OT: How does one get into craft beer?
Am I the only one that gets overwhelmed when shopping for beer or browsing a tap list? It seems the trend at restaurants is to carry 37 seasonal limited edition locally sourced beers on tap, changing weekly. At the grocery or beer store there are 100s of options from small to medium sized brewers. Wine feels immensely more approachable, in comparison. I don't want to become a fanatic, but I'd like to be more confident and understand a little more. And supporting local products is always cool. But how is it even possible with this trend seemingly overheating and new product pumping out constantly?
I picked up a case of Bell's Hopslam last month and it was pretty good. It didn't blow my mind (I think it was supposed to?). Also, I can't really do super dark beers after developing a taste aversion from too many car bomb blackout nights during understand.
I tried Short's Huma whatever like your picture last week. Because of your picture, actually. Well, I made the connection when shopping and decided to buy it. It's pretty decent. But I really think I'm still too amateur to really appreciate this stuff.
And not sure how anything mentioned in my post related to anything like it... brewers "thought outside the box", and just made the occasional beneficial mistake for centuries. Our amazing craft breweries didn't invent invention.
You actually touched on something I wanted to bring up: quality control. Is a lot of this stuff experimental and the consumers are the taste testers? Certainly seems like it sometimes. And some of these new breweries seem really fly-by-night, IMO, looking to cash in on the hype. Or is it easy to strike gold as a newcomer to brew some really good stuff?
There has been an explosion of breweries in the last 10 years, and some of them are very good (many have brewmasters that came from the really good ones), but many of them are meh. Since this is a sports blog, you can compare it to football coaches. Newer ones might be great, but it's definitely more of a crapshoot since the natural culling process hasn't occured. If you've been in the business for 10+ years, odds are you're of decent quality because at least someone was buying your beer (or is still paying you as a coach). And if you trained under one of the great brewmasters (or coaches) you probably have at least a leg up on the odds because you have some knowlegde from a proven great (but there is so much more involved that it is by no means a shoe-in for success).
Even with the rise in popularity, it's a very competitive business because of all the new ones popping up and the established ones expanding distribution. Many new ones won't make it, but plenty more will sprout up to give it a try.
Then red wine and now I am into single malt scotch. Developing a taste or affinity for any beverage takes time. As was noted above, it begins by recognizing flavors, smells, texture and quality. You'll learn what you like and what you don't like. It doesn't really matter what other people think, though a trusted opinion can help you in giving a beverage a chance. Don't expect everything to appeal to you at first tasting: in fact, sometimes the best beverages have the most challenging flavors.
So try everything twice and pay attention to what your tasting. Don't drink the beverage quickly. Be careful in what you're eating with the beverage as that will affect your perception. If you're just trying to get drunk, stick to the cheap stuff. And don't forget, we all started with the cheap stuff!
I think Sam Adams is a bit of a gateway drug. Their beers are pretty good, but none of them have that much substance to them.
1. Find a specialty craft beer shop - ideally they'll have big rotating tap list and bottle selection. If they are good, you probably won't recognize over 80% of their inventory as they're always adding one-off, smaller batch kegs. Also the staff generally should be friendly and knowledgeable, and willing to answer your questions. Also check to make sure they clean their tap lines frequently..
2. Variety is the key. Usually these shops will let you buy individual bottles/cans instead of an entire 6 or 12 pack. Pick some random bottles to try. Also invest in a growler or 2. Ask them for samples of what's on tap, and fill up your growlers with what you like.
3. Try to avoid bigger name breweries, even the bigger craft pioneers (Sam, Brooklyn, Goose Island, etc). Nothing against these great breweries, but for the most part you can find their selections year round - probably best to get that stuff if you're having a party and want to accomodate both the beer snobs and the bud light brahs. The best beer IMO is the stuff made locally in small batches - usually hard to find in bottles/cans, but so fresh and delicious off the tap.
4. Drink up, rinse, and repeat.
Hope this helps.
Also, while there are some real gems among little brewers there's also a lot of crap out there (and a lot of over complication / excessively adventurous experiments). I'd hate for a new beer drinker to get turned off to a style because they tried a crappy experimental example from a mediocre microbrewery.
Cut your teeth on the big(ish) boys, and you'll be well prepared to tell crap from greatness when you venture out.
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I agree with that logic. I guess my point was to sample as much as you can. Buy single bottles rather than a 6 pack. Sure, definitely get the essentials (Sierra, Sam, Goose, etc) - but try other lesser known breweries and styles as well. There is a universe of beers beyond your standard grocery store beer aisle.
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https://vimeo.com/38527325
Do you have any breweries nearby? I feel like the time I spent at Founders is what got me. I started with their simpler stuff, and got more and more experimental over time.
