For a little over three years I’ve been in the craft beer community now.  And maybe for about the last 2 I have been really involved in it.  I meet new people it seems weekly that love craft beer or want to know more.  And it’s great.  I’ve said before that this community as whole is head and shoulders better than the music “community” that I used to be a part of.  Man do I not miss those days.

But with every community comes issues.  Problems that stick out.  It’s inevitable really.  And as I have privately discussed these issues with friends of mine before I have kept my proverbial “mouth” shut in public forums.  I don’t hoot and rant about it.  Maybe I’ll retweet a funny tweet from someone that sees things similarly to me.  But for the most part I don’t say anything.  We’ll no more.  I’m sick of seeing things that remind me way to much of why I hate the the music scene going down here.  And I’m not going to stand around and just sit idly while it happens.

And the problem is these self proclaimed “beer evangelists” and “celebrities.”  Day in and day out the spout out nonsense all over the social media outlets.  They ask vague questions that they really don’t care about your answers to so that it increases the amount of replies they get.  That in turn raises their “Klout” which apparently means you win at the internet.  They barely reply to anyone that says something to them unless they feel they are on equal grounds.  And they have the audacity to openly beg for jobs in the beer industry.  I mean don’t we all wish we worked in the beer industry?  But you think you are so high and mighty that you can forgo normal means like sending resume, interview, etc?

But really what bugs me is these people are only out to advance themselves.  They are their own brand.  They aren’t trying to help the community.  Anything they can do to make their name bigger and better in the beer industry they will do.  Including walking all over anyone else.  Sure they try to hide that by “spotlighting” other beer bloggers or beer sites.  Do you know how much a smack in the face that is?  They are pretty much saying “I’m better than you and you will be no one unless I tell people to read your site.”  And sure people will say I’m being negative but tell me how that doesn’t help them first?

And when Mike and Nate from Thank Heaven for Beer started their Kickstarter campaign to help start their brewery where were these “evangelists?”  I didn’t see one tweet, blog post, Facebook post, anything from these people.  Where is the community in that.  I thought that we were all in this together.  It’s all for one and one for all right?  Need any more corny phrases?  But no, how would helping these awesome guys get their brewery started help them.  It’s not always about you.  I saw tons of great people in this community pledge to Wilderness Brewing including some of my favorite bloggers like Peter from Simply Beer, Scott from The Brew Club and Billy from Billy Brew.  All people that are truly out to help this community.  Hell Peter is trying to start his own brewery and he gives out his recipes.  That man is a symbol of a true member of this community.

Luckily there aren’t many of these people going around.  The truly good people out number the shitty by a lot.  But they are infectious.  Some people buy into them.  We should not stand for this.

And I know what you may be thinking.  You think me writing this will only cause a stir around me.  That very well may happen but I want more emphasis on the community as a whole, not individuals.  I’m sick and tired of it and I won’t stand for or support it anymore.  From this day on I’m deleting these people from my social media outlets.  I will no longer give them what they crave, the attention that helps inflate their egos.  And I won’t even mention them here because that will give them exactly what they want.

You want to think I’m an asshole for this stance?  Fine, you can do that.  But I know I’m not the only one that has had enough of this and really wants to get back to what makes this community great.  And that’s everyone.  I will keep on enjoying good beers with my friends.  I will keep on blogging about great upcoming events in South Florida.  I will keep podcasting about the great things happening in craft beer.  United We Drink.  See the word in their?  United.  We can either stand united or we will crumble with each individual that refuses to to stand out.