I drank two very different beers today. Were I to talk about flavors, there wouldn't be much of a connection between the two of them. The only line I can draw between the rye altbier and the pumpkin beer I drank today is how I feel about them. How I felt... kind of embarrassed to drink them? I dunno, that's just me being self-conscious I think.
Pam and I took the kids around the corner to our neighborhood bar (for now), where they had outside seating. It was a nice day, a good one to chill in the fresh air and sip on the suds while the kids ate Goldfish. I chose the altbier because I didn't really know what it was, and it sounded interesting. It's not like I'm looking at the menu seeing all beers that I've already had, but at this point I'm probably going to be ordering the rarest-seeming beer on there, just to try something new. The year is almost done!
Anyway, Trixie the townie barmaid delivered our drinks a few minutes later, and here she comes with this real fancy looking bottle with a cork top, and a tulip glass to pour it in. I was aghast. This is a neighborhood bar. It was just on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, for christ's sake. This isn't the fucking place to sit outside and drink what looks like my own personal bottle and glass of whiskey. It was too fancy! I should've been pounding High Lifes! This isn't me.
This is completely separate from how much I actually enjoyed the beer itself (I enjoyed it, with its dark malty notes of leather and apricot, but I'll swing back around in a few days and talk about rye altbiers again). This has everything to do with presentation. I don't need to be that guy. I want to be a part of the hoi polloi.
Or do I? Because our second drink directly reflected something that the general populace seems to love at this point. Pumpkin-flavored bullshit! Who doesn't love a pumpkin latte on a cold autumn day? Well, some people, but in general, people love getting their pumpkin on during the season of leaves changing colors. It's no different in the craft beer world. Every brewery on earth distributes their own version of the same pumpkin ale, and we get all in a tizzy that it's "that time of year again."
It has long reached the point of ubiquity that I start to get a little annoyed with all the pumpkin-flavored products after Labor Day. Yes, it's for "basic bitches" and all that. I've probably expressed such an opinion in the past (surely in the context of "why would I pay for a pumpkin beer when I can drink a Natty Light for a fraction of the price?").
But we're at the point now where it's come back around again and I'm just annoyed at the pushback itself. Like, I totally downvoted this reddit jabroni when he tried talking shit on pumpkin beer. It's one thing to say that you don't like a certain beer style, but it's another to piss on someone else who likes something you don't. Why be such an asshole? People can like what they like, and we can leave it at that.
So yeah, I'm gonna be drinking some pumpkin beers this fall, because that's the nature of this beer project. And yeah, I'm probably going to be embarrassed a little bit when I drink them, because it's a little too "trendy" for me. But, at the same time, I just need to get over myself. Who the fuck cares? I will be writing about pumpkin beers at least a few more times, but this is the last time I mention the fact that I am uncomfortable with the fact that I "have" to drink them. Everyone is allowed to like what they like, and I refuse to be the asshole who says otherwise.
If you're asking, then I'll answer: Did I like today's Pumpkinville Latte beer? No, not really. I thought it was super interesting how it was made with coffee, and legit tasted like an autumn coffee you might get at Dunkin Donuts. So, in a sense, it was even more trendy than just a regular pumpkin beer. But I'm not a coffee guy, even less so than I am not a pumpkin flavor guy, so count me out for Pumpkinville Latte.
Unfortunately, you can probably count me out from getting either of these beers after 2020 is over, especially in the contexts I enjoyed them today (at a neighborhood bar and during autumn, respectively). Flavor is important, but feeling good about your choices is important too. I just feel too weird stepping out of my alcohol comfort zone sometimes.
NOTES (Beer #1)
BEER: Wacker Imperial Rye Altbier
GENRE: Roggenbier (we'll talk about this sometime next week)
ABV: Untappd says 5.7%, but that can't be right, it was heavy
BREWED BY: Wacker Brewing Co.
LOCATION: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
PURCHASED AT: Gaul and Co. Malt House
PAIRED WITH: french fries (you have to buy food with outdoor drink purchases)
GRADE: 3 pukes out of 5
NOTES (Beer #2)
BEER: Pumpkinville Latte
GENRE: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 6.5%
BREWED BY: Ellicottville Brewing Co.
LOCATION: Ellicottville, New York
PURCHASED AT: IGA
PAIRED WITH: more Happy Endings
GRADE: 2.5 pukes out of 5
BEER COUNT: 354
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