Bottle Conditioned

We’ve got a tough job.

As craft beer drinkers, we all probably come up against the wall of misconception about beer from time to time. What a frustrating thing. Unfortunately, in this country, beer equals a can of light golden fizzy junk that delivers alcohol in a (relatively) painless and enjoyable manner. Fighting that attitude is a pain in the ass.

Having a podcast and blog about beer has heightened my awareness of this. Typical conversations with someone about our podcast goes something like this:

Them: “So, what do you do”
Me: “Well, I have a podcast about beer and try to educate and inform people about better beer”
Them: “A podcast about beer?” *puzzled look*
Me: “Yeah, beer. But not crappy beer, good beer - craft beer”
Them: “What is there to say about beer?”
Me: “Plenty. There are tons of styles of beer as well as rich and diverse culture surrounding beer historically. What most people think about beer in this country is a sad and embarrasing representation of what beer really is”
Them: “Well, it gets me drunk, I like that.”
Me: “Nevermind”

Usually, when this conversation comes up, I end up reverting to comparing it to wine. “You know, how most people talk about wine, I talk that way about beer”. That generally garners a bit more understanding, a puzzled look, and a change in conversation.

So, why is it that beer has such a bad name in this country? Why do people associate wine with fine entertainment and associate beer with frat parties and gas stations?

I’d submit that part of it has to do with marketing. The major beer manufacturers in this country have dumbed down the product to such an extent where the only positive aspect of the liquid, for most people, is the fact is has alcohol in it. If that wasn’t the case, I doubt we’d see as many funnels. Since the herd of people (sheeple, as I’ve heard some folks refer to them as tend to follow the marketing hype, we’ve been left with a beer culture that is pretty poor.

The question then, turns to how to change this? I think it’s through relentless education. As craft beer evangelists, we’ve got to show people that beer is every bit as sophisticated, complex and demands as much respect as wine or good liquor (the liquor culture in this country has a similar problem, just not as bad). I think we need to organize more beer tastings, more beer and food pairing seminars and get better beer on the shelves of every liquor store, grocery store, and yes, gas station. We need to talk about beer in a different light. When you go home for a holiday dinner this winter, bring some nice Barleywines and Stouts to enjoy with dessert. Bring some Saisons to have during Thanksgiving dinner.

To a large extent, we’re simply going to have to show people that beer is different and better than they think it is. So, next time you go to eat with friends, or simply go to a party, bring some great craft beer and introduce your friends to it. Tell them you’ll worry about bringing the “bottle of wine” for the next dinner party, and show up with a 750 ml bottle of a nice Beligan Dubbel.

We can do it, it’s just going to take some time and some relentless education. Luckily, education mean drinking a lot of great beer. I’m up for that.

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