***PLEASE READ WITH EARPHONES ON AND VOLUME TURNED UP***

Well, of course there’s ASMR of it.

That’s something I never thought I would say on this site, even though I should have expected it. But here we are.

So, a bit of context before we continue with what turned out to be a pretty fascinating way to celebrate and explore beer. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and it’s a method to essentially trigger a static-like tingling in the brain that brings forth a good response. Essentially it’s a brain orgasm, but I recognize that it’s a pretty simplified explanation. You know the good feeling you get when you hear a sound you really really like? Something that makes you relax or feel happy? That’s ASMR, baby.

The fun thing is that there’s a massive ASMR community out there, many of its residents living on YouTube and using binaural microphones meant to be played with earphones on (I suggest Bose noise cancelling headphones for a particularly real experience). And the variation of it is…staggering, catering to folks who use ASMR for various reasons, from trying to get to sleep, and even to feel less lonely. To give an example, there are videos of tea drinking/money sounds, positive affirmations, and haircut sounds, and fantastically odd stuff like Nightmare-themed sounds, Psionic Initiation Roleplay, Linda from Bob’s Burgers roleplay, and Funky Kong consoling you after a messy divorce.

I haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s out there and that wasn’t a particularly deep search for some truly weird stuff. Suffice to say that one of my new rules of the internet is “If it exists, there is ASMR of it” and so far I’ve not been let down.

Which brings us to beer. And, well, of course there’s ASMR of it.

And it makes sense that beer-related sounds would trigger good feelings for our brains. The sounds of a bottle or can opening, a beer pouring into a glass, and even the sound we make drinking the beer itself, are all key components that are part of our enjoyment of beer. So it should come as no shock whatsoever that a community that celebrates sounds that make us feel good would have a whole genre dedicated to the sound of and discussion of beer.

Even better, one brewery last year even twigged onto ASMR being a new and intriguing way to celebrate beer. Sweden’s Norrland Guld Ljus created a video ad promoting “Ear Beer” and created playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube that make full use of the audio experience of enjoying a beer.

But for good beer listening and discussion, there’s no better place to go to than YouTube! Scottish YouTube user ASMR Muzz features a Mill Street beer in one video. Cosmic Tingles talks about her exploration of craft beer while reviewing Elysian Space Dust IPA, Sierra Nevada Ovila Sage Saison, and Great Divide Nadia Kali Hibiscus Saison. And Ephemerel Rift has a playlist of 66 beer reviews which are fascinating to listen through.

So I think it goes to say that I’m kind of hooked on ASMR, both in general and, thanks to searching for this post, about beer as well. Beer is such a wonderful drink that takes on many forms, both in its application and its appreciation. With that in mind I’m excited to find out about this additional way of celebrating it.

*clink*