Kool-Aid Inspired Beers

I’m actually not opposed to seltzers in general. I think there’s room in the alcohol consumption market for low calorie, easy drinking, beer alternatives. That being said I am far from a fan of their production from craft breweries. Does anyone remember when craft breweries actually cared about their products and not just about their bottom lines? Although it seems like a complete 180 from where we are now, it wasn’t that long ago that you’d go into a craft brewery and the handful of people employeed there were truly passionate about beer, making it to very high standards, and sharing their product with (an often small) community who appreciated their dedication to their craft.

But now, here we are.

Lots of things have contributed to these changes, but it’s hard to ignore the influx of business people into the craft beer scene as a driving contributor. Craft beer is big business now. I could get on a soapbox about business practices, flaws of cooperate America, entrepreneurs, etc but it’s really not worth your time or mine.

 

I would say that I like the inference of blue. I get it. Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, and unfortunately Duke and Carolina. I'm blue through and through. I wore red and blue in college and it didn't hurt me.

 

I had no idea they were so pricey...now, even less likely I'd buy more than 1 just to try it out.

 

Why?

 

I don't want to actually drink Moxie in it's original form, I was just throwing out other crazy things people could try. I still think beer should taste like beer and if you don't like that, drink something else.

 

I LOVED Voodoo’s Lacto-Kooler (Green)... 4.75/5.00. One of the best Fruited Berliner Weiss beers I’ve had.

 

Interesting to see the same level of gatekeeping that most craft drinkers experience from AAL drinkers towards what's arguably the most 'craft' of craft beer there is. Don't like it, don't drink it, they still make Fat Tire and SN Pale Ale afterall.

 

I think this is what lots of people object too. Not so much that a koolaid inspired beer exists, but that those presentations of beer are coming to define "craft beer" in lots of people's minds. And whatever the merits or short comings of those beers, there are a lot.of beer nerds who appreciate the art of coaxing flavors from a few simple ingredients. So when a beer that tastes like pineapple, because they dumped pineapple juice in it, gets held up as the poster child of boundary pushing craft beer I think it just feels ham fisted and like our beloved beverage is being misrepresented

 

kool aid so mass produced., processed and stuffed with sugar..surely the very antithesis of the concept of "craft"?
Do you see any artisanal cheese makers making American Cheese Style Food?

 

Whoa, whoa. Settle down, buddy.

Not sure adding massive amounts of fruit, lactose, hell even legit Kool Aid powder to an alcoholic beverage makes it the most “craft” of craft beer....

 

Or are we seeing a 'gateway' beer for a type of drinker that would never have considered drinking craft beer otherwise, I see loads of people make the transition from not liking beer or only AAL's to fruity milkshake beer to complex sours, sweet stouts, Hazys or just plain ol drinkin beer from local brewers. Like it or not it's doing a hell of a lot for the industry and making beer more accessible to the masses.

While its technically what I would consider mixology and not necessarily brewing to add loads of adjuncts to a finished beer its unmistakably 'craft', specifically looking at frontrunners of the style who create beers that hit the silky smooth mouthfeel with aromas and flavors that truly match what's presented on the label.

Also the Germans have been adding syrup to Berliner Weisse for centuries, does a little bit of red 40 and potasium citrate really deviate that far off course?

You can find Flamin' Hot Cheetos as an ingredient in $30 Sushi rolls at high-end japanese steak houses, the ubiquity and nature of an ingredient in no way determines if it's uses are 'craft', only the execution.

 

Well right but what if what’s present on the label isn’t beer. Kool Aid isn’t beer. Props to a company for making alcoholic Kool Aid, I guess, but let’s not pretend that what they are doing is perfecting the art of craft beer.

I mean at this point it’s really just a joke and the fact that people don’t see that is comical.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed a beer cocktail or two in my day; I remember particularly loving a beer cocktail made with Pluffmudd Porter, Whiskey, and chocolate liquor. But there’s a big difference between mixing a bunch of random ingredients together to produce a flavorful product, and using a few pre-determine ingredients and skillfully manipulating them to deliver a complex end product from a simplistic list of ingredients.

 

It might not be pushing the bounds of chemistry and craft brewing but mixology is invariably a part of craft beer and always has been. Blending the existing qualities of an ale with a fruit/juice/flavor addition is an artform, you said it yourself regarding Lindemans lambics and those are like the pinnacle of 'more juice than beer' and something that I usually use as a starter for customers who prefer a Mikes Hard lemonade over anything.

I'm not going to pretend like kool-aid beer is the golden goose, or even like its any good (I haven't tried it and really have zero interest in hunting any down) but beers with serious fruit/other post-brew additions, when done right, deserve just as much credit and respect as whatever heady-west-coast-pine-tree-in-a-bottle IPA you've got hanging out in your fridge.

 

To be clear I mentioned Cantillon Classic Gueuze, Lindemanns for the most part is terrible, and Cantillon Gueuze has no fruit. If you do want to bring in a well done fruited lambic I guess that’s a point for comparison. But if you in any way equate Cantillon Kriek to an alcoholic beverage literally made to mimic a sugary faux-juice drink made for 5 year olds, then I would say that not only are you not on the right path, you’re not even on the right mountain.

To each their own, and if people want to drink these, fine my be. But the fact that we’re even having a discussion about the merits of a Kool Aid alcoholic beverage being the epitome of craft beer is beyond absurd.

 

Maybe, it sounds like your experience has been different than mine. I don't know that I have encountered anyone who went from drinking heavily fruited kettle sours to being a regular consumer of other beer. I know people that added the heavy fruit stuff into their rotation but I haven't seen anyone be convinced of beers merits by smoothie styles and then move on to other beers.

Well, I personally had always taken a part of the "craft" beer ethos to be about moving away from cheap synthetic ingredients and back to the craft of using high quality ingredients to coax out diverse flavors. Obviously, I've long since learned that is not a primary concern of many consumers or producers, but I still think there's a line between adding a fruited simple syrup to a soured beer at serving and adding artificial colors and preservatives to your packaged beer. Everyone's lines are different though I suppose

If high-end Japanese steak houses jump off a bridge, are you gonna do it too