Are you exhausted with the constant hype?

This.

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Well no, not really.

If anything the argument could be made that the AAL is not the “real beer” in your example. Beer purists, brewing history, hell even historical brewing laws/beer definitions (i.e. Reinheitsgebot) could claim that the addition of rice or corn would make the AAL “not beer”.

Your example is more akin to what could happen from the other side, as opposed to what is happening from the individuals who think these new “styles” are ridiculous. Essentially if someone has become accustomed to only drinking milkshake “IPAs” and someone hands them a SNPA and they scoff and ask for a “real beer”. You know, the one made with lactose and fruit juice that tastes like a smoothie.

I mean if you don’t see the difference between a claim of a Sam Adams Boston Lager not being a “real beer” and, say, a Kool Aid inspired berliner weiss that literally has blue Kool Aid powder added to it not being a “real beer”, well then I’m not sure it’s worth much of a debate.

 

I’d answer yes, but I do understand.

Beers tight margins, Hard Seltzer’s fills a slot and gives another revenue stream. Imo their target was to take Bud Light and Corona out of the hands of younger people, a different option for those that drink beer but don’t really care about beer. Seltzer’s look healthier, they’re low calorie, really less filling, and offer a lot of flavor. Personally I kinda like them every now and then at the beach or pool, they’re definitely easy drinking and I’d take Grapefruit White Claws over Bud Light crap everyday. They don’t replace beer for me obviously, as I only buy them for beach week for the wife, or to take to the pool fir her.

 

This exactly.

Pre-pandemic when I used to actually go to taprooms, it was getting hard to find an IPA in the Minneapolis area that wasn't hazy. Which is fine if they're good - but at least around here, 90% are not. They're just a sugar, orange-juice mess brewed for those who'll order anything hazy.

I could care less about hype or what other people drink & think it's silly to do so. But when West Coast IPAs disappear off menus almost entirely, that chafes my nipples. And not in a good way.

 

I'm not exhausted by the hype because I don't pay any attention to it.

 

What if the fruited sours are:
Cantillon St. Lam
3F Oude Kriek
Tilquin Oude Quetsche ?

 

I'd go with the clear-hazy IPA, I don't mind that category, so long as I can call it by the name I've always known it by: Regular ol' IPA.

 

Still going with Brooklyn. I'm sure those beers are great, I've just never got into the beers with a heavy sour taste.

 

It that hard seltzer revenue stream helps my local spot to stay in business during the current climate, good for them. I'm not buying them personally, but I'm sure a hard seltzer is going to sell better than a rauchbier or brut ipa right now.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with this part of your post, but I think some of the angst was that many of us remember the time that craft breweries weren’t only about maximizing profit. Again, this is probably getting redundant from recent posts on other threads. I think the movement from artisanal, truly a craft , to big business “do whatever for every last cent of profit” drives some of the disdain displayed here and other places.

 

No - I'm thankful for all the hype. Having more options in a still growing industry doesn't de-value the industry as a whole. You can still get an ever increasing variety of beer styles and variants in most every part of the country. This is a good thing for the industry - not bad - regardless of your opinion on the new variants being introduced. I wake up every day amazed at all of the options - down the street - in the city - heck -available via mail order to my house from far away places. Ultimately - the market will decide what to do w/all these "it girl" fermented beverages of the day. For me - I follow Charlie's advice - it's worked since 1991 for me - RDWHAHB.

 

I get where you're coming from. But that's the beautiful part -- there are plenty of breweries out there that very clearly are not utilizing strategies strictly to maximize profit. I'm not that saddened or angered by the general, national state of the industry (even if I stop by to roll my eyes or laugh at it sometimes) because I still have places like Forest & Main or Referend locally... I still have places like Suarez regionally... and I still make trips to go to Hill Farmstead occasionally. In fact, I probably have more options fitting this bill than I did "back in the good old days."

So again, the constant consternation from people like OP (nothing personal) is pretty confounding, to me.

You're right though, this is certainly a redundant conversation. No matter how many times we have it, someone is going to chime in about this being a natural outgrowth of market preferences and @JackHorzempa is going to be there to complain about an ESB being pushed off the shelf at his local beer distributor by a Double XXX DDH Pastry Seltzer, lamenting the utter travesty that the market doesn't jive with his personal taste, specifically.

 

I'm in agreement with you here but I think it is an interesting thing to talk about and have a discussion on. Mainly because I'm curious to see if breweries built on that model are sustainable, especially with how quick some of them have expanded.

Maybe it is sustainable though, I'm not sure, I still think it is fun to think about and discuss.

 

Totally, didn't mean to sound so dismissive by agreeing that it's "redundant." These things do change over time, and it's interesting to hear how others feel about it as the industry and sentiments shift.

 

Yes, I have had constructive discussions with brewery owners/managers and on occasion I have noticed on my next visit(s) a change in the sorts of beers on tap as per the discussion.

Of that I have no doubt.

Cheers!

 

This is my experience too (obviously sub in different regional breweries). And I can't help but feel that these discussions are more a result of our collective extreme focus on the niches within niches of the beer world. I think back to Xmas 2019, I brought a " Mexican hot chocolate " variant of a big thiccqq ba stout and my sister brought a fancy hazy IPA that she had to go to some effort to obtain. The generation above us in the family has been seeking out great beer since before we were born and they all still actively drink mostly imports and beer from smaller brewers. They were vaguely aware of the whole hazy IPA thing and thought it ridiculous that you would go through the effort my sister had to obtain any beer. They also thought the hazy IPA was pretty unremarkable. They had never even heard.of the pastry stout thing, totally off their radar. We all drank 2-3oz servings and responses ranged from mild interest to surprise that a barrel aged stout could have those flavors. No one wanted to know how they could get more. My aunt was stocked almost exclusively with several regional brands of scotch ale before the family arrived.

I really don't see where the big problem with all these goofy styles lies, as much as I enjoy piling on the mockery from time to time.

 

There definitely is a lot of hype in our own craft beer way to influence us to buy beer. Fair to note beer advertising in this country has been over the top since before "craft beer".

My thoughts generally on hype and how it affects me, including beer, are these. I am totally in favor of hype when it makes profit for businesses that make products I enjoy to use/consume. I am in favor of everyone enjoying what they enjoy, as I pretty much demand that is how they treat me.

Of course, when hype and trends start making those things I like less available, I am against them completely. Hypocritical for sure, but there you are.

 

Amen!

Cheers to you Dave!

 

Short answer is yes. But I stay in my own lane

I drink seasonally. And I rarely drink anymore. It’s become a hassle and I get anxious in the liquor store. Anyhow I t’s spring time and for me that means Belgian styles. Witbier, strong golden, dubbel. Cool wind and warm sun these styles do it for me this time of year. I don’t dig them in summer. 98 degrees and humid and that coriander and spice doesn’t hit right with me. By then I’m moving to the pilsners and session ipa.

Idgaf whatever anyone else likes. They take up shelf space but I have what I need

 

And yet, here we are.