You should read all of“Beer-Flavored Beer Can’t Save the Category on its Own,” but I am focused on the term beer-flavored beer and Dave Infante’s kicker:
“People like to drink stuff that tastes good, and beer can taste good even if it isn’t marketed as such. Convincing people to want beer-flavored beer is a vocation; brewing them the flavors they want in a beer is a business.”
I confess to typing beer-flavored beer in the past, and perhaps speaking the words out loud. And 13-plus years ago I when I hosted The Session I made the topic “Regular Beer,” a synonym for beer-flavored beer. (Those were the days. Three dozen bloggers chimed in on the topic. Warning: clicking on a link within that post often leads to a broken link.)
I was wrong to use the term. It can be used to exclude, wielded as a weapon by drinkers who imply they know something others do not. “I can appreciate beer-flavored beer, the complex flavors that result from the interaction of malt and yeast in a simple helles. You are not worthy.”
More obviously, it also excludes many, many, many flavors.
In fact, some drinkers do not like the flavors in what they’ve come to know as beer-flavored beer. A survey of consumers in non-alcoholic beers in Northern California found they did not care for the “beer like” aroma, taste or mouthfeel they associate with non-alcoholic beers that were intended to mimic alcohol-containing lagers.
In contrast, they were more satisfied with NABs perceived as fruity, sometimes tropical and citrussy. “The big question (brewers) should ask themselves is why are people drinking the product,” says Scott Lafontaine, the corresponding author for a paper that resulted from the study.
By now, you might be wondering why the photo at the top. David Berg, brewmaster at Schell’s Brewery in Minnesota posted it Saturday as part of a thread at Bluesky. He wrote:
“One of the best things that’s happened at the brewery in the past *a lot of years* is I purchased a 1 Bbl system for my young staff to learn about recipe development, 2 kegs at a time. It’s important to me that they become their own brewers, and not just copies of me.
“This beer is the outcome of one of those small batches. Of particular note:
1) It’s a fantastic beer
2) It’s something I would have never made
“And that’s really the point, right? As I get closer to retiring, it’s not my game anymore. They are the future, and I can tell you, the kids are all right.”
He later added a photo of a billboard that promotes the beer. The tagline is, “Crack open dessert.”
Schell’s Brewery (August Schell Brewing Co.) was established in 1860 and is the second oldest family-owned brewery in the United States. Schell’s best selling beer is Grain Belt, a classic adjunct lager. They also brew a full lineup of all-grain lagers. And, for the record, in the past Schell’s produced many startup “craft beer” brands under contract, some before that term was widely used.
Not everybody agrees that “peanut butter chocolate” can be a beer-like flavor, but certainly more than in 1860.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Life is about balance. Every day cannot start with a beer. That’s not a healthy habit, and it makes the morning beer into something mundane and pedestrian when it should be a special experience…[A morning beer] is the ultimate self-indulgence because it says, ‘a whole day reserved just for me!’”
— Sam Nellis in Morning Beers: Airport Ritual or an Indulgence for All Settings?
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY
– Sensory awareness, and why it is important. “People would say, “Here’s how this beer should present itself,” and outline the flavors you should get. Often, I’d think, ‘That’s nice, but I don’t know what that flavor is.’ I wasn’t connected to certain ingredients based on my personal experience.”
– I made beer with monks and got called “your Maltiness” in this remarkably chill ale-brewing sim, and you can too with its free Steam Next Fest demo. In considered adding a headline of the week category after spotting this post about an “upcoming tycoon game with a twist.”
– In praise of Oktoberfest beer. “In the U.S., ‘Oktoberfest’ means amber. Forget pale festbier, here mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers.” But what if it is spelled with a c?
– But, of course . . . Remember that baby born in a Michigan brewery parking lot? Now he has a brewery-inspired name and the brewery is making a beer called Special Delivery.
– A community asset lost. “Closures such as this should send warning signs to all of those who cherish good beer. Not just because of how these closures impact communities and jobs, but because of how culturally important brewing institutions are potentially being mismanaged.”
– Family ownership. The Wine Economist has re-published columns about family versus corporate wine regimes. There are beer lessons within.
WAIT, THERE’S MORE (A LOT MORE)
The North American Guild of Beer Writers announced the winners of its 2024 competition honoring the best in beer media. About 50 judges assessed 269 works from 96 entrants, who represent 10 countries, 29 U.S. states, and two Canadian provinces.
I support your view about “beer-flavored beer,” and will add that that characterization is ahistorical. It dates to the industrial age, the period when light lagers conquered the market. Prior to the 1840s (including *way* prior, like thousands of years), glasses never contained what modern drinkers describe as beer-flavored beer.
Beer was smoky, sour, fruity, and very often flavored. I don’t know how many peanut-butter beers hit the market, but adding fruits and spices has been a favorite for thousands of years. It’s worth remembering that beer has been made every place grain grows, in just about every permutation we can think of.
Although it is probably also the case that most of that time people argued about what proper beer should taste like, so in that, at least, this is a very ancient and traditional debate.
“Beer has been made every place grain grows” is why I’d like to see further study into what was going on around Cahokia 950-1250 A.D.
I don’t know I always have thought of “beer-flavored beer” as an inclusive term. The exact opposite of snobbery I would suggest. We currently brew a seltzer, fruited sours and a hop water to appeal to the wide range of customers, but when meeting a new account I use the phrase beer flavored beer and it brings a smile to their face. The Mad Libs use of ingredients may drive the Whale chasers but I believe the everyday beer drinker likes the simplcity of language. I was at a party over the weekend with life long homebrewers and they were complaing about how crazy so many styles there are and I can’t disagree. I think 102 categories are going to drive people away out of confusion and too many options.
Ironic perhaps since the diversity of taps we saw say 15 years ago has devolved to a bunch of IPAs and lagers.
Hey Thomas — I hope it is OK with you if we agree to disagree on “beer appreciation” sometimes being used to exclude. Beer-flavored beer is, in fact, a useful term when you use it like you do.
I just realized I was a contributor to the “regular beer” blog session all those years ago! I mean, I knew it then, but had forgotten about it until I followed your link. Hmmm. My regular beer these days is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and has been for a number of years. I remember being happy that Stone moved Arrogant Bastard to 16-oz cans a few years back rather than the 22-oz bottles… but rarely see it these days, and when I do, it’s usually past the best-by date, so I doubt I have more than a four-pack in any given year these days.
Thank goodness I didn’t make the topic “beer-flavored beer.” It was fun looking over the posts that resulted, at least the ones still findable ;>)