#CraftBeer On Instagram

Like pictures on Instagram?

Like beer?

Follow me for your fix of both!
@BeerIsMyChurch

If you're not on Instagram, why not give it a try?  Might make you thirsty?  That's a legitimate concern.

If you are on Instagram and post lots of beer pics, be sure to tag them with #brewsader!

Cheers,
Zach
#brewsader

Dearest Beer Store, I Am Not A Child

If there's something that's been increasing over the years, it's craft brewers releasing more and more "limited" offerings.  The most coveted of which, at least in my area, has been Founders Brewing's vaunted annual release of KBS, their Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  There were stories during the 2013 release that the local distributor had to disguise their trucks, change their routes and make deliveries at odd times to throw off the the scent of nagging beer hunters.  How much of that is fact and how much is urban legend, I don't know...and I'm not sure I want to know.

Mention that level of hype and anticipation in front of a craft beer retailer and you're likely to get one of two reactions.  1) Yawn or  2) More hyperbole.  It's the second response that seems most prevalent lately and behind the perpetuation of many retailers' behavior that has gotten my panties all in a bunch.

How many times have you walked into your local, or worse yet a distant, beer store to 'hunt' for that elusive brew?  The latest limited release from your favorite craft brewer is due on shelves today.  You've driven all over your state, certain you were going to find that beer.  You just knew it, but you walked out of every store empty handed.  Why?

Well, the dirty little secret (if you didn't know already) is that many retailers never put that beer on the shelf.  It was kept "in the back" or "behind the counter".  You had to ask for it.  Not only that, you had to ask the right person for it.  The reasons I've been given for this practice are as varied as the colors of the rainbow.  None of which hold much water with me.

"We want to make sure it gets in the hands of true beer lovers."

"We don't want just anyone being able to buy this beer."

"We got a very limited supply and didn't want to move current stock off the shelf to make room for it."

"If you're not on the list you can't have a bottle."

"The beer manager says he's not selling any yet."

And so on, and so on.

These are all things I've heard said to others or have been told myself.

There's nothing I loathe more than having to find an employee, who refers me to the "beer manager", who I then have to ask if a particular beer is "in the back".  Why?  In what other retail situation am I begging to buy a product, hoping I pass muster?  Or live up to whatever standard you've set for someone worthy enough to buy this beer?

Have I been a victim of this practice?  Yes.  Often, and especially earlier in my beer hunting career.  Have I benefited from knowing what to ask for and who to ask?  Absolutely.  That doesn't make me feel any better, though.  I think equal, open access makes the most sense.

So...dearest beer retailer, please don't treat us like children.  We're not.  We're more and more sophisticated and educated than ever before.  We love beer.  Not games.  Don't keep the "good stuff" locked in your cabinets and out of our sight and reach.  Put it on the shelf.  Maybe in a special section if that makes you feel better.  Impose buying limits if you like (and most of you do).  That all seems reasonable to me.  But STOP making me beg for beer.  It's embarrassing...and it doesn't make you cool.

I've decided I won't chase beer or employees anymore.  I'm frequenting those stores less and less often, but if I find a "rare" one on the shelf, great!  If I don't, oh well.  I guess it went to someone more "worthy", and I guess either way they're making their buck.  So I won't expect any change anytime soon.

Cheers,
Zach
#brewsader

The BIMC Store is Now Open!

Open for business...now!

SHOP now!

One glass.

One coaster.

One koozie.

One t-shirt.

Taking pre-orders for mid-Feb shipping.

Stay tuned for more and order up some goodies while you wait!

Cheers!

- Zach

Not All Stouts Are Created Equal

I've been drinking beer, legally, for 21 years or so now, but I may have been known to break a law or two before that.  I was the smart-ass kid who arrived at the party with a sixer of Pete's Wicked Ale or whichever Yuengling I could get my hands on.  Unfortunately, all anybody wanted to drink was Natty Light or maybe Rolling Rock ponies if they were feeling especially sophisticated that night.  Needless to say, I drank a lot of "craft beer" by myself for many years.  Admittedly, I wasn't lighting the world on fire with the craftiness of my beers, but they were a far cry from the omnipresent "fizzy yellow" stuff I couldn't stand at even such a young age.

The college years brought on an appreciation for the frugality of Miller Lite.  The finances simply didn't exist for anything else.  As a college student in central Pennsylvania, everything I bought was by the case, typically warm & very cheap.  It was a requirement.  Legally and financially.

After my college years, I returned home to New Jersey and dove back into seeking out beers other than macro light lagers I suffered through at school...and there was some real suffering.  It was also around this time that I started to appreciate stouts.  The problem was that I had next to no success finding any craft stouts or porters near home.  Almost all of my craft beer choices were IPAs or pale ales, when they could be found at all.

So...I turned to Guinness.  Nay, I fell in love with Guinness.  We had a s short, torrid affair in the mid-to-late 90s.  It was all I drank for a good amount of time.  I turned lots of macro-lager-drinking friends onto this "darker" alternative.  This group of people included my girlfriend's father, who became as hypnotized by the stuff as I was.

Then, as quickly as it started, it was over.  I was totally over it.  I found it bland, uninspired and nearly tasteless.  So I moved onto the, then more easily found, craft stouts that began to pop up on my local shelves, leaving behind so many of my Guinness-converted friends and family behind.

THIS is a big jump.  Not one to be taken lightly, and as I've discovered, not one that can be taken by everybody.

If you're reading this, you likely realize the HUGE difference between craft stouts/porters and Guinness Stout.  Huge.  Did I mention there's a big difference?  Flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, carbonation, ABV, etc., etc.  Just about everything you like about Guinness Stout doesn't exist in the majority of today's craft stouts.  I'm not implying that's a bad thing either.  Each has its place.

As I made the conversion to a craft-beer-exclusive diet, I tried like crazy to convert others with me.  I continue to do so with varying degrees of success (not for lack of trying), but there was one bothersome holdout, one that remains on the 'dark side' despite my best efforts.  My girlfriend's father, to whom I introduced Guinness years earlier, still claims to be a stout lover, but has yet to enjoy a single craft beer stout I've brought him.  He may be my father-in-law now, but that's the only thing that has changed over the years.

This begs the question, 'is he really a stout lover'?  If he likes only one specific stout, I suggest he's really just a Guinness lover.  Every time we go out he'll ask what stouts they have on tap and eventually just order a Guinness.  It's hard for me to admit defeat.  It's hard for me to give up on him.  Should I break it to him that he's not really a stout lover, rather just a Guinness-man?  I guess being a stout lover doesn't necessarily make you a stout lover.  Clearly, not all stouts are created equal.