What Is The Future Of Beer

[Glenn Hargreaves]

Howdy Everyone,

Simon and i where having a discussion about beer after work the other day and i thought i would put the question to the masses.
Where is beer going? We seem to be in the grips of a bigger is better attitude at the moment where the bigger the hops or higher the alchohol the better the beer. Are we starting to lose the ability to appreciate and understand the subtleties of different beers.
If you look back about 5-8 years in the wine industry everyone wanted big Barossa reds or big oakey Chard's but now people are looking for light crisp whites and more refined cool climate style reds. Is the brewing industry in its big stage.
I am not talking about the emerggence of Low carb beers or corona etc but the beers that the people who know and appreciate beer are drinking.
We do some big beers ESB, STOUT and ABBBEY which get really well recieved yet our more subtle style's such as hefe or Celtic red don't get the same attention which i am sure is the same for most breweries.Don't get me wrong i love big hoppy beers and complex flavours from higher Alchohol beers but also love less in your face styles.

Just some things to discuss and let us know what the general feeling is, or give us some advice and we might brew a style you suggested.

Cheers
Glenn
Brewer
HARGREAVES HILL

 

[sinkas]

Quintuple IPA all the way buddy,

 

[newguy]

In the future apparently beer will be brewed in 5l batches by a completely automated robotic brewing and fermentation system designed by someone who hasn't actually brewed himself.

Yes, the future is indeed bright.



Sorry, couldn't resist the jab. If you've been following the automation threads you'll know what I'm talking about.

Jokes aside, I think that right now the fashionable things to brew are imperial anythings. The higher the alcohol and bitterness, the better. I have a feeling that the pendulum will swing toward more traditional styles/gravities and crossbreeds of "pure" styles. Think American Alt or Belgian Porter. Not sure if I'm right but I'm seeing more homebrewers doing this now - the breweries are usually a few years behind them.

 

[Brewer_010]

Fashions will come and go. As a trendsetter myself , I'm moving away from the big hoppy beers and am now starting to (re)savour simple and balanced beers with nice fresh ingredients (pilsners and simple lagers etc).

The same goes for food, I'm trying to keep some of my dishes simple fresh and really tasty rather than toooo much/many flavour (including too much of one flavour).

 

[Pete2501]

After perfecting my house APA which is quite hoppy my next endeavour will be an English mild. After drinking many beers my palate gets bored with low hop beers like coopers green. It's not until several that I'm used to the subtle flavours.

 

[chappo1970]

I don't know if we, well I can only speak on my behalf, will revert, otherwise we will all be brewing megaswills, no? And guess there is the rub, if want lightly hopped and slightly crisp beers then go down to the bottle shop there's walls of them.

Personally the journey for me has been the hoppy as hell American styled IIPA'a and APA's, now I have done a 180deg in style terms and am really enjoying the British Styled beers like a Best Bitter, Ordinary Bitter and or ESB's. Lagers for me are more your Munich's and Vienna's with the occasional Aussie Lager.

I guess once you get into home brewing and discover how dead and lifeless Megaswill beer really is, you start to look towards beers with flavour and character. I went to the pub the other day with some mates and thought I would drink across the fonts and re-adjust the palate. To be honest I could hardly tell the difference between most of the offerings. The "Blonde" beers seemed to be the worst and appeared to me to be the same beer just out of a different tap, well to my tastes anyway.

So I guess to answer you, no I don't think we will revert. My simple reasoning for this is I am constantly converting mates to other styles of beers and I find they stick most of the time. The winner always seems to be the Little Critters which by normal standards is quite a forward hopped beer to Mr Average.

Interesting topic though. I will reading this thread with interest to see the various opinions.

Cheers

Chappo

 

[winkle]

I'm guessing the main stream low-carb disaster will go the way of the ice beer trend a while back (and not before time). Fashion wise, Saisons are taking off in popularity right now, and something like a Berliner Weisse is probably overdue for a good run.
But there'll always need to be a place for the hop-heads to go.
I suspect the future will lie in a very broad spectrum of styles (and cross-over beers will be a big part of it) rather than any specific direction dictated by temporary fashions.

 

[Pollux]

If the current trends of megaswill are to be believed, the future is tasteless, aromaless bland crap.

