Hype is not a flavor...

Beware that canned Sue (and small format bottles) is contract brewed. The large format bottle is a totally different beer imo, so withhold judgement until you give it a try.

 

KBS is a good beer, but you have to remember where this all got started. When KBS just started gaining hype and being sought after there really weren't many barrel aged stouts on the market, KBS and BCBS were practically the only two that saw very wide distribution. Fast forward to now and part of the 'let down' is because so many brewers are doing barrel aged stouts and the style has really come far. Most of us that have had KBS plenty don't really go out of our way for it or overpay. There is simply such a growing number of newer craft beer fans that have heard about KBS and are willing to play the game to try it/get it.

One beer I've always thought lived up to the hype is Kate the Great and now Mott the Lesser. Yes, they don't age particularly well, but fresh on tap it's one of the best Russian Imperial Stouts. I do find it funny though how many people now drink it and go "where's all the barrel" not realizing that Todd want's the barrels to add a nuance to the beer, not become the beer like what most BA beers are becoming. I agree with Todd and it's pretty unique because of the approach.

 

I've got some hydroponic hype growing in my basement.

 

I think if you look at my perfect 5 scores, I'm pretty unbiased to hype beers. A few are hyped, but many of my top rated beers on that list are easy to find on shelf or completely obscure/unknown one-offs that have no fan-fare what so ever. I try my best to be unbiased.

 

Hype only gets me to buy a beer it doesn't have any effect on how the beer tastes. I've had "hyped" beers that I did not think were worth it and some that are. I think KBS is world class and Alesmith IPA is a great beer as well. I would disagree about aging KBS because the coffee does fade over time.

 

I've had it pre-contract brewed. Found it enjoyable. Can't say for sure that iteration would have fared any better within that lineup or not.

 

True. And for many the level of happiness achieved through the chase or hunt of a rare or hyped beer will almost always exceed the enjoyment from drinking said beer.

 

No offense my man, but I think this is misleading. The fact that you're forced to imply parallels from a comedy television show talking about iPhones to street walkers goes back to my earlier point. None of you have any direct evidence of the impact of "hype" on internet beer ratings. You're just making up stuff. I believe you think you're making sense here by applying what you perceive to be a principal but it just doesn't work that way.

There are so many special release beers out there right now that market themselves with grandios stories. It seems you are genuinely unaware of that. The vast majority of them don't rate all that well and certainly don't crack the top 250. If I see a relatively expensive or interesting beer on the shelf with a nice label and cool story behind the beer, I can confidently hop on my new lighter iPhone, go right to Beer Advocate, rate beer, and or Untappd and pretty much get an accurate picture through the aggregate ratings no matter how hard the store attendant is pushing it on me.

 

I heard the hydroponic stuff isn't as good. Maybe that was just hype?...

 

KBS is not ideal for aging

 

Notoriously hard to get. Sorry. That was a bad sentence.

But why do you say I made blanket assertions about everyone on this site? If the shoe fits wear it. If it doesn't fit then don't wear it.

 

It's a conditioned reflex to the written use of words or phrases like "all you guys have done...," ("nobody," "everyone," etc.) especially when there are existing counter examples of the shoe not fitting some people.

BTW I wasn't slipping my foot into the shoe if only because a significant portion of my professional consulting work has schooled me fairly well in the effects and nature of biases and ways of counterbalancing or controlling for them.

 

It sounds like you're talking about a different hype than most of us. You seem to be thinking of the hype put out by brewers as a marketing strategy. We're all talking about the hype that builds among consumers for what is generally a good beer that's built up even further by the hype and mystique of limited availability. These beers are usually pretty high quality beers, not just something a brewery cranked out and wrote a good story about. The question is whether or not the rarity and mystique affect one's perception of the beer and, as a result, inflate the ratings.

The answer is this: The placebo effect is real. It's a proven thing. Things will taste different to people based on what they expect to taste. If you're arguing that that is not the case then you're sticking your head in the sand. Go do some internet research. There's a reason they do blind and double blind studies for the efficacy of drugs and for the taste on food research. They want results that are not biased by expectations.

 

This hype discussion isn't as good as the one before it, but it's still enjoyable.

 

I heard the next hype discussion will be the best one ever! Or maybe that is just hype!?!

Cheers!

 

If you were to ask Founders they would suggest you enjoy fresh. Not that it won't hold up, but you will lose the coffee for sure to some extent.

 

I think there are a few different examples of hype. You have hyped beers that are hyped because they are highly rated, in the top 250, that are limited, hard to get, in need of trading, etc. Then you have beers that maybe aren't as good, that may be seasonal or rotating, that get whole threads devoted to them, that are still good but nonetheless hyped. I'm thinking beers like Nugget Nectar, Celebration, Enjoy By, and many other seasonal or "limited" beers that still have wide distro. I think some people here are thinking that hype only comes from high inflated ratings. It also comes from public promotion and being talked about, but that is what drives a lot of sales, and there is nothing wrong with spreading the word of a good brew.

 

Just curious, how did Todd rank? That may be the best smelling beer I've ever had (in the past I would've said Pseudo, but it's never been quite the same since they started brewing in Florida)

 

Three people had it top three of the first grouping. Two of us had it ranked last in the grouping as we dislike mosaic hops.

 

I appreciate your questioning of my posts. You seem very concerned with numbers... which is fine. Perhaps the two of us don't agree on what's actually measurable.

When you claim that you are getting "an accurate picture" by looking up a beer on BeerAdvocate etc, what are you getting an accurate picture of? You're getting a decent picture of some other people's opinions and preferences at a given point in time. It's not really anything more than that, but it doesn't need to be - it's still a fantastic set of information that I'm not discrediting. If you then buy a beer based on the reviews of others, and you find yourself in agreement with those reviews, why would you be so sure that you weren't influenced by them? On the other hand, if you find yourself disagreeing with those reviews, why would you place such definitive value on their "accuracy" moving forward?

I get the feeling that you are offended by the idea that beers that are considered best in class around here are somehow (and mainly) considered this for reasons other than merit. I don't think anyone is really claiming this.