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Steven Coulson
Steven has been drinking beers, wines and spirits for decades and has a propensity to go about them at length after a few drinks.
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The Art of Pretension: Confessions from the Craft Beer World
In the dynamic realm of craft beer, conversations often veer into the territory of lofty terminology and complex descriptions. This past weekend, at a bottle share gathering, I found myself at the center of an experience that highlighted this trend starkly.
As a fellow enthusiast opened a bottle of barrel-aged sour, I felt compelled to sound knowledgeable. I earnestly expressed my admiration for the “characteristic brett interacting with the oak tannins to create some beautiful phenolic compounds.” The catch? My understanding of phenolic compounds is virtually nonexistent. I realize now that I likely cobbled together jargon gleaned from a wine-tasting seminar and a brewing podcast episode I had half-listened to.
To my surprise, everyone around me nodded in agreement, treating my remarks as if I had just unveiled a profound insight. Emboldened by their reactions, I went even further and waxed poetic about the beer “expressing local terroir through indigenous microflora.” In retrospect, I can only shake my head at how easily we slip into pretentious language, especially when we’re unsure of what we’re saying.
A similar episode occurred just last month when I caught myself discussing a beer’s “mouthfeel complexity,” when, in reality, I was simply trying to articulate that it had a thick texture. Did I really need to dress it up with jargon? It was a prime example of what I can only describe as craft beer mad libs—filling out sentences with buzzwords rather than conveying genuine understanding.
It makes me wonder: are we all guilty of this? Have we, at some point, leaned on overheard phrases, hoping that our peers wouldn’t catch on to our lack of comprehension? If you’ve ever experienced the pressure to sound knowledgeable in the craft beer scene, you’re not alone. There’s a certain allure in the language of beer appreciation, but perhaps it’s time to embrace simplicity and authenticity in our discussions. After all, isn’t the joy of beer meant to be enjoyed, not overanalyzed?