Your #1 Reason for Craft Beer?

All of the above.

 

24 year old checking in. Why do I drink craft beer? Because it tastes good. If the American Adjunct Lagers tasted good, then I would drink those. While they aren't offensive tasting to me, they don't really offer much. I'd much rather shell out the extra $5 for something that is exciting and has more flavor than something that is solely there to get me drunk.

 

My #1 reason is without a doubt flavor.

 

good article, concise and informative. my number one reason is flavor. i'd love to be able to honestly list supporting small business as equally important, but my purchasing of BCBS has not changed since GI sold out. and i'd buy their other other's if they were good. i'm ashamed to admit i'll buy good beer no matter how big the brewer.

 

Flavor, yes.
Variety, yes.
It is a beverage, not a cause.

 

Flavor. Variety only matters if it's good.

 

It tastes better

 

Flavor and variety. I'd like to say it's the small business aspect, and I guess that does make it a bit more appealing, but I still buy BCBS and GI's Belgians and have no problem doing it.

The dumbest part of this article is saying youths buy it because their parents drank AALs. Yeah, as a 21+ year-old person, I'm sure that rebellion is still in full swing. In my rebellious stage, I drank cheap vodka and PBR...because I was a poor teenager. My parents both drank the exact same things. Also, craft didn't even exist as a viable option in my area when my parents were young, and I'd wager that's the case for most Americans here. Would the writers of this article say that AALs would be bigger this generation if the previous generation drank craft? What a weird and reaching statement.

 

flavour

 

It's all "craft" to me. Somebody "crafted" it, whether it was in a huge factory or small closet in a bathroom. Do you like it? I've had IPAs and stouts from obscure breweries (and famous) that I guarantee you, I'd turn down every single time for a cold Milwaukees Best. Flavor? What flavor? What particular flavor is it you're looking for? Do you like it? I drink what I consider to be "good" beer, and that may mean at any time a High Life, a Pliny, a coffee stout, a Bud or a saison. What is "craft"? I don't think any one knows anymore. Do you like it? Then it's "craft". Whatever the hell that means.

 

On the flipside of that very same coin, you cannot get the same flavor from a micro that the Big Boys provide. As millions of Bud Lite drinkers will attest. Whether the Beer Advocate calls it "flavor" or not is a moot point. It is flavor nonetheless. It's subjective opinion and all the endless arguments here don't change that. But it's fun talkin' about it.

 

I drink beer 'cause it's beer.

 

But...but.... Bier, biere, cerveza, brewski, suds...... What about THEM?

 

I mean, the alcohol plays a big part in it. I'm not talking alcohol content, but we are all drinking beer because it's alcoholic. There are many avenues we can explore by enjoying, and respecting, beer, but when it comes down to it, we drink it because it feels good, and because it makes memories we share with friends/family more enjoyable. Those of us in the craft beer community just come together because of the beer. Those who drink domestics put the alcohol on the back burner, letting it act in the background while they experience their lives through other perspectives. We choose to put the beer itself at the front of our minds, and let our enjoyment of it guide us in making our memories.

 

Something new

 

Why spend $5 to get drunk, when I can spend $10, get drunk, and enjoy a world of flavor too? Beer that honors the traditions of beermakers over the ages ..... count me in. It has taken more than 200 years, but Beer = Culture is becoming a thing in America, finally. Keep it local when possible, always follow the flavor.