American Beers = Overly Hopped

I would argue grunge pushed that aside, but to each their own...

 

I do think some bars get a little carried away with IPAs & hop forward beers in their tap selections. I would argue less is more for those beers as they would probably move quicker if they aren't competing against 12 other hoppy beers. Better bars usually get this and spread the spectrum beers on tap. If it is making money though, you will see more of it no matter what it is...

 

Consumers can want something that isn't available in the market. Many times they don't know they want it until they try it and realize they've been missing it all this time. The job of a good marketer is to identify those gaps in the market and figure out a way to fill it. Boston Lager is a textbook example of this phenomenon.

It's sort of a semantics game, but Boston Beer Co. actually *did* make what sells, since once Boston Lager hit the market (and connected with its target market), it took off at a pretty rapid pace. The tricky part is that you can't always define "what sells" on what has historically sold since the historic record can't give you any information about what doesn't yet exist.

One of the things that made Jim Koch's job easier is that he had a resource from which to draw when he decided to enter the market due to the relative conformity of the American beer scene. He didn't have to reinvent the wheel--he just transplanted it from Europe, where their great brewing traditions contained a host of beer and styles that were vastly different from the light lagers that dominated the American scene.

Compare that to today, where there isn't a gap in the market in the same way there was in the late 70s and early 80s. The market is a lot more saturated now, which makes identifying that nonexistent/unavailable beer/style a lot more difficult (and therefore risky). And that's before you even get into the operational risks of opening a brewery in such a highly-competitive landscape.

As a result, many brewers are going to go the safer route of appealing to existing, tried-and-true interests in the marketplace--big, bold flavors and styles, specifically IPAs and hopped-up versions of other styles. Brewing more pilsners, Helles, etc. is all well and good, but it's riskier because there market for those styles in this country is a smaller niche than the market for IPAs, etc.

I know you aren't specifically referring to Tank 7 here, but you did reference it as being basically an IPA, so I feel that it's necessary to point out that the IBUs for Tank 7 are about half of what is typically expected for an IPA.

And I would argue that in spite of having a hop character that is higher than typical for a saison/farmhouse ale, it is still a beautifully subtle style. The hopping character is just enough to meld with that yeast character and sweetness and create something new, something that is somewhat between styles. And that's the point--to do something new and innovative and most of all, *good*.

Of course I understand and agree with a lot of your point. The market is saturated with hop bombs. But many times, hops are still a vehicle to making a fantastic beer, and not just a crutch. The annoying/fun part about it finding the fantastic stuff, and avoiding the mediocrity.

 

Our beer culture is still what? 40 years old if we are to take Anchor Steam at their word. We had the nasty little bit of foolishness happen with temperance, prohibition, and the resultant mono-culture of big beer. We're finally creating our own traditions, and whether good or not. That is making the rest of the world which America has emigrated from and whose styles we are riffing on take notice.
I'm not sure it's worth being perplexed over because in metaphor it's like being agog that a New Orleans brass band doesn't sound like a British brass band. All the bits are the same, same group of instruments, same number of players but the terroir and its related histories, and what they are drawing from for inspiration are nothing at all alike.

 

I think the biggest problem is that American Brewers use boring yeast that they try to hide with more hops. A lot of the more subtle styles get their flavor from the yeast and when you have most of the brewers using commercial yeat strains that taste is lost

 

Nail on head. It's funny to me that SNPA gets hailed as a classic American beer, almost held up as an antidote to the ubiquitous hoppy beers being produced ad nauseum by brewers these days, and yet it is, fundamentally, an incredibly hoppy/bitter ale, and people buy it up like hotcakes. Sierra Nevada identified a gap in the market, took a risk by releasing hoppy beers like that, and they took off. Are we really mad at Sierra Nevada for "creating this mess"? Not I. I appreciate the good hoppy beers that come out and ignore the rest, no matter how voluminous they may be.

There are breweries out there now focused on non-hoppy styles, whether they be lagers or otherwise, and I have a feeling it's just a matter of time until some of those gain real traction in the marketplace. For the folks that like those styles, all they can really do is do their part by buying the crap out of those breweries (and encouraging all their friends to drink them).

(That said, I sympathize with the OP when he stumbles on styles he thinks are going to be traditional interpretations and turn out to be Americanized. Again, I think the market will eventually shift and offer more traditional interpretations, I just don't know how long that'll be.)

 

I disagree. It's desirable for the APA/IPA style to have a very clean yeast that doesn't add to the flavor profile. You want all hop flavor with just a touch of malt. Some yeast do give a slight flavor I like (such as the Conan strain), but otherwise, I prefer a clean Chico strain. I consider it a style flaw to have yeast flavors. IMO, if you start experimenting with different yeast, it's no longer an APA/IPA.

