between us is a big ass icechest full of Heineken. The CG dudes were shaking their heads. We made it back under our own power though.......got to shore on that little beach next to the rocks and cliff with the swimming pool.

Then there was the time we rolled Pauls VW van...........and the time a bunch of us went on sick call and went to the Grateful Dead concert.......

Oh man, you've opened up a flood of old memories!

Now that I think about it.......weren't you the one that got flashed by that chick during PT along the beach one morning?

 

[sparkyaber]

Roast your own or buy fresh from a local roaster, then we'll talk. :rockin:

bingo!
Nothing beats fresh roasted coffee, from your own house.
Plus, that smell is addicting.

 

[TommyBoy]

8 o clock's 100% colombian just beat out starbucks and dunkin doughnuts on a recent taste test.

 

[Shooter]

Where can I get some of this delicious Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic that I've been reading about?!!?

 

[no1likesme]

Where can I get some of this delicious Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic that I've been reading about?!!?

i got it in their winter sampler last year. I was able to finish it but only because I paid for it (NEVER dump a beer)

 

[Shooter]

i got it in their winter sampler last year. I was able to finish it but only because I paid for it (NEVER dump a beer)

I'll have to keep an eye out for any left over back stock or just wait until next year. I've heard about it on a couple of other threads and I've just got to try it for myself!

 

[BrianTheBrewer]

There is many worse brews out there...I would drink the Lambic over a Bud Light

 

[PUD]

i like PBR in a can is that bad?

 

[malc]

Didn't any of you go to a party and get completly trashed on the cheapest worst tasting stuff on the planet? If you didn't then you suck. These beers have a home in my heart that is very dear. I cannot tell you how many cans of Keystone Light I drank in college and to be honest it was some of the best times of my life. Imagine if I beer-snobbed it up and said " I won't touch that swill!!" I'd be sitting at home complaining how I am the only one with taste. (and not getting laid that night on top of it)

I started drinking when I was 22. First beer I ever got drunk on was Thirsty Dog, a micro out of Akron, OH. I was a "beer snob" before I ever started. Never had that time in college. I'm making up for it now, though.

BTW, Sam's Cranberry Lambic is great as an injection liquid for turkeys, deep fried or, better yet, smoked. Mix it with equal portion of garlic flavored oil and a little cayenne.

 

[JoeMama]

Im gonna have to go ahead and agree with you on this one. BMC beers have their place in the beer market, and there is a reason that they are seperated from the more 'commercially private' brews. I will still enjoy a Sam Adams if its available (and not bitch about it) Lots of these 'sell out' beers that you speak of are what help develop my virgin beer palate and give me direction on what to brew next.
Besides some of these 'top shelf' brews havent really struck me as all that. (Dare I say) That I recently tried a Chimay Blue, and it was a good beer - but not worth the price that I paid for it. (Still very tasty)
-Me

 

[Donthoseme]

I just moved from Boston to Anchorage, AK. My wife and i miss Dunkin Doughnuts more than family. When we flew in it was the first thing we got. I was so excited to see that in a post.

Now the beer!

Buying the small local breweries is always the coolest thing to do. But at the same time i've had some terrible brews at small breweries. I'm searching for something that is extreem and unique and you just usually can't find that with the big beer companies that are tyring to feed the masses.

With that said i do make fun of people who drink bud and miller exclusively. Because anyone who tries real craft beer, and i mean really tries is, cannot prefer the pale fizzy lager. It is a physical imposibility for someone to try SN Celebration and then think miller light is superior. Unless they have a goat mouth.

SA doesn't make many beers i like (however at the risk of being kicked off the message board i actually liked the cranberry lambic) I was expecting it to be terrible after reading about it on the board but i liked the brown sugar and you could taste the belgian yeast and slightly sour tang at the end of a sip.

Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner is amazing!

 

[Zenman]

I agree I like beer of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes I am in the mood for a light fizzy beer like Bud, but most times it just seems tasteless to me. I like SA as well but find most of their beers go for the blandest of the style to appeal to many. My wife picked up the some stuff on sale the other day from SA & NB. Here are my thoughts:

SA Holiday Porter - pretty mild and bland for a porter imho
SA Old Fezziwig - loved this, darker than expected, but what a nice combo of flavors!
SA Cran Lambic - wife and I liked this, drank em up quick, but i also was surprised on how non-sour & non-sweet it was for lambic.
SA Creme Stout - Wow what a creamy mouthful of stout! A tie with Fezziwig for favorite
SA Lager - uh did they have to put the everyday in the mix? still like it, wife hates it.
SA Winter Lager - much betterthan the regular lager imho

She also go the New Belgium folly pack

Mothership Wit - wow really like this, much more than the standard hefe wheat beer
Trippel - mmm bananas, but couldn't drink more than 1 or 2 in a sitting
1554 - simply love this beer, great roast flavor
Fat Tire - when i fist moved to AZ i drank this all the time, got burned out on it, hadn't had in awhile so was a nice reminder of how good it is...

