What is it about Beer?

Look, I've been thinking about this question a lot recently. There is a sense in the air that the industry is changing and, at least for me, I feel like it's lost a bit of the magic that it had before the (most recent) global pandemic. It can't be just me though- suppliers are talking about it, podcast's are talking about it....what else can we do in beer?

In the past ten years, trends have gone from super bitter palate wreckers, to pucker-up-blasting barrel sours, to pastry stouts, to hazy juice bombs- and not much in between (except maybe that very quick lived Kveik hype and Brut-IPAs- seriously, what happened to those?!). On my recent trip to the States- where the craft-beer-boom of the 2000s began, I was blown away by how many Smoothie Sours there were at breweries and beer bars, a trend that kind of made my heart sink.

It just feels like a reach, like a grasp for innovation- a grasp to appeal to a specific consumer base. A grasp for the last bit of saving grace in an industry that's looking like it might be losing momentum.

As a consumer, all of the hype styles have been thrilling. I mean, who doesn't love hype? And as evident by TikTok Trends- we love things HARD for a week or so and then move on to the next. But now I'm afraid that, like our attention spans, our palates are so blown out of the water... what's next? Can we return to simplicity? Can we return to a time when breweries weren't just moving from hype to hype but instead making a wide range of products in all the wonderful, both classic and modern, styles of the rainbow?

Recently, I was sitting at a table of beer industry professionals and judging some of the best American-Style IPAs in Australian Independent Beer, and a fellow brewer and beer judge reminisced on this now "Old School" style, and how much they missed it.

"They just don't sell anymore"

American-Style, West-Coast IPAs- a style defined by flavour profiles such as dank, citrus, pine, resin and with a nuanced sweetness, pronounced bitterness and lingering dry finish- THE style that really put American Hops and craft beer on the map- just don't sell anymore?!

It's not hard to see why. Go to any bottle shop that stocks a wide range of beer and you are overwhelmed with the options of juicy/hazy pale ales and IPAs, and quickly made, fruited kettle-sours but... not much else.

That saddens me, and has led me to questioning the industry as a whole, and my role in it.

And I need to start here:

What is it about Beer? Or what WAS it about beer, and what is it about beer now?

Beer is a fermented beverage. At its core, it's simple: water, malted grains, hops, yeast. Those four ingredients are combined by craftsmen-nay, craftspeople- with a strong understanding of science and flavour, and out of that we get a beverage that can range in flavour profiles from water cracker, biscuit, bread crust to roasted coffee, chocolate, caramel to citrus, coconut, vanilla, melon, floral, spice- and just about everything in between. It can be sweet, bitter, acidic, dry; thirst-quenching and crisp or rich and decadent. It's the perfect companion on a summer day or on a winter's night, a best friend to food, and an accessible way to ease social anxiety.

Beer, much like food, brings people together for a shared experience.

That simple shared experience amongst friends, family, or strangers- is more important than ever. The world is shakey and scary, and I don't know about you- but I will take any moment of peace and enjoyment I can get my hands on.

So here I am. Starting a Beer Blog in 2022- maybe a bit late on trend, but I want to re-discover exactly what it is about beer and simultaneously satiate my desire to learn, share and teach in the process.

Come, Talk Beerdy To Me.