Why are beer people so outraged?

Not very much. Threads like the ones about drain pours or the occasional it's good but it's no "Heady Topper/Pliny the Elder/[Other unattainable DIPA]" comment are a little off putting. But in general this forum is very open minded. The beers I've found out through this forum are things like Smuttynose's Porter: widely available, inexpensive, and super tasty.

 

You're absolutely right. It's great that it's possible to communicate whatever you want whenever you want. The huge downside is there are no consequences for terrible behavior when it comes to this ability . It's not supposed to work like that.

 

Not a regional thing. When I was a kid back in the 50s Cajun Red Eye gravy was made with coffee and a hefty amount of Bourbon tossed in just before serving.

"Red Eye" referred to the condition of the consumer rather than the color of the serving.

 

My late Grandmother had a great phrase. At age 6 or 7, I commented on a lady in church who seemed to complain about everything. Mamaw (a kind, intelligent, good humored person) cautioned me that talking about the shortcomings of others might be considered "mere gossip".

Considering that I might also be old enough to be taught some of life's lessons she added, "Son, there are some people who find something to complain under any rock and some of them go out of their way looking for rocks".

The internet is full of rock hunters.

 

People just need to chill the fuck out and have a beer. A good craft beer, of course.

 

See: Yelp.

 

I agree 100% on that one !!

 

I agree with these posts, but must say we all go through an arc of our own beerdom. I am no different, and think fairly normal. All the things people complain about the craft beer drinker, I can see I did to some degree at some point.

Early on, I might dismiss someone like @TongoRad to a degree for telling me about the "pedestrian" good stuff out there (though not as bombastically as the article examples), because I was still trying to find things out myself. How could I compare if I haven't had the lauded/hyped stuff people are talking about without finding out for myself? At this point someone telling me what I want to experience would come off as "stifling."

Later on (and thanks to the growth of the industry), I can see where a BA like that @TongoRad mentions comes from. They weren't necessarily wrong (or right), but without that experience I couldn't tell you. So now I can go the opposite and find someone chasing the big release as being "shortsighted" b/c there is so much out there (so now I'm the "stifling" one ).

I am neither right nor wrong in either case, just a different perspective. We should all keep that in mind when we see a person's post in time; even though that post is frozen "forever", that doesn't mean the person's mind is. The person who thinks "this isn't Heady/Pline/etc" might honestly feel that, and might actually be right. They also might not think that a year from now, or might realize that it's okay to not be Heady.

Or not. Doesn't really matter. The good thing about the anonymous internet is that as easy as it might be to troll someone, it's actually just as easy to ignore someone - even without that site function .

 

I think this is the quote most people on here should best try and understand:

“I don’t tweet like this about ketchup. I haven’t spent one-hundredth the time with any other kind of product that I have with craft beer. It’s not just going home to a six-pack in the fridge; a lot of my social life is tied up in this product. People understand that ketchup is a business, but do not want to accept that beer is a business. And I’m guilty of that, too.”

Perhaps even more importantly, actually:

"'You need a critical mass of people who are sane and don’t want to perpetuate the hostilities,” he says. “It’s also good for the overall group to remember the higher purpose, which in this case is to promote good beer.'

Perspective, moderation, mutual respect. These are the tenets are well-functioning community, whether it’s based on beer or anything other interest."

 

Sure there are different perspectives, but I'm still not sure you are getting mine exactly right. It's probably best to just sum it up as "there's a world of beer out there, and it all has something unique to offer if you take it on its own terms." And you can't see the big picture if you're just fixated on a certain area.

In the end, take whatever ride your gut tells you to take, it's a marathon after all. It would just be good if that other stuff is still around when you're ready for it. The way things are going, retailers and brewers are marketing specifically to that certain segment with the blinders on. I still remain hopeful that the scene will move past this phase, but who knows what might get lost because "it doesn't sell".

 

Or what might win because it does.

 

I bought a Lagunitas Sucks today, it was delicious........( I was looking for Sunday Morning Stout lol)

 

Might have missed your point, or might have not articulated that I did well enough .

But I was fairly certain what I quoted from you is what you meant. Happen to think that you, in particular, aren't tied to IPA/IIPA/Imp Stout beers that "do sell." I used "you" as an example of others out there extolling the virtues of these "other" beers. My point was I'm not sure I would have gotten it 2-3 years ago, b/c to me, the stouts people were hyping were new experiences to me as much as sours and smoked beers.

And to bring this side convo back to the OP, to remain a "civilized society":
"You" shouldn't be telling me my choice is flat out wrong for going after my "new experience" versus "yours",
and I should not take an attempt to expose me to different experiences as telling me my choices are wrong.

So it comes to being respectful of opinions and choices. And back to my point: anyone, including "you", can feel free to not respect my choices, but I reserve the right to ignore and/or not care .

(I hope I quoted "you" enough )

 

I guess I could say that I have been 'picky' about beer for about 10 years or so, now. It seems to me anyways, that a lot of 'craft beer people' are getting closer and closer to being like a lot of 'wine-snob people'. Especially when you start discussion rare brews and such. Winos have a big head start on this, but we beergeeks are catching up fast.

 

They are everywhere for sure.

All of it makes me think immediately of Facebook (obviously) and U.S.GolfHandicap.com (stracka.com at one time, I think -- kind of the Facebook of golf). After about two years on the golf site, I stopped frequenting it because the yelling and bitching got to be so, so boring. The website is awesome ... much like BA.com, it's a fantastic database tool. The forums are a waste of my time.

BA.com has its share of craft beer bullies and jerks, but it also has a large foundation of veteran users who help keep it light and fun. Plus, I've ran into virtually zero outrage on NBS and WBAYDN -- some disappointment from time to time, but typically the upset BA who posts about getting shut out at a bottle release on either of those two threads will share the kick-ass way they spun that disappointment into another venture to a new bar or new scene.

 

Good point. I can't remember ever seeing a post on those two forums (WBAYDN and NBS) where anyone was outraged over anything at all.

 

Asshats predate the internet by thousands of years, but now they have a platform to spew their vitriol and get attention...

 

NBS owns the market on cool BAs, IMO ... you might get barked at if you don't follow the golden rule, but half the time those are just gentle nudges to remind you NBS isn't WBAYDN.

And as for WBAYDN, that's the world's longest ongoing cyber-party. Nobody in there has time for your bitching and moaning ... just crack a brew and shut up!