Now I also have been known to drink bud/bud light/coors light/keystone by the truckload, guess I just like beer in all it's various forms but I still miss Yeungling. I generally like to try random beers but usually go for local AZ breweries, support your local brewer! Down with snobs, up with expanding horizons and trying new things!

 

[jmiracle]

i like PBR in a can is that bad?

If PBR in a can is wrong I don't want to be right.

Although I've also been known to enjoy a fine sipping Mickey's Malt Liquor in a Tito Ortiz commemorative can...

 

[gunhaver]

(NEVER dump a beer)

i don't get this mentality

 

[gunhaver]

There is many worse brews out there...I would drink the Lambic over a Bud Light

the Cranberry Lambic induces vomit and the Bud Lite just tastes like water and is inoffensive. there's no comparison. one is utterly undrinkable and the other is nothing but drinkable

 

[Keim]

I tried the Lambic. Hated it. My wife loved it. I went and got something different for myself, and let her finish my lambic. A win-win solution.

 

[BrewDey]

II LOVE beer. I appreciate that we need Sam Adams-like companies. I am a snob. I am just sick of how seriously people take themselves.

Here, here. I read Beer Advocate from time to time, just out of curiosity or to get specs on a brew. But when I read those, alot of the time it really reminds me of Paul Giamatti in 'Sideways'...and it's comical really.

If the goal is enjoyment, then the product is only half of the equation. A lot of it depends on the 'enjoyer'. I made a Schwarzbier that I feel is dynamite. My buddy who didn't care for it was drinking that Blue Dog (or whatever it's called) that is 8%, super sweet, and brewed with blueberry 'flavors'. I found it to be nasty-but he really liked it-go figure.

I will admit that since I've been brewing, my tastes have become a little more specialized-and it could seem snobby. For example, I don't really care for SNPA anymore because I've grown tired of Cascades. That doesn't make it a bad beer at all, but when I try to explain myself, it can seem elitist.

To the OP-I totally agree. Drink what you like!

 

[BigNastyBrew]

Congratulations to Sammy, SN, Stone.....etc. They are not only a brewery, they are a business. Businesses do not idle or they will fail. So, hat's off for being nationally recognized names.

In response to Sam Adams Black Lager....YUM! Schwarzbier is my beer of choice on ANY occasion. The only thing I would change about that beer is the apparent black malt used. I'm not a fan of roasty character in a schwarz. But, Sammy has that sweet finish that keeps me coming back for more.

I'm not a snob either. When it's effin hot and I want a thirst quencher, Miller Lite goes down just fine. Nothing to do with "great taste, less filling," hot chicks, or their witty advertising. I just like it when I want something cold and not complex on my tongue.

 

[Pivot]

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

 

[dirtdigger]

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'd say you may have hit the nail on the head!!!

 

[artyboy]

I'll drink anything. Beer snobs are akin to music snobs who stop listening to bands as soon as their cds show up in Best Buy. Sometimes I have PBR or Keystone Light in the fridge. Other times I have Oskar Blues or Sam Adams in the fridge. Still other times the only beer in the house is homebrew. I could care less what other people want to drink. Sometimes I rib my buddies for sticking to Coors Light but they know it's a running joke and I know it's a running joke. Who really cares?

 

[Special Hops]

My beer choices depending on what's available: in order

1) My homebrew
2) beer from the brewery in town or other regional brewery (shop local)\
3) Random beers from other microbrewerys around the country - depending on mood
4) Siera Nevada - nothing against them. I've just had them a bunch and like trying new things
5) Sam Adams - Same as Siera Nevada. Though I stay away from the Boston Lager. Do not like that beer. But others are fine.
6) Yuengling
7) If its a choice between BMC and MBC I'll take a Miller Lite. the best of the BMC's IMO.

And If it's free I don't complain about the choice of beer selection. I don't tell other people what they should drink unless they ask me.

does this make me a snob? I don't know.

Though one time at a football tailgate I was drinking Yuengling and we started playing a drinking game. This girl gave me a funny look and said "I can't believe you are playing this game with a 'Lager'!" - While drinking bud light. I turned to her and said "you are playing with a 'lager' too". she just gave me an even weirder look.

 

[Pickngrin]

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

+2.................

 

[BlueSunshine]

I'm sure some of my buddies consider me a beer snob too, but that's fine. I'll try any beer no matter who brews it and then form an opinion. I've tried all the big BMC beers along with Natty Light, Jacob's Best, Brew City, Milwaukee's Best, and the like and to me they taste awful. It doesn't matter who makes it, if it's gross then I'll avoid it.

I've gone out with friends who would drink the random BMC beer they had on special in mass quantities and then they'd poke fun at me for drinking a Sierra Nevada. I've had that Miller Lite they were drinking dozens of times and I don't care for it, it's pretty straight forward. In my time, I've seen FAR more "reverse beer snobs" who will rag on you for not drinking BMC rather than the opposite.