I have noticed a sever shortage of good beer groups on Usenet. Do you think
this is because there are too many so the participants are too scattered or
are people just not interested in beer?

-H

--
news:alt.drinks.beer

Pop in for a Pint!!


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On Tue, 21 Oct 2003, Horatio wrote:

I have noticed a sever shortage of good beer groups on Usenet. Do you think
this is because there are too many so the participants are too scattered or
are people just not interested in beer?

Can't speak for everyone, but for me drinking beer is much more
interesting than writing about beer. And I've written a beer review or
two in my time. (not professionally)

That said, I think most of Usenet has the problem of too many groups and
not enough people. There are always exceptions, of course.

So, what is your favorite beer and which is your favorite bar?

In article ,
Horatio wrote:
I have noticed a sever shortage of good beer groups on Usenet. Do you think
this is because there are too many so the participants are too scattered or
are people just not interested in beer?

Usenet is dying. Folks are much more interested in web forums. Check out
RateBeer.com, BeerAdvocate.com, the Burgundian Babble Belt, etc. for
more active discussions.

--NPD
--
___________________________
Nicholas P. Dempsey
Department of Sociology
University of Chicago

"James J. Walton" wrote in message
...


On Tue, 21 Oct 2003, Horatio wrote:

I have noticed a sever shortage of good beer groups on Usenet. Do you
think
this is because there are too many so the participants are too scattered
or
are people just not interested in beer?

Can't speak for everyone, but for me drinking beer is much more
interesting than writing about beer. And I've written a beer review or
two in my time. (not professionally)

True, but one of the greates things about beer is that it is an experience
to share!


That said, I think most of Usenet has the problem of too many groups and
not enough people. There are always exceptions, of course.

agreed. I usually hang out on news:alt.drinks.beer which is pretty cool as
far as groups go.


So, what is your favorite beer and which is your favorite bar?

Well, I don't really have any 1 favorite beer. I think beers are often
situational. eg: I love Guinness draft! That is a solid beer - delicious
deep malt roast flavor with a good balance hop bitters for a sharp tang at
the finish. and that rich creamy head!!?? mmmm . . . . Still, not at a
picnic!

As for bars, same thing. If I was interested in drinking Guinness, let's
say tonight, I would probably pop on over to The Corner Stage for some live
jazz and a nice cigar (Cuban robusto if you can get them, the Guinness
perfectly salves the spice of the cigar, if not, Cuban seed).

I also enjoy a a beer fresh-poured in my favorite pilsner glass at my house.
That has the added attraction of allowing me to choose whatever I want (beer
or foodwise to complement) and I can do some reading or writing while
drinking.

-H


--
news:alt.drinks.beer

Pop in for a Pint!!


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On Tue, 21 Oct 2003, Horatio wrote:

Well, I don't really have any 1 favorite beer. I think beers are often
situational. eg: I love Guinness draft! That is a solid beer - delicious
deep malt roast flavor with a good balance hop bitters for a sharp tang at
the finish. and that rich creamy head!!?? mmmm . . . . Still, not at a
picnic!

I can't say I have 1 favorite beer either. I've a fondness for Stoudt's
Abbey Trippel, Victory Hop Devil, and Stone Arrogant *******.

As for bars, same thing. If I was interested in drinking Guinness, let's
say tonight, I would probably pop on over to The Corner Stage for some live
jazz and a nice cigar (Cuban robusto if you can get them, the Guinness
perfectly salves the spice of the cigar, if not, Cuban seed).

My favorite bar by far is The Sharp Edge in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, USA.
50 taps, 200 bottled beers. Some years ago they were voted the best
Belgian beer bar in the USA. The staff is required to be knowledgable
about the beers. Good food.


I also enjoy a a beer fresh-poured in my favorite pilsner glass at my house.
That has the added attraction of allowing me to choose whatever I want (beer
or foodwise to complement) and I can do some reading or writing while
drinking.

When at home I normally drink from the bottles. I like to purchase
variety packs from various breweries.

"James J. Walton" wrote in message
...


On Tue, 21 Oct 2003, Horatio wrote:

Well, I don't really have any 1 favorite beer. I think beers are often
situational. eg: I love Guinness draft! That is a solid beer -
delicious
deep malt roast flavor with a good balance hop bitters for a sharp tang
at
the finish. and that rich creamy head!!?? mmmm . . . . Still, not at
a
picnic!

I can't say I have 1 favorite beer either. I've a fondness for Stoudt's
Abbey Trippel, Victory Hop Devil, and Stone Arrogant *******.

This is the second time today I have heard of Victory Hop Devil, I think it
is going on my list.


As for bars, same thing. If I was interested in drinking Guinness,
let's
say tonight, I would probably pop on over to The Corner Stage for some
live
jazz and a nice cigar (Cuban robusto if you can get them, the Guinness
perfectly salves the spice of the cigar, if not, Cuban seed).

My favorite bar by far is The Sharp Edge in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, USA.
50 taps, 200 bottled beers. Some years ago they were voted the best
Belgian beer bar in the USA. The staff is required to be knowledgable
about the beers. Good food.

I just remembered this great place in Richmond - can't remember the name.
(J??) It was a barbecue restaurant/brew pub, with a brewery right in the
restaurant. Now, normally I am a little leary of these places because the
beer usually sucks, but I took my chances and ordered a chocolate porter.
The waiter brings me a glass of something murkier than NY harbor with what
looks like a greasy cesspool floating on top. WOW! was that a good beer -
absolutely floored me.



