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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.
Latest Posts
- 57/m: Love beer, but it doesn’t love me as much anymore
- No Stupid Questions Wednesday – ask anything about beer
- Does anyone else get treated like a beer snob for ordering literally anything that isn’t a macro lager?
- Is there a polite way to refuse a beer that’s being served in the wrong glassware without making everyone at the table uncomfortable?
- # What’s the most pretentious thing you’ve ever said about beer that you secretly didn’t understand yourself?
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The Art of Craft Beer Speak: When Pretentiousness Meets Ignorance
We’ve all been there: sitting in a circle with fellow beer enthusiasts, bottles crack open, and the aroma of craft brews fills the air. The excitement is palpable, but then a moment of panic sets in—what do I say about that intriguing barrel-aged sour currently in my glass?
At a recent gathering, I found myself caught in this very predicament. When a fellow drinker poured out a barrel-aged sour, I couldn’t resist jumping in with what I thought would sound impressive. “I truly appreciate the way the characteristic brett interacts with the oak tannins to create some beautiful phenolic compounds,” I declared confidently. Inside, however, I was a bundle of nerves, attempting to mask my confusion over what “phenolic compounds” really were. Wasn’t that something I heard in passing during a podcast episode?
To my surprise, nods of approval surrounded me. My peers were hanging on my words as if I had just shared groundbreaking insight. Emboldened by their reactions, I added, “This beer expresses local terroir through indigenous microflora!” What was I even saying? The term “terroir,” usually reserved for wine, slipped confidently off my tongue, yet I was merely intertwining buzzwords with a sprinkle of confidence, much like creating a nonsensical craft beer mad lib.
Reflecting on this experience, I realize that many of us might end up unintentionally using the kind of vocabulary that sounds sophisticated but is often void of true understanding. Just last month, I remember waxing poetic about a beer’s “mouthfeel complexity,” all the while meaning to convey that it simply had a thick texture.
It raises an interesting question: Are we all just echoing things we’ve heard to fit in, hoping we won’t be exposed for what we really don’t know? The craft beer community, while rich and vibrant, sometimes invites a culture of pretense. Many of us might feel the pressure to sound knowledgeable when, in reality, we are all just excited drinkers exploring a wide array of flavors.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a similar situation, you’re not alone. Let’s embrace the fact that enjoying beer is about the experience, camaraderie, and maybe even some harmless pretentiousness. After all, it’s perfectly okay to enjoy a beer without fully understanding all the complexities it might offer—sometimes a good brew is just that: good