Craft Beer: Redrawing the battle lines

For the past couple generations of beer drinkers, the differences between a good beer and a cheap beer were obvious. Good beers were usually ales which came in an amber bottle, had some hop aroma and flavors, a varying range of color, actual flavor, were drank warm and could be expensive. Cheap beers were always yellow lagers, usually available in a can, were served too cold to taste, tasted poor when warm or sober and were, well, cheap. Much like American politics, there was a clear line in the sand and each side’s members were firm in their beliefs.

The brewers of cheap beers, i.e. Coors, Anheuser-Busch, Labatt and Miller, however, have stepped up their game in response to the exploding popularity of craft beer. I haven’t seen a beer commercial with a bikini in it for too long now, instead they all focus on the quality of their malted barley, their imported hop aroma and their long standing history of integrity in brewing. What are those Michelob people talking about “crafting a better beer?” Are we being fooled by multi-million dollar ad campaigns or is Michelob actually brewing a solid Dunkel Weisse?

Tonight I decided to pony up and try a few of these macro produced micros. I’ve just decided beer should be judged on its own perceivable merits rather than by my preconceived artisanal ideologies. I figure I’m an open-minded reflexive thinker; besides, the industry is rapidly changing and I don’t want to be left out. The lines between craft and corporate really are becoming blurred, and every brewery has the same intentions at heart: selling beer.

American Pale Ale is my favorite style of beer. Its nearly unitary resolve of citrus hop nose, medium malt backbone and assertive crisp bitterness calls to my senses no matter what the dish or season. Michelob’s Pale ale claims Yakima Valley, WA dry hop additions over an English style malt bill. The actual nose, however, had much more subtle malt sweetness. I could, however, smell and actually taste hops. In fact, the tenuous body left quite a bit of bitterness exposed, bravo! No Sierra Nevada, but it definitely stands on its own qualities.

The Dunkel Weisse dark wheat ale was also surprising. Banana and clove nose with a persistent cream-tan head, just like a real German. The color was possibly a little light, but the flavors were layered starting with sweet, pasty malt and yeast textures then finishing dry, with fruity-esters and humble but resolved roasty bitterness.

The last two I tried were porters from Michelob (owned by A.B. who is now owned my Belgium’s InBev) and Canada’s Labatt. Both were drinkable, the Michelob even enjoyable.

So what’s going on here? A lot of beer drinkers and brewers are confused, even miffed. So before you too get up in arms, let’s consider the new world of beer that this trend represents. No longer does drinking a product brewed by A.B. mean you are drinking swill, and why should it? We all know drinking a craft produced beer does not necessarily mean you’re drinking a good tasting product. Were we really ignorant enough to believe just because Bud and Coors Lite tastes like dirty penny tea these brewers couldn’t construct a good batch of ale? Contrary to common knowledge, the brewers of A.B., Coors, Molson, Labatt and others are arguably the best in the business and it’s about time they bottled a product the epicurean can enjoy.

Need craft beer fans or producers worry? Hardy! The next age of beer is finally here, old traditions have ended and new curvy lines are being sketched, redrawn and erased. Labatt pushing a porter is pretty good news to me. A.B. releasing an American Ale, Michelob advertising a Pale Ale – sounds to me like we won! Prohibition homogenized beer selection in the U.S., people eventually became bored with swilly yellow fizz drinks, the craft beer revolution offered the antonym alternative and now the big boys are listening. Welcome eclecticism! Don’t mistake me, there’s obviously big differences between quality craft beer and these A.B. imitations, however, the resemblance is significant: consumers are trending toward flavorful beers.

Incidentally, I smell a backlash in the near future. If craft breweries want to stay craft, they best dearly guard the attributes which separate them from corporate powers, namely dynamic and experimental brewing. The craft journey has gotten us to this point: bourbon barrel aged monsters, triple dry-hopped megaliths but also rejuvenated session beers, vinous acidic sippers, style bending ingredient infusions and bacteria inoculated cellar dwellers. Corporate brewers have come in on the ground floor with pales, wheats, porters and stout – but they could quickly climb. One thing they cannot do, however, is take a chance. That’s what we can still only ask from our craft brewers – break the rules and let’s see if anyone ever figures it out. That sounds like an artist to me, not a machine.