Are we spoiled in 2019?

Just go the Rogue route and throw in some of your brewers beard hair

 

Belgium used to be known for the number of different beers they had available but the United States has left them in the dust. We now have so many more breweries than they do that it seems impossible they could ever catch up. I'm not saying that in a good or bad way, I'm not rooting for either country, but for now it's a fact.

As for Germany, I recently traveled to Bamberg / Franconia because they have so many breweries in such a small area. It was great, and they had great beers, and many different styles available. Today I have just as many breweries within driving distance from my home and even more styles to choose from. I'll never pooh-pooh Franconia but damned if we aren't caught up.

 

I had to look that up:

That might be tasty, but if it's a Gose then we are not as spoiled as we think we are.

 

"Have we hit rock bottom in 2019?"

 

Ha, you’ll have people wondering.

 

We could all complain about how much we spend on beer but almost none of us can complain at the choices we now have. I used to think spending $4 on a Sam Smith or a half liter Schneider bottle was a lot, now that’s peanuts.

The only difference was the shop used to be a shelf, maybe two shelfs, long. Now the store is bursting to the brim with all sorts of beer.

The price thing is what you make out of it. I live in a pretty expensive place...a mix-6 for $27, is expensive. You could always buy cheaper beer. There are a lot of breweries like Otter Creek, Jack’s Abby, Sierra Nevada, etc doing 12-packs or 15-packs for less than $20 and the beer is good. What I guess I’m getting at us that there are numerous options much more affordable than $27 at your disposal and the beer is still good.

 

Well... I didn't mean in terms of number of breweries alone, though I do think its one sign of a mature culture. Its more... Belgium is known for Trappist ales, unconventional ingredients and methods, Germany beer gardens, lagering, purity laws, England, cask ale, pubs. How about US? How many styles or specific expressions from breweries are considered IT, the last word, and have kept that status for decades? Or is it unfair to compare to countries that have had such a head start? Are we like "everyone else", ie Japan, New Zealand, Brazil? No disrespect to them, but a lot of the most important innovations happened long ago.

 

I guess number of breweries is fair enough. But in any other respect I don’t think any one country can be said to leave any other in the dust. I’ve never really viewed it as a competition. All of the countries being discussed have something that is unique/additive to the overall global beer scene.

 

Ahhh, I was going to touch on that but didn't want to make my response too long. Yes, there's a certain amount of style and charm and integrity that the US seems to be lacking in. A lot of that has to do with history (there are small breweries in Germany that still use wood-fired kettles!), and a lot of it has to do with our disregard for history (everything new is better, right?). But to a certain extent that's actually what puts us ahead because we just do it whereas others seem to hold back.
What I can say is this, beyond not having a solid culture or tradition in the US we are still on par with Belgium/Germany/England and we're ahead of Spain/Italy/France/Ireland. I've never been to Japan, etc. We have many styles that are now ours (Steam beer, cream ale, black IPA, NEIPA, etc.), and I think that over time if things continue we will develop more of a beer culture and unique traditions, but for now the massive amount of choice IS the culture.

 

I celebrate the old days when there were fewer beers on the shelves and even fewer assholes chasing them with no FB fueled FOMO and hype egging them along. I miss every brewery having at least one Brown, Porter or wheat based ale.

Now get off my lawn!

 

My initial reaction to the thread was "Hell yeah!". However, after reading your well thought-out post, I would still lean towards "Hell yeah". This is primarily from starting my beer drinking the early 80s and living through the microbeer boom/bust in the late 80s and early 90s. Even with the limitations that you mentioned (focus on limited styles), the quality and options compared to the past is still staggering. Also, I love old ale, stock ales, wee heavy and other malt forward styles. While harder to fine, they are still available (unlike in the 80s when you had to buy international beers).

 

As far as freshness..I think it has been pretty static status/quo over last decade. I do think stores are more aware and trying to improve that, but the volume has increased substantially as well, so its kinda a wash IMO. FW beers were old on the shelves in 2010...people still complaining today in 2019 so nothing new there.

# Options of beers and brewers have improved.

Style options...I think overall probably more out there but you have to find them hiding between all of the IPAs. Need to be a pro beer shopper.

