American Craft Beer Driving Me Back To Imports...

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Nurb, Sep 13, 2013.

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  1. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
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    Yes. Some Imperial IPAs from noted brewers make me cringe with alcohol and sweetness- just way out of any concept of balance. Maybe that's what they want? "Imperial' has about as much meaning to beer as "reserve" does to wine- well except for the alcohol part. In any case, I think that both terms are tossed about too easily.
     
  2. mychalg9

    mychalg9 Pooh-Bah (2,061) Apr 8, 2010 Illinois
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    I haven't read any other posts besides the first one (OP) so I'm not sure what everyone is saying about this. I do agree that most American renditions of the European styles are usually not "stylistically" accurate, though there are arguments to make for a few. I'm not a huge fan of the "hop craze" either, but I haven't noticed it getting in the way of American brewers making great other beers, and it also doesnt really influence what I drink. Another thing I should point out is that that while the "Top 250" list is fun to look at for entertainment, it's merely a reflection of our beer drinking tastes, not necessarily that those are the only beers that brewers are making. Most breweries standard lineups have most beers made "to style", and the few that don't seem to be either "love it or hate it" kind of deals.

    Edit: none of that came out the way I pictured it in my head. Hopefully it makes at least a tad bit of sense.
     
  3. tommysagblad

    tommysagblad Initiate (0) Oct 6, 2011 Connecticut


    Agreed. Sounds as if the OP lost some balance and focus in his selection of beers over the last few years.
     
  4. mtalley999

    mtalley999 Initiate (0) Oct 6, 2011 Maryland

    Not much else to say that hasn't been said about why the American craft brew scene is focused on hops. If you want to stay in business, sell what the consumer wants.

    I do wonder about all this talk of beers lacking balance. I don't think its a secret that many of the beers I hear being lambasted for the lack of balance aren't really supposed to be balanced to begin with. For many DIPA's and some IPA's I think the malt presence is there to tone down some of the hop profile to make them palatable, rather than provide balance. Those beers don't seem to be about all the flavors melding together in harmony, which is what I think of when I hear "balanced." They are brewed to melt your face with hops. Tough to do any face melting if your beer is balanced.
     
  5. bmony26

    bmony26 Crusader (467) May 2, 2012 Wisconsin
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    Port Huron Brewery in the Wisconsin Dells are making great beers that are true to their style. Their hefeweizen is amazing, in my opinion.
     
  6. marquis

    marquis Pooh-Bah (2,301) Nov 20, 2005 England
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    There seems to be an assumption that European styles are somehow static. They have in fact, at least in this country, been continually evolving and changing though some old favourites remain. I can buy a bitter just the same as I was drinking 50 years ago; equally I can buy any number of bitters quite unlike anything available at that time.We too are dusting off the record books!
     
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  7. Peter_Wolfe

    Peter_Wolfe Initiate (0) Jul 5, 2013 Oregon

    There are a lot of overly hoppy beers out there that are completely out of balance, OP is right about that. But the overall selection is so large that there are still a lot of malt forward or sessionable beers to be found. Really it's a fantastic time to be a beer drinker - possibly the best time in human history. Sure there are new hop varieties coming out every year, and breweries experimenting in every direction possible (flavored with moon rocks, aged inside a camel!), but there are still lots of tried-and-true balanced ales being made if you want a break from the hop firehose. I personally like both; I like a balanced sessionable beer some of the time, but other times I want to be beaten with hops until I can't feel my tongue anymore.

    Which imports are you drinking nowadays, OP?
     
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  8. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Well, Heady Topper is to me a perfect "melding" of the in your face hops and a malt presence you notice. It is a delectable beer, smooth, easy to drink and also very hoppy/bitter. Not many accomplish this feat. There are many that run that more tropical hop profile that give you that bitter/tangy/mandarin orange marmalade, that are smooth and easy and are way more technically bitter than you might suppose. It really is a matter of taste. For me, the IPAs that I enjoy generally top out around 8%. Balance is what makes you want several.
     
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  9. RichardMNixon

    RichardMNixon Initiate (0) Jun 24, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Yeah, this confuses me as well. I can't say I've ever had an American stout and thought "man, that's hoppy."

