What Kind of Beer Fan Are You?
Beer Geek, Beer Snob, Hoarder..... If you have been in the beer game long enough you know exactly what these are. Some may consider them badges of honor while others may find them to be silly nicknames that have no meaning. This does lead though to an interesting observation that will lead to much discussion. So, what kind of beer fan are you? I will break down the categories that I have typically observed. While some traits may not be desireable, none are bad or worse than other depending on how you perceive them. Can you identify with one type or do you span the gamut? Did you read one and think, oh yeah... I know a person like that. Let's explore this some and see what we come up with.
Beer Fan - I think we can all relate to this. We are a fan of beer! Doesn't matter if you brew it, drink it, fuss over it... you love beer. While is really a larger category to have it really describes us all. For me, this goes one step further. A true beer fan just really loves beer. They don't always go into the store looking for the hottest new thing but rather an old standby. When at a party they can typically find something to soothe their palate. Beer is relaxing, mesmerizing and appreciated for what it is. While we all fall into this area for the most part I have a few friends that come to mind immediately thinking of this type of person. I won't call anyone out here but I think they know who they are.
Beer Educator - This person know a lot about beer. Typically a home brewer or a semi-pro home brewery, they can tell you the characteristics of certain hop malt profiles along with what type of yeast to use and what kind of water you should be using. They are more than willing to give anyone an education on beer styles and flavor profiles. They may be Cicerone certified or a certified beer judge. People will seek their advice on home brew recipes and even have brew days with them to suck the knowledge out of their head. They will also posses a nice historical knowledge base of beer and may teach you something you didn't know!
Beer Purist - This type of person may not be one to try an out of the box beer. If they seek out a stout they would prefer it to be true to style with a black body and roasty notes in every sip. They may not recognize other off the wall beer styles like a sour coffee beer. They gravitate towards breweries that stay true to style as well. Some people that fall into this range are also very vocal about their thoughts and may decide its a good idea to challenge people on what style a beer is rather than appreciate it for what it is,
Hoarder - 99 bottles of beer on the wall always seemed like a lot until you meet the Hoarder. They tend to treat beer as a collectible item and want to show off their collection whenever possible. While most people keep beers from an aging perspective this person may not want to drink the beers own. They will go to as many brewery only releases they can and may bring people to buy beer for them so they can get as much as possible. Want to try one of the beers they have? Sorry... I only have 44 left and cannot afford to open one today.
Whale Slayer - This term comes loosely from Moby Dick and that elusive White Whale. Highly sought after beers tend to be limited and everyone wants them. The less produced the more they are wanted. As with Hoarders, they will be at most brewery only releases with mules to buy them beer. There are stories of people bringing their grandparents with them to brewery releases just to get their allotment. These beers tend to hold a large value in what is considered the secondary market. Trade values are inflated for these types of beers because of how highly sought after they are and what people are willing to trade for them. Some slayers take this to the extreme where they won't even consider drinking the beer unless it's at a bottle share where other similarly valued beers will be. These people tend to run in what may be considered more "exclusive" beer clubs where membership is limited and you have to know a guy who knows a guy who can get you that one beer noone else can get.
New Beer Ticker - Untappd is a great app you can get on Android and Apple phones that let's you keep track of the beers you have had. Some people use this app as a game to see how many different beers they can try. They will tend to try a new beer rather than drink ones they already have had and really enjoy. You can find this person at pretty much all the beer festivals and during especially motivated beer getaway weekends may try upwards of 100 different beers. They are awesome people to have at a bottle share because you know they are going to bring something they haven't had... and if they haven't had it chances are neither have you!
Newbie - It's time to try something other than PBR or Miller Lite. So they start to explore different style of beers. The world at this point is overwhelming and walking into a specialized beer store is exciting yet scary at the same time. They get confused when they buy a wheat beer from one brewery and really love it, then buy one from a different brewery and hate it because it's too hoppy. The concept of knowing if a brewery is a hop forward brewer is lost on them. They come to bottle shares with a mixed six pack of local brews because they have no idea what they are walking into and figured if anything else they can just drink what they brought. They learn the hard way while getting ridiculed and laughed at by those that scoff at people who are just getting into the game. Some get intimidated and leave the game, but those that endure and learn tend to come out ahead. We have all been there my friend and life is so much more fun and frustrating on the other side.
Entitled - Out of all the traits our good friends who love craft beer may have, this one is just one I cannot get on board with. These type of people are those that go to a brewery and yell at them when they run out of the beer they wanted. The never step foot into a liquor store unless the possibility of buying that rare beer pops up, then gets mad at the shop owner when they find out they have some in back but is reserved for regular customers. You will see these people bashing a brewery simply because they didn't get the beer they were so entitled to purchase.
Well, those are my observations. Did I miss one? Let me know your thoughts!! I am only one side of the coin here and welcome any opinions.
