American beer, should I feel envy or antipathy?

[jeremy-o]

Can't figure it out. I was looking over beeradvocate's top 250 and it's all pretty much US imperial stouts and imperial IPAs with hectic ABVs. I remember half a decade back getting treated to a Pliny the Elder by a mate in San Fransisco whose dad was one of the few local grocers to stock it - allegedly you had to sign a contract that you wouldn't store it above certain temps, and transport it under refrigeration. I felt like Abe Simpson walking in to Bart's club, hanging up his hat, turning around and walking out again.

 

I've drunk some very good American beers - some of my favourites. But the craft beer scene over there seems to be slowly dictating the course of international brewing, especially in places like Australia, and I'm not sure it's a good thing. Maybe it's just that I have a preference for lagers and it seems the American concept of lagers has been too tainted by Coors and Bud for anyone to respect it much. Or maybe these high ABV beers are the styles with room for movement. Or maybe I'm just crazy for thinking IPAs should have rolled over and died a decade ago?

 

What do you guys reckon?

 

 

[porschemad911]

G'day Jeremy,

 

Interesting post! Rating sites are very biased, so I pretty much ignore them. I haven't looked at the Beeradvocate top 250, but here's what I hope is happening: Brewery X makes a range of beers, of varying styles and ABV - all of which different customer groups enjoy. Only Brewery X's flagship, limited run imperial Y gets the attention on Beeradvocate and gets voted into the top 250.

 

While brewers worldwide do tend to follow American trends in the craft brewing industry, especially those who like to keep up with 'trends', there are others who are more sensible and see beer as something to be enjoyed over the course of an afternoon or an evening without getting you completely plastered and obliterating your taste buds. These brewers see that the best beers are drinkable, well-balanced and complex with a modicum of subtlety. We probably will see more breweries here brewing the imperial styles, but as long as they keep brewing a wide range of other beers, it doesn't bother me.

 

Actually there does seem to be a resurgence of popularity of lower ABV beers in the US at the moment - which hasn't impacted the rating sites and probably won't. They're the beers you enjoy, but not the ones that a beer nerd feels like they have to go onto the rating site and give a 99/100.

 

Cheers,

 

John

[Gigantor]

Hey Jeremy,

 

I tend to agree with John. Statistics are quite biased. But lets be honest, the USA tends to dictate styles/direction in some many fields, beer is just another one.

 

Regarding the USA craft beer market and their exports. Check this out from the USA Brewers Association. It came out in late March this year. Exports to the Asia-Pacific region are second to Europe, which also confirms what I've been seeing in a few stores of late.

 

I guess we'll see if the growth continues over the next few years or drops. I guess it will all depend on price, taste and quality.

 

Cheers,

Pete

[Gigantor]

Following on from above.

 

Also factor in the actual growth in the US market from new craft breweries

 

The numbers are just crazy. The US market is big, but all this increasing competition will create an over-supply, which then needs to get sold some place else (i.e. overseas etc.).

[jeremy-o]

I think it's interesting how much the market impacts the perception of quality. We've got all these American styles flooding craft cellars over here and the knock on consequence is places like Pirate Life following the trends to sessionable and/or imperial IPAs. And the imperial versions especially get rated highly because they're not cheap beers - you have to shell out for them - and the money down imparts a premium feeling that should have nothing to do with the subjective experience of actually drinking it.

 

What I'm not sure of is if I'm 'missing' something special. I sway back and forth on it. At this stage I'm probably inclined just to spend time supporting the good beers coming out of local places - Young Henrys, Six-String, East 9th in Melbourne, even some of our bigger craft brew labels that have still got the magic touch - and not worry too much about the American 'cutting edge.'

[Hairy]

I drink beer and judge it for what it is; regardless of trendy styles or trendy breweries. If a 'megaswill' brewery produced a beer that I liked, I would still give it the credit it is due and still drink it.

 

I have had some bad 'craft' beer too.

 

I recently visited the US and it was IPA/IIPAs everywhere on tap; very hard to find a pale ale. Because pubs put popular beers on tap. But bottle shops had a wide variety of beers and most breweries produced different styles.

