Happy July, dear dear readers, hope your 4th was full of fireworks and lots and lots of beer. I’ve been busy working to pay for the vacation I’m taking at the end of the month, but I do have a list of beers yet to be written about, hopefully coming over the next few days. But right now, I’m gonna talk about the other reason it’s been so long since I wrote. Since last Wednesday night, I’ve been debating whether to publish this post, which will be angry and scathing and full of not nice things to say about some people. Usually I don’t like to write stuff like that, especially not here in a happy beer utopia, but it’s something that’s affected my outlook on the idea of beer connisseurship and thus affects this blog and needs to be said.
So on Wednesday, I was meeting up with some friends to go get some delicious Victory beers at the Blind Tiger. Prediction: good beer, good friends, great time. Not so much the actual turnout. One of the people I met up with bartends at Gingerman, and the owner of said bar showed up. I was really excited to talk to him, obviously, and we had a decent conversation for the first hour or so we were there. A fair amount of patronizing, of course, but that wasn’t so bad, I expect that. I’m young and a girl, so people generally don’t think I’m serious when I say I like beer. But when conversation turned to the childish attitude with which he selects beer, and to how his beer tastes are much better than 95% of New York, I started to get a little sick of the beer snob act. Then I introduced my friend Jack, who loves beer and loves the Gingerman and has been going there for at least the last five years, thinking that introducing an older male might stop the macho act, at least long enough for me to start talking to my friends. No luck. When Jack mentioned he loved the bar, started going there when he went with a friend and they had Purple Haze on tap, the owner replied that he probably wasn’t picking the beers at that time, because that’s a shitty beer and he never would have put it in his bar.
And it progressed to a 5 minute lecture with him repeatedly telling me I "had no fucking right to write about beer" because I didn’t know details and taste of every style. (adding "no offense", as if that changed the statement?) At this point, I got up, walked outside and walked around to calm down. First Ammendment not even factoring in, this comment has enough asshole factor to make Dick Cheney look gentle. I could somewhat understand this had I been trying to argue that Coors Light is better than anything he’s ever put at his bar, but to act this way to someone who frequently patronizes his bar, and is trying to learn more about craft beer? Who the fuck do you think you are?
So. I’ll not be going to Gingerman anytime soon, possibly not for the rest of the year that I’ll be here. I’d rather take my business where it’s appreciated.
It does suck to be talked down to, but what’s just as bad is trying to talk to someone about beer who has no clue and doesn’t want to know. Last weekend I showed off my Augistijn Ale (a Belgian beer) to a friend of a friend who told me she LOVED good beer. She was unimpressed by the Belgians and told me she just LOVES Corona more than anything else…god knows she dumps a slice of lime in there too.
I’m not defending the jerk guy, but Purple Haze is a crappy beer. Possibly the worst beer ever. Only beer that I have ever dumped down a drain. Don’t try it!!! Very surprising, cause Abita makes Turbodog, which is an awesome beer.
Hahaha, I’m not a huge fan of Purple Haze either, but the point is, it’s a shitty response to a compliment on your bar.
What a dick. I wouldn’t go back there either. I will however come back here! I thought I knew a lot about beer…..wrong! Keep the great reviews coming!