My Rant On The Beer Wars

So, I am one of the people out there that calls myself a Craft Beer Enthusiast. I buy everything released from my favorite breweries and even over priced bombers, collaborations, and the like just because I want to be able to talk about what is new and everything that is going on with the beer world. More often than not the beers are just ok at best. There are some truly amazing beers that come out nowadays, and those are the ones I am hunting for.

Collaboration beers are just something cool to say you have had. You can hold it above other beer drinkers heads like a badge of honor. I also use programs like untappd to show off how many more kinds of beer I have had than you or anyone else looking at my profile. I feel that the wider variety and the more rare beers I have, the cooler I am... Yeah... About that...

Now, I do not go out and buy beers from Bud, Miller, and Coors intentionally or without good reason. I know they own pretty much every company out there collectively so when I pick up a bottle of beer from Malaysia that I have never heard of or had before, I come to terms with the fact that I may have just put a little money into their pockets. Even with domestic brands, without doing research do you really know who is getting your money?

One of the things that really bothers me with these Beer Wars is the fact that there are comments like this.

If only Budweiser would put as much care and passion into their beer as the do their Super Bowl ads.

I don't really think they get the picture of what is going on. Sure, you may not want to drink a flavorless, American adjunct lager but they are doing exactly what they set out to do and nothing more. Make Beer. They never said they were out to be the most flavorful beer or they were going to be the newest and most innovated brewery in the world. No. Again, They Just Make Beer. Granted I do not condone or agree with their practices, but that is another story all together and what I feel the Beer Wars are actually about.

Like I posted yesterday from 1001 Beers,

Surely there are more challenging, rewarding beers? Yes, but Bud never pretends to be something that it isn't: this is a beer about refreshment and drinkability, not for sipping out of a china teacup with a pinkie extended.

Who knows, maybe I got the message wrong and this is actually a fight against flavor and not the multi-billion dollar corporations trying to destroy any "competition" in their way because they are starting to lose more and more money each year to a growing segment of the market.

Though, either way I feel that if you want to bash a beer because it does not taste the way you think a beer should, speak with your wallet not your mouth. There are a ton of other beers out there and even a ton of bad craft beers. There is no denying that. Care and Passion mean nothing if your idea of a good beer is to make a sub par base beer and add more alcohol or a whole harvest worth of hop growth plus whatever kind of oak and any other random ingredient you can get your hands on. That does not make you craft beer. That does not make your product better or even good.

Though, there are people out there that do understand the real situation. Even if people that make comments like the ones prior understand it, they do not go about showing it in the right ways. Even when it comes down to things like the Craft vs Crafty debate, but I will not be getting into that. Here is a response from Randy on my review of Budweiser Black Crown.

Good review. I'd like to be "beerlitically correct" and say something like, "I love beer and I will not turn down any beer that is good", but I will not try this. Even though your description appears as if this beer is pretty decent, I will not buy it for three reasons: 1. Beer Wars opened my eyes to how this company (and other macros) try to destroy other smaller mom & pop companies who are passionate about beer. 2. They seem to want to go about innovation by stealing ideas of the innovative. 3. There are way too many other awesome beers out there for me to settle for their feeble attempt to get in on the growing craft beer market.

IMO, as far as I am concerned they have dammed themselves. I will not knowingly (I say that because they are sneaky as snakes and one has to be really careful when buying beer to find out who owns it) support them ever. Maybe my opinion can be changed if they were to just bow down to the craft beer passionates and try to let them be without trying to copy them and force them out. What they do is nothing more than beer gentrification. They can't play in the sandbox because they will not be content with craft beer being probably less than 10% of the industry and they own WELL over a third and closer to 40% of the industry.

Screw ABInbev and every thing they do. I respect them for creating a massively successful business, but I won't be supporting.

Great review tho ;-)

This, to me, sounds like someone who actually gets the real issues we should be fighting. He points out that even though I say the beer is decent, he will not support it for good reasons. He did not come out and say, "Budweiser is crap! It tastes like ass and you would be better off drinking water!", he actually has valid claims and reason as to why he will not support that company and I agree and respect his decision.

Though, what I think does not matter because I am just a lowly craft beer drinker that wants to see change but the things being decided on in our community by the ones who actually have the power are things such as, "Does this brewery use traditional methods? Are they owned xx amount by this company? Do they make more money in house than out of house?" etc.... etc.... etc....

Why don't they spend this time to educate drinkers. Teach them about good beer. Teach them about what actually goes into the process, the business and give them good reasons why they should follow you. I think that would make sense? There are a lot of people out there than run with this stance. Someone even made this cool little map.

