Years ago when I was really starting to get into craft beer I was working with a guy that was big time into wine. He had a nice cellar at his house and would regularly purchase bottles that cost well into the $100 range. As I became aware of what went into making great craft beer, I questioned why something that in many respects was more complex than wine (especially barrel aged beers) was so much less expensive and less valued for its qualities. Flash forward to the last few years and now it is easy to find bottles of craft beer at some pretty mind numbing prices. I thought back and kicked myself for complaining that craft beer was to cheap.
This weekend I made it down to Stone to meet up with some friends to grab lunch and kick off a real quick brew tour. It was a Sunday and I checked the calendar before going and nothing was going on, so I was very surprised that there wasn't even a single spot in the parking lot. After parking across the street and trekking over to the front entrance, I was a bit surprised to see the crowd of people that were getting dropped off at the front - It was a bunch of kids and old people (old is a relative term, but for me it means the grey haired crowd). I was taken back a bit at the thought of all these intruders invading one of my favorite man cave destinations. I'll have to admit that the thought of yelling across the table to the server to order an Arrogant Bastard while there was a table of 2 years olds right behind me was a little awkward.
Although the title of this post is "Be Careful What You Ask For!" you might think that I just ended up being unhappy with expensive beer and a bunch of intruders at Stone. I actually had quite a moment of clarity though (after a few pints of high gravity beer...) leading me to a few thoughts:
1) Although I am a total tightwad, if it weren't for the market accepting high craft beer prices, it probably wouldn't be economical for places like The Bruery to make some of their exotic creations if they were only able to ask $7 for a 750 ml bottle. So even though I hate giving away my hard earned money, if that's what it takes to get a brewery within 30 minutes of my house with a lineup of killer barrel aged sours, then so be it....
2) Every time a new brewery opens up I ask myself "How long can this last?" I realize that the universe of beer geeks is relatively finite, so there must be a limit to the number of craft breweries that the market can support. Even though at first it felt strange to have a bunch of kids and old people at Stone, I think they might have found the answer... For every new person that gets exposed to the craft beer world, that opens up one more wallet to the industry (I am making the assumption that everyone that is exposed to craft beer falls in love with it because that is the only logical conclusion!). For each new wallet that gets opened up, that just means that the next generation of craft breweries/brewpubs is that much more sustainable. And for each new brewery/brewpub that is sustainable, that is another one that I get to enjoy!
So I welcome high priced beer drinkers, little kids running amok in tasting rooms, and cool old people that like to drink great beer. For each of you I have some thanks for making my hobby/sport/obsession that much more enjoyable. And in the end, the only thing constant is change, so we might as well embrace it!
P.S. Maybe my logic is a little self serving, because eventually I am going to be the guy with my kids running around the breweries and then some years after that I am going to be the cool old grey haired guy hanging out in tasting rooms telling youngsters what craft beer was like in the early 2000's...
