You Might Be a Beer Nerd If...

Craft beer is infiltrating nearly every facet of life these days.  From bars, to weddings, to sporting events, you just can’t get away from it, even if you wanted to.  So, how can you tell if you’ve been caught in the wonderful riptide of craft beer and sucked out into beer nerd-dom?  Here are a few telltale signs.

You might be a beer nerd if...

You spend an embarrassing amount of money on two beers at happy hour.

But come on, you can’t put a price on quality, right?  Just throw that receipt away...

You go to a bar with an extensive beer selection, but they’re tapped out of your first four choices.

If I had a nickel for every time this happened... Guess you’ll just have to “settle” for that double IPA you had last time.

The more words in a beer’s name, the better.

Yes, I’ll have the Bourbon Barrel Belgian Chocolate Sour Imperial Stout (on Nitro) please.

You have just as many pictures of beer as you do of your significant other on your phone.

Don’t worry, this will never come back to bite you.  You have to keep your friends updated on what you’re drinking after all!

A night on the town is just not as fun if you can’t get an IPA somewhere.

Mixed drinks and cheap beer are great, but at some point you need some hops.  Am I right?

Your cabinets are literally overflowing with beer glasses covered with brewery logos.

Between brewery visits and “steal the glass” nights, you’ll never want for glassware again.  In fact, if the bar down the street ever runs out of glasses, you always loan them a dozen or two.

You believe shotgunning is the only appropriate delivery method for light beer.

Down the hatch!

Untappd.

Greatest social networking idea ever.  You can keep track of what you’ve had and what you’ve like, you can see what your friends are having; you can even get suggestions based on what you’ve logged.  Plus, there are badges!  Yes, you have to bury your face in your phone and maybe snap a picture while you’re out with friends, but no judgment here.

You sometimes order a beer based solely on %ABV.

Again, no judgment.  You can pick some real winners this way.

The first thing you do after establishing travel plans to a new place is look up any nearby breweries.

I’ve said it before, breweries are a great way to get to know the community they represent.  Plus, fresh beer is always a good thing.

If one of your friends is not sure what beer to get, you’re there leaning over his/her shoulder with suggestions.

And definitely helping.  Definitely. 

You can be disappointed with the beer selection of a bar with 30 taps.

I mean come on, by the time you run down all of the different styles, cross out the ones you’re not interested in, and realize you’ve had everything else on the menu multiple times, what can you do?

You can never answer the question “how is your beer?” with less than a paragraph.

“This beer is good”

You’ve ever cellared a beer.

It honestly is a thing.  Though it’s tough to buy a beer, then put it in the basement and forget about it for a few years, it pays off in the end with the right kind of beer.

You’re known by name at your local brewery or beer and wine shop.

They should set up direct deposits at such establishments...

You overhear your significant other telling their friends how beer is made, and nailing it.

They were listening!  They do care!  Anecdotal side note, I love when someone assumes my wife knows nothing about beer, tries to explain something to her, and she ends up correcting them.  I’m just so proud.

You’ve ever visited more than one brewery in a single day.

Not for the faint of heart (or liver), but especially if you’re travelling and there’s a finite amount of time to experience as much brew culture as possible, sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

Drink up beer nerd!  We’re right there with you, dropping paychecks and raising pints, always in search of a new favorite brew.

Cheers!
Jacob