Category: Craft Beer

‘Smooth’ Is As Good As Any Dopey Beer Descriptor

What does “smooth” mean when describing beer? Don’t say it doesn’t mean anything because you ALL know what it means!

So, people out there on Beer Twitter making fun of smooth because it was the top description on Untappd last year.

Don’t get flipped, bro! Neophytes? Go back to your spirts cave. That’s not what most people are saying.

It’s not bitter. Easy to drink. Drinkable. Hence: SMOOTH.

Yeah maybe it’s lazy but we ALL KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IT MEANS!

So back the hell off of SMOOTH! Back the hell off because smooth isn’t the only common term that means something and nothing all at once.

How about?:

  • Crisp
  • Bright
  • Flavorful
  • Light
  • Hoppy
  • Thin
  • Accessible
  • Complex
  • Balanced
  • Clean

See?! It’s all crap AND useful, at once. Unless you tear down all beer descriptors, leave smooth alone.

Deeper Take

As humans, all we really want is for things to go smoothly. We want our day to go smooth. Wedding. Trip. Latest hazy release.

Smooth is good. Smooth makes us happy.

So, as a brewer, don’t you want your beer to make people happy? If someone says your beer is “smooth”, they like your beer. Pretty nice if you think about it.

Smooth might be the most positive beer descriptor out there.

The Mess That Is Being An Indie Beer Geek: Grocery Store Isle

It is not easy being a craft beer geek. Especially when we are experiencing a down cycle of sorts. It’s extra hard when you only drink Indie Beer.

A trip the store gets more gut-wrenching every time.

At one time we thought craft beer was going to keep getting more and more shelf space as people become aware of what good tasting local and independent beer is all about.

Sadly, Big Beer fought back against this buy buying out a large portion of the formally craft breweries that were big enough to get into the grocery stores (the holy grail for a small brewery).

Nothing exposes the suck of being a beer geek more than going to the grocery store or being in a restaurant that doesn’t have great beer.

Do you buy a ‘situational beer’ (a beer you would not drink or buy normally but are in a tight spot and it needs to happen) or do you not buy anything at all.

I’d like to breakdown why it can be so difficult at the grocery store for us poor souls that stick to their independent beer guns.

Continue reading “The Mess That Is Being An Indie Beer Geek: Grocery Store Isle” →

Sierra Nevada’s “The Sampler” Makes For A Nice Peaceful Saturday Night

I have not had a variety pack, with good beer, last so long. I mean that as a compliment. It has legs, in a good way. I’m talking about Sierra Nevada Brewing’s variety pack called “The Sampler”.

The Sampler for Fall 2019 features:

  • Sierra Pale (duh)
  • Coffee Stout
  • 3 Weight (session)
  • Flipside
  • Hop Bullet
  • Torpedo

The website features cans for all but the Coffee Stout and Flipside. That would be cool to find this in cans or mixed, but I only found the ALL bottles version.

The session beer, 3 Weight, as the most interesting to me. But I love sessions, so…

Sierra Nevada's The Sampler variety pack

I got it on sale for $15.99 in my local grocery store, which is a great deal for a craft beer 12-pack. It lasted the better part of a week. I wasn’t exclusively drinking this, mind you, but used it for palet cleansing for bigger Untappd checks.

A lot of people complain that they can’t get the Flipside or the Coffee Stout on its own. I’m not a big fan but appreciate the beer, so for me, having in the Sampler is just fine.

Overall, I would totally pick up this 12 pack again, probably will for Thanksgiving or something. For the variety of it, I would choose it over a 12 pack of Torpedo or a 12 pack of Sierra Pale, 9 of 10 times.

Or just enjoy a nice quiet Saturday night with an old friend, Sierra Nevada.

Summer Of Slush: Beer Slushies Are Good For Indie Craft Beer

Beer Geeks need to let the whole shamming of Beer Slushies subside.

I totally get the shaming, but, slushed beers are delicious. I hate saying that, but dammit, they are.

Three big reasons I like it:

  1. They keep money flowing in craft beer.
  2. Big Beer can do nothing. There is no counter. You think Texas Roadhouse is going to get a Bud Light Slush machine? Actually they might. I should shut up. Shit, I’d be surprised if there ISN’T a beer slush machince the next time I go to Texas Roadhouse or whatever.
  3. Sometimes your significant other might not be all that into beer like you so it’s hard to get them to come down to the taproom with you. But if there is a beer slush available, might be a little easier to convince them.

Aren’t breweries using beer they are having problems selling to blend into slushies?

Yeah, they probably are in many cases. What, are you a Beer Slush Snob now? Cool. Demand better from your slushes. Otherwise, what does it matter? Just drink it or don’t. Hell, it’s more interesting than a simple Lager, that brewers seem to love so much. Yeah I said it.

Continue reading “Summer Of Slush: Beer Slushies Are Good For Indie Craft Beer” →