4 ms·

As someone that just wants a refreshing but quality lager there's nothing for me in this current wave. It's all group think. IPAs and Imperial Stouts everywhere

As someone that just wants a refreshing but quality lager there's nothing for me in this current wave. It's all group think. IPAs and Imperial Stouts everywhere. To the extent that you will find entire categories of beer on beer rating sites with nothing above a 4/5 in that category due to the groupthink that says more flavor = higher ratings. Refreshing, crisp and other such metrics don't count right now due to the current fashion. Overpowering flavor is what we judge beer on.

m-ee 6y ago
I was a beer snob but find myself mostly drinking mexican lagers these days. It's summer and I don't want an 8% imperial stout or a brewery's mediocre first attempt at a hazy IPA
catalogia 6y ago
I have similar preferences and share your frustration. I wonder if part of the problem is that "refreshing and crisp" are hard to quantify. Because you can't put objective numbers to them like IBU or ABV, you can't hope to sell your beer by having "better numbers" than your competitors.
- cat199 6y ago
  think this + undeveloped palates is exactly it. IMHO americans aren't big on 'subtle' when it comes to anything food/drink (or really anything else) for the same reasons - 'really good beef' isn't the same as 'farm kobe with quadruple 5-adjective bacon and 10 cheeses' when it comes to a hamburger, and who wants a 'boring' ice-cream sundae when you can have a 'quadruple caramel chocolate oreo(tm) desertsmasher(tm)' or whatever have you beer wise i tend to prefer english bitter ales which tend to be very well balanced and flavorful but are also subtle and not as 'clear' to explain as 'turbo bloodhound from hell ultra quadruple cascade hops mega super IPA brah' same reason (+ more 'business' focus) we have comic-book branded wines which outline grape ratios in percentages with no thought as to terroir instead of subtly branded wines emphasizing regions/appelations/houses as in europe. same thing is going on with the legal mj market where ultra-high THC percentages and max flavor are the focus etc, etc, etc.
- pfranz 6y ago
  I think another part is that subtle and mild flavors are harder to get clean and consistent. Bold flavors can mask variances and problems.
Qworg 6y ago
A good number of the breweries in Seattle are turning out excellent lagers, pilsners, and sours.
kodt 6y ago
I have see a big resurgence of lagers and especially Pilsners coming from craft breweries recently.
defen 6y ago
Pfriem Pilsner if you're in Oregon, Washington, or maybe San Diego

m-ee 6y ago

I was a beer snob but find myself mostly drinking mexican lagers these days. It's summer and I don't want an 8% imperial stout or a brewery's mediocre first attempt at a hazy IPA

catalogia 6y ago

I have similar preferences and share your frustration. I wonder if part of the problem is that "refreshing and crisp" are hard to quantify. Because you can't put objective numbers to them like IBU or ABV, you can't hope to sell your beer by having "better numbers" than your competitors.

cat199 6y ago
think this + undeveloped palates is exactly it. IMHO americans aren't big on 'subtle' when it comes to anything food/drink (or really anything else) for the same reasons - 'really good beef' isn't the same as 'farm kobe with quadruple 5-adjective bacon and 10 cheeses' when it comes to a hamburger, and who wants a 'boring' ice-cream sundae when you can have a 'quadruple caramel chocolate oreo(tm) desertsmasher(tm)' or whatever have you beer wise i tend to prefer english bitter ales which tend to be very well balanced and flavorful but are also subtle and not as 'clear' to explain as 'turbo bloodhound from hell ultra quadruple cascade hops mega super IPA brah' same reason (+ more 'business' focus) we have comic-book branded wines which outline grape ratios in percentages with no thought as to terroir instead of subtly branded wines emphasizing regions/appelations/houses as in europe. same thing is going on with the legal mj market where ultra-high THC percentages and max flavor are the focus etc, etc, etc.
pfranz 6y ago
I think another part is that subtle and mild flavors are harder to get clean and consistent. Bold flavors can mask variances and problems.

Qworg 6y ago

A good number of the breweries in Seattle are turning out excellent lagers, pilsners, and sours.

kodt 6y ago

I have see a big resurgence of lagers and especially Pilsners coming from craft breweries recently.

defen 6y ago

Pfriem Pilsner if you're in Oregon, Washington, or maybe San Diego