Expectations

We all have expectations.  Sometimes outcomes don't meet our expectations and we end up feeling disappointed.  Other times, the outcome exceed our expectations.  Brewing is no exception.  I can tell you from experience that it didn't take long for me to go from having low (no) expectations of my brewing to high expectations.

My shift in expectations was so subtle, I have difficulty in determining when it happened.  Let me explain.  Before my first brew, I had read many different stories about first-time brewers and talked to people I knew who had interesting experiences with beer making.  Some had positive experiences, others had experiences that were less than stellar.  I had determined that there seemed to be some kind of magic and luck required to make beer.  So I went into my beer making experience with a "nothing-to-lose" mentality.   After my first draft turned out to taste pretty good, I thought I would give it another shot.  I wondered if lightning would strike the same place twice.  Could I produce something drinkable again?  Sure enough, my second batch tasted as good as the first.  A third batch led to a fourth batch, and so on.  However, somewhere after a half-dozen batches, I made a beer that didn't measure up.  It was ok, just not great.  A beer being "ok" would have been fine if it had been one of my first few batches, but not now, having made a handful of decent brews.  Slowly, without realizing it, my expectations of the beer I was capable of making had changed.

I have accepted this shift as part of the natural progression of getting better at anything, not just brewing.  It's why professional golfers get made after missing a long putt, chefs throw away perfectly good cakes, and why I frowned after taking a sip of a perfectly acceptable beer.  It was less than expected.  It didn't measure up.  The potential was not achieved.  Of course, there are two ways of managing my expectations.  The first is to change (i.e. lower) my expectations so that even a brew that is mediocre makes me happy.  Everything that Picasso painted wasn't a masterpiece.  Even master brewers make beers that fail to measure up to their expectations yet would make most beer drinkers happy.  The second option is to keep striving to meet our own expectations.  Keep reaching for something that is within my reach, yet still stretches my abilities.  This is how progress is made in all things, now just brewing.  Both of these options have a place in our lives.  The first is about contentedness, the second about persistence.  Together they are about living.

Cheers

How Much?

So when did paying $20 for a bottle of beer seem ok to me?  I was recently staring at a bottle of brew at the local liquor store priced at $29.99 and was considering whether I should buy it.

A couple of days ago, I was standing in front of a four-pack of New Holland Brewing's Dragon's Milk thinking about buying this interesting brew.  I was already holding another six pack that was priced at $14.  I thought "I can't walk out of the store with $30 worth of beer that will be gone in a couple of weeks."  How did it get to this?

It wasn't that long ago that I refused to pay more than $12 for a twelve-pack.  Paying more than $7 for a six-pack seemed excessive in my not-so-distant past.  However, after I started brewing beer, my horizons began expanding; and so did my beer drinking budget.  I realized that craft brewers were producing amazing beer, but the prices were much higher than what I was used to.  For example, I found that I really enjoy a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout that costs $16 for a four-pack.  Giddyup!  Over the holidays, I discovered that Goose Island makes a wonderful beer called Sophie.  We now have a relationship that costs me $3 a bottle.  Sinful!  There was a time in my life when ten bucks would buy a case of Miller High Life, and oh, what a high life it was!  Truly, the champagne of beers!  Now $10 gives me a Friday night with two or three bottles of excellence, not twenty-four cans of mediocrity.  I used to be such a cheap date.

Some of you may be thinking that paying $3 - $4 for a bottle of beer is a pittance.  Maybe you went beyond the pale a long time ago and can't seem to find pleasure in a beer that costs less than $15 for a six-pack.  I am beginning to understand how this happens.  Wine drinkers would probably laugh at me.  A nice Cabernet Sauvignon would easily set you back $50.  There are ten different bottles of wine at my local grocery store whose price exceeds $100 a bottle.  Wine drinkers would tell me to blow the dust out of my wallet and pay for some quality.  However, old habits die hard and I am still trying to figure out where my boundaries lie.

As I stand in the beer aisle, various thoughts swirl through my mind as I ponder my next purchase.  Quality does not come cheap, I remind myself.  I grab a four-pack of an interesting looking stout and walk past the clear Miller High Life bottles with a smile on my face and a twenty dollar bill in my hand.

Cheers!

