What beer styles should be retired?

why would quads be included if it is a different type of beer entirely

 

FIFY!

 

totally agree on the black and tan and the pumpkin ale, I'm sure the argument on the pumpkin ale is that the sheer level of their prominence in the market warrants this, but to me, there is nothing that distinguishes it from the larger category.

 

I like a lot of what is being said here, to me, a stylistic distinction is necessary when a beer or group of beers no longer fits within the category it/they would initially be in, so while American IPA certainly makes since given its definite distinction from an English IPA, most of the subgroups of IPA some other BA's mentioned, to me, still seem to be IPA's, these other distinctions within said style (session, New England, West Coast, etc.) belong on the bottle and not the spec sheet.

 

There is proper, bottled kvass. Israeli Mama Mery brand. Lots of yeast on the bottom and it smells like sauerkraut. Really tasty.

 

Check your "n" key, came across as a "t" in the last word of your post

 

They wouldn't. That's the point. I was making that clear by stating you can't lump some beers together under 1 name.

 

*waves hand*
You WILL say that it is really tasty.

 

Not this one:

It's labelled here on BA.com as a Dortmunder. And frankly that's probably about right. It uses only Hallertau hops, so it's arguably more German than "American". *runs from debate on American-grown Hallertau being considered "American" and not "European" hops*

I know the downfall of the label, but as an English major geek, genre theory was among my favorites. But then does the world need English majors labelling things? Especially non-literature things? Probably not.

 

Except that some of the styles do not show the actual history of the beer and, in some cases, are just plain incorrect. As Ron Pattinson @patto1ro shows us in his excellent articles, the UK beer styles have morphed tremendously in the last 200 years. Randomly choosing a point in time an claiming those are historic UK beer styles isn't respecting the beer or history. Americans deciding that ESB is a style just because someone liked a Fuller's beer of that name epitomizes how silly this is.

 

Challenging when you walk into a tap room with 20 lines that are all just labeled "beer."

 

True, and I agree, Also true it would be easy to find more than twenty beer style names to put on those taps that would leave folks equally (or even more) clueless.

 

Well now when you walk into a bar or tap room 80-90% are IPAs anyway. 100% at the trendy boutique breweries.

 

Blonde ales, amber ales, brown ales.
Witbier, hefe..most lagers.
Pretty much any style that doesn't punch your taste buds in the nuts.

 

Could you elaborate with a few examples?

The only example I could think of where people I was drinking with said "What the hell does that style even mean?" (It was brewed in the "Koyt" style, which admittedly, I know nothing about until I Googled it on my phone at the bar).

 

IPA's?

I'm joking, I love them, but man I think it has jumped the shark quite a bit.

 

I expect that most of the customers would have no idea what are Sahti, Zwickelbiere, Biere de Garde, Biere De Champagne, Flanders Oud Bruin, Roggenbier, Kristalweizen, Adambier, Braggot, Grodziskie, Wheat Wine just off the top of my head.

 

Ahh, true. I was flipping through a local bar menu that updates its taps online. They commonly have a Flanders Oud Bruin on tap, and occasionally a Wheat Wine, but I can't say I've seen the others on tap.

I see your point. I just think getting rid of a large swatch of styles will generate more problems then it will solve. Both while at the bar ordering, and in writing reviews.

Does anyone keg a Biere De Champagne?

 

My point wasn't that these are widely available, just that some of those styles would leave the average customer with less info than just naming the tap "Beer". I am not in favor of eliminating all styles, I am in favor of making many fewer, having them user friendly, and rely on labeling for all the other specifics.

 

You nailed what I've been thinking. I have written it a few times, but Old Nation NEIPA labels are my favorite on the market. Besides the aesthetics being pleasing, I find the hops used label they use, and when they use those hops, to be beneficial. Not only do they label the hops, but they also share the malt content. To often a brewery will label a beer's hops, but skip over malts. This does little to develop any malt appreciation since drinkers can't cross compare malts to pick apart nuances.

I could support reducing the style count as long as content labeling happens. I do not support just getting rid of styles to get rid of them (which is how I read part of this thread).


I was more asking about the Biere De Champagne keg for my own knowledge. I've only had "one" in that style, but keep eyeing Deus every time I visit a particular store. Intriguing style to say the very least.