Styles You Want To Make A Comeback

For all the enthusiasm of modern brewers to use every fruit and vegetable imaginable in beer, it honestly shocks me few brewers have thought to try herbs instead of hops.

 

I think the unfortunate reality is that herbs tend to have flavors that lend themselves to subtle and discerning use and the try every ingredient under the sun brewers tend to traffic in bombast not subtle discernment.

 

I should add, one of my favorite beers was brewed with zero vegetative matter. It was malt with a mix of roots and mushrooms. It was roasty and lightly spicy and extremely drinkable and honestly tasted enough like a craft root beer that I think it could do quite well I'm a broader market

 

Pretty sure that's a gruit and not a beer.

 

Dopplebocks. Not that they went anywhere, just want to see more of them.

 

And, by regulation, it's not a legal "malt beverage" and must go through the FDA, not the TTB, for approval. An extra hassle and requires a Nutritional Label*.

FDA - Labeling of Certain Beers Subject to the Labeling Jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration GUIDANCE FOR THE INDUSTRY

* Like this one on a Dogfish Head product which does not use the required amount of malted barley to meet the TTB's regs:

 

Baltic porter
Altbier

 

Oatmeal Stout, Dopplebock, Black IPA, Cream Ale, just to name a few. More English ale imports please (many I liked no longer easily had in Eastern Tennessee). I need Old Speckled Hen (and a UK expat, next trip plans on importing some).

 

Black IPA
English Mild (Pale and Dark)
Strong English IPA's (think St. Austell's Proper Job)
Belgian Tripel
Baltic Porter (are they out? I never see them, preferably with molasses and or licorice leanings)
Russian Imperial Stout (Just bare-bones, no additives, no adjuncts, just a good old stout, that will put you on your ass if you're not careful)

 

Firestone Walker Adding Double Jack 12oz Cans

 

Yes, when it’s fresh this is really a great beer. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Red Ales/Irish Ales - bring back Petes Wicked!
WEST coast IPAs, getting kinda tired of juicy haze bombs
English Ales
Amber ales
Dark/strong ales
Black IPAs

 

I agree on the session IPAs. It seems like all the rage is now low-cal IPAs, and while they're low alcohol I just don't want to drink them. We need more good brews that aren't over-the-top.

Similarly, I want more tasty "regular" stouts. Everybody is focused on putting in adjuncts or barrel aging. Give me a solid 6-8% stout that's clean and made from normal beer ingredients and you'll forever have my heart.

 

The irony here is that Sierra Nevada makes both a tasty 'regular' Stout and a tasty 'regular' Porter but they only periodically brew them; they just do not sell well for them.

Cheers!

 

I know! The Sierra Nevada Stout is exactly what I'm talking about, and it's hardly ever available. Give me more stuff like that.

 

Can I uh...get summa that? Haha that recipe sounds absolutely delightful!

 

But you see the 'dilemma' here, right?

Cheers!

 

Maybe it doesn’t sell well because it’s never available and beer buyers don’t know it exists. And then there’s FBS stacked up on the floor taller than me, so there’s big time competition too, but it’s certainly not SN kinda pricing too.

 

Well, the tour guide at the Mills River brewery stated it the other way. The beers were not selling well when they were under regular production so they decided to scale back.

Take this FWIW.

Cheers!

 

There’s competition, and I’ve never had a SN Porter or Stout. If I was craving a stout I believe I’d look for FBS first.