Indigenous American styles

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by jmw, Apr 3, 2013.

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  1. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    Too often I read about American ingenuity and inventiveness in the brewing scene and I wonder just what people think is so different and special about brewing in the States. There seems to be some closed-minded chest thumping going on, recognizing the unheard-of concept of actually pouring large amounts of hops into a vat as a wondrous capability. When considering recognized styles only (yes, that means you can't count maple bacon caterpillar porters or anything infused with garlic mustard or mouse tits), name a truly native concept that American brewers have contributed to the beer world.

    I think California common/'steam' beer is about it!
     
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  2. carteravebrew

    carteravebrew Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2010 Colorado

    Look here, this is America, and we speak American, so if you don't love America, you can get the hell out.

    Seriously though, I agree, California Common and Kentucky Common (don't see that one mentioned much, do ya?) are about the only ones I can think of besides the Americafied versions of classic styles.
     
  3. Herky21

    Herky21 Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2011 Iowa

  4. Orca

    Orca Grand Pooh-Bah (4,441) Sep 18, 2010 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Society

  5. nanobrew

    nanobrew Initiate (0) Dec 31, 2008 California

    American Adjunct Lager?

    What about DIPA and black/cascadian/whatever IPA?
     
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  6. grumpy

    grumpy Pundit (896) May 24, 2005 Missouri

    Black IPA - assuming you regard it as something different than a hoppy Porter
     
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  7. Synergy87

    Synergy87 Zealot (537) Jan 21, 2012 Wisconsin

    DIPA are english, we just made an american version of the style, so that doesn't count.
     
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  8. nanobrew

    nanobrew Initiate (0) Dec 31, 2008 California

    DIPAs are? I know IPAs are, but was not aware the Doubles were
     
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  9. jgnovak

    jgnovak Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2012 New Jersey

    Pennsylvania Swankey.
     
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  10. joeebbs

    joeebbs Initiate (0) Apr 29, 2009 Pennsylvania

    According to the BA styles the following are American:

    Black & Tan
    Chile Beer
    Cream Ale
    Pumpkin Ale
    Rye Beer
    Wheatwine
     
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  11. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I would suggest that beer styles which could historically be considered “indigenous” to America beyond the California Common/Steam beer are: Classic American Pilsner, Cream Ale, and Kentucky Common. I would also add American Adjunct Lager to that list.

    This topic has been discussed in the past and the crux of the issue is often how do you define innovation? For example, an American Pale Ale (APA) is distinctly different from an English Pale Ale since they utilize ‘new’ hops (American Aroma Hops like Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, etc.). A BA from the UK would state that an APA is not a ‘unique’ beer; it is just a variation of an English Pale Ale. I personally do not agree with that argument, I view an APA to be a distinctly different beer style since those beers taste so different from an English Pale Ale.

    It will be interesting to see how many posts this thread gets!

    Below is the list of beers which are labeled as being American by the BeerAdvocate site:

    American Ales
    American Amber / Red Ale
    American Barleywine
    American Black Ale
    American Blonde Ale
    American Brown Ale
    American Dark Wheat Ale
    American Double / Imperial IPA
    American Double / Imperial Stout
    American IPA
    American Pale Ale (APA)
    American Pale Wheat Ale
    American Porter
    American Stout
    American Strong Ale
    American Wild Ale
    Black & Tan
    Chile Beer
    Cream Ale
    Pumpkin Ale
    Rye Beer
    Wheatwine

    American Lagers
    American Adjunct Lager
    American Amber / Red Lager
    American Double / Imperial Pilsner
    American Malt Liquor
    American Pale Lager
    California Common / Steam Beer
    Light Lager
    Low Alcohol Beer
     
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  12. crusian

    crusian Pooh-Bah (1,989) May 14, 2010 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    liquor barrel aging.
     
  13. franklinn

    franklinn Initiate (0) May 29, 2012 Vermont

    I'd argue strongly that american IPAs are a unique style from english IPAs. I'm sure you'd argue strongly against it. That's fine.
     
  14. Soonami

    Soonami Initiate (0) Jul 16, 2008 Pennsylvania

    100% not true. I don't think you buy a DIPA made in England. The style is distinctly American and many credit Vinnie Cilurzo (then at Blind Pig, now of Russian River Brewing Company) for popularizing the style and creating the standard, Pliny the Elder
     
  15. Etan

    Etan Initiate (0) Jul 11, 2011 Wisconsin

    DIPAs are simply strong, more heavily hopped IPAs. Not as much a unique style as a variation on a previously-existing style. Honestly, I don't think there are any American beers that don't have some essential roots in a non-American style (which isn't really a bad thing).
     
  16. Synergy87

    Synergy87 Zealot (537) Jan 21, 2012 Wisconsin

    I had a brain fart, I was thinking Barleywine, my mistake.

    Then again DIPA is just an IPA with more hops and higher grain bill, so its an Imperial IPA which I'm sure the english brewed tons of when sending to troops in India, but I'm no history major, so I can't be 100% sure on that. Any beer nerds here to clarify?
     
  17. Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky

    Ol_Johnny_Skippelwicky Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2013 Minnesota

    Isn't the use of spruce tips attributed to Native Americans?
     
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  18. Dtapeski

    Dtapeski Crusader (407) Oct 26, 2012 Colorado

    Personally, I couldn't give a shit. We weren't around when most styles were conceived, we've just improved on a lot of them.
     
  19. keysburg

    keysburg Initiate (0) Mar 28, 2012 Massachusetts

    Ingenuity and inventiveness is about going outside the box, so you're probably missing the point if you stick to recognized styles.

    But closed-minded chest thumping is what we're all about. 'Murrica!
     
  20. Davepoolesque

    Davepoolesque Pooh-Bah (2,582) Aug 25, 2012 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    OP, you can do the same thing with food and a bunch of other things. Since we're a country comprised of all immigrants, obviously we're not going to have as many "native" styles of beer here.
     
    Cee-Poe likes this.
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