Beer Is Not The New Wine...It's Beer.

People wake up. Beer is not wine. It's friendly, approachable, and while the craft ale market is jacking up the prices, generally cheap. You can chug it if you like. It's sporty. It's the anti-elitist drink of choice, the commoner's drink, both in ancient times and today. So why invent a whole new vocabulary set for it? Why force it into something elitist?

Don't get me wrong, I love the entrepreneurial spirit fueling the craft ale movement, the experimentation with new flavors, food pairings and even cooking with beer. (stout CHEESE anyone? omg yum) In fact, the new flavors is precisely what has motivated me to try beer on occasion, luring me away from my usual spirit drinks. What I'm not enjoying is all the attitude that goes along with it. And let me be clear, I'm not really talking about the consumers, more the interviews and menu blurbs and whatnot that I'm seeing the producers put out.

It's the grating comments like "beer has a wider range of flavor than wine." Yes. Except half of what qualifies for beer is not really beer. Peach lambics, framboise, etc. are not what most consider beer; just as most don't consider pear wine on par with a pinot gris. Yes, they may technically go through similar fermentation processes, but so does cheese and bread. In the end that shouldn't be in the argument. You'll note that barring the odd few, the prime demographic getting into the artsy suds craze are under 40. Why is that? It's kind of like the difference between Miami and Palm Beach. Everyone knows where the old money parties. Don't try to make Miami into Palm Beach. Embrace the vibrant differences and stick to what works.

Are there wine snobs out there? Oh yeah. But that didn't emerge in the last 15 years...that's been around for centuries.