I, like Chappo, have gone through my highly hopped IPA/APA phase and am now starting to move towards other styles like the english bitters and some lagers. That said I am not known for ever really brewing to style, I simply make up a recipe and then decide what style it is closest too once it's all brewed up and being drunk.....

 

[Glenn Hargreaves]

like i said i am really interested in finding out what the masses think. When i say masses i am talking about the people on this site who know and appreciate different beers.

What is classed as mega swill will always be there, interested to see where to go for us small craft brewers. I know for sure we will never brew a low carb beer.
I love variety and i think we have that in our beers it is just interesting to see why different styles sell much better than others.

Cheers Glenn

 

[chappo1970]

like i said i am really interested in finding out what the masses think. When i say masses i am talking about the people on this site who know and appreciate different beers.

What is classed as mega swill will always be there, interested to see where to go for us small craft brewers. I know for sure we will never brew a low carb beer.
I love variety and i think we have that in our beers it is just interesting to see why different styles sell much better than others.

Cheers Glenn

Glenn,

Ahhh I see where you are coming from. You craft/micro brewers are a great and constant inspiration to me. I am more likely to try to emulate one of your beers these days than what I am any megaswill. If was to put my finger on the pulse I guess I have noticed a lot more AHB brewers having a crack at the British Ales and the Belgians/Germans seem to popular. I guess a good gauge would be to go thru last years "What are you brewing II" thread.

The beers I love are the off the wall specialties that are produced. Like Dead Guy, Dog Fish Head, Mikellor etc. I would love it if the Aussie Craft brewers were much, much less conservative in their specialties. I can appreciate you need to sell beer to the masses to be viable but at the same time I have been know to buy the odd specialty for over $30 no problems.

Also purely as a suggestion but if guys like you, Glenn, got a little more involved on the forum and maybe told us of up coming releases we might all have a better chance of supporting your beers. Again only a suggestion.

Cheers

Chappo

 

[roger mellie]

If you look back about 5-8 years in the wine industry everyone wanted big Barossa reds or big oakey Chard's but now people are looking for light crisp whites and more refined cool climate style reds. Is the brewing industry in its big stage.

Ya reckon?

Only if your name is Tristan.

RM

 

[gjhansford]

like i said i am really interested in finding out what the masses think. When i say masses i am talking about the people on this site who know and appreciate different beers.

An interesting way to look at this is to do some kind of analysis of the topics that start on the forum and how long they last. Without being too anal about it ... it has been my observation that lately (after Christmas) there been a spate of well supported topics on English milds and low alcohol beers ... it could just be a seasonal thing ... I wasn't on the forum last year ... or it could be a trend.

:icon_cheers: ghhb

 

[Screwtop]

Great question Glenn. I think as you point out the mega huge brewery beer drinkers will always follow the lead of the marketing gurus who push beer drinkers buttons and give them all sorts of reasons to buy megaswill beers.

But for us, many are the newly enlightened beer drinkers of Australia, I think the trend will pretty much parallel the beer drinking trends of the USA but some 15 years behind. We have really only just discovered the world of beer in the last 6 - 8 years. As with all change led by the demands of the public the pendulum will swing way past 6 o'clock before eventually returning to a happy medium. Like most here I have sought out the weird and way out extremes when it comes to beer to gain experience. Most of these I have enjoyed, some have been wow beers and some pure magic. However the beers I make for home are pretty hop tame and low ABV, because I want quaffers, big beers and hoppy beers take too long on the tap. For trialling I buy one or two "out there/extreme" beers. It's my belief that all micro's need at least one "out there" beer as an intro or a beer that afficionado's will seek out, one way of getting beers into the marketplace due to requests for the one or two "different" beers they produce. When it comes to beers that I buy regularly in 6'ers they are all pretty much less agressive micro brewed beers.

Hope you find this helpful,

Screwy

 

[MHB]

Commercial brewing will I suspect pull in two directions, what is often referred to as "Mega Swill" will in a couple of years be delivered as an overweigh (concentrate) and diluted and carbonated on premises (if you don't thinks that's possible look at this) call it the lowest cost alcohol injection method.

Craft brewing is becoming a more mature industry, one with an exciting future; it should capture about 20% of the market. Within that we should see a huge range of beer from delicate lagers to Hop Monsters that will rodger you rotten.

