Is the craft beer drinker different in the PNW?

Yes definitely. We have a greater majority of craft beer drinkers per total beer drinkers than any other region. To some extent, craft beer restarted in this area (and northern California).

One thing that stuck out to me one day a few years ago was when i was at Belmont Station and saw two guys who were probably in their 70s sitting at a table for two just talking over craft beer in tulip glasses. It caught me off guard because I never associated people that age with drinking craft beer. It was really awesome.

Edit: forgive the horrible run-on sentence above and my apparent lack of poetically expressing thoughts into words on paper. I have been drinking.

 

NW beer culture is absolutely unique. The rest of the nation might have pockets where craft brewing started early, but my theory is that the Portland-Seattle proximity allowed the region to progress much more rapidly and seep into the culture more deeply. We're not hampered by weird alcohol laws (for the most part), brewing talent has had longer to trickle-down and germinate more breweries, proximity to hop growing regions, etc. I haven't traveled a ton, but all my experience tells me the NW is the most mature beer market in the US.

I observed the same age range at an event I attended tonight: the kickoff party for a new Brewing Culture exhibit at a local museum. The event included a panel dicussion/interview between a local beer blogger and two brewers. Lots of young families, beer geeks, and retirees chose this as their Friday night entertainment(the exhibit itself was surprisingly polished and kickass, btw), and the was a really cool experience.

 

I agree that craft beer culture is different in the PNW than many other parts of the country in that we are not 'different' or unique...rather, we just, well, are. Like the weather. It is. We are.

Someone said it best on another thread; to paraphrase "In the PNW, one can find good beer at sports stadiums, at the local drugstore, supermarket, at the corner store, at chain restaurants, and at the airport". Good beer is so deep in our blood here that is is a cultural norm where in many other regions with strong craft beer scenes, good beer is still a fringe thing amidst a sea of yellow beer culture. We are lucky and we have earned our right to expect good and diverse beer choices everywhere we go.

And for younger craft beer drinkers, this is not an accident. Those 50, 60, and 70+ year old folks you see all your local tasting rooms are the same people that made this culture happen...as you will one day be the people that made this new explosion of craft as normal happen for the next generation.

 

Well said. I'm one of the "older guys" who only regret it didn't happen earlier. Too much time wasted on thin yellow beer.

 

Rapidly approaching this demographic so I pause to reflect a bit.

....Beer in the Pac NW is the Great Equalizer. Race, color, religion, creed, gender, age, socioeconomic stature, kind of car you drive, where you work, etc. are all left at the proverbial door when partaking in the actual consumption or the mere discussion of this particular beverage. It is in the air we breathe, it permeates the soil, it transcends habits and behaviors, it becomes part of our DNA.

I remember the first time I dropped a orange wedge into a Hart Hefeweizen and the taste of my first Weizenberry at an old farmhouse in Poulsbo. Mind blown. That anticipation of blowing brain matter into the stratosphere happens every time I try something new. That pause right before a big bass drop for you hip youngsters. And I don't have to travel far, nor engage in mail fraud, nor covet far away limited distribution. It is all right here. Right here.

I travel a lot for work and have lived in numerous regions in the last 25+ years. Conclusion: we got a good thing going here. To the next drink............

 

Yup, the culture here is different. And, I think we do have a wider cross-section of society that drinks beer. For example, in my town 2 current city counsel members are regulars at the local breweries and bars. As was the previous mayor (the current mayor gave up the alcohol after she got a DUI, but I still see her hanging some parties), and people from all walks. Just last night, for example, 2 concrete workers were talking with a mental health professional who works in the jail, a doctor, a lawyer, and a judge at the brewery I was at.

Whenever the beer culture argument comes here on BA, it's always funny to me when people from other places rattle off a list of places spread all over their area (Boston and Philly, I'm thinking of you) and name a dozen specific "beer bars". I always have the thought that the downtown area of my town is about the size of a neighborhood in a large city, and we've got all those things. Hell, one of our bookstores has 6 taps!

So yes, both the beer drinkers, and the beer scene is different up here. Even a couple week visit barely uncovers the first layer of depth. Beer is just part of who, and what, we are. We don't have to seek it out, it's already right in front of us.

 

Which bookstore has 6 taps? I need to add that to my to-do list

 

Well, in all honesty though, High Desert Museum really has their shit together. It's on my must-hit list for Bend as much as any of the breweries are.

 

http://www.villagebooks.com/

 

Look no further than the "sick of local beer" thread to perfectly illustrate the yawning chasm that is the divide between "them" and "us". Not many of us would trade our local breweries for the current flavors of the month the way so many seem eager to in that thread. Hell, even 10 years ago when we had far fewer options, I wouldn't have considered that. I was excited to drink stuff from Anacortes, Big Time, Silver City, and Boundary Bay to name a few. Those places still make great beer and obviously we've got even more options now.

We've had a scene so much longer than most other places. And it's grown faster than most other places if they did have a scene. Thus the bar is set pretty high for new places. Good beer is part of the NW DNA.

Speaking of, I saw this and just had to laugh:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/conde-nast-traveler/americas-best-beer-cities_b_6488826.html

 

now that portland has a fatheads, maybe they have a better shot at making the list.

 

Lol @ the article! Cleveland?

 

That's hilarious you'd single Cleveland out because as soon as I saw Cleveland, I doubted any NW city would even make the list.

Sometimes I wonder what those lists would be like if they were truly objective instead of trying to have a range of locations covered. In a top 5 I don't think it's out of the question to see the NW take 3 spots (Portland, Bend, Seattle) if the list is objective.

 

The broad age range and inclusiveness of the beer culture up here is a great joy to me. In 2015, lots of places in the U.S. can claim excellent breweries and terrific beer bars in numbers, but it takes more than that to have a great beer culture. A great beer culture comes from ongoing support of great beer over many years, to the extent that it is part of that region's identity and society.

@Reidrover comments about the "young college educated, middle middle class guy 25-30," and to me that is an excellent portrait of the beer scene as it stands today in Southern California. If they keep up their support of craft beer for another 15-20 years, they may well get a beer culture as mature, ingrained, and pervasive as you find today in the PNW (or Northern California, as @TheeWalrusHunter noted). I am very much looking forward to visiting San Diego in another 15 years to see how that particular beer culture evolves and matures. But for my money there's nowhere I'd rather be than here.

 

I wonder how many people think that picture below Cleveland in that article is actually Cleveland. WTF

 

Thinking about this a little more, and envisioning carts and horses, the other item that is refreshing is accessibility and affordability. We got some great brewers with solid business models and I really can't recall any of them (and if they did, I have quickly forgotten about them) marketing via the 'hype' or 'scarcity' models. I've dabbled in the wine, scotch, and whiskey thing in the past and it all ends in the same place: how bad do you want it (or how bad do you want someone else NOT to have it) and how big is your wallet?

And what also is refreshing is the healthy competition/cooperation between brewers. Steel sharpens steel. We as consumers of such finely crafted beverages benefit greatly.

 

I was going to comment in that thread about how I'm trying to only drink beer from just Fremont and Ballard, but I figured most people wouldn't understand and would think I'm a prick.