What are your thoughts on the topic of beer snobbery?
This topic I think has a couple of main points to consider. On the one hand, is it snobby to look derisively upon beer produced by the big macrobreweries? Now I have recently reached a decision, that I will no longer buy any beer that I will no longer buy any beer produced by the large beer conglomerates. Period. Now I've been brewing for 2.3 years and I've been enjoying better beer for close to 3, but during that period I have on many occasions partaken of the crappy mass market lagers, despite not really liking them anymore. The reasons for this varies, whether that's the only thing available or that I can't afford any good commercial craft beer, (and my pipeline of homebrew has run dry), but for whatever reason, I've often turned to the macroswill. But I've decided that this will happen no more. I don't like these beers, and I decided that I don't need to drink crap to catch a buzz. If there's nothing good available, I just won't drink. The interesting thing about this is that a lot of dyed in the wool BMC guys look at such a position as snobby. Now of course it's natural to argue that you shouldn't drink something if you don't like it, but does it go a step beyond that to categorically refuse to drink a mass market lager any circumstances? And I don't just mean Bud, Miller and Coors, but rather, anything that's owned by the big multinational beverage conglomerates like Inbev and what have you (which includes brands like Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Becks, Labatt, Bass etc.). The way I see it, I don't need to drink so bad that I should drink crappy beers, and I don't feel morally justified in supporting these companies whose scope and business practices I don't like. But maybe there's something I am missing.
The second point I wish to raise about beer snobbery is the logical extension of the idea of refusing to drink beers you don't like. It seems like there are now currents among the beer enthusiast community, which have taken to becoming snobby about the larger craft brewers, such as Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada, and New Belgium (I'm not suggesting that this is an original observation, but I have a point to make). Many people seem to view these breweries with a distaste similar to the large “American†(if you can call them that anymore with ownership outside of America) breweries. Now this question becomes interesting to me because of the two main reasons which seem to produce this reaction. The first is that many less informed beer enthusiasts seem to view these larger craft breweries as being on the level of Anheuser-Busch (Anheuser-BuschINBEV) and the like. This is as ridiculous as it is demonstrably false, as far as production numbers go, but there is also a large qualitative difference between the largest American craft brewery (Boston Beer) and the BMCs. As large as Boston Beer as grown, they still maintain the ideals of what craft beer is about, which is producing flavorful beer with quality ingredients for people who appreciate that, as opposed to producing bland tasteless beers for the masses in the name of increasing profits and market share, with little concern for the product itself. Of course I don't suggest that Boston Beer isn't interested in profits, but there is a tangible difference to the way that they handle their business, than the way that Anheuser-Busch handles theirs, which demonstrates that Boston Beer cares much more about putting out a quality product, than Anheuser Busch does. So for these reasons, I sort of take offense to people snobbing out against the larger craft brewers, because the way that I see it, there is a large difference between the craft segment and the macro segment. Whereas the big names are all in direct competition with one another as far as winning customers is concerned (that's what you get with such a homogenous product offering), what's good for any one craft brewer is good for them all. So whereas someone choosing miller is not a good thing for Anheuser Busch, someone choosing a Sam Adams or a Sierra Nevada is good for all craft brewers, because it increases the likelihood that that person will want to try more interesting flavorful beers.
This argument sort of runs into trouble however when I mention the second reason that people seem to have for snobbing out against the larger craft brewers, which is actual product quality. The people tend to give their reasons for not liking a Sierra Nevada or Sam Adams as being that they don't like them. This is of course a fine reason to decide not to drink them, but that's only if we can trust that those really are the reasons. The problem comes into play for me, that it's hard to adjudge whether it's really a matter of product quality, or a high minded snobbery which looks down on anything perceived (with justification or not) to be watered down (more literally in this case) for the masses. I personally sort of agree that Sam Adams is more of a lowest common denominator craft brewery when it comes to flavor, but where I would draw the line would be where I won't drink a Sam Adams beer when that is the best option. Whereas I would turn down a Budweiser under virtually any circumstances, I would buy my albeit not preferred Sam Adams if it were adrift in a sea of macros at my local bar. My reasons for this would be that I would want to support craft brewing in all of it's forms, knowing that what's good for one is good for the whole segment, and also that every time someone makes that choice in a visible way, it helps to shift the tide in our favor. I would also want to pay homage to the brewery that, although I don't hold up on a high pedestal amongst craft breweries anymore, was at least partially responsible for bringing me into the fold 3 years ago. So I think that while it's fine to just drink what you like, I think it's different to refuse to drink a bud in a bar, and to refuse to drink a Sam Adams in a bar, and to put the two together as though they are the same thing is to make a big mistake, and to not understand craft brewing as a whole. What do the rest of you think on this issue?
P.S. I have also started to think that it's a bit pretentious to be a beer enthusiast without doing at least some level of brewing, but I don't know if I have a sound principled justification for that, or that the non brewing know-it-all craft beer drinking types just seem like douche bags to me. What do you think?
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