Franconian Beer Message Board
Film „Aus Tradition Neues - Bierstadt Bamberg“ |
| Posted by Jason on 2015-11-09 04:41:00 |
| To be honest, the difference between German beer styles is so small it’s hardly the same as going into a pub in London these days where the range of beer styles from across the globe is quite incredible (in a good way, as long as it’s clear what they are and how that impacts the taste). Vollbier, Kellerbier, Ungespundetes, Landbier, Lager… these are all in the same ball-park and may have additional descriptions (such as dunkel) where necessary. Other styles like Maerzen have become closer to the mainstream in most cases. Zoigl has only recently evolved into a style, mainly via non zoigl brewing imitators, though it could be argued that the genuine product isn’t a style at all, it is a way of life (in brewing terms). Like Saison and Biere de Garde, it’s not meant to be defined by its appearance or taste but by the history and perculiarities of its production. Take the British brewing scene as an example; an excellent newish real ale pub in Jersey had 8 Oakham beers on this past week. I used to drink Oakham at Uni and their beers are generally very good. However, their pump clips are an achievement alone in that they give you no indication of what the beer is supposed to be. If you know Oakham you’ll know they’ll generally be pale and bitter but one of them was a stout (black IPA more like, way too bitter) but with no information as to the style at all. Even the website doesn’t mention any style or clues aside from tasting notes. We also had a “Beavertown St Clements Phantom dry hopped sour” on keg which would have confused most people. Contrary to this, I have always thought that the US generally make a very good effort to give beers a name which reflects the style, with pale ale, double IPA, Stout etc etc usually included. It’s the opposite in Britain, aside from the more traditional breweries that still use the terms Bitter, Mild etc. Though as Andy and Barry point out, even these brewers are ditching unfashionable titles for more snazzy names that ‘hide’ the fact that the beer is a mild or bitter. 10 years ago British microbreweries were brewing traditional British styles and confusing people with silly names – now they are brewing styles from all over the world (some of which aren’t even correct interpretations), still using silly names and continuing to confuse Joe public. Unless you have knowledgeable staff with the time and inclination to explain to newer customers they will likely end up sticking to the keg bitter or plain lager they know. There is another (cynical) way of looking at this; that the brewers themselves are not paying attention to making anything specific and just want to produce something ‘pale and hoppy’ at whatever strength it comes out at - just give it another name. If you’re not trying to produce something specific then you can’t be accused of failing, or criticised, for not being true to that style. It’s a poor way to conduct a conduct a foodstuffs business and does not encourgage consistency. In very much the same way that old world wine makers need to understand the importance of clarity of information to the public, brewers need to be a little more careful of pandering to those in the know and isolating those new consumers who have no idea what an intergalactic, dry hopped sour black IPA is. Using wine as an example, I like to think I know my wines, but when I go into a French supermarket and I’m confronted with 500 bottles with very little info on grape varieties and regional differences my options are limited to those regions I know. It’s improving, but French wine remains deliberately shrouded in mystery, the opposite of many new world makers who cram as much information on their labels as they can. Of course then you get information overload– look at Brewdog, they write essays on their lables but very little of it makes any sense or sheds any light on the actual product. But that’s a rant for another day. To steal an analogy from a famous sporting manager of yesteryear, beer is a simple drink made complicated by idiots. |
| Followups: |
 Film „Aus Tradition Neues - Bierstadt Bamberg“ by barry on 2015-11-09 05:03:50 |
| Film „Aus Tradition Neues - Bierstadt Bamberg“ by Jason on 2015-11-09 07:25:11 |
| Film „Aus Tradition Neues - Bierstadt Bamberg“ by Nick B. on 2015-11-09 10:18:36 |
| Film „Aus Tradition Neues - Bierstadt Bamberg“ by Jason on 2015-11-09 11:08:35 |