haveigotboozeforyou.com

The Art of Craft Beer Talk: When Terminology Goes Over Our Heads

Craft beer enthusiasts often bond over shared experiences, but sometimes those discussions can take a pretentious turn. Recently, I found myself at a bottle share event where an intriguing barrel-aged sour was poured. In a fit of excitement, I launched into a description of my “appreciation for the characteristic brett interacting with the oak tannins to create some beautiful phenolic compounds.” The catch? I had no real understanding of what “phenolic compounds” meant.

In a moment of desperation, it felt as if I had taken a jumble of wine subtext and elements from a brewing podcast and combined them into what I hoped sounded impressive. The reactions around me, particularly the subtle nods of agreement, only fueled my bravado. I even added, without truly grasping its meaning, that the beer “expressed local terroir through indigenous microflora.” While I may have sounded knowledgeable, deep down, I was just piecing together terminology I had overheard.

This isn’t the first time I’ve found myself in such a predicament. Just last month, I confidently declared that a beer had “mouthfeel complexity” when I really meant to convey that it tasted thick and satisfying. It struck me as absurd, realizing I was engaging in a bit of craft beer Mad Libs where the players were simply reciting surface-level jargon.

What stands out to me is how often we might all be guilty of echoing phrases we’ve heard from more learned craft beer aficionados, hoping no one will call our bluff. Does anyone else experience these moments of pretension when discussing beer? I’d love to hear your stories! After all, we’re in this flavorful journey together, and sometimes it’s the truth behind our hesitations that makes the conversation so enjoyable.