There are plenty of US brewers making spectacular Belgian styles and now Berliner Weiss, Gose, and Kolsch are becoming popular. They aren't having any problems with "tasteless" yeast strains in these. Sure, there are plenty that are a bit bland, but it's not as if everything out of Germany, Belgium, or England are perfect... Beer is just like everything else. There are some standouts and some awful products, but most fall in the average category in the bell curve.

Besides, Europe is all over American hops and IPAs. They clearly don't think we have a problem...

 

I do think SNPA is a pretty good indicator of how the ground has shifted. In the 90s a lot of people I knew thought it was too hoppy & wouldn't drink. Now the main comment I hear about from those that don't drink it; "it's not hoppy enough."

 

The question there is do they mean "It's not bitter enough" or do they mean "It's not fruity enough", which today's IPAs can so often be? Every time I have an SNPA, I'm still surprised at how darn bitter it is. I enjoy it, but, frankly, I find "hoppier" beers like Sculpin or whatever much easier to drink.

 

Difference is that Stone beers actually have very nice balance, or at least a malt backbone that can be appreciated. What I am growing tired of are beers that are bitter bombs that have no specific hop profiles (citrus, onion, earthy, etc.,,.) yet they are just bitter for the sake of being bitter and no thought put towards balance, or not being wicked thin. When you have ten thousand breweries pop up every day (yes, bit of an exaggeration...) and every new brewery feels compelled to issue an IPA, DIPA and limited release DIPA, over-hopped can become a thing. Not because of the hops, but because of the lack of artistry that brewers like Stone, FW, BP, Victory, Lagunitas and dozens of other stalwart brewers put forth.

So I guess in a way, Stone can be blamed. They set the bar too high for massively hopped beers.

 

Some times they can pin it down, others just more of a general statement. I'm as guilty as anyone, I prefer Celebration to the flagship by a country mile...

 

“There are plenty of US brewers making spectacular Belgian styles and now Berliner Weiss, Gose, and Kolsch are becoming popular. They aren't having any problems with "tasteless" yeast strains in these. Sure, there are plenty that are a bit bland, but it's not as if everything out of Germany, Belgium, or England are perfect... Beer is just like everything else. There are some standouts and some awful products, but most fall in the average category in the bell curve.” Cheers to that! It is common on BA to ‘concentrate’ on the standouts from Europe with little discussion on the popular beers of Europe; e.g., Carling Lager wrt England, Jupiler & Stella Artois for Belgium, Oettinger, Warsteiner, Becks for Germany.

“Besides, Europe is all over American hops and IPAs. They clearly don't think we have a problem...” Cheers to that as well!!

 

There is also a tendency among BAs to proclaim beers from local "craft" brewers to be standouts, when in Germany they would be considered on par with something like Oettinger. Works both ways....

 

If you don't like hoppy beers then don't drink hoppy beers. It's really as simple as that.

There are plenty of styles out there that are malt forward. Porter, Stout, Amber Ale, Tripels, Quads, etc. to name a few.

 

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Cheers!

 

In many bars and restaurants the person responsible for purchasing the beer is the wine guy or the bar manager. Often they know very little about beer. If you tell them that it is bad marketing to stock all one style such as DIPA's chances are real good that they will listen because were it not for your presence in their establishment, they would be standing on a freeway entrance ramp somewhere with a cardboard sign saying "will work for food." Here in Minnesota any place worth going to has a variety of styles on offer so you usually have the option of choosing a style you like over a style you do not like.

 

I may have misspoken but yes for IPA's and APA's the yeast needs to be clean and no one is saying we don't make great ones of those but how many American Hefe's out there who don't use the proper yeast and are just wheat ales. I'm not saying that every beer needs crazy yeasts but for the subtle styles like the OP is talking about you get the flavors from Yeast or Malts and that is the area I think American Brewers need to work on next to grow.

 

Pretty much seems to be basic human nature, I think. I've heard very similar kinds of thing said in several European countries about their own "homegrown" X when there are better examples elsewhere. :-)

 

Absolutely. While I was living in Bamberg, I had quite a few northern Germans tell me they'd introduce me to some "real" German beer -- which usually turned out to be a 6-er of Beck's. The fact is, each country has its everyday beers that are typical for the area and style (and which, IMO, are easy enough to enjoy if you're "going native," say at a sporting event or some such...); then it has beers that are above average, those worth seeking out, and the rare world classic(s). As Michael Jackson said, "A place for every beer, and every beer in its place."

 

Says the one with an avatar prominently featuring Heady Topper. Just teasin'....