Is Craft Beer Cringe Right Now?

I sort of glazed over the quotes for the bigger picture, but oof, those are uninformed. I suppose saying that makes me an elitist snob by definition, but damn.

Imagine never developing tastes. Guess you're stuck playing with rattles and listening to nursery rhymes, because taste goes way the hell beyond bitter liquids. You are hearby barred from drinking coffee if you didn't like it out of the shoot. Oh wait, that's the elitist snobbery.

Anyway, that's a really baffling mentality, the notion that developing a taste means you don't like something. Your musical taste never changes, enjoy 2000s nu metal... okay I'll stop. Not even going to begin on passions, as that's the same thing. How do people get obsessed over games, woodworking, anything? Doesn't matter what it is, someone will say they don't understand it. It's just a pile of circuits, or pieces of sticky paper you put on envelopes, or something.

She comes off as, I don't know, childish? Boomerish? Hypocritical? It's such a weird, sad thing but exactly what you would expect from someone running an account dedicated to hating IPAs (it's literally a liquid, I don't understand how people can get so passionate about hating it). Of course, any criticism of such is bound to make you into the bad guy by default. Because they're looking for targets and hits on social media - isn't that how it always is, though? That the backlash eventually becomes louder and more obnoxious than the thing it was criticising in the first place? Eventually, all that logic is going to get dumped on whatever the next trend is, whether it's spirits or canned cocktails or seltzers or anything else, because it's all circular. The same things have been said about wine a hundred times over. The same battles happen with video games, books, TV shows, and everything else. Endless strawmen to knock down. There's room to be critical, but god, that is the lamest excuse for criticism.

It's cringeworthy to be so concerned with what other people are enjoying. I, for one, am having a cringeworthy old time staring at coolers of beer with drool coming out of my open mouth. Mmm.

Oh, and the writer is a cicerone, someone said? Now that's funny. Wine people have had the least amount of room to talk lately. I hate that a generation has to be represented by those overly concerned with what others are enjoying, repeating the same tired argument because one guy did a thing that one time they didn't like and now it needs to be blasted all over the Internet to be remembered and associated forever.

 

Oh hell yeah, I will!

Yeah, that’s what her site says. I had to look her up. Who could write such a poor article?

 

I have no idea. I drink what I like (hefes, brown ales, cream ales, juicy hop bombs, esbs, etc), and try whatever I can whenever I want. Sometimes I like what I try, sometimes I don’t. Thankfully I’m lucky enough to enjoy most** of the beers that I drink, and hopefully you reading this find yourself in this group also. Or whatever.

But hey, some really good jawns that I’ve recently had for the very first time include Tröegs Little Nator, Maine Beer Co’s Woods & Waters, Pipeworks’ Cryo Citra Magic, and Bianca Hydris from Mortalis.

Everyone make your weekend count!
M


ps baseball starts soon, eff the Mets

 

Just read it again and it’s even worse

 

I say embrace the two main points discussed in this thread.

I'm calling it "Cringe Beer" from now on.

 

Ok, this was sorta worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnBp7x2QAE

now I gotta remember to unwatchable this thread.

 

This post made me cringe out loud.

 

Indeed. I consulted with my children on this and they informed me that ‘cringe’ is a term that is increasingly being viewed as ‘cringe’ by those in the know. They wouldn’t share its ‘non-cringe’ replacement with me. I don’t think this author should be treated as a serious source on the topic.

My kids also informed me that beer is boring and promptly ended the conversation.

 

The wine, bourbon and booming Tequila trend is the real cringe.

Craft beer is king.

 

Golly, the word vomit of anti-intellectualism. Against people who earn their keep with the stuff, and can't release x beer in a schedule where y beer is selling. And it all kind of tastes the same because x ingredient and v abv = more palate destroying nonsense. It (beer) went from muscle cars to amorphous blobs on wheels. And hasn't quite realized it yet.
Anyhoo.
Independent beer is old enough to have become boring. I can parlay your intent to that a random conversation at a taproom during a beer release with someone who has the shine of enthusiasm and the air is plentiful.
What are you going on about?

