It's time to be honest about styles

They used black malts in the IPAs back then?

 

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My perspective is that I really couldn't care less what "style" the brewer uses to classify their beer. I don't really care what other consumers call it either. I suppose for the sake of official competition it could make things a little more convoluted. But I think we should not lose sight of the underlying "issue"--we have entered an era where unprecedented experimentation and innovation has permanently blurred the lines of every style, and I think that's a great thing.

 

i try not to over think these things.

 

A long time ago people came up with the first 'major' styles, but with how fast beer has been evolving and expanding lately why are brewers now not allowed to make up styles of their own? I think naming of styles now also has more to do with the brewers intention of how the beer should be viewed. Example: a black IPA. It has a shitload of hops and the brewer wanted to make that the focal point of the beer, but should they call it a stout or porter just because it falls in that style guideline? I'd rather them not because then you'd have people on here crying about how hoppy the beer is and that it isn't in style....

 

What he said

 

Bam! Please lock this thread.

 

Honestly? I like reading about how people feel about this debate, but as long as the style on the label (Black IPA, Kolsch, etc.) gives me a basic understanding of what is in the bottle/can/keg, then I really don't mind if breweries are playing fast and loose with style guidelines and naming philosophy. I assume that this is the whole intent of classifying beer by style in the first place?

 

I love how beer geeks go apeshit over Dead Guy Ale being called a maibock. Shut the fuck up, nerd. You're missing the point of drinking good beer.

 

Agreed 100%. I look at styles as a way to give me a general idea of what to expect, not necessarily rigid parameters that the beer must conform too. That sounds kind of boring.

 

Ale yeast = Ale.
Lager yeast = lager.

If a brewer wants to call their beer anything else, I am fine with that.

I can't recall a single time when I drank a beer and thought "what an excellent beer, but it would be BETTER if it were classified as "this" instead of "that".

 

Excellent. Thanks!

Got it. Thanks!

 

Far too much hocus pocus emphasis on beer styles for my tastes. Just brew good stuff so I can enjoy the good stuff with my good friends and that'll do me.

 

".............I can example this by referring to the black beer produced at Burton, which has been universally described as a mere black pale ale—i.e., though black in colour, its palate taste reminds one very strongly of the pale beers produced by Burton firms. It will be quite understood that I am not decrying this article; it may and does suit many palate tastes, and is thought a great deal of on the Continent, but at the same time it differs very widely from the accepted standard quality of a black beer as specified."
"The theory and practice of modern brewing" by Frank Faulkner, 1888, pages 259-260."

 

No!!! No!!! Where did people get the idea that the yeast defines the beer?

 

Here's the post from sierranevadabill

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/death-of-ipa.148820/page-2#post-2111180

 

Well it is brewers desecration. 3F calls Zombie Dust an APA, is it? Hill Farmstead calls Ephraim a PA as well and it weighs in at over 9% ABV. They are in fact Pale Ales they just chose to leave the India out or the Double India, there is no clear delineation here, you know it when you drink it I suppose. No idea how it officially breaks down for competitions through, maybe a qualified judge has a better answer.

 

I thought it was top fermenting at warm temperature = ale and bottom fermenting at cold temperature = lager. Yes?

 

from Beeradvocate.com

What's an Ale?
This category of beer uses yeast that ferments at the "top" of the fermentation vessel, and typically at higher temperatures than lager yeast

What's a Lager?
The word lager comes from the German word lagern which means, "to store". A perfect description as lagers are brewed with bottom fermenting yeast

furthermore:

If that is inaccurate, please tell me how I am reading this incorrectly, and I will also request an brief education on what defines an ale as an ale, and a lager as a lager.

 

And people think it's me that's thinking too hard about beer when I write that I'm concerned about where my money goes when I purchase it.