 

As for trends, I think in the US, sour beers will be the new IPA

 

But I like breweries with a drinkable core range that produce more unusual special releases.

[Beerlust]

Those sorts of Top (insert number) beer lists serve one purpose to me. I look through them to see if anything new or interesting has popped up.

 

That's the great thing about home brewing your own beer. You don't have to follow anyone's trends but your own. And the beer you do make is only ever limited by your own creativity & imagination.

 

Cheers,

 

Lusty.

[Beeblebrox]

It doesn't matter what style of beer, there are good & bad representations of it in craft brews, home brews, & even some megaswill is palatable - particularly when it comes to the craft brews that were bought out by megaswill co's & continue to sell their range & expand on it.

 

The whole brewing industry; craft, megaswill & home brewing goes through cycles, & in recent years it's been all about pale ales, be they IPA, APA's or other variations.

 

In the mid to late '80s it was about wheat beers, which in Aus really kicked off with Redback.

After that it was all about clean fresh lagers, Hahn Ice, Carlton Cold etc.

This really kicked off the craft & micro brewery industry in Australia, & whether you like those original brewers, their brews, or the concept, it's them we have to thank or blame for what's come next.

 

After that it was Pilsners, like Hahn Premium & Tooheys Pils - which you can't find much of anywhere anymore.

 

After all, before all that it was pretty much all megaswill; mostly "sessionable" weak flavoured lagers with the odd stand out, & of course Coopers have been ahead of the curve when it comes to well made mass produced beer pretty much since they started

 

To my mind, there's a style of beer out there for everyone, & everyone's palate is different.

Just because a style comes in our out of fashion doesn't mean it's good or bad, it's just that's what the marketing companies, focus groups (who are strongly influenced by whoever is running the focus group), & the hipsters, trendies or as I like to think of them sheeple consider to be the best thing going around that week, month or year.

 

If push came to shove, I'd probably still drink a megaswill if there was no other option, but rather than balk or refuse such a beer, I'd just consider it something different to drink, & a reminder of how far the craft & micro brewers have come, how much improvement there's been in home brewing, & how much better beers are nowadays than they were when I first started drinking literally half a lifetime ago.

 

Cheers to variety, personal preference & the search for the elusive perfect beer.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I must admit I largely got over the whole IPA thing after trying a number of them a while back and thinking that most of them were just trying to be the bigger ABV and higher IBU figure beer than anyone else. They often tasted unbalanced, too much malt sweetness and not enough proper bitterness to balance it out, just a crapload of late hops. There were a few really good ones though.

 

One of my favourite styles is the American pale ale, so it's good to see it available in a large range of places now, regardless of the brewery it comes from. There are some dodgy examples of course but mostly it's decent.

 

I do enjoy lagers as well, Czech Pils is my other favourite beer style, and while these aren't widely available in commercial venues, I do brew a fair few of them at home. About to keg one tomorrow actually, although it had to be fermented with 1469 yeast so it's not completely authentic but the FG sample tasted pretty good anyway.

[Beerlust]

...About to keg one tomorrow actually' date=' although it had to be fermented with 1469 yeast so it's not completely authentic but the FG sample tasted pretty good anyway. [img']tongue[/img]

...and the British Pilsner is born!

[Otto Von Blotto]

Look at me inventing new beer styles largely out of necessity to get it fermented.

[Tanman20]

I lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan for six years and it was heaven. Micro breweries everywhere but more than that it was that being seen as a craft beer enthusiast was celebrated enthusiastically especially in a small town like Kalamazoo that was getting widespread acclaim nationally and internationally for it's craft beer scene. A real point of pride for the city.

As for craft lagers they are around and there are some outstanding examples, New Beligum's Shift Pale Lager and Bell's Lager of the Lakes being two of my go-to us lagers.

I definitely think climate has a big part to play in what beers are popular in particular place, Michigan winters last months and a big midwest IPA is a perfect tonic.

But there's plenty of other popular styles, I've had some outstanding amber ales, wheat beers and saisons too.

The yanks have a few years start on us but we're catching up fast.