Is Craft Beer Cringe Right Now?

Cringe is definitely one of those words. Cringe. Almost as cringey as “delicious.” Delicious. Cringe. Oprah. Uma.

 

Nah it's a great resource for people who are getting into beer. The ratings are way better than Uptapped.

 

The author repeatedly points to the preponderance of heterosexual white men within the beer industry as a central source of the "cringe" aspects. She fails to bring any attention to the reality that beer has historically been a cultural artifact of Central and Northern Europe. Go back a couple hundred years and the entirety of beer production was confined to white people from those regions of the world, and surprisingly in the modern era you see the descendents of that region continuing to make up the bulk of the production industry.

You can celebrate and encourage the inclusion of a more diverse spread of humanity in the beer industry with out declaring that the fact that beer production and consumption is an endemic part of white American culture is some kind of act of cultural violence.

 

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If industries were dominated by groups and cultures who mastered the craft then why didn’t people of color dominate the early years of rock and roll?

There are other factors at play in such things.

 

Tastes, like art are subjective. Humanity just loves to quantify, label put it all in a nice digestible package. Really need to get back to basics with labels Asshole or Non-asshole that's it Keep It Simple Stupid

 

They did though, if you look at it from the perspective of music nerds. Black people have long dominated the music industry by number of participants. There are other cultural factors at play that have kept them from reaping the financial benefit, but if you talk to any music nerds about the history of rock and roll you're going to get a ton black men held up as the pioneers.

 

Collector vultures on crack. Steer right past them to the scotch, while they whine and moan. Places have had to beef up security.

 

I don't think I would use "craft beer" in the ways you illustrate, either. A LOT of craft beer is not for me. Examples I avoid: barrel aged, tropical beers, flavored stouts, imperial anything. One of my 3 favorites now is an economy German Pilsner. I would discuss what beers I like, though, and could describe them as craft if they fit my definition.

 

I was working at yards for quite some time so I have a perspective some may not. A lot of their brewers trained in Germany and Austria. The package crew was and is very into beer and etc etc. being part of that crew on a personal level? Let’s just say there’s a lot a cry baby stuff going on. The managers are great. Down to earth. So I my point in saying is I don’t think all people make craft beer cringey. For me if we can sit down and drink an IPA followed by an icehouse followed by a dunkel then we are friends. I’ve not been as active around here due to some bad apples ruining the bunch for me and beer has become about the moment rather than what beer you are drinking. Getting into the beer industry is x100 more “no” rather than yes here’s your shot. For that I’m unsure why. I have no bad feeling or ill will towards beer but I’m sure others get tired of the same stuff I have. Nobody is better than anybody else due to the liquid they consume.

 

Amen. And women. Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, Rosetta Tharp, Billie Holliday (listen to Strange Fruit!), Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and the early girl groups in Detroit and the Northeast. . . .You have no rock and roll, jazz, or even country music (the banjo originated in Africa) without black influences

 

I’m going to step right in here and suggest that both of you are saying largely the same thing from different angles. Yes, black musicians invented rock ‘n’ roll (more or less by electrifying and speeding up the blues) but that doesn’t mean they got credit, at least not stateside, at least not back then. The music was stolen and popularized by white musicians. Carry on

What I will do is talk about beers by style—I’m enjoying this saison, I just had a great barrel-aged imperial stout, IPAs are a dime a dozen—and thus anyone who knows beer will understand what I’m saying while anyone who only drinks Bud probably won’t. Is this a dog whistle? I don’t know—but it’s better than saying “hey guys, let’s go drink some craft beer”

 

I also got about halfway through the article and I have two thoughts to add. I do not care to associate my beer enjoyment with DEI, woke-ism, Marxism, or any other political BS. Two, I don't care if the hand that made my beer is male, female, black, white or green. That said, I'll be enjoying beer tonight, and hope you all are doing the same.

 

I like picking up something like Old Forester 1910 or Four Roses Single Barrel. They’re outstanding, I like them more than a lot of the allocated products I’ve tried, and I can find them consistently at my local liquor store.

 

Aww man, can't we just get along and drink another IPA?

 

You should also finish the article. A part of the image that can be shaken is fairly writ with your pride of non participation and the fairly shooing the idea of it away by couching it with some buzzwords that are included like a side car.
But, I'm just a woke white former brewer who isn't afraid of a little Marxism, and I see a particular set of problems which are addressed in the article in a beer drinker such as yourself. Diversity is kind of a big deal. Because, human curiosity? it's great to see, and get interested in what broadening beyond a monoculture can do, and has done for beer. Sure. It's a European thing, but like other consumables which colonialists brought with them. The indigenous made do, and incorporated it back into their own. And as Mexico illustrates. Creates an entirely new thing. White people tried it with Rosetta Sharpe, and Rock and Roll. Three chords is cool, and being loud is great. But, you need angst, drugs, or virtuosity to get real. Thankfully, the 60s also happened and took care of that.
Beer is a also a political vessel. At nearly every step of its process. It requires politics. And all that stuff which makes it comes from somewhere. And gets made by people. Who deal with politics. Because everything has a price.
Equity? You may be aware. Or, not. Starting can be expensive, and staying relevant can become costly. Having experience with the industry as a brewer. I got stories.
Inclusion? More people connecting with, and around beer, and the stuff it brings about because it has a taproom, or a brew-pub as part of its eight pounds of shit in a three pound box place of operation is good for the long road. Its kind of a reverse of that Dave Wooderson line where every year I get older, and every year they stay the same.

 

I blame it on the hipsters. They ruin everything they put their hands on. lol.

In all honesty, to be fair, the craft scene did get alittle too “serious” there for a while, as well as lost some of its diversity of styles which is what attracted me to it originally, as everything was dominated by ipas (which I love but grew really tired of esp when the hazy craze took over) and sours (which I came to realize I don’t typically enjoy). It’s kind of why I moved away from craft beer a bit for a while (not to say I stopped drinking it completely) but have recently getting fully back into it. IPAs still dominate, but glad there seems to be a shift back to a wider selection of styles.

Since one of my favorite activities is being as “cringe” as I can to my 2 teenage boys anyway, it’s only fitting that I embrace the cringe of being a craft beer drinker also. Now where did I put my cargo shorts?

 

I remember when people of color dominated craft beer production and then the pompous oenophile Romans went into Egypt and ruined everything.

 

There are some great offerings that are just as good or comparable to the bourbon's all the trolls are beating each other down to get their hands on. Collecting and being passionate are one thing but watching people flip their shit for anything to me is high comedy worthy of not only toying with but giving a wider birth than the grand canyon.

 

Same applies to beer and wine. I have tried some pretty high-end versions of all three. Ya, some might be better than the stuff we plebians drink daily or splurge for on special occasions, but the incremental improvement is seldom worth paying 3 times more for, IMO.

 

I'm a reasonably hardcore beer nerd, but I also go out into the wider world being aware of that, and attempt to function accordingly. I'll talk like a beer nerd with my beer nerd friends, but I'm perfectly capable of chilling the fuck out with a Rainier while watching soccer with friends at the neighborhood pizza place as well.