The question for this month's edition of The Session is this:

How much does hype have an effect? Are we much better off knowing nothing about a beer, or is it better to have the knowledge as to what the best beers are? Which beers do you think have been overhyped? How do you feel when a beer doesn’t live up to it’s hype. Is hype a good or bad thing for beer? Tell me what you think. I’m looking forward to seeing what the general consensus is.

Sucker juice. That's what this is about. When I think about the nutty idea of "beer community" it sure seems a lot like a ship of fools when it comes to the sucker juice. The 500 ml for 15 bucks? The bottle in its very own cardboard box? There is plenty of cause for it. Folk are trying to make a living for sure but some are making that living inflating the pretty straight forward into the alleged complexity. And into importance. Folk are also needing to set themselves apart from the competition in a field where the range of variation is ultimately fairly limited. A hobby topic. A moderately priced mild intoxicant. That's all this is. And it's a good hobby. With plenty of good hobby knowledge to go around and please any imagination. Plenty of opportunity to sit in a good bar and have a good time with good friends over good beer. Good. But step over the line and you are buying sucker juice. Because you've become the sucker. So, you deserve what you get.

Seeing more of this? More angstity special projects? More precious pairings? More of the limited edition casked gose with rose petal and elk hair added? More junketing gurus to give you the guidance you need? More words for things that only needed one just a few years ago? People seem to need to make a buck. Which means, I suppose, we have to put up with this. Fine. It's only a hobby. But keep an eye out for the sucker juice. People might start to get ideas if we don't keep a lid on it.