I wrote this in the year end review but I am not sure I know what I mean or even if I mean it:
…bigger craft brewers and even some regionals are making interesting beers which are not bombs. Lew recently noted both Magic Hat Odd Notion Fall ’09 and Narragansett Porter both of which I also found to be stunning for their value as well as their elegance. Yesterday, Andy was thankful for well crafted simplicity. Expect 2009 to be remembered for how we learned that cacophony in glass is not a brewers or a drinker’s “go to” brew.
I think by I mean the opposite of a big bomb. When I used to home brew, I was well aware that it was far easier to make a bigger porter with about 6 sorts of dark malt and a few extra dark sugars than to make a good brew with only one or two pale malts. Bombastic was an entry level approach to tasty beer. Lots of interesting stuff going on. But simplicity should also not mean boring. It should mean balanced where are one or two showpiece ingredients. McAuslen’s smooth oatmeal stout. The bread crust graininess of a Hook Norton Haymaker. The white pepper in Fantome saison. I am having a Margriet by Het Anker right now and I’d call that simple – quenching, lemony, peppery, herbal and creamy but also simple without being basic. Maybe that is pushing it, however.
Simplicity should mean easier, too. You don’t need to pair even if you can eat and drink. You should also not be sent on a quest. An interesting discussion has broken out at Zak Avery’s place. In which I am supporting the validity of good beer at home. Beer should not only be simple but having beer should be simple. Is that too much to ask?
[Original comments…]
Stan Hieronymus – January 6, 2010 10:29 PM
http://www.appellationbeer.com/blog
Do you think it matters that the beer you drink at home may not taste the same as it does closer to where it is brewed?
Alan – January 6, 2010 10:51 PM
Is “not the same” better or worse? What is the character or time and motion upon beer? Liking blue cheese as I do I do not presume that local is always superior though it may be different. And when I am the pack mule bringing the beer within days or hours from the brewer, is the difference even identifiable?
Tim – January 6, 2010 11:49 PM
http://strngbrew.blogspot.com/
I tried to come up with something profound… all I can write is that for all its complexity this glass of St. Bernardus Abt is quite a simple pleasure.
Alan – January 6, 2010 11:51 PM
Can we not respect both simplicity and complexity?
Pivní Filosof – January 7, 2010 3:48 AM
http://www.pivni-filosof.com/
The first and most important thing beer has to be is good. (what is good beer, of course, is very much open to discussion)
There are moments for a simple beer and there are moments for a complex beer. There are moments for a nice session brew and there are moments for a 15%ABV monster. As long as the beer is good, everything goes.
Living in the Czech Rep. I’m spoilt for choice when it comes to good session beers, but that is not the case in many other countries, where micro brewers prefer to brew Imperial Whatevers for several reasons, one of them being that they are easier to brew.
As for local vs “imported”. Once again, if the local beer is good, given the choice between two similar beers, I would pick the local, not so much because of quality issues, but because I will want to support the local brewery.