Announcing The Session #70 – Don’t Believe The Hype

November 9th, 2012 by mrdavidj

Back in the summer, I shared a bottle of Westvleteren 12 with my brother and my father. Whilst I was aware of it’s reputation as “best beer in the world”, they were not. Whilst we all enjoyed it, we all agreed that we much preferred the other beer we had that night. The question that came into my head was this…

If I had told them it was the best beer in the world, would their perceptions have changed?

How much does hype have an effect? Are we much better off knowing nothing about a beer, or is it better to have the knowledge as to what the best beers are?

Which beers do you think have been overhyped? How do you feel when a beer doesn’t live up to it’s hype.

Is hype a good or bad thing for beer? Tell me what you think. I’m looking forward to seeing what the general consensus is. (4949)

Posted in The Session | 30 comments

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30 comments on “Announcing The Session #70 – Don’t Believe The Hype”

  1. steve on said:

    Good topic. I too was not taken by westy 12. I could probably just use my ratebeer scores to determine what hyped beers I’ve underscored.

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  2. Justin on said:

    I recently posted about this very thing, so I’m not going to re-post in the context of this Session. However, here is a link to my post “Broaching Beer Bias” and how hype often inadvertently factors into brew reviews: http://justinsbrewreview.blogspot.com/2012/10/broaching-beer-bias.html

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  3. Paul Wright on said:

    Sorry…went off on one.

    Post scheduled for Dec 7th, but can be found at: http://cuddlybadger.blogspot.co.uk/

    I’ll get me coat now (and my passport, and start looking for facial reconstruction surgery…..)

    Reply ↓
  4. Reuben Gray on said:

    Funilly enough, that was exactly my topic (westvleteren 12) only two months ago, the one about novelty beer.
    http://www.taleofale.com/2012/10/a-novel-approach-thesession-68.html

    If I participate in December, I will have to come up with something else that’s over-hyped.

    Reply ↓
  5. Jake on said:

    My thoughts on hype, and why beer is sometimes, maybe even usually, besides the point: http://beerbrarian.blogspot.com/2012/11/never-mind-hype-lakefronts-black-friday.html

    Reply ↓
  6. John on said:

    Hi, thanks for hosting!

    I’m not around on Friday but this post should go live then:
    http://homebrewmanual.com/does-home-brew-taste-better/

    Cheers!

    Reply ↓
  7. Jon Jefferson on said:

    My contribution to this month’s session is available here.

    http://10thdaybrewing.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-sessions-dont-believe-hype.html

    Reply ↓
  8. The Beer Nut on said:

    My post is up:
    http://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2012/12/thar-she-blows.html

    Thanks for hosting!

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  9. Bailey on said:

    This is ours:
    http://boakandbailey.com/2012/12/session-70-dont-believe-the-hype/

    Thanks for (a) hosting; (b) coming up with something we could actually take part in; and (c) expressing it in the form of an exam question. (Not sure our answer would get high marks, though.)

    Reply ↓
  10. Bryan on said:

    Hey, everyone! Happy to be back to another month. Look forward to reading what everyone has to offer.

    Here are my reflections on why Flavor Flav is bad for beer from my blog, This Is Why I’m Drunk: http://is.gd/xisJHq

    Reply ↓
  11. Bryan on said:

    All – I opened a thread up over at Reddit’s Beer Blogs page where we can also share our posts over there. I encourage everyone to post!

    http://www.reddit.com/r/beerblogs/comments/14fwee/december_session_blog_round_up_the_hype_of_beer/

    Reply ↓
  12. Simon Johnson on said:

    Cheers for hosting and giving me the opportunity to rewrite another fairy tale ;-)

    http://www.reluctantscooper.co.uk/2012/12/the-session-70-dont-believe-hype.html

    Reply ↓
  13. Looke on said:

    Great topic, it’s always nice to have something to think about before rambling on. Although I may have rambled a bit anyway. Here it is though :

    http://likelymoose.co.uk/dont-believe-the-hype-the-session-70/

    Thanks

    Looke

    Reply ↓
  14. Killian on said:

    My article is here – http://thedrunkendestrier.blogspot.ie/2012/12/102-session-dont-believe-hype.html

    Sorry for also emailing it to you, like an utter noob. Cheers!

    Reply ↓
  15. Alan on said:

    Thanks for hosting! It’s a good topic to ponder. Here’s what I came up with:

    http://growlerfills.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-session-no-70-hype.html

    Reply ↓
  16. Derrick on said:

    Thanks for hosting! My post is up here:

    http://beer-runner.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-session-70-dont-believe-backlash.html

    Take care,

    Derrick

    Reply ↓
  17. JayZeis on said:

    here is my entry. Thanks for hosting!:

    http://abeerinhand.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-session-70-beating-hype.html

    JayZeis
    A Beer in Hand is Worth Two in the Fridge.

    Reply ↓
  18. Nick on said:

    Long-time listener, first-time caller … or something like that.

    This is my first contribution to The Session. Good topic to start out with.

    http://drinkblogrepeat.com/2012/12/07/whats-the-hype-all-about-the-session-70/

    Reply ↓
  19. mrdavidj on said:

    Thanks to everyone who’s contributed so far. I’ve enjoyed reading all your posts and I’m looking forward to starting the round up once everyone has made their contribution

    Reply ↓
  20. Win Bassett on said:

    Thanks for hosting, David!

    The Session #70: Beyond the Hype
    http://beersoup.allaboutbeer.com/2012/12/the-session-70-beyond-the-hype/

    Reply ↓
  21. Joseph Callender on said:

    Here’s mine. Thanks for the opportunity to add to a substantive topic.

    http://craftbeercoach.com/the-session-70-my-gripe-with-hype/

    Reply ↓
  22. Tom Bedell on said:

    Here’s my contribution. It’s the greatest thing ever written. If you don’t read it, you’ll die:
    http://tombedell.com/golf/golf/lifestyle/3710/the-session-70-dont-believe-the-hype/

    Reply ↓
  23. Reuben Gray on said:

    OK I joined in, here’s mine:
    http://www.taleofale.com/2012/12/belfast-beer-festival-2012-thesession.html

    Reply ↓
  24. Bottled Roger on said:

    Contribution for the session.

    http://bottledrogersbeers.wordpress.com/

    Reply ↓
  25. Jon Abernathy on said:

    Hi David, thanks for hosting! I’ve got my very late entry for The Brew Site here:
    http://www.thebrewsite.com/session-70-hype/

    Cheers!
    - Jon

    Reply ↓
  26. Paul - Sustainable Alcoholic on said:

    I’m a bit late, but I finally got there. Here’s my contribution:
    http://sustainablealcoholic.com/post/37475298762/the-session-70-dont-believe-the-hype

    Thanks for hosting.

    Reply ↓
  27. Thomas on said:

    wp.me/p14CJp-G

    Reply ↓
  28. Tom on said:

    Thanks for hosting! Sorry this is late!

    http://whatweredrinking.blogspot.com/2012/12/session-70-in-words-of-chuck-d.html

    Tom

    Reply ↓
  29. Glen Humphries on said:

    Here are my musings…..just a day or two late http://beerisyourfriend.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/1065/

    Reply ↓
  30. mrdavidj on said:

    Thanks to everyone who has submitted posts since Friday. I’ll be approving all of the comments once I’ve read them (and made my notes) to help myself keep track.

    On the basis of the first half of posts, I’m looking forward to reading this lot, and writing up the round up when I return to my desktop on Monday/Tuesday.

    Reply ↓

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