The Reverse Beer Snob Pandemic

What I can't stand is people being snobs about the various forms of beer snobbery.

 

Nice post. I havent been on these forums long but that is something that I have noticed as well. I feel like if people participate in these forums then they understand that traveling and waiting in line for beers that cost a lot of money is just part of the game. If people werent out there getting these bottles and spending the money, then there wouldnt be reviews and other knowledge on the beer. Not only that, but these sought after bottles just strengthen the community here. It gives us conversation topics, it gives people the chance to be excited about their find and discuss the quality of the beer with other people who went though the same struggle to get it.

 

Humans must always make themselves better than others in some way.

 

Also, not saying people here do this, which they might.. but the ones that dont want to drop the dough and take the time for these beers are the ones that passive aggressively put down the people who do. And they are also the people that act like they dont care about a release, but if you come back with a case of said beer, they want to buy some off of you without putting the work in.

I enjoy getting beers for my friends that will appreciate it, but when I feel like they dont appreciate the time and effort it took me to get these beers back home, i'm not going to make a special effort to ensure that they get any. I dont like being the one who drives all day, buys the gas, puts out the money for the beer and then have a bunch of people wanting to reap the benefits of the work I did. Its all subjective, I have friends that I will gladly buy their beer and bring it home and sell it for what I bought it for, but then there are others who I dont care if they get the beer or not because they wanna have the attitude that they dont care.. when they really wish they had the beer.

 

I appreciate your thoughts. I personally get tired of somebody from say, Texas(just using it as an example) saying "My favorite go to IPA is Heady"..yeah well good luck getting it fresh all the time.

I advocate for what is actually available to people locally. If you don't like me because of that, then that is your choice. If you want to rush off to wait in line or trade for stuff, have at it. I just personally get tired of answers to "what is the your favorite" threads being something that a person can't reasonably expect to have around all the time.

I once had a bottle of Alpine Nelson like 4 years ago. It was awesome. Would I reply that it's my best beer to drink normally..no. Cause it isn't reasonable for me to be able to acquire it.

I don't feel I'm being a douchebag talking about what is actually good at a local store. If you feel that way, congratulations.

Drink what makes you happy.

 

Well, I think you just described a typical cycle of the beer nerd:

- Drinks first beer, macro or shite micro
- Discovers 'good' beer, possibly in his own back yard
- Trades/travels to other locals, finds more good beer
- Becomes an 'advocate', spreading the good word to anyone that will listen
- realizes not all rare, hyped beer is great, or even good
- Becomes jaded, and maybe cynical
- Reverse beer snob is born

At least that's my journey.

 

The fact of the matter is that there was once a time where snobbery was looked down upon, especially in the beer circles. We made fun of the wine guys for doing that and here we are full circle with narcissistic millennial hipster types taking up the slack. Now its a baseball card trading "game" as some of you guys call it. It's generational. Before you were on this site it was very much different, take note as to the join dates on the people with different opinions to you. The beer landscape has changed in many ways over the years but what is important over everything else is to drink what you like. No one cares about what you think anyways, so stop being so narcissistic and getting butthurt over what other people think. If you want to wait in line for a beer, go for it, but don't expect anyone to respect you for doing so.

 

People who claim that they won't spend $8 on a beer, stand in line for a small batch beer, or rush on their lunch break for a quick selling release aren't being snobs... they are exercising healthy judgement. They balance things out a little over here in the land of the extreme.

 

I feel like Napolean Dynamite, without expression or concern.

 

I really don't think it's as serious a problem as you're making it out to be (certainly not a "pandemic"). This site is a lot like life . . . not everyone is carefully constructing condescending rants, or participating in "reverse snobbery." They're just shooting the shit, getting cranky sometimes, yanking each other's chain, etc. Another thing I realized after a couple years on BA is this important fact: many people are drinking while they're posting. Just like at a bar, you're not going to hold everyone to the highest standards of civil discourse and political correctness. If you find certain comments annoying, just ignore them and have another beer.

 

I get what you are saying. But just keep in mind that these forums are not a microcosm of the beer community at large. I can assure you that in general, regular beer snobbery is alive and well, much more so than this reverse beer snobbery.

 

I don't think waiting in line for a rare release, paying more than $8 for a beer, or trying to get to a store before they sell out of a certain beer are "extreme" behaviors. Extreme behaviors are literally following the delivery truck from store-to-store (I've seen it happen), buying up every freaking bottle or case that you can, becoming so obsessed with drinking good beer that you spend more money than you really should on it, etc. That's not excercising healthy judgement. Waiting in line with fellow beer lovers, dropping an Andrew Jackson on a beer, and rushing to get to the store are all part of the beer hobby. Beer, to some people, is a hobby and like most hobbies it requires time, patience, and money. But the rewards are great. That's how I look at it.

 

The beer in my glass tastes just as good whether someone else loves it or hates it.

 

Good post! I also think the threads that bash on beers people personally don't like but are well-reviewed are dimwitted and completely missing the point of this site. Its called "BeerAdvocate" for a reason. If you don't like a beer or brewery then don't fucking buy it!

 

I absolutely believe that you aren't the only one thinking that way, nor am I the only one thinking the way I do. See, it's funny in that there is no site superiority regardless of post counts, join dates, etc...I for one know that. I was merely mentioning that I, for one, and many others having been in this scene for a very long time have literally watched the shifting waters that brought us to where we are, we are qualified to comment as such. What you know is no metric as to what has been happening in the beer scene, not sure where this is coming from (you must think you know a lot). Also, you can trust that you haven't offended me, sorry if that hurts you, being a narcissist and all. Your postings are confirming my initial suspicions. No worries, I'd still crack and share a beer with you if I ever see you around. You see, the beer community should be all inclusive...something that seems to be lost these days when the focus is on "look what i got, and what you can't get".

 

So meta.