Interactive Map Of The Below Image



I borrowed it from Philip H. Howard Associate Professor, Michigan State University. This was all over twitter a while back. He has a lot of cool things on the site linked below. Not only about the beer industry but wine, soda, coffee, etc as well. Check it out. This one may be a little old as things have changed in such a little time but consider that since this was made BMC has acquired more companies.

There are other maps like this out there. A simple form of education that people will look at. Though, there are a ton of craft beer drinkers out there today that will buy and seek beers just because they are labeled rare but they will not know anything about the style, the brewery, or the beer itself. They are just caught up in the movement. Great for business but not for the cause.

There are many beers out there that are very limited that I want but I think the idea of being put into a raffle for a chance to buy the beer is just purely dumb. For other releases the parties and such they throw for them sound like a great idea and great time but then again, I am not the kind of person who will stand in line for 12 hours or so after the event just to buy the beer...

I know there is probably more to it but if you want beer that much I am sure there are comparable beers out there and you would only have to wait for the bartender to pour it for you. And think about how many you could drink in that time as well...

I understand that part of the mission may to be to pull people away from "Crap Beer" and turn them onto "Craft" but sometimes you have to let things take their course. Introduce people to beers based on what you know they like. Don't just throw IPA after IPA or Stout after Stout into their face expecting them to change. They have to find what works for them.

You know one thing that might work? Give them a Pilsner. Crazy, huh? That is what they are used to drinking and they may find your favorite beer offensive and turn them off to the idea of craft beer all together. There is no one magic style of beer that will convert every person. Though, that is another story as well...

I think my rant is over... I guess I will just keep on buying craft beer and writing about it here. I mean, what else can I do?

Tomorrow you can read about how awesome I think Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye is. That company seems as if it can never do wrong...

Cheers!

Blue Moon vs Allagash White

This is a review that I am doing for one reason. My sister and all her friends love Blue Moon. I know I can never convert them from crap beer to Craft Beer, but I am hoping I can open their eyes and make them realize that Blue Moon is not good. They are all complete Winos so I am not sure if this really matters at all. It is just annoying that every time I come over I am offered beer and this is what they have. I was shocked when I came over and they said they had some Deschutes Twilight Ale. I took that! So for this Review, I am going to do my best to give an unbiased opinion on Two Beers, Allagash White and Blue Moon. I chose these two beers because they are both Belgian White Ales and one is from a Craft Brewery while the other is from a Corporate Brewery.



This is not my first attempt to give her real ale. The first Beer I brought to her attention was Dogfish Head Midas Touch. I figured this was very fitting being she is in love with wine, and I think the Muscat Grapes in this beer make it taste really "Winey". She told me she liked this beer like she likes Blue Moon... FAIL! My next attempt was Hell or High Watermelon from 21st Amendment. Which, since it is my favorite "chick beer", I thought she would get a kick out of it and love it. For this beer all she said was, "that is pretty good"... and then she kept drinking her wine. I have five more cans in the fridge and I will make her drink a whole one. So this is pretty much my last attempt.

My main issue with Blue Moon is not that it is made by one of The Big Three. I actually had Blue Moon before I was first into Craft Beer on a suggestion from a friend while visiting Philadelphia. I had already started homebrewing at this point and had never seen the documentary, Beer Wars. When I first had Blue Moon, I almost gagged and sent it back. They brought me out a Sam Adams Boston Lager to replace it. Which, in my opinion, is not much better... but my opinions on The Boston Beer Company is another story. They are just Craft Beer for the masses, not the ones who actually care... I guess I told you my main point here.



So this will be my first revisit since that situation. If she does not like Allagash, I guess I will just give up. Not to mention that I am leaving in a day.

I am not one of those people that think there is a beer for everyone, some people are just not beer people but Blue Moon, really? Maybe I will surprise myself with this review. At this point, only time will tell.

First I will start on my initial reactions of the beers and then get into their flavor profiles, etc. etc. and score the beers on a ridiculous point system. As well as give my sisters opinions in a short blurb.

Initial Reaction

Blue Moon: The first thing that caught my eye on this beer was the twist top. It is a more convenient way for everyone to have access to your beer and satisfies the drinking from the bottle part of the beer society.

I honestly think that pouring every single beer you drink into a glass is just a tad pretentious. If it is the first time I am drinking a beer, or if I am reviewing it, I will always pour it into a glass. After that point, I don't really care anymore unless there is something about the beer that tells me to always pour it into a glass.

