The Art of Pretension in Craft Beer: Are We All Just Faking It?

Last weekend, I found myself at a local bottle share, a delightful gathering of beer enthusiasts eager to exchange their finest brews. Amidst the clinking of glasses and spirited discussions, a barrel-aged sour caught everyone’s attention, and I suddenly felt the urge to impress with my supposed knowledge of beer nuances. In a moment of enthusiasm, I boldly declared my “appreciation for the characteristic brett interacting with oak tannins to create beautiful phenolic compounds.”

Here’s the catch: I couldn’t actually tell you what phenolic compounds are! My attempt at sounding sophisticated was likely a mashup of wine discussions and half-remembered insights from a brewing podcast. To my surprise, my audience nodded in agreement, as if I had just unveiled the secrets of the universe. Emboldened, I went on to elaborate how the beer “expressed local terroir through indigenous microflora.”

Reflecting on this, I realize that last month I had confidently described a beer’s “mouthfeel complexity,” when what I really meant was that it tasted quite thick. In retrospect, it’s all rather amusing—bordering on absurd. I was essentially improvising in a craft beer mad lib, relying on buzzwords without fully comprehending their meanings.

It seems many of us might be guilty of this same charade, echoing clever phrases we’ve heard from others, all the while hoping nobody will challenge our assertions. Do you share this sentiment? Have you ever found yourself using over-the-top terminology about beer that left you feeling more than a little lost? Let’s share our experiences and perhaps decode the often pretentious language surrounding craft beer together.