What is good? And who says so? How bad is bad? Drinking in Boston performed a quick survey of several beer lovers last week to see what the good beer drinker’s position was on several key beer questions. This week we’ll look at “good” beer versus “bad” beer.

Many of the surveyed beer lovers associated bad beer with mass produced, faceless major US breweries. One thought was that “if the motive is craft more than profit the result seems more likely to be decent.” This also reflects a trend in preference toward local breweries, be it Pretty Things in Boston or even Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland. The smaller, local breweries are gaining notoriety as manufacturers of quality beers. Go to Ohio and try Great Lakes’ Dortmunder Gold, and you’ll see our point.

Other answers veered more toward personal taste. For instance, having taste at all. And most importantly, just knowing it when you taste it, like if you find yourself in this situation: “If I drink it and say, ‘I’d get that again, even if it wasn’t cheap.’” That’s a damn fine beer. And then there’s always having the beer un-pasteurized and bottle conditioned…but not all surveyed were so particular. We like to think this last sentiment is mostly universal, though: so-called “’good’ beer does not advertise during the Super Bowl.”

More of the Good and the Bad after the jump!

Photo courtesy mapper-montag on Flickr using Creative Commons License

We also asked our eager drinkers to admit how often they drank beer that is often referred to as “lawnmower beer.” (You know the beers.) The overwhelming response was: more than you’d think. But why?! A few pointed to the obvious, unfortunate fact of cost. “The key word here is ‘cheap.’” Mass produced beers are often just cheaper than their craft brethren. Especially for the more in-debt of us out there, you sometimes “just gotta sacrifice taste for the wallet.” For there are those situations in which simply not drinking would draw attention, be possibly rude, and be very sad for you.

Most people pointed to these social situations. One put it eloquently when he said, “There is something to be said for beer’s egalitarian spirit and its ability to be enjoyed communally,” And it’s true. Who turns down a beer, any beer, when at a party, baseball game, or dive bar? No one. Because if anything, loving beer is not a practice in snobbery. Because really, “it just doesn’t seem right to be drinking fancy beer while standing some place that smells faintly like urine.” But more than that, we are not rude, nor elite. We love beer. And you know, “sometimes an ice cold High Life is just the thing.”

Filed in Food and tagged beer, drinking in boston, Great Lakes Beer, Pretty Things

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