The chase, bragging rights, or the beer?

I could not agree more. Sometimes I wonder if it's just social media that causes this, the beer, or the people themselves. The worst part is, now we have regular, everyday beer drinkers looking for something ultra rare. Then, once they ask every store in town for it, (ie. abraxas) and realize its impossible to get, they get turned off by the whole scene. I guess the this will probably all last for as long as people will spend weekends waiting in a line and spending a day or so pay on a single beer.

 

I am in my 30's too (well for a few more years at least) and I have seen the shift you describe. On the whole I think the beer has improved and the variety is awesome, but the poekmon 'must have them all' mentality is killing the enjoyment for me. I get carried away too and buy more than I should and have too much of a backlog, but the truck chasing, neck bearding fucktards are sucking the fun out of special releases etc...

Gone are the days that you could randomly wander into your local store and maybe get lucky. At least in Chicago, the shelves are scoured clean of any special limited release deemed to be trade worthy within the hour, and half the time I don't think anyone even drinks the stuff - they just trade it for some hype from half way across the country. The 'special brew cold wars' mean that craft beer is becoming a competitive sport rather than a nice drink.

I used to go to tappings, but now even the tapping events are crowded with douche bags. At a CBS tapping last year (at 11am on a Sunday) there was a guy in Jorts (should have beaten him just for that) double fisting CBS with 2 more sitting on the bar. It was supposed to be 1 pour per person, but the guy brought his girlfriend to double down, and then talked a 2nd pour out of the barman. I mean what the fuck - you need 40 ounces of CBS at 11am? How is that even enjoyable? Everyone else was enjoying a nice brunch and savoring a special treat, and this arsehole was mainlining beer as if he was the Highlander absorbing the life force until there was only one...

 

It's gotten far worse as far as I am concerned. Stopped trading years ago because of it, and also just because there's so much good beer out there.

I am not in my 30s... so that dates me.. (cough).. and things are very different now... But things will change.

 

The scene is totally out of control now. Sure there are people who truly like great beer, but there are people lining up at breweries for hours on end for IPAs. Hoarders, traders, taskrabbits, people afflicted by FOMO, linecutters, mules, people reselling on the black market, people who are social media *****s have all invaded the scene and for the worse. A lot of these people have ZERO respect for the neighborhoods that these breweries operate in, waiting in line at 7am in the morning on city streets drinking beer illegally and littering local neighborhoods with their trash.

 

Not an "old timer" ....fresh into the scene.
From what I've seen the people that drink it to be "cool" are the same people that call shock top and blue moon craft ...
And think the color of the beer is the style. They drink cheap craft just to announce they dont drink shitty bud light!

 

Agree with most sentiments so far. No doubt there are some aspects that are better today, but on the whole for what matters the most to me, there was a window of years in the past that was better than it is today. I preferred beer bars to have traditional styles, some good Belgians and Germans always, and only the best American craft options in the market on tap. There wasn't a need to put every new brewery on tap, to put something from local on tap just because it is local (regardless of whether it is as good as the aforementioned alternatives) etc.

The personal jabs above are right on the mark so I won't repeat them. For me it was more fun when the community was smaller and more consumers were enthusiasts or geeks of one degree or another. I remember modest lines at the GABF, being at the front of the line if you showed up 1 hour prior to open, etc. It's gone way more mainstream now.The people problems were fewer back then in my experience, and I'd gladly rewind the clock on many advancements in selection, new breweries, etc. in order to have the old community trends back.

 

Just to preempt the backlash from the kiddies *BAH HUMBUG*

Yes we are curmudgeony old bastards but if threads for 'what is the trade value of X' exist, I for one intend to participate in a 'it was better in the old days' thread!

 

Some people are always going to take things to a ridiculous overboard level. The "I have to have this no matter what" herd mentality has always been funny to me. Some beers are highly sought-after for no reason other than someone decided they are highly sought-after. It's a status symbol, nothing more. I don't understand this way of thinking, but I don't see what you can do about it other than try to ignore them and maybe make fun of their world view once in awhile.

 

Completely agree. I was at a tapping last night a few blocks from my house. There was an awesome tap list of stouts, including Madagascar, Parabola, Vietnamese speedway, KBS, BCBS and Abyss 2014.

The Abyss was the stand out of the night - fantastic beer, and Madagascar was very disappointing (thin, one dimensional). Madagascar is lighting up trade forums and people went mad trying to find it in Chicago, but the Abyss (this years version at least) it is still sitting on shelves all over town.

Kegs of the trade bait type beers all kicked pretty quickly, but the Abyss was still on at the end of the night and the barman thought it would probably last all weekend... Seems crazy to me, but there you go. Apparently you can taste the rarity...

