Beer Geekism

There is a great thread running its course over at BeerAdvocate that is definitely worth exploring - Top Ten Signs Your A Beer Geek. I love it.

Some of the highlighted answers hit so close to home:

Bringing the appropriate glassware over to someone's house so you can enjoy the beer with the respect it deserves. I don't know how many times I have been ridiculed for this. When I go back North to a friends house, all the guys come over to watch a hockey game with their Bud Light or Canadian and I'm sitting there with a mix six pack of various Canadian and American bombers with a glass that would mesh with their styles. They all comment on that. Just recently at one of my fiance's friends places I pulled out my own glass when we arrived. After explaining to me that she wasn't poor and that she did indeed have glasses in her house, I had to go through the whole story about me being a beer geek (enthusiast) and needed to ensure I had the right glassware.

When you've turned your girlfriend/significant other into a beer geek, too. Well, I was on the way to converting my girl into a beer geek, until celiac disease roared its ugly head. She was starting to appreciate all the different styles, how different beers matched foods and how to appreciate the atmosphere surrounding craft beer. Now she drinks cider; although she is excited to try Nouvelle France new Rouge (red) Messangere.

When you spend a half hour in a beer store...and leave without buying anything because they don't have anything "good." Me being in Ontario, I only venture into the Beer Store to take back my empties, which always draws pleasant conversation about the different bottles. But I have walked into LCBO's, walked around checking out the shelves and walked right back out without making a purchase. Maybe not due to the fact that they don't have anything good, but because they may not have anything new; which is often the case.

I always find myself making and accepting recommendations at the beer store. I have done this myself, a couple of times. It's fun, while rewarding. It's great to see someone staring at the different choices, go to reach for Stella, stop for a moment and look back. That's when I've spoke up and offered a suggestion - try a King Pilsner from Nobleton instead, or grab a 9 pack of Cameron's Cream. Sometimes people leap at the recommendation and are very appreciative.

There are many more listed on the forum that I am guilty of - like taking to long picking out a variety pack, confusing people with the name Michael Jackson, and remembering the smell of a beer by looking at the label.

Yes, I am a beer geek, or a beer enthusiasm. I'm not to keen on the title beer geek. I don't keep a journal of beers I drink, or score them (not that there is anything wrong with that - it's a good hobby to have). I'm more of a social beer enthusiast that writes (or tries to) about the social aspects of beer.

What makes you a beer geek/enthusiast/nerd/lover/fanatic?