God help me for opening this can of worms, but here goes: I'm relatively new to the Forums and I see the word 'hype' thrown around so much that it almost has no meaning at all. From what I've gathered, on Beer Advocate Hype is: A) A highly rated beer that many people like B) A beer which other beers are compared to by those who like it C) Beers which there is a huge buildup surrounding the release D) Any beer which many people like but isn't your favorite E) Any beer you paid/traded a lot for but wasn't "..better than 10 Superbowls"
Hype is to beer what goodwill is in accounting--the amount people value an item more than it's "worth." So, if Heady Topper is just as good as Bell's Two Hearted, but people go wayyy out of their way to get HT (and thus pay more in terms of shipping and search-time), then "hype" is the difference between what you would pay for HT and what you would pay for TH. Note: Heady Topper is a lot better than Two Hearted--I do not believe they are equally good. Edit: I suppose what I described is the impact of hype on the market for a beer, rather than a straight definition. My apologies.
Hype is any statement that drives a beer to be highly sought after. Some hype is deserved and true, and some hype is false and nothing more then locals hyping up trade value, but the first statement puts it simply in as few true words as possible.
That is post tasting, hype is something you go in with predispositions of its taste. I prefer to know the style and thats it. maybe ingredients. after that, just give me the damn beer and let it me drink it.
Do you buy beer absolutely randomly from the store or do you select the ones with better reviews and reputations?
I think that about sums it up! I would also add the following... F) The strange smokey, coffee-like, chocolatey, soy sauce-like, dark fruit flavor that comes at mid-palate in a taste of Dark Lord.
The word 'hype' is, as you know, short for 'hyperbole'. The true use of hype is not meant to be taken literally. It is supposed to imply exaggeration. Beer hype? bah! If you want real hyperbole, brush up on W.B. Yeats, he was a master at using hyperbole in his works. Let's relax and have a beer, hyped or not.
Both. Ill try anything, and try to keep an open mind. I admit Ill subject to hype, but Im not afraid to rip apart a beer if its bad.
But I would say that based on a high score that I thought I would think two hearted was a great beer but I would definitely not say that it is a 'hyped beer'. I think hype goes a bit beyond thinking that the beer will taste good or comments that a beer will be good.
For me, it seems to be the endless talk about how great something is. You've probably noticed it in other things besides beer. Your friends start talking a great new song, movie, TV show or whatever. You're expecting it to be great, because you trust your friends judgements. When you listen, watch or taste and say to your self, "yeah that was good, but it wasn't all that". That product was over-hyped. I'll just try to tell folks that I liked a beer or song and tell 'em to try it themselves.Then, every so often, when I encounter something that truly impresses me in a large way, they tend to take that evaluation more seriously. I would never, no matter how great he might be, recommend my favorite folk singer to my metal-head friends. If I know someone doesn't like tastebud killing IPA's, I'm not going to build up the newest hop bomb to them.
I would say that only C holds true as a good definition of the word hype: C) Beers which there is a huge buildup surrounding the release While in description A, it may be a highly rated beer, but if it's in mass production and easy to get, there won't be much "Hype" surrounding it. The others are really just personal feelings, and don't really have to do with "Hype".
All the talk leading up to tasting is the hype. It kind of builds an image in your mind of what the beer tastes like. Then you taste what you want to taste, ignoring the beer itself. I know for a fact thats true with Great Lakes Christmas Ale for me. It may not be the best, but the hype helped make it great.
When the anticipation of how great the beer will be is so strong that it actually skews the taste buds. I think that most people really hate to stand in line or pay a premium for something they didn't enjoy all that much or maybe only see as good.
Hype to me is: - Ridonkulously long lines at releases - Price boosts - Not getting to try some great brews, unless I order online or even *gasp* buy on Ebay - Never seeing Cantillon on shelves again - Fiascos/scams like the KtG raffle, i.e., increased douchebaggery Man...I must have had my Captain Cynical with extra sugar this morning.
hype 1 (hp) Slangn.1. Excessive publicity and the ensuing commotion (with beer): the hype surrounding Founders CBS2. Exaggerated or extravagant claims made especially in advertising or promotional material (with beer): "It is pure hype train, a gigantic BA Community job"(Saturday Review).3. An advertising or promotional ploy (with beer): "Some restaurant owners in town are cooking up a scheme to sell Pliny the Younger at $25 a glass...so worth it." (New York).4. Something deliberately misleading; a deception (with beer): "Alpine BA Token is a really great beer".tr.v. hyped, hyp·ing, hypesTo publicize or promote, especially by extravagant, inflated, or misleading claims (with beer):"Lost Abbey's new batch of Red Poppy is AMAZING!!!"
There are 1,000,000 beers in the naked city and probably at least 1,000 available within a short drive to me at any given moment, and I live out in the sticks. I don't drive for hours, stand in line to buy beer, trade by mail or pay $15 and up for bombers, so I depend on BA as a resource to help narrow down which of those left in front of my eyes should consume some of my (very limited) budget in any given week. I'm always ready and eager to try something new, but it's straight talk on these boards and in the reviews, not hype, that gets me to open my wallet to try out something I've only "heard of". Sometimes the results have been everything and more than I was hoping for and in my mind worth the price, even when I couldn't afford that price on a regular basis (Ten Fidy, Plead the Fifth). Sometimes I enjoyed the beer, because I like to drink beer, but it was nothing I'd chase after or pay over the (~$12-18 6-pack or equivalent) amount I consider the norm for a good regular beer to have again (Nugget Nectar, Heady Topper). In at least one case I thought a one-shot local beer was friggin' awesome and drank gallons of it when it was available, although the reviews here were mostly mediocre. I take in the info I read here, consider the thickness of my wallet at any given moment, roll the dice and then decide for myself. Doesn't everybody?
