Your #1 Reason for Craft Beer?

It is beer that doesn't taste like piss water

 

Quality you can definitely tell when a craft brew master enjoys their work it comes through in the aroma flavor and ultimately the taste!!!

 

Not only flavor, but there's a great community to craft beer. Beer is the universal beverage that brings all of us together. It can be as simple as a drink to some people or a serious hobby to others. Beer makes the world go round'!

 

Taste, that's it. I'd still be doing what I was doing if there was no alcohol in it. Some wouldn't, but we've had that thread already.

 

Savor the flavor.

 

It was not called craft when I started and I hated bmc lagers (then), finding real ale was like heaven. Its weird so many folks now days have all this great beer, it like pre net. Some were born with beer and some of US pre date it. Cnbc, I would not read that site if you put a gun to my head. Not to mention folks that write those things get paid by the word or column and most of them not in BA mag or some other real beer mag are quite frankly IMHO shit.

 

Flavor. Variety is just a sub-set of flavor - I like different flavors at different times.

If there were no craft, I'd be drinking wine, because I have no real use for standard issue American beer.

 

Helps me relax at the end of the day (and sometimes in the middle of the day).

 

I'm an elitist...
Just kidding. I started exploring "craft" beer in the mid-80's out of curiosity, and a search for a better life. I found one. It started with skunky Moosehead, Steinlager, Newcastle and Guiness, and (thankfully) evolved from there.

 

There's a little bit of love in every bottle.

 

Nothing new or exciting, but I thought it was a well-written article nonetheless. I didn't think they harped too much on Millenials hating on BMC as a statement ("elitist" was certainly used tongue-in-cheek; seems a lot of folks here either didn't read the article or missed that completely), but more because of the flavor, variety, and alcohol content.

Hate on the part about drinking craft because it has higher alcohol* all you want, but I've seen it first hand with a lot of craft beer drinkers as one of their primary reasons and used to have a bit of the same mentality myself.



*And don't give me that cheap vodka bullshit argument. It's not apples to apples.

 

How do you know? ...

 

No doubt that flavor comes first, but I'm all for the cause as well. I wanted to include that in my first post but lacked the time to find the words (I'm Advocating on the clock!) @Oakenshield53 hits so many nails right on their respective heads. To add to this discussion of quality craftsmanship here's a quote from William A. Foster:

"Quality is NEVER an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives."

 

Well, unfortunately, i do know......

 

Because beer taste so good. Way better than food.

 

While I happily support local breweries, I drink craft beer in general because I like the taste (I've never enjoyed Miller, Coors, Bud, etc.), so if local stuff doesn't taste good, I still won't drink it more than once.

 

That's part of my conundrum, and I guess why I say I don't get misty about the "cause" per se - while I don't enjoy Budweiser at all and never have, there's a time and place in my mojo for a Miller or a Coors. It's not often, but to be honest I really like a super-cold mass-produced lager in some select situations, and I don't get too worried about it when I have one.

But I only have so much time, money and liver functionality, so most (not all) of the times that I have the option, I'm going to spend my cash on something crafted close to me, by people I have probably met. As good as a very cold Coors is while you're re-shingling your garage in July, a Lake Superior Kayak Kolsch that's been stuck in a snowbank for a half-hour is even better, and I'd rather they have my money.

I'm also not going to buy local twice if it's not good. However, to get snobby for a moment, that's not really a problem in Minneapolis. My only real problem here is in trying to fairly distribute what I spend among the small local guys who are busy making a boatload of really astounding stuff.

 

Because if you have 200 of the same beers in your house, you are an alcoholic. 200 different beers and you are a connoisseur.

 

The experience tied with taste.

So many good beers to be enjoyed over and over and also tried for the first time, with others.