Is the UK beer scene as initiative as anywhere in the world?

Reads 5902 • Replies 108 • Started Thursday, March 20, 2014 4:17:24 AM CT

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Message SilkTork P beers 7752 º places 111 º 10:55 Sat 3/22/2014 Originally posted by EdKing All I know is that this country’s beer scene would be a pretty dreary place if it wasn’t for American craft beer. It would be different, yes, but "dreary"? Do you really think that? There has over the past few years been a growing interest in beer. The shame is that there are some genuinely interesting and exciting beer styles from around the world that we never hear about because of the focus on American craft beer with its interest in intense flavours, high abv, and sharp flavourings. Beers such as cauim, chicha, svagdricka, kvass, mbege, brem, umqombothi, juleøl, etc, tend to be low abv, with subtle, natural flavourings. The direct opposite of what the trendy young American drinker is buying. Playing "what if" could be a worthwhile exercise, if only to shake off this blind adoration of what America is doing.
Message harrisoni P beers 25368 º places 68 º 11:16 Sat 3/22/2014 Originally posted by SilkTork Originally posted by harrisoni Originally posted by FrumptyDumpty Ian it is not saying British hops are trash (I will say that though) it is simply stating the US has been ahead of the curve is all. A lot of the breeding being doing now in EU is to mimic flavors of New world hops. It is just another way in which the US has inspired people globally. No problem there Ryan but I do dislike the knee jerk reaction that everywhere is better than the UK. And also there is over 100 varieties of hops in the Faversham hop fields run by Pete Darby if only people could be interested. My family still remembers having a summer holiday that consisted of picking hops by hand in the hop fields of Kent. Yes bizarre concept that a holiday meant doing work but that’s how it was for agricultural labourers. And to cross pollinate from another thread how much more craft can a beer be with hops grown at the farm just down the road? Oh yes this is a craft beer brewed in the UK with malts from Germany and hops from New Zealand. Hmmmmmmm And yeast in a tube from a laboratory in America. Most "craft" brewing is like brewing from a kid’s science kit. Assemble the bits from around the world and throw them together to see if it bangs and turns green. Craft brewing is, as Ian says, something that is done with craft and skill earned by developing your skills and ingredients, not buying them in. Any "craft" brewer who is using a throw away laboratory yeast doesn’t quite understand the concept of "craft". I love European brewers who craft their yeast, developing it so it suits their own brewery equipment and conditions. I despair of the bland character of so much modern beer, where interest is simply generated by throwing in yet more hops, or adding external flavours such as putting the beer in a whisky barrel. Much that is called innovation is not. Adding flavouring to beer is not innovation, it’s simply lack of knowledge and imagination. Some people think it’s cool to add almond flavouring to coffee, or lemonade to wine. Fine. But that’s not real innovation. Does anyone remember The Kitchen Brewer in the UK? Used to throw a carrot or cabbage in each brew. Same fucking nonsense as putting a beer in a whiskey barrel. People may say "Yeah, but I like it." Fine. But it’s not innovation. Adding hops is also not innovation. Bottling bret is not inno-fucking-vation. Harvey’s have had bret in their brewery for over a hundred years. Yeah. That’s not innovation either. But what’s the difference here? An American does it and it’s called cutting edge. Since when has copying other people been cutting edge? Perhaps someone should start a thread on what’s been the biggest innovation in brewing in the last 50 years. Probably the conical fermenter. That for me has been a backward move as it makes the beer more stable, but robs it of character. So what’s been the best innovation? Lab yeast? Hah! Increasing alpha acid in hops. Bah! Cold filtering? Mmmm. Anyone want to take a guess at whether I agree with everything SilkTork has saud above. Anyone? I wish I had half his eloquence and a tenth of his ability to put what I want to say into words
Message madmitch76 beers 37000 º places 240 º 11:37 Sat 3/22/2014 I wouldn’t want his beer cupboard though ....

Message Beersiveknown P beers 5380 º places 180 º 11:57 Sat 3/22/2014 Ditto, I think there’s room for it all but unfortunately those that shout loudest (beers, brewers) garner the most attention, even if they don’t deserve it
Message SilkTork P beers 7752 º places 111 º 11:35 Sun 3/23/2014 Originally posted by madmitch76 I wouldn’t want his beer cupboard though .... I mostly drink cask, and my beer store is mainly vintage beers these days, so I think few RateBeerians would be interested in my beer cupboard! I have had a declining interest in modern bottled beers over the past few years, mainly because I am not a lover of the hop. My main love is the interaction of yeast with malt. That, for me, is where the magic and pleasure of beer resides. I do understand that puts me out of the mainstream of beer geeks, which is why I am involved less and less with the RateBeer community. However, if there’s a meet up in a Harvey’s pub, you’ll find me there.
Message FrumptyDumpty 11:41 Sun 3/23/2014 I had no intentions of sounding as if I thought the scene was bad or that traditional beer was bad. I would not have come here if I didn’t enjoy traditional cask ale and what was going on in the UK. I was simply stating my thoughts on if it was on the same level as the US which I do not think so yet but it might be somedays. And in the end it does not have to be.
Message Beersiveknown P beers 5380 º places 180 º 13:25 Sun 3/23/2014 Originally posted by FrumptyDumpty I had no intentions of sounding as if I thought the scene was bad or that traditional beer was bad. I would not have come here if I didn’t enjoy traditional cask ale and what was going on in the UK. I was simply stating my thoughts on if it was on the same level as the US which I do not think so yet but it might be somedays. And in the end it does not have to be. for such a small market to even have such variety is a wonder in itself. Perhaps brewers per capita UK is more innovative than the US, but obviously you guys are going to have a bigger variety of stuff available through sheer force of numbers. We do also have the dichotomy now of older brewers sticking to their traditional cask bitter markets and new brewers going down the craft route. In the Us its pretty much all craft as there was no tradition left intact (or very little) post prohibition. I like beers from both countries. I’m becoming more loathe to part with cash on US imports when I can get fresher stuff for cheaper locally. That doesn’t stop me longing to be visiting the states though!

Message jjsint P beers 7751 º places 1335 º 15:35 Sun 3/23/2014 A US beer has just entered my top 10 rates, so I guess I am eating my words a bit :)
Message madmitch76 beers 37000 º places 240 º 17:18 Sun 3/23/2014 Originally posted by SilkTork Originally posted by madmitch76 I wouldn’t want his beer cupboard though .... I mostly drink cask, and my beer store is mainly vintage beers these days, so I think few RateBeerians would be interested in my beer cupboard! I have had a declining interest in modern bottled beers over the past few years, mainly because I am not a lover of the hop. My main love is the interaction of yeast with malt. That, for me, is where the magic and pleasure of beer resides. I do understand that puts me out of the mainstream of beer geeks, which is why I am involved less and less with the RateBeer community. However, if there’s a meet up in a Harvey’s pub, you’ll find me there. Ratebeer is all the richer and better for having you onboard Steve. I do sympathise, in a non patronising way, that as a non hop lover, these times must be like the ’kin dark ages for you. I hope you stick around, I always enjoy reading your well constructed posts, even if I don’t always agree with your gist.
Message Erlangernick beers 6 º places 2 º 01:44 Mon 3/24/2014 Originally posted by FrumptyDumpty I had no intentions of sounding as if I thought the scene was bad or that traditional beer was bad. I would not have come here if I didn’t enjoy traditional cask ale and what was going on in the UK. I was simply stating my thoughts on if it was on the same level as the US which I do not think so yet but it might be somedays. And in the end it does not have to be. This was clear to any reasonable observer.