Gimmicky Beers

tl;dr, but this epitomizes gimmicky beer: http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...ed-with-pages-from-the-novel-moby-dick.50618/

 

I agreed 110% with you and would have followed you to the death until you mentioned eating cow nards. Jk, but you're right about the gimmick beers. The most recent one being the 65%ABV being sold in the UK, there has got to be some type of sanity check when it comes to these things. But then I see why american craft beers are so sought after, the brewers have no fear. Unlike strict 100 year old Germany purity laws still in effect, we have the ability to experiment and have done so with great outcome.

Without those brave souls there would be no Imperial IPA's, guess Im twisted..

 

If Rogue's Voodoo Maple Bacon Donut came in 4 or 6 packs then I would mind giving that a try or even as a single in a mix a six but 16 bucks for a bomber of that isnt for me.

 

When it comes to beer, gimmick is really a pejorative. If we look at the related definition of gimmick we find "A device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick". I think that intention should really drive the labeling as gimmicky or not. I think a lot of these oddball beers are simply brewers having fun with their beer or maybe pushing the envelope a little but I do not think most are brewing novelty beers made only the create sales. I have no use for novelty beers and understand irritation with those. The oddball or hybrid beers are fine by me, I may not appreciate them but I do not need to appreciate every beer.

 

Wells banana bread beer, pumpkin beers, JK funk metal, esspresso and coffee beers, and the mint chocolate chip stone collaboration beer are all great examples of why I love that brewers try to innovate! I encourage trying new things

 

I find that there aren't many "gimmicky" beers that turn out to be "great" beers, but I don't necessarily find them annoying either. Without a little creativity, envelope pushing, and oddball thinking, who knows what we'd still be living without today, beer or not.

 

I can understand a creative mind wanting to make a beer like Voodoo Doughnut Maple Bacon. I look at those like I look at a Jackson Pollock painting; if you're into that, fine. But a creative mind that makes beer out of pages torn from Moby Dick seems to me like a creative mind that has run out of ideas.

I mean, really. Novels are not for drinking.

 

I think Fat Tire is a gimmicky beer.

 

10-15 years ago stupidly over-hopped beers like Pliny, Heady Topper, and Abrasive would have been viewed as gimmicky. I'd wager Goose Island got called gimmicky back in 1995 when they threw their imperial stout in a bourbon barrel. Creating a device that continuously sprinkles hops into the kettle for the duration of a 90 minute boil sounds gimmicky as fuck, but that beer gets a 95 on this very site. A couple of years ago rye IPAs were rare and dare I say gimmicky, now everyone and their fucking grandma is brewing one.

tl;dr: Everything new is gimmicky. Unless it works, in which case everyone will start doing it.

 

I both agree and disagree. I don't like breweries who are brewing "gimmicky" beers just to get attention. However if they're legitimately trying to make something neat, then I'm all for it. Craft beer wouldn't be where it is without people pushing boundaries.

As a homebrewer that likes to make off-the-wall beers sometimes, it's a thrill to put something just stupid in the boil kettle and have it turn out to be a great beer.

 

Technically, they're a bull's balls , but I got what you were saying .

To the idea of "gimmicky beers", some of its just marketing. Ive seen plenty of people that have come to Portland (OR), go to Voodoo Doughnuts (major tourist trap), and when they see the crazy pink bottle at the grocery store, they have to buy it along with the other Rogue bottles next to them (Personally, I tend to like the look of Rogue's bottles more than the beer).

I also think a lot of it is just creativity and innovation. The brewers dont really know how something is going to taste until they brew it, right? When they do, they sell it, its either well received or not, and then they decide whether they brew it again. Pretty simple.

 

It is definitely a slippery wire to walk on. Sometimes I have to stop myself when I am out beer shopping. Temptation is there but usually my better judgement prevails.

 

Is the beer gimmicky or is the marketing of the beer gimmicky? Is it possible to separate the two?

Personally I would say there is some definitely gimmick in the marketing but I would not call the beer gimmicky. With all that said I am not sure if the two can be separated even though my opinion is mixed.

 

Cool story.

 

In other words, you don't like Southern Tier.

 

So you couldn't taste any cow balls in your beer at all?? Thats horrible. Lol. But you did say you liked it. Minus the balls and you might not like it

 

I love gimmicky beers, only because every well loved and respected style once started as a gimmick, as every religion once started as a cult. What I hate is when someone charges a premium for an obvious gimmick. Rogue's Maple Bacon Bullshit is a prime example: if their bombers had plain colored packaging and a more reasonable price, you might even find more people enjoying it (maybe not), and who knows, maple bacon beer could be what Belgian IPA's were a decade ago. I want brewers to express their creativity, but not be arrogant enough to assume it's the next coming of an imperial stout.

And then there's shit like this, which defies respectability.

 

On a more serious note I wouldn't call it a gimmick but an attempt by the brewery to stick out in the growing industry. There are only so many beers a store can or will order. Newport Storm '12 brewed with chipotle and habanero. No gimmick that shits hot in the throat. That was one beer that stuck out outta 100+ beers at the brew fest I attended.