Steven Beaumont in General

Reads 3676 • Replies 37 • Started Wednesday, February 8, 2006 5:37:18 AM CT

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Message MilkmanDan beers 1942 º places 20 º 15:55 Wed 2/8/2006 Have seen him speak a few times and talked to him once. He struck me as, more or less, a lot like Michael Jackson, except Beaumont is actually occasionally sober. He was knowledgeable, interesting, and he’s a damn good writer about beer. He’s done a lot to advance craft brewing. If he wants to comment on beer, brewing, or this website, he’s sure as hell qualified to do so in my book.
Message SilkTork P beers 7752 º places 111 º 04:03 Thu 2/9/2006 Originally posted by MilkmanDan If he wants to comment on beer, brewing, or this website, he’s sure as hell qualified to do so in my book. Agreed. And in my book I’m qualified to say that his star is fading while RateBeer’s is burning bright. It’s each to their own, and if he wants to hold to the view that he’s more authoritative than RateBeer that’s fine. But in that very view he has shown how out of touch he is with what is happening. He clearly doesn’t realise that his importance has diminished with the growth of sites such as ours. I don’t know if anyone has noticed but the days of the Encyclopedia salesman knocking on your door have long gone. People use the internet these days. Beaumont is coming over like the old village witchdoctor claiming to know everything about the universe and beating people over the head with his knobbly stick when they log onto the internet and become genuinely educated. And, given that RateBeer is a site for people interested in beer, and that he writes for people interested in beer, it seems odd that he should set out to criticise his audience. Or is patronise his audience a better expression?
Message sloth P beers 3475 º places 102 º 04:18 Thu 2/9/2006 Originally posted by SilkTork Originally posted by MilkmanDan If he wants to comment on beer, brewing, or this website, he’s sure as hell qualified to do so in my book. Agreed. And in my book I’m qualified to say that his star is fading while RateBeer’s is burning bright. It’s each to their own, and if he wants to hold to the view that he’s more authoritative than RateBeer that’s fine. But in that very view he has shown how out of touch he is with what is happening. He clearly doesn’t realise that his importance has diminished with the growth of sites such as ours. I don’t know if anyone has noticed but the days of the Encyclopedia salesman knocking on your door have long gone. People use the internet these days. Beaumont is coming over like the old village witchdoctor claiming to know everything about the universe and beating people over the head with his knobbly stick when they log onto the internet and become genuinely educated. And, given that RateBeer is a site for people interested in beer, and that he writes for people interested in beer, it seems odd that he should set out to criticise his audience. Or is patronise his audience a better expression? Indeed. Well said.

Message Nekronos beers 5026 º places 178 º 07:50 Thu 2/9/2006 I think I haven’t never heard of him. And I think Michael Jackson is not as good, either. It’s like a comercial rater.
Message PhillyBeer2112 beers 3499 º places 102 º 08:28 Thu 2/9/2006 Originally posted by SilkTork Originally posted by MilkmanDan If he wants to comment on beer, brewing, or this website, he’s sure as hell qualified to do so in my book. Agreed. And in my book I’m qualified to say that his star is fading while RateBeer’s is burning bright. It’s each to their own, and if he wants to hold to the view that he’s more authoritative than RateBeer that’s fine. But in that very view he has shown how out of touch he is with what is happening. He clearly doesn’t realise that his importance has diminished with the growth of sites such as ours. I don’t know if anyone has noticed but the days of the Encyclopedia salesman knocking on your door have long gone. People use the internet these days. Beaumont is coming over like the old village witchdoctor claiming to know everything about the universe and beating people over the head with his knobbly stick when they log onto the internet and become genuinely educated. And, given that RateBeer is a site for people interested in beer, and that he writes for people interested in beer, it seems odd that he should set out to criticise his audience. Or is patronise his audience a better expression? Actually I think it shows just how very much in touch he is. He’s echoing thoughts I’ve seen other beer writers express, although more informally in forums such as usenet... I believe that some of the pro beer writers see ratebeer.com as a bit of a threat to their livelihood. We have become such a comprehensive resource to obtain all kinds of information about beer that many of these guys have become almost obsolete. IMO Beaumont was simply trying to reassert his relevance. The problem for him is that so much of his audience are already members of either ratebeer or beeradvocate that his article perhaps had an effect opposite of the intended (although maybe his fellow beer writers were nodding in approval).
Message BuckNaked beers 1230 º places 28 º 08:56 Thu 2/9/2006 Originally posted by SilkTork It’s each to their own, and if he wants to hold to the view that he’s more authoritative than RateBeer that’s fine. But in that very view he has shown how out of touch he is with what is happening. He clearly doesn’t realise that his importance has diminished with the growth of sites such as ours. Out of touch?? He’s writing about ratebeer on the internet on what is essentially close to a blog - I’m not sure how he could get any more current. I’m not sure why you’re so up in arms about this. I don’t see it as ratebeer vs. beer-writers. We’re not even competing for the same space. RB can provide you with instant information about virtually any beer, ratings, places, a great community and some articles on the side. Beaumont and other writers know plenty about beer, do some reviews, but what they’re really known for is their sometimes insightful commentary (which started this whole thing) mostly in published sources. We’re putting out our "best beer list" and he’s commenting on it.
Message ClarkVV P beers 13457 º places 111 º 09:12 Thu 2/9/2006 I am Steven Beaumont.

Message CampbellWilson beers 533 º places 11 º 09:17 Thu 2/9/2006 I am Stephen Beaumont
Message StephenB 09:37 Thu 2/9/2006 Or more precisely, Stephen Beaumont is us! Seriously, a couple of quick comments before I get back to work: a) I never contended that my opinions were any more or less authoritative than anyone else’s, ratebeerians included. I was commenting only on the accountability of the Rate Beer survey; b) I see no, repeat NO competition between myself and ratebeer. Go back to my original post on worldofbeer and you’ll see that I begin by stating my appreciation of this site and BA. Look on the burgeoning rack of your local magazine shop and you’ll see where I earn my pay, in publications that cater to people who might never even consider stopping by a beer rating site -- Paste, Cheers, Saveur, Wine Enthusiast... We’re all good beer evangelists, folks. Fight the good fight.
Message CampbellWilson beers 533 º places 11 º 09:54 Thu 2/9/2006 Shhh, Spartacus, we’re trying to help you!