31 Oct There’s No Such Thing as an Ex Craft Beer Drinker. Why Tho?

Brewstonians Ablaze Batch 2:

There’s No Such Thing as an Ex Craft Beer Drinker. Why tho?

The second batch of Brewstonians Ablaze had to tackle one of those blatantly obvious things that most people take for granted. There’s no such thing as an ex craft beer drinker. Once somebody flips the switch to craft beer, they don’t usually go back and swear off “good beer.” There’s an inherent loyalty that comes along with enjoying craft beer, and it’s sort of unusual, so we wanted to dig a little deeper.

We’re always thinking about Joe Six-Pack here at Beer Chronicle, and this one’s no different. Since we didn’t all start off with 10% ABV DIPAs, we figured we’d ask about the journey. Specifically, we asked everybody this, “There’s no such thing as an ex craft beer drinker, but what about craft beer turned you into somebody that is passionate about it?” While everybody had their own take, there were a few common threads we wanted to share. Disclaimer: We didn’t sit down for a big huddle before sending this question out despite the similarities in replies.

We promise. Scouts honor.

James “In the Radio” Simpson
“Why is there no such thing as an ex craft beer drinker? Camaraderie. In my early days I went to a bottle share hosted by a guy named Stephen. It was a collective group of lawyers, doctors, fast food employees, beer reps, waiters/waitresses, a stay at home father, college students and me, a radio dork. All walks of life with different religions, political affiliations and socioeconomic status. Everyone gathered together having a great time sharing their passion for craft beer. It was a good night.”
Listen to James Simpson, Host of What’s on Tap Radio, and like his radio show on Facebook

Annie “Beer Girl HTX” Diep
“The people. Brewers, beer-tenders and fellow craft beer drinkers. Connecting with people from all sorts of different backgrounds and sharing a beer has been the most fun and rewarding experience. Other craft beer drinkers are always down to share their own experiences, knowledge and tasty beers.”
Follow Annie on Instagram @beergirlhtx

Steven, Sebentrees
“Craft beer is community. Craft beer is sharing ideas and beers with others. No matter who you are, or where you come from. Craft beer has no discrimination.”
Follow Sebentrees, Purveyor of Fermentables on Instagram @sebentrees

While we can’t agree more with Steven overall, there’s definitely some discrimination. We’ll cover that in a future topic, but as it relates to the point at hand, nobody said it more concisely than Sylvia.

Sylvia “The Beer Fed Mother” Benavidez
“Craft is community first, and beer second. Craft beer gave all us ‘foodies’ as reason to enjoy drinking. I have met so many awesome people in my journey of craft beer and we all agree that today, craft beer is all about community. A bad ass hazy IPA is just an added bonus.”
Follow Sylvia Benavidez – Beer Fed Mother, Chapter Lead for Galveston GPO and Founder of 4TradeMobile on Facebook

One of the most glaringly obvious reasons people don’t dive into craft beer and then hop back out is seems to be community. It’s more than beer. It’s more than friends or even networking. The craft beer community in Houston comes together in times of need, and our city isn’t special in this regard. One more common thread was the creativity.

Josh “Houston Beertographer” Olalde
“When I think about craft beer, I think about the art that goes into brewing delicious beer. The journey to find the perfect pair of ingredients, the process, and the beautiful color that the beer gives off at the end once it’s brewed. As a photographer, I see everything in an artistic point of view.”
Follow Josh Olalde, Houston Beertographer on Instagram @josh_olalde

Liz “Crush City Culture” Paul
“There is so much thought, craft, and passion that goes into it, and I love talking to people about the process and asking questions. I still have so much to learn, but I just think it’s fascinating!”
Follow Liz Paul, Blogger on Instagram @crushcityculture

Liz and Josh are clearly as passionate about the beer as they are the creative process behind it, but Andrew Trumbo said it best combining community with creativity.

Andrew “Pickles and Pints” Trumbo
“Craft beer is creativity mixed with science with a side of pop culture and a twist of renegade! It’s 100% the community that surrounds craft beer. It’s also the willingness on the side of the brewery to allow their facility to be something akin to a blank canvas for other small businesses to come in and tap into the energy that surrounds their space.”
Follow Andrew Trumbo, Founder of Pickle and Pints on Instagram @pickleandpints

A few outliers were things like supporting local businesses, seasonal availability, and higher quality, but we couldn’t overlook these last two as they combined so much of community and creativity.

John “Bottle Share Alliance” Lockard
“It started with the basics of Saint Arnold, then other local breweries from Houston. Seeing what they were doing with their Bishops Barrel series, made me more intrigued about what other beers are out there. Ever since then, I have been on a mission to support these local breweries. Now I feel like I’m on a mission to keep trying all of these new beers from around the world! It’s crazy to see how much different beer is actually out there.”
Follow John on Instagram @J_lock88

Brett and Cole “The Htown Beer Guys” Chynoweth-Wehner 
“Craft beer to us is, at the risk of sounding cliché, life. Our first date included a stop at Hay Merchant. Our wedding featured two breweries (City Acre in Houston and Boulevard in KCMO). We plan our travel around craft beer (and baseball, go Astros!). When it comes down to it, besides craft beer being so delicious, we love the people it helps us meet and the places it takes us – beer people are the best people.”
Follow Brett and Cole on Instagram @htownbeerguys

Hunter S. Thompson was really on to something when he said, “Good people drink good beer,” and  the replies reflect that across the board. But what about when a brewer or owner decides to step away from the craft?

Just like the first time, we got more responses than we could include, so check back next month to see which Brewstonians are setting Houston beer ablaze in batch 3.

Thanks for all of your written contributions, and double thanks to Josh Olalde for all the photos.

Until next time, beers to you, Houston! 🍻🤘