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20-11-2020, 13:21
Visit The Bring on the Beer site (https://bringotbeer.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-so-serious.html)
I don't for one second claim to represent a marginalised voice in beer enthusiasm, or even a unique opinion. I am white, approaching middle-age, and work in an office job. I don't even have a beard. But I take my own approach to this interest pretty seriously - as anyone who's seen my sad personalised framed beer photos will know - and as such I like to keep it as honest to my own personal motives as possible.
If you're reading this blog, or following my Twitter account, I'll always be grateful and thankful for that. But I hope you're under no illusions that I offer little except ill-thought out, hideously biased feelings and opinions based on my own narrow limited experiences. I understand if that's not for you.
I write this blog because I enjoy writing, and I have a Journalism degree, so I feel like I am using it in some way that justifies the years of living deep inside an overdraft that it took to get it.
My approach to beer has always been purely as a drinker/consumer. I have little interest in the vagaries and subtleties of beer manufacturing. That's like taking apart a joke to find out what makes it funny. Like dissecting a frog, no-one is really interested and the frog dies. I like beer, I like how it tastes, how it makes me feel. That's it.
This is why I could never be a judge or a taster. One, my palate is not gifted enough, and two I *really* don't care to that extent. If I like it, great; if I don't, I don't. I'll share what I drink on Twitter, I'll even give brief liner notes on what I feel about it, but no more. No full-blown reviews, no extolling the virtues of mouthfeel.
Beer enthusiasm isn't a club, or a secret society. It doesn't have a special handshake, or a uniform. It doesn't have Gold / Silver / Bronze tiers of membership which can be acquired in exchange for some arbitrary proof of worthiness. What beer enthusiasm *does* have is levels of respect that is earned, not demanded, by those who trailblazed a movement which is now a pretty easy-to-access hobby which was for decades a niche pursuit. They are the giants shoulders on which us noobs/wankers stand.
It certainly shouldn't mean that, for instance, those who go all-in should dictate terms to those who choose a more light, less formal touch. It's a strain of the the whole "you're not a fan of this band if you don't have this album on vinyl" schtick. You may not realise you're gatekeeping, but even the slightest comment can be enough to bely your motives.
This is especially true if you yourself are doing something connected to this hobby which you see as necessary or worthy but which others see as unimportant for them. This is not a unique problem to beer - it happens in all enthusiast communities. You are not obligated to buy a kit to be a fan of a football club, you do not have to have a poster on your wall to be a fan of a particular band, so you do not have to have a favourite hop or yeast strain to be a beer wanker. It helps, sure, but it's not a condition of membership.
Enough people who claim to be in the "beer sphere" have already blocked, unfollowed, ostracised and discouraged me for having the approach I do; so it's time I did the same back to those who think what I do, and how I do it, is wrong.
There are already too many barriers to entry to the world of beer enthusiasm. You may not have a craft beer bar or bottle shop accessible to you so you have to resort to Tesco. You may not have the financial wherewithall to be able to shell out £6 on a snifter of stupidly strong stout. You may not have the storage in your living space to dedicate to a stash. These real-world problems don't need artificial, arbitrary amendments and appendicies dreamt up by those to whom whose comfortable lives mean these concerns don't exist, and never have.
I know my approach to beerthusiasm doesn't chime with what some believe is expected, or even demanded, of a member of the community. But I'm sorry, I'm doing it my own way and I don't have to conform to your standards to get your approval.
I do not have the time, energy, resources or liver strength to dedicate myself to this hobby like some are able to do. But I give it a pretty good go. But that's all I can give: an inconsistent, stumbling, bumbling, always-learning, "good go".
More... (https://bringotbeer.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-so-serious.html)
I don't for one second claim to represent a marginalised voice in beer enthusiasm, or even a unique opinion. I am white, approaching middle-age, and work in an office job. I don't even have a beard. But I take my own approach to this interest pretty seriously - as anyone who's seen my sad personalised framed beer photos will know - and as such I like to keep it as honest to my own personal motives as possible.
If you're reading this blog, or following my Twitter account, I'll always be grateful and thankful for that. But I hope you're under no illusions that I offer little except ill-thought out, hideously biased feelings and opinions based on my own narrow limited experiences. I understand if that's not for you.
I write this blog because I enjoy writing, and I have a Journalism degree, so I feel like I am using it in some way that justifies the years of living deep inside an overdraft that it took to get it.
My approach to beer has always been purely as a drinker/consumer. I have little interest in the vagaries and subtleties of beer manufacturing. That's like taking apart a joke to find out what makes it funny. Like dissecting a frog, no-one is really interested and the frog dies. I like beer, I like how it tastes, how it makes me feel. That's it.
This is why I could never be a judge or a taster. One, my palate is not gifted enough, and two I *really* don't care to that extent. If I like it, great; if I don't, I don't. I'll share what I drink on Twitter, I'll even give brief liner notes on what I feel about it, but no more. No full-blown reviews, no extolling the virtues of mouthfeel.
Beer enthusiasm isn't a club, or a secret society. It doesn't have a special handshake, or a uniform. It doesn't have Gold / Silver / Bronze tiers of membership which can be acquired in exchange for some arbitrary proof of worthiness. What beer enthusiasm *does* have is levels of respect that is earned, not demanded, by those who trailblazed a movement which is now a pretty easy-to-access hobby which was for decades a niche pursuit. They are the giants shoulders on which us noobs/wankers stand.
It certainly shouldn't mean that, for instance, those who go all-in should dictate terms to those who choose a more light, less formal touch. It's a strain of the the whole "you're not a fan of this band if you don't have this album on vinyl" schtick. You may not realise you're gatekeeping, but even the slightest comment can be enough to bely your motives.
This is especially true if you yourself are doing something connected to this hobby which you see as necessary or worthy but which others see as unimportant for them. This is not a unique problem to beer - it happens in all enthusiast communities. You are not obligated to buy a kit to be a fan of a football club, you do not have to have a poster on your wall to be a fan of a particular band, so you do not have to have a favourite hop or yeast strain to be a beer wanker. It helps, sure, but it's not a condition of membership.
Enough people who claim to be in the "beer sphere" have already blocked, unfollowed, ostracised and discouraged me for having the approach I do; so it's time I did the same back to those who think what I do, and how I do it, is wrong.
There are already too many barriers to entry to the world of beer enthusiasm. You may not have a craft beer bar or bottle shop accessible to you so you have to resort to Tesco. You may not have the financial wherewithall to be able to shell out £6 on a snifter of stupidly strong stout. You may not have the storage in your living space to dedicate to a stash. These real-world problems don't need artificial, arbitrary amendments and appendicies dreamt up by those to whom whose comfortable lives mean these concerns don't exist, and never have.
I know my approach to beerthusiasm doesn't chime with what some believe is expected, or even demanded, of a member of the community. But I'm sorry, I'm doing it my own way and I don't have to conform to your standards to get your approval.
I do not have the time, energy, resources or liver strength to dedicate myself to this hobby like some are able to do. But I give it a pretty good go. But that's all I can give: an inconsistent, stumbling, bumbling, always-learning, "good go".
More... (https://bringotbeer.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-so-serious.html)