Your Biggest Wrong Or Right Beer Predictions From Past

Right: I figured that beers that didn't taste like beer would catch on. It wasn't that long ago where the idea of fruit in a beer was considered ridiculous in the US. Now you can't escape discussions about beers being made with cinnamon, vanilla, donuts, or even birthday cake batter. Even on the more traditional side of things, many modern hops like citra and mosaic simply don't taste like the hops of old. In many cases, they don't even taste like hops. These developments have opened the world of beers up to people who would have never liked it before.

Wrong: I figured Westvleteren 12 would be the #1 beer forever. Seriously. It wasn't my personal #1, but I always respected and understood why it was where it was. I figured it had enough ratings and a reputation that would persist the knee-jerk 5's given to every flavor of the month bottle release. I'm a little shocked it's still ranked so high on that other site.

 

If Heady Topper wasn't the first hard to find, purchased a day after two of canning (distribution totally controlled by brewer) big hoppy DIPA in 16 oz can four packs- then I don't know who was.

 

I saw it burst once. It was due to old beer sitting on shelves and people getting involved in breweries who just saw them as the next big thing and had no passion.

 

I agree that barrel aging in general will continue to grow, but I don't see it with IPAs. It's very possible that I'm wrong and it's just my taste ruling what I think should happen.
Of course with your professional beer and food pairing skills, I'm sure you could even make a believer out of me with the right aged ipa/food combo.

 

I would say TG was the start for the midwest for hazy IPA's. Not sure if they beat out HF and Alchemist on bottling /canning one, as I know Heady is originally from 04 I think but not sure when they started canning?

Right: IPA's will remain King. TG's Decorah Sue cans would be on par with old Sue. TG wont open its new brewery last year.

Wrong: Prices of hazy ipa's in cans and bottles would come down due to competition. CBS would not be a national release.

 

As my friends say, the dance of moving beer around.

Ordering materials, paperwork, taxes, inspections by government agencies, PR, advertising, and HR issues that are more difficult, or don’t exist for a homebrewer. Oh, and equipment issues can be a pain.

 

Having grown up down the street from Stone, I can tell you that nobody really liked it. What everyone liked was a beer that was over 5% and everyone was willing to deal with the taste to achieve the faster buzz.

 

Truthfully, this is my long shot. But just like 10 years ago, German hop growers growing citrusy American ipa hops would have sounded ridiculous, i think that could be an international wonder who is nearly ready to beat us at our own game. Smart money’s on Europe, but I hope it’s in Latin America or Asia.

Straight buyout, or controlling share. I believe the day of the big beer buyout is ending, but the day of the VC is just beginning...

True, but the government does. Especially when it comes to dollars...maybe it will be the extra abv picked up in the barrel? There are too many things going unchecked it breweries at the moment. Something will be shut down.

3 reasons I see it happening:
Breweries are largely a male majority environment.
Lots of drinking.
There has long been an ‘expected’ level of sexual harassment in much of the adult beverage industry. Bars, sales, breweries, etc. Well, times are-a-changing...
I’m not saying it’s going to make the front page of the NYT, but someone is probably going to be accused, and that someone is likely to step down.
Look no farther than a similar situation in professional kitchens. Male environment, drinking (and other substance abuse), expected amount of harassment. Mario Batali. Yes, he is a celebrity of sorts, but still...

 

I always predict that beer #3 will turn me charming... AND I'M ALWAYS RIGHT!!

 

Incorrect: That Tavour would go out of business in no time. Seems like they're holding steady.
Correct: I've been waiting for the brewery bubble to burst in Oregon and it finally did. Seems more breweries closed than ever this year.

Prediction for the next few years: I think the ABV wars are going to result in the same trend as the IBU wars did. We'll start seeing more flavorful, experimental, barrel-aged (yes, even Bourbon Barrel) beers that clock in at 7-10%. BA Session Beers? Maybe it's my own fatigue with 16% being the new 12% but I'd love to see this trend happen.

 

I think your wrong prediction consequently bleeds into my still-wrong prediction (but one I'm never giving up on because "revival beers" have a chance):

After drinking Yards' Brawler Pugilist English dark mild a couple years ago, I was at least partly convinced beers in that style or near it would become more of a nationwide phenomenon. Not on the level of IPAs or barrel-aged stouts, but maybe something like the good run of German/Czech pilseners we've been having the last couple years.

So far the English pale ale family of beers (I'd put dark milds in there; you don't have to) hasn't found even 1/10 the following I was hoping for in 2015. So I'm wrong. It wasn't a prediction as much as a hope, but either way I'm wrong.

 

Count me as another one who - predicted is a bit strong - strongly hoped that the classic British cask-served lower ABV styles would catch on. Here’s hoping for 2018.

Just to be clear though - if later this year someone posts that they have a new found appreciation for bitters because “my local brewery put on a gravity cask of a classic British bitter brewed with Citra, Motueka, Vic Secret and Wai-iti, and at 6.9% it was super sessionable”, then I will punch myself in the face much in the same way I did when Jacks Abby came about and people “discovered” lagers

 

I’m not an expert on TG, but the Alchemist Cannery predates all the TG hoppy beer listing dates on BA

 

I have no doubt that the major part of Brawler's success is with all of those crossover drinkers, and not necessarily with the hardcore beer geek crowd. So your instincts are right as far as it goes, but right now Yards is so small that they're not even in the NY market.

The real test may come if they get bought out and someone puts that beer in every supermarket and TGIMcFridays in the country . (Just teasing, btw, it's not something I'm actually hoping for.)

 

Skill sets necessary to be a professional brewer:

Plumber
Welder
Electrician
Janitor
Laborer
General Contractor
Heavy Equipment Operator
Accountant
Clerical Worker
Purchaser
Inventory Clerk
Packaging Expert
Marketing Professional
Business Administrator
Recipe Creator
Microbiologist

. . . . and Brewer of Beer

 

I’m probably middle of the road capable on three of those - judging by today’s standards sounds like I’m ready to open a brewery!

 

You'd definitely be ahead of the curve.

 

Refrigeration technician.

Glad you didn’t say attorney, though I know one brewer that has a JD.

Say brewer is like saying farmer. It takes more than that.

 

Here is another prediction. Let's see if I am wrong again. UK-style cask ales will never catch on here.

 

I see what you did there. That's clever, that is.