Most Important American Craft Beers Ever Brewed

After a bit of reflection, I'd suggest, as does @zid that size isn't the important thing and that in many ways it all has more to do with marketing than history of beer, regardless of size of the brewery. The rest is just a matter of technique and how much time and money get invested in the process.

 

I'm glad I posed the Allagash question due to the resulting discussion. I think your equation is perfectly fine as long as it allows for ambiguity. For me, the equals sign signifies unambiguity, but that's probably a personal reaction rather than a logical one.

I'm more likely to say Sünner Kölsch = Kölsch... in an unambiguous way for a couple of reasons.

The bottom line of my long post is that (in my eyes), it's just not going to work in such definite tidy terms everywhere (such as an unfiltered Sunner beer).

Palm=Belgian pale ale works for me if it's also OK to say: =amber, =speciale, etc... and Fat Tire=BPA=American Amber. I don't even think of "Belgian Pale Ale" as a style, but it's fine if someone else does. I mentioned the book that labels quads as barley wines... two styles that some don't even totally think are "real" styles either. I don't think saying Belgian Barley Wine is drastically different from saying Belgian Pale Ale. Needless to say, this is just my (perhaps unenlightened) opinion and I know my take on this stuff might look silly.

@drtth - I have no problem with an imperfect system because as I'm stating here - I don't have expectations that it should be clear cut anyway. (and muddiness goes beyond borders) I like when @TongoRad casually said, "same style, why not" while you commonly see the opposite: "it's not this, it's this." (Although I might be misreading him) I'm guilty of both approaches. Yeah - we all make the best with what we have. That's why I bother with posts like mine at the risk of being seen as a laughing stock.

Apologies for the side discussion.

Cheers all!

 

I'm suggesting that it is historically accurate to look at styles as marketing terms rather than something that's historically accurate.

 

Simply for your consideration, beyond Beer Advocate the following organizations have style guidelines of:

• Brewers Association Style Guidelines: Belgian-Style Pale Ale
  
  
• BJCP: 24B. Belgian Pale Ale
  

Cheers!

 

Side discussions are often the most interesting part of a thread.

To add a bit more context to my comment, it's actually quite common, even in such areas as science, that the more we learn about something the level of confusion increases rather than decreases.

 

I totally agree with both points.

 

The amount of Sierra Nevada I put in my body still to this day is astounding. I wasn't even alive yet when released. It's a beer that generations of people will drink. My younger sister who hates beer, it's her favorite beer. Living legends.

 

After the conversation in this thread, I knew I had to try a Palm / Fat Tire side-by-side someday. Today was the day.



The appearances are strikingly similar. Tasting these, I could see how someone would find them to be very similar if they didn't have them together. Having them together highlights the big differences. Palm, while feeling like it's yeast signature is less characterful than in other Belgian beers, still feels like its character is more yeast driven than Fat Tire's. On the other hand, Fat Tire feels much more malty and hoppy when compared to Palm. Palm is lighter, crisper, brighter, sharper and tangier. Fat Tire is heavier, rounder, and more bitter. This doesn't take into account any differences from travel or age. Don't know if anybody will find this interesting or if my impressions will translate, but I enjoyed this exercise. I'll never look at Fat Tire the same way as before this thread.

@JackHorzempa

 

Chris, I found your post to be "interesting" but you stated the critical point here. Unless you truly can provide an even footing from an age and transport/storage perspective this is not genuinely an 'apples to apples' comparison.

Thank you for your effort here.

Cheers!

 

I don't agree that Dale's Pale Ale is 'unassuming', it seems pretty intense to me. But I'm pleased we can buy it in supermarkets here, together with some of the Anchor classics. I had the great Liberty Ale last night, to me so much better than the modern American IPAs.

 

So, you didn't find it interesting?

 

Yes, I did indeed find it to be interesting.

I made this explicit statement in response to @zid stating: "Don't know if anybody will find this interesting..."

Cheers!

 

Yes, that's why I pointed it out... but variables will always be the case with a comparison or reaction. It's important to recognize them, but not let it automatically render an impression worthless (not that you are going that far). For what it's worth, both beers were within their "best by" (which probably isn't apples to apples between them either), and the Palm did not appear to have off-flavors from handling (diminished hop character would be something else though). All in all, however real, you're focusing on the variable least deserving of attention. You should be thinking: "This is according to zid's palate... and that's practically worthless." In all seriousness, I've had both beers taste quite different to me on other occasions... perhaps from whatever was influencing my sense of taste on those days... just as each of these beers influenced my impression of the other in this exercise. Cheers.

 

no Saranac or Brooklyn lager?

 

Anchor Steam, classic

 

Glad this thread go resuscitated as I missed it in January. I'm a little too young to be familiar with all of these brews. As others said, not perfect, but not a bad list at all. It would be fun if you could get a flight of all these beers at one place (the existing ones of course).

 

Dale's is really an IPA. The only reason we think of it as a pale ale is because the snappy name. Compared to SNPA or other classic pale ales, Dale's is relatively strong and bitter, certainly not unassuming.

 

No one's mentioned it so far, but SNPA not only topped the list, but it's available everywhere (according to SeekABrew) and at a reasonable price, too!

 

I like the New Albion Ale on there at #10. I didn't know anything about that beer or history until I just read this article. I only recall having the Sam Adams remake a few years ago, and thought "just a new Sam Adams seasonal to try and its titled New Albion Ale, whatever that means". So as I drank the beer I was thinking how good and tasty it was, then never saw it on the shelves again or mention of it. Wish this beer would resurface as a seasonal again. Really enjoyed it.

 

Jim Koch gave the trademark back to the daughter of the founder of New Albion, so you're not going to find in from Boston Beer Co. again. http://newalbionbrewing.com/our-story/