Losing interest in craft beer?

No to beer, yes to the beer culture. Simplicity us taking a back seat to pretense. It's becoming less about enjoying a new, good beer, and more about the experience. Once the talk turned to glassware and etiquette, I started losing intrest

 

I won't stop drinking good beers but I keep going to the lower tier beers due to the cost. Yuenglibg IPL has been a staple for a while and mix in a few sixers of other stuff. Cleaning out my basement too. Cellaring is not really advantageous for most beers. I remember back in the late 1990's spending $25 a case was a lot. Then it went to $30 and today a case of everyday beer is $40. Don't tell me to buy SN or NB as they are $38 a case here. Locals like Victory are $35. Between the two if us we drink two cases a week so it's part my issue. I like PBR and there are less expensive options.

Sorry Back to the original post......I won't quit but $50+ cases are not part of my everyday anymore. If AB can make amazing beer at AB prices I'm in.


Enjoy

 

Agreed.

It is not that I am somehow "above" what a place has but seems some places forgot that it is ok to serve a solid lager.

It is also ok to love craft beer and not rave over sours--there I said it.

 

Exactly what I came in to say. Really annoying when I want some beer for the fridge from a good place and I see lines hours long on social media. Count me out.

 

I've lost interest in ticking beers off the list.
I know what I like and what I don't at this point, and just drink my favorites while only occasionally going out of my way to try something new. Still love going to local breweries though.

 

I just started getting back into it the past year after 2-3 year hiatus. Things were getting so hyped that it wasn't enjoyable anymore trying to track down one or two bottles of something I had been able to get multiple 4/6pks of. Now I just go after local stuff and with Kane and Carton up and coming the past few years it's made it enjoyable again.

 

I'll probably lose interest in craft beer about the same time I lose interest in breathing.

 

I get on a bourbon kick every once in a while. I may stop the craft beer for about three days and drink nothing but Buffalo trace, Elijah Craig, Knob Creek, etc. but I always come back to beer and I always realize it is my drink of choice.

 

I too have had it with "beer culture" (and hearing about ticking, can releases, waiting in line for beer, truck chasing, overpriced bottle shops and the focus on IPA/BA/sour styles only) which this site propels. I'm happy with my locals (that make different styles) and buying great options at the supermarkets.

 

Exactly. I get a lot of enjoyment just happening across a hard-to-get brew (such as BCBS) at a local small-town supermarket, when I read about folks running around madly seeking them, standing in line for hours only to come away empty handed.

 

There are SO many great posts on here!

This could very well be, the best question posed to the BA-community all year.

That said, I think @Superflyjsc has tapped into something that maybe most of the BA-community is unaware of.

Let me digress and say that my whole life I've been a collector of something. I love to "hunt" for things. Whether its baseball/football cards (as a kid), Starbucks "city" mugs (if you don't know...then check them out - there is a unique mug for every major city, thus the more you travel the more mugs you collect), or later it life it has become craft beer.

Oddly, I still feel like an amateur of craft beer. Even though I typically know more about craft beer then most of the bar tenders & patrons at the best craft bars in MI & TX (two states I spend a significant amount of time in). I'll go into any well established craft bar and once engaged in "bar-stool" conversation, quickly realize I know more about what I'm talking about then my audience.

So....how does one stay interested? Well, the best thing about craft is that there is always something "new" to try. And, (hopefully) we all have someone great to sit and enjoy a brew with. I agree with @bbtkd & @TriggerFingers - that it's easy to lose interest in any hobby, but it's ultimately about the "hunt" and the "collection" AND that it's also about who you share & enjoy your whales with.

I've always been a collector and I love "hunting" for things. Even better, I love stumbling across things I've been hunting for in a place I wasn't expecting to find them. But, sometimes its just great to dig into the ol'cellar and know you've got SOMETHING great waiting for you in there. Additionally nothing beats enjoying a whale with my younger brother (who enjoy's craft beer, but no where near the level I do).

There is something to be said for sticking with a hobby and collecting something (beer, wine, etc.) and there is also something great about enjoying anything that gets better with age alongside someone who provides great conversation and company.

CHEERS!!!

 

I don't look at it as "craft beer", I consider it taking a "journey" in beer. So many different takes on beer styles. I love to explore the offerings. I will never stopped being surprised and inspired.

 

I agree. It's hard to go into a good beer bar with 35 taps and I'm ordering a Miller Lite. If I'm not excited to drink it I default to a low abv brew that's harmless and kill an hour. All those middling ipas are killing me here.

 

I will never lose interest in drinking beer. HOWEVER, I have lost interest in trying every new beer I come across, drinking overly hopped IPA's and Craft Beer drinks who look down on BMC products and drinkers.

 

Any interest I've taken up over the years - radio, cars, computers, smartphones, electronics, and now beer - I am driven to become at least proficient if not expert in knowledge of it. Computers turned into my career. In all of these interests it is all about the hunt - finding good deals or hard to find items, sometimes reselling or trading, and along the way experiencing, learning, and meeting others with similar afflictions! One of my brothers does the same thing, and upon comparing notes, many of our interests have overlapped. I only just discovered that we both recently got into craft beer.

 

One of my best friend's Mom just died, and he had been caring for her for years. He owns a very nice bar and restaurant nearby, provides great beer, and everyone loves the place. He was a great son and a credit to what people can be! It is lovely when true meaning is so damned obvious.... Cheers to good folks everywhere!

 

The truth for me, and I'm sure a couple other people as well, is that a lot of it has to do with the hunt. How hard is it to find a beer and that sweet moment when you crack it open. The research to track it down, the right moment, all of that. I'm also not ashamed or think it stupid to wait in an excessively long line for something. It tastes pretty damn awesome, you meet some people, and you create some memories. Good or bad. Maybe it will fizzle out, but until then I will be quietly searching around for the beers that most hit my taste buds, and a little bit of hype attached.

 

Perhaps it is when folks lock themselves into one style that they burn themselves out on craft. They go through the go-to and regional selections of their sole style, then get bogged down by not trying other styles.

 

I personally haven't lost interest in craft beer. I'm just trying to get my financial situation in order. I'll still buy a bottle or two every week or two but not like before. I guess my priorities have definitely shifted. But yay on craft.

 

Not losing interest but interest is changing. Have come to accept the fact that there are great breweries and beers from coast to coast now. Not searching as much for something new but going more instead to old favorites. Of course there are dozens of old favorites so my guess is that it is impossible to lose interest.