The past week was a wild one of lines drawn and heated tempers - all over a logo.
Or, rather, a logo released by the Brewers Association to separate their "small and independent" members from other businesses managed to rile up beer enthusiasts, creating collateral damage of their good intentions. No matter what the success of the effort is in the long run, it's clear that the business - for the geekiest and most committed - is entering a stage of new definitions in which "us vs. them" is merely a starting point for breweries to pledge their independence with a physical commitment of space on packaging.
But still, non-Brewers Association defined beer makes up about 87.5% of sales in the U.S., making it a mathematical impossibility that any significant number of drinkers will choose this battle as their last stand. "Small and independent" matters to consumers, but not in a way that any kind of majority (or "silent majority," even) will create some kind of beer-focused coup and overthrow the centuries-long fact that humans really like drinking lager .
Among all this, I posed a question on Twitter inspired by a (civil!) Reddit thread : was the "best" beer you've ever had about the beer or experience?
In this brief moment in time, it would seem that the argument is meant to start with Beer, the creation and purpose of a signifying logo meant to connote some greater connection with a consumer and superior quality . But almost unanimously, for the un-scientific, self-selected, niche-of-a-niche crowd that responded, it was Experience.
A Busch Light with dad tastes as good as any craft/rare/barrel-aged beer I've ever drank. The company and occasion is what matters most.
- Leviticus Cornbread (@LeviticusCB) June 30, 2017
"Experience 100%. All of them. Though I have had some good beers along the way," writer Jeff Alworth.
"2 years of asking this as part of my teaching suggests that it is the experience, the recollection is about place, people and time," Dawn Maskell, a faculty member and director at Scotland's International Centre for Brewing and Distilling.
Almost a year ago exactly, I wrote about the power of mythology created within the beer industry. Storytelling has always been an invaluable part of business, but especially in the creation of how we view beer as a commodity and community, a topic discussed in-depth with scholar J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham . This past week has reminded me of how powerful and painful this behavior can be, when the use of stories through a marketing lens pits people against one another.
But it was the numerous beer lovers who chimed in, one after another, about the value of Experience that felt uplifting. Ultimately, as a mode of social encouragement, this is what Beer is supposed to be about. Celebrating moments with loved ones, not staring deeply into a two-ounce taster contemplating life. Although there are certainly times for that.
Best beer I ever had was a '14 KBS that I shared with my Dad in line at Dark Lord Day 2014. In that moment everything was perfect.
- Steven (@Mr_Crooker) June 30, 2017
Beer is many things to many people, including a catalyst for treasured memories. "Best" is a subjective term, a definitive word with malleable meaning. In recent days, it's been wonderful to see what that ultimately means for some of the most passionate beer fans I get to interact with online.
There are certain beers that will always taste better because they are tied to specific memories, the first sip brings you right back.
- HoppyBoston (@HoppyBoston) June 29, 2017
We are roughly three months removed from the Brewers Association's statement of fact that "beer is fun ," but sometimes it doesn't feel that way. Moments over the past week have stolen some of that sentiment, but there has also been a pleasant reminder of the excitement and passion displayed by drinkers, both aspects that connect deeply not just with liquid in a glass, but the life that surrounds it.
Experience. The best beers I ever had were enjoyed on barstools next to @EnnisNYT, @EvilBrewing and my wife. I can name some of them.
- Jason Notte (@Notteham) June 29, 2017
Bryan Roth
"Don't drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life." - Jack Kerouac