Allagash White: I guess it is just the homebrewer in me, but I have problems with bottles that are twist tops. Again though, at one point in my life, I did not care. It is far less work. Allagash uses the classic pop top bottle that you need extra accessories in order to open.

Both Beers give serving suggestions. I, as a beer lover, think that the suggestion on Blue Moon is ridiculous. "Bring out Blue Moon's natural spices by serving it in a Pilsner glass with an orange-slice garnish." That is just a major Faux Pas as anyone would know. The Allagash Bottle reads, "Pour. Swirl. Pour Yeast." Very simple, and very "traditional".

These two points make it very hard to judge but for the fact that you do not need to pour Blue Moon and that you can easily twist the top off, it gets the first point in this review. Though, I am not putting an orange slice into my beer...

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White : 0

Appearance



Blue Moon: So when I poured this bottle of Blue Moon I was quite disappointed by the fact that there was no head on the beer. It was nice and Hazy like a Wit beer should be but it also had little to no noticeable carbonation apparent on the pour. It was almost the color of a dehydrated persons urine. I love color to a beer, but that was pretty much a major turn off.



Allagash White: This beer poured a nice straw color, which is more common for a beer. It was hazy as well, but again, that is a factor the style. There was a nice, lasting head as well as rising carbonation on the beer. This is a sign of a true living ale.

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 1

Nose

Blue Moon: This beer was really Funky and pretty much reminded me of straight stank. The aroma was not very inviting. I kind of did not want to drink this ale sip after sip just because of the way it smelled.

Allagash White: The aroma was very subtle. It had hints of lemon but it was not very yeasty. The aroma was quite pleasant. It asked to be sniffed, and continuously sniffed throughout the whole tasting process.

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White: 2

Taste

Blue Moon: I thought Blue Moon was pretty flat, and nearly flavorless. It had a lasting finish of coriander, but not in a good way. It was really overpowering. There was some citrus flavor initially, but it soon faded out to a bland... well, I don't know what I would call it at this point. The beer was very drinkable, but that could have been due to the lack of flavor. I did notice a silkiness to the beer. I am attributing that to the wheat in the beer. It had a light mouth feel, but that is what I expect from this style.

Allagash White: This beer was very light bodied as well, and it had a nice lemony taste that followed what I thought to be a citrusy, orange flavor on the initial sips. Before the orange dropped in though, there was a nice spicy kick. I believe this was coriander as well. It really chopped through the citrus taste and balanced it out. There was flavor all the way through this beer and it left nothing to be desired on the palate. It was maybe a little acidic, but not distracting in the least. The coriander in the Blue Moon really stuck to the mouth, but in the Allagash, it had a really dry finish and left me asking for more.

Blue Moon: 1
Allagash White:3

Overall

Blue Moon: It was far better than my initial taste about a year and a half ago, and it does stand above anything else I had from this brewery. Though, the taste that I had is not something I want in my beer. I see this as a worst case scenario beer and I really do not want a glass of water. It does the job but not for the craft beer lover like myself. I give this beer a 3/5. Would I buy it while out to eat... Probably not, but after this second tasting this is maybe an option. Coors is making money off of this beer without me purchasing it, so I do not really want to contribute to their success, but, like I said, they do not need my help anyway.

Allagash White: This beer was a great definition of the style and it has a high level of drinkability. It is very nice for a hot day, and is, in my opinion, Damn Good. I give this beer a 4.5/5. I am not really a fan of Wheat Beers, but this one I have always came back to as it is just that damn good. It is ashamed that they pulled out of Washington State, but Oh Well.

My sister drank the Allagash White first after having an initial taste of the two and she said it was really good. I think that is a Win, No? For it's price point I do not think that it will ever replace Blue Moon in her eyes, but she was actually interested in this beer and enjoyed it. That is good enough for me. Again, I wish they still distributed in Washington because I feel she would pick it up again, but at this time she cannot.

Therefore, My winner 3:1 is Allagash White. I guess I should have had another category in the case of a tie so I will add another point to the Overall category. Allagash White 4:1... Okay, so maybe that is not fair, but in my opinion Allagash is the Superior beer. Though, there was some complaint about an after taste in the Allagash. Something about a wood barrel taste. I did not pick this out at all... I have no idea what they were talking about. I thought if anything, Blue Moon had an after taste and I did not care for it. To my knowledge, Allagash white is not aged in barrels, unless noted, so I do not see where this taste came from...

Read my opinions on the two, and taste them for yourself. I cannot tell you what you like, but I can let you know what I think. Let me know how you feel on the two. I promise to play nice.

Hooah!