Why are some beer topics such lightning rods? And why do these topics create groans of “Here we go again” from some social media commenters. My feeling is that because these topics are never really satisfactorily resolved is part of the problem and they are not being resolved because an actual discourse is never started.
Take kids at taprooms for instance. Stop your moaning first of all. I forget where I read it, but the one good comment that I saw explained that no one has gone into depth about it. The first thing you usually read or hear is “As long as they are well-behaved, then I am fine.” It shuts down any further talking points really, other than, shut up kid haters or shut up your kids.
We need to talk about the finer points. About parents who have higher tolerance levels for noise and don’t move fast enough to quiet their children. About people who expect kids to not be kids and to behave better than adults. About not going to a kid populated tap room if you are not in the mood. About not kidding yourself that having a child’s birthday party at a brewery isn’t solely for the parents and not for your precious precocious four-year old future president. Sorry. My I don’t like being around kids is showing.
The same with beer styles. There is very little actual reasons why someone hates a style. There is a lot of “back in my day” or that is “against the rules” but how about talking about the brewing reasons why you refuse to drink a milkshake IPA or a glitter beer or label a beer style a fad. There is just a knee-jerk reaction to an ingredient.
What happened to being excited about a new style, trying a few and determining whether you like it or not. I have tasted a few Brut IPA’s. One was really good but the rest just taste like super dry pilsners and I want to have a “wet” beer afterward to re-set my palate. So right now, I am not a fan. But if I see one that other people are raving about, I just might try it myself.
Here is what I would like to see: don’t wave off discussion as been there, done that. Ask for actual opinions and reasons why. If none is given, well, then that person has waived their right to complain until they can provide debate points. Maybe a golden nugget of wisdom will be found this way by forcing people to think about what is behind their tweets or posts.
