Put in my place by Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch

Ah, the percieved anonymity of the internet. We've all read the stories. A guy calls in sick, posts some party pics and gets fired. Teenage girls beat up a friend and post the video, only to find out that police too can surf the net. Well, these folks aren't alone. When we started this blog it was intended to be a fun resource for people in our brewing association and a way to discuss beer in general from our common-dude sort of perspective. Little did we know that Greg Koch, CEO and Co-founder of Stone Brewing, also has a common dude mentality, and reads the online reviews of his beers (even at little blogs like ours). Luckily, we've thus far reviewed two of Stone's brews (see those reviews below) and both got very high marks. In fact, one of our founders thinks Stone IPA is about the best damn beer in the world. He's also the best brewer among us, so I don't take that opinion lightly. However, when I drank and reviewed the Arrogant Bastard, I got a little...well...arrogant.

As I was quaffing said brew, and thoroughly enjoying myself (truth be told it wasn't my first time drinking it...and won't be my last) I stared at the bottle in front of me and was impressed with Stone's logo. That gargoyle dude is pretty mean looking, and matches their mean brews perfectly. Even though I recieved my undergraduate degree in English (no, I haven't yet uttered the phrase "would you like fries with that"), I rarely read packaging text or much of anything with a critical eye. It ruins things for me when I do. This time though, I read the bottle for Arrogant Bastard and was a little put off. My friends have called me a spiteful goat for years, and that nickname didn't stick because of my facial hair. So when I read the first three sentences on the bottle, my hackles rose. Here they are for context:

This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth.

It goes on from there with the same attitude, and takes a shot at the fizzy yellow beer of unnamed budcoorsmiller (they all taste the same to me), and calls out the masses who drink that swill simply because it's cheap and well advertised. Looking back on it, I should've chuckled and agreed. Hell, I DO agree. But after finishing my 22oz Arrogant Bastard, and with my hackles still up, I decided I'd stand up for my taste buds and let Stone know what I thought about them telling me I wouldn't like their beer. Like an angry teenager I planned to fight back in a totally one-sided and anonymous way. I'd show them a thing or two by telling them how much I did/do like it, and wax spiteful on their packaging. The only thing I didn't think about was Stone actually replying! In a comment on that review Greg took me to task for how I reacted. He did so in a very cool way, and wasn't confrontational at all about it. And damnit... he was right. Anyone who knows me also knows that I won't change my opinion simply because someone important tells me to. So when i say he was right, I mean it.

If you want to read the comment he left just scroll down and check it out under the Arrogant Bastard review. The short story is, I'm both honored and certainly humbled by Greg reading our review. If you haven't tried Stone's beer yet. Do it. Now. This second. Whether you like the bottle it comes in or not, you're going to love the beer inside.