How “Far” Beer Has Come…

Well, it is great that you can still find what you want. But between the hazy IPAs, ciders, and seltzers; I'm finding it a bit hard to find what I want: pilsners, ESBs, porters, bitters, nice hoppy beers in the 5.5 to 6.5 ABV range.

 

I'd like to think that beer and style fads are cyclical. I'm not big on a lot of what's "in" right now but I can find things I like and enough of them that it wouldn't be a bad idea to curtail the volume I drink.

That said - much like BMC bland beer seemed to create an uptick in homebrewing, to get flavor. I hope the explosion of beer that doesn't seem to appeal to a lot of palates here would lead to an uptick in homebrewers - mostly to make those good beers in traditional styles.

The far out stuff described here doesn't seem to sit around long - that is, the waffle beer I saw in the cooler by brewery X in July - no longer exists. It's been replaced by a waffle beer by brewery Z and that one likely won't be there in November - so to speak.

 

Let it go, like other things it works or it doesn't. Some people like this (proof being Martin House in Arlington Tx, check out their list of beers here). I have been so busy lately that I have fallen into mainly just drinking a few new beers every now and then, but mainly my beer fridge has been packed with Harpoon IPA (when I can get it fresh) and whatever good pilsner I can find. I will mix in the occasional hazy pale, ipa but due to current work hours I can't have anything heavy weight during the weekday.

 

FWIW that is what I do. I have an Oatmeal Stout in the primary right now and next week I will be brewing a Brown Ale. There are not many Oatmeal Stouts and/or Brown Ales on my local beer retailers' shelves.

Cheers!

 

I'm probably the anomaly here, but my habits work for me. Last year I reviewed about 135 different beers, which seems like a small number until you recognize that it means about 40% of all the beers I drank last year were new ones to me. I love trying different beers and since my local Trader Joe's carries a nice ever-changing selection of beers AND they sell them one can at a time I get to satisfy my itch for variety very easily. Investing in one can of weirdness that turns ot to be a "one and done" won't break the bank and the wife loves to try those odd ones with me so it is a fun exercise.

 

That's exactly what I thought.

That's a Stout.
Clearly these fucktards are ruining beer. It never ends.

 

As long as i can buy my Centennial and Old Rasputin, i don't care what they do with the rest.

 

As long as there are breweries like Pizza Port, Beachwood, Sierra Nevada, Firestone, Bierstadt Lagerhaus etc I am ok with all those crazy beers. It’s like when I go to Starbucks. They sell more syrup and milk than they do coffee. I still get my americano or drip and I am good with that.

I like my beer to taste like beer and my coffee to taste like coffee.

 

Eighteen years ago, these would have been all the rage among the sliver of the adult drinking population drawn to the FMB (flavored malt beverages, c.f. “Alcopop”) segment, but pilloried by “serious” beer hobbyists - including many BAs, hereabouts.

Now, the distinctions are almost completely irrelevant, and there is more of an: “All malt beverages are good, all beer is good, even when it plays loose and free stylistically.”

It’s a completely different world!

 

For all the jaded old-heads who are worried about this 'ruining brewing',

The only thing that will ruin brewing is that attitude, flavored beers exist for a lot of reasons.

They're hugely popular and they're even popular with people who 'don't like beer'. That's a huge expansion of your customer base and for smaller brewers can be the difference between staying afloat and going under. You might be salty that your local brewer has 4 taps of fruity beer but just know that whatever beer flavored beer you're enjoying that day was probably funded by it.

Not only does the fruity shit do great with people who 'don't like beer' it also has a tendency to be a gateway to enjoying beer. When more people are choosing seltzers, demand for beer is waning and the market is at saturation creating new customers is important. Getting someone to try a smoothie beer is one step closer to them trying a hazy IPA which is one step closer to them trying a pale lager. I've seen it first hand as a beer buyer, getting a regular who buys only seltzers to try something different which led to the next thing and now with some regularity they buy beer flavored beers

Despite the prevalence of many uninspired beverages churned out on a weekly basis by brewers who are engaging in more parts mixology than true craft brewing you still find excellent examples of brewers producing meticulously crafted experiences; the same we expect out of any beer flavored beer.

My favorite example of this currently is Modist Brewing's S'More Mallow?

Like every other smores beer it gets the marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker, lactose and vanilla treatment, but unlike the majority it takes the form of a freakin' smoked lager. Instead of being a rich high abv mess it takes the form of a crisp quaffable beverage. Superb balance of rich smores flavor against crisp zesty pilsner and the hint of smoke is the small touch that makes you reminisce about burning marshmallows over the campfire.

Is it kind of frustrating how the industry is appealing to young-adults who want jamba juice and have zero concept of craft beer? Absolutely! But crafting a delicious beverage that has depth and complexity it is really the beauty that craft brewing is all about is it not? Who cares if they get their trying to make lucky charms and kool-aid, like any other facet of craft brewing it's about attention to detail and quality of product.

 

At some point a beer crosses a line and becomes a flavored malt beverage.

 

Yeah there is a lot of silly sounding beer around right now. But there is still more beer that sounds good to me at the beer store than I have the capacity to drink. Plus, the silly stuff is actually kind of good sometimes.

 

Yup, and every individual is going to draw that line differently.

Since I am not a fan of 'adjunks' being added to beer I likely would have a conservatively drawn line here.

Cheers!

 

I will never forget the day when I was back in Germany at my sisters. I open the fridge and see a Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen. For me, a big Hefeweizen fan, it really crossed the line.
On the other hand...
I have mixed Hefeweizen with Coke (Diesel) or with banana juice, and Altbier with Coke (Krefelder). So I can't look down on the brewers that put other "stuff" in beers.

We all have to figure out what we like and everybody's palate is different. Over the years I have had hits and misses in the (craft-) beer world, but always enjoyed the road I travelled.
Nothing is "too far" but I can tell you one thing, that Blue Ice Cream shit I will never have again.


Prost BA's, I am having another Oktoberfest now!

 

I've been on a weird kettle sour kick lately. Oozlefinch, etc...

The beers are just ridiculous, but fun to try once.

People can like what they want. You can get what you want anywhere.

 

Beethoven was asked this very question pertaining to music of the day in 1800. Everybody said it was over - all the great music has been composed.

 

Yeah, I have 0 issues finding decent lagers, Hefeweizen, porters etc. I also travel all of Iowa for work, so I end up close enough to cross into Wisconsin for NG beers, occasionally go to KC for KC beer co stuff etc. got it pretty good.

 

I've had that peanut butter hefe. Much better than I expected, and while I wouldn't seek it out, I also wouldn't turn it down if offered.

I don't get too excited over the "weird" beers that seem to be trendy in recent years. When I started seeking out "better" beer in the early 1990's the general feeling among the people I drank with was that most towns or neighborhoods needed their own breweries or taprooms. We appreciated the quality, or "craft beer", to coin a phrase... So long as I can travel hither and yon and find some locally-made beer, I won't get upset over these small businesses making oddball brews and maybe filling a niche and staying profitable.

On the other hand, if you can't make a good lager, then we have nothing more to discuss.