I think there are two aspects to be considered: on-premise beer consumption and at home beer consumption. Permit me to further discuss the on-premise beer consumption topic. And let me don my flame-proof suit since I will be making mention of topics that seem to set some BAs off. Family friendly taprooms There is a brewery near me that seems to attract a fair number of families who will bring their children and yes, even dogs. Needless to say, the adults coming are younger (e.g., under 40 typically) and in this context these are beer consumers of the young(er) generation. I personally am fine with this dynamic but based upon past BA threads there are some who are not fans of going to a place where kids are present (and dogs). It seems to me that if there is a desire for craft brewing the thrive and not just be where a few old farts are hanging out that expanding the venue to encourage families to also be there is a wide move overall. More beer drinkers/consumers for the brewery to sell their products. I sometimes wonder about the financial aspects for these folks with young children. Paying $7+ for a pint of craft beer at the brewery could be an issue for some folks. Cheers!
Weird way to spell curmudgeon, but I'm okay with it. Not that I don't drink them on occasion, but, like you, they don't hold my interest for long and I don't particularly seek them out. That's a very interesting way to think about it.
I'm going to have to argue here that the "culture" I think you're talking about is specific to other countries and regions, and the USA is not traditional like Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, etc. We have our own "American" styles that are basically versions of traditional international styles with localized ingredients like American grown hops and malt, etc. We don't really have a "tradition" here other than maybe apples, corn and molasses. Those big beer BMC AALs became dominant after the repeal of Prohibition. It was a monopoly for big business to take over the industry. The AAL is not representative of all Americans and our ideals.
But is indeed the most popular selling type of beer by far in the US. Needless to say but typically an unpopular beer style for some (many?) BAs. Cheers!
Beer geeks will go the way beer goes. If there are fewer beer drinkers, then there will be fewer beer geeks and vice-versa. Right now, it seems like we're looking at a world where there are going to be fewer beer drinkers than in previous generations, so I wager there will be fewer beer geeks. Does that make us endangered? Possibly. But I doubt we'll ever become extinct.
Give your son time, Pops, he might come around. I’m 56 and when I look back at myself at 30, the only thing I really miss is the energy. Otherwise I’d like to think my tastes—in beer and almost everything else—have refined considerably.
Basically all of them. 5+ years ago it was a big deal and the local rags like Westword used to write clickbait-y articles about it to drive interaction. People were bickering over whether kids were ruining the experience and/or taking up space that should go to beer drinkers. Now? I think most taprooms and breweries would welcome anyone or anything with open arms.
And in that scenario there will be fewer brewing businesses. I suppose a situation of so called 'right sizing' but I feel bad for the brewers (and others) that will be losing their jobs. A brewery chain, Iron Hill, closed their numerous locations recently (a total of 15 locations), The 'good news' is that one of the founders of Iron Hill struck a deal to re-open 5 of those closed locations. Over the years I got to know one of the Iron Hill brewers very well, Matt Gundrum. Luckily he will be getting his job back. Below from an article: "The closure last year cost hundreds of employees their jobs, but company officials say many are expected to return. Some already have, like Matt Gundrum, the director of brewery operations, who spent 20 years with Iron Hill before the shutdown and spent the last few months as a roof salesman." Cheers to Matt!
The adjuncts were added very early in american beer history due to the difference in brewing character of locally grown malt vs traditional European malt, at least from my reading of american beer history. Even prior to prohibition though, americans tended to drink relatively few styles in any given area and they tended to move through those styles somewhat seasonally. But yes, we do have our own beer culture that is derived from our local ingredients as well as our own nations history of mixed heritage and the "clean slate" that prohibition and then consolidation provided.
Well, of course, if they're all aspiring to be faithful to the historic style then they're all going to be fairly similar. It's not a wildly diverse style. I don't know about decoction mashing in any ales, my understanding is that that technique is falling out of favor broadly due to economic reasons and advances in melting and breeding of barley, but perhaps someone has tried it. And Belgian yeast IPAs had their moment but didn't find a lot of market. I'd be shocked to learn there were literally none being made anymore, but it's not like no one tried it.
My observation is that establishments that carry larger variety and quality tend to do better than those who get stuck in a rut, and let quality slip. Also that places that practice some product rotation, as well as preserve some consistency, generally do better than places that let mediocre beer lists and menus stagnate. And some consistency in selection needs to go hand-in-hand with that rotation. Constant change can also drive some customers away, especially when they find some things that they like. When they return for these things, and they are gone, they will be gone as well. All of this applies to the beer, other beverages, the food, the service, the music, the pet policy… It’s likely you’ll never please everyone, but if you try to accommodate them, at least some of the time, you’ll do better. I’ve seen some really good places start up and get better and better that have this sort of business model, and they tend to stay busy and do well. What the Beer Geeks say about a place in word-of-mouth advertising can make a or break a brewery or beer-centric establishment. I think some businesses loose focus and miss that point entirely.
I believe that there are less beer geeks than in the past. Without much effort I can think of five locations that I used to nerd out in and obtain hard to get or new beers to try. All of them continue to sell beer but the selection is only a shadow of what it was 10 or 15 years ago. That tells me that it's not selling like it used to because if they were making money on it they would carry it.
I feel this. There are a bunch of places here locally that used to carry some amazing and hard to get beers, but no more. Not that there aren't better places to buy and drink beer, but they are fewer and farther between than they used to be.
I have confidence beer geeks will continue to exist. There have been ups and downs in the industry but there is at least a core group that continues to be loyal.
