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13-10-2014, 08:25
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Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Writing about beer and pubs since 2007 (http://boakandbailey.com)
In the comments on this post last week (http://boakandbailey.com/2014/10/beer-beer-everywhere/), a side debate broke out about whether people ought to*research a town’s beer scene before visiting, rather than hoping to stumble upon a good pub or bar.A*similar conversation, with a more hysterical tone, followed Pete Brown’s post about Chesterfield earlier in the year (http://petebrown.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/crap-beer-its-future.html).
It’s obviously a bit rich to dismiss a town or city as having nowhere good to drink if you haven’t done*any*research (although that certainly wasn’t Mr Brown’s*point) but playing it by ear from time to time can be both fun and illuminating.
The risk to relying on the guidance of others (http://boakandbailey.com/guides-lists/pub-guides-on-the-blog/) is that the loop can end up closing: everyone goes to the same handful of famous places, drinks the same few ‘must try’ beers, ends up writing more-or-less the same articles and blog posts, and then makes the same recommendations when they’re asked. The same places end up appearing in listicles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listicle) and guide books, often for years after they’ve lost their lustre.
By all means carry out research before your trip, but do also leave a little time to explore, and to follow your instincts — you might find a new place struggling for custom but destined to be the next big thing (http://boakandbailey.com/2009/07/the-beer-geek-god-is-listening/); or stumble upon*a great pub that no-one recommends because the beer is terrible; or just get really under the skin of the town you’re visiting.
You might even strike-out completely and end up back in the hotel bar, but*that’s fine, too: if every single drinking session is*‘world class’, none of them are.
Breaking the Cycle of Recommendation (http://boakandbailey.com/2014/10/cycle-recommendation/)


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