Beer styles more breweries should consider making

With modern alcohol-removal techniques such as those employed by ABV Technology, this is entirely plausible. I've raved about Bauhaus Nah, a totally non-alcoholic helles lager that tastes -- if anything -- better than the alcoholic beer from which it's derived using this process. I've been thinking that, given the stigma against non-alcoholic beers among beer drinkers and the public at large, the best way to utilize this technology may be to remove the alcohol from part of the batch and blend it back in with the other part to produce reduced-alcohol beers. One thing to keep in mind is that alcohol itself does affect the taste and adds to perceived sweetness, so beer with alcohol removed either is going to seem drier than the original (usually a plus in my book, especially in the case of often syrupy-sweet big imperial stouts) or will need to be sweetened to approximate the taste of the original.

 

Eisbocks!
English milds
Weizenbocks/ dunkelweizens
Old Ale
Vienna Lagers
Schwarzbier
Altbier
Munich Dunkel
Unblended, non fruited lambics
Geuze (and yes I know lambics/geuze are a pain in the ass and take years to make)
Sahti
Lichtennheiner
Gratzer

I could go on and on, I'm tired of the over saturation of a handful of styles, many of which are adjunct laden garbage

 

I'll have to check it out. I was impressed with Athletic Brewing's NA IPA. Not the world's best IPA by any means, but as serviceable as any session ipa out there.

*Spits out venti frappuccino* "Oh no, not more sugar! Will American consumers put up with more calories? Give me a minute while I supersize my order."

 

You've got me there. A couple of those are just strength categories.

The classic Schlenkerla beer is a Dunkles Märzen Rauchbier.

Beer style splitting is so much fun.

 

Ron, do you think we'll ever get back to a time where brewers start relying on themselves, and their own descriptors to describe their beers? I'm sure there are a few out there already, but it seems to me that almost everyone feels compelled to utilize a 'style label' to describe their beer.

 

After trying Mahrs Brau's aU I am as commuted as ever to my desire to see more unfiltered lagers. Again not a super strict style, and the Mahrs Brau example I tried was quite different than other beers bearing that style tag that I've tried, but generally the style seems to hit a lot of my favorite notes

 

I still think a sweet'ish dunkel is a style that is begging to go mainstream. At the very least it could be what pale lagers have become in the craft world.
For some reason everyone goes all-in with the dry and roasty character from a schwarzbier. Yet if you actually look at the dark lagers people are actually buying and drinking (Dos XX Amber, Negra Modelo, Amber Bock, Shiner Bock), they aren't dry and they aren't roasty.

 

Have you ever had a Tmavý Ležák (Czech Dark Lager)? If so, whatcha think?

Na Zdravi!

P.S. Some examples:

 

I have - and I generally like them a lot. They seem to vary as far as roasty character goes. Some are sweeter and breadier like a dunkel while others taste just like a Kostritzer.

I still think a dunkel akin to Ayinger's or Weihenstephaner would be a more familiar/mainstream flavor, but the Czech tmave/cerny lagers could be a big hit, too.
My point of reference is whenever I hear casual drinkers say that stouts are too bitter and strong even when they're referring to a Left Hand Milk Stout or a Guinness. I've never heard/seen that reaction with a Dos XX or a Negra Modelo.

 

From my vacation to Prague/Czech Republic a few months ago I would agree here but with the caveat that none of the Czech Dark Lagers had a prominent roasty flavor IMO (and my palate).

Well, IMO there is quite a difference in those beer types. IMO those Mexican beers are Amber AAL beers and consequently quite subdued in their flavor profile; quite different from the stouts you mentioned.

You are correct that there are a spectrum of flavors here. Below is my crack at this from more 'intense' to less intense:

• Stouts (or Porters)
• Roasty Schwarzbiers
• Czech Dark Lagers
• Dunkels
• Mexican Amber AAL beers

I recently purchased a 12-pack of Genesee Dark Session Lager (Schwarzbier) which I discussed in a recent NBS thread. That beer is in between a CDL and a Dunkel for my palate - Genesee's goal here IMO was to emphasize the drinkability aspect of this beer.



