I love lager. I really do. Lagers in general get poorer scores than they deserve.

But, American macro lagers are crap.

British, Dutch and Belgian macro lagers, too.

Crap beer, brewed by faceless corporations with enough advertising money behind them to delude the unwary.

Hofmann Export – that’s lager.

Only if it is snobby to not take up stamp collecting or train spotting. I do see your point but I think we have to realize everyone is not going to have the same hobby and many who do not like beer fulfill their pleasure in a wide variety of tastes otherwise. And, frankly, if I had the time and the money I would spend my life happily comparing and cross referencing every port (tawny, vintage, LBV, crusted and even ruby) as against every sort of blue cheese and every sort of pear. But I don’t do that even though I love it and know it would make me a nicer person and a better dancer.

This sort of goes to the problem with passion. People have only so many hours in the day and so much available to personal interests. If some do not go for craft beer, who am I to fault them? And if some do and go for it to a degree that is detrimental to other interests, who am I to praise them?

I think it’s only snobby to prefer microbrews to macrobrews if you never try the macrobrews and write them off before tasting them. This was my initial point about blind tastings: I think some macrobrews have some merit, if only we microbrew drinkers would set aside our biases and taste them blind.

So, I don’t fault people for liking American macro-lagers (espeically those who like it IN ADDITION to other styles), and I don’t presume that all of them are ignorant to what else is out there, as many do. But isn’t it a little snobby to turn up your nose at dozens of beer styles, and the hundreds or thousands of examples within each style, and assume that you know you won’t like ANY of them?

This gets back to Bill & Mario’s points: if it REALLY is about knowing that you prefer American light lager and nothing else, and it’s not about advertising, or affordability, than why aren’t there similar sized contingents of beer drinkers for other styles that drink ONLY that one style? E.g. exclusive stout drinkers, exclusive wheat beer drinkers, exclusive sour ale drinkers? If it were about taste, wouldn’t we see groups like this too?

I am not going to say this is pure snobbery but it is not far from its neighbourhood. While I have turned plenty of folk on to good beer, many people like lighter lagers because they actually like the taste of lighter lagers and not because the TV tells them what to do. My pals who do are aware of the beers I have shared with them and many say thanks but no thanks. I have an acquaintance who is a particularly fine cook, quite particular and capable in terms of taste awareness who simply does not care for anything but a cold crisp light beer.

Being self-aware about the rights of others to be not judged for being unlike craft beer hobbyists is sometimes useful. It’s no different from me putting up with the pro-Cantillon lobby. I don’t think I am going to love it anytime soon any more than I expect certain people to turn to DIPAs and oatmeal stouts.

This is not to discount marketing, of course, which is a massive influence in beer. (That’s why A-B spends hundreds of millions on it.) But in this particular case, that influence is moot.

And Steel Reserve is also a Gold Medal winner. I guess every system has its flaws.

Finally, I love your blind head to head tasting idea. Moonlight does have a pils (Reality Czech), and it’s rather nice.