Am I a beer snob?

I know the answer to this question and it's an emphatic YES. This was proven to me (again) last night. I went to Rembrandt's and ordered Great Lakes Brewing Company's Commodore Perry IPA. I loved it and am only not reviewing it because I didn't really drink it in a way where I'm ready to review it (meaning really paying attention to all that I would write about in a review. I just knew it was gooood!). Look for that in the future.

However, let me get back to the issue of my snobbery. A guy friend met me and ordered .... a Bud Light Lime. I started laughing and said that when I came in the first thing I did was look for the hoppiest beer the bar offered, which was in stark contrast to his ordering the shittiest beer they had (sorry Anheuser-Busch). I meant it as a joke (although I'm not going to lie about cringing when he ordered it) but it sparked an intense conversation between me and him and the helpful gentleman sitting on my other side who insisted that Miller Lite is the best beer around.

Now, I agree that there is room for everyone's taste. (Okay, I don't really agree with that but for the sake of trying to sound open-minded I'll at least write it. I'm talking flavor. Where is the flavor in a BLL or ML?) For instance, I'm not a huge fan of certain types of beers - sour beers, German style beers. But I feel that the ones that I've tried are at least craft beers. They're not just mass-produced mass-marketed drones of the beer world.

As I'm writing this, I think I'm gaining clarity on what I'm snobbish about. It's the "mass" part of this process. The genericism (is that a word?) of the big beers out there. There's something about a microbrew that to me speaks of someone who isn't content just to say "yes, a beer is made up water and malts and hops and yeast". No, they want to see what they can do with those ingredients to bring us a new taste, a new flavor.

The guy who waxed philosophically on his love of Miller Lite insisted that microbrews are just a phase. I tried explaining that when you had as many people making a living as are from microbrews, it was likely to be around for a while. He said that people don't like going to bars and trying something they know nothing about.

Which is a good point. Let's face it, as much as we'd like to believe we're all independent thinkers and in control of our every action, we are creatures of habit and suspect to outside influences. So let's think about this - who does the advertising? Whose billboards are plastered everywhere you look? It's not the microbrews of the world. And I agree that people are scared of trying new things (that whole "creature of habit" thing again). It makes sense that people believe they really like Miller Lite or Bud, because it's what they've been drinking and what they know and what they're told is going to make them sexy to the opposite sex.

So let's try to help me out, people. Help me avoid debates with friends and strangers alike, and maybe even get rid of the label "snob". Just try a new beer. Tell the bartender what kind of beer you typically drink and ask for a recommendation. As I'm fond of saying, you just may surprise yourself.