Bitching ‘Bout Bourbon Flavored Beer

Almost done

 

I read a post on here a while back that made a lot of sense. I can’t remember who said it, but they wrote that the reason for the increased popularity of craft beer over the last couple decades is due to breweries catering to a customer base that is not fond of beer.

Why else would the most popular craft beer styles be IPAs that taste like tropical fruit cocktails, imperial Stouts that taste like desserts or whiskey, and sour beers that taste like fruit smoothies?

I don’t think these drinks are necessarily “bad“, they just don’t taste like beer and I happen to really like the taste of beer, so while I don’t care, or want to bitch about what other people like, I avoid all these products and focus on finding beers that I enjoy.

 

That was probably this post.

But the thing is, you can enjoy plenty of very good craft beer without ever delving into these more exotic styles. As I replied to that person, I don’t think I’ve ever had any of them. And I do love beer.

Maybe what’s happening is that as younger people start exploring beer, and as brewers continue to push the envelope in search of the next big new thing (similar to the “hazy revolution” from a few years ago), the definition of what beer tastes like is evolving—and a lot of people are not on board with this change.

But again, I think it’s easy to find “beer-flavored” beer without drinking exclusively macro lagers.

 

I’ve drank so many that I barely detect bourbon anymore. When I drink regular stouts, I always wish they were barrel aged

 

I think the post I was referring to was from a few months back, there was a similar post by Jesskidden, where he theorized that the current obsession with fruity IPAs is due to kids being raised on juice boxes, that sounds pretty reasonable to me.

I don’t drink macro lagers and don’t have a problem finding beer flavored beer, but I would appreciate more options on the shelf of classic styles like English bitter, but at least there are plenty of good lagers available. Sierra Summer and Oktoberfest have been mainstays in my fridge.

 

I’ve heard that theory—not sure how much there is to it, though I did grow up drinking orange juice and grapefruit juice (out of a glass, not a box) and I do appreciate a nice citrus-forward IPA.

Some breweries specialize in the styles you reference, for example Machine House here in Seattle—but they’re definitely underappreciated in the current scene.

 

Mother of All Storms is nothing like what it used to be. At around 2017 there was a drop in Pelican quality and MoAS really did not come out of that well at all. I had a 2022 MoAS fairly recently and thought it was horrible, so I don't blame you for hating on it.


That being said if I had the attitude of "this beer I had sucks, that means that most beers in that style suck too" I wouldn't be drinking beer at all anymore.

 

Oh that makes me sad. I’ve only ever had the older vintages (with the gold foil on the bottle) and it’s always been one of my favorites, didn’t know there was a drop in quality. I have a more recent bottle (2022 I believe) so I’ll have to put your assertion to the test.

 

Hopefully you still enjoy it. It used to be one of my favorites as well but it tastes so thin and oddly bitter now.

 

Wow! This has turned into quite a spirited thread.

I should first caveat that I do not drink a lot of various brands of Bourbon Barrel beers but so far I have never tasted one where the only (dominating?) flavor is the bourbon with no base beer flavors present.

Permit me to suggest that another variable here could be the age of the beer. Some people (including me) like to cellar their Bourbon Barrel aged beers. I had a few of the Goose Island beers on draft this past Wednesday which I discussed in the NBW thread (link below) and as regards this year’s BCBS I posted:

“2023 BCBS

I thought this year’s version is very good. Lots of bourbon related flavors (e.g., vanilla) but also some roasty/chocolate flavors from dark malts. I suspect that I would enjoy this beer with a bit more aging.”



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-175.675097/page-2#post-7878286

Perhaps for those beer brands where the bourbon aspect might be ‘too much’ for an individual’s palate, those beer could be ‘better’ after a couple/few years of cellaring?

Cheers!

 

Nicely done

 

What I've always wondered is why the Bourbon in BBA beers isn't referred to as an add-junk, when other post-fermentation additives are. Sure, the barrel brings barrel 'character' too, but really most people wouldn't note the difference if they just poured bourbon in vs. barrel-aging the beer. Blasphemy, I know.

 

YES!
If I wanted whiskey, I'd drink that instead of beer.
So many possibly great beers are totally ruined.

 

You speak words of wisdom.

 

BBT…turpentine.

 

National shortage of Buffalo Trace? Methinks marketing is wizardry.

 

ST crime brûlée…yes, it’s a crime IMO…. I liked the Black Water series when it first started, but ST did something different after the first run that just made all of them over the line cloying and metallic, but that’s a different thread. LOL!

 

IDK if Founder’s always used chocolate syrup vs actual chocolate or even cocoa powder, but KBS Blueberry clearly states they used syrup. If they’re using Hershey’s brown goo as the chocolate source, that’s my guess as to why it’s heavy handed. Not to forget that the maple syrup is also an an additive, with none of the BLiS maple syrup barrel goodness.