Take a break from CRAFT?

The "crap beers" and "inferior quality" descriptors are what make these statements snobbish. While you may truly believe they are crap beers, not everyone does. Maybe you could just say you don't like those beers, instead of insulting the people who drink "crap beer."

 

I have nothing to add to these posts, I just think everyone should re-read them.

 

It was an insult in response to an insult.

 

Sorry, I like water. Refreshing on a hot day. Does not dehydrate you like beer does. Can drink it in public places where beer is not acceptable. It's free, and has zero calories.

Now, if water us not available, I will accept certai lite beer I otherwise am nit fonf of instead. But I do not need it to manage on hot days.

We all have different tastes I guess.

 

Yup.

I do not get the claim that only a pale lager makes a good beach beer, say. A couple of weeks ago we were camping at the beach, it was quite hot. Someone had brought a 12 pack of Lagunitas 12 of Never pale ale .
It was delicious and refreshing.

 

Certainly brewers of the sizes you mention, but I would also include much bigger brewers as well, even some of the mega brewers (who, despite their focus on AALs, are fully capable of producing what can be considered 'craft' quality products...and in the process are demonstrating more true craft than some smaller breweries).
Nowadays (especially), the size of the brewery seems to have little to do with the quality delivered. Being objective, it really can't be denied that while a lot of small breweries are turning out some very good products there are just as many small brewers and brewpubs (particularly) which are turning out some downright lousy, rank amateur tasting stuff.
My point really was that there is far too much obsession among beer geeks about the size of the brewing company, as if a smaller operation is some sort of guarantee that the product will be better: The reality is that there is plenty of proof on the store shelves and taps these days which conclusively proves otherwise.
Fortunately, the beer conversation among many aficionados seems to have finally begun making more sense, by returning to a focus on quality rather than brewery size.

 

I have been on a strict diet of craft every night for 2-3 years. But over the weekend I built a deck. It was ~90 degrees here and it was exhausting. Both nights I reached past all of my IPAs and Stouts for a Labatt Blue. It tasted great and hit the spot.

 

It seems like the only people who are fully intentional about whether or not to ever "take a break" from crafts are those who refuse to ever drink anything else.
Mostly I enjoy good beer - but "good" means what I think it means. Clearly many people have a different idea of what is "good". For example, my 22 year old niece visited recently and asked me to get her a 6 pack of a gose. She liked it a lot but only drank 3 of the 6 while she was here so naturally within a few days of her departure I tried one. Wow! I did not think it was "good" at all. But back to the main topic. For me personally, beer consumption is dictated totally by how busy I am, how broke or flush with discretionary funds I am, and what's available. I almost always prefer a strong bitterness to the beer I drink and I'm not ashamed to admit I like ABV in the +6 range bacause I ain't gonna lie, a nice buzz after a full day of working, being a dad and husband is a good thing in my opinion. But if the only thing in the fridge is the Blue Moon my wife told me to get for a social gathering, well geez, I'm gonna drink it!
I guess the bottom line is, I'd drink beer I think is "good" every day and would probably usually have one too many, but fortunately for my loved ones, my beer drinking choices are subject to the realities of day to day living. Sometimes I guess that does mean a "break" from craft beers. But it's not the end of the damn world. There's a nice local double IPA somewhere in my near future.

 

I have the highest regard for water, for bathing, irrigation and other purposes, but mainly for it's use in making beer.

 

I do on a semi-regular basis. One reason is when I'm broke. The other is when I dont want to think about what I'm drinking. Porch pounders. Lawn mower beer. All that.

 

Definitely get what your saying. I guess I'm just fortunate, because most of the breweries I'm into right now are what I would describe as smaller than some of those larger brewers and they have put out some simply amazing beers. Not gonna lie and say that they don't occasionally put out some stuff that is sometimes a miss for me, but the quality of the ales I've had from them are simply too fantastic to give up on these breweries based on a couple of misses. I'm simply just loving some of the local stuff out of Chicago too much to simply "take a break" from it.

 

Nothing wrong with mixing it up. Just find the dog with the least amount of fleas. The last AAL I drank was a Coors light, iced down, and it did the job. Tried a PBR a while ago and it tasted really corny to me...i dumped it. If you find one that you like, though, it will get you by in a pinch.

 

if i'm invited to a party or a cookout i will partake of whatever the host has to offer unless its a BYOB situation, just to be polite. Usually just one or two if its a macro-lite offering. then later when i get home i can have the most middle-of -the road craft brew in my fridge and it will taste much better than i remember, making me appreciate craft beer even more.

 

My only break from craft beer in the 7 years I've loved it was while hiking the Appalachian Trail last year. That was a forced break. Trail magic coolers in the woods and tiny gas stations near road crossings didn't usually carry craft, so I'd settle for PBR or Yuengling. You'd better believe, however, when craft was an option, I was all up on it.

Fun fact, Lewis Campstore in the Shenandoahs carried single bottles of craft beer for cheaper than the coca-cola equivalent size. Bad ass!

 

HAHAAHAAAHA! This is the best post ever for name calling! You say I am "insulting" people who like AALs by saying in my eyes they are inferior then deliberately call me a snob! Wow! Reread my comments and you will see I am in no way putting down anyone who drinks them. I said to me they are inferior which means I do not like them. I guess you didn't bother to read the part about my very good friends (who also happen to be my brother firefighters who I would die for) love drinking them and I have no problem with them doing so nor do I "insult" them by stating I consider that beer "inferior" to good craft beer that actually has taste IMO. So before you want to start calling people out and tagging them with a moronic label, how about actually READING the entire post.

 

lol chill out man. maybe the first sentence of my post wasn't clear enough. i'm saying by labeling something "crap" or "inferior" you are in essence insulting the person drinking it. Do you tell people that you drink or eat crap? Most likely not. Nor do i think you want someone calling the craft beer that you drink crap. You can have good intentions but the "inferior" descriptor isn't a great way of communicating that message. So don't be surprised when someone who doesn't believe it's crap or inferior takes offense.

 

Well, that's the problem right there. Saying how you feel about an inanimate object has zero correlation to calling somebody anything, good or bad. If I say that I am drinking a great beer, it doesn't mean you are a genius cause you like it, it means I like that beer I am drinking, and I have never met you and have not stated an opinion about you. If I say that beer I am drinking is crap, same thing, I still don't know you and still have not stated an opinion about you.

 

I understand what you are saying, and I agree with you. You shouldn't be surprised when people DO make that correlation and react to it, though. If there was no such connection you could cut out half of the pages and threads of arguments from these forums. Let's say you were drinking BBA Dark Star Oatmeal Stout, which you have clearly rated at the top of your list. You wouldn't define it as crap. But if someone else calls it crap (maybe one of those AAL drinkers), wouldn't you defend your position/rating?

 

Sure, I always love discussing beer. If a person thinks the beer is crap that I love, that says absolutely nothing personally about either of us other than we have different tastes in beer.

 

10-4. I digress.

I'm currently on a short hiatus from craft due to the slow rotating options presented at my local bottle shop. I'm on a kick of trying new/different beers but I feel like I keep seeing the same set of beers popping up weekly.