Happy Oberon Day
March 24th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^
Is this year's batch supposed to be not as good as it usually is?
March 24th, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^
1. Where did you hear this?
and
2. If so...why?
I guess I should have replied to the OP, as I see you were trying to get at the same question. In any event...
March 24th, 2013 at 11:35 PM ^
March 25th, 2013 at 12:18 AM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:21 PM ^
We got more snow today here in Madison. It sure doesn't feel like Spring, but a couple of bottles of Oberon will help with that I'm sure.
I remember they days when it was called Solsun and only came in 22 ounce bottles... perfect for sipping on your porch after work on a hot summer day in Ann Arbor.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:22 PM ^
Oberon is the most overrated beer in craft beer history.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:52 PM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
Why do hipsters always burn their mouth? Because they eat everything before it is cool.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^
I'll agree that Oberon is slightly overrated, but it's still lightyears ahead of Arcadia Whitsun. That stuff is mediocre at best.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
Honest question for those of you with seemingly vehement opinions about beer quality: can you actually tell a real difference or is there a little part of you that just wants to be a beer snob and critique the taste like you're giving them a Michelin Star? It's been shown over and over again (at least for wine) that most people can't taste the difference between cheap/pricey wines... so does the same apply to beer? Obviously name-brand light beers are watery, but do you really find a difference in a $16 six pack (yes, I've seen them!) versus an $8 six-pack?
A lot of commentary about "craft" beer strikes me as incredibly arrogant, much like you'd perceive some pretentious dweeb as he comments about the "aromas" in wine and uses a bone spoon to taste his caviar. Except in the case of "craft" beer it's worse. Now it's some hippiester on federal student loans getting his Ph.D in mid-18th Century Native American studies who only drinks $3.50 beers because he wants to be able to revel in his ability to note the "hint of lilac and strawberry which really sets this beer apart" as he tosses his scarf over his shoulder while trying to impress some average-looking girl dressed like an ex-hippie 6th grade public school librarian.
Thanks, but I'm fine with my Pabst.
~Herm
March 25th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
There is a huge difference between a meta beer (Bourbon County, Black Note, Ola Dubh) and a run of the mill stout. Its not even close. There is definitely a continuum though, and discovering the beers you enjoy along that continuum is all part of the fun. We are in a golden age of craft beer. You can chose to ignore it as it seems you have or you can get swept up in it as many have. The picture you paint of hipsters drinking the beer is a tired and inaccurate cliche. I know far more people in their 30-60's who drink craft beer than 20 something hipsters. I also find irony in your selection of PBR as your beer of choice when this is the chosen beer of hipsters (consumed ironically of course).
If people have the disposable income and enjoy the diversion and satisfaction that drinking and evaluating craft beer provides for them, great. You only appear like an ignorant hater spewing this kind of vitriol. Are you being who you want to be Herm?
You've never seen a hipster over 30? Try the Kerrytown farmers' market, or the A2 art fair. Or, like, Ferndale.
Seriously, though, we throw around words like "snob" and "hipster," but most will agree that it's fun to develop and demonstrate an expertise in something. Especially something that is delicious and gets you tipsy.
March 25th, 2013 at 10:13 AM ^
Interesting points. One thing that I've always noticed is that people do tend to believe that a step up in the "tiers" of beer instantly make it better. For me, it's more about selectly a specific type I like and drinking that whether it's considered better or worse than other flavors. For me, that's German beer, but I'm sure it's different depending on each individual. But I do agree that "tiers" alone don't determine the value.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:56 PM ^
Craft beer is more expensive because of the ingrediants. Barley and craft hops are more expensive than rice, corn, and commodity hops that the big brewers use. Two Hearted Ale probably uses five times more barley than Bud Light and at least five times more hops. Bud light uses rice in place of barley, which is much cheaper. Of course if there were no market Two Hearted Ale wouldn't const $10/six pack, but Two Hearted Ale wouldn't exist if the market was only willing to pay $6/six pack. It would be a money loser.
Wine is expensive for mostly market based reasons. Barley can be grown anywhere. Hops need a specific environment but they can produce as many hops as the market demands. The same is not true for wine. A given appellation has specific flavor qualities that are passed on to the grapes and then the wine. In addition, weather in a given year affects the taste. This severly affects the supply side of the equation, causing prices to climb. You can reproduce (within reason) the best beer every year so any supply limits are brewery imposed.
