The Murtaugh Rule in Beer

I'm a late comer to the "Craft Beer" scene. Six+ years ago at the age of 50+ I started out as
an "I'm Too Old For This $#!t". I drank mostly AALs before my "awakening" but I never had a steady favorite, I mixed in different brands and enjoyed a Bass Ale or Guinness Stout as an occasional treat (and Black & Tans made from them).

I agree with you @polloenfuego and feel your pain. I'm tired of having to use a machete to chop my way past the turbid IPAs, bakery fresh Stouts and kettle Sours in an attempt to find Pale Ales and IPAs that I can read through. What some call hazy, I call dirty dish water.

I consider myself a student of Beer so trying the trendy Beers and the occasional fad (Brut IPA came and went by mercifully fast) is part of the process.

The good news is that with the coming of fall we might see some Browns Ales and Dark Lagers and other Beers of interest get their turn.

Cheers.

 

Or, perhaps, it is that sweet is what our minds associate with good and safe? Our taste buds tell us what we should swallow, or warn us what not to swallow. Bitter and funky/sour/spoiled is what warn us that a food may be poisonous. Of course, we don't rely on our taste buds for survival anymore, since we just buy our food at stores, so we don't think about the roots of why we perceive certain tastes a certain way. We like sweet and salty because our bodies need the chemicals in foods that provide those tastes to produce energy.

I think the question of how folks could and do enjoy bitter is a question that may require a bit of thinking. And not trying to be snarky, but could there be anything more obvious than the cross cultural, universal observation that sweet is the most popular taste?

 

But its not just sweet beers that are becoming dominant in the popular conception of "craft beer". There isn't a flood of typical milk/sweet stouts, dunkels, trippels/quads, etc... All of which are sweet, primarily. Instead its the ascension of beers that taste like other familiar sweet foods like breakfast cereals, pastries, and fruit.

I think there's an obvious appeal to familiar flavors, many from our childhoods, in the beer space

 

Amen. Funny you mention froot loops. There's a brewer

Amen. Funny you mention froot loops...I was at a brewery in Reading, PA last fall and they had a beer brewed with froot loops. They say they are on the "cutting edge," and sustainability is their goal. How about making great beer as a goal. The whole menu was written for and by hipsters

 

Gimmick...remember the DryPA that was popular for about 6 months?!

 

To this point, I think this trend is world wide and a result of the economic issues caused by you know what. Although this trend was already occurring, breweries were closed then allowed to reopen at lower capacities. The local breweries near me are doing what they can to survive which means less choices and a focus on what sells.

I have stated that "I support local breweries" and I do and as a result my IPA consuption has increased considerably.

Cheers.

 

I just turned 39. I use that line all the time. And West coast IPA popularity ebbs and flows. It always gets a renaissance eventually. In America, all roads lead back to it. But if you ever get a chance to go to outer Banks, north Carolina there is a brewery in Manteo (Roanoke island) called Lost Colony Brewing. They have an English IPA that is breathtaking. A lot of that style in that area. They aren't ones for hoppy American IPAs for some reason. It's amazing.

 

But aren't NEIPAs more expensive? I use way more hops in mine than I would a west coast IPA. And it's the exotic ones that are 3 times as expensive per ounce.

 

Yeah, it's not simply about sweetness. Familiarity does seem to play a big part. But imo, the dynamic that's been playing out over the past 20 years or so has focused that segment of the market on "potent and immediately recognizable" flavors. And it has more to do with 'drinking culture' than anything generational: if you're constantly sampling small amounts of beer, especially in succession with one another, the big and obvious ones are bound to stand out the most.

 

That's a really good point. I don't think it's easy to appreciate a good pale lager until you drink a handful in succession.

 

People who spend money on "Craft Beer" have the means and disposable income to do so. Price is not as important as perceived value to some folks.

I value a well crafted Beer over a lower rated AAL so much that it outweighs the price difference.

