What is good beer? – Revisited. Local beer and the cost of a pint.

2 comments

July 11, 9:02 AM

by Charlie Papazian, Beer Examiner

 

 

German Bierstube, Bamberg, Germany.  ®2008 CharliePapazian

Lou H. says:   There is no single beer for me. It is situational. I don't eat steak every night for dinner and I don't drink the same beer every time I have one…. I am fortunate that I get to travel a great deal around the world with my job. I like to try the local beer and usually try to share some of my homebrew with my hosts. There are some beers, like a Belgian wit or a Rauchbier that really do require the right situation…. Cost is usually an issue at the store, but not at a pub or restaurant…. most imports suffer for their travels. There is a significant difference in a beer imported to the U.S. as compared with the same beer obtained locally…

            Amen and working from the bottom up. Lou, you accurately make the case for local beer.   I have always said the best beer in the world is “at the brewery.”   Literally. That’s why when I’m home I usually enjoy a homebrew. My second choice is to be at a brewery enjoying their tap room beers.  

            There’s a lot of stuff that can happen to beer once it leaves the brewery. Heat accelerates oxidation reactions.   That’s a bad thing, producing paper-like or vegetal characters in the aroma and flavor of beer. It also throws off the malt and hop balance which the brewer worked so hard to achieve.   Agitation is not a good thing either.   It accelerates the aging oxidation process.  

Light is not a beer’s best friend either. Light striking beer initiates a photochemical reaction turning hop compounds into stink compounds, commonly referred to as skunky or more politely, “light-struck.” The reaction happens more quickly in green and clear bottled beers.  

            So yes I will rally around the notion that beer gets better the closer it is to the brewery. Hell, even my own homebrew doesn’t taste as good when I take it on the road to friends and occasions. 

            For those of us who travel, we know Lou speaks the truth. The beer in Germany tastes best in Germany. The beer in Belgium tastes best in Belgium. The beer in the USA tastes best in the USA.

            Speaking of “right situations,” I too have had many a “peak” beer experience enjoying German smoked “Rauchbier” in Bamberg. The ambience, and the character of the beer is unforgettable.   Can it be duplicated in an American brewpub.   The quality of the beer can, but the ambience is a hard one to match. I usually take a half liter of my homebrewed German style Rauchbier to the outdoor picnic table under the trees. That’s pretty close to duplicating beer motherland.

            Lou mentions cost.   Given the choice between a pint of something that is just okay and a pint that is great would you spend a buck more for that better experience? There’s little hesitation to those who are savoring flavor.

   Subscribe   Feed

Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use