There are large differences between beers that are absolutely detectable by even a novice palate. Generally, price is good discriminator of beer quality. Of course there are outliers. The story is similar for wine but I don't think the quality/price ratio is nearly as linier.
March 25th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
I was with you 100% until you mentioned PBR. A pox on that beer; it tastes like ass.
I hadn't really been wondering, but now I know what ass tastes like.
Honest question for those of you with seemingly vehement opinions on people who enjoy good beer: do you actually think most people who drink craft beer do it to look cool or do you think maybe there is actually something to it? Maybe they actually enjoy it?
I find it funny how your post seems to criticize a group of people for being arrogant and snobish, and yet you have just acted that exact same way towards an entire group of people.
If you were really interested in the answer to your original question (whether craft beer is discernable from macro-breweries) you would go out and buy a couple six packs of craft beer, and taste it against your PBR. You very well may still like the PBR better, a lot of people do, but you will most certaintly tell the difference between the two styles. Yet, for some reason I highly doubt that that was actually the intention of your post.
March 25th, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^
The thing with Oberon is that it's a great first "good" beer. It's very approachable for someone used to drinking light American lagers. So a lot of people used to pounding Natty Ice sip an Oberon and say, damn, beer can actually taste GOOD and not just like dirty water? This is awesome!
Oberon is now frowned upon by particularly snooty beer geeks for just thy reason - it's too easy to like. As you start appreciating good beer, you naturally are drawn to more assertive brews with more hops and bolder flavors. Oberon is emphatically not that.
But not everybody wants to drink a 100 IBU hop monster on a hot beach day, and for certain applications Oberon is near perfect. A
March 24th, 2013 at 10:23 PM ^
As part of the Michigan diaspora, this is one of those demarcators of the season that sadly no one around me understands.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:26 PM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:29 PM ^
I miss Kalamazoo on days like tomorrow, anyone who's ever lived there knows it's basically like St. Patty's day redux.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 10:41 PM ^
http://bellsbeer.com/brands/brand-finder/
You might be better off calling your local store to see if they've already received shipments. Good luck.
March 24th, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^
Still porter season for me with this damn weather.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 11:02 PM ^
An Oberon with an orange wedge is heaven in a bottle!
No fruit in beer.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
March 24th, 2013 at 11:37 PM ^
and Oberon was called Sol Sun (he says while smacking his dentures).
Larry was sued by the makers of Sol, a terrible Mexican import and had to change the name of the Sol Sun. I still have a Sol Sun frisbee.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:51 PM ^
Two Hearted Ale is my favorite beer (see screen name). I'm a big Bell's fan. I just hope they can maintain their independence. I foresee an era of consolidation. Whether it is regional breweries merging or InBev swallowing them up and killing their soul, I don't know.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:54 PM ^
that I really, really, really dislike living in Texas.
March 24th, 2013 at 11:55 PM ^
March 25th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
At least you have more than three (equally terrible) choices.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:56 AM ^
You are a liar. There is now Cafri and Exfeel.
We have five (quality terrible) choices (though Cafri is the best of the worst).
Hite Max and Hite Black Beer Stout are also really bad. Then you have Budweiser which isn't quite bad enough so they make it with Korean industrial waste water.
That's why you drink Soju
Blech.
Paint thinner is more palatable. Can't understand how my folks drink it with dinner sometimes, let alone at all.
lolololol
Korean's love their cheap, watery lagers. Took forever to get my dad to switch from Michelob, and even now prefers Stella and Heines to more hoppy beers.
OB does go well with a big table full of spicy Korean food though
March 25th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^
March 25th, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^
I just moved out to the west coast and have been dreading an Oberon free summer. If any Mgoblogers in San Francisco know of a place to get Bells or Three Floyds, I'm all ears.
March 25th, 2013 at 12:26 AM ^
Well for Bell's you can head to Arizona. Unfortunately for FFF the closest place is probably Munster, IN.
Damn, I guess it's just as bad as I imagined it would be. Time to find a new favorite brewery!