Wishlist #11; Fewer Anonymous Beers
Most brewers have a core range of beers. Many produce specials, perhaps on a seasonal basis. And some brew endless variants of the same beer; malts bills and hop varieties tweaked, ABVs hovering around 4.2%. There's a light one and a brown one.
And a browner one and a darker one. And they're all brewed to be ticker-friendly. And they all taste just the same.
Why churn out what is ostensibly the same beer (and not always a good one to start with) and continually rename it? Is it pure marketing - to attract customers into buying a 'new' beer? Only to be told, on asking what it tastes like, "er... it's rather like the other ones that they do". Is it lack of consistency in the brewing process; they cannot reproduce a given recipe so each run becomes a 'special'? Is it to bait tickers? Is it to sell over-designed pumpclips to tickers at festivals?
I'm all for experimentation in brewing. But incessant tinkering and renaming of bland bitters does the UK beer scene a massive dis-service. Let's have fewer 'anonymous' bitters and more that a brewer is proud to brand under just one name.
And a browner one and a darker one. And they're all brewed to be ticker-friendly. And they all taste just the same.
Why churn out what is ostensibly the same beer (and not always a good one to start with) and continually rename it? Is it pure marketing - to attract customers into buying a 'new' beer? Only to be told, on asking what it tastes like, "er... it's rather like the other ones that they do". Is it lack of consistency in the brewing process; they cannot reproduce a given recipe so each run becomes a 'special'? Is it to bait tickers? Is it to sell over-designed pumpclips to tickers at festivals?
I'm all for experimentation in brewing. But incessant tinkering and renaming of bland bitters does the UK beer scene a massive dis-service. Let's have fewer 'anonymous' bitters and more that a brewer is proud to brand under just one name.
YES! I completely agree. This is what I don't like about British beer - the 'me-too' taste of mediocrity. I'd sooner a brewery has 5 core beers and do them really well than them have an ever-changing list of new beers that are average at best. And most drinkers are not tickers, they just want a reliably good beer to drink whenever they go to the pub.
ReplyDeleteIf the beer is spot on in the first place then it doesn't need any tweaks - if it ain't broke...
I can think of at least one brewery whose "specials" I avoid because they're always the same and always disgusting.
ReplyDeleteAnd a browner one and a darker one. And they're all brewed to be ticker-friendly. And they all taste just the same.<<
ReplyDeleteYou've just described the range of Northumberland Brewery beers. Check their website for the insane amount of beers they 'brew' - I'm sure it's impossible that they are all different beers given the size of the operation...
Well it depends. I agree that dull, poorly thought out seasonal or 'guest' beers for the sake of it are a huge letdown and a con. Some of the biggest breweries are as guilty of this as the micros.
ReplyDeletePictish, however, list 37 single hop variety ales in addition to their regular, seasonal, monthly and occasional lineup. Now I'm not saying all of them are amazing, as I've only tried a handful but I'm all for single hop experimentation. And I can't help but get excited when a favourite brewer brings out a new beer.