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6 Comments

  1. Jason
    June 13, 2011 @ 1:16 am

    A bottle doesn’t have to be corked to undergo secondary fermentation.

    Alas, the insidious specter of marketing has gotten into craft beer, which for the most part is a legitimate and ethical industry. Black IPA’s meh. Same with rye beers.

    Limited or seasonal releases are good with me.

    Barrel aged is a preference thing…I really like Bernt’s take on that and have nothing to add. He nailed it.

    I have a high opinion of collaborations so far but it does seem this article is prescient…I’m not sure there’s enough shelf space for to many of these things to continue to happen and breed like locusts.

    Canned seems like the way of the future…easier and less costly to ship, better ensures beer quality, etc…I’m down with it but the concerns stated are duly noted and agreed with. Once people get it through their head they aren’t buying Bud Light I think they’ll come around.

    Overall, I’m becoming much more cognizant of and drawn to great beers with reasonable price points…Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas is a great value as are Angel City’s Stritch Stout and Belgian Night Train. Others are the recent release of Stone IRS, some of the Bear Republic stuff and there’s others. Some expensive stuff I’ll pay for, but much of it isn’t worth it to me…I love beer, but it’s beer.

    Great article!

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  2. Justin
    June 9, 2011 @ 10:02 am

    po4040 – Completely forgot about Founder’s Red’s Rye – even though I have 2 or 3 in stock at home. Whoops!

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  3. Bernt
    June 9, 2011 @ 2:33 am

    Good article, agree on most points except the Barrel Aged (BA) beers – and for two reasons:

    1) Barrel aging often masks the beer.
    I usually find that BA beers have little left of the aroma and flavor profile of the original brew, in particular when using Bourbon or Islay whisky casks. In those situation, you can start with a really low quality beer and still end up with the same aroma and flavor as if you used a world class beer. I do like BA myself, but only when it adds complexity to a good beer – ref Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share 2009 (Brandy BA) – not when it masks the original brew.

    2) Hyperflation of beer types
    What really gets to me about BA beers is the plethora of “new” beers that we “beer geeks” must hunt down, often at inflated prices. Take Mikkeller, as an example, his Beer Geek Brunch Weasel – that I find pretty good as a normal beer – has been BA in seven different casks (Bourbon, Islay, Port, Madeira, Calvados etc) on my latest count. What’s the point? It confuses a lot of not-so-geeky beer drinkers and some of these BA beers aren’t even good, ruining a perfectly good beer.

    So, in my opinion, BA has gone too far. I do like a *good* BA beer, from time to time, but would much rather see the breweries focus on making great non-BA beers and only BA for special occasions.

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  4. po4040
    June 8, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

    When it comes to wired/corked bottles, the reason is that most of these ales are bottled conditioned during second fermentation; so it’s not really about the aesthetics. I agree with Justin Bear Republic’s Hop Rod Rye kicks ass. Another Rye IPA to try is Founder’s Reds Rye.

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  5. Chris
    June 8, 2011 @ 12:52 pm

    Generally agree, but I’d like to note that only so many corked/caged bottles can find space in the fridge compared to nearly every other bottle type. It’s occasionally frustrating when they are relegated to the door and I have company, leading me to rotate beer in when one gets poured.

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  6. Justin
    June 8, 2011 @ 12:45 pm

    Regarding Rye IPAs, Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye is truly an amazing beer, and usually not expensive(I live in the DC market).

    http://www.bearrepublic.com/ourbeers.php

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