 

Yes I'm aware of disposable income. I think we all prefer a well drafted beer versus o lower rated AAL.

I only replied what I did because it sounded like you said brewers are brewing more varietal NEIPAs as a result of worldwide economics brought on by the virus. That's contradictory because said hops are MORE expensive. That doesn't make financial sense if there's a bad economy

 

Seems like the biggest trend in craft beer is promoting oneself as above the trends, and then speaking towards a more esoteric style as the one you like/wish you had more of.

 

It does if the expensive beer is what will sell. Its not like neipas are loss leaders for breweries, they might (but I doubt it) make less margin per can but they probably sell several times more cans

 

Dave,

I get what you are saying here but beers that do not feature sweet have been popularly consumed for a very long time. For example many hundreds of years in Europe (e.g., Germany, Great Britain,...). And since Colonial times the brewers in the US have not been producing 'juice like' beers for over 400 years. There sure seems to be significant history here were beer consumers enjoyed drinking beers that are not like juice.

The whole topic of bitter vs. sweet is not in my personal 'wheel house' so I will let others specifically discuss this matter.

Cheers!

 

Agreed. My point was that it doesn't make sense to brew expensive beers during an uncertain economy. He was saying that people are brewing NEIPAs because of a bad economy. That just doesn't make sense in economic terms, especially smaller breweries.

 

Many small breweries are doing what they can just to stay in business.
The amount of different styles offered has dropped. The number of Beers available that fall under the "same IPA, different hops" category is on the rise.

I think many breweries are more concerned with meeting the demand for hoppy Beer over the larger hit of hop expenses.

 

Since there has been some discussion about creating beers that are juice-like it would seem there is a ‘next step’ in this sort of beer evolution: emulate sports drinks!

“New HEAVY SEAS ANNOUNCES FOURTH BEER IN JOOSE CANNON TAPROOM EXCLUSIVE SERIES: JOOSE CANNON GLACIER FROOT

BALTIMORE (August 24th, 2020) - Heavy Seas Beer is excited to announce the fourth beer in its Joose Cannon series, Joose Cannon: Glacier Froot, at 7.25% ABV. This beer will be exclusively available curbside at the Heavy Seas taproom 4packs of 16oz cans the weekend of Friday, September 4th.

Another exciting twist on our flagship IPA Loose Cannon, Joose Cannon is its hazier, juicer counterpart. Inspired by sports drinks, Glacier Froot combines berry and citrus to create an IPA that will quench your thirst on the hottest of days—no electrolytes needed.

“We've brewed our fourth version of Joose Cannon with the usual oats, wheat and a dose of lactose to provide a satisfying, hazy IPA,” says Heavy Seas Brewmaster, Chris Leonard. “This time we've dry-hopped it with Citra, Mandarina Bavaria, and Simcoe Cryo/Lupulin Powder to provide juicy aromas of lemon, orange, tangerine and pineapple. Then, we went ahead and added cherry and cranberry Juice along with a strong helping of strawberry puree. Citrus and berry flavors make for a most satisfying, quenching hazy IPA experience.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...-announces-josse-cannon-glacier-froot.645832/

What will they think of next? An IPA inspired by Hard Seltzer!?!

Cheers!

 

Well, I may be mistaken, but I think @Amendm was saying they are brewing fewer total.beers and mostly sticking to the styles that sell well, mainly hoppy stuff, because of the specific impacts on their business model. They can't afford to spend resources brewing a mild ale, even though it might be cheaper to produce, because the cans won't sell at the pace the hazy IPA cans will and they need to move serious volumes of canned beer to stat afloat if the taproom was a central part of their business model.

 

There are five basic tastes that the tongue is sensitive to: salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami. The most popular drinks, by far, across the planet, are sweet. That is why Coca Cola is huge in almost every country on earth, and why the most approachable alcohol drinks are ones that are sweet. Add sugar to cereal grains and you get a taste that of course is similar. And of course they both are made to appeal to those who like sweet.