{"id":1187,"date":"2015-05-05T23:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T21:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2020-03-06T06:04:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T05:04:55","slug":"oliver-grayspiking-beer-as-intended-as-brewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/?p=1187","title":{"rendered":"Oliver Gray:
Spiking Beer: As Intended, As Brewed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the gadgets popping up in the beer world are representative of some growing trend, drinkers harbor a strange desire to \u201cchange\u201d the beer they\u2019re drinking. \u201cChange\u201d is usually couched cozily in \u201cenhance\u201d but this time around, I can\u2019t help but read it as \u201cmess with a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

I suppose modifying already brewed beer started with Dogfish Head\u2019s Randall, a device you pass your beer through to infuse it with the matter you\u2019ve managed to mash into the plastic chamber \u2013 coffee beans, fresh herbs, Fruit Loops, Oreos \u2013 whatever your depraved, drunken mind can think of. Although some might argue it\u2019s just a product of American cross cultural contamination, the Randall (and it\u2019s home-based Jr. version) might have been the lead catalysts in spawning the \u201cdump random crap in your casks\u201d craze that plagues perfectly good beer engines across the country. Thanks, Sam.<\/p>\n

And then came Synek, the \u201cbeer Keurig\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/span> wanting to change how growlers worked, and how you drink beer at home. Then that baffling OnTap flavor enhancing goo<\/a><\/span><\/span>, which we\u2019d all do our best to forget. Then, as if we hadn\u2019t had enough, came Fizzics<\/a><\/span><\/span>, a bizarre device with a micro-filter that\u2019s supposed to provide a much better head on your beer. And now we\u2019ve got Hop Theory Sachets<\/a><\/span><\/span>, basically tea bags full of hops and other dried ingredients, meant to \u201cimprove\u201d your drinking experience with some post-brew modification.<\/p>\n

Cool!<\/p>\n

I guess.<\/p>\n

Right?<\/p>\n

Like, it\u2019s cool we have options and can spend a bunch of money and wile away out leisure hours spiking beer with random stuff. Variety is the spice of life, and we\u2019ve certainly got some potent spices to work with these days. I\u2019ll be the first to admit I\u2019ve quite enjoyed some augmented cask beers, even some totally not beer-ish ones like gold ale with orange peel and vanilla. I\u2019d be hypocritical to not agree that the novelty of these gadgets makes for a fun little Saturday after you\u2019re done at Home Depot.<\/p>\n

I do get the appeal; brewing is a remote mountain many can\u2019t or won\u2019t climb, and these devices put some control back into the hands of the consumer. But, cultural industry announcement! The consumer is not the brewmaster.<\/strong><\/em> No matter how many Reddit articles they\u2019ve read, or how many unique check-ins on UnTappd. I don\u2019t want the norm to slowly be ok with changing beer that\u2019s already finished. Therein lies the less favorable rub of gadgetry; every single one of these devices, despite a positive message of gustatory freedom, carries with it a secret. An encrypted code deeper and more important than just, \u201cchange your beer!\u201d<\/p>\n

All of these devices suggest that beer fundamentally should be changed \u2013 and by the consumer no less! \u2013 a concept I find insulting to brewers, and disconnecting for drinkers.<\/p>\n

Beer isn\u2019t always perfect. Any homebrewer can tell you some diacetyl laced horror stories. The problems aren\u2019t automatically fixed when scaled up to multiple BBLs either. We\u2019ve got quality assurance and consistency issues in a lot of start-up breweries. A lot of beer coming out of the fledgling \u201ccraft\u201d movement sings a song of avoidable defects. There are some beers that downright lack, that need all the help they can get to not scorch or sting the palate.<\/p>\n

Acknowledged, appreciated, archived.<\/p>\n

That still doesn\u2019t mean we, as consumers, should be willing to or responsible for somehow righting brewhouse wrongs.<\/p>\n

Brewing is science wrapped in art. The equipment must be cleaned and the temperatures must be monitored, but the amount and type of malts and hops, and ultimately the flavor of the beers, are up to the brewer\u2019s discretion. Like a chef, the oven and the pans are standard; the ingredients and processes where they create signature tastes. Even the worst production beer is the result of a planned recipe, an entire brew cycle, someone\u2019s missed vision. To brew beer is a difficult labor of love; failures in the brewhouse mean missed intentions, not opportunities to perform first aid.<\/p>\n

And that presumes these devices are intentionally marketed at poorly made beer, which I\u2019ll argue they\u2019re not. They\u2019re marketed at all beer, including world class examples of styles. Some of these will be used in or on beer that is already delicious and on-point, already a manifestation of the brewer\u2019s will and skill. To pass even a mainline, year-round beer from an award winning brewery through some random device is to suggest you know better than the brewer when it comes to the flavor of the beer. Unless of course you are a trained brewmaster. Then I guess by all means you crazy bastard.<\/p>\n

I know, I know, I sound like a purist beer regressivist, decrying innovation because it\u2019s scary and new. But you don\u2019t take your own sauces and spices to a restaurant, ready to add them to a chef\u2019s dish just because you think you can make it better. Part of paying for a product is accepting that it is packaged how the manufacturer intended it should be. When you pay for a beer, you\u2019re paying for the expertise, training, and creativity of the brewer, not just the liquid itself. Many brewers have formal educations or have spent years apprenticing to be able to bring you delectable decoctions of fermented flavor, and you should appreciate that every time your pop a top or slip a sip.<\/p>\n

If you really must channel your inner Warhol by trying to elevate the existing, I\u2019m not one to stop you. Just make sure you\u2019ve tasted the beer as it is supposed to be, as the brewer wanted you to taste it, well before you introduce it to any gadget de l\u2019am\u00e9lioration. Drink beer as beer is, as it has evolved from years of trial and error, as the yeast made it through vigorous bubbly labor. You\u2019ll be a better beer citizen, and brewers will thank you for taking the time to appreciate their art.<\/p>\n

\"Left
Left yes, right no.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Author:<\/strong> Oliver Gray
\nre-blogged and published from Literature & Libation<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\nwith kind permission<\/a><\/span><\/span> from the author.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the gadgets popping up in the beer world are representative of some growing trend, drinkers harbor a strange desire to \u201cchange\u201d the beer they\u2019re drinking. \u201cChange\u201d is usually couched cozily in \u201cenhance\u201d but this time around, I can\u2019t help but read it as \u201cmess with a good thing.\u201d I […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-meinungen-und-gastbeitraege","8":"category-oliver-gray"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.brunnenbraeu.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}