The Art of Craft Beer: When Jargon Meets Confusion

Craft beer enthusiasts often find themselves in lively discussions filled with complex terminology and sophisticated descriptions, but how often do we really understand what we’re saying? A recent experience at a bottle share got me reflecting on the sometimes pretentious language we use to discuss our favorite brews.

Last weekend, I found myself tasting a barrel-aged sour ale, and in a moment of overzealous enthusiasm, I exclaimed about how much I “truly appreciated the characteristic brett interacting with the oak tannins to create some beautiful phenolic compounds.” Now, if I’m being honest, I have little comprehension of what phenolic compounds even are. I think I crafted that phrase by blending snippets I had picked up from wine culture and a brewing podcast I had half-listened to a while back.

To my surprise, everyone around me nodded in agreement as if I had just imparted some profound wisdom. Riding the wave of this unexpected affirmation, I doubled down with terms about the beer “expressing local terroir through indigenous microflora.” At that moment, I realized I was not only out of my depth but perhaps engaging in a kind of craft beer jargon madness that many of us are guilty of.

Not long ago, I overheard myself commenting on a beer’s “mouthfeel complexity,” while in reality, I was simply trying to convey that it tasted thick. It dawned on me that I was stringing together fancy phrases—a kind of craft beer mad libs—hoping that nobody would question my knowledge.

Does this resonate with anyone else? It seems we often find ourselves parroting terms and phrases we’ve heard in the community, all while anxiously hoping we aren’t called out for our lack of understanding. Perhaps it’s time to embrace a more genuine approach to discussing beer. After all, the enjoyment we derive from craft beer shouldn’t depend on our ability to recite industry jargon but rather on the pleasure it brings to our taste buds and the connections it creates among us.