It’s been suggested – I’ve said it myself – that we are living in a “golden age” of beer.
Although there have been blips and hiccups along the way, the craft beer movement has electrified the beer industry over the past four-plus decades, especially in the early part of this century. Double-digit growth in the craft brewing industry year after year for a good chunk of time was not shocking – but certainly somewhat surprising in its consistency.
This brewing bull market, of course, had its roots in many places, but a lot of the explosion came from the innovation of brewers. They stretched boundaries, questioned norms, and performed a sort of alchemy, shifting styles in new directions. And at some points, some truly great beers were birthed.
And maybe it’s my age and history with beer that’s giving me pause these days, but lately I’ve been wondering where the next truly great beer is coming from?
Don’t get me wrong, there are some really good beers coming out these days. Some of them I buy regularly. But I have to say that nothing has really “tripped my trigger” (as my niece Mary Beth from Kentucky likes to say).
We can quibble about what qualifies as “great.” That’s subjective of course. But while a consensus of Beer Advocate might give some weight to certain beers, I don’t always trust the vox populi. Popular things can be great, but I find that most fashionable or well-received items (be they movies, music, books or food) are often middling at best. This actually makes sense logically, and honestly, there is nothing wrong with something that is “pretty good.”
I also feel that to be truly great, a beer has to stand the test of time. This is particularly true in my case, as I tend to get overly excited by a new, cool thing. I have declared many a beer to be “great” (maybe even in this column), only to reassess its luster at a later date. Part of this is the mutability of our palates, but part of it is my overzealous attitude about finding a great beer.
For quite a while back in the day, the holy grail of beer was Westvletren 12, a fantastic quad from the famed Trappist brewery in Belgium. It’s still ranked eminently high, of course, as it really is a great beer. I’ve had it and concur with the general opinion of it. For my money, however, Trappistes Rochefort 10 (also a quad) is better, but both are phenomenal. And taste is subjective, but I feel that part of the allure of Westie 12 was its unavailability. Since more people have had access to it over the past decade, some of the shine has come off the apple.
Both those beers were originally brewed in the middle part of the previous century, so they’re both at least 75 years old. And I’m certainly not saying there have been no great beers since then; there have been plenty. I’ve had some that I consider preeminent, but none in the past decade or so. Yet we must admit there never before has been the sheer amount of good beers we see today, so that counts for something, quantity-wise.
But how many new ones are great? So today I’m wondering if we are actually now living in a Silver Age of beer, not golden. What are your thoughts? Have you had any truly great new beers in the past decade? They can be any style. Let me know at geolenker@yahoo.com.
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