I try my best not to be one and in most areas I'm successful.
I've met book snobs that look down on those who read and enjoy genre fiction. Those that think only books nominated for a Pulitzer or those who garner critical acclaim are worth their time.
I've met music snobs that believe any tune with a fiddle is lowbrow and only for rednecks.
I've even met culinary bigots that shun those of us who consider a grilled piece of meat the ultimate delicacy.
But I myself try not o judge. Hell I'll even sit at the supper table beside you while you scarf down a bowl of salad. If you wanna dance with the devil that's your business I say.
But ... life always comes down to the buts doesn't it ... I am a complete and utter snob in one facet of my life.
BEER.
That's right folks. I am a beer snob.
I will and do look down upon those who cannot or will not step away from the mega million dollar domestics that bombard us with their cute advertisement during every sporting event. Their commercials may be funny but their brews are vastly inferior to dozens and dozens of other breweries around the world.
If I see you holding a can of of Coors, Bud, Millers, etc. I'm gonna think one of two things. Maybe even both. One you are lazy. Two your palate is deformed, destitute of taste, and downright despicable.
All those WEAK tasteless brews are the alcoholic equivalent of reality television. Neither of which is good for anything other than pissing away your time. (Uh oh, I think I just uncovered another snob zone)
Primarily I am a Shiner Bock man, but unlike marriage beer drinking is not an exercise in monogamy, so I like to try different partners. Sometime three or four different ones in a single night.
I scoff at those that drink the same beer night after night. Day after day. What about loyalty you ask?
To that I say ... Be loyal to your wife. Be loyal to your sports team. Be loyal to yourself, but don't apply loyalty to eight drink or food.
Yeah I like steak, but every once in a while I want a greasy fried pork-chop on my dinner plate.
And since I try all these different beers I have decided to occasionally post my thoughts and reviews here on this blog. it is my hope that I'll get a few of you to branch out and step away from the norm. And if you already do that then it is my hope that I'll save you a few bucks from buying a craft beer that sucks worse than a can of lukewarm Keystone. Because they are out there. I'll warn you now. My bias runs dark and heavy with a hearty alcohol content. I like a beer than lets my brain know things are a bit fuzzy after one or two not a twelve pack. The better I can see through a beer the less likely I am to enjoy it.
Here is my first review.
St Peters Organic English Ale
I bought a pint of this golden ale at World Market for 3.99. It had a strong smell and poured up with a mediocre head of maybe half an inch. A bit sweet at first taste but left a lingering bitterness in my mouth after I swallowed. I give it a 5 out of 10 and would not buy it again as there are lots of better brews available for a lower price. Though the off shaped green bottle is cool and the cap unique.
I also collect beer caps and plan to so make a bar top out of my varied collection so there are times when I buy a beer more for it's cap than for it's taste.
31 comments:
Oh Travis Erwin.
I'd love to show you my pint glass to commemorate my attendance of the Good Beer Festival 2009.
My favourite beers have to be dark ales but I do like the fruity ones and the novelty ones too (chocolate beer!! To DIE for). LOL!
And I actually have a friend (yes I do!!!) who went with a group to sample the local beers made by small breweries in the US and loved the experience. and no Miller/Bud in sight.
Incidentally I really like Budvar.
And I like this St Peter's as a lunchtime drink - light and not too heavy and refreshing!
I could yak on about beer cos I love my beer me but I have a lettuce to chop up and eat. :-)
Take care
x
I have to say, I am not a fan of beer. Unless it's orange beer (orange juice and beer). In that case, bring it on.
BTW - I assume you will be shelling out the dough for the PPV Husker game on Saturday?
I am with you on the beer thing. I mean, I'm a snob about a lot of things, let's be real. But yeah. Beer.
My roommates all drink Bud Light.
Like, that barely COUNTS as beer.
It's all over my house.
Shoot me.
I'm afraid that all Canadians are beer snobs when it comes to American beer. We believe that ALL American beer is inferior to our own. I think that's why we fought the War of 1812 with you.
I hate to tell you, but all beers sold in the U.S. are diluted to U.S. standards by law. As such, I still stand proudly by Canadian beers (except OV--ICK!)
Okay you Canadian beer lovers. Give me a few I need to try. I've sampled a few Canadian beers over the years and have like a few.
I'll leave this topic to those who know about it. Looks as if you guys do know about it.
Call me when you're ready to discuss tea. Yes, tea. Hmph.
Hey--it's dark, generally speaking. :)
Laws on alcohol content vary by state but sometimes a higher content can be labeled something else and still be sold.
I like dark beer, hefeweissens, lagers, and most ales (except pale ale). I do NOT like extremely hoppy beers, though, and when in doubt will go plain jane domestic. As long as it is not also light. No light beer. Uh-uh. No way.
Anything that crosses too far into bitter loses me.
And Texas has no cap on alcohol content, though anything above 15% can only be sold at packaged liquor stores.
