Wonderful Things

It feels a little petty, on this 26th day of June, to be mentioning anything as base as beer. This date will be remembered along with some biggies (May 17, 1954, August 6, 1965, June 28, 1968) as watershed moments in the history of freedom in the United States. Congratulations to the Supreme Court and all those who committed "countless small acts of courage" to bring it to fruition.

Session IPAs
On the other hand, this is a beer blog, and I have a few items to mention. First off, the latest podcast is live. Today Patrick and I address session IPAs. Are they an actual, distinct style, or merely pales ales dressed up in marketing gloss to sell to the rubes? We speak to three brewers who've made these beers to discover the real story. (There's a weird gap in the middle, but don't despair, it's just poor production on our part--the pod continues eventually.)

By the way, the podcast is now available on iTunes. I encourage everyone to subscribe--you won't regret it! 


The Trickiness of Beer Styles
Next, I'd like to direct you to a couple of my posts at All About Beer.  First we have the troublesome question declaring whether a particular American beer has been "brewed to style." It ain't as easy as it looks.

And more importantly, styles change—just like language. You may insist until the end of time that “hopefully,” an adverb, should never begin a sentence—but that battle is long lost. Language moves on, and so must grammar pedants (full disclosure: I am one). Until the 1950s, when they went extinct for a time the witbiers made in Hoegaarden were wild ales, something like young lambic. That changed when Pierre Celis revived them a decade later. So should we insist that breweries are doing it all wrong now?

Hard Root Beer?
Finally, allow me to direct you to a treatment a phenomenon that is sweeping the nation--hard root beers. Yup, they're a thing.

The question that leaps to my mind is this: do people love Not Your Father’s Root Beer because they love it, or because they’re impressed with the sleight-of-hand at play? It’s made by a brewery and called a beer but tastes exactly like a root beer. Also: it tastes exactly like a root beer but, giggle, it’s boozy! Those are elements of novelty that have buoyed every malternative since the 1980s.

You may not be surprised to hear where I land on that one.

Have a nice weekend, everyone. And to my poor brethren in the Pacific Northwest--find yourself a shady patch and try to stay cool. It's going to be India hot out there.