Michael Jackson's World-Class Beers

That was my not so direct point a few posts ago.

"He's dead Jim!"

There that is more direct.

 

I'm viewing this thread for the first time. The mentions of Rainier Ale and Anchor Steam remind me of my first beer tasting ever. It was in about 1977, done with friends. We mostly compared lagers, because that was mostly all there was. But we had one matchup where we compared (blind) Anchor Steam, Rainier Ale, and a couple of other not-light-colored lagers that I can't remember. I can remember that I and everyone else there thought Anchor Steam and Rainier Ale were the best beers of the tasting. For years after, Rainier Ale was my go-to beer (and easy to find in Seattle of the late 70s and 80s).

 

Thanks for the thread revival @AugustusRex, this has made for interesting reading (curious as to how you came across it?). Of the beers mentioned, I would wholeheartedly agree on all of them (of the ones i've tried). I would have loved to of tried Chimay before the changes i've heard about, and wish I could have tried more Thomas Hardy's Ale.

This list also reminds me I need to get to Germany at some point, as do 90% of @herrburgess's posts...

 

I vividly remember when I read that for the very first time and laughing right out loud.

 

I googled "Michael Jackson World Class Beers" in order to find his list, and I came across this thread by @herrburgess!

 

The us beer part needs to be revised. Also no ayinger celebrator for germany. Or St bernardus abt12

 

Looking at Jackson's definition, I would say that, no matter how good they are, there isn't a offering from the German "craft" scene that qualifies as "world class"......yet. At least from the examples I had, as good as they may be, either they are only "copycats" of US styles and not really distinctive examples of the styles, or funky expirements, that lack in cohesion.. But really complex and distinctive german "craft", in my opinion, isn't really there, yet. Give it another 10-20 years.
On the other hand, I would consider many newer creations of traditional breweries "world class" by MJs terminology, like Schlenkerla Eiche, Schlenkerla Weizen or Haberstumpf Hopfen Bock.

 

There could be a never ending discussion about what beers could be added to the list, but that's somewhat pointless. I would add Rochefort 10, for example, but I don't believe MJ intended for the list to be comprehensive.

 

Gueuze Girardin most certainly does not belong on that list. Black Label is a decent gueuze, but is a clear step below the real top-notch gueuze produced by 3F, Cantillon, and now Tilquin.

Likewise, Chimay Blue is probably the worst of the Trappist quads/BSDAs. A good beer, certainly, but Westy, Rochefort 10, and La Trappe are all better, as are any number of non-Trappist BSDAs like Pannepot and Oerbier.

 

On the topic of Mr. Jackson and today's US craft beers, there's an amusing video of him giving some beers to an English cabbie. He hands him a Sockeye IPA and tells the cabbie that he hopes it's still OK... the hops can drop off with age. Funny to see him engage in conversation you see here everyday - his commentary ordinarily feels so distinctive. (He did seem to be the most enthused about the Malheur he handed the cabbie.)

 

Wow. I've now seen good beer perception/opinion come full circle. There was a time when it was taken for granted that Chimay on the label meant you were getting a great beer, now it's ranked as an also-ran like Sierra Nevada and Anchor.

Good company to be in.

Of course, being the "worst of the best" isn't a bad thing either, I suppose.

 

But Chimay has arguably changed more than any other Trappist. Almost everything I read MJ say about it is that it really lost its distinctiveness. At one point he ranked it as the best cellar beer, on par or better than Eldridge Pope's Thomas Hardy.

Today, I find Rochefort 8 ahead of Chimay Blue - for all ages. In the last years of his life MJ said Rochefort was steadily improving.

I wish I could get my hands on a Chimay from before they switched to conical closed fermenters.

 

In the book Travels with Barley Ken Wells writes about a meeting between Michael Jackson and Sam Calagione. Jackson sampled both 120 IPA and Raison D'Etre. He is quoted as stating cheerfully "this is outrageous, it outrageous that these beers are that good and that drinkable and strong enough to remove everybody's socks" I'm pretty sure he would enjoy what going on in the USA now.

 

Key word. It seems like a new "Hasn't this beer changed?" thread starts every week or so (is it Celebration season yet? ). And does changed have to mean for the worse?

And even if you could get your hands on an older bottle, it probably wouldn't taste anything like it did when it was first bottled.

 

Chimay has changed a lot. I really like it, but like Pilsner Urquell, the changes have been drastic, well documented, and completely for the worse. I haven't had the original, but everybody who I've heard comment on the topic (who had bought the beer before and after the change) was very disappointed.

It's true that a lot of old classics change for the worse, but a lot of great new beers come out too.

 

See, this is telling on how different everyone's palates are -- I did have the original Urquell, way back when, and while it was different in ways, I don't find the current rendition that drastic or disappointing.

 

Yes. Is it better? Sure. By a mind blowing margin, no.

 

Scrap that whole list and start over. 1986? That's almost 30 years ago.