Controversial Beer Opinions Thread

Sure,

-Tekus are dumber and more pointless than shaker pints.

-An IPA can not be and will not ever be a 'whale'.

-Many new NEIPA producers are canning sludge that looks like mashed summer squash with unintentional Belgian yeast flavors and pretending it's all part of the plan.

-A ton of people who are "into craft beer" today need to just start drinking OJ and eating ChocoTacos. They will get just as fat but spend far less time and money than they do now exclusively seeking out these flavors in the only two beer styles they drink.

 

Given the concern for buzzed driving in this thread flights should almost be mandatory. Otherwise you have to spend essentially the whole day in the taproom in order to try more than 2 beers without turning into ******.

 

Why so often with the "fat" theme?

 

Beer can turn you into ******? We must not be drinking the same beers.

 

I think the point is the calorie difference between a “normal” 8% DIPA or 10% imperial stout vs an 8% lactose-laden fruit added 8% NEIPA or a chocolate brownie chili vanilla 10% stout

 

I'll get us away from the 'kid' thing (and flights) by bringing in taproom/brewery design: so many are poorly laid out, poorly lit and just look like recycled Pizza Huts or former **** shops. And the brewery/taproom owners wonder why people don't want to come and drink and socialize in these dark holes. (For the record, I like dive bars, but that's a different topic/space/aesthetic). Any takers? I notice here in Colorado Springs all the time...

 

Ahhh Gotcha! Guessing though if people are counting calories, this may not be the "hobby" for them......

Or here's an idea, hit the Gym once in a while...

 

I'm getting very tired of low ibu hazy IPAs. I was in Portland last week and drank a few of the hazy IPAs at Great Notion that Paste just labeled as the best IPA out right now and I immediately missed the classic WCIPAs I had at Breakside the day before. Also, the beer I drank the most during my week in Oregon was Bouy IPA. Loved the big pine and citrus that beer brought. Bouy also had an incredibly interesting bite to it at the end that I cannot describe. Loved that damn beer and could order one after another (not the best idea at 7.5% though). Most hazy IPAs are one and done for me, and drinkablity is important to me.

 

Takes me back to drinking Hop Venom and RPM on the Oregon coast a few years ago for my birthday

 

To be fair, most beer stores now host free weekly beer tastings, so the 'try them at store' line isn't 100% accurate.

I'll ask for samples if it's something I haven't tried before, but if they do short pours I'll usually do that instead.

As for a busy bar/taproom, I don't have much sympathy for the bartender (beyond being respectful). I get their job can suck at time (I worked nearly a decade in the restaurant business, I know). But at the end of the day it is their job and I'm not going to feel bad ordering something off the menu just because they are 'busy'. I put in my hardwork in restaurants, so you can to (hehe).

 

And they let you taste whatever beer you want?

Giving samples is not a part of anyone's job that I'm aware of. Bartenders are paid to pour and serve you drinks that you pay for. Samples are an unpaid frill and should be viewed as such. People should be thankful when a bartender obliges your request instead of looking at getting a sample as mandatory. The kitchen doesn't provide free samples, the bar shouldn't either.

 

The point is that even stores offer opportunities to try beer they offer.

My response was to people saying they won't order flights if it's busy. If it's on the menu, I'm not going to shy away just because it's busy. Samples I agree with you on.

 

Then we are in agreement. Even though I think flights are for children, if they're on the menu it's your job to pour the fuckin' things.

 

Samples on request are the norm in the UK. Never a problem and often given before a request is made. Pubs cannot charge for them as only measured thirds,halves or full Imperial pints can legally be sold.

 

In the UK it's absolutely standard to offer samples

 

beat me to it

 

Samples and flights are the same thing. Breweries love to pour taster trays (BTW, fuck this calling them flights. Folks are ordering tasters) because you get to charge more for the same amount of beer. The front line workers hate them because they slow things down. And what bartenders and servers try to do is please the most people in the least time. Taster trays slow things down for everyone.

 

I feel the same way to some extent, though it works both ways a bit for me. I've revisited some of the IBU bombs that were my bread and butter 10 or 15 years ago and wondered how the hell I ever drank more than one of them at a time (and in some cases wondered why I even really wanted to drink one).

Some of those caustic resin bombs should invite the same 'do you like the actual taste of beer?" questions that pop up around the fruit bombs of today.

I'm happiest with the best of both worlds IPAs myself these days.

 

Definitely a great point. Those “you new money guys clearly don’t like the taste of beer” comments were definitely being directed at fans of the super high IBU painstrippers only a few years ago

 

Yeah, too often those comments these days seem to come from folks who appear to think Palate Wrecker was a perfectly middle of the road example of what a beer generally tastes like.

To be clear, I didn't think the poster I responded to was doing that at all. I just wanted to add my own controversial addendum