Beer Associations

Hi Everyone, Rachel here.

As I was laying in bed last night at 2am, unable to sleep, I was thinking about the concept of beer associations. It seemed very interesting to me at the time, but I am not sure if it was one of those moments of faux clarity, like when you have drunk too much. OK- focus Rachel. Here's my claim- people associate beer with experiences, events, etc. Therefore their attitude/ opinion of that beer, is (somewhat) dependent on these experiences. My logical reasoning is a little rusty, so please bear with me.

Here's some examples I can think of. Note- as you will see, they have nothing to do with the actual beer characteristics, although I definitely do appreciate those as well. Its the memories, emotions, that these beers invoke in me, that make them meaningful and special.

• Coastal Fog- those crazy keg parties from college, namely senior year when everyone had developed somewhat sophisticated enough tastes, or thought it was passe to continue buying the kegs of natty light among the freshman with fake ids. These were the Jack Johnson days. These parties were somewhat nostalgic, but always fun, and this beer will always remind me of them. New Belgium's Fat Tire falls into this category as well- because all our college friends from Colorado always ranted and raved about this beer, and it was a true celebration when they began to distribute in No Cal.


• Deschutes Black Butte Porter- this beer will always remind me of Sunriver, Oregon. Sunriver's one of my in-laws favorite vacation spots, which we have been going to for years. This beer reminds me of sitting at the porch, watching the golf course, or having dinner at the local restaurant. I am in vacation mode whenever I drink it. Deschutes was also my first official brewery tour.


• Duvel- This beer reminds me of Thanksgiving. We had it this past year, in addition to Pat's own Saison, which was used to brine the turkeys. (Ah, beer as a food ingredient- we definitely have to save that for another discussion)

Hopefully you guys can get the picture of what I am talking about now. I feel that this is an important thing to consider in the creation of The Bruery. Our customer's experience of the beer is very important to us- and is taken into account in our bottle selection, tasting room, beer names, basically everything.

But enough about me, I want to know what YOUR beer associations are. Why don't you include your own in the comments section of this post. I know you're out there...come on, it won't hurt, I promise!!!