Bottoms Up: Are you a beer snob?

Bottoms Up: Are you a beer snob?

Are you a beer snob? I am. No one really gave me that title; I just sort of made it up. But I do like good beer. The older I get the more I appreciate the way a beer is made, and after having made a couple of my own beers I can truly appreciate the process. Sure, there are times when a Bug Light hits the spot. But there are also times when a nice oak aged barleywine does the trick. A few years ago I didn’t even know what barleywine was. As a matter of fact, I’m drinking one right now!

When I drink beers, I tend to review them as well. I will write a review and post it on BeerAdvocate, one of the web’s most popular beer tracking/rating sites. They also have a magazine, and thanks to my good friend Jake… he got me a subscription for Christmas last year. I have only got a couple in the mail, but they are fun to read and are packed with ads for beers that I have never heard of. Some of them I can’t even pronounce! Challenge accepted!

In this month’s issue, issue #61, they talk about beer snobs. It’s actually the first article you come to in a section called BEER SMACK. They claim that you are a beer snob if:

  • You think your palate is better than everyone else’s.
  • You put others down for their beer choices.
  • You criticize and dismiss beers you haven’t tried.
  • You can’t refuse a beer you deem inferior without being snarky.
  • You feel compelled to correct people because you think they’re wrong.
  • You think breweries are overrated just because they’ve become popular or successful.
  • You feel the need to defend yourself after reading this.

Now… every single one of those applies to me. Yes, my palate is better than yours. I’m a beer snob, after all. But all of these apply to me. My favorite is the one about popular breweries. There is a brewery here in town that became a huge success pretty much overnight. I hate their beers. There are a ton of breweries here in the Circle City, but this one is one of the most popular and they produce some of the worst beer around. They do have cool labels though.

Based on this list, I’m a beer snob. Some of those make me sound like a jerk… like putting others down or correcting people when they are wrong. I am always doing that. Not just with beer. But seriously, to me being a beer snob means trying new beers, trying new styles, and ordering a beer that I have never had just to see what it tastes like. I actually hate drinking the same beer twice. I would rather try something new. I also track my beers on Untappd, a beer tracking service similar to foursquare.

I don’t need to defend myself. I just needed to justify it. And I feel justified! So let’s order a beer, and try to stay away from the Bud Light Premium. Yes… I have had Bud Light Premium. I grabbed a case when it first came out just to try it. I won’t be getting it again.

So, are you a beer snob?