BeerAdvocate is a site where many start their online beer odyssey. Perhaps for some it’s RateBeer. I started on BA a number of years ago and was never really drawn into the so-called “community” although there is still a wealth of information there, especially for the newbie. Over the years, dickish and inept management really eroded what the site once was but as the former owner of a large community I can say with confidence that “the way things used to be” is something that was simply outgrown with the influx of new members and unceremonious purging of established ones. No doubt a process hastened by the inconsistent control-freakery of a certain administrator.
I like to keep the New England section bookmarked and click to it with some regularity to keep an eye on the happenings there. The same topics are repeated for the most part, not the least of which is seemingly a thread every other day about Hill Farmstead but today’s was different. This is not your typical sycophantic fanboy Hill Farmstead post.
Dangerous roads? Rude employees? Being stuck in your car? This guy should be used to that, coming from the great state of New York which we all know is a shining beacon of friendliness and open, uncongested roads. This was an entertaining blip on my Friday morning. The comments that followed this wonderful tome (written at 3am, I wonder if alcohol was a factor?) were all predictably critical. I know people can’t help themselves, but I sometimes wonder what would happen if these types of things were ignored. If people showed some restraint and clicked on to the next post instead of reply, forums would be a much better place to be- especially as they grew in membership.
For the record, I’m a fan of the Hill Farmstead brand and the beers that Shaun Hill creates. I have stopped making semi-regular trips up there, though, because the larger world of what is now “craft beer” has taken the fun out of it. Every release is a zoo and even on normal days, the line to get growlers and bottles is unreasonable, in my opinion. It’s just not worth waiting in line with the tickers and traders for a few bottles of beer. It feels more like a chore or errand than a fun, beer geek pilgrimage. Such is the world of craft beer in 2013.
Update 10/5: So a day after posting this, I learned that Hill Farmstead is not announcing bottle releases on their site for the time being. Good move. Let word of mouth/social media do the dirty work, keep the more-distant tickers at bay. I like this policy, it will get me to make a run up there spontaneously because, well, I am fortunate enough to have that flexibility sometimes.