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-774.630028/#post-6741331

Cheers!

 

The reason American breweries are not making Lambic is because they aren't allowed to call it that. Lambic is a Belgian thing. Black Project and Jester King met with several Belgian beer producers and it was decided that they couldn't call their beer Lambic or Gueze no matter how they made it.

The compromise is they created "Methode Traditionnel" or MT- which is made in the method of Lambic, and MT3, which is made in the gueze method.

Black Project makes plenty of Lambic and Gueze-style beers. There are many other places also doing this, including Jester King, The Referend, and Funk Factory. There are lots of other great places that make barrel and wood aged sour beers, but they aren't always specifically in this method.

 

They're certainly "allowed" to call it lambic, and many American producers do put "lambic" in the names and/or style descriptions of their beers. Etymologically, the word probably derives from "alembic," a still used to produce jenever, and likely has nothing to do with the Belgian village of Lembeek, as some once thought. The terroir argument seems to be exaggerated as well: "Some lambic brewers claim that the microbial terroir within Belgium is what gives Belgian lambic its unique flavor profile, and this is another reason that lambic can only be brewed in Belgium. However, studies have shown that American coolship beers brewed at Allagash in Maine, USA, contain a very similar set of genera and fermentation phases..."

"While lambic has no legal protection outside of the EU and EU laws do not give lambic a regional designation (unlike other alcoholic products such as Champagne and Kölsch), many brewers outside of Belgium chose not to call their spontaneous beers lambic out of respect for the Belgian lambic tradition."

So, yes, some Belgian lambic producers have thrown protectionist and plainly self-serving hissy fits about others' use of the term "lambic," and many American producers (rather pathetically, in my opinion) kowtow to them. I suspect we get less American lambic than we should in part because too many American craft breweries are afraid to tell their Belgian counterparts to eat coelship and framboise off (and thus choose not to market the beer properly).

That said, most American craft beer drinkers think sour beers are supposed to taste like popsicles. Lambics are never going to get an eager reception from most palates regardless of what they're called.

 

U Fleku in Prague is one of the coolest places my beer nerdism has taken me. Great picture. That is all.

 

And the day of that picture is was a truly idyllic day: Late September but still warm (T-shirt weather) with a beautiful blue sky and puffy white clouds that could be seen through the tree canopy.

Later in our vacation we had similar luck when we traveled outside of Prague to Únětický pivovar:

"Today my wife and I decided to travel to the town of Únětice which is 8 km (about 5 miles) from Prague as the crow flies. It was a 20 minute ride via Uber.





I consider days like this as a gift from God.

Na Zdravi!

 

Only take Na Zdravi if prescribed by your physician. Side effects may include: constipation, skin rash, diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, insomnia, nausea or in serious cases suicidal thoughts, abnormal heart rhythms or internal bleeding...

 

During our two week vacation in Prague I tried to get my wife to say Na Zdravi as we hoisted our big beer glasses and gently 'clinked' them but she would choose to say Na Zdrowie (the Polish version of Cheers) instead. And she is of Irish descent. She was just messing with me!

Cheers!

 

Sadly, I don't think so. If anything, it's likely to get worse as people invent yet more styles.

 

I don’t think it’s necessarily pathetic. In some cases American brewers had assistance from the Belgian brewers.

Jean-Pierre Van Roy went to Allagash to help them set up their coolship. I don’t know if he did or didn’t ask them not to use the words Lambic and Gueuze, but if he did and I was the brewers at Allagash, I’d respect his wishes. And in return get some great inside information on how to brew those styles.

 

Wow for lack of respect to Belgian brewers there.
I know US brewers of sour beers who choose not to call their beers Lambic or Geuze out of respect for Belgian traditions. Not because they aren't allowed.