What is wrong with these beers?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BeachinBrews, Jul 31, 2015.

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  1. BeachinBrews

    BeachinBrews Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2015 California

    Howdy y'all,

    I just read an article on Wired about the best summer beers one should be drinking and was struck by the first two comments posted:

    "this is an incredibly boring and disappointing list with no innovation. get off the over hopped train and pick different saisons, represent more than one style of sour, and pick some wheat beers that are actually good instead of those cult classics that are already sought out by everyone. also, kolsch is a lager, not an ale."​

    And...

    "This is what beer writing looks like when done by people who aren't beer writers. Their suggestions aren't even bad, there's just no rhyme or reason to them. It's roughly the same level of validity as taking suggestions from people on the street. Even if they really were well-versed in what they were writing about here, you're never going to be able to give insight with one and a half sentences on each beer that simply state information from the label."
    ​
    I get the fact that referring to a kolsch as an "ale" is somewhat off-putting, but in consideration of the beers mentioned, is the list presented as boring/random as these two say? I myself am a relative newb and while familiar with the local San Diego scene, I don't have a broad knowledge of craft brews on a national scale. Are these two commenters beer snobs, or do they have legit beefs? At the risk of demonstrating my own ignorance, I was only familiar with four of the sixteen beers listed...

    How bad off am I???
     
    #1 BeachinBrews, Jul 31, 2015
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  2. yemenmocha

    yemenmocha Grand Pooh-Bah (4,116) Jun 18, 2002 Arizona
    Pooh-Bah

    Help me understand. I refer to Kolsch as an ale quite often.

    I don't think the beer list is bad at all. And there are a lot of self-styled connoisseurs out there these days.
     
    #2 yemenmocha, Jul 31, 2015
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  3. lambpasty

    lambpasty Initiate (0) May 3, 2013 New Hampshire

    Your first mistake was reading the comments section on an internet article.

    I agree, it's a pretty solid list.

    OP, I think it's just a couple pedantic internet commenters being pedantic internet commenters, probably adjusting their fedoras before hitting enter.

    It's a beer article on Wired, so I'm not surprised that many are "mainstream" brews; I think their target audience is probably not people who will drive to specific craft beer stores and seek out Weihenstephaner, but more the type to just go to a local shop and see what they can find on the shelf - and there's nothing wrong with that.
     
    #3 lambpasty, Jul 31, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2015
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  4. IckyT2012

    IckyT2012 Pooh-Bah (2,050) Oct 13, 2014 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Looks like clickbait to me. This is just a list of beers without any substance to the "article". Honestly, I'm more put off by the idea that somebody got paid to write this than by the list of beers.
     
    #4 IckyT2012, Jul 31, 2015
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  5. BeachinBrews

    BeachinBrews Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2015 California

    I've always thought a kolsch was a lager due to the fermentation temps, but that's just something else I read on the internet :rolling_eyes:
     
    #5 BeachinBrews, Jul 31, 2015
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  6. BeachinBrews

    BeachinBrews Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2015 California

    This is what I thought as well... I mean, getting upset with Wired over a beer article is like getting upset with Rolling Stone over their politics. It's easy sound "smart" when you place yourself out of your typical audience's area of expertise...
     
    #6 BeachinBrews, Jul 31, 2015
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  7. Scarfer_Brad

    Scarfer_Brad Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2014 Florida
    Trader

    http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/K%F6lsch.html

    Refers to Kolsch as "The German pale ALE"

    and

    "In a country dominated by lagers of all strengths and colors, the modern Kölsch (the beer) is Germany's only true, all-barley, pale ale. "
     
    #7 Scarfer_Brad, Jul 31, 2015
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  8. BeachinBrews

    BeachinBrews Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2015 California

    Lol, c'mon man... Those info graphics were pretty sweet :grinning:
     
    #8 BeachinBrews, Jul 31, 2015
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  9. HomeBrewed

    HomeBrewed Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2006 Minnesota

    Kolsch is an ale.
     
    #9 HomeBrewed, Jul 31, 2015
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  10. BeachinBrews

    BeachinBrews Initiate (0) Jul 29, 2015 California

    Ah HA!!! If I was that kinda guy, I'd go back over to that thread and start some crap with those self-styled "critics"... :grinning:
     
    #10 BeachinBrews, Jul 31, 2015
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  11. Apellonious

    Apellonious Pooh-Bah (1,814) Oct 25, 2008 North Carolina
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have nothing to add to the Kolsch discussion other than what was said above...( I am actually drinking one right now, the "original" pale ALE)......However, the list itself is solid. There are easily 10 (if not 20) other plug and plays for each style the writer could have placed in there that would have worked for what the article was trying to accomplish, but listing 10 or 20 for each style would not have fit the form. There is definitely a lack of substance in the descriptions, but sometimes concision works. No doubt it was a quick and dirty article. There isn't a beer on that list that is not worth trying or checking out.
     
    #11 Apellonious, Jul 31, 2015
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  12. nesarebad

    nesarebad Pooh-Bah (1,868) Feb 4, 2012 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Kolsch is top fermented and then lagered. I'll call it an ale.
     
    #12 nesarebad, Jul 31, 2015
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  13. nesarebad

    nesarebad Pooh-Bah (1,868) Feb 4, 2012 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yes?
     
    #13 nesarebad, Jul 31, 2015
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  14. busternuggz

    busternuggz Initiate (0) Mar 9, 2008 California

    I can't take this list seriously because of Duchess and 60 Minute. The rest of it would be cutting edge if this was 2008 (with a couple exceptions).
     
    #14 busternuggz, Jul 31, 2015
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  15. AugustusRex

    AugustusRex Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2013 Canada (ON)

    God dammit... bottom fermented BEER. Too late to edit.
     
    #15 AugustusRex, Jul 31, 2015
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  16. jzeilinger

    jzeilinger Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,847) Dec 4, 2004 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Hey, if you are familiar with (4) of those (16) beers then there's some tasting work to be done and then formulate your own conclusions (that goes for all of us, too many beers and too little time to sample everything available). It's a big world of beers out there and these barely scratch the surface not to mention everyone has an opinion. It reminds me of a Robin Williams quote... [I wonder what chairs think about all day: "Oh, here comes another ***hole."]

    In conclusion: Opinions => everybody has one. :wink:
     
    #16 jzeilinger, Jul 31, 2015
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  17. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I was wondering if that was what you meant. No matter - both our posts are gone. :astonished:
    It was a great Freudian slip. :wink:
     
    #17 zid, Jul 31, 2015
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  18. tmbgnicu

    tmbgnicu Maven (1,280) Mar 15, 2014 Pennsylvania
    Trader

    It's a good list, and I've had a number of those beers this summer(I'm the guy who keeps Oberon around all summer). Internet comments are stupid, including the one I am presently typing.
     
    #18 tmbgnicu, Jul 31, 2015
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  19. blivingston1985

    blivingston1985 Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2010 North Carolina

    I always explain it as a lagered ale to the peeps new to the style. everyone wins that way.
     
    #19 blivingston1985, Jul 31, 2015
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  20. geodonnokepyo

    geodonnokepyo Initiate (0) Oct 31, 2013 Pennsylvania

    Duchesse is delicious.
     
    #20 geodonnokepyo, Jul 31, 2015
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