Drinkability of Beer A Two-Edged Sword Michael J. Lewis University of California Davis Extension.

Drinkability: the Holy Grail of the brewers’ art

Anticipation

Reality

Drinkability is also about the last impression not just the first one

Drinkability: Traditional properties: Not satiating but more-ish Crisp not heavy Tasty but not fatiguing Elegant not rough Satisfying but another’s OK The volume beer The session beer The sociable beer

Drinkability: Traditional properties Not satiating but more-ish Crisp not heavy Tasty but not fatiguing Elegant not rough Satisfying but another’s OK Consumer driven The volume beer The session beer The sociable beer The binge beer? A potential dilemma.

A 5% ABV beer, highly drinkable, advertised as cheap

Drinkability: Craft-brewing style: Liked or preferred beer. Different, unusual or challenging. Distinctive, inventive. Rare or even unique. Big, alcoholic, bitter. The low-volume beer The sitting-down beer

Drinkability: Craft-brewing properties Liked or preferred beer. Different, unusual or challenging. Distinctive, inventive. Rare or even unique. Big, alcoholic, bitter. Will the consumer follow along? The low-volume beer The sitting-down beer The insobriety beer? A potential dilemma.

Brewers’ many malt choices…..

And hop choices And yeast choices And processing choices

Yielding …. many different results…….

Stout: 9.2 ABV 60 IBUs 7 malts

Adventures & escapes to the extreme

Adventures at the extremes. Lites Ultra lo-cal Ultra lo-carb Spiced Citrus Non-beer beers Competition Ultra high gravity High alcohol Spiced and flavored Ultra-bitter Ultra-black Barrel aged Fresh-hop Spontaneous Sour Brettanomyces

An Adventurer: (a metaphor)

Adventures at the extremes. Lites Ultra lo-cal Ultra lo-carb Spiced Citrus Non-beer beers Ultra high gravity High alcohol Spiced and flavored Ultra-bitter Ultra-black Barrel aged Fresh-hop Spontaneous Brettanomyces Is the consumer well served by boredom or by terror? Is the producer? Who is making these beers & for whom?

“One great thing about [extreme brewing] …. if the beers suck … people have nothing to compare them to”

Is Extreme Beer the space in the market? Have all the Hop-Heads been found? How many Rare-Beer men are there?

Plenty of competition In the ale space

And yet: After 30 years in the marketplace Constant press exposure Explosive growth in the number of breweries Two generations of new beer drinkers Enormous shelf space in stores A devoted following of enthusiasts We make and sell: Less than 1 in 20 beers consumed in this country 25% of those are made by one brewer We have grown no (new) regional breweries.

You earn customers 12 ounces at a time….. but

….You lose customers by the six-pack.

By: Steve Hamburg Maybe it’s time to think about …… Drinkability. Even craft session beers. Even craft-brewed lagers

This is from an article In: Fine Cooking By: Stephen Beaumont Called: In Defense of Lager …lagers seem poised to make their escape from craft beer purgatory””

Brewers’ choices ….. Plenty of scope for excellence

Enjoyable Elegant Smooth Balanced More-ish Flavorful Delicious Sociable

Plenty of scope: Enjoyable Elegant Smooth Balanced More-ish Flavorful Delicious Sociabl e Subtle/refined Tasty/distinctive Satisfying not Satiating

And a toast to craft brewed lagers ……. Enjoyable Elegant Smooth Balanced More-ish Flavorful Delicious Sociable

Presentation shows class!! (Not cold, flat, hazy, bitter beer served in jam jars!!)

At the end of the day: Drinkability of beer is about our customers their enjoyment and more than a few …...

Masterbrewer class of 2010

Drinkability is the name of the game! I’m always ready for a session --- how about you?

Diolch yn fawr iawn The End. Cheers! Best wishes and thanks!

QC

FAQ in an English “pub”: Where’s the beer ?

It ain’t ! 5% alc!!

Extreme Light Timid Fragile Scaredy-cat Blah Vanishing Hiding Prissy Exact Fussy Naive Extreme Heavy Brash Robust Crush Overwhelm Demand Insist Submit Compete Outlandish Unwise

If the paintings suck ….

Not so much in the craft session-beer space.