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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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- What’s your favourite thing to do while drinking alone?
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The Art of Pretentious Beer Talk: Have You Ever Said Something You Didn’t Understand?
Have you ever found yourself in a conversation about beer, trying to sound knowledgeable, only to realize you’re actually just repeating phrases you’ve heard? This phenomenon is not uncommon among beer enthusiasts, and I recently experienced it firsthand at a bottle share event.
During the gathering, a fellow beer lover unveiled a barrel-aged sour that sparked my enthusiasm. Eager to contribute to the discussion, I confidently proclaimed my “appreciation for the brett’s interaction with oak tannins, resulting in beautiful phenolic compounds.” What I failed to disclose is that I had no real grasp of what phenolic compounds actually are. Instead, I seemed to blend wine jargon with snippets I’d picked up from a brewing podcast.
To my surprise, everyone else in the group nodded in agreement as if my words carried weight. Buoyed by their response, I felt emboldened to elaborate further, mentioning how the beer “expressed local terroir through indigenous microflora.” At that moment, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself; I was essentially navigating a craft beer version of mad libs, stringing together terms I hardly understood.
Days later, I found myself remarking on a beer’s “mouthfeel complexity,” when what I really meant was that it had a rich, thick texture. As I reflect on these moments, I can’t shake the feeling that many of us are guilty of parroting phrases we’ve heard without fully comprehending them.
Is this something you’ve encountered too? It seems that in our quest to appear more knowledgeable, we sometimes rely on buzzwords and industry jargon that may not convey our true thoughts. Let’s embrace the beauty of beer and its flavors—sometimes a simple description can convey more than a complex analysis ever could. So, the next time you find yourself in a beer conversation, consider sharing your genuine impressions instead of reaching for the pretentious lingo. After all, it’s the enjoyment of the drink that matters most!