Drink First – Read Later
I can remember the day when I bought a bottle of wine
because the label caught my eye. Some of
my picks were delicious, some not so much.
The fun part was experimenting and learning about something new. In most cases I was not going into the
experience with a preconceived notion of what it would taste like. Sure I read Robert Parker and Wine
Spectator. But I didn’t carry copies
around in my purse to reference as I shopped. I made mental notes when reading and relied
on my memory or my famous attraction to labels when making my choices. Now there’s App for that!
To frame this point in the beer world, just look at how
Social Media has exploded in the past few years. The World Wide Web is flooded with
information about all the brilliant craft breweries and the business of craft
brewing in the United States.
Want to learn what
the best beer is or where the best place to drink beer is in a city you are
going to visit? - Ask the Twitter
Universe and you can get some great answers about what beers to sample and the
best places to sample them.
Curious about a new
brewery that is being distributed in your area? _ Go to Beer Advocate or Rate Beer to find out what the unwashed masses
are saying about their beers.
Wondering if that bottle
of “Double-Dutch, Upside Down, Donkey
Bladder Aged, Nano Brew” is worth $48
for a bomber? - Search Beer Blogs for reviews on the beer
The resources available are tremendous. Now comes the tricky part…a lot of what you
are reading is the “opinion” of a person or an organization. Some people are clearly more credible than
others but don’t mistake popularity with validity when it comes to taste. With something as subjective as beer, how do
you wade through the rhetoric and find answers that help you make
decisions? Should you even check what
people think before trying the beer? In
most cases I like to drink the beer first --- read reviews later. It makes for really fun reading if you genuinely
liked the beer and you find the armchair beer critics bashing the hell out of
it.
How do you actually know if “SDNanoBeerExpertGuru” (made-up – I swear) is really an expert? Why
would “he” ever taste a pencil eraser or how does “she” know what wild boar
urine smells like? I don’t know about
you but I have never actually tasted sunshine nor do I make it a habit to sit
with a Thesaurus, coming up with bizarre descriptives. Taste is subjective and largely based on how
experienced your nose is. The more you
sniff in life, the bigger your reference library becomes and the more defined
your palate is. To coin a phrase my
father often used; “Somewhere in the
middle lies the truth” and when it comes to beer, the truth is really what your
palate decides it should be.
I am not saying that reading beer reviews is a bad
habit. On the contrary, it is
entertaining, thought provoking and at times eye-opening. They can stimulate your own creativity and
help you find words to describe what you taste, smell and feel when drinking a
beer. The key is in sorting the
information and knowing how to use it or in a lot of cases, NOT use it. As much as I enjoy reading reviews, make no
mistake about the fact that I would rarely skip a beer based on the negative
reviews of strangers. I tend to try a
beer first and then read what others think about it. This can be an enlightening approach and one
I highly recommend.
Who should you listen to?
There are several beer people that I share similar tastes
with. If one of them gives rave reviews
about a new beer or a recent vintage of an existing beer, of course I will take
notice. After a few years comparing
notes with these folks, I have developed a respect for their opinion but there
are definitely times when I do not share their view and I am sure they would
say the same about me. I enjoy
comparing notes with these people and I have respect for their experience. I also
seek out certain beers based on positive comments from the people I respect.
As craft beer choices become more accessible, it becomes
harder to decide which beers to try, but the good news is that there are heaps
of beautifully crafted beers available in most states nowadays. Beer trading is a practice I advocate greatly
for. I can say with all sincerity that
there are some wonderful folks out there that take great pride in sharing their
local favorites with people in other areas.
There is nothing more gratifying, in my humble opinion, than shipping
off some local beer to a person you like and respect in another area. Sharing what you love makes for good beer
karma and paying it forward is what I love most.
How do you choose beer?
Now… kick back with a new beer and make your notes about what
you taste and what you think. Then…go
out and search the reviews to see what others are saying. Take note of the folks that share your view
of the beer and save for future comparisons.
Have a good laugh reading the nasty reviews of the "mom’s basement
dwellers". It’s cheaper than cable and
at times more entertaining! Last but not
least, share your positive finds with friends using social media. Champion good beers and give props to the
brewers that make them.
Xoxo – TheArtofBeer
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