Ben Howe opened Enlightenment Ales in Lowell, Mass., in October 2011 with the idea of brewing not an Export Stout, but rather one very special beer style: Bière de Champagne.
Who thought spontaneous fermentation was unique to Belgium? It wasn’t, and lasted well into the 19th century in other parts of Europe. I’m not talking about Gose or another sour wheat style, but about one of the strangest beers brewed in recent times: Danziger Joppenbier.
With little brand loyalty among craft beer consumers, knowing the brewer’s name or even the style seems less important than being drawn in by the creativity of an engaging brand name or story.
Guinness: It’s the classic Dry Irish Stout. Not that strong, and, well, dry. A beer characterized by the use of roasted barley for color and flavor. A beer that’s been unchanged since God wore short trousers. Or has it?
With style lines blurred and Old World notions increasingly irrelevant, it appears the new era of craft beer will be defined by drinking whatever the consumer pleases at any given moment. And this is all positive in the sense that it means craft brewers and their advocates have won the larger battle.
IPA wasn’t always a thing. During the early days of the Great American Beer Festival, the event’s much-lauded tasting competition didn’t even include the style. Brewers didn’t make it and probably didn’t even know what it was.
One of the oddities of 20th-century British brewing was that bottled beer was rarely called Mild; it was usually called Brown Ale or something vague, like Family Ale. Or Home Brewed.
For craft beer drinkers occasionally interested in looking beyond the IPA horizon, cider and gluten-free beers offer a refreshing chance to experience both new and growing beverage categories.
Our modern understanding of Stout revolves around blackness, coffee and chocolate. Somewhere along the way, we lost the original meaning: “strong.” Some brewers are reclaiming the term with attempts at White Stout. Cue the exploding brains!
Supplanted by seasonal brands, endangered by the race for the holy one-off grail, and lost in the hunt for more hops, these respected and balanced brands look increasingly out of place in the wider world of craft beer.
The evolution and slow divergence of Irish Porter from the London original is a story that’s been repeated across the world. Displace a beer and, like a plant, it will adapt to its new environment.
Wherever the British army went in the 19th century, beer was never far behind … and it was usually in the form of Porter. And when the British army invaded the Crimea in 1854, they got thirsty.
Fortunately, there are a lot of crisp, greasy snacks that pair very well with winter beers. And suppose you don’t go for dark ales at all—most of the usual suspects on the basic bar menu are designed to go with lighter, bubblier beer.
What’s Scotland’s most distinctive type of beer? Scotch Ale, Scottish Ale or Shilling Ale? Actually, it’s none of those; it’s Scottish Sweet Stout. Stout isn’t most people’s first thought when Scottish beer is mentioned, but there’s a long history of brewing Stout in Caledonia.
American craft brewers remind me of students just completing their sophomore years of college. Having secured their footing, they understand how things work, but remain unsure of what their futures hold; excited to experience the wider world, but still nervous about making their mark.
After a few years of trying new beers, every beer lover hits a wall. Beer fatigue can strike anywhere. In these circumstances, the most effective approach is perhaps the least intuitive: Just take a break.
The first competition, back in 1987, had 12 categories; this year, there are 83, and if you count subcategories, which don’t get awards but help further define style parameters, 135.
