World Wine Shortage vs. Craft Beer Opportunity

wine shortage my foot... more hyperbole I say.

 

Agreed the wine section at just about every store I've been to still has lots of wine.

For recommendations though try a stout thats been aged in wine barrels, I think MOA makes one. Specially for a wine like a Riesling.

 

How would a dark beer aged in oak compare to a white wine that could be sweet, demi-sec, or dry? I would say that they are not alike at all, and are in fact- polar opposites.

 

I know it's not beer, but cider is a great alternative to Riesling, there are many styles (as mentioned above: sweet, off-dry, dry), some ciders are can even compete with champagne... As for beers, since they are carbonated (for the most part: Hair of the Dog and Lost Abbey being the exceptions...) it is hard to draw a line, but sour ales are generally the most similar to wine: Russian River Consecration (Cabernet sauvignon), Temptation (Chardonnay), Supplication (Pinot Noir), Rodenbach, Petrus aged pale, Belgian quads (St. Bernardus Abt. 12), Wee Heavy- Scotch ales (Alesmith's Wee Heavy is the shit), L'amourouse (or something like that, they make fruity wild ales). Sour blondes would probably be the best comparison to a Riesling since they have a good acidity like a well made Riesling has (other whites come to mind as well, but let's keep this very complicated, exception ridden, subject simple). In contrast, I would say that oud bruins, Flanders red, and other darker sours would be more comparable to a Pinot, with the heavily nuanced (and some with delicate flavors) Pinot Noir is the only grape where I can say that can appear (taste) to have a brettanomyces (for wild/sour ales here) but in fact have no infection at all. I also believe I have read that it would not be uncommon that older red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) would have a trace infection of Brettanomyces, and this was perfectly acceptable. As for the world wine shortage: China is buying more and more wine and drinking more wine (not to mention the best of the best...), I don't think that world producers were ready for this, the problem won't be that we are going to run out of wine (since we produce enough wine, nationally) I feel that it will be the price hike because of the rise in demand- that wine (as being already over priced [IMO]) consumption will fall off. I hope this info helps, Cheers!

 

I was assuming it was a sweet wine, all of my favorite Rieslings are, I've always been partial to late harvest or Ice wine Rieslings. I love many sweet wines, not just Rieslings, also I've enjoyed some Rieslings aged in oak, I also love the style of beer I mentioned. In all honesty though I don't think there's a style of beer that can completely replace a wine no matter the style of beer or type of wine. Since you seem to know about sweet wines and beer, I'd love to hear some recommendations from you. Honestly I like wine better than beer, I just hate the prices.

Edit: Sorry I didn't see your next post, will have to try some of your recommendations.

 

No problem at all, I didn't want to come off as a prick, but I also wanted to be clear. I do agree that no beer could ever replace wine, I'd even argue that it is difficult for beer to surpass wine as far as the sensory enjoyment goes (meaning that I do as well prefer wine to beer as far as my valued enjoyment goes). Though wine is expensive, the beers I was naming off there are also expensive (roughly $13.00 for a 12oz bottle). But they really can provide some great insight to the absolute thresholds of beer. As for some Rieslings, you should look into Dr. Prum, or some kabinett (which are off-dry, generally, but of great quality) Rieslings from the Mosel area or a blend of Rieslings from Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer. Some can be really spendy (north of $60.00, like the trockenbeerenauslese, which is like the German version of Sauternes), but you can find some fantastic Rieslings for under $25.00; generally... Hope that helps in your search for a great beer/wine! Riesling happens to be one of my favorites as well, some age for decades- but you are also going to pay for them, but what a treat they are!

Edit: Sorry, I can geek out pretty hard...

 

I don't think beer VS wine is an either/or proposition. I am a beer drinker of course, but I have no problem drinking a nice wine either - or spirits, for that matter. I'm an equal-opportunity drinker!
I agree that most dishes that a good wine will complement, a beer can be found that will complement it as well. There are probably a few out there that one may find that will not complement well, though (can't think of any specific examples offhand, though.)
For something like a Reisling, I would think something like a saison, wit, or farmhouse style would work well as a replacement. A Stout would be replaced with a Cab or big Merlot. Barleywine = Port and so on.
I have been to beer vs wine dinners before, some just to showcase them, and others that are a sort of competition, and in most cases, there is no clear winner between the two. One may take the title by a vote or 2, but rarely much more than that.
Like there are are fantastic wines put there, there are great beers, and for every BMC out there, there is a rotgut wine.