The Art of Pretentious Beer Talk: Confessions from the Craft Beer Community

In the world of craft beer, enthusiasts often find themselves caught in the whirlwind of terminology and tasting jargon that can border on the absurd. This past weekend, at a local bottle share, I had an encounter that perfectly exemplified the sometimes pretentious nature of our discussions.

As a fellow beer lover opened a barrel-aged sour, I felt compelled to showcase my expertise—or at least my attempts at it. I confidently proclaimed, “I really appreciate how the brett interacts with the oak tannins to create some beautiful phenolic compounds.” The words flowed easily, but inside, I was grappling with a crucial realization: I had no real grasp on what phenolic compounds even are. It seemed like I was merely smushing together terms I had encountered in wine discussions and a few brewing podcasts I’d half-listened to.

To my surprise, my fellow tasters nodded in agreement, as if my words had conveyed some profound insight into the beer. Emboldened by their reactions, I went a step further, adding that the beer was “expressing local terroir through indigenous microflora.” If you’re wondering, yes, that phrase was just as bewildering to me as it sounds.

Reflecting on previous tasting events, I recalled another moment where I described a beer’s “mouthfeel complexity”—again, a term that really just meant I found it thick. It dawned on me that I was merely participating in a craft beer version of mad libs, stringing together phrases that seemed to carry weight and significance.

How often do we, as beer enthusiasts, echo the phrases we’ve heard from others, fully hoping no one will delve too deeply into our so-called knowledge? It’s easy to fall into this trap, creating an environment where it feels necessary to sound knowledgeable—even if we’re just repeating ideas without truly comprehending them.

I invite fellow beer lovers to share their own experiences. Have you ever found yourself discussing a beer in technical terms, only to realize that you were just crafting an elaborate facade? Let’s join in a light-hearted conversation about the pretentiousness that sometimes infiltrates our love for craft beer, embracing our shared quirks along the way.