He sees through his beer purchases but he doesn't see through his seeing through them.
> You’ve probably noticed this theory is hard to falsify: You think you’re not playing taste games? You think you “actually like” things because of the properties of those things? That’s because you’re playing higher-level games! And it’s rather convenient that this is all supposed to be unconscious. There’s also this weird sense of guilt. If you consciously change your tastes so you can fit in, that’s bad. If you unconsciously do that, that’s worse. If you unconsciously don’t try to fit in, you’re scum.
To be highbrow, you can like whatever you like as long as other people don't like it too.
(She didn't say that last part out loud, but it's strongly implied.)