Blog Tracker
04-11-2016, 11:12
Visit the Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog site (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/11/session-117-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/)
*http://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bloggs_cumulo.jpg?resize=650%2C433For the 117th edition of The Session our host Csaba Babak asks us to ‘capture ONE*thing*you think we will see MORE of with an explanation of*the idea (http://beermeansbusiness.com/2016/10/25/the-session-117-announcement-more-more-more/)’ — admirably simple and clear!We couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to revisit our predictions for 2016 from last Christmas (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/12/predictions-resolutions-for-2016/):
Another big brewery takeover of a British craft brewery. (Not yet.)
More beers making a feature of malt, herbs and actual fruit. (Kind of.)
Birmingham goes ‘craft’. (Also kind of.)
A mainstream hazy beer. (Not yet.)
We put forward that last one as a ‘flyer’ but it*doesn’t feel as ‘out there’ as*it did even ten months ago. CAMRA has made (let’s word this carefully) small gestures towards acknowledging unfined beer (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/10/smoke-signals-not-stuck-mud-honest/). Most of the canned IPAs and pale ales we’ve picked up lately have poured hazy and the people we’ve been drinking with — not beer geeks — weren’t*appalled, if they even noticed. ‘New England IPA’, of which cloudiness is a key characteristic, has become the sub-style of the day (http://www.magicrockbrewing.com/blog/hypnotist-haze-modern-new-england-style-ipa/). As we said back in December 2015, cloudiness is great for marketing people because it’s a verifiable and easy-to-spot point of difference which is already being exploited by big cider makers.
So, we’re going to refine our original prediction to sidestep debates about wheat beer: we expect to see the UK launch of at least one mainstream, hazy pale ale*or lager*from a larger brewery and, in general, more deliberately hazy or cloudy beer on sale outside specialist venues. Bearing in mind it’s taken John Smith’s et al 25 years to get on the golden ale bandwagon it might not be through one of those really big brands but we can definitely imagine seeing something on the ale shelves in a supermarket, perhaps from within the Marston’s empire.
Now, this isn’t something we’re*wishing for — it’s just our read of the way the wind is blowing. Whether the clouds it is bringing are fluffy, friendly ones or the dark harbingers of a storm probably depends on your point of view.
Session #117: With a Chance of Meatballs (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/11/session-117-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/11/session-117-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/)
*http://i1.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bloggs_cumulo.jpg?resize=650%2C433For the 117th edition of The Session our host Csaba Babak asks us to ‘capture ONE*thing*you think we will see MORE of with an explanation of*the idea (http://beermeansbusiness.com/2016/10/25/the-session-117-announcement-more-more-more/)’ — admirably simple and clear!We couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to revisit our predictions for 2016 from last Christmas (http://boakandbailey.com/2015/12/predictions-resolutions-for-2016/):
Another big brewery takeover of a British craft brewery. (Not yet.)
More beers making a feature of malt, herbs and actual fruit. (Kind of.)
Birmingham goes ‘craft’. (Also kind of.)
A mainstream hazy beer. (Not yet.)
We put forward that last one as a ‘flyer’ but it*doesn’t feel as ‘out there’ as*it did even ten months ago. CAMRA has made (let’s word this carefully) small gestures towards acknowledging unfined beer (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/10/smoke-signals-not-stuck-mud-honest/). Most of the canned IPAs and pale ales we’ve picked up lately have poured hazy and the people we’ve been drinking with — not beer geeks — weren’t*appalled, if they even noticed. ‘New England IPA’, of which cloudiness is a key characteristic, has become the sub-style of the day (http://www.magicrockbrewing.com/blog/hypnotist-haze-modern-new-england-style-ipa/). As we said back in December 2015, cloudiness is great for marketing people because it’s a verifiable and easy-to-spot point of difference which is already being exploited by big cider makers.
So, we’re going to refine our original prediction to sidestep debates about wheat beer: we expect to see the UK launch of at least one mainstream, hazy pale ale*or lager*from a larger brewery and, in general, more deliberately hazy or cloudy beer on sale outside specialist venues. Bearing in mind it’s taken John Smith’s et al 25 years to get on the golden ale bandwagon it might not be through one of those really big brands but we can definitely imagine seeing something on the ale shelves in a supermarket, perhaps from within the Marston’s empire.
Now, this isn’t something we’re*wishing for — it’s just our read of the way the wind is blowing. Whether the clouds it is bringing are fluffy, friendly ones or the dark harbingers of a storm probably depends on your point of view.
Session #117: With a Chance of Meatballs (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/11/session-117-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (http://boakandbailey.com)
More... (http://boakandbailey.com/2016/11/session-117-with-a-chance-of-meatballs/)