Lager as an extreme beer?

Are you referring to the European Beer Star culture?

“3) Bohemian‐Style Pilsner

Colour: rich yellow up to deep gold

Noticeable body (more than German‐style Pilsner)

Bitterness: balanced

Hop flavour and aroma: moderate

Malty, slightly sweet, medium body

Diacetyl: low content acceptable

Dense and rich foam

Beer is filtered

No chill haze

CATEGORY DESCRIPTION PAGE 2

Analytics:

Original gravity: 11.0 – 12.9 °Plato

Apparent extract: 3.5 – 5.0 °Plato

Alcohol: 3.2 – 4.0 % by weight, 4.0 – 5.0 % by volume

Bitterness: 25 ‐ 45 IBU”

Cheers!

 

Lol yeah that annoys the hell out of me as well.

 

Speaking of great long lost lager brewers, I always think back to my visit to Vernon Valley Brewing in the very early 90s. To say these guys were traditional and "ahead of the times" in the US is quite the understatement. Blond Doppelbock in Masskrugs anyone?!

http://allaboutbeer.com/the-up-and-down-ride-of-new-jerseys-pioneering-vernon-valley/

 

Never had highland, I've had plenty of Jade. I think most Foothills stuff in inconsistent batch to batch, one is stellar the next is ok. Love their brew pub though, love siting there having a few.

 

Highland's new brewmaster used to work at Stone. Her IPA is a serious beer.

 

I'll check out the next fresh batch that comes around, thanks for the heads up.

 

The beers that Stefan Muhs (and later, the late Jay Misson) made on the practically antique system at Vernon Valley would most definitely far outclass any so called 'craft beer' made today. When the Vernon Valley brewery folded, beer continued to be brewed there under new ownership, branded as "Clements"; my friend Jay Misson remained on as brewmaster, and great beer continued to be made there for a few more years.
It was often featured on draft (and occasionally poured by gravity 'from the wood') at my local hang. THE OLD BAY in New Brunswick.

 

Sounds similar to Stoudts here in PA, they didn't have an IPA in their lineup for some time and they were/are quite successful here. They did eventually have a DIPA but it definitely took a back seat to their Lagers and then years later they came out with their IPA...but their Lagers are still way more popular than their hoppier beers.

 

Yeah, good point. IIRC they were up and running with German style lagers for several years before the IPAs came along.

 

You can see an example of just how extreme the lager can be in this years sierra nevada mahrs brau collaboration. Those are two very different beers. Both the same style and this years beer is supposed to represent the regional influence on the style as it originates form the vienna lager. At least that is what I think I understood. =)

 

I think I missed something. Which two different beers? SN this year and SN last year? SN this year compared with the O-fests brewed by the Munich Oligarchy?

Thanks.

 

yes The SN Oktoberfest with reigele last year as compared to this year with mahr's Brau. two very different beers.

 

Up until around 2000, there were many US craft brewers who avoided making IPAs to appeal to a wider range of tastes. It might be hard for some to understand that now, but these were the days when Keystone was running their "bitter beer face" ads...


So, if you look at the line-ups of older craft breweries like Sam Adams, Long Trail, Otter Creek, Victory, Brooklyn, Stoudts, and even west-coast Rogue, many did not prominently feature an IPA. Fast-forward a decade and they all have IPAs to appeal to current tastes.

 

Thanks.

As I mentioned somewhere else, my current thought is that this year's version is what we might expect if Mahr's were allowed to have a tent on the festival grounds. Similar to your observation above but phrased differently.

 

I made it halfway through the second page of this thread until I saw Jack's Abbey drop. I think that Mass Rising (extremely hoppy, ABV on par with DIPAs while being a lager) is the best of their offerings that comes to mind. I'd argue that is both a hop forward lager and an "extreme" beer. (Also JA's beer hall has awesome bar pies so double winning!)

 

Tangentially (at least from the lager topic), and anecdotally -- I was just in Denver over July 4th and stopped in at a Brewery called Prost, a brewery exclusively crafting German style beers.

My friend went to the counter and ordered an IPA, only to find that they did not brew one. A brewery in today's day that DOES NOT BREW AN IPA -- at all.

I was happy to try all of their German styles, some of which were very good others were forgettable -- but both of my friends (craft drinkers but not obsessives) were disappointing by the unfamiliar selection (as they drink mostly IPAs) and we left after one round. The brewery was packed with locals who seemed to be enjoying the selection and atmosphere.

Maybe breweries that buck the hype train have a future yet.

 

Now THAT's extreme!

 

I wish it wasn't.

 

Me too -- it was pretty great. But they look successful -- Denver locals can confirm or deny that supposition -- so maybe there will be more of these "old-school" breweries in the future. But at that point "old-school" will be the new hype, so can't win.