BA Group Think or Clueless Masses?

And overweight with gout. Like a French king.

 

I love this! I feel that sometimes, we, (American craft beer culture) have somewhat lost the forest for all of the trees. We got so wrapped-up in novelty and rating and scores and variety that we forgot about the drinking occasion.

NOTE: this is my opinion, and not the opinion of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.... To me, beer should enhance a situation, it should make something already good, great. In some cases, beer can BE the situation (a tasting let's say, or a bottle share, or even a beer dinner) but for me, on most social occasions, beer is the icing on the cake, not the cake itself.


I am privileged with beer. There is literally no beer created anywhere in the world that I couldn't get my hands on with a phone call or two...but some of the best times I've had that were beer related were because of the company and the circumstances. I probably visit 300 different bars a year. From temples of beer geekery, to corner taverns, but 9-out-of-10 times, I'd rather be in a cool place with good friends, than in the best beer bar on the block.

I'll give you an example. In 2014 on the Beer Camp Across America bus trip we hit bars and breweries all across the country. On one hot evening in Des Moines we stopped at the El Bait Shop (one of my very favorite bars in the country.) For those who haven't been, El Bait Shop has an excellent craft program and a lot of beers I don't often see, poured well and served in the best conditions. Great coolers, great bottles...just great. BUT they have two identities. The craft side, and the old man side... The Old Man side features cocktails and old-school beers...Schlitz, High Life, Etc.

After 20-something odd days cooped-up on a bus with other brewers we started on the craft side, but one-by-one migrated to the old man side, and spent the bulk of the evening blowing-off steam sipping crummy beer in a great place. Despite a world of great craft beer just on the other side of wall, I was happier than I had been in a long time, hanging with my buddies on the old man side. The beer was the catalyst for good times, but not the good time in-and-of-itself. There's a time and a place for everything.


-Bill

 

Like you said, this is a biased forum. You probably won't find anyone here giving you a good reason to fill a growler of mediocre beer to take home.

Instead of asking us, why don't you spark up the conversation there at the bar? Maybe they're filling growlers because they collect the glassware. Maybe they don't know of better beer. Maybe it's because they actually like the taste of the beer. Maybe it's a reason you hadn't thought of before. All I know is they'll have a better answer for you than I could offer.

If you do get to talking to the locals and find some good answers, I'd be curious to know what they said.

 

But this is totally subjective towards your personal preferences. Maybe for those "couple people" the brewery's beers are "better" than the beers sold at the beer store?

Cheers!

 

Isn't the characterization of "clueless" harsh. The majority of beer drinkers in the US drink AALs (e.g., Bud Light, Bud, Coors Light, Miller Lite,...) because those are the types of beers they enjoy drinking. For those beer drinkers a beer like Bud Light is a "better" beer for them. Those folks are not "clueless", they know exactly the types of beers they like to drink.

Cheers!

 

This exactly. They might be average beers at this place, but I bet every one of them is better than Budweiser and that is one of the top selling beers in the entire world. So yeah, "A brewery doesn't have to be good to be popular" is exactly right.