What can we look forward too next blog post? I went to Grand Rapids for KBS this weekend. I will have short reviews of the breweries I went to and how my experience with getting KBS went. Tell a friend about this blog... it will surely make their day!!
Beer Fan - I think we can all relate to this. We are a fan of beer! Doesn't matter if you brew it, drink it, fuss over it... you love beer. While is really a larger category to have it really describes us all. For me, this goes one step further. A true beer fan just really loves beer. They don't always go into the store looking for the hottest new thing but rather an old standby. When at a party they can typically find something to soothe their palate. Beer is relaxing, mesmerizing and appreciated for what it is. While we all fall into this area for the most part I have a few friends that come to mind immediately thinking of this type of person. I won't call anyone out here but I think they know who they are.
Beer Educator - This person know a lot about beer. Typically a home brewer or a semi-pro home brewery, they can tell you the characteristics of certain hop malt profiles along with what type of yeast to use and what kind of water you should be using. They are more than willing to give anyone an education on beer styles and flavor profiles. They may be Cicerone certified or a certified beer judge. People will seek their advice on home brew recipes and even have brew days with them to suck the knowledge out of their head. They will also posses a nice historical knowledge base of beer and may teach you something you didn't know!
Beer Purist - This type of person may not be one to try an out of the box beer. If they seek out a stout they would prefer it to be true to style with a black body and roasty notes in every sip. They may not recognize other off the wall beer styles like a sour coffee beer. They gravitate towards breweries that stay true to style as well. Some people that fall into this range are also very vocal about their thoughts and may decide its a good idea to challenge people on what style a beer is rather than appreciate it for what it is,
Hoarder - 99 bottles of beer on the wall always seemed like a lot until you meet the Hoarder. They tend to treat beer as a collectible item and want to show off their collection whenever possible. While most people keep beers from an aging perspective this person may not want to drink the beers own. They will go to as many brewery only releases they can and may bring people to buy beer for them so they can get as much as possible. Want to try one of the beers they have? Sorry... I only have 44 left and cannot afford to open one today.
Whale Slayer - This term comes loosely from Moby Dick and that elusive White Whale. Highly sought after beers tend to be limited and everyone wants them. The less produced the more they are wanted. As with Hoarders, they will be at most brewery only releases with mules to buy them beer. There are stories of people bringing their grandparents with them to brewery releases just to get their allotment. These beers tend to hold a large value in what is considered the secondary market. Trade values are inflated for these types of beers because of how highly sought after they are and what people are willing to trade for them. Some slayers take this to the extreme where they won't even consider drinking the beer unless it's at a bottle share where other similarly valued beers will be. These people tend to run in what may be considered more "exclusive" beer clubs where membership is limited and you have to know a guy who knows a guy who can get you that one beer noone else can get.
New Beer Ticker - Untappd is a great app you can get on Android and Apple phones that let's you keep track of the beers you have had. Some people use this app as a game to see how many different beers they can try. They will tend to try a new beer rather than drink ones they already have had and really enjoy. You can find this person at pretty much all the beer festivals and during especially motivated beer getaway weekends may try upwards of 100 different beers. They are awesome people to have at a bottle share because you know they are going to bring something they haven't had... and if they haven't had it chances are neither have you!
Newbie - It's time to try something other than PBR or Miller Lite. So they start to explore different style of beers. The world at this point is overwhelming and walking into a specialized beer store is exciting yet scary at the same time. They get confused when they buy a wheat beer from one brewery and really love it, then buy one from a different brewery and hate it because it's too hoppy. The concept of knowing if a brewery is a hop forward brewer is lost on them. They come to bottle shares with a mixed six pack of local brews because they have no idea what they are walking into and figured if anything else they can just drink what they brought. They learn the hard way while getting ridiculed and laughed at by those that scoff at people who are just getting into the game. Some get intimidated and leave the game, but those that endure and learn tend to come out ahead. We have all been there my friend and life is so much more fun and frustrating on the other side.
Entitled - Out of all the traits our good friends who love craft beer may have, this one is just one I cannot get on board with. These type of people are those that go to a brewery and yell at them when they run out of the beer they wanted. The never step foot into a liquor store unless the possibility of buying that rare beer pops up, then gets mad at the shop owner when they find out they have some in back but is reserved for regular customers. You will see these people bashing a brewery simply because they didn't get the beer they were so entitled to purchase.
Well, those are my observations. Did I miss one? Let me know your thoughts!! I am only one side of the coin here and welcome any opinions.
What can we look forward too next blog post? I went to Grand Rapids for KBS this weekend. I will have short reviews of the breweries I went to and how my experience with getting KBS went. Tell a friend about this blog... it will surely make their day!!
Gotta love those beer mules. "Hi Granny. Are you a big fan of barrel aged stouts"?
ReplyDeleteLOL! Matt, that is so damn funny!
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