The Bar Towel

http://beerdorks.com/articles.php?article_id=194

Very eloquently put, much better at conveying these thoughts than I have ever done.

markaberrant wrote:http://beerdorks.com/articles.php?article_id=194

Very eloquently put, much better at conveying these thoughts than I have ever done.

Nice. I really do like the ending. Especially because it's true that the "those were the days" days are always happening.

It's actually not a really bad problem to have.

Every day that goes by, I have a better chance of enjoying a better beer in more places. Anybody who thinks beer should be a secret club would be trying to take that away from me.

Tapsucker wrote:Every day that goes by, I have a better chance of enjoying a better beer in more places. Anybody who thinks beer should be a secret club would be trying to take that away from me.

Exactly, there are a lot of things I don't like about craft beer's growing popularity, but there are so many other good things too.

I just got offered a paid gig for some craft beer tastings this fall at the Regina Public Library, people I don't even know are throwing money at me left and right to sign up for my beer judge certification course, and I'm getting a personal tour of a local pub turned brewpub on Monday for an article I am writing... none of this would have been possible even a year or two ago.

markaberrant wrote:
I just got offered a paid gig for some craft beer tastings this fall at the Regina Public Library, people I don't even know are throwing money at me left and right to sign up for my beer judge certification course, and I'm getting a personal tour of a local pub turned brewpub on Monday for an article I am writing... none of this would have been possible even a year or two ago.

Also - Public Library Beer Tastings? That wouldn't have been likely a couple of years ago either!

The thing he doesn't touch on that gets my nose out of joint is the sudden sprouting of a million "beer experts". Every hipster in Ottawa has become a "beer writer" with a twitter account to regale us all with their latest trip to Mill Street. As Mark says above, folks in the forefront are certainly seeing the benefits, but it's frustrating for those of us who have been into beer for awhile to see the johnny-come-latelies show up and just really not know their shit.

I just like that the seemingly guaranteed new market for superior brew is pushing aside all the less-than-great stuff. A huge gulf is being met, finally.

Witness Bellwoods Brewery, with its stunningly respectable lineup of superior brews - compared to a certain Distillery 'brew pub' that generally tries to exploit the 'idea' of craft beer while basically intending to draw the sports crowds with the fat corporate accounts.

The latter scenario of 'almost craft beer' is threatened. Even Amsterdam is turning the tides with amazing stuff, and I wasn't buying any of their beer for many years!

Bytowner wrote:The thing he doesn't touch on that gets my nose out of joint is the sudden sprouting of a million "beer experts". Every hipster in Ottawa has become a "beer writer" with a twitter account to regale us all with their latest trip to Mill Street. As Mark says above, folks in the forefront are certainly seeing the benefits, but it's frustrating for those of us who have been into beer for awhile to see the johnny-come-latelies show up and just really not know their shit.

Yeah, Toronto has the same thing going on. There are a few local websites and publications that have added "beer writers" to their roster in the last year or so who obviously know very little about beer or the industry. But just like overpriced burgers, overrated food trucks, tacos made by white guys with tattoos, and pre-Prohibition cocktails, craft beer is cool with the hip kids right now, so they've gotta cover it.

I don't want to paint ALL of the newer writers with the same brush, as some of them do know their stuff. And there are a couple who freely admit to not being experts by any means, but are taking it seriously enough to learn as they go along and not try to fake their way through stuff that they don't know about. But there are some that present themselves as experts even though they probably couldn't tell a kolsch from a kellerbier.

Bytowner wrote:The thing he doesn't touch on that gets my nose out of joint is the sudden sprouting of a million "beer experts". Every hipster in Ottawa has become a "beer writer" with a twitter account to regale us all with their latest trip to Mill Street. As Mark says above, folks in the forefront are certainly seeing the benefits, but it's frustrating for those of us who have been into beer for awhile to see the johnny-come-latelies show up and just really not know their shit.

I disagree, this is exactly what the article is about - you have to take the good with the bad. It is up to you to choose what to focus on.

And yes, there are a lot of newbies that are really, really, really excited about beer, and think they are the first to discover it, and are somehow an expert. Big deal. Embrace that enthusiasm, and try to offer some friendly positive advice. If all you are going to do is look down your nose and belittle those folks, then who is the jerk?

markaberrant wrote:And yes, there are a lot of newbies that are really, really, really excited about beer, and think they are the first to discover it, and are somehow an expert. Big deal. Embrace that enthusiasm, and try to offer some friendly positive advice. If all you are going to do is look down your nose and belittle those folks, then who is the jerk?

I agree with this to a point. When it comes to people starting their own blogs, for example, I'm all about "the more, the merrier". Even if they have more enthusiasm than knowledge, I think it's great to see people getting motivated enough to start learning, and taking the time to document it so others can hopefully learn as well.

The problem is when people with a similar knowledge-vs-enthusiasm ratio are writing for more established publications or websites where their writing is presented less as a personal narrative and more as "this person is an expert in their field". Even if it's not intentional, the context can suggest that to be the case.

I suppose in the long run, we can consider any coverage of better beer to be a good thing. And I don't want to come across as some cranky old bastard who thinks that younger folks don't have the right to write about craft beer. I just think that with beer - as with any subject - folks whose work is presented as being knowledgeable and accurate should have the expertise and experience to back it up.

GregClow wrote:I agree with this to a point. When it comes to people starting their own blogs, for example, I'm all about "the more, the merrier". Even if they have more enthusiasm than knowledge, I think it's great to see people getting motivated enough to start learning, and taking the time to document it so others can hopefully learn as well.

The problem is when people with a similar knowledge-vs-enthusiasm ratio are writing for more established publications or websites where their writing is presented less as a personal narrative and more as "this person is an expert in their field". Even if it's not intentional, the context can suggest that to be the case.

I suppose in the long run, we can consider any coverage of better beer to be a good thing. And I don't want to come across as some cranky old bastard who thinks that younger folks don't have the right to write about craft beer. I just think that with beer - as with any subject - folks whose work is presented as being knowledgeable and accurate should have the expertise and experience to back it up.

I feel the same Greg, believe me, I have been accused on this site many times of being cranky. But like I say, what can you do about it? You can go around and try to rip them a new one (ie; come off as an a-hole), or you can just keep doing what you are doing. To me, you have to think about why you are doing this in the first place. I enjoy craft beer, I enjoy discussing it, and I like writing and educating people about it. If someone I perceive as having less knowledge than me also wants to do this, all the power to them.

I've wanted to start a beer blog for some time, but I thought (am thinking) against it for some of these reasons.

I couldn't possibly write in the same capacity as someone like Jordon could, and also I still preceive of myself of a newb. Also, there's just so many out there, that I couldn't possibly offer up any new interesting information.

Now, if I started a knitting/parenting/beer blog that might interesting...