    As for Americans "going to far" I can understand the complaint for barrel-aging or beers made with cupcakes and beards, but not for something that just extends an existing style. Heady Topper for instance is no more "extreme" or "outrageous" or "irresponsible" than Rochefort 10. I'll never understand why some people find adding extra hops to beer so alarming while pouring in inverted sugar is A-OK.
     
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  10. StuartCarter

    StuartCarter Pundit (922) Apr 25, 2006 Alabama

    Victory Storm King
     
  11. mmmbirra

    mmmbirra Initiate (0) Apr 19, 2009 Italy

    I remember the first time I had a fresh Yeti I thought "what are all these citrusy hops doing in my stout!?"
    I still think it's way too hoppy, not too bitter, but to me a citrusy nose doesn't fit in a 9.5% abv RIS.
     
  12. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    To each their own. There are some of us who wouldn't be all that interested in craft beer if it were not for the hoppy beers. That's why there are so many choices.
     
  13. 5thOhio

    5thOhio Initiate (0) May 13, 2007 South Carolina

    Bingo! The OP's psychic or something.
     
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  14. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,389) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Honestly, I don't think it's the evolution of his taste at all. I think it's the exact opposite. It's the Johnny-come-lately folks with little to no evolution in their beer tastes who are craving these out-of-style, over-hopped, alcohol bombs. From what I read and my own personal experience, after few years of chasing various "innovative" unbalanced beery messes, most beer advocates come back to appreciate the classic styles. The popularity of craft beer has been exploding so much lately that there are lot of "new" consumers seeking these out-of-style beers so the brewers are filling that need.


    As a more general statement, I think BA's have to keep in mind that a big reason brewers make these crazy beers is to garner attention, which clearly they are, even though their regular "flagships" are paying the bills. The crazy beers get over-represented on BA and the media, in general, because no one is going to post online or write newpaper articles about a brewer's new classic scotch ale or German pilsner. Examples....Rouge got a ton of nation-wide free press for their Maple Bacon Voodoo Donut beer, but they know Dead Guy keeps the lights on. Sam Adams gets press for Utopia's, but Boston Lager is their money-maker. Dogfishhead got a TV reality show for the outlandish beers they make, but it's the steady sales from 60-minute IPA that even allow them to consider doing all that other stuff.
     
  15. DamonP

    DamonP Initiate (0) Jun 13, 2013 Massachusetts

    Maybe double-hopped IS the new evolution of a uniquely American style. People in Europe will be buying it for the same reason that we Americans buy Belgians - for a specific regional taste.

    About time the US got its own thing rather than just imitating ancient European formulas.
     
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  16. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    It's the same mentality behind the conflation of intensity of flavor with complexity. Somehow your palate is more evolved not if it can detect ever-more subtle nuances of flavor, but rather if it can stand up to a full-on hop assault or the beer equivalent of bourbon-infused brownie batter.
     
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  17. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I Really like this. Thank you.
     
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  18. alucard6679

    alucard6679 Pundit (997) Jul 29, 2012 Arizona

    As of now my fridge is mainly full of hefes, pilsners and relatively tame pale ales; I also have a four pack of Double Jack (bottled on the 4th, you have no idea how giddy I was) and a four pack of Narwhal. All of it brewed right here in the USA, and all of it excellent. So OP, while I do definitely see what you're saying, I never feel as though my options are limited when it comes to quality American craft beer.

    And for the record there are also plenty of outstanding readily available imports that I never neglect for too long, cheers : )
     
  19. Jules11788

    Jules11788 Initiate (0) Feb 15, 2011 California

    Maybe the area where you live just has shitty distro. I can go to a multitude of liquor stores or even the Total Wine by my house and find more than enough beers that aren't "hoppy" or bastardizations of their style. Don't blame it on the American craft beer industry, because there are plenty of "dark" beers out there to be had.
     
  20. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
    Trader


    The way beer is being brewed is evolving, make no mistake about it. The average craft beer on the shelf today isn't the same as what it was in the 90s. Whether you agree with the direction of it's evolution is entirely different matter. That's what I meant by my statement. The OP has a preference for more restrained or classical approaches to styles, but that preference isn't matching current trends or the direction craft beer is moving. I was never speaking ill of his palate.
     
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