‘Craft’ beer: has the thrill gone?
This is really just musing on a comment (by Tottenham beard wearer James Grinter) on my post about the new Beavertown Bloody ‘Ell which if asked if the thrill had now gone from what was originally a much anticipated seasonal beer
Beavertown Bloody ‘Ell: decent, drinkable, but the thrill has gone
That begs the question of whether the thrill has gone from craft beer in general. I’m not really a thrills type of person (its not an emotion usually associated with trade union officers and nor should it be) but if we take it as a highly anticipated beer it makes the point.
I still think the Beavertown Tempus range of beers are cutting edge. I enjoyed sipping a sherry barrel aged barley wine last weekend for example and recently attended a tutored session (by J.Hamilton of Pellicle) on beers that are being produced that cross between wine and beer. This is interesting stuff to taste even if not all of it is to my taste.
But think back to the early Black IPAs (the Kernel release at the Rake is much recalled) or the first Cloudwater DIPA series and perhaps more recently the first beers that were genuinely meant to be murky or the rise of sour beers.
Of course there are still new beer styles, Brut IPA and milkshake beers for example. I try them certainly. Do I seek them out as I did with those Kernel and Cloudwater beers? Not really.
What does this mean? That I’m still pondering
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