America’s Beer Renaissance: Consumer Choice and Variety in the U.S. Beer Market

What a wonderful time to be a beer drinker!  America is truly in the midst of a beer renaissance.    The number of breweries in the U.S. has risen from 89 in 1980 to 2,538 in June 2013*.  That's a 27-fold increase in less than 35 years!  You don't have to be a statistician to understand this growth though - simply look around at the number of local breweries popping up in your town or the number of brands/styles of beer available in the grocery stores you frequent.  At a grocery store near my house, there are close to fifty different craft beers from which to choose.  Some of them are brewed within 10 miles of the store, many more within 100 miles.  The challenge for today's beer drinker has changed from finding good beer to drink, to deciding which beer to drink.  With so many choices, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. However, several conditions have changed in the last 35 years that favor the beer drinker.

1. Quality:  The overall quality of beer being sold today is excellent so it's difficult to make a bad choice - even when staring at a wall of six-packs.  Equipment, knowledge, techniques and accessibility to high quality ingredients have evolved to the point where many brewers can produce a beer of superb quality.
2. Information:  The internet has allowed people to share ideas, thoughts, and opinions regarding their experiences about any beer on the market.  In addition, most breweries offer websites that provide information including the ingredients and techniques involved in making a particular brew, which allows a consumer to make an informed purchasing decision.  Lastly, due to the popularity of craft beer, many liquor stores offer beer tastings in an effort to inform their customers about the wonderful qualities of the new beers that hit the shelves every day.  All of this information allows a beer drinker to be make better decisions about what they choose to drink.  This leads to a better overall beer experience for the consumer.
3. People's Taste:  As consumers are exposed to better products, their tastes evolve.  Starbucks proved that one's experience drinking coffee can be far more enjoyable than that which many would have thought possible just 25 years earlier.  As consumers tried great coffee, they began to appreciate the complexity and nuances that weren't available with inferior java presented to them before Starbucks.  This concept has even trickled down to fast-food restaurants.  Drive-through joints no long simply offer consumers a simple hamburger.  Instead, these places are offering the public gourmet burgers with bacon, fancy cheeses, high-quality buns and flavorful sauces in an effort to improve a customer's eating experience.  Brewers have realized that consumers feel the same way about beer.  Once a person is exposed to fresh craft beers, it is difficult to go back to drinking watered-down, mass-produced beer.  Consumers are looking for interesting choices in their beer aisle and the market has responded with high quality brews.

Yes - we are in the midst of a beer renaissance.  Grab your glass and rejoice!


*Data obtained from the Brewers Association website

Brewing Resolutions

As a homebrewer, one of the biggest challenges I face is deciding what kind of beer to brew next.  There are so many beer styles vying for my attention including Porters, Stouts, IPAs, Wheat Beers and on and on.  With so many choices, sometimes I have difficulty deciding how I should invest my money and time when purchasing ingredients for a new batch of beer.

Since I started brewing my own beer two years ago, I have invested my resources exploring different styles of beer in order to better understand the ingredients used and techniques utilized specific to that particular brew.  This had lead me to making a Belgian White, Irish Stout, and an IPA among many others.  With this approach, I gained a general understanding and appreciation of the craft of making beer, but I still felt as though I couldn't speak intelligently about any one style or region.

With a new year, I felt that I needed to take a different tack when approaching my brewing over the next twelve months.  After careful deliberation, I decided that for the next year I would focus on only one style or region in order to allow me to gain a deeper understanding of a specific variety of brewing.  I believe that in order to more fully appreciate a specific style/region, I need to focus on that style/region for an extended period of time.  After several years of applying this approach, I am hoping that the breadth of my knowledge will compliment its depth.

For the calendar year 2014, I decided to pursue the beers of Belgium.  I chose Belgium for the following reasons:

1. Belgium is well known for their history in making great beers and therefore warrants deeper study.
2. One of the beers I have brewed, a Belgium Grand Cru, was one of my favorite beers that I have made to date.  I want to explore other beers from this region to see if I would have a similar level of enjoyment.
3. Belgium beers are very approachable beers that many people enjoy.  Brewing Belgium styles will allow me to share the beers crafted over the next year with more people - not just beer junkies.   

In order to more fully extract (pun intended) the most from my exploration of Belgium beers during 2014, I intend to devote time to read about the history, beer styles, and techniques involved in the brewing of Belgium beers.  In addition, I plan to brew multiple batches of beer in a Belgium style so that I can fully appreciate the country that has contributed so much to the heritage of beer.  

By continuing with this approach in future years, I hope to widen my knowledge of brewing one style/region at a time.  While this approach may not work for everyone, I feel confident that this structured approach will allow me to grow in my knowledge while still enjoying the freedom and creativity that comes with this wonderful hobby.

Cheers!