A Little Knowledge Goes...

ISOHUMOLONES AID IN HEAD RETENTION!  THE SRM RANGE FOR A VIENNA LAGER IS 10-16!  YOU CAN USE THE SALT TEST TO TELL IF A GLASS IS BEER CLEAN!

Okay, now that’s out of my system.  Sorry about that.

Beer has a reputation as the “everyman’s” drink.  It’s one of the things I love about it: the opportunity to drink a well-crafted, artisan brew without any air of pretense.  Sure, there are beers commanding lofty prices, but there are also world class examples to be found right at your finger tips for a few bucks, too.  It’s always been a pretty populist beverage – I think our bar, where teachers, truckers, & doctors sidle up convivially together, has always embodied the socially egalitarian nature of the pint (or tulip).  It’s a beautiful thing.

I’ve noticed an interesting correlation with that populist nature.  As more articles are written, more links of info shared, more interest paid to craft beer as niche hobby – basically, as beer becomes more of a “thing” – there are more people contributing more content about beer to all the places people contribute content.  There’s a ton on the internet, naturally, but TV & print are seeing more space devoted to this new-fangled delight.  In sync with that, we now have a widespread distribution of people who consider themselves budding beer experts, given the amount of “insider” knowledge easily available to them.  The elevation of the everyman’s drink has turned every-other-man into a fountain of regurgitated trivia & dubiously useful rules (a subject I’ve kvetched about elsewhere).  Not only are the how-to-ers making beer feel a little more like school, but there are more now than ever, one-upping anyone in earshot.

Not saying that education’s a bad thing, & a boost in the general knowledge level around our beloved brew aids it in gaining the respect it deserves.  I can’t help but feel it becomes a power play sometimes, though.  With knowledge comes power, & power can always be abused.  A quick glance through the forums on BeerAdvocate (a sample population skewed to the fringe, I realize) yields plenty of talk around “dumb servers/bartenders/store employees” who just aren’t as enlightened as the literati who spend a ton of time surfing beer sites.  Frosted glass?  Be gone with ye!  The waitress didn’t know the difference between east coast & west coast IPA?  Heavens!  A little humility goes a long way, too, & I’ve come to notice that the more someone understands about a subject – ANY subject – the less opinionated & obnoxious they tend to be about it.  The more we know, the more we realize we don’t know, which provides some insurance against being a dick.

For the reasons cited above, it can be both a blessing & a curse that beer seems to attract so many passionate people.  The blessing part is obvious – I feel that the craft culture overall has really benefitted from the enthusiasm & support given by its fan.  That passion has the potential to eat itself.  I have some mixed feelings about the Cicerone program, a fairly new organization that aims to certify professionals in the beer business – mainly bar & restaurant staff – on how to optimally store, serve, & pair beer.  I think the program itself is great, & much needed if beer hopes to put itself on the same footing as wine in the gastronomical world.  Again, if beer is to be given the respect it deserves, those dealing with it need to know how to best treat it.  We at The House currently have no Cicerone-recognized staff, but that could always change in the future. 

As great as the program is, I see the potential for it to be abused as a trophy for some armchair Bamforth.  I GUARANTEE there’s a percentage of Cicerone-certified individuals who got it for the bragging rights, to prove something to someone.  As I’ve said before, beer geeks love to outdo one another, & there have got to be some out there who have a Beer Server certification hanging on their wall.  While I see the Cicerone program as something valuable for the field as a whole, I really don’t see the point in anyone outside of the service industry pursuing it for any reason besides ego gratification.  Keep it to the professionals, I say.

Same goes for the number of craft beer courses that have emerged on college campuses across America.  Several colleges (San Diego University, Paul Smith’s College in upstate NY) now offer academic tracks in the business of craft beer.  As craft beer is a growing field, this makes sense – IF you’re planning on entering the brewing or hospitality industry.  Someone planning on making a living in beer would do well to know the business side of it.  As with the Cicerone program, though, I can’t help but wonder how flooded the classes might be by barstool experts-in-training. 

So what point am I trying to make, other than once again whining about the pool getting more crowded?  I’ll go back to the double-edged sword metaphor.  It’s cool seeing so many people in love with something as cool as beer.  There’s a lot to learn, & plenty of places to find out more (some reliable, others less so – more on that later).  All that passion needs to tapered by humility & respect, though, or else it’s like someone peed in the pool & everyone has to get out until it’s cleaned again.  So be cool, my babies.