Why did you become an Advocate?

To fight this -

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/is-stone-enjoy-by-too-easy-to-get.192978/#post-2569694

 

I always saw these weird looking beer bottles in bottle shops and wondered what they were. I bought one one day, found this website that same day, and the rest is history. I like having my reviews in one place. Also, I travel for business so I REALLY utilize the places feature and 99% of the time I choose a hotel within close proximity to as many good beer spots as possible.

 

In high school my parents tried to teach me a mature attitude about drinking, and part of this was to encourage drinking for the enjoyment of the beverage rather than to get messed up. My mother would pick up mixed 6'ers from World Market and Trader Joe's (both of which had what was, at the time, excellent selections) for me to sample, and I learned to love things like SNPA, Fuller's, Anchor, Spaten, etc. When I was 20 I did a semester in the U.K. and learned my love for cask beer. I came back and turned 21 a few months later in 2006 in San Diego County and quickly became a major hophead. The passion led to me getting a job bartending, and eventually managing a craft beer bar.

As for why I joined BA? It has the best database for beer and beer locations I know of. A lot of the reviews are total bunk, but once you learn to sort through it, it's a very useful resource. Plus these forums can be entertaining.

 

I've been drinking beer since college...however bad that beer was in the mid 80's. I hated my first Sam Adams in 1986. Somewhere along the way I started drinking Guinness, Labatts, Molson, Bass and Harp...then Sam Lager, Pete's Wicked, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam and then in law school, drank a lot of Bouelvard and everything at Free State Brewery in Lawrence KS. Free State was probably the first place I had regular access to IPAs, Amber Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, Wheat beers etc. Long live Copperhead Pale Ale, it was my respite after many an exam. Later, living in Silicon Valley we had some good beers, and went to Gordon Biersch often. It went on from there really.

All beer consumption for me is social. I enjoy trying new beers, but even more, I enjoy sharing them and discussing them with friends (and my wife). This has been the case long before I joined BA or beer apps existed. Beervana in Cranston RI exposed me to the more extreme barrel aged beers, Belgians, Imperial IPAs and stouts. When my friend Kevin decided to open up the Craft Beer Cellar in Nashua he started using Untappd a lot and I jumped on that with him. I enjoyed it and since I had always come here looking at reviews I decided to participate here as well. When along the line did I become a beer advocate? It's hard to tell really.

 

I joined initially as a way to keep track of different beers, figuring there must be some on-line tool rather than my spreadsheets... I'm not new to better beer, but began taking it a bit more seriously in the past five or six years. Then as I poked around here, I started learning things, met great folks, discovered WBADYN, then recently cautiously entered into NBS, met some great home brewers, learned about other home brewing resources, met more great people. I was a good newbie, too - played quietly in the corner and figured things out. There was no true intent to become an advocate, but I think it has happened regardless.

There's a lot to learn here, which may sound odd to some, but really...this is a clearinghouse of information in a social setting. There's fun wherever you look when it comes to beer, and we have that here, yet things can get as serious as we want them. The open discussion on a wide variety of topics is the point - just having this platform for talking with like-minded folk is great. And as we discuss things and "e-talk", we find we have more in common than fine beer - family, dogs, travel, tunes, you name it.

I do believe in better beer and try to share that experience with others as best I can without being overbearing about the whole thing. Everybody can choose what they like at the end of the day. I do like teaching - don't know why, but sharing knowledge gained is something I like doing. I feel people don't know about or understand the options available and can be put off by the sheer quantity of beers on the shelf. If I can be a guide, that's great. If not, that's fine as well. If somebody can guide me - yahoo. But when you come down to it, to each their own. I don't like seeing people miss an opportunity to try something they might enjoy because they are intimidated.

I also love the brewing process - can't deny that. I see a new beer posted and I want to know how it's made, why were the ingredients chosen, how does the yeast work, what's the effect of the hops, how is the process controlled (or not). I want to know how the equipment is built. That carries over from my profession, but brewing itself kind of captures everything I like. Equipment (MS in food science, MS in engineering) and biology (BS in Bio), and a life-long consumer of food. Brewing ticks off all the "hey...I'm curious about..." buttons all in one place. And just when you think you have learned a lot, there's more...

