Craft beer evangelism

Sorry. Couldn't resist. I'm an editor and if memory holds I believe you're one too, so count it as a word choice joke.

I'm not much of an advocate in the sense you suggest. Even I don't care what I think.

 

I absolutely hate the term "beer evangelism", take of converting folks and the general comparison between beer and religion. This is beer, not religion. I think many of those who take on the evangelism and proselytizing honestly do more harm than good.

If we want to use an example from the religion realm I suggest St Francis. "Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words". Enjoy the beer that you drink. If you enjoy what you are drinking, are passionate about beer, interested people will ask question. Answer questions when asked, provide an opinion (suggestions) only when appropriate.

I think it is important to remember that to those who drink beer we deem to be of lesser quality, we are the one drinking the wrong beer. We wouldn't want the BMC drinkers to tell us what we are drinking is wrong, we should not tell them they are wrong.

 

Of course it's not subjunctive, we're Americans!

 

For a while my intention was to get people to drink (what I felt was) good beer and not the shitty beer they've been drinking. I became quite saavy with this approach, but I eventually came to the conclusion that this was rather thoughtless, biased and contrary to what I now believe is the "spirit" of the craft beer movement.

Now I try to simply provide a means for beer drinkers to discover a world of craft beer on their own terms. For those of us that want to encourage people to try craft beer... be ready to offer your insights. Be ready to back up what you say and be ready to be totally cool with someone's preference for the non-craft beer, especially after giving a craft beer a try. Passing judgement here will do more harm than good. Not everyone will choose craft beer right away. Not everyone will like craft beer. Try not to decide you don't like a person simply based on their beer brand of choice. Some of you might want to, but rest assured you will often find many other reasons to dislike that person (I'm kidding here, but not really ) So for all intents and purposes, let the beer be drunk not in judgement, but with acceptance.

I always like to mention my support for local craft beer by saying, "Supporting local business is never a bad thing." Most people will agree and it's good incentive to try local craft beer. The important thing is that they at least know they have more options and can choose to explore those options as much or as little as they like at their leisure.

In the end we should all watch the kind of movies we like, listen to the bands we enjoy and drink the beer that will make our taste buds happy....even if that beer is a cheap, watered down piss poor excuse for an adult beverage made by racists and homophobes.

 

This.

 

I used to try to get all my friends to enjoy craft beer, but I've mostly grown out of it, I think (partially because most of my friends now drink craft beer ). I've found it's more effective if you simply make good beer available to friends and family and being right there with more info if they're at all curious.

I had a major win when my mom and sister visited the other week and asked to try some of my latest homebrew (a French saison with lots of Saaz hops), though they were clearly just being nice since neither of them have ever liked beer. Lo and behold, they both said it was one of the only beers they've ever had that they actually enjoyed, and now my mom keeps asking me to bring my homebrew over to share

 

I keep it to myself unless asked. I don't care to hear someone critiquing my tastes in other things, and if I'm interested in your favorite types of writing utensils, exercise equipment, or cheese, I'll ask.

 

I made a homebrewed Koelsch (my wife's favorite) to convert her so that I could brew more frequently. Does that count?

 

It all boils down to individual opinion and taste. One man's meat is another man's poison. There isn't bad beer (excepting tale or infected) but there is beer I don't like and would never drink.There are many people-probably the majority-who actually prefer bland and undemanding foodstuffs including beer.

 

I live in the Pacific North West, and I can honestly say that I do not have a single friend that doesn't like craft beer. It is in every bar around here. A couple of my friends drink BMC when they are not with me, but when I am around they all drink whatever I am drinking. The best part is that they sincerely enjoy it and I do not pressure them to drink it. If any of them drank purely BMC, I wouldn't ever say anything or push a craft beer on them. Drink what you enjoy. That is why we drink beer in the first place.

I also heard a good quote from the head brewer at Central City Brewing in B.C. Canada this weekend. He told me that "...craft beer has become very mainstream and it will never go back. You can only eat Wonder Bread for so long before you discover wheat and whole grain...".

 

When I'm at a bar that serves both craft beer and macros, and someone is checking out what I'm drinking or even looks interested, my usual approach is "have you ever tried ____ ?" with the blank filled in either with what I'm drinking or another craft selection. If I get a inquisitive response, I continue. If I get a snarky response, I move away.

 

I've converted a couple friends, but not because I tried.
It's more like they come over and I offer a beer, I just happen to have awesome beer all the time.
I have no motivation but to share good beer with friends, it's just another thing we can talk about if they get into it as much as I am.

 

I will never make an unsolicited comment about what someone else is drinking; if they are enjoying it, then who am I to tell them otherwise? If they ask me questions, I will be more than happy to answer, and answer honestly. For instance, the other week I went to a Mexican restaurant with some friends, asked what beer they had (usual BMC crap plus Mexican macros like Dos Equis and Corona), and ordered a water instead. When queried on this I simply responded that I don't like any of those beers and am not about to pay money at a restaurant to drink them. Someone followed up by asking what I drink, and I gave a quick description without going into some long-winded soliloquy on craft beer. If someone wants a beer recommendation, I'll gladly chip in an opinion, but I'm not going to make anyone drink what I'm drinking (except with my local beer group, where I will force them to try blind samples of the beers I bring, especially if they are bad).

 

Basically if your friends drink crappy beer, you don't try to convince them to drink better beer, you find new friends.

Am I doing it right? ;-)

 

I drink religiously and I am a devoted apostle of the beer evangelical movement.

 

As I read your comment (which I agree with BTW), I came across another option to the OP's question. My wife and I often host cookouts and/or BBQ events (FYI - these are different things) at our house. Nearly everyone brings craft beer when they come. There are a number of our friends who bring Bridgeport, Redhook, Pyramid, etc. and I have been known to try to convert the Redhook Thunderhead IPA drinker, for instance, to FW Union Jack, Fremont Interurban, HUB IPA, SN Torpdeo, etc. by sharing what I'm drinking with them.

So, another option for the OP --- I try to convert a casual craft beer drinker to better craft beer.

 

Whoa, whoa. What kind of fool do you take me for? Know one but me is drinking ALL of my anything. I offer a little taste here and there then direct them to the community cooler to drink the Fremont, HUB, SN, etc. that other people brought.

It's also an effective strategy to gather up cases of lesser stuff that I can use for cooking rather than use my good stuff. Boo-yah!

Now in case you think me a total d-bag, I DO make and share some total kick-ass BBQ - ribs, pork shoulder, brisket. No one leaves complaining. It all works out in the end.

 

I brought a bottle of Rodenbach Grand Cru to my first "tasting." I ended up spending quite a bit of time and effort trying to understand why everyone was losing their shit over this beer called Supplication, while basically turning up their noses at the Grand Cru. I was invited back to another tasting, but was told what to bring next time. And I still never received a sufficient explanation as to why the Supplication was apparently so much better than the Rodenbach....