I've been a beer enthusiast for over ten years now. It started when I worked as a tour guide at Brewery Ommegang. At that time, craft beer's rebirth had proven its staying power thanks to the hard work of several pioneers who re-established the industry starting in the late 70's. And despite the fact that there was some high quality beers being made at that time, products made with superior ingredients and skill, beer culture didn't seem snooty. Craft beer drinkers felt more comfortable with working class Bud drinkers as opposed to snobby wine folk. Fast forward to today, with so many bars stocking interesting brews, it's hard to rub elbows with your average Joe while talking about the "notes" of some barrel-aged imperial wild sour ale you're drinking.
An article in Food and Wine magazine entitled "Beer is Going Highbrow (and Why That's a Good Thing)", identifies the "wine-ification" of beer. The author, David Amsden, clearly doesn't realize that complex beers have existed for ages. There is a long tradition of brewing interesting beers, which are stored and aged in "wine-style" bottles, as Amsden calls them, and served in glasses specifically designed for that style. Despite his ignorance of beer's long established history, he accurately identifies the snobiness that seems to have increased exponentially in recent years. The article includes an inset with the "Evolution of Beer Snobbery".
Amsden's piece also talks about the store Bierkraft in Brooklyn, "a store manned by clerks as dauntingly snooty as those in any wine shop". It is true, and annoying, that some of the people that work in these places are as obnoxious as those you might find in a wine shop, coffee shop, record shop, the comic book shop owned by the guy on the Simpsons. While this is unfortunate, it is also, perhaps, inevitable.
While the rest of the world is catching on to the many great pleasures offered in the world of fermented grain, the craft beer community is vibrant as ever. Perhaps too vibrant. You can barely keep track of all the new breweries that keep popping up. I'm starting to wonder when the market will become oversaturated.
The explosion is fed by the demand for the biggest, rarest, and boldest brews out there, a trend that is featured in a recent article in Draft Magazine discussing extreme beer collectors. The story identifies a guy who has gone so far as to follow a delivery truck around, snatching up as much rare brews as possible. People are using Craigslist and Ebay to obtain rare brews, with prices that some might find startling.
It's true that there are many breweries producing great beer. However, it seems many are good at making bold beers, but struggle to make a simple pale ale. But maybe that's in-line with the demands of their customers, many of whom are no longer content buying a six-pack of a standard style of beer. Why? There's nothing wrong with a good pale ale or lager. But when you review sites like RateBeer or BeerAdvocate, you find tons of bad reviews for solid beers. Beers Michael Jackson gave high marks for. How is this possible? Have these people's tongues been destroyed by too many hoppy beers? If so, that's a shame, but we shouldn't let their biased taste skew the idea of what is a good beer. There needs to be more appreciation for subtle flavors.
I agree with many guidelines that may seem snobby, like food pairing, using the right glass, serving at the right temperature, storing properly, etc. But I guess my point is that we can do all these things without being snobs about it. A second point is that there is nothing wrong with drinking a well made, simple beer; and we should expect any craft brewery out there to be able to make these types of beers, along with their more complex, specialty beers.
It's true that David Amsden demonstrated some ignorance about beer. That's fine. In the end, as he discussed his experience standing in the basement of the new, and excellent craft beer bar Tørst in Brooklyn, his conclusion was well put:
The wine-ification of beer isn't without some irritations, of course. The craze for acquisition, the ostentatious language, the pretentious experts-no one wants that to multiply. But standing in the temperature-controlled cellar, there was no denying the pleasure of having my brain rewired, of beginning to see beer as more than just a beverage designed for quenching thirst and delivering a buzz, but one fit for accompanying those meals and rituals that mark our lives.Can't argue with that.
P.S. - After reading this, my wife laughed and said "but you are a beer snob!"
(This entry referenced "Beer is Going Highbrow (and Why That's a Good Thing)", by David Amsden in the October 2013 edition of Food and Wine Magazine, and "Extreme Beer Collectors", by Christopher Staten in the September/October edition of Draft magazine.)
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