Franconian Beer Message Board
Liebesbier in Bayreuth |
| Posted by Barry on 2016-02-25 03:42:39 |
| Perhaps I should make myself a bit clearer, Mark. Yes, if you had been born in the early 1800s, you could have been drinking a well-hopped 8% mild but the lifespan of milds and bitters was a little bit more than an 'extensive heyday'. In fact, as the Blessed Ron makes clear (http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/beerale.htm - surely the best guide to the history of English drinks made with barley and hops), varieties of mild ales, porters and pales were really the only types of beer/ale in production until the late 20th century. The English tradition did not include fruit beers, chocolate beers or any of the fantastic concoctions dreamed up by today's brewers. This, I believe, is one side of the Americanisation of the English beer culture. Second side is the 'craft revolution', by which I mean the production of niche keg beers. Now keg beers do have a fairly lengthy history in the UK. According to Frank Baillie (The Beer Drinker's Companion, 1973; the oldest book that I have on the subject), keg beer was introduced to Britain by Watney's in 1933 and 'originally conceived for outlets with intermittent trade like sports clubs...' In my memory (which, in beer drinking terms, goes back to around 1960), they only became popular in pubs in the early-mid 1960s. As Frank says, 'keg beers are consistent, easy to handle, always bright, gassy, have a long shelf life after tapping, generally have little flavour or character and are more expensive than draught (cask or real) beers'. In other words, a greedy brewer's dream. So, why introduce them? Thanks to many of my American friends on this Forum, I have gained a little understanding of the history of US-brewing and can understand why they have become the norm in the USA. But the only reason to re-introduce them into the UK (using the highly nuanced term 'craft') is simply to increase profit margins - it's just a marketing ploy, which I believe started life in the USA and has now spread to the UK and is, seemingly, on its way in Germany. Third point: increased choice, i.e. long lines of taps in a pub. I've written before about the problem of quality and low turnover. It seems that improvements in cellar cooling, etc., has improved the possibilities of longer term stocking of real ales but there is a limit. And, in an age where choice is seen as the be-all and end-all, the only solution is kegging. Again, a solution that seems to be prevalent in the USA. Ok, I admit that my ideas will probably be considered old-fashioned (suppose I'm allowed that in my 8th decade) but not all change is progress and we often have to look at the reasons behind change to see whether it is progress or simply a way of making more money for someone (s). Gone on long enough, time for morning coffee! |
| Followups: |
 Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Mark Andersen on 2016-02-25 04:42:43 |
| Cask Ale today by Mark Andersen on 2016-02-25 06:31:37 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Barry on 2016-02-25 09:00:51 |
| Cask Ale today by Barry on 2016-02-25 09:04:26 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Mark Andersen on 2016-02-25 10:00:58 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Barry on 2016-02-26 02:17:34 |
| Cask Ale today by Nick B. on 2016-02-26 02:39:28 |
| Cask Ale today by Mark Andersen on 2016-02-26 04:44:12 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Mark Andersen on 2016-02-26 04:46:32 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Barry on 2016-02-26 04:58:09 |
| Cask Ale today by Barry on 2016-02-26 05:02:20 |
| Cask Ale today by Andy H on 2016-02-26 11:51:57 |
| Cask Ale today by Andy H on 2016-02-26 11:59:08 |
| Cask Ale today by Nick B. on 2016-02-28 05:39:45 |
| Cask Ale today by Nick B. on 2016-02-28 05:41:00 |
| Cask Ale today by Mark Andersen on 2016-02-28 06:05:31 |
| Gosh! by Nick B. on 2016-02-28 06:22:01 |
| Cask Ale today by Nick B. on 2016-02-28 06:25:12 |
| Gosh! by Barry on 2016-02-28 08:23:21 |
| Gosh! by Barry on 2016-02-28 11:33:01 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Jason on 2016-02-29 08:13:03 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Barry on 2016-02-29 12:53:49 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Andy H on 2016-02-29 13:31:32 |
| Liebesbier in Bayreuth by Barry on 2016-02-29 14:08:00 |
| Weekend round-up by Nick B. on 2016-03-01 01:34:29 |
| Weekend round-up by Andy H on 2016-03-01 14:12:47 |
| Weekend round-up by Barry on 2016-03-02 03:20:40 |
| Weekend round-up by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-02 08:29:02 |
| Weekend round-up by Nick B. on 2016-03-03 01:20:53 |
| Weekend round-up by Barry on 2016-03-03 04:47:01 |
| Weekend round-up by Nick B. on 2016-03-03 05:29:34 |
| Weekend round-up by Mosquit on 2016-03-03 05:32:56 |
| Weekend round-up by Nick B. on 2016-03-03 06:57:28 |
| Weekend round-up by Mosquit on 2016-03-03 07:46:51 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with "craft" beer by Nick B. on 2016-03-03 07:53:01 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Barry on 2016-03-03 07:57:48 |
| Weekend round-up by Barry on 2016-03-03 08:04:20 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-03 10:53:25 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-03 12:11:32 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-03 23:47:07 |
| Weekend round-up by Nick B. on 2016-03-04 01:13:52 |
| Redemption Trinity by Nick B. on 2016-03-04 01:20:04 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Barry on 2016-03-04 02:53:16 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-04 04:45:52 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-04 04:46:53 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-04 05:00:58 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-04 05:59:52 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-04 06:48:35 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Barry on 2016-03-04 09:57:09 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-04 11:06:51 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Andy H on 2016-03-04 13:19:08 |
| Weekend round-up -- hops by Uncle Jimbo on 2016-03-04 20:59:49 |
| Weekend round-up -- hops by Nick B. on 2016-03-04 23:08:02 |
| Summit by Nick B. on 2016-03-05 02:18:24 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-05 02:25:41 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-05 02:28:45 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-05 05:45:03 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Barry on 2016-03-05 09:28:03 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Barry on 2016-03-05 09:42:49 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-06 04:03:57 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Andy H on 2016-03-06 09:31:18 |
| Summit by Uncle Jimbo on 2016-03-06 18:17:06 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Nick B. on 2016-03-07 01:33:01 |
| Summit by Nick B. on 2016-03-07 01:33:52 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-07 10:38:30 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-07 10:41:16 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Andy H on 2016-03-07 11:29:37 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-07 11:39:24 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by FredW on 2016-03-07 11:43:47 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-07 11:48:13 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Mark Andersen on 2016-03-07 11:53:26 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Andy H on 2016-03-07 13:42:06 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by FredW on 2016-03-07 13:55:37 |
| Weekend round-up...and what's wrong with by Barry on 2016-03-08 03:05:10 |
| Summit by Uncle Jimbo on 2016-03-08 20:48:48 |