BA Group Think or Clueless Masses?

A brewery doesn't have to be good to be popular. For some it's about drinking local, for some it's about doing what's cool now, for some it's about finding "beer that doesn't have that beery taste". People who go to the nerdy lengths we do to read books about beer and critique adherence to traditional style guidelines are still fairly rare I think.

 

Every time I go visit friends down South in Central Calif. I end up going with several to a local brewpub that everyone there likes a lot. The food is good pub fare but the beer would likely get them kicked out of Oregon where I live. The place is always pretty busy so I guess it's mostly about decent food/atmosphere with beer an added attraction. They are very reasonably priced, so I'm sure that helps too.

 

I'm part of the "If you like it and others don't. Be happy you found something you enjoy". Yet, I see where this is going. I've tasted some Below Par Beers from Local Breweries and showed my opinions on it. If others out there enjoy it, who am I to judge? I am not part of the Sheeple Mentality. If I find a beer or brewery worthy, why should I care about differing opinions? Drink what you like and Don't Drink What you Don't Like. It's that easy.

 

It sometimes depends on where the brewery is located. I can think of one in a town that by its nature attracts a lot of hipsters and another in an older, somewhat depressed town that attracts old guys like me. There can also be totally different vibes in the tasting room. Some are much more of a destination irrespective of how good the beer is.

 

There's a lot to be said for situational drinking. I have had many of the top 250. While I absolutely love a high abv double barrel aged extra imperial chocolate coffee stout on a quiet night at home with a couple friends, I have a special place in my heart for a well-crafted, non-spectacular English ESB while out for a night of drinking.

 

Just as there has been a dramatic increase in breweries, there has also been an increase in the number of people new to drinking favorful beer (perhaps not as large an increase as it will take to support the surge in new breweries but that's a topic for a different thread).

But we all started out with uneducated/untrained/inexperienced palates and grew into an appreciation of quality beer and as our experience grew we all developed higher standards for what we consider to be good beer.

So people new to flavorful beer will not have their bar set as high for what they like as do those who've been at it for a few years, i.e., actively exploring new flavors, new beers, and looking for better beers to enjoy.

So many of the beers out there aren't really as mediocre as many BAs think they are, just as many of the beers we tend to think of as mediocre aren't as good as new folks think they are.

 

Sounds like you are describing DuClaw.

 

To me it's crystal clear that there's style bias going on, and there's also a preference for 'big and obvious'- but beyond that you really need to bring up specific instances to get down to the nitty gritty. Even you are using terms to describe these beers that are extremely vague and subjective (avg. or subpar), so it's hard to get a grasp on the place you're talking about.

 

I think that what it is is that they're clueless that they could have steak elsewhere, but their hamburger is satisfying to them. I've visited around 300 different breweries and I think it's difficult to find 'mediocre' beer as you call it (there is some out there though), so a large amount of these people drinking at these breweries are satisfied with just average stuff. Maybe the place that you go to isn't as bad as you suggest since you keep going back, or maybe you've forgotten your roots and are spoiled with having 'steak' all of the time. I'd quit going there if I didn't like the beer.

 

I think it more likely that you and the brewer just have different tastes and different impressions as to what the various beers should taste like. Individual tastes very so widely that what you may not like may be frankly delicious to someone else, just like my wife loves broccoli and I can't stand even the smell. Case in point: last weekend we went to a local brewery and my stepdaughter and I both got beer flights. One of my beers reminded me of pond water, but she loved it. One of her beers she found so nasty that she couldn't finish it and I thought it was pretty good (gave it something like a 3.5 or thereabouts). We swapped and were both happy. I know those of us on BA probably have higher standards due to the number of different beers we've tried but not everyone cares about that. They want something that tastes good to them, in a relaxing environment. If they have that, they're happy.

 

There are certain styles where I think some people just want the most intense flavor possible, or the beer is a disappointment. Think BBA stouts. It often seems that the best reviewed versions are exercises in extremism....monster booze, monster coffee, monster (insert adjunct flavor here). DIPA is very much in the same category.

If a brewery has a C+ DIPA and an A+ English mild, I'd wager 3/4 of growler fills would still be the DIPA.

 

If I stop by a place more than once it's because I think their beers are a 4 star or above. Just because I mark a beer 3.75 stars doesn't mean it is a bad beer, because I would drink it again (if there were no better options in the restaurant)......I would however not buy it in a bottle shop/brewery again. I've drank a lot of good beers (more than I've rated) but I've disliked a lot of good beers (or rated lower) that other top BA's have loved. Hypothetically, some people might love Mosaic Hops, but I hate them. I've also loved beers when I was a "Newbie" that I don't care for now based on the other beers I've tried in that style. I've also loved beers off tap and not as much from bottles/cans, but I also think the company I kept at the time or the place/environment I've tried them on affected my rating.

It's all personal preference but if you are a "champion" on this site and you visit a place more than twice, you like that place and the beers they produce. Therefore, to degrade other peoples preferences for liking the same beer is just ridiculous.

I'd also be surprised that many of the ratings people give on this site are current (been changed after trying many variations in the same style), or haven't been influenced by the ratings of people prior. If you want actual ratings, have them be blind ratings and only have the results be visible to people who have rated them.

 

It may also have to do with social gathering rather than beer quality or desire even for good beer. It may be the in place for the young singles scene. Crowded due to lack of competition, location near a college, etc.

 

I see a fair amount of this going on, but I think it is more a trend of people in the "crossover" segment.

For example, if a brew pub has ok (drinkable beer) and decent food and is family friendly, then your average 35-40 year old male with a wife and kids can go there for dinner. It is comfortable enough for his family to eat dinner and him to get a pint or two. Now is the beer the best, probably not. But if he tries to take his family to a more beer-centric place, he's going to get dirty looks from the beer snobs there. It's the same reason that places like Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch have success; they can appeal to several different crowds.

 

A long time before craft beer appeared on the scene, there was a saying that goes, "There's no accounting for taste."

 

I was just thinking about this last night. I'm guessing most of the "nano-breweries" make beer that's average compared to the great beers we discuss and drink here often. However, there is a fun atmosphere, local feel, and the beer is drinkable when you're out with friends. There were only one or two breweries I would go to by myself and get growlers in northern Virginia, but I would go to any of them if a bunch of friends were going to hang out. As for people taking growlers from there - there's something "cool" about taking a growler from a local brewery, right?

 

Maybe their ingredients or brewing methods just aren't as good as some, and they are trying to make good beer but they just aren't very good at doing it. It is still good enough for a lot of people to drink, but maybe not good enough for us BA's to seek out. In the end flavor/style/intensity preference is all personal and everyone has different opinions and tastes. Like mentioned what is good for them may not be good for others. It's impossible for everyone to like something.

 

I was probably one of those people at some point. We probably all were.