Opinion is a tricky thing. Opinion is everywhere these days: So much of what we see on the news, even in our sports highlights is barely masked commentary if it’s masked at all. Not only does this suddenly place the impetus of objectivity and fact-checking on the viewer/reader, but it seems to have sent true opinion-based writing and reporting careening into a world with no boundaries and sometimes no sense.

            Having spent a few years on the retail side of wine/beer sales, I’ve come to know how much impact opinion can have. I’ve seen reviews stifle products that deserved better and push sales of things I wouldn’t buy with your money. I’ve found myself arguing with, in absentia of course, some of the most famous and respected wine and beer journalists out there. Reading and discussing these opinions has sharpened my own views and made me a better retailer, that’s for sure. But I can only use that to benefit those who question me about what they read or hear. In reviewing today there seems to be a dangerous lack of perspective and an abundance of disrespect for the differences we all have on our taste buds.

            I often have customers who come into Rick’s and ask me what the ‘best beer’ or the ‘best wine’ I have is. That or they come in having read the latest wine or beer magazine and believe that one taster’s word is the gospel for the rest of us and since it wasn’t my name attached to what they read I am somehow trying to ‘sell’ them something when I make suggestions.

            I only bring this up because it seems I’m developing some kind of reputation as a guy who enjoys everything; that I won’t speak ill of a beer. For the most part that is a fair assessment. I’m not in the business of trashing other’s efforts and hard work, nor am I in the business of trashing the products that are the result of that work. What seems unfair is that this generalization of me is somehow a bad thing.

            I have very strong opinions of beers and wines. I have definite likes and dislikes. I also feel that my job is not, when someone comes in to buy the ‘best’ beer I have, to give them what I like with no consideration of their experience. My job is to give the customer the best beer for that customer, which involves a large amount of perspective, of seeing things from their point of view. If you came into Rick’s to ask for a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and I went on a tangent about how much I dislike New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (which I readily admit is not my favorite thing on the planet), how would that make you feel as a customer? However, if over years of doing this work I’ve had wines and beers of every style that I’ve enjoyed, even if I generally don’t go for that style, and I know the general flavors of the style and what you like about them and use that knowledge to find a wine you enjoy, what do you care if it’s not my favorite style? I know where you’re coming from and will find something that works for you.

I think there’s a danger in reading the big magazines and reviewers. I think the danger is that many of these writers don’t have to take other palates into account. In many ways, the writers review is all about them. Which isn’t a knock; obviously they have a gift for translating what they taste to paper. What I tell people is to read reviews a little differently: Find patterns in reviewers; styles they tend to like and dislike, etc. That can go a long way toward getting a real idea of what a wine or beer is like, not simply an opinion.

            So no, I won’t be trashing beers in this column or on my blog or in my store (unless it’s some big macro thing—then all bets are off). It might be my style, but it’s not my job. My job is to find the best beer for what you’re looking for.  My job is to taste things objectively and register not only what I think of it, but who it might work for. Anyone who sees that as a deficiency might know their beer or wine; hell, they might have forgotten more than I’ll ever known, but they don’t know how to service customers the way customers need to be served. And they certainly don’t know how to do my job better than me. Until next week, take care.
 

Cheers!

Nick Anderson, the Beermonger

Nick Anderson is the beer buyer (or Beermonger) at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria VA. He lets all those pesky opinions and rants loose at www.beermonger.net