Session #111 announced: Beer mid-life crisis

The SessionHost Oliver Gray has announced the topic for the 111th gathering of The Session on May 6. He writes, “I’m having a beer mid-life crisis, yo.” And so …

All that talk of beer bubbles might prove true, but instead of a dramatic *pop* we’ll might see a slow deflation followed by a farting noise as some of the air leaks out and the hobbyist move on the spend their time and dollars elsewhere. It’s impossible to see the future, but if my fall from rabid beer fanboy to dude-who-drinks-beer-and-sort-of-wants-to-be-left-alone is indicative of a trend, I’ve got some signs to make a doomsaying to do.

What say you?

Do you find it hard to muster the same zeal for beer as you did a few years ago? Are you suffering through a beer-life crisis like I am? If so, how do you deal with it?

I don’t mean to pick on Oliver, but when I saw his tweet — “I’m hosting the Session again in May. Topic? Beer Mid-Life Crisis. It’s exactly what it sounds like.” — my first thought was, “Mid-life crisis? You are a pup.” I do hope some bloggers in his age class, as opposed to mine, tackle this question.

10 thoughts on “Session #111 announced: Beer mid-life crisis”

  1. My first mid-life crisis came at 26. But as a more mature man now (still not as mature as you!), I feel you.

  2. Dunno if it approaches a midlife crisis — actually, I’m sure it doesn’t — but the sheer overwhelming number of new breweries and beers pretty much got me to the point of realizing I was fine with sticking to the been-established for a bit local breweries, larger older regionals I had grown to love, and favorite imports. Paralysis through choice. I’ll try new things when traveling (which is pretty rare) or at a restaurant or when somebody hands me something… but my list of favorites/reliables still gives me way too much choice — I mean, more than sufficient variety over the course of any given year.

    This isn’t to denigrate the explosion of breweries and beers or criticize the concept of ever-expanding choices, and it is fantastic to see so many survive and thrive. But when the primary reason to drink is enjoyment and I have more than enough enjoyable beers to return to, adding to that seems almost greedy or wasteful at this point. I’d rather have Favorite Brewery X get a reliable few sixers worth of my money each year in exchange for me being happy with my choice than to keep exploring other folks at the expense of not drinking something I enjoy. If you possess too much, you enjoy too little. Stepping back helps me enjoy more. Especially as I age and accordingly drink less frequently.

    • Thanks, Bill. Not to put words in Oliver’s mouth, but he is writing from the view of enthusiast/blogger. It is good to read something from the view of consumer/enthusiast. We are all consumers at some point.

      • From his post, I sure got the impression he was talking about his experiences as a consumer/enthusiast — yes, he writes about stuff, but took pains to make clear he’s an “overly involved consumer,” called his beer enthusiasm a hobby, and found the enthusiasm waning, giving consumer-based reasons for it. Yes, he’s a blogger, but the enthusiasm that’s waning isn’t about his writing about beer, it’s his fandom of beer. I mean, I guess you could apply “a few pounds heavier and a bunch of dollars lighter” to blogging, but it makes more sense to apply it to beer… and “my fall from rabid beer fanboy to dude-who-drinks-beer-and-sort-of-wants-to-be-left-alone” doesn’t leave much room for doubt, right?

  4. Probably a bit melodramatic to call it a mid-life crisis. The rest of my life is great. It’s more like a beer-life crisis. I think I compounded the wrong modifier.

      • Tough call. Maybe a little of both. My career is more involved than it was 5 years ago, but I still have a good chunk of time for hobbies and extra-curriculars. Still introspecting about the whole thing, clearly.

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