But... you didn't show the cap?
Also, last night I made the most INCREDIBLE pork chops. The fat around the edge tasted like liquid gold... if liquid gold tasted like really, really good pork fat... Wish I could take the credit, but I think the pig was just raised right.
And while I'm not technically a beer snob, I pretty much hate any mega-corporation, with the exception of Guinness and Disney. Both because of the legacy of their founders, and in Guinness' case, the lineage in general up until it became controlled just like any other corporation. Therefore, I automatically support craft brews.
Travis,
Give me a call here soon. We just finished brewing a batch of our Witbier.(Wheat Beer). I also have a Doppelbock at 10% ABV and some Mead that is 10% ABV you can try.
Don't be to hard on those poor folk that drink BMC. They usually are very misinformed on craft beers. They just need to be exposed to a good crossover beer.
I consider myself a fan of art(books, movies, music). Not a critic. So, I like things that I like and if you like something else, I don't care.
But, you're right there is always a but, beer is hawesome! I love the hopped up, malty belgians ales the best, but have been going through all the IPAs I can find. Heck, ales in general are much better than lagers.
If you care about how many calories your beer has in it, drink water instead.
You may have any beer that someone puts in my hand thinking I would like it.
I love a good dark beer. Any of those light "beers" that find their way into my house are promptly removed.
Once again you get a hearty "Amen" from me and beer-guy (hubby)
We just got a french press and are enjoying good coffee: lifechanging!
Warm Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
a beer snob HAHAHHA that's great!!
First picks are up no surprise who I took in the Huskers game, or is it? haha :)
Got a new brand for ya to try -- Lettuce Drink Beer. :D
Trav? Can I call you Trav?
For the last thirty-five years I have quaffed some very special product(don't you hate when they call it product?) from around the world and just as many from micro breweries across North America. One of my favorite beverages is an old english swill served out of a bucket and cooked the previous year in a huge calderon over an open fire at a french encampment in Lafayette, IN next to the Wabash River. That was 2009. This year my Favorite is Miller High Life. The Champagne of Bottled Beer. Prior to January 2010, I had not sampled this stuff since high school in 1976. Anyway, it is cheap, you can see what's in the bottle and it tastes just a bit different than the regular domestic crap. Try Black Toad sometime. Huge malty, chok-litty taste. When in South America..Drink Quilmes Dark and mass quantities of vino.
@ Albert: I just rediscovered Miller High Life! Very enjoyable.
And I love Quilmes! I lived in Argentina for a year and a half and stunned more than one bartender with the volume of Quilmes "por chop" (on tap) I could put away.
I don't drink anything alcoholic -- nothing moral, I just can't stand the taste of alcohol, and yes it does too have a taste -- but my mom's dog Oberon (in my icon) loved it. My little brother and his friends started pouring small puddles of beer out on the floor for him when they hung around the house. He really liked it, so they started giving him a bowl. At first he was up for anything, but then someone brought over a pack of Sam Adams. That was it -- Obie's palate was permanently snobbed. Once he'd had the Sam, you could try Coors or Bud or whatever cheap stuff you might have and he turned his nose up at it. It had to be Sam Adams. They should've made a commercial with him or something. :D
Angie
I guess i am kicked off the Erwin beer bus. I haven't had a beer of any kind since 1982. or was it 1981? somewhere around there.
Hopefully you'll get a chance to check out some of our wonderful Connecticut beers.
We do have some truly fascinating micro breweries here in Connecticut that produce enough liquid gold to satisfy your discriminating palate.
I love to try local brews when I travel. I've found some wonderful, heady, taste-bud exciting beers. Sadly, I may never have them again.
"...alcoholic equivalent of reality television."
This.
The beer in my house right now is Red stripe and Warsteiner. I'm a bit of a beer snob too, but I do like to slum on occassion.
I'm not a beer drinker but I can't imagine always drinking the same wine. Frank definitely picks up new beer choices every time we hit the liquor store. I'll point him toward your review. :)
The good Catholic in me tells me that I've got to locate a bottle of St. Peters.
Right on brotha. Here is s joke you'd like told to me by an old English co-worker.
What does American Beer and having sex in a canoe have in common? Fucking pretty close to water.
I am like you, like the small brewers, can't drink the beer of the masses crap.
Up here n Colorado we have many, many small great breweries. he latest in my lineup in 90 Schilling.
Drink up my friend, variety is the spice of life.
Ahh, but Travis...
If the little gizmo on the Coors beer can doesn't turn blue, how the hell do you know if the beer is cold?
I, for one, am thankful that Coors has come up with this clear and easy technology to use. Until they did, I was flummoxed and often found myself drinking warm or even boiling hot beer.
Travis' Wife
I like dark beer in the colder months. When it is hot nothing beats sitting by the pool with a gotcha glass with a salted rim full of Corona and lime. Then school starts and ruins everything.
I'm a dessert snob. A Chips Ahoy just doesn't do it. :)
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