tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post7020567922708074476..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Friday HodgepodgeGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-75281318581765187812018-10-27T16:48:36.203-06:002018-10-27T16:48:36.203-06:00Amusingly, despite the clear tone of judgement, yo...Amusingly, despite the clear tone of judgement, you could not really apply the term "beer snob" to the guy, figuratively or literally.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-91643864816131561452018-10-27T11:06:40.596-06:002018-10-27T11:06:40.596-06:00Yo, Gus, you caption, "Also overrated."
...Yo, Gus, you caption, "Also overrated."<br /><br />Having seen David Lynch's <i>Blue Velvet</i> at an impressionable age, I have to say that just seeing the bottle reminds me of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snhiofL2Rh4" rel="nofollow">product placement</a> in that movie, which was...less than welcome to Heineken, I expect. (The link is NSFW for language.) When you think about it, having Heineken possibly standing as a symbol of innocence and Pabst Blue Ribbon as a symbol of decadence and having Dennis Hopper trash your product is just too pointlessly complex for effective advertising, but it is memorable in its own way.Snedcatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-6855632466502263442018-10-27T03:35:23.142-06:002018-10-27T03:35:23.142-06:00Anon.,
I've heard of it, but haven't been...Anon.,<br /><br />I've heard of it, but haven't been. I didn't work in Baltimore proper, so logistics -- a forty minute drive each way and hiring a baby sitter were part of any trip there for me -- kept me away.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-37841600128803628852018-10-26T20:54:05.588-06:002018-10-26T20:54:05.588-06:00Did you ever make it to Max's Taphouse in Fell...Did you ever make it to Max's Taphouse in Fell's Point? It's a bar, so no takeout, but has a large selection from which to choose and enjoy (and the bartenders know the beer).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-18074207135265667142018-10-26T12:06:40.678-06:002018-10-26T12:06:40.678-06:00Anon.,
Thanks for the tip. I'll be a few hour...Anon.,<br /><br />Thanks for the tip. I'll be a few hours away from there, but with a memorable name like that, I'll be sure to look them up if I find myself around there.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-79968333412549295912018-10-26T08:30:52.418-06:002018-10-26T08:30:52.418-06:00when you get to Florida, try some from the Funky B...when you get to Florida, try some from the Funky Buddha Brewery. They have a VERY wide selection of uniquely flavored craft beers. Their brewery tours are great too if your in the Ft Lauderdale area.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-11208302827019261772018-10-26T08:06:43.510-06:002018-10-26T08:06:43.510-06:00Dinwar,
Thanks for the interesting comment and th...Dinwar,<br /><br />Thanks for the interesting comment and the opportunity to clarify a couple of things.<br /><br />(1) Regarding the term "beer snob", I suspect that the author of that piece is using the term very loosely (as I myself do) simply to mean having a strong preference for types of beer that most people find unusual, or at least craft beer or what used to be called "imports". In any case, I don't personally regard a matter of taste, such as the type or brand of beer someone likes as a basis for looking down on someone else.<br /><br />(2) I think one can still speak of a beer as being overrated. Yuegleng is an excellent example. I like that beer, but have to be in the mood for it: It's of a style and strength I don't normally care for, and there are better lagers out there (such as, for example, Spaten, which I have accidentally purchased a couple of times when I intended to buy their Optimator). I like it, but it's not in a league with what I normally drink.<br /><br />That said, I enjoy the occasional lambic. That's a very interesting style.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-55798848757368605382018-10-26T06:51:32.745-06:002018-10-26T06:51:32.745-06:00The problem--and the greatness--of something like ...The problem--and the greatness--of something like beer is that it is something which is entirely up to individual taste. I mean, there are certain criteria that a beer has to meet to be drinkable, but after that it's up to each individual to make up their own minds. On the most basic level, physiologically we don't taste the same. I'm largely anosmic, so aromatic aspects of beer are not as important to me, to give one example. Whether you drink your beer warm or cold will change it as well. I can't see any justification in judging someone for the beer they drink. <br /><br />There is also a place for small beer (think American light lagers). Small beer is what "beer" was for most of its history: something people drank when they didn't want to get drunk, but still wanted to enjoy a beer, with just enough alcohol in it to keep it from going bad. The roots of small beer go back as far as those of lambics (another beer I've never heard a so-called beer snob discuss). Simply put, if someone complains about a beer for having too little alcohol or too little "body", I write them off as too ignorant of beer history to be worth listening to on the topic; it's epistemologically equivalent to someone saying "Ayn Rand is an idiot because she as a fan of a psychopathic killer". <br /><br />I get why people enjoy beer. I do myself--heffs, IPAs, stouts, lagers, ales, they are all delicious. But I do not understand the concept of putting people down for enjoying something that may not be to someone else's taste. Snobbery is second-handed and honestly drives people away from the activity, making it harder for everyone else to enjoy. I LIKE that there are a few thousand types of beer available in any descent-sized city. The more varieties of beer people enjoy, the more I get to experience! There are no conflicts of interest among rational men; your enjoyment of a hops-rich IPA (to give a random example) doesn't reduce my enjoyment of a cold Coors while working in my garden on a hot day, or vice versa. Dinwarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06138006602385020048noreply@blogger.com