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It's all about the name. A good craft beer has a really weird name, preferably at least four words long and/or is some kind of witty pun.
Amber Ale. I'm a Kzoo resident, the Craft scene over here is incredible.
I don't know how you get into craft beer but I know how craft beer gets into me.
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recommend the app. It's an amazing tool to have.
I would recommend going to some breweries and get flights or samplers. Those will let you develop a taste for a type of beer. Hopslam might not be a good one to start off with, as hops are an acquired taste and Hopslam is quite concentrated. Start with weak beers like Oberon
Get into homebrewing, you'll put the learning curve on warp speed plus you can look down your nose at beer snobs that know 10x more than you about beer.
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I started drinking craft beer during graduate school at Ashley's. Wolverine State Brewing opening a few years ago expanded my horizons as well for lagers.
Anywhere I travel now, I try to visit as many local breweries as I can. Last summer I traveled around New England and went to as many breweries I could. Brewery Omnegang was by far my favorite.
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Go to the source itself. Get to a local brewery or brewpub during off-peak times if possible (Mon-Thurs 12:00-6pm) and buy a flight of beer tasters. Any quality brewery should have knowledgeable staff willing to teach you just about anything about the beer styles.
For example, New Belgium Brewery out here in Fort Collins, CO gives free tours, many free samples and post-tour tasting sessions all guided by smart, fun brewery staff daily.
Good luck!
To start either go to a beer bar with knowledgeable bartenders that can guide you into certain styles based on your preferences or find a good store than sells individual bottles that can do the same. Find types that you like and then branch out from there, either trying different offerings from the same brewery or different versions of the same beer style (IPAs, Amber Ales, Stouts, etc).
Also download the app Untappd and log which beers your drink and your personal rating. It's a good app try keep track. Can give your beers simple ratings from 1-5 stars or write detailed notes.
Beer is great. The pretentious, beer-snob culture sucks.
Visited a friend for a week and did a self-guided brew tour to some big names and lot of smaller breweries too. Many times I ran into staff who seemed to treat their job as more of a bartender/waiter than brewery employee. A lack of explanation and hurried approach to ordering, even when it was extremely slow. I got the feeling I should already know everything about their beer before stepping foot inside.
If you're only there for the beer, there's a lot to offer.
Try everything until you can pinpoint the styles that you like and go from there. I did this and discovered that I'm not a huge fan of IPA's, I hate sours, don't care for helles, can't handle bourbon barrel aged beers, and I'm pretty indifferent to most brown/blonde ales. Knowing what you don't really like can help eliminate a lot of choices and make the store/bar less overwhelming. I'm not saying to never try an IPA again if you don't like them, but knowing it isn't your style can help ease the "getting into beer" process.
Personally I've found that I get along pretty well with anything dark, most stuff with a strong yeasty element, and anything with a kick of coffee. So stouts (especially nitro), porters, black lagers, dunkelweizens, hefeweizens, trippels, saisons, etc are some things I enjoy.
Some of my personal favorites right now are Right Brain CEO Stout, Oddside Ales Bean Flicker, Dragonmead Final Absolution, Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout, Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel, North Peak Hullabaloo Chocolate Wheat, and New Holland Monkey King.
Don't just lock yourself into what you know though. Try some new and weird stuff every now and then. I really enjoy Shorts Nicie Spicie and Wowee Zowee despite them not really falling into a category that I consider myself to like.
I also recommend using something to keep track of what you've had. I personally like Untappd.
In my Michigan History class in college, I did a presentation on craft breweries from Michigan. Preparing for this presentation, I drank more than three dozen varieties of beer. For every six pack I bought, I would save one beer. This was my introduction into craft brewing. I'd say I was really lucky to grow up in a state like Michigan that has so much passion for local brewing.
Trying new beers is the best way to go. Each time you go to the liquor store, buy something you've never had before. Also, go to brewpubs and tasting rooms, and get flights, so you can try as many beers as possible. It's all about developing your pallet.
Nah, Eastern.
Old English 800 cause that's my brand
Take it in a bottle, forty, quart or a can
Wait, what was the question?
No, seriously, just keep drinking until you find something you like. Then drink a lot of it. There are times when any shitty cold beer will do, but the older you get, the more you appreciate the concept of "you get what you pay for,"... true in everything, including beer. Stay thirsty, my friend.
That's how I went about it anyhow.
I highly recommend going to Churchkey. It's like the Ashley's of D.C. (I'm assuming you live in D.C.) The staff are Cicerone, so they will be able to give you the perfect beer for your taste based upon you describing what your mood is.
Still have not tried the Luther at Churchkey...