Are beers getting better or am I over-rating?

I think beers are definitely getting better. There is a ton more variety available and the quality is pretty darn good overall. The overwhelming majority of breweries in Georgia are very young, but many were started by experienced brewers. What they are producing is very solid. I may not like all the styles they are making, but I rarely find super noticeable flaws.

Don't take offense to my next question because I'm just curious. German's brew some of the best and most consistently great beers in the world. I'm wondering if you're noticing the handling of the imported beers has gotten a lot better vs the actual quality of the brewing. Would that be a fair assessment?

 

Jim (@NeroFiddled), in my opinion I think there is a strong geographic component to US craft brewed beers and "beers getting better".

You and I are fortunate to live in the Philly area where there has been high quality craft brewed beers since the 1980's (e.g., Stoudts) and then into the 1990's (e.g., Victory, Sly Fox, Troegs,...) and in the past few years the number of local craft breweries that opened up locally has 'exploded' and in my experience they are brewing very good - excellent beer. Just two weeks ago I visited the Stickman for the first time (taproom in Chester Springs) and every beer I had was very good.

As a contrasting story I went to a beer festival in the middle of the state a few years ago and I dumped more than a few beers that were brewed in that area.

I am very willing to state that the beers in our area meet the criteria of "beers are getting better" as in there is a wider choice of high quality beers. I am not prepared to state that across the board.

I did not specifically participate in the poll since none of the items presented match my thoughts on this topic.

Cheers!

P.S. I had a wonderful visit to Locust Lane last weekend drinking a new Kellerbier they brewed and a couple of pints of a re-brew of Farmhouse Pils.

 

Any 'trend' here? For example, did you pick up diacetyl at a few of those small German breweries?

Cheers!

 

In my somewhat limited assessment, based mostly on repeat visits to breweries here in NC, beer is getting better.
The customers are more discerning.
The Brewers are getting better.
The beer is getting better.
I think overall beer is better than it ever has been.
Cheers!

 

Just curious, is this the Asheville area?

Cheers!

 

I'm in The Asheville NC area more frequently than anywhere else these days.
But, still frequently on the road.

 

Been busy drinking beer more local to me.

Me too on multiple roadtrips. And there is good beer to be found even in places like Arkansas, Louisiana, etc. but that requires a fair bit of research (thank goodness for BA and the internet). But when visiting those sorts of areas and returning home I almost do what Pope John Paul II did and kiss the ground to be back in the Philly area.

Most of what I drink is my homebrewed beers (I will be drinking bottles of Sticke Altbier tonight) so what commerical beer drinking I do is likely on draft a very local craft brewery taprooms (e.g., like last weekend at Locust Lane) plus I did purchase a four-pack of Locust Lane Farmhouse Pils to drink this weekend when I watch playoff football.

There is zero doubt what your position is here. I suppose the best I can respond is that I agree with you in the context of Philly area craft brewing. And maybe the beers in the middle of the state are "improved" from where they were a decade+ ago but all I can say to that is this means those beers were absolutely awful back then.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cheers!

 

I have only visited Asheville (and surrounding area) once but I was very impressed with the craft beer there. FWIW my favorite beers/places were Burial and Sierra Nevada Mills River. The Sierra Nevada facility is like the Disney World of beer!!

Cheers!

 

In a past thread in the Germany forum a BA who is a German brewer (trained at Technichal University of Munich at the Weihenstephan campus) posted about the long-standing German business practice of using less hops and less malt in brewing German beer; something that is needed to provide beer at the economical prices that the German beer consumers demand.

A snippet from just one of his posts (with emphasis in bold by me):

“…Professor Doktor Narziss is to brewing. Even Michael Jackson had a lot of fear and anxiety before meeting him, a sentiment which he confided to me. Fortunately, the Professor is a kind man and actually treated Mr. Jackson as a colleague, not just a journalist. The criticism of the state of German brewing is well founded and needs to be addressed. The beers have indeed been dumbed down and are being produced as cheaply as possible within the constraints of the Reinheitsgebot. It is similar to what happened in the US after Prohibition and World War II. What the Professor was trying to say is that we (his students) know how to make the highest quality beer and that by intentionally not doing so, we are doing a disservice to our craft and to his legacy.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/the-state-of-german-beer.225768/page-3#post-3568011

The above was posted in 2015.

I was just wondering if in addition to cutting corners as regards ingredient amounts if they are in addition cutting corners as regards brewing processes. As you well know from your profession, time = money.

Cheers!

 

Ah makes sense. I've heard some people say the same about England and American style IPAs made there. Have been spotty quality, but getting much better. Thanks for clarifying!

 

Complimentary, perhaps you are getting better.

 

Nice thread and I love your reviews @NeroFiddled

My aaveragescore is on the rise as well. It started off high during my first couple years of rating, then steadily dropped for years.

There are three reasons for my recent increase I think. One, between covid, kids, and working strange hours for the last 8 years (no longer true!) I just don't go out much. I'm buying beer I fully expect to enjoy and drinking it in a controlled atmosphere, not just buying whatever the local brew pub has on tap.

Two, I lost my sense of taste for a month a little over a year ago. When it came back, it came back with a vengeance. Everything was a revelation.

Three, I am in a bit of a styles rut. I mostly seek out styles I love. Need to work on that one.

Final thought, with the explosion of breweries opening these last years I think there are probably both more good and bad beer out there. And BA doesn't steer me wrong too often, thanks for the reviews folks!

 

New beers in my own market seem to be close to a 50-50 split. Just when I get super excited aboot some beers, there comes along beers that I regret getting just because they're new to me.

 

Three things contribute to my generally high ratings; better beers on the market, my tendency to overrate, but I'm picky in selecting them. I mostly buy singles to review, and I select them either based on brewers I like, styles/flavors I like, or high ratings on this site. If I go out for a beer, I research it and decide where to go and what to get. I rarely get a dud, and my average is 4.07.

 

I wouldn't necessarily say all beer is getting better, but perhaps your access to good beer has improved...?

I've been rating a lot more highly rated beers. I think part of that is I don't really visit the store anymore and only buy beers from breweries that have consistently produced a quality product. Before I would take a gamble on different brewers, now most of my money goes towards the ones who have a proven record.

 

I can relate to what you're saying. I'm newer to the craft game but in the past 5 years I've seen my "average" beer go from about a 3.6 to a 3.9 or higher. You hit the nail on the head-information. The brewers have more information and are making better beers. But the drinkers also have more information and can choose better beers. That's certainly my case. Four years ago, I didn't know anything about canning dates or styles that I liked and a whole bunch of other things. These are things I've grown into because of the info. Anyway, just some thoughts. Normal acronyms apply, FWIW, YWWM, IMHO etc.