 

There's a lot of talk about "people," "social media," and "cool" in this thread. Tell me OP, why do you care what those other people think about a certain beer? Sure the increased number of players in the proverbial craft beer bingo pot has made it harder for pretty much everyone to get an equal slice of the pie, but to use your own argument against you, if you're just about the taste, then why do you care about whether it's hyped up or whether it didn't live up to expectations?

Yesterday Heady Topper was a whale, today Good Morning is a whale, tomorrow god knows what'll be the next whale that people will stand in line for for ridiculous hours to get access to. But wouldn't the upside be that there are now more and more "local selections" that are worth trying--thanks to the same "craft hype" that is causing you your ails--that you don't really have to put yourself through all that physical and emotional agony?

Not saying you're wrong in thinking the way you do, I used to be one of those guys standing in line at 6 in the morning waiting for a half pint serving of Pliny the Younger in Philadelphia. I'm just happy with the fact that since I've already wasted enough of my time and money chasing after whales, I can finally sit and appreciate all the other amazing readily-available beers I've been neglecting for the last seven years--with an even more refined palate than before! Hah, that's a bonus right there.

 

Ahem. I believe the sentiment can be best summarized as 'damn kids get off my lawn!'

But more seriously; for me the real annoyance is that the pace and intensity of the scene is such that I can't really enjoy local discoveries that are fantastic up and comers anymore - at least here in Chicago, they are whaled out long before I get the chance. There is a bleed over effect into my local scene where people are lining up for everything.

FOMO means that people (at least in Chicago) are snatching up every special release on the off chance it becomes a whale - hoarding and hyping and generally being douche bags... It does suck the fun out of a hobby.

 

For a long time, I had no interest in "Whales/Whalezzzzbro" or whatever. I got beer that looked exciting and different and tried to please my restless, adventurous palate. It was really only when I started using Beer Advocate that I began seeking the more rare, sought-after beers, critically acclaimed beers. I went through a nice long phase of seeking, trading, waiting in lines, driving all over town, etc. just to find those beers that I could feel good about having acquired, rather than just drinking and enjoying. That's right, I blame BA for my obsessive behavior! Well, that and good old fashioned OCD.

Lately though, I think the fever has begun to break. What happened was that far too many of the "Whales" have disappointed me, and I have randomly stumbled on a lot of beers that I enjoyed far more than their mediocre ratings would suggest. As examples, I traded halfway across the country for some 3 Floyds (Zombie Dust and others) and was...underwhelmed. Great stuff, but no better than some fresh local shelf stuff like 4-day old Port City Monumental, and definitely not worth the effort. Two Roads, on the other hand, was the best thing for sale at a motel in Connecticut one night and when I first tried their pilsner, and it was the single best pilsner I'd ever had! I've loved everything else I've tried by them, despite them having mediocre reviews.

Sometimes it's worth it - I've tried and loved BCBS (though Rare was a letdown), Heady, Abrasive, Utopias, and plenty of others, but I think for me personally, I get more pleasure from seeking out beers that are new to me, or unique and exciting in some way. So while I'll still go after the legendary stuff when I can (hell, I was almost late for work the other day grabbing Rye/Cognac/Regular Abyss across town), I've calmed down quite a bit because I've learned that, especially these days and on this website, hype and reputation aren't everything, and it's more fun to find the next big thing with no competition than to bust my ass and wallet following the hype train.

 

When you hear stories about grown men crying over the phone because they couldn't find a certain beer in town, it tends to make everything about beer less enjoyable.

 

Not quite following your train of thought there, sorry; I'm still only in my 30s so I don't quite sympathize to curmudgeonly sentiments just yet (give me a few years, I'm still working on a passable resting meh face), but I find it hard to believe that EVERYTHING is whaled out before you get the chance.

I was in Chicago/Munster last September and I managed to hit up Three Floyds and Half Acre on the same day, both brewpubs without standing in line. There are options out there, I guess the ones that have been most convenient to you are just no longer as convenient as before? I'm sure there are some people in other relegated parts of the US (or displaced in foreign locales, like myself) that would be dying to get the kind of selection you get at your local Binny's.

 

Oh... You just gave me the best ideas for beer names Neckbeard tears or Dudebro tears.

 

Now in my mid-40s, I'm increasingly convinced that the so-called "Good Ol' Days" are right now. Do I have some nostalgia for things of yore? Sure, we're human. But walk into any brewery, store, bottle shop and marvel my friends at the range of choices we now have. Micro-meso-macro... it's a freaking yeasty wonderland out there. Outstanding. OK, now back to work - much as I prefer this...

 

"All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." - Jeff Spicoli