This One's For Norm

[steveh]

Any chance that you know this fellow member of the Fourth Estate?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_488977.html

S.

[chazwicke]

What a piece of work that guy is. I'm tempted to respond to his sorry generalizations and stereotyping. It is people with his poor attitude that debases beer. I'd not like to drink a pint with this clown and all of his whining. Let him have his cheap swill, alone, from a styrofoam cup if it will make him happy.

[steveh]

While I tend to agree that you get gouged at taverns, bars, and restaurants - don't go slamming or making fun of things you know nothing about. Dank Trappist cellars?

I'd have a beer with him and see if I could help him to see the difference between a good Trappist beer (in the proper glass) and headache inducing swill from a styrofoam cup (styrofoam? Shee).

S.

[n0rmann]

Never heard of him, but I did read it. It seems to be someone who just needed something to spout off about, but really didn't care about any research. It happens quite often.

There are a lot of people like that -- probably significantly more than people who post on this site or BA or ratebeer, etc.

[chazwicke]

I understood his point on the basic level although I'm not certain that I agree with all of it. I do agree that beer should be the everyman beverage from the king down to the humblest worker. But the rest was pure whining based on his stereotyping.

[n0rmann]

I personally think beer and wine should be treated equally. I think winos take wine too seriously, while the general public looks at beer as below wine. It should meet in the middle.

[zoom6zoom]

It should meet in the middle.

Like a corn dog?

This guy's just a bozo. I've been in plenty of places that wanted five bucks for a damn Bud. A decent brew for four and a quarter would be a nice find, dammit.

[chazwicke]

I sent him a link to this thread. It might be nice to get a clearer perspective from him.

I also want to know when Pittsburgh's Hofbrau Haus will be open.

[wortchillergoal]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I sent him a link to this thread. It might be nice to get a clearer perspective from him.

This was a good idea. I was going to suggest we all send him an e-mail telling him what we think.

[dparsons]

He seems to be uneducated about the trend in beer and to want to stay that way. Also, $4 for a beer isn't that high on the market. You'll pay that for BMC at an establishment unless its happy hour. Soda runs $1 - $2 and it doesn't have the regulation on it that alcohol does, nor the production costs.

[BignJames]

If he likes Boddingtons, he can have all the ones I'll never drink.

[Jim Dorsch]

It's the job of a columnist to take such stands, and sometimes play devil's advocate. If he gets a reaction, then he's doing his job.

The Boddington's analogy is unfair, as it has nothing to do with the product, and it compares prices at a take-out place in PA (always high, I understand) to a distributor that sells by the case. I expect a bottle of 'regular beer' costs a lot more at a deli, too.

[Stonch]

Pathetically badly researched nonsense. Steve quite rightly ridicules his "dank Trappist cellars" nonsense, but I'd like to draw attention to the fact he erroneously identifies Boddingtons as being some kind of fancy brew - when in fact its a rancid macrobrewed abomination!

Just ignore the twerp, he's been given too much attention for writing that - just what he wanted. That kind of shoddy journalism doesn't deserve respect, just contempt and derision.

Cheers, folks!

__________________
Visit my beer blog - http://stonch.blogspot.com

[n0rmann]

I actually like Boddingtons. Ok. I'm going home. I spent the day writing about a 16-year-old murdering a 15-year-old. I need a beer.

[Stonch]

There is only one good thing Boddingtons has given the world - Melanie Sykes.

__________________
Visit my beer blog - http://stonch.blogspot.com

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Jim Dorsch
It's the job of a columnist to take such stands, and sometimes play devil's advocate. If he gets a reaction, then he's doing his job.



You are right. I was immediately annoyed but when I look back it was more so at his stereotyping. I recall when CAMRA (of which I am a Life Member) was thought of as a bunch of bearded men in sandals grumping. I agree with what I think his point is - that beer is for everyone. The common man to the king.

[D0nc0smic]

I just can't believe the guy is from pittsburg, i mean with the number of great breweries in the state of pennsylvania there is ALOT of really great beer there that is available and not really that expensive.

[Otis_The_Drunk]

My responce email to the aricle.

You know absolutely nothing on the subject of beer.
You have insulted a great number of people who are well versed on the subject. Myself have been brewing for 18 years and can duplicate any beer in the world.
What's wrong, you seem to think that Bud, Miller or Coors is good beer.
I hate to tell you that style of beer wasn't even brewed much in the United States until World War II, and it was classified as a Woman's Beer.
So you just stick to your crap beer and Olde English 800 and leave the real beer to people who know what they are talking about.... Piece of advice, don't write about a subject that you know nothing about.

[n0rmann]

My advice, if you write a letter to a reporter complaining about something, don't be rude in the letter. Explain what you thought was wrong and why.

If someone comes on too strong, the reporter will take you take you as a crack pot and delete the email.

[Jim Dorsch]

Absolutely. A diplomatic letter can open the doors to constructive action.

Originally posted by n0rmann
My advice, if you write a letter to a reporter complaining about something, don't be rude in the letter. Explain what you thought was wrong and why.

If someone comes on too strong, the reporter will take you take you as a crack pot and delete the email.

[n0rmann]

Personally, I love when crackpots write to me. Sometimes I'll string them along for a few days until they stop emailing me, but I'm a little odd.

My favorite was a convicted killer who read my beer column and wrote a letter asking why I always put down coors in the paper. He was quite upset.

[HarkJohnny]

what a meathead! and from pittsburgh* nonetheless!

(*sorry, i'm from cincinnati. there's NO love between our two fair cities)

Even the cops chip in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ns2TpU58_0

:D

[conrad]

Hi guys. I have been away for a while, but have returned to view the commentaries and general fun on the site.
Regarding the beer article: The other site (BA) has hundreds of replies, comments, tirades, snotgrams, etc about this. The general consensus is the same as realbeer's. That is, the guy may or may not know much about beer, and he probably wrote the article to get a rise out of people. In any case, he generated a lot of talk about beer, the quality of beer, the price of beer, the place of beer in our culture, etc. And that's a good thing.
Cheers.