I also enjoy a a beer fresh-poured in my favorite pilsner glass at my
house.
That has the added attraction of allowing me to choose whatever I want
(beer
or foodwise to complement) and I can do some reading or writing while
drinking.

When at home I normally drink from the bottles. I like to purchase
variety packs from various breweries.

hmm . . . I used to drink frombottles, but I can't anymore. Pinching up my
face makes me miss the taste of the beer.

-H


--
news:alt.drinks.beer

Pop in for a Pint!!


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There are way too many sites that have great forums ... and very active ones
at that. But way too many egos and false accounts made Usenet quite absurd
and well ... useless. Plus your email is out there unless you fix it ...
lots of Spam is indirectly from UseNet.

Top three in no particular order:

Ratebeer.com:
http://www.ratebeer.com/forums

The BBB:
http://www.cmg.net/belgium/clubhub/message/board.html

BeerAdvocate.com ... we average 600-700 posts a day, not including the
regional groups.
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/
Groups average 150-250 a day.
http://beeradvocate.com/groups/
--
Jason Alstrom
--
BeerAdvocate.com Extreme Beer Fest
01.17.04 - The Cyclorama
@ The Boston Center for the Arts
http://beeradvocate.com/events/extreme_2004.php
--
"Horatio" wrote in message
news
I have noticed a sever shortage of good beer groups on Usenet. Do you
think
this is because there are too many so the participants are too scattered
or
are people just not interested in beer?

nicholas peter dempsey wrote:
In article ,
I have noticed a sever shortage of good beer groups on Usenet. Do you think
this is because there are too many so the participants are too scattered or
are people just not interested in beer?

Usenet is dying. Folks are much more interested in web forums. Check out
RateBeer.com, BeerAdvocate.com, the Burgundian Babble Belt, etc. for
more active discussions.

More active, certainly. More useful? I'd argue not. There's
even more anonymity, there's more dilution of good, informed
information, and now the biggest ("most active") sites are run by
the kind of people whose egos prevented them from spewing over
USENET without being called on it. (Some more so than others,
of course.) You get much, much more noise with the signal.
I still get more useful information from people whose opinions
I trust from USENET.
--
Joel Plutchak plutchak@[...] | Boneyard Union of Zymurgical Zealots

"I don't like beer. I tried it once and thought it was terrible."
- Overheard at a restaurant

In article ,
plutchak joel peter wrote:
nicholas peter dempsey wrote:
In article ,


More active, certainly. More useful? I'd argue not. There's
even more anonymity, there's more dilution of good, informed
information, and now the biggest ("most active") sites are run by
the kind of people whose egos prevented them from spewing over
USENET without being called on it. (Some more so than others,
of course.) You get much, much more noise with the signal.
I still get more useful information from people whose opinions
I trust from USENET.

These days, a posted question on usenet frequently waits a couple of days
for an answer at all, and usually gets answered snidely. I can't speak to
other sites, but on ratebeer, answers come quickly and are generally
knowledgeable. And the "noise" is generally confined to an "off
topic" forum. Cursory browsing of BA suggests that things aren't much
different in that parallel universe. Kind of like what things were like
here up until a year or so ago.

What do we have, 4 or 5 people here who really know their beer? And how
often do they check in?

Where's the "signal" here right now? All I see is a crossposted rant about
waitresses in English pubs. That's been about it for a week.

I miss usenet; it's a much nicer interface than web forums if you learn
how to use it. Unfortunately, there are few decent groups anymore, as
nobody takes the time to learn what usenet is about.

--NPD
--
___________________________
Nicholas P. Dempsey
Department of Sociology
University of Chicago

In article ,
says...

These days, a posted question on usenet frequently waits a couple of days
for an answer at all, and usually gets answered snidely.

That may be true here, but rec.crafts.brewing is a phenomenal resource
for homebrewers. The most helpful, friendly newsgroup I've ever seen
(and still incredibly active). Usually answers are posted/emailed within
minutes of posting.

But in general, I do agree that usenet ain't what it used to be, which
is a shame. I don't really care for web boards and chats that much.

Bill

nicholas peter dempsey wrote:

What do we have, 4 or 5 people here who really know their beer? And how
often do they check in?


Wnat an active NG ? check it.hobby.birra, for example... only they all
post in some weird language few foreigners understand )))


--
Warning : you may encounter French language beyond this point.

- Quelle barbe !!
- Où cela ? Où qu'il est, le barbu ?
(F'murrr)

Laurent Mousson, Berne, Switzerland

Do you mean..........No good beer, groups?
Or no good, beer groups?

Ratebeer.com:
http://www.ratebeer.com/forums

The BBB:
http://www.cmg.net/belgium/clubhub/message/board.html

BeerAdvocate.com ... we average 600-700 posts a day, not including the
regional groups.
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/
Groups average 150-250 a day.
http://beeradvocate.com/groups/

As for Belgian beer related I can advice:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/belgianbeer/
English language, HTML compatible (pictures!, illustrations, etc...)
Cheers,

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City: Brugge Belgium Europe
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or http://beerlink.cjb.net or http://surf.to/beer
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