For our 79th Session, our host is Adrian Dingle, better known online simply as Ding through his Dings Beer Blog. Not surprisingly, he’s decided to shake things up with a provocative topic, the USA versus Old World Beer Culture.
Anyone with any inkling of my online, in-person and blogging presence in the American beer world since 2000, will know that the whole of my beer experience in that time has been colored by, sits against the backdrop of, and forms the awkward juxtaposition to, my English beer heritage and what has been happening the USA in the last few years. Everyone knows that I have been very vocal about this for a very long time, so when it came to thinking about what would be a great “Session” topic, outside of session beer, it seemed like that there could be only one topic; “What the hell has America done to beer?,” a.k.a., “USA versus Old World Beer Culture.”
This probably won’t be pretty, and you’re probably not gonna like it much, but hey, what’s new?
So on Friday, September 6, let the battle begin. What do you think America has done to beer? And in comparison, what about England? Are we at war? Are we having a beer war? Or is the “special relationship” intact? Grab your musket, a pewter tankard of some session beer (however you define it!) along with your laptop, and let slip the dogs of beer war.
This month’s topic will make for interesting reading.
I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of the “new brewery” movement from the very beginning, and actually a fan of quality unique beers for nearly ten years before that (and despite the common mythology to the contrary, there were _quite_ a few excellent ones around in the ‘dark ages’ if one knew where to look).
An old joke once referred to American beer as being “effing close to water”.
The emerging impression among many beer-o-philes these days that American beer seems to be becoming the tastebuds equivalent of looking at a ‘fun house mirror’ with it’s sometimes comical/sometimes horrifying distortions.
In any case, trying new beers (especially American ones) _has_ lately definitely become an interesting adventure. By my calcs, over the last 10 years or so it has become a roughly 50/50 crapshoot that a given beer is actually worth the inflated prices that many of them fetch.
Thank the beer gods for stores that feature single bottle sales.
Excellent topic. I think the U.S. arguably has saved fine beer. It’s been a huge force for good when Europe was treading water or even somnolent. I doubt England would be making much Imperial and other stout, flavoured beers, golden ales, wheat beers, sour beers, but for the nudge and push from the Americans. Does this mean American beer is better than the very best English? No – and perhaps even less good (certainly in pale ale IMO).
But the Yanks gave the U.K. a shot in the arm which has made for the rich and diverse scene we see there today. But for the American example, the English, whose hop gardens have ever gotten smaller, would still be making fine real beer scented with their incomparable hops but relatively little of it. It’s still (that style) relatively small but has been enlivened by the zesty and creative savours of West Coast U.S. hops – themselves an innovation of the last 40 years.
And, crucially, the U.S. showed Britons the way forward with keg: that you could make a rich-bodied, hoppy beer that was cold, fizzy and filtered. American innovation and distinction was recognized early on by Michael Jackson and it’s only developed further since his untimely passing.
I see this not as a contest, not as any kind of one-upsmanship. The traditions have blended and are developing together. The U.K. had a head start of 1000 years or so, but the Yanks gave ’em a much needed shot in the arm in the 20 years. IMHO.
Gary
Very civilised commentary from the 2 gents above! I live in the SF Bay Area; CA, OR, & WA share equally the grandfather status for the “hop bomb” strong brews which those on the US’ “right (but wrong to me – I spent 16 yrs there)” coast, most notably Dogfish Head’s Sam Calgione, & a few in the Midwest have been making excellent variations of. The extreme alcohol (& price) battle between a few American & European brewers is something I watch but don’t really give a damn about – no way in hell am I going to pay a ridiculously exorbitant price for an extreme “cult” brew.
Americans for sure have a “Can you top this?” mind set – hence all the activity to push the proverbial envelope. However, there may a few brewers scattered around who either don’t want to go there, or are working to create something for those who are suffering “hop burnout”. On a recent trip to San Diego, I visited a brewpub (Coronado, which opened a production facility recently so to bottle, etc) that I hadn’t been to in close to 10 yrs – to my surprise, among their 12 offerings was a 3% ABV “session” brown ale that was quite tasty – you could drink that all night & not have to worry about driving home (or walk if you could afford to live in its neighborhood). Further, Free Wheel Brewpub (Redwood City, 35 miles from where I live) opened last year, serving English-style ales – all served off casks, & none higher than 5.5%. It’s an oasis for those who prefer those styles, or who like a break from the normal pub brews.
I think there’s plenty of room for everybody – those who best can manage the financial end of the business will survive & grow; those who can’t will fade away – as a lot of brewpubs, small breweries, & beer-oriented bars/restaurants have done in CA. Good location virtually guarantees brewpub survival (the 1st brewpub in SF, which folded in 2010 after 25 yrs survived despite having house brews that forever changed in quality, mostly for the worse); good product is required for the breweries that don’t have restaurant adjuncts. The other necessity is to own the property or not have a greedy landlord. 2 very successful SF brewpubs who served food lost their leases (one in 2000, the other last yr). The 1st greedy landlord (who was banking on the dot-com boom that died in 2001) saw his bldg lie vacant for 10 yrs; the space that Gordon Biersch vacated after 26 yrs still was vacant when I rode by it 2 wks ago – but I don’t expect that one to be vacant as long because of its better location.
I think there’s room for everybody, but the lack of space in Europe & Japan makes it excessively more expensive for a start-up (as it is in Manhattan, compared to the rest of the US), as does the tax structure. Further, compared to EU countries & GB, I’d bet that ingredient prices are more expensive there than here, despite the currency advantage you have over there (I have no clue about the tariff structure).
That said, despite the growing # of craft breweries (especially in the US), I expect to see another round of shakeouts within the next 5-10 yrs. Most small businesses fail because of under-capitalization. I don’t know how cheap borrowing money is over there; here it’s cheap at the moment, especially if one has decent assets & a good track record. Whether economics will curtail “extreme” beers remains to be seen; certainly the US has ample capacity to increase the ingredient supply – the problem is recuperating start-up costs w/o any crop revenue for 6-9 months
Finally – the craft brewing industry is one of the most self-supoorting in the world! For that reason alone, I don’t think there’s ever going to be a war, unless it’s between the megas fighting to buy the most sucessful craft breweries, or between the craft breweries & the megas over distribution (which the megas control). There’s a movement afoot in many US states to get rid of the 3-tier system, which screws craft brewers unless they pay the “vig” to get shelf space.
As a beer geek, I’d love to be part of this discussion, but can’t do because of a working gig at which there’s no internet connection.