It started innocently enough. Boak and Bailey repeated approvingly my comment that "surfing along with the flavours or things that cannot be controlled is the hallmark of an artisan." I had been thinking of Jeff's transcription of his interview with Jean Van Roy when I commented about hop oil being a cousin to Velveeta cheese. Makes sense, no?
What ensured was an interesting and odd line of tweets. And things took off in an interesting direction. I was quite surprised by the idealism that good beer can be pure and perfect. I always thought good things express many things including the work of time itself as well as the inevitability of human foible. Jeff shared an observation from John Keeling of Fuller's, that sometimes the relationship you have with a beer over time is like when friends get haircuts - "you recognize the person, but he's not identical." I like it. I believe good things display aspects of their goodness in different ways over time. No point in time is better as long as the goodness still is there.
But this means that there is an arc over time. Good beer taste one way young and another old. Both have their charms. And it means as the arc passes, there is a also width to the range of variables which may be displayed at any point in time as well as at the same point. All real food is like this. For me, Saison Dupont is a perfect example. Every time it seems different but still itself. Like someone you know with new stories to tell. Sure, I have changed and the context, too, but it's not just me. The beer that has morphed.
When industrial brewers - or, for that matter, any brewers who believes that beer should only taste as they conceive - demand our obedience we are being asked to believe. To believe there was a mythical big bang of flavour when it was truer and more perfect is to believe that you are not a participant in the process.
Comments
Simon - January 19, 2012 6:45 AM
And that is the wonder of cask ale, always changing, subject to the cellarman and time. It can be inconsistent, it can be bad, but the changing flavours mean when it all comes together it can be world class.
See also Orval.
Alan - January 19, 2012 8:26 AM
That's the idea. Let's you say:
"Orval, now that's a beer with an arc."
"A hell of an arc"
"And wide"
"Right some wide"
Pivní Filosof - January 19, 2012 9:57 AM
I think this is a bit like with music. When you were younger you loved stuff that you might still like today, but not so much, or you might even think it's downright rubbish. At the same time you discover new things or rediscover stuff you believe was boring or downright crap when you were young, but that know you have lived enough to understand. It's pretty much the same with beers.
Jeff Alworth - January 19, 2012 1:04 PM
I couldn't tweet this due to space, but I thought you might like to see the whole quote. Based on that tweet-thread, you will feel a wash of vindication as one of the world's great brewer's has your back. John Keeling, Head Brewer at Fuller's:
"What I want from London Pride—or any Fuller’s beer—is that when you order a pint of it, I want you to recognize it as London Pride. Yes, I want it to occasionally surprise you—today it’s a little bit more malty or caramelly or hoppy or fragrant or whatever—so that you are having a dialogue with that beer. You’re noticing things about that beer and it interests you and involves you because of that. And that’s really what we call character. So when you go into a pub and order a pint of London Pride, you drink it and you recognize it and you make a note of all these things. To me, it’s exactly the same as walking into a bar and noticing your friend at the bar has had a haircut. He’s still your friend, he just looks a little bit different today. It’s the same as going up to the bar, ordering London Pride and going, 'Oh, can you pick out some orange notes in there?' You can never make batches of beer that are exactly the same no matter how good you are, and in fact, to try to make them exactly the same, that means taking flavors out because they’re so hard to manage on that consistent basis. That’s why companies that want consistency above all do not produce very flavorsome beers."
Ethan - January 19, 2012 3:00 PM
Jeff, that quote could be our brewery; fantastic. Thanks for posting it. "That’s why companies that want consistency above all do not produce very flavorsome beers." could not be a better explanation of why BudMillerCoors is bland.
Pivní Filosof - January 20, 2012 2:09 AM
Many people seem to confuse consistency with uniformity, and they are not the same thing. Changes will happen and they are welcome, but only within a certain range. On the other hand, many a micro brewer uses the "craft beers come out always different" thing as an excuse to hide their ineptitude.
Manjit Gogoi - January 20, 2012 3:45 AM
good beer is not available everywhere...and also many bars do not provide fresh beer to its customers...there are few bars especially here in India which serves fresh beer to its customers...i love to have fresh beer and also bars which gives you a chance to choose the flavour of the beer which you want to drink and enjoy..
http://manjitgogoi88.blogspot.com/
Alan - January 20, 2012 7:46 AM
PF: who decides what degree of variation is acceptable? When I was in Poland in 1991-92, beers were notoriously variable. I had a Żywiec pale lager that one week seemed to have the hops replaced by cloves. On the other hand, I have had many "what do you think of this tweek" brew pub beers.
Neither of these scenarios are what is being discussed, however. "Range" for me means markers of a beer or a brewer. Some elements may shift and certainly they alter over time but the markers have to be there.