We all have our opinions on flavors in beer, mine is that some flavors work well and some do not. I like chocolate and coffee flavors, I do not like pumpkin spice. A lot of fruits work quite well in beer, some do not. I brew strictly on the Reinheitsgebot except for my holiday beer which has the aforementioned coffee and chocolate. I like following the German 'law' because it challenges the brewer to develop flavors with just the four essential ingredients of beer.
I would suggest -Brewers already brew what the public wants them to brew and you don't enjoy the same things as the consumers who drive the business -There has never been a time and place in the history of the world when/where there has been a greater variety of beer styles, and beer styles done well, than here and now
And the best part is: I couldn’t give a fuck less about IPAs. I don’t think “local” means better. If that’s how it read, that’s my bad. Often times, it’s not. Actually probably most times. We are pretty fortunate in New England and most other places to have great local options that are better than national brands. You are right about this, though: I probably am missing out on great beers from Founders and Bells, et al., but that bothers me very little. If I’m ever in Michigan, I’ll check them out (well, I mean, not Founders but you get it).
Mine is that most IPAs are good/world class by default. Most I find to be pretty boring and even the solid ones still don't blow me away. In many cases I would rather have a well made Lager or a few other styles than an IPA.
Ron, Can you please provide more insight on what is happening as regards Carlsberg Danish Pilsner? Did they universally perform an ‘update’ of this beer for worldwide distribution (or just a UK thing?)? Is this ‘new’ beer better in your opinion? Any other thoughts you have here? Cheers!
This is tremendously insignificant, but I get really fucking bothered when people bother to label the ABV at a .9 or a .1 You REALLY couldn’t just round it down/up to a whole number just for packaging? I can understand the .9 more (kinda like the .99 cent ending in pricing). But going out of your way to say a beer is 5.1%? Jesus Christ bruh. No one cares. Any number with a .1 after it looks terrible design-wise on a label anyway.
Holy shit I did not know that. Inventing the pH scale is like legit Nobel prize level shit. Also, I can’t believe that’s only been around for approx 100 years. You sir, get the gold star of the day for sharing this information.
You were probably looking at much older records, but it would be interesting if you found out how they revamped their flagship's recipe last year as part of their "probably not the best beer in the world" ad campaign. (This is the same topic as @JackHorzempa ’s post.) First off, you don't have to mention that you have an Abt 12 in your right hand. We know there's always one there. Second, when I typed that post, I thought to myself, "If Ron reads this I'm in for it." Third, I thoroughly enjoy some blasphemy... and your writing makes it clear that you must enjoy some forms of beer blasphemy yourself (thankfully). It’s just not the beer for me. No worries Ron. We’ll always have Harvey’s... and Schlenkerla... and Malzmühle... and... Here’s what I’d like to know Ron - What well-respected beer do you not care for that would surprise others? Don’t say a New England Opaque "IPA" or what have you. Looking for an actual surprise.
“a tolerance of 0.3 percent will be permitted, either above or below the stated percentage of alcohol.” JUST ROUND THE 0.1 DOWN. It ain’t a crime.
Opinion: Not all beer is bad warm (at least lukewarm, warmer than that? eh...), even if you're sober when you start drinking it.
I think it was just a relaunch for the UK. The Danish version is a different beer. It's stronger for a start. Not tried the new UK version. Come to think of it, I never had the old version either.
The obvious new aspect of the UK Danish Pilsner is the use of hop oil. They introduced a new brand in the last 2 years called Carlsberg Unfiltered in Sweden and Humle (hops) in Denmark, at 4.5% abv using hop oil (at least in Denmark the oil is made from Cascade) and wheat. So to me it seems like they used hop oil in the new Scandinavian beers the year before launching the reformulated UK Carlsberg (which doesn't use wheat however), trying it out in smaller markets. I don't see them rolling out the hop oil globally, other than maybe in select markets, a la the UK (for the regular Carlsberg beer of a particular market I mean, obviously it's already being used in other subbrands, see Unfiltered and Humle)? But who knows, maybe it's a stepping stone towards using hop oil on a larger scale in more markets in the future?
New controversial opinion, oH was not 8nvented but merely quantified. An 8nvention is making something that didnt exist, and I assure you acid and bases were around long before beer. Framed in this light I agree. I just happen to live a bit farther from the locals I like than you.
that wasn’t what I was originally talking about in my “controversial” (more like petty) opinion. I think when breweries go out of their way to say a beer is 7.1% instead of rounding it down to an even 7% for packaging irks me. I’m okay with beers that have any other number after that decimal point. But the “.1” after any ABV I think is useless and looks dumb. Just my opinion.
16oz cans are now seen as a "premium" packaging. Consumers will pay more per oz in a 16oz package than a 12oz.
I agree. I hear a lot of people say they dislike flavored beers because they don't taste like "beer" but I think thats just them being reluctant to change. With that being said I have had some great flavored beers as well as some pretty terrible ones.
Hmmm...I've had a few beers to which my reaction was "OOF".... (luckily, not many since I read the labels carefully and avoid the nonsense ingredients that fall under the "innovation" mischaracterization).
My list of nonsense ingredients is essentially; whole baked goods, breakfast cereal, meat (excluding oysters), glitter. I think anything else.has potential to be used responsibly
I can agree with that list. I also agree that anything else has the potential to be used but the emphasis is on potential since it is easy to go overboard with some adjuncts.
I recall Ron saying on here he enjoyed Founders All Day IPA once. I found that surprsing. @patto1ro I had an English Mild yesterday, only 3.1% ABV. It qualified as a session beer. Unfortunately it had ".1" on the label, so I dumped it out. The only ingredient I require is brains. Unfortunately many breweries forget to use those.
There is no room for jokes with craft beer. https://www.cnet.com/news/zombie-beer-brewed-with-real-brains-yes-braaaaaains/
Ouch. Good timing. I just had two De Dolle beers yesterday that really made me exceptionally happy (Oeral and especially Boskeun). Cheers.
