Are we spoiled in 2019?

I prefer the UrBock myself but I have bad news for you if you're thinking of hitting Bamberg and surroundings to find great rauchbier... Schlenkerla does it best, followed by Fassla and Spezial, all a short walk to each other. I didn't find a lot of great rauchbiers in the surrounding countryside as they were all quite mild with the smoke in comparison.

Another note... U.S. brewers can make great rauchbiers, it's not hard at all, but I'm guessing they don't because most customers, unlike us, aren't into them.

 

That's "bad news?" I hope all news in my life can be as bad as that. Cheers.

 

I'm not making a case for the US as the best, nor is it a competition, but I am saying we're spoiled on multiple levels.

If I could do whatever I wanted I'd live in Germany and travel to Belgium and England and Italy and Spain quite often (even the Czech Republic). But none of those countries have the amount of imported or home-grown beers that the US has. That makes me spoiled. To note, that is at least partially driven by the size of the US which is a factor. Would I be happy living in Bamberg with all of the beer that's readily available - yes. Would I be happy in Liverpool stopping in at the Dispensary a night or two during the week and more on weekends - yes.

What we lack in the US is bar and brewery culture. I loved stopping in at a brewery in Deutchland in the morning and sitting with the local old men for their first beer of the day; and in England you can stop in at almost any time except that the pubs close earlier.

In saying that our smaller breweries make better beers (I did note smaller breweries in my past post, didn't I?) I am saying that overall, in smaller breweries, regardless of style, we're making better all-around beers that have better balance and focus. When I say balanced and well-rounded I'm talking about the beers themselves, and in example I'll note that most German brewed American IPAs I've tasted have had a harsher bitterness than needed, and not the full effect that you can pull from the hops. English brewers don't seem, in my opinion, to quite know how to use American hops, OR, giving them the benefit of the doubt and an open palate, they're just doing something different with them - which to a certain extent is A-OK. The Italians IMHO are just sloppy, and the Spanish are quite good but it's the same story, they're trying to replicate world styles and just not nailing them as precisely as the American breweries are.

 

Yes

 

When I think of wild ales, IPA's, and barrel aged offerings, I think the US.

 

Just this past week I took so much enjoyment in Kona Golden Ale. Simple, and to the point, nothing fancy.

 

I'm trying to think of what other product categories I've had 360 or more different varieties of and the only ones I can think of are movies (99% of which are viewed once) and songs (of which many are listened to countless times in the age of spotify). But when it comes to consumables? None that I can think of. Today at least movies and songs are distributed digitally, once it is created it can be stored and consumed an unlimited number of times with comparatively little overhead. The problem for movie and music producers is getting people to pay for the consumption of those products. With beer nowadays you have a physical consumable which quite a few people are in the habit of consuming one of, one and done, meanwhile there's a physical brewery built to produce not just one copy, but a series of copies. Production costs are intimately connected with physical sales and revenue from those sales. More sales equals more revenues and relatively lower production costs. Remembrance alone cannot support a brewery.

This situation would seem to position the brewer at a disadvantage in the current market place. The consumer might increasingly treat beers like they do entertainment, rather than other commodities, and breweries might have to adapt or die. Particularly with the number of competitors out there prepared to bring you what's new and trendy. One hit wonders if you will.

 

Hell yeah. Even putting aside issues about freshness, the eternal war over hazy ipas, and fighting for shelf space, we are in beer paradise compared to 30-40 years ago. I can drive 3 minutes from my house and find both a grocery store and bottle shop with beers from all around the world, and almost every style you could think of.

 

Does anyone have the full history of the Indianapolis Pale Ale? Weren’t they very heavily hopped to survive the journey from the west coast to the deepest darkest reaches of the Midwest?

 

Maybe I should make this argument, we're definitely spoiled because the craft brew movement isn't contained to just the United States - craft breweries are popping up across the globe! That's got to be a good thing, right?

 

IMO, it is not about who created the style as much as it is about who developed it and gave it its identify. To me, the IPA is what it is, what it continues to evolve into, because of the US brewing scene. IMO.

 

I mean I haven’t had the opportunity to try the last two centuries worth of variations - but I guess congrats to America for perfecting it in only the last 20 years

 

American IPA, I reckon. Not what I would call perfect, is anything, but good enough to inspire other countries to brew their own versions. Shrugs.

 

what new brewery and where?

I wish any of the small breweries in my locality would pump out hazy ipa's.

 

TAPS Brewery in CA has made one of my favorites for years, it’s an Irish Red. It’s held up to the test of time. The search for new occasionally leads to something great but the number of brewers that either stay formulaic or get so far outside the tracks that it’s awful. The “build it and they will come” strategy has to come to an end. The “craft” in craft beer is the operative word. I’ll still go out of my way for it. Show me some good old GABF medals.

 

And perhaps the contemporary American beer culture is craft brewing and it would appear we are 'exporting' our culture worldwide?

Cheers!

 

Not just American IPA.

I have been a member of this board since 2010 and I can not think of even 3 non-American Brewed IPA's that have garnered much/any talk as being a leader of the field.

If it was not for US breweries, would the IPA be the monster that it is in today's beer culture?

 

Partially because BA is a US centric beer site, I reckon, but like I said, our IPAs are an inspiration overseas.

I sure don't see anything inspiring locally, and maybe nationally in general, with the English style IPAs, and that's a shame.

 

Would we expect a non-exported cask IPA from England to create much in the way of conversation on a website that’s 90%+ American, where said country predominantly leans towards smack-you-in-the-face-to-be-considered-good flavour* profiles?

*i overrode the American autocorrect there to hammer home my UK-ness