BeerFM

If you involve yourself in any of the “beer social media” websites such as BeerAdvocate (the one I’ll be referring to ) or Ratebeer you’re probably familiar with beer hype. Even if you aren’t involved in forums and the like, you probably know what hype is. The film Avatar is a recent example of something hyped up to outrageous levels beyond it’s ability to deliver. Going back even further I recall Star Wars Episode 1 and the hype surrounding it when I was in high school.
Regarding beer, hype works the same way. Take, for example, beer X. Beer X comes from a reputable brewery (usually) and is of a highly praised or sought-after style, say a Russian imperial stout. Before consumers even receive the finished product, whether it be a film or beer or whatever, the marketing department will push the new product to the extreme as they walk a thin line between being recognizable and overexposure.

Once it’s out, the first few people reviewing and talking about beer X will probably be local in relation to the brewery and possibly giving a little extra home-town love (but I’ll skip the home-town love debate for now). Now you’ve got the potential for beer X to be talked up more than it should. But instead if getting too far into the reasons for hype, I’d rather focus on the stages that I believe occur. I think I’ve figured it out and narrowed it down to 3 simple steps.

Anonymity:

The first stage of beer hype is anonymity. At this point the beer still remains generally anonymous to the bulk of the beer fanatics. A few may know of it’s conception or presence but it hasn’t hit the forums or “the top 100 list yet.” Goose Island’s Bourbon County Coffee Stout, or BCCS for short, is a perfect example of hype I’ll refer to frequently as it’s a relatively new beer going through this process. I claim ignorance as my excuse, but no where was this beer hyped up through marketing as a new release. It’s generally new (a few months old at the release of this article) and went from days with only one or two reviews to an explosion of reviews.

Enter the Hype-Storm:

People were and are still swept up in it. People started clambering for it. Threads started. One in particular read “bourbon county coffee stout” in the subject line. The whole point of the post was to say something to the effect of “it’s here. I got it.” now, I’m not trying to crucify this guy here cause I myself added to the list by replying with where I saw it/ where I got it to help out people looking for it. The thread turned into another gear in the hype machine though. I mean, saying where it’s available is one thing (and you can report it under a beerspy section to let others know where it’s available), starting a thread to be the first to say you have it is another. So after BCCS threads started to pop up all over the map the reviews slowly started to trickle in increasing in numbers daily. Most of them were really good to utterly fantastic. Mine landed the beer a solid A grade. All of a sudden it popped up on the top 100 and began climbing the ranks. Just like The Bruery’s Black Tuesday before it, people began speculating on it’s high point, curious and anxious to see if it would dethrone Westy 12 from the number-one spot. (I popped on BA this morning at work and what do I find? A thread about BCCS possibly hitting number one) Again, this is only like dumping gasoline on the hype fire that’s already ablaze. Since the people who want it so bad are the Goose Island fan-boys and people giving home-town love (nothing wrong with either in the general sense) or the traders giving up liquid gold to try the next best thing, this vaulted the beer to the fourth highest rated beer. After a small dip to eighth it’s now back at number three highest rated beer in the world in a few short days. Then some less enthusiastic people may have gotten their hands on it as were under whelmed, undoubtedly caused by excessive hype.

The Fall:

This is where the oil in the hype machine dries up and it begins to fail. Excessive praise raises many reviewed expectations which unfortunately leads to a review below the “average”. The fall happens and the beer drops down until it reaches it’s new home further down the list. For example, Black Tuesday had it’s stint at the top, a good beer to be sure, but now it’s hanging around the 22^nd place. Only, the BCCS has tenacity and longevity right now. It went to eighth and after a few days is sprung right back up. At this point, it may seem like a BCCS bashing session but that’s not the case. With my review of an “A” it’s clear I enjoy the beer. BCCS is just an example of the shit-storm that is beer hype. Black Tuesday was before it and plenty more will be sure to come.

The flavor of the month, as my friend Todd put it, will always change as things come out. A few months from now BCCS, and other hyped beers like it, will settle down to a fair location in the grand scheme of beers but the initial hype will have a lasting affect on the overall score the beer is given. Rarity also adds to this. In another thread about highly regarded beers someone said, “If I had my way, Trappist Rochefort 10 would be #!” to that someone snidely replied, “Rochefort 10 is way too easy to get. Exclusive beers taste so much better.” Even if this comment is made light-heartedly, it’s just another example of how some people think about beer.

This cyclical pattern of anonymity, hype, and eventual fall will never end as long as we allow ourselves to get overly excited for special releases like this. The key word is overly. There is nothing wrong with being excited for a beer’s release, but it’s only beer guys, it will last and be remembered and cellared for aged consumption but no one besides yourself is going to care if you were the first person to claim buying it or one of the first to review it. Let the newly released beers speak for themselves. And all the people that get wrapped up in the hype of a new beer need to realize it’s only beer. Just because everyone else raves about it doesn’t mean it has to be fantastic like they say. You be the judge. Talk and discussion is inevitable, and usually it’s a great thing, but in the end no one should allow themselves to get caught up in the heavy buzz of something to the point of being let down when your moment to enjoy it finally arrives. Avoid it, if you can, and think about the beer critically for yourself.

-Andy