Stan Hieronymus

Hipsters, hobnobbing and the exclusive-inclusive divide

Footsteps at Death Valley
a) Last week, Brews News in Australia highlighted a report that suggested “the positioning of many craft beers to target ‘purists’ and ‘hipsters’ gave the independent brewers less traction with a sizeable part of the Australian market.”

The result is that mainstream breweries have created a class of “contemporary beers” that are priced between budget beers and premium beers. They appeal to “consumers tiring of traditional beer brand offerings but ‘who felt disenfranchised by the craft movement.’”

b) With that in mind, look at what Mike Urich wrote in his Seven Point Analytic blog last month. Really nice visuals illustrate that, “Low income drinkers have exactly one entry point into beer, and it’s pale/light lager. We’re hardly offering new and low income drinkers a lot of options.”

He contrasts that to spirits, where every segment has significant pricing overlap. “The average price of whiskey, gin, and tequila are each above the average price of vodka, but there are still plenty of options in every segment at essentially every price point. This allows drinkers of every income level an entry point into any spirits segment that they want to try. From there, they can go wherever they want—there’s a cheap, widely available spirits brand in every segment for every drinker.”

c) In 1998, The New Brewer included an article about “The Demographics of the Micro Market.” It reported the results of the National Beer Survey, which was sponsored in part by the Institute of Brewing Studies (a forerunner of the Brewers Association).

Read more

New lager friendly hops

Humulus lupulus, hop

When a new hop variety is given a name these days many brewers have a good idea what she will smell and taste like in beers because 10 years or more may pass before a seed turns into a plant that farmers and brewers can trust. Many breweries will have participated in trials to evaluate the hop.

A name is the final step, but an important one. When Yakima Chief Hops offered HBC 291 for sale in 2016, just months before the Hop Breeding Company named her Loral, they included a disclaimer: “Due to the experimental nature of these varieties, it is advised that brewers do not build a specific brand based on these hops. At this time, we recommend using these varieties for one-off or seasonal brews.”

The most anticipated new name this year is whatever HBC is calling HBC 692. Releasing the name is an event is on the calendar (Sept. 9, 9 a.m. PST) for Yakima Chief’s virtual hop harvest. HBC 692 is a daughter of Sabro and depending on who is describing the aroma and flavor is packed with “grapefruit, floral, stone fruit, potpourri, woody, coconut, and pine.” She is a high impact hop, bound for plenty of hazy IPAs.

Read more

Where have all the bitter beers gone? Gone to hazies everyone

An interesting dispatch from Brews News in Australia begins, “One of New Zealand’s leading brewers forecasts the ‘destruction’ of bitter beers” after judging the Malthouse West Coast IPA Challenge in Wellington.

Kelly Ryan, head brewer at Fork Brewing and a World Beer Cup judge, has a lot to say.

We don’t have many beer drinkers with a knowledge of bitterness anymore because there are so many beers out there that are not bitter.

We’ve entered a whole new realm of brewing – I say it jokingly but in 10 years’ time if we keep going like this there will only be lagers, the odd pilsner and the rest will be hazies, fruit beers and pastry stouts. That’s what people want.”

Luke Nicholas of Epic Brewing, also a World Beer Cup judge, agrees. “So many entries were distant from style because so many lacked hops. The bittering level was quite low for style,” he said.

Ryan and Nicholas collaborated for a recipe in “For the Love of Hops.” The 5.6% New Zealand pale ale was nicely and firmly balanced with 40 IBU.

Read more.

Make wort, CIP, repeat. #brewerylife

Last week, Evan Rail tweeted a link to a New York Times story about “The Twilight of the Imperial Chef.”

Rail wrote:

Great piece arguing against elevating celebrity chefs, recognizing that many people make restaurants great.

We’ve been saying the same thing about craft beer for years.

Breweries are *lots* of people. Delivery folks. Taproom workers. Keg cleaners.

In our culture we have a tendency to elevate & make heroes of individuals.

But our favorite breweries include more folks than just Sam, Garrett, Tomme, Evin or Yvan. (And look: you know which breweries I mean.)

These are teams. Groups. Real people. Let’s do right by them.”

Consider how Tejal Rao sets the table in the Times story:

For decades, the chef has been cast as the star at the center of the kitchen. In the same way the auteur theory in film frames the director as the author of a movie’s creative vision, the chef has been considered entirely responsible for the restaurant’s success. Everyone else — line cooks, servers, dishwashers, even diners — is background, there to support that vision.”

This is one of several stories recently about “monsters in the kitchen.” I don’t think anybody is suggesting that is going on within breweries. (On the restaurant side of brewery operations, that might be another matter.)

Read more