How NOT to judge beer...
Friday, October 19, 2007
Unlike Smitty, I have no official beer-tasting training. I don't know the subtle differences between a bock and a dopplebock. And I don't know the right gravity for an American Pale Ale.
However, I do know a few things:
- If you hold a beer-judging event, and Old Style, Old Milwaukee Light, PBR, and Coors Lght are involved, you need to reconsider some things.
- If you hold a beer-judging event, and those beers WIN... you need to leave. right now.
And yet, I offer you solid proof that people like Smitty (and soon Colin) need to smack the rest of these amatuers off the stage...
7 comments:
It doesn't really bother me. As with most things, there is a certain degree of subjectiveness. While I enjoy many weird, high-end, hard to find, expensive beers, most people prefer more 'basic' things.
I can guarantee that come November 15th when I am sitting at someone's hunting camp, I won't be offered a Hacker-Pschorr. I will also confess that I occasionally enjoy a cheap beer, much the same way I enjoy an action movie that will never see a nomination from the Academy.
I must admit that after weeks of drinking on what was recommended here, I have slipped into cheap beerness.
I had my wife pick up a 6 (she bought a 12) of Miller Genuine Draft for some guests we had over, who I know drink it regularly.
Turns out they preferred my assortment of Michigan Brewing Company beers, especially the Nut Brown Ale. This left me with 12 bottles of MGD.
Low and behold, I have been enjoying the MGD, straight from the bottle. I may even buy more, dammit.
I will have to say that I am a person that generally takes reviews with a grain of salt. Car reviews are completely useless. Gun reviews seem to give high marks to the companies that advertise in that issue. Movie reviews are mostly useless, especially when the reviewer uses the word 'Kafkaesque.' The restaurant reviews from the LSJ drive me up the wall. I hate that the reviewer refers to the person who goes with her as her companion. It makes me wonder if it is a golden retriever.
That being said, Smitty's beer reviews are the exception. He provides enough information that I can tell if it is something I will like. Based on what he has said, I haven't made a bad purchase.
Uh, GABF is pretty respectable.
You'll note that the swill beers are winning the swill categories.
Glad to see my local breweries (Russian River & Bear Republic) doing well.
Perhaps I should clarify.
I wasn't trying to bad-mouth the GABF. And I have had many of the beers they recommend (in fact, more than I should probably admit), and found them fantabulous. I just don't see the point in having a "Best American Light Macro-Brew Lager brewed without hops or malt" category.
I love a good PBR or 12 on a Friday night. In fact, most of the time I drink swill (assuming there is no Guiness on tap) when I visit the bar. But I am not under any illusion that these are fabulous, award-winning beers.
There's a reason Iron Chef never uses peanut butter as the theme ingredient...
That is why they keep those beers in their own special categories.
If I had a brewery, I think it would be quite amusing to try to knock the big dogs out in their own sections. The honest truth is that the American light lager beers are VERY difficult to make.
I've wondered before why some microbrew light lagers haven't taken more of the market share. I look at a beer like Harpoon Bohenian Pilsner, which is what I imagine Miller Lite would taste like after a visit from the Taste Fairy.
Why hasn't the market moved in that direction? Or look at the market penetration of something like Bell's Oberon, which has bridged the gap between mass appeal, cost, and "beer goodness". Technology and perfection of technique have improved... Why do the recipes of 1920 still rule the world of light lagers?
Or maybe I'm just on crack.
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