OP - good question! Makes ya think...

 

the advocate life chose me bruh

 

Because "connoisseur" sounds more elegant than "drunkard."

Also, about a thousand years ago I used to read the Alstroms' column in the Boston Weekly Dig, so I was pleased to stumble across this site during an online search of some beer I can't remember.

 

Lots of great responses in here. There is nothing wrong with taking beer seriously as a hobby and "nerding out" every once in a while.

For me, growing up in Colorado, I was exposed to craft beer at a very young age. I remember weekends in high school where I had to make the choice between grabbing a 30 rack of cheap beer (Keystone Light or Beer 30 usually) to party with or picking up a good six pack to really enjoy (Boulder Beer Co's Hazed and Infused and Tommy Knocker Maple Nut Brown were my go-to beers at that point).

Since then I have gotten into homebrewing and my occasional classy beer selection has turned into a full on obsession. I joined this site randomly several years ago during a trip to Boulder, but only started actively posting in the past few months.

 

Because I heard there was beer karma, and I can't pass up an opportunity to reach video game-like achievements.

 

Because dressing up my codependency as a geeky hobby makes it easier to justify the expense, said my girlfriend.

 

So I would know what beer I am supposed to like.

 

The WBAYDN thread is my favorite thread on ANY message board. Just way too cool, the beer and food pics and, especially, the music. When you do a lot of your consuming at your own house it's nice to know there is a thread of people just hanging out, doing exactly what you're doing.

 

What drew me here in the first place was to see what people thought about new brews I was considering. Why I stayed is because since I like beer I'm on a beer site. I like food so I'm also on a food site. I like sex so I'm also on a.......................and so on.

 

It gives me a place to get a knowledgable opinion of beer.

 

Because I like beer and this is great place to hear and read about new good beers and share the experience.

Starting using the site a year or so ago to "look up" beers. Lot of times I see a beer name somewhere and wonder what style, ABV, etc, and great to be able to read a few reviews and get some feel of if it is something I should try.

 

I could say I want to strike back at AB-Inbev and support my local breweries and be an ambassador for better beer or whatever else, but it's honestly because I like drinking beer and I like learning about it. That's really all it is. There are some users on here who are super knowledgeable, and it's great to read their posts.

 

...because anything else would be uncivilized.

 

I found BA by accident. I was trying to get info on a beer and BA popped up on google. Then I started using it to see what everyone else was drinking. I love to review beers, read other people's recommendations, and continue checking off all the stellar brews I've tried. It's my "go to" before I buy or try anything.

 

You totally nailed this!!!

 

I really don't use the term "advocate" so much, I am not into labels or us vs. them distinctions but in answer to your questions:

Why do you care about beer?

I care a lot about good drink in general, and beer right now is in a great place and it's a fun exciting ride to be on. I've always liked it and drank it, Dad homebrewed (along with wine), and as I did some of my own exploration discovered this site and use it primarily as a tool for my reviews and writings. It was the best one I found for such a thing, and it has become an invaluable resource to me that I support it.

Do you work in the brewing industry?

No I don't, I have to some degree with my writing and vlogging have been offered work to some extent, but I don't work in the industry. No certifications either, but because of that I have met many people in it who do it for a living and made some contacts. I suppose though if people keep asking me, there might be a road to go down there at some point.

Did you originally join up to get answers to your homebrewing questions?

Homebrewing came later out of a passion for the taste of beer. Dabbled slightly in it, but found it to be another rabbit hole to go down, as opposed to drinking and reviewing the plethora of beers that are currently out there. Only can do one rabbit hole at once as you may know . I've made some good beer, but nothing yet that has made me want to stop drinking what is on the shelf. If that day ever comes I'll probably never pay for a single bottle of beer ever again.

Do you just really, really like beer?

Yes. and yes.