The Art of Beer Talk: Do We Really Know What We’re Saying?

In the world of craft beer enthusiasts, conversations can often take a turn into the fanciful. Recently, I found myself at a bottle sharing event where the evening’s highlight was a barrel-aged sour that had everyone buzzing. In a moment that felt both exhilarating and slightly harrowing, I found myself spouting off phrases like, “I truly appreciate the characteristic brett interacting with the oak tannins to create some beautiful phenolic compounds.”

Let me be honest: I had no clue what “phenolic compounds” really referred to. It was as if I had blended terminology from wine critiques with snippets I half-remembered from a brewing podcast. The most amusing part? Everyone around me nodded in agreement as if I had just shared a deep insight into the craft.

In a feeble attempt to sound knowledgeable, I even ventured further into the realm of pretentiousness by claiming that the beer “expresses local terroir through indigenous microflora.” Honestly, I was just hoping nobody would catch on to my attempts at sounding erudite.

Reflecting on similar experiences, I’ve found myself previously using terms such as “mouthfeel complexity,” when all I really meant was that the beer had a thick consistency. It dawned on me that I was engaged in what could be termed a ‘craft beer mad lib,’ stringing together jargon I’d picked up while trying to sound like an authority on the subject.

I can’t help but wonder: are we all just mimicking phrases we’ve heard from others, crafting an elaborate façade of knowledge while secretly fearing we’ll be called out? It seems to be a common phenomenon — perhaps it’s time we embrace our shared confusion and just enjoy the beer, one honest sip at a time. Do you ever feel the same way? Let’s unpack this together.