Hype is not a flavor...

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OK, adjunct usage has finally gone too far!

 

Hype might influence you to seek out and buy a beer, and it might influence how you review or rate a beer, but there's no way it's going to change how the beer really tastes.

 

It's not so bad, so long as the brewer employs the filtration necessary to clear the brew of beard.

 

Yep. KBS and BCBS really aren't very good.

 

You're correct. Hype is not a flavor. It is a trade adjunct.

 

LOL.. Brilliant...and absolutely correct.
It's not a flavor but it seems to have become the norm in the craft segment of the industry in recent years.

 

There you go again... hyping your own posts.

 

Yes, you most certainly appear to be.
My post was an exaggeration... meant to be taken with a sense of humor. The thinking behind it was that a KBS release thread can get to 9 pages in a week while other release threads might make it to 2 pages in a month. Plus, it's one of those beers that is constantly called "underwhelming" after the release. These two thing are related of course. People tend to whip out that word when expectations are high.

 

Firstly, how do you know that it's a "myth?" Secondly, just because a person is influenced by expectations does not mean that they are being dishonest. Thirdly, are there beers not in the "top 100" that deserve to be there? Fourthly (can I even say fourthly?), is this dialogue really "trashy?" It seems to be more concerned with self-reflection than finger-pointing.

 

Similarly, price is a flavor. Part of KBS appeal is that it's relatively cheap. A four pack costs the same as a single bomber of many BBA stouts. Or, per bottle, it's about half the price of Bourbon County. For some people that means KBS is a better value, which means their brains think it's a better tasting beer. For others, KBS is a worse beer because their brains think cheaper price=cheaper tasting beer. I'm not saying it's the case for everyone every time, but just like hype, our expectations are shaped by price, and our expectations inevitably influence our enjoyment of any beer. When I finally had 4 Hands Madagascar, I was disappointed. It was so hyped and I payed 20 bucks for a bottle. If the exact same beer was 10 bucks and I'd never heard of it but just happened to pick it up, I'm sure I'd have loved it. But price/hype only go so far. Madagascar lacked the complexity that it takes to be a truly great BBA beer (for me), and thus I still wouldn't have rated it 4.5 or 5/5 even if it was half the price.

 

That's pretty much how I feel. I don't expect a hyped beer to live up to it's hype. They should be an excellent example of course. Expecting them to be knock your sox off better than other top rated beers is pointless.

 

Yes, yes you can. I know that it goes up to at least "eleventhly"

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/eleventhly

so I'd guess that it could be continued indefinitely.

(Whether or not anyone else would be able to make sense of it is a whole matter to be discussed differently. )

 

To everyone who claims that "hype" does not influence how a beer tastes to them, I'd like to take an IPA, tell them it's a new beer by The Alchemist, get their reaction... then take the same beer, tell them it's the new Budweiser IPA, get their reaction. I think we'll find cases of how the same beer ends up "tasting" different.

 

This is where the triangle taste test can be quite useful (plus then you don't have to decieve anyone).

 

Chris, I have zero doubt that what you stated here would pan out.

Cheers!

 

So is this that people have been irritated running for KBS, then when they drank their celebratory drink and thought, "Not worth the hype?"

I've fallen victim to hype quite a bit, but just as much, I was a willing participant. You listen to hype the first time because that's all the information you possess (word of mouth, BA buzz, etc). After trying it, if you think KBS is still worth all the money/trouble, then mazel tov to you. Hype can no longer be blamed.

I think it has to do with my tastes changing away from all bourbon-barrel stouts. At this point, I probably won't track down KBS anymore (don't start, yes it's good, but I don't rank it in the top level of this style), I was disappointed with BA Narwhal (whereas the base stout is amazing), disappointed with Brooklyn Black Ops, but I am happy I tried them (even at their exorbitant prices), because now I have a baseline for my tastes. If I reach for a BBS, it will probably be BCBS, Parabola, High-Westified or Tweak, because they lived up to their hype in my mind.

 

Not speaking of hype specifically, but psychological factors and expectations play into taste and overall experience.

 

No doubt.

How is "hype" different than these factors?

Cheers!