 

All this author was doing was generating clicks and shock factor for her personal benefit. She calls herself an 'influencer' like that's a real job or something. If it wasn't for the IBU wars in the late 90s early 2000's and the hazy beers of the last 20 years, she would still be hunting for a real job.

Pretty elitist of her to say "oh why did you bring those IPAs to this party? We're playing beer pong you know, so that requires shit beer." Who on earth cares what you think of the beer I brought if it's likely only me that's going to enjoy what I like? Next she'll start shaming my Pilsners and Dark Lagers because they taste bland.

Can't win with some of these people and yet, they generated the click for me to read her article that was so poorly written.

 

You know what's more cringey than craft beer drinkers? Craft beer drinkers who embrace that they are cringey. But I digress.

I think this article brings up some good points, especially related to the white-dude-obliviousness culture that still dominates. Not being aware that you're part of it, or knowing you're aware of it and not caring, is gross and I'm excited that younger folks feel that way.

One issue on which I disagree with the author is that Gen Z doesn't want to sit and analyze the taste of beer. I believe that to be true now, but I believe that will change as they age. To be clear, I don't want to sit and analyze the taste of beer either, never have. Nevertheless, I think there is a positive correlation between age and having the time, resources, and desire to analyze beer as opposed to just have it be an accompaniment to fun. In summary, I think as Gen Z folks age, they'll be crusty old beer nerds too.

 

Agreed. She's quoting people that think Chipotle is authentic mexican or Starbucks is real european coffee.

Perhaps she's referencing so many breweries making crap hazy beers because if we can toss enough hops in there, it can mask the crappy job of us making it.

If she thinks that people drink solely for the purpose of 'having fun', perhaps she's describing a generation of 20-somethings alcoholics.

 

I'm pretty sure they're most of the people using Untappd because everything's a game, right?

 

The author seems to think that the reason craft beer’s popularity has been waning is some sort of mass dissatisfaction by consumers with the fact that most craft breweries are owned, and frequented by, straight white males.

Without me, or anyone else who has been paying attention to the craft arena lately getting in to views one way or another on straight white males, I think this entire article seems to be the author projecting her views as fact in this circumstance and thinking she is the mouthpiece for an entire generation.

I would say that the main factors in creating the era that craft finds itself in currently is an over saturation of “local” breweries and products on shelves in stores, rising costs to both produce and purchase the beer, and the meteoric rise of bourbon. I never see beer release lines any more but you damn sure see people lined up around the block to holler at any Buffalo trace product or some Michters rye single barrel.

This is anecdotal, but a lot of the younger people I work with usually only drink on the weekend and when they do, they are drinking to blow off steam relax and get a little under the influence and they don’t care what the sort of alcohol takes them there as long as it’s cheap, and they all seem to gravitate to shots of cheap liquor. Again this is just from a group of people I know but if it’s indicative of a larger trend in their age range that may be influencing sales as well.

That’s just my .02 on the matter, I may be right I may be wrong but at least I can present it with that caveat.

 

This kind of article represents to me at least an interesting cultural reversal. In most traditional cultures it's the opinions and actions of the elders that carry the most weight and prestige. The elders are highly respected, and when they die, they are venerated (eg, Japan). In our social media universe--but this has been true for at least 50 or 60 years, before social media--it's what the young think and do that is venerated, and what older people do is "cringeworthy."

"Cringe" is defined by the OED as "hav[ing] an inward feeling of acute embarrassment or awkwardness:
'I cringed at his stupidity.' "

Clearly this sense of awkwardness is more associated with adolescence or young adulthood, when one is especially insecure concerning one's opinions and tastes--and respectful toward what the overarching social group (of which one wants to be a member) "thinks." Later in life one is less worried about "cringing" or causing someone else to "cringe." Being honored and respected wouldn't be bad either, but that's apparently too much to hope for.

 

I'm the wrong guy to ask, as I have never used untapped, ha. Well, that's not true, I've searched for images of IPAs to determine if they are hazy (yuck) or not and often times untapped has pics, but I really don't know how it all works.

 

Probabaly not considering more than half of Gen Z isn’t even 21. And those that are probably can’t afford craft beer if they can even find a job right now.

 

Let alone actually show up to work if they do

 

“But an influencer is a job, Dad! “