Quality I believe has improved overall as well

Availability, ease of acquiring has improved

Price increases are horrible though especially for the newer local options (in my area)

 

Regarding Belgium, my point was that they were known for the actual number of different beers they produced. It was in the hundreds. The US now introduces thousands of new brands each year. I'd call that leaving them in the dust. But I don't see it as a competition either, these are just the facts. You are correct, and I agree, that every country contributes something (and Belgium and Germany more than most), but the question was have we surpassed them, and to a certain extent the answer to that is yes. One final note, I'll just end with this, in my travels I've found that overall the smaller US breweries produce a better, more balanced and rounded product than the smaller breweries in France, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Italy, Spain, and England. It's not always the case, but in my opinion, for the most part it's true.

 

I’d call that “the US makes more unique beers than Belgium” but I guess we’re both free to describe it how we want.

(Must not bite, must not bite)

Ok can you clarify what you mean there? Are you saying that (despite likely comparing completely different styles to each other) that US breweries just make better beer period? Or are you saying that their portfolios as a whole are more balanced and well-rounded in terms of selection?

Either way - with all respect - it does sound like you’re making a case for “US is the best” despite claiming that you agree it’s not a competition. Obviously you’re entitled to. I guess (as a Brit who’s been living in NYC for 11 years, who has travelled to all the same countries) I’ll agree to disagree on that front (on the need to rank; I’m not claiming the US is not the best but somewhere else is)

 

I might be in an outlier area because we haven't kept up with the times but were ahead of the times 10 years ago. We have locally made Peters
Porters, stouts that aren't imperial or BA, Vienna lager, dubbels, trippels, gruits, barleywine, and various mixed ferm ales. Our newest local brewery seems to be focused on traditional styles, especially lagers. We have a local that brews all kinds of uncommon styles including shwarzbier, steam beer, English milds, and various Weiss-es. And of course all sorts of IPAs. On top of that we get some distro from California and Oregon.

Granted, I wouldnt call any of our locals truly world class but they are by and large solid and especially considering some of the styles they are better than anything that I've seen in this country and fresh

 

I definitely get it, despite being only 27. After over 360 reviews in a year and a half it becomes really obvious how many beers are identical or nearly identical to one another. I've had more than enough large bottles of bourbon barrel-aged stout to be tired of it and still have never found an IPA I liked.

 

So you joined BA aged 17? Massive respect. Youngest BA ever (at the time)?

 

I’ll add my last .02 to this thread....

I do believe this is the Golden Age of Beer for this generation, in this country, I really do. I think the bubble is about to burst on a lot of shit in the beer world.

How many more breweries can there possibly be? How much more product can the retailer really carry without having to dump more than half of it? How many more IPAs, and any kind of variety of IPAs, can really be made? How many more breweries can co-exist and actually not only sustain growth but turn a profit with all the competition around? What happens when breweries like Tired Hands, Tree House, Monkish, Other Half, etc have 10 years in the business and they’re not the cool kids in the neighborhood anymore? What happens if 20-year-olds want more cocktails, wine, and alcoholic club sodas, lemonades and the such (which is already happening)? What happens when people don’t want to spend $120 on a case of beer because “they’ve had it already?” What happens when AB, Coors, Miller, Heineken, Constellation, etc buy your “local?”

There are a lot more questions I could ask and I could go on and on, but if you look at the world of beer in a vacuum, there’s nowhere to go but down at this point. Maybe that actually makes some of you happy, and I’d understand that. But, we are most definitely spoiled, so enjoy it while we still are.

 

If a brewer within driving distance of me made a beer I liked half as much as Schlenkerla Fastenbier it would be a miracle.

Going by just the numbers and variety, I hope we've "surpassed" them. The shops by me with the best reputation and best variety are partially monuments to beer rather than places with tons of actual purchase options. They are filled with fridges of beer from 2011. They are wasting electricity keeping beer cold that is effectively a display rather than inventory. Maybe other countries are just as bad, but it would be nice to think that they don't suffer the same fate.

 

"I haven’t a clue here, it’s great and it’s a fucking mess all in one stroke" applies to almost everything these days, and not just in the U.S.