Where to draw the line...

There is no line. Hate to be that guy, but all of those who think there is a “line” that should conform to their personal standards are mistaken. You don’t get to choose. The market produces what the market demands. If it makes you feel better call it an “FMB”, or flavored malt beverage. And, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Cheers.

 

Craft beer is an amusing son-of-a-gun. There used to be ads, not long ago, from Budweiser criticizing how craft beer drinkers enjoy fruit added to their beer. For macro drinks who can relate to that commercial - the line is drawn at the addition of fruit, which has already been a tradition in Lambic production for centuries. Does that mean these are not beer? Has our line already stretched too far?

I'm guessing I'll be in the minority on this site, but I don't draw a line inside of the beer market. Brewers are using water, malts, hops, and yeast to make alcohol - some just throw extra stuff in the mix.

 

The whole point to " craft beer" is there is no line

Let people do and talk about whatever the hell they want
Honestly, no offense, but who cares?!

 

OP, I challenge you to think of even one thing about beer today you consider too extreme that is more extreme than the things that beer has been routinely for the last 3,000 years. Go ahead, we'll wait.

 

Burnt brown sugar and marshmallows?

 

It’s like anything else, decide what you like and like what you drink. Who cares what it’s called.

 

OP catching a bit of heat on this one I see. I get where they're coming from though. I know, I know.... "there's no line," "how can someone say a fruited smoothie sour isn't a beer but a coffee stout is?", "don't yuck my yum bro!" I know, and I don't disagree with those positions. There's really not much of a line. But come on....I bet a great many of us on this board see an 18% stout with mashed up key lime pie in it and immediately think, "Fuck outta here with this shit."

 

Yea, but im not gonna come and start a thread about it.

 

Well . . . If the monks are rolling their eyes, I ain't drinking it. All kidding aside, I do not believe you can have an artificial line drawn by someone. Perhaps the line is drawn by each consumer as to whether he/she believes a drink for sale is a "beer" for their liking. Frankly, I am a bit more of a traditionalist and have no desire to drink a stout with rhubarb pie flavor. However, I recognize the right of all to create new styles/flavors in the beer world. After all, it is how the industry discovers new and exciting styles.

 

My personal line is drawn at water, malt, hops, yeast, big picture, it’s somewhat absurd to draw the line there, but I do. My exceptions are stouts, but I typically only cross over into vanilla Bean / coffee / maple, and only one at a time. I don’t love huge ba pastry stouts, the love for them perplexes me. But again, these are my lines, I couldn’t care less what other people drink, and what they call it.

 

I wouldn't say there are any clear-cut "rules" for what determines what is and what isn't a "beer", but I will definitely say that a lot of what is often considered to be stepping into the "is this even beer" category is the sugar first, "beer" second wave of releases. Too many drinkers fail to realize that what they truly like is sugar. That's fine of course, but it's also one of the easiest things to appeal to for humans. Nearly everyone has a sweet tooth of some kind.

As someone who sells and helps to manage brewery portfolios on the distribution end, I'm happy to call a spade a spade regardless of whether or not I like the beer(s), or current trends. The latest being what I consider the world of sugar lovers traversing into beer-land. It was entertaining at first when the first wave of sugary nonsense (my opinion!) started making waves in the market, but now it's just absurd and over the line for me personally. We overcame the tyranny of the American light lager for what became the tyranny of the IPA. And not just any kind of IPA - hazy/unfiltered and often times "sweet", "softer", and nearly always identical. For as diverse as the world of beer could be, often you'll see how truly monotone things have become and worse, some breweries are.

But regardless.....even if I sometimes sound like a grumpy curmudgeon, I still accept that my tastes are my tastes and I'm clearly outside of the norm with the current wave of "hype" sugary nonsense. There does seem to be hints of that wave of sugar breaking, but only time will tell!

 

This is completely fair and I’m glad you’re acknowledging these are your guidelines and that alone.

Everyone is free to interpret what is and is not acceptable for themselves to drink by their own standards. Even if I don’t consider it a beer per se, if I still like it and want to drink it, there’s nothing wrong with that. Ill be the first to admit the things I drink today are about as far as you can get from the Budweiser in my dads fridge. The only thing that is comparable about the two is that the brewers of each respective “beer” call the beverages in the can a “beer”.

I suppose it’s up to each of us to decide if we agree with that label.

Cheers.

 

Well, I think you have the technical side (which many have discussed), and the what-I'll-call conversational side. If we get to a point as humans where saying "I like beer" does not give people enough information, we will have a case for "drawing a line."

For instance, it comes to mind that people tried adding "craft" to the term beer to differentiate to a degree on taste/style/producer (in that order, IMO). I definitely feel it was originally more than purely who made it (e.g. the association's definition). Will we need another "modification" at some point? Perhaps.

 

I don't really let this bother me. If they are making money and able to stay in business, then more power to them. As long as I can get what I want, then these beers fall into the seltzer category to me (see them on the shelf and continue to walk by). I know there are a couple of these in Houston (which I don't even bother to look at on the shelf) and one from the Dallas Area that are pushing what can be stuck in the can/bottle and they have their fans, but I just don't buy anything from them.

 

Every consumer gets to decide where that line is.

I for one will never consider a Hard Seltzer or a Hard Soda as a beer no matter what Boston Beer Company touts.

Cheers!

 

And hopefully you can but over the past couple/few years I have seen a lot of beer lose shelf space to the 'other stuff'. I personally can't get those beers which were removed.

Cheers!

 

Not your father's root beer tore that line up.