Craft Beer Trends That Need to Stop in 2017
Have you seen the list by Lee Breslouer via Thrillist of what’s considered the dumbest shit in craft beer? This list was compiled from polling beer writers and industry insiders about the most annoying things going on with craft beer at the moment. Let us fill you in on what his list includes:
Poorly made hazy IPAs
This was the complaint of Nora McGunnigle, writer, NOLA Beer Blog.
To quote Nora “”It’s like people are making these beers for people who don’t like hops — any bitterness or malt balance is completely rejected. It’s like drinking (slightly) hop-infused orange juice. Or just orange juice.”
Using “crushable” as an adjective to describe beer
Bryan Roth, writer, This Is Why I’m Drunk shared this one.
“”We need to get rid of ‘crushable’ as a catch-all term to describe a tasty beer. There’s a wide array of linguistic possibilities waiting to be unleashed in its place. ‘Crushable’ is not far off from ‘smooth,’ its soulless cousin in wordplay, which makes it sound like the beer should be consumed for the sake of it being a non-life-threatening liquid.”
The obsession with new/weird brews
Insightful words from Sara Bozich, writer, SaraBozich.com.
“Why is only the latest and greatest of interest anymore? New and weird is fun, for sure, but we have to remember to appreciate good beer where it is.”
Tap lists that haven’t been updated
This one, contributed by Ben Brausen, writer, Craft Beer Time, may be on your list.
“Why can’t some breweries and beer bars be bothered to keep their tap lists up to date? I get that kegs occasionally blow and selections change, but it doesn’t take that much effort to change your reader boards or print a new beer menu.”
“Multiple” beers
Bryan Carey, writer, Great Beer Now had this one on his list.
“I wish our love affair with multiples would come to an end. First, we were presented with double bock beers. Then, triple Belgian beers were the rage. Not to be outdone, some breweries created quadruple beers, and I’ve even seen a quintuple or two.”
Pedal bars
Have you seen these? Apparently Jensen Cummings, Certified Cicerone, Brewed Food has, and thinks they should go.
“There’s an epidemic plaguing our beloved craft beer industry. It’s an infestation overwhelming brewery tasting rooms across the country. Not kettle sours or hazy IPAs or overhyped beers or triple mocha almond vanilla red velvet cinnamon porters. It’s the unrelenting waves of assholes rolling from brewery to brewery on soulless ghost ships known as pedal hoppers.”
Wax-dipped beer bottles
From Ashley Routson, writer, Drink With The Wench.
“How was this ever a thing? OK, I sort of get the argument for wax dipping. Aesthetically, it looks cool. It implies that the beer is special, it’s probably rare, and it’s important to the brewer and brewery – perhaps an anniversary beer or something barrel-aged or sour. Wax dipping might help reduce or slow down oxidation. Yeah, yeah I get it. But ya know what? Wax-dipped bottles are a fucking bitch to open.”
IPAs with garbage added to them
This in from Ale Sharpton, writer, Cruisin’ For A Brewsin’.
“I politely ask many of the aspiring brewers to stop adding shit to IPAs who don’t know how to pimp it right. Let’s get back to the basics and make a gangster one without all the extra bullshit.”
What would you add to this list? Are there other things happening in the craft beer industry that you’d like to see ended, changed or maybe even started? Tell us about it in that comment section below. Who knows? You may even start the next great craft beer trend.
