beers of conviction

Some best and otherwise Very Important Beers

American Brewer magazine 1999

Back in the day I yielded to temptation and posted lists. I also railed against them. So you might figure there is no reason to trust me.

But two lists (the second is really multiple lists) that showed up last week sent me to the files to dig out a couple from the days of print that I will share them here.

The headline on the first—The 25 Most Important American Beers of All Time—screams bring back a Jay Brooks takedown (another back-in-the-day thing in which Jay would dig deep, point after point, about something written). I commented in one Twitter thread, and otherwise have three questions.

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More than one kind of thoroughly modern pilsner

Pilsner: How the Beer of Kings Changed the WorldA couple of days ago, Jim Vorel went on a bit about how he was troubled to find “‘IPA-ification’ creeping into one of the greatest lager styles of all: Pilsner.”

Several Twitter threads followed, including this one (scroll up and down to catch the whole discussion). In it, David Berg at August Schell Brewing has a specific request, “Define Pilsner.”

Coincidentally, Thursday the European Beer Consumers Union posted “the most comprehensive guide to the growing range of beer styles found across Europe and beyond – their origins, differences and how to spot the best.” Tim Webb is the lead author and curator.

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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.

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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.)

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Black is Beautiful beer: Where might it lead?

One down, 1,036 (as of Friday morning) to go. I hope they are as good as Arches Brewing version of the Black is Beautiful beer.

I will spare you a photo of my hand holding a can, perhaps pouring the beer into a glass. Instead, take a look at two tableaus posted on Instagram to appreciate the joy the beer has inspired.

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