A True Love

“Do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and to celebrate the good days.”

--Ancient Egyptian Credo

It is evenings like this that remind me why I am passionate about what I do.

I have an amazing series in my lap (The Sword of Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks), some awesome music, sitting on my parent’s porch on Lake Norman, and my favorite Dogfish Head brew is in my hand.

It’s not 60/75/90/120 minute. There is nothing wrong with those brews in the slightest, but they are not my favorite brews that the amazing Delaware brewery has to offer. And it’s not Festina Peche, though that is a mighty fine little beer. And it is not World Wide, though I must say after a few years in my cellar, that beer is bloody well amazing.

No. It’s not those.

It’s Hellhound On My Ale. A 10% Double IPA brewed with lemon peel and lemon flesh and 100% Centennial Hops. I am IN LOVE with Centennial Hops. I would bathe in them if it weren’t completely socially awkward.

No, it isn’t the “most popular” Dogfish Head brew. I’m perfectly okay with that. And I don’t give a damn if you don’t agree with me. Do you want to know why? There’s an amazing little answer.

Beer is subjective.

Completely and utterly subjective.

That’s why I love this industry—what my favorite beer is is not necessarily everyone else’s favorite. And I don’t try to make it anyone else’s favorite. Because I’m not in charge of everyone else’s taste buds; I am simply in charge of my own.

Let me share something with you, you know, one drinker to another. Yes, I sell beer for a living. For an amazing brewery. And most beer reps will, of course, tell you that theirs is the best out there. We’re biased. But unlike what most people think, we’re not with the companies we are with simply for the money. We’re with these breweries because we BELIEVE in them. They are our families. And the most popular beer that brewery may have may not be that beer rep’s favorite. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Because beer is subjective.

Too often I hear, “I hate that beer,” or “That brewery sucks,” or “They don’t make anything good.” I’m not talking just about the brewery I work for—I’m talking about every brewery out there. For people that understand and appreciate quality, I am often astounded at how utterly negative some people can be about breweries. Local or non-local breweries. That goes for both craft beer enthusiasts and beer reps. I’ve heard it from both sides. A ton of negativity for a small market segment. We do what we do because we love it and are passionate for it. At least, I’m speaking for myself. I hope people drink what they drink because they believe in and love it, and I sincerely hope beer reps are in the game for the right reason. I do hope that.

But I am tired of the negativity. We should be a brotherhood of love for what we do. We mostly are. But I think people forget about how we’re fighting up a very large hill: we are a sliver of the market segment. Five percent of the sales for beer in the country. Five percent and growing, but unless we have true believers, true “brand champions,” we won’t be able to do it.

I want to share a few quotes from an article I read today online.

I read r/beer. If you don’t know what that means, then you don’t know when the narwhal bacons and you probably think I’ve lost my mind. If you do know what I’m talking about, good for you and we’ll just go about this anyways.

So r/beer (a forum, let’s leave it at that) tends to be more for the people discovering craft beer. You’ll see “I just discovered Delirium Tremens,” or “My favorite MI beer is Hopslam,” or “Why is Dark Lord so hard to get?” People are learning there, and by no means do I discourage that.

Recently on r/beer there was an article posted where the writer picked the “best” beers from each state. On the forum, I posted a few opinions of my own. The writer found that out of all the states, and the popular votes on the forums, that 24 of the “best ofs” changed. North Carolina’s changed. But besides my favorite NC brew becoming the top vote (ORF, oh dear god pappy barrels, marry me), what I love most about the article was how the author was awed by the NC posters. How no one had ANYTHING bad to say about any brewery in NC. No bashing. No hatred. No snide comments.

Take a look at what he had to say about the choices, and below what he had to say about the states:

“Unlike the Ohio natives (which you’ll see in a bit), North Carolina’s commenters weren’t willing to actually bash my selection. In fact, I don’t think I read a single negative comment about any beer brewed in North Carolina. Like I said, they LOVE their local beer. While the Jade got lots of great comments, there was also a lot of support for a variety of brews from Duck Rabbit (particularly their Baltic Porter), Foothills Sexual Chocolate, Olde Hickory’s Event Horizon, and a bunch of beers from Fullsteam and Highland.”

Then there’s Ohio, and while he finds joy in the contention and passion, I find people that I wish could just embrace the community life that beer has to offer:

“For a moment last week, I almost thought my selection of Columbus Brewing’s Bodhi might break the internet. Ohio’s Aleheads were appalled. Ohio’s Aleheads were elated. Ohio’s Aleheads called me an assortment of unfortunate names. No state elicited more commentary or debate than Ohio on the craft beer forums. I can see why Ohio is such a swing state in Presidential politics…Buckeyes are apparently a contentious lot. What’s interesting is that, unlike North Carolina, Ohio natives seem to have no problem bashing their local breweries. I was told in no uncertain terms that the Bodhi absolutely sucked. And then when another suggestion was thrown out, the new beer was said to be horrible too. I love the rough and tumble world of Ohio craft beer. There’s a lot of excitement, anger, passion, and insanity there.”

Why would people so passionate about their beer be so mean at someone for simply having a different opinion? I elated in the NC responses. Everyone was in love with their choices. And everyone had their reasons. And there wasn’t bashing. I didn’t personally like the rough and tumble, the anger, the bitterness, and the hatred about beer that I read in those Ohio responses.

Because beer is subjective.

And whatever anyone else likes, and whether or not it is to my own tastes, I know one thing above anything else:

I am in love with craft beer.

No, I don’t like dunkel-weizens. Cloves in my beer freaks the HELL out of me. I don’t know why. I also don’t like the word gastronomy. Or moist. And who cares? No one should. Because they have their own opinions that are just as important to them as mine are to myself.

I am in love with craft beer.

I am in love with every brewery that comes to this state and opens here. Whether or not I am in love/like/lust with their beer. (Yes, you can lust for a beer.) I don’t mean that in a negative way. I simply have differing tastes than other people. But what I love most is that for every single pint that those breweries and homebrewers and craft beer enthusiasts drink and make, we bring notice to this wonderful industry. We develop chemistry for it. We develop community around it.

That means more to me than anything else.

I am in love with craft beer.

And that’s the most important thing to remember.