Craft brewing once defined itself by wide-ranging innovation. Brewers pushed past previously defined boundaries to explore the outer edges of what constituted beer. They based some ideas on long abandoned brewing traditions, conceiving others out of sheer boredom or pure devilish curiosity. The age of extreme was a wild one, where anything could (and did) happen. It was fun, brutish, and, thankfully, a stepping stone on the path to greater beer knowledge.
Today’s focus on IPA, and hazy, juicy New England IPAs specifically, is the opposite of that age of wonder. Our hyper focus on this new style has rendered beer homogenous and even boring. Instead of exploring the wide variety of styles and flavors available, we’re settling for a debate over whether an IPA is hazy enough. This is the death of creativity, the stifling of craft brewing’s spirit.
Under this hazy hege mony, many craft brewers must now, for the first time, brew a style they don’t even like. Stories abound of new breweries trying to start with German or Belgian styles only to pivot hard to hazy IPAs after a few tight months or years of operation. Lager and Saison brewers are now churning out canned NEIPAs in order to meet the loud demand of their consumers.
This story is from the #130 (November 2017) edition of BeerAdvocate magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the #130 (November 2017) edition of BeerAdvocate magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Trainers Incorporate Beer-Making Equipment Into Brewery-Hosted Workouts
On a typical Saturday morning, Johnathan Wakefield can be found hoisting kegs out front of his brewery, J. Wakefield Brewing Co., in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.
Mug Club 2.0
Craft Brewers Modify Loyalty Programs to Sow Deeper Relationships
Fruit Of The Vine
Now that fall’s here, it’s harvest time for a great many things. To zymurgical enthusiasts, that means grape season.
The Shaved Duck
Tucked away in an attractive brick neighborhood, just east of the second largest urban park in St. Louis, sits The Shaved Duck, one of the finest beer and barbecue joints west of the Mississippi.
John Segal Jr. The Hops Farmer
Although John Segal Jr. spent many childhood summers in Washington’s Yakima Valley and once brought a block of hops to show-and-tell, the third generation hops farmer never envisioned taking over the family business.
9 steps to beerdom
when david morgan first got into the craft business, it was as a retailer, and beer evangelism was a heavy lift. now, more than 15 years later, morgan is at the production end of the business, and the wind is at his back. singlespeed brewing, the cedar falls, iowa, nanobrewery morgan founded in 2012, is on the brink of a major expansion, as singlespeed exits its nano-sized beta version for a state of-the-art brewhouse opening late this year.
beau's all natural brewing company
after 32 years of working in the leather finishing industry, 55-year-old entrepreneur tim beauchesne was ready to make a bold career change.
higher prices, brighter futures?
the changing landscape of beer retail.
beer culture
as fresh hop beers multiply, so does experimentation
Birreria Volo
When your father is one of Canada’s most renowned craft beer publicans, opening your own beer bar is a high-pressure situation.
