What is a snob, exactly?

Snobbery is simply looking down upon another person's choice of beer as inferior to your taste and brand(s) of choice. Many beer snobs I've met have been either BMC loyalists or newbie "craft" fans who think they know everything but are actually misinformed.

 

I don't know as many "BMC snobs" as I do "uninformed drinkers." They don't really look down on my taste in craft beer, but they make those stupid comments...

"You should try this [insert delicious craft beer here]. It's awesome."
"Oh yeah... It's awesome, for sure. I guess that's why I've never heard of it and no bars carry it..."

Then they go on with their night, sipping their cans of Bud Light and Natty Ice.

Or, my personal favorite (this usually happens when I order a craft beer at a bar, as opposed to a $2 BMC draft).

"Dude, why don't you just order something cheap and save your money?"
"Because I want something that actually tastes good."
"Dude, beer is beer..."

 

Agreed.

Drinking "good" beer has just about simultaneously made me enjoy going to non-chain (or local chain only) restaurants more than I used to. Before, I'd just go to the same places over and over, because it's what my mom tends to do. I still obsess unhealthily over Taco Bell, but checking out a new restaurant is one of my favorite newer hobbies.

 

Blows my mind that so many people are close-minded... I have friends and family like this, as I'm sure everybody does. I know there's that whole "Drink what you like, don't worry about others", but I CAN'T HELP BUT PITY THEM! Don't they ever feel like they're missing something? Get curious? It's what drives me crazy about one of my best friends because he'll smell Creme Brulee by Southern Tier and say it smells disgusting. What the hell!?

Rohkey: Good God, yes... the "[x macro] is better than [y macro]" argument... but it's not that they think one is better, their comparison is that, for instance, Labatt is World Class while Budweiser is complete swill. Sure, Labatt's better (to me), but shit like that is irritating.

 

I had a local bar tender doing blind taste tests with PBR and Stella. Nobody could tell the difference but the Stella drinkers were the most pissed off. At $5 a glass as opposed to $2. LMAO

 

Curious ... do they pay $5 for an actual GLASS, or $5 for a bottle? I tend to notice some people picking a bottle of Bud Light, for instance, over the draft, because they want to display their awesome, probably unperceived tenacity.

 

Things like this happen a lot to craft drinkers too, though. Put any 3-5 beers of the same style in a lineup and it's likely at least one (and, I guess my extension, two) will be perceived incorrectly. Doesn't matter if we're talking adjuncts, IPAs (of similar hop profiles), or quads.

 

On a busy Saturday when I'm bartending if my miller coors or bud light kegs blow i just don't change them and pour one of the others in substitute. I have yet to have a complaint, so to the OP yes they do exist, but they have no clue.

 

Fixed.

 

Since I made the decision to carry only Miller Lite and PBR as the AALs in my bar, I've been surprised at how upset people can get about this issue. I'd definitely use the word "snob" to refer to some of these people. Every single Coors Lite drinker is horrified at the thought of having to drink Miller (some even refuse to). Or God forbid; a Bud drinker should come in...they look as me as though I personally shot Lincoln, or ***** the Statue of Liberty. "No Bud?", they say, "You commie!".
That said, I've poured them tasters of Stoudt's Gold Lager, or Brooklyn Summer Ale, or Dogfish Head's My Antonia...and they've loved them. Even more so when I point out that happy hour specials sometimes make a pint of quality craft beer cheaper than a bottle of BMC water. Not all will want to change; but if their only excuse is the money; there are ways of countering that argument. One of my co-workers was a die-hard Miller Lite fan two years ago - now she gets upset if, by some fluke, we don't have any IPAs on tap. Even APAs don't quite cut it for her anymore. It's a great feeling to be part of nurturing budding craft beer nerds.

 

reminds me of that part in beer wars.

 

Not sure if they are snobs but a lot of people seem to like macro pale lagers. I have offered some of them craft but they told me it was nasty, bitter, not fit for humans etc. I do understand them when they criticize my beers because to them they taste vile. It is like if someone ate insects next to me during dinner, I would probably comment on that also. A lot of people have also responded very positively towards non-marco / pale lager beers.

Very unrelated but I found it much weirder when I recently asked for an Orval, Rochefort & Chimay in a bar in that order. Didn’t get any of them because the waitress didn’t known any of the brands. Keep in mind that this was in Belgium where Chimay is a really big brand bordering on a macro. According to her the only beers in existence were pilsner & dark trappist (this turned out to be Brown Westmalle but she didn’t know the name).

 

If he is referring to the widget he is correct.

 

not really. The widget looks nothing like a marble.

 

"sipping" ?!!?

 

In my opinion, the short answer to the OP's question is yes. BMC snobs are usually devoted to only one beer, wouldn't consider even trying a craft beer, and will go out of their way to get the one beer that they are devoted to.

Could you imagine only drinking one craft beer and refusing all others? That's a true snob!

 

Well, it is 'round' like a marble , otherwise...

Guinness master brewer Fergal Murray:


Other brewers, and, formerly the bottled Guinness Draught, used other designs, all referred to as "widgets" - at least informally.

 

this made me gigglesnort, and I don't know why

 

Right! I made a similar post above. I've seen this many times! Their blind loyalty to one beer (even say, Bud Light over regular Bud!) is baffling. I don't care what they like, I just can't understand how they won't even drink other macros, much less try some craft. Not to be insulting, but it reminds me of small children who will refuse to eat different things, only to eat buttered noodles over and over.

 

You'd be surprised with the results. I know from experience that giving a Budweiser "lifer" a Busch really is noticeable. I can taste and find the subtleties in just about all AALs, but so can they. Remember, they are experts when it comes to AALs. I used to buy my patrons a beer once a week on Sundays during football games and many times I'd buy them something other than their brand just to see if they'd enjoy it. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't, but every time they discussed it with me in depth and pointed out all of the differences that you or I would notice.