Wishlist #23; More Reluctant Scooping

If you've suffered this site for long enough, you know I love to scoop. There's a joy to be held in finding new, interesting, adventurous beers. A delight delivered by the fulfillment of expectation. But also the thrill in tasting the beer that blindsided and surprised you.

My Reluctancy in scooping is borne out of too much bland bitter, brewed by this month's new micro. Of too much tinkering; a hop pellet there, a malt bill shifted here, an uneven regular brew leaping Lazarus-like onto the bar as a rebadge everywhere.

But in the back of my mind, there's always Reluctant's Conundrum; if you don't scoop the new beer/brewery, you may miss out something special. After all, what if I hadn't tasted Thornbridge (or Oakham or BrewDog or, or, or) at the time that I did? Sure, I would have had their beers by now, but being an 'early adopter' has given me a couple of years worth of fantastic beery experience.

It's great to find the beer styles/brewers that you love. It's great to try something different. It may be the Worse Beer You've Ever Tasted - Official. Or it could be the beer that changes your topering habits for a lifetime.

We may be living in a golden age for UK brewing. With technological advances, environmental concerns and consumer/producer enthusiasm, the next twenty years could see revolutions in brewing quality beers at a local scale. The scope for scooping is massive.

There are great pubs in my village / the city / the Midlands and Yorkshire, depending on how far I want to drag myself for a pint. There are some quality breweries on my doorstep. And there's a hugely influential, articulate and intelligent bunch of beery bods on the t'internet. So I could just sit back, read the blogs and drink what I know to be good.

Problem is, in twenty years time, I'd be the bitter man at the bar bemoaning, "this stuff used to taste better when I was younger... and what the hell is oak-aged double imperial goozeberry hefeweizen, anyway?". So I'm happy to be Reluctant a little while longer. The thrill of the chase, the surprise of the unexpected, both make beer drinking in this day and age an unmitigated joy.

My last wish is to keep on scooping Reluctantly.... and for a few more people to do the same. Go find the beers and breweries that others are excited about. See how they measure up to your palate and expectations. And then take the time to savour them. Find the balance between chasing the tail of that new beer and snuggling up next to an old favourite. Don't forget why you drink the stuff in the first place. Life's too short to spend it with indifferent beers.

Someone once said opinions are like arseholes - everybody's got one, and everybody thinks everybody else's stinks. Well, I'm happy to keep stinking up the internet. One beer at a time.

Cheers!

13 comments:

  1. And long may you continue. Reluctantly.

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  2. 'Go find the beers and breweries that others are excited about.'

    And, equally: 'Go find new beers and breweries and excite others about them.'

    Nice post - I agree wholeheartedly, particularly about getting the balance right between the old and the new.

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  3. Perfectly put. The reluctant scoop is always a worry but it's always an alluring tease (come try me, taste me, see if you like me...).

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  4. Just don't go all "Scooper Trash." Any affiliation with Prescotti will more than likely be met with aversion.

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  5. Who's this Italian bloke who sounds a bit like me, then? Is he a scooper? I've met several Italians who sort-of are but they were called Manuele and Paolo...

    A mate of mine said, after reading some of sausage's posts, "who is this clown and why does he think he knows anything about beer?". I had to say that I didn't know who he was and he didn't seem to know a lot although he thought he did.

    My mate agreed. "He's got some good ideas about unpasteurised keg but ruins it by spouting off on subjects he knows nowt about" he pondered, and I had to agree with him...

    ;-)

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  6. Prescotti, you never give up, do you? The word is out about your system of conditioning via exposure to air. Perhaps you'd like me to list the numerous emails I've received from the blogger scum community in regards to your lack of skills in the brewing arts, or are you just stirring the pot so I can get your album completed faster? As far as my credentials go, I've been brewing beer for over 20 years. Probably longer than you've been scoopin'.

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  7. Now now, ladies. Play nicely or I'll send you to sit in the copper.

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  8. I reckon you've hit the nail on the head, there. A beer bloggers manifesto if ever I heard one.

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  9. So, sausage, who exactly in the "blogging" sphere actually knows me? I'd hazard a guess that it's... erm... nobody. I don't generally mingle with bloggers so none of them know who I am.

    Second point. I've not brewed a beer - commercially, at least - for 12 years when I did a 100% Cascade and pale malt brew at Ledbury to my recipe and it was pretty decent. Before that I brewed a couple at Swale, but nobody around now would have heard of these breweries as they no longer exist.

    Third point. So you're telling me, in all seriousness, that cask ale doesn't alter when exposed to air? If so you're talking out your arse. If not what exactly are you saying as I can't work it out.

    Fourth point. I've been scooping 21 years so wrong again.

    Fifth point. Is the American beer scene really that dull that you have to read UK blogs all the time? Is it?

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  10. Herr 'man knows you.

    I have NEVER said that the induction of air does not change the flavor of cask conditioned beer. The initial stages of oxidation have a dramatic effect on beer. My argument with you was based on conditioning via exposure to air. I'm still not exactly sure how that works.

    The American beer scene as far as I can tell is on fire. Being that I consider myself an Englander, I feel rather happy and fulfilled to share my unique insight on my experiences here and abroad.

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. (Take two. No spelinng mistkes...)

    Guys, if you want to wave cocks in the showers, go do it on your own sites.

    We all know who we all are, we've all done this before; rinse: lather: repeat.

    Yes, haddonsman is the Blogger face of reluctant scooper. Don't make me reach for the killswitch.

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  13. Thank you for your tolerance Herr 'man #2. I'll set up a special post on my science journal for Prescotti and I to discuss the arts and science.

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