Have We Been Here Before?

I'm not sure if this is completely related to the article but it got me thinking about the growing craft beer culture overseas. Craft breweries are on the rise in South Korea, but unfortunately (and in some cases fortunately) Korean brewers are merely copying American beer styles because it's trendy or "cool." Unfortunately a lot of the craft beer I've had here is not that good. They make some interesting bottle labels, but the suds are lacking in many respects. So many people and breweries appear to care most about image, while quality in the product suffers.

 

Well, like most Westernised countries they're experiencing a craft beer revolution of sorts. Of course they've taken their cue from the American scene, hence the proliferation of hoppy IPAs. But yeah, some of their craft beer is worse than their domestic piss. I can't imagine bitter, dry IPAs being to the public's tastes. They like their Western culinary renderings to be Koreanised, ie., add lots of sugar and skimp on quality ingredients. Sweet spaghetti bolognese with sweet garlic bread, anyone? It was almost impossible to find a bottle of red in supermarkets which wasn't saccharine sweet. I can imagine watermelon wheat beers being more marketable over there than IPAs.

 

How much lambic would be brewed in Belgium these days if Americans hadn't become crazy about it? I doubt Cantillon would have expanded just to meet the need of their old customers. That is a case of globalization helping keep a traditional style alive.

On the other hand I went to a beer fest in Oslo about 6 months ago. It was all smaller Euro brewers. Almost every one was serving a NE IPA. I work down the street from Trillium so I'm not really looking for that style while traveling and none of the Euro renditions I had was at the Trillium level. It took some searching to find beers that I found to be unique or interesting to me. I learned that Eik & Tid are putting out some really cool beers in Oslo using local ingredients.

 

Good example. Another would be the proliferation of Berliner Weisse and Gose. Two styles that were all but extinct until they were adopted by American craft brewers.

 

Excellent point!

A few years ago a some small, local breweries were producing Grodziskie beers and at that time (and still today?) this beer was not commercially available in Poland.

Cheers!

 

You're absolutely right!

 

The "ingenuity" of American beer won't be the first time, or probably even the tenth time that the mutt known as the US has had an influence on other countries through it's trying to figure out what it's own damn uniquely American culture actually is, which is, we are all from someplace else. So America is being made up by buying. Or borrowing. Or stealing from everywhere else.
And it's circular. Take music.
Through Voice of America, all kinds of countries became exposed to American music. In each there was plenty of local culture which is hardwired in, and just like how through old R&B records being played in Jamaica, the roots of reggae became defined. The locals will take the best bits from each and make it their own new thing. Some will keep the speed of it. Others will slow it down. Technology. Access to gear, or the lack of it will create all sorts of hybrids.
Traditional forms will also be replenished, and also inevitably find a way to wend their way into the new fabric.

 

As someone who's relatively new to the industry and the world of craft beer in general, I'm still in a place where I feel some "option paralysis"-- that is, I have so much to learn and try that it's hard to know where to dive in. But I do agree that the unknown factor is an important part of travel; dealing with the unexpected makes for great learning experiences and stories. On the one hand today's convenience provided to us by technology and other advancements creates more opportunity, but it does seem like old traditions are lost in the process. This feels like a Beer Advocate take on Black Mirror, ha.

 

If you're adventurous enough to try at least one new beer each time that you drink beer, before you know it you'll have tried enough to form a solid opinion. It just doesn't happen overnight.

Especially stories.

 

It's a lot like taking up cooking and finding the World of Cuisine is so vast and diverse it's hard to figure out where to start. I suggest begin with what you think you might like and with time and trying your new likes and dislikes will define the path.

 

Find what you enjoy and drink widely from there.
Honestly.
Old traditions in beer haven't exactly fared that well up until a lot of conveniences being provided through the online experience of the past 5 - 7 years renewed an interest in them, truth be known. Blogs like Shut Up About Barclay Perkins, Larsblog and Mad Fermentationist have definitely had an influence on the brewers who read them, and the beer they produce.

 

Good analogy, this. I tend to think of it as "import, imitate, innovate".

It's noticeable in the UK, for instance, that as people have got interested in US-style IPAs, at least some of the people who want to brew in that style have adapted to what will sell in pubs by putting loads of new-world hops into sub-5% cask conditioned pale ales. The result is a world of grapefruit and mango away from more traditional bitters and golden ales, but also not, as far as I know, something you'll find very much in the US.

 

Garsh. I only have to change one ingredient. How forward!

Cask is definitely around, but the flavorful world of sub 5% session drinkers are still a bit of an anomaly in everything has to be bigger land.

 

Worked for Black IPA, Belgian IPA, Rye IPA... and Double IPA and Session IPA have the same ingredients but in different quantities. There is nothing new under the sun. :-)

 

Not sure what to think of this article. I have been to many European countries and places and some of the best places I've ever been to were accidental, found by walking the city (Delirium Cafe in Brussels, Kulminator in Ghent, Les Berthom in Strasbourg). Word of mouth helped me find others (Arendsnest in Amsterdam, Brauhaus Ernst August in Hannover). Sure, I used Google and other online resources to find great places as well but they generally weren't selling American beer (if so, it wasn't mass market).

The local beer is always on tap in restaurants I've been to in Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, France, and Portugal. It's always great to find a small microbrewery in Europe and I have always felt welcome.

 

I think the article is not focused on the exploratory types who are willing to put their smart phones aside and go on a "walkabout" off the beaten path.

Not too many years ago I was having lunch with my Belgian host in the Moeder Lambic Fontainas in Brussels. About mid-way through lunch a couple stopped in for a beer before moving to their next location. The young man indicated to the bartender they were following a pre-programmed tour on his smart phone and it told them they should stop here for a beer, before moving on to Cantillon.

Seems to me that some of this modern technology draws more people into "ticking off" destinations rather than exploring on their own just to see what they can find.

 

Not sure the gist of the post, sounds vaguely of you kids get off my lawn.

 

I think I agree with the article. It's a big world with a lot of beer out there.

And I welcome the "craft scene" around the world. I was in Australia in 2003, and there were 3 brands of beer there. And that was pretty much it. Went back in 2013, and there were brew pubs all over the place. It was pretty clear that the locals were enjoying it, and it really reminded me of being in the US 10 or 15 years earlier.

All anecdotal, and I had matured a lot in that time span myself. But what's not to like?

 

Maybe I should clarify. My point wasn't that Schlenkerla should start carrying 'craft' beers, but more that other places can co-exist with old world bars and breweries. Plus if more places had Mahrs U, Keesman Pils, or Spezial on draft, the world would be a far better place.