Comments on: What the heck does ‘extreme beer’ mean?

By: Todd

Todd — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:25:06 +0000

Maybe “Extreme Beer” is just a foul thing you try because you hope it sounds good,,but it’s not,,,but at least you tried.

I now know I will never ever buy another Buffalo Bill’s Brewery’s “Orange Blossom Cream Ale”,,but I had to buy it to know it.

I’m not sure if I feel stupid or extreme,,but I just switched to tea.

By: Pivní Filosof

Pivní Filosof — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:16:49 +0000

I’m a bit late, but still want to share my thoughts.
To me, many of those extreme beers can be divided in two groups:
- Pissing contest between brewers
- And something like those super muscle cars some automakers present every now and again (or used to). They know hardly anyone will buy them, but those cars make it to the cover of specialised magazines, etc and get people talking about the brand. Therefore, as it’s been mentioned before, it’s just marketing.

By: Todd

Todd — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:49:57 +0000

Kristen, those sound great! I’ve never seen those near me,,are they an option in the SW market ?

I guess I was thinking that some of the common historical “beer/ales” may now be considered “extreme” for more than the few reasons like ABV, IBU, etc.. that are now considered”extreme”. More marketing options but brewer torture?

What’s new for “extreme beers” now? What’s the new edge of the envelope? What is “out of the box” now?

Extreme Beer = No Fear

By: Kristen England

Kristen England — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:41:21 +0000

Skit! Förlåt mej, Mikkeller!

I meant Bogedal…those are the one off’ers.

By: Kristen England

Kristen England — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:37:07 +0000

…you mean like Mikkeller?

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:43:03 +0000

Too bad “extreme beers” doesn’t mean something as simple as a collection, in small batches, of every dang beer in Stephen Harrod Buhner’s book called, “Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers”. To taste one of each would be truely,,,extreme,,,just because,,, you can.

Imagine a brewery that only brews extreme “one offs”. Collector heaven or hell,,,who’s ever done it? Brewer heaven or hell?….What an experience option….to the extreme!

Extreme=”out of the norm,,,and a bit farther”.

By: KD

KD — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:40:00 +0000

My two cents is to bascially agree with Jeff. It’s just a marketing tool. It’s interesting to try Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch, but it’s not something I want again. I’m not a beer expert, but I like what I like. I can handle the imperial IPA’s, porters, stouts, but I don’t derive any pleasure from a barleywine. For me, that’s an extreme.

By: Jeff Alworth

Jeff Alworth — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:12:13 +0000

I don’t know that I have a whole lot to add (not that that’s stopping me, obviously), but “extreme” does seem to be a media category, not a beer category. The phenomenon seems to have happened when the national media caught wind of high-gravity beers and gave them that name. I don’t know that it’s a term being used by brewers or beer writers (or fans)–certainly not here in Oregon.

I like how some of the commenters here have offered their visions of “extreme” beer in different contexts. Given that American craft brewing is heavily skewed toward stronger beers (anything below five percent, except where they’re mandated by states, is something of a rarity), I think the most extreme beers are bitters and milds. My new hobby is seeking out the wee beers with bold taste. To be able to deliver a tour de force of flavor at four percent–that’s extreme brewing. In the sense of skill and knowledge, anyway. But the New York Times won’t be calling it “extreme” anytime soon.

By: The Professor

The Professor — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:19:07 +0000

It’s quite true that big beers are nothing new. And I do like big beers sometimes.

To me the term “extreme beer” has lately become practically a consumer warning.
To brewers, (mainly the current wave of amateurs gone professional) it seems to have evolved into an excuse for ramping up the alcohol, covering up flavor defects with an overload of roasted character and hop bitterness, and selling it under the guise of being “craft”. So often, they are also made and packaged without the long aging from which bigger beers always benefit.

I agree with the assessment that it has become a marketing gimmick. Some of the “extreme” beers out there do manage to be at least interesting, occasionally innovative, and sometimes even good…but on the other side of the coin, so many of them resemble badly failed homebrew.

By: Wilson

Wilson — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:13:08 +0000

Extreme is an adjective, used also in sports: Heli-skiing is an extreme sport. Bunny slopes are green (akin to a sessionable bitter), IPAs are black diamonds, perhaps. And heli-skiing is an amped up beer that may take a bolder, more adventurous drinker (and one willing to pay the higher price of admission). I expect “extreme beers” to be bigger and better, and if I’m forking out more cash, I expect it to be worth the price of the lift ticket.

This’ll be a special occasion beer, most likely, and I’ll share it with good friends and family. If I showed up at a dinner party with a $20 bottle of wine, would anybody look at me funny? Paying $17 for a bottle of La Folie is my sipped and shared on a special day $20 bottle of wine. Since there’s a higher cost involved, I’ll ask that my brewer factually brew a kick-ass beer, in whatever “extreme” style it may be. And in sizing up my opinion, I’ll try to remember the difference between a defect and my personal preference. In choosing what to buy, I, personally, won’t be nearly as intrigued by the words “Imperial Red” as I would something else. But maybe “Imperial Flanders Red”:-)