What Meatloaf and Beer Have Taught me about Audiophiles


Recently in life and online I've had some curious observations about human behavior I thought I'd share.   To begin with, I have recently discovered that a surprising number of My Fellow Americans do not like meatloaf.   As a meatloaf maker and meatloaf cognoscenti I was absolutely astonished at this.  Some people who otherwise like burgers and the like hate meatloaf.  

If you make meatloaf and love it your immediate reaction to this is "but you haven't tried _my_ meatloaf."  That's our natural knee jerk reaction because we just can't imagine.  Related to this I have a bartender.  We'll call him Calhoun because his name is Calhoun.  An otherwise respectable fellow who knows beer and tequila better than most.   I would go in to see what the latest rotation of Indian Pale Ales were.  About once a month they'd get some new "dessert beer."  That is a brew made to taste like a sweet food substance.  The least offensive of which were peanut butter and the worst strawberry shortcake beer.  Calhoun would proceed to push me to sample these unholy abominations every time he could. 

Of course I'd tell him "I don't like flavored beers." Which was partially a lie as a coffee or espresso flavored beer would probably be divine.. but we digress.

Sometimes he was so adamant that the latest beer flavor was the one that would change my mind I'd go ahead and try them.  Of course, they were invariably disgusting. 

My point to all this is that being on both sides of this argument.  It's really hard to accept that our fellow audiophiles don't like something we feel is sublime and we will push our fancies onto them in the hopes of enriching their lives for the better.   It's hard for us to respect that someone else can love music and the stereos that play it and yet not have found their happy place the same way we have.

By the way, I use the Betty Crocker meatloaf recipe and add a tablespoon of chipotle powder.  Amazing. 

erik_squires

For me to totally agree with @nonoise and 100% disagree with @ghdprentice is unusual. 

Confit de canard (no caps required) is something of a French meatloaf, in spirit if not in preparation. Dunking quartered poultry in fat and letting it slowly braise while you do something else isn’t the stuff of Michelin stars. Meatloaf is actually harder to make than confit. I love both, by the way, and now I want to make some meatloaf!

I too disliked fruity beers in general, though sometimes a Kriek hit the spot, and breweries like the tragically departed Cascade Brewing made/make excellent fruit sours. But to be honest, the rise of incredibly talented local cidermakers and the fantastic ciders they produce is such that I hardly ever drink beer anymore.

 

Full disclosure- I'm a beer nut.

Certain beers are appropriate for special times and different seasons. I don't drink a dessert stout on the beach in summer but in winter in front of a fireplace, yum.

Also usually only drink heaver stouts late in a beer session, save them for the finale.

Lighter beers like Wits, hefes and blonds taste better in the warmer weather especially after yard work.

So match the style to the weather, food or other considerations.

I recently was in line buying 3 single craft beers for 30 bucks. The guy in front of me got a 30 pack of Natty Bo for 30 bucks. Occurred to me I had approx the same weight of barley and hops in my 3 as he had in 30. No judgement, horses for courses.

Not sure meat loaf related (meatloaf adjacent?) but last week we stayed in a small Arizona town with one restaurant, and it was packed, and no one had even been served so we left.

"Lets see what Dollar General has to offer" We got some of their frozen dinners and went back to motel and nuked them.

I got Salisbury Steak and mashed potato. If you are old enough you probably ate a lot of them growing up. It was divine, like I was tossed back 55 years into the past. The next night I ate 3 of them. They were on sale a $1 each. 

My wife got some pasta dishes and she liked her's too. 

My mom made a meatloaf where she rolled the beef out, laid down slices of ham and swiss and then rolled it up. 

Meatloaf used to coach the girls softball team in my town. Is that on topic? Also,  IPA seems to have taken over local breweries and I'm kinda tired of it. I prefer Belgian style or simply Guinness these days. Pilsner...

I was a bit surprised by your comment. I too make meatloaf , my Mom's receipt and have never seen anyone who doesn't like it. Good with homemade mashed potatoes and scratch gravy. I use french bread crumbs and a bit of bbq sauce along with the ketchup. Makes a great cold sandwich the next day if there's any left over with mayo , horseradish and a slice or red onion.