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Unless you cleave firmly to restaurants that opened before 1993, you’ll have noticed that beer is to our decade as wine was to the 1980s: a relatively new but rapidly growing discovery in English-speaking North America. As with all trends, some will take it too far. Reviving the traditional “saison” style of beer is a fad equal parts hip and worthwhile when done well; adding mango to a saison probably goes a quarter-twist too far.

What we have is a market divided between people who pay extra for beer that puts on airs, and people who regard that whole enterprise with wariness

As The Wall Street Journal reported the other week, American beer drinkers now consume more craft beer than they do Budweiser, which initially sounds terrific for the small-scale brewing industry. However, as Slate magazine noted, when you turn the stat around, you realize that the many thousands of U.S. craft beer brands only add up to big, old Bud — which is only the third-most popular beer stateside. What we have is a market divided between people who pay extra for beer that puts on airs, and people who regard that whole enterprise with wariness.

But before the latter camp rolls its eyes over the #drainpour thing, they ought to search the term on Twitter and scroll down the list. Observe, if you will, that the most frequently dumped suds are the most gimmicky. For example, Beaumont says: “This year, for some reason, there has been a massive backlash against pumpkin beers.” And rightly so. Fruit weizen, barrel-aged ale and other miscellany fills the Twitter feed. Could it be that the beer geeks largely hate the same beers that ordinary people would find obnoxious? Yes indeed. St. John says his last beer before the tweet above was a fruit wheat beer that combined the worst aspects of fruit and wheat. The world of beer appreciation is lashing back against overthought, not-actually-tasty brews, and #drainpour is just one symptom of this.