Beer in 2018, As It Was Foretold

These 2018 predictions are basically "what happened in 2017" will "continue to happen in 2018".

 

And maybe 2019.

Cheers!

 

Pastry Stouts, Hazy IPAs, more neckbeards at beer releases, and steep price increases.

More stagnation from the established brands. More canning and less bottles. Move to 500ml bombers of BA beers from 22 oz.

 

State of beer in the state ofColorado I'm afraid.

 

500 ml ain't bombers... they're basically a pint bottle.

 

At the same price, but minus 6 oz. of beer.

 

Wait. You drink coffee?

 

I predict a stronger move toward more sessionable beers which has already started but will take off further. Saturated taste buds and liver pain being the foundation of the session beer uprising!

 

If the outlook is hazy, I for one can live with it. Haze craze, milkshake IPAs, and the like expand the appeal of quality beer.

One prediction for my part of the world is vastly expanded choice. Our province has gone from less than 10 independent breweries to nearly 100 (more than 30 in metro Calgary alone) in the last five years. Locally sourced ingredients and competition make it a great time to love beer.

I’ve been a shower beer advocate since the 1980s, so I dearly hope it gets the recognition it deserves.

 

Barleywine appears more regularly! Wishful thinking on my part. I homebrewed a barleywine the other day and was looking for a barleywine to enjoy during brew day for inspiration. I was very frustrated to not find any at the bottle shop.

 

Would have been the perfect beer for the shower --- if only Hurlimann had put a lid on their original 4 oz. Samiclaus ceramic mug.

 

The term craft beer will be replaced by independent (or indie) beer. Finally, terminology that can’t be co-opted by Big Beer and its minions!

While I can see it changing, let's hope it doesn't go to Indie. That sounds too much like India in IPA. The millennials who already think that the craft world revolves around IPAs would love calling it all Indie.

Besides - AB InBev has the money to spin anything, and they can find a way to co-opt and new name.

 

No, of course he was drinking a coffee stout, but he's that good that he could just spit out the coffee if he wanted

 

It's happening in a lot of other places. It's only a matter of time before it spreads everywhere. Even Canada.

There's as much of a chance of this happening as there is of lager taking over IPA for most popular. Malt and yeast forward beers have no hope. They should just give up. At least for the foreseeable future.

 

All they have to do is exist; I don't give a crap how popular they are with the noobs .

 

Agreed.

Not that I don't like IPAs, but I'll gladly drink all the doppelbock, weizenbock, and dark Belgian beers that they don't drink this season.

 

My prediction for 2018 is that pool beer and hot tub beer will overtake shower beer in warm and cold climates, respectively.

Frankly, I only just learned the definition of shower beer a few minutes ago. And I really don't get it. But to each his/her own. Cheers!

 

I recently spoke with a liquor store owner in my neighborhood. In our conversation, I asked him what changes he's noticed in terms of beer sales at his store. Here's what he said:
• All anybody wants now are hazy IPAs.
• Everybody wants their beer in cans. 22oz bombers are dying on the shelf.
• Nobody cares about "special release" barrel-aged beers anymore, e.g., there were dozens of bottles of all FW bar-aged beers, BCBS, Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy, etc., turding out on the shelves when I visited a few days ago.

It's depressing to me. I'm in the minority in that I feel that hazy IPAs are gross and a sub-par product to boot; and that their popularity is part of a growing trend of breweries catering to people who don't actually like beer -- hence the rise of these sloppy "juice bomb" IPAs and pastry stouts. Make it taste as much like fruit or as much like dessert as possible, kinda thing. But, breweries gotta pay their bills.

 

Some savvy retailers will hang onto to those BA brews and when the fashion wheel comes round again sell them for a premium because they've been further aged.

 

I am all for more session beers and half pours. Spent 3 days drinking in Tulsa and luckily they know how to bang out 4% beers and most of their breweries offer half pours. The combo of those 2 made it easy for me to drink away the days while I was there. Here is to 2018