As a home brewer my answer will be the same then as it is now

"Whatever I Farking Like"

Mark

 

[sm0902]

Not exactly sure on what the future of beer is, but here's my opinion ...

I've been away from my home brew system (All grain) for several weeks now. I am quite sick of drinking; VB, Carlton Draught, XXXX, Heineken, etc, etc. The occasional Fat Yak has been enjoyable, but I am so, so desperate to drink a good Pilsner.

I went looking the other day for an Emerson's to no avail.

About to get my home brewing back under way, with one of my first brews being a Pilsner (ideally with Wyeast 2042)!

Apart from Emerson's. I'm not sure I've found a worthy Pilsner yet.

Anyway, back to drinking my Heineken!

 

[Bribie G]

Commercial brewing will I suspect pull in two directions, what is often referred to as "Mega Swill" will in a couple of years be delivered as an overweigh (concentrate) and diluted and carbonated on premises (if you don't thinks that's possible look at this) – call it the lowest cost alcohol injection method.

Craft brewing is becoming a more mature industry, one with an exciting future; it should capture about 20% of the market. Within that we should see a huge range of beer from delicate lagers to Hop Monsters that will rodger you rotten.

As a home brewer my answer will be the same then as it is now

"Whatever I Farking Like"

Mark

Bag in a box beers. Hmm. Wait a minute...........B.I.A.B.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[DUANNE]

when it comes to craft beers i couldnt tell you what the future holds but when im after a craft beer i am open to trying any style. ithink the key is wether its a ipa a lambic or pilsener it has to be well made and taste good. it sounds to easy to be true doesnt it. some of the craft breweries try to do to many styles and end up with ten beers that taste the same.one of the worst i have found was mt tamborine in qld. tryed the tasting paddle there and was surprised that i couldnt tell the ipa from the belgian ales.instead of having a vast menu of meh beers i think the best is to stick to what you do best and stick to it.every time i go through yg i have an esb and a stout.( oh and a chimay of tap as well.)

 

[Effect]

Howdy Everyone,

Simon and i where having a discussion about beer after work the other day and i thought i would put the question to the masses.
Where is beer going? We seem to be in the grips of a bigger is better attitude at the moment where the bigger the hops or higher the alchohol the better the beer. Are we starting to lose the ability to appreciate and understand the subtleties of different beers.
If you look back about 5-8 years in the wine industry everyone wanted big Barossa reds or big oakey Chard's but now people are looking for light crisp whites and more refined cool climate style reds. Is the brewing industry in its big stage.
I am not talking about the emerggence of Low carb beers or corona etc but the beers that the people who know and appreciate beer are drinking.
We do some big beers ESB, STOUT and ABBBEY which get really well recieved yet our more subtle style's such as hefe or Celtic red don't get the same attention which i am sure is the same for most breweries.Don't get me wrong i love big hoppy beers and complex flavours from higher Alchohol beers but also love less in your face styles.

Just some things to discuss and let us know what the general feeling is, or give us some advice and we might brew a style you suggested.

Cheers
Glenn
Brewer
HARGREAVES HILL

I have the same feeling about the direction that beer will go. What is fashionable will always change, but how it changes is interesting. Like your wine industry example, I have noticed another change in a different form of fashion. From working in a hotel with a well skanky bar there, 2 years ago I noticed a change in the clothing the ladies were wearing. They were no longer wearing mini skirts and skimpy eye candy numbers but rather prefering the maxidresses...Completely opposite direction. So in saying that, I reckon the less hoppy, 'milder' ales and lagers will start to get more attention.

Cheers
Phil

 

[eric8]

I have almost finished a keg of a single hop (Motueka) beer and I have loved being able to taste the hop throughout and having it be the only one. I have a Mikkeler single hop beer to try as well. This is a great way to learn about the hops as well I think, was bittered to just over 50 ibu's, so it wasn't over the top.

 

[dgilks]

I like my extreme beers but my definition of extreme is different to yours. To me it isn't extreme until you are getting towards 9 or 10% and 100IBU. What I want to see (and think is the future of Australian brewing) is a 6 - 7%, 70 - 80 IBU American IPA with lots of juicy American hop goodness. We need to get away from the mentality that big beers are 5 to 6% ESBs, Stouts and some Belgian types. Bring on the AIPAs and IIPAs.