This article was in the current issue of Michigan Beer Guide. MBG is a pretty cool publication that is free and you can pick it up at breweries and your LHBS.
Good article. If you have five minutes give it a read.
"A big part of what we try to do here at Michigan Beer Guide is elevate the image of beer. We try to do this with enthusiasm and education, fun and motivation. We do not write or talk about things like keggers, drinking games (or movies about drinking games), how to shoot a can of beer or how to use a beer bong, or anything else associated with volume consumption. Well, unless I'm poking fun at the mass consumption habits of the American light beer drinker.
We prefer to write and talk about beer tourism, breweries to visit, beer style complexity, beer's remarkable history and the huge role brewing played in the evolution of civilization. We try to share this with as many people as we can get to listen, and sadly 'most' people will not. For example, 'most' people will not read this publication.
For 'most' people, beer is a modest beverage of the working class. It is easily affordable, as simple to drink as carbonated water, so limited in flavor it is sold as "coldest tasting," in fact consumers need know nothing at all about beer other then its name, and that name is a brand, not a style. For them, beer is a thirst quencher, an after work reward, and a social lubricant. And this is exactly what beer has been reduced to in America.
Beer is the most-often selected alcohol beverage because it appeals to everyone, from the just-of-age student to the centurion, and both men and women. But when the occasion calls for something special, a formal celebration or a fine dining experience, wine is often ordered to fill the bill. And, as expected, it is not ordered simply by brand name, but by style. And so it should, but so to should beer.
Beer and wine are not adversaries, they are allies, partners, two of a kind, both rooted in ancient times, both products of natural fermentation, both offering huge variations in style and sensory complexity. Yet this simple fact has been so successfully removed from our vision it has been forgotten to the point of being unbelievable. For example, when I tell people "beer is more complex then wine," they don't believe me. Many wine drinkers find the statement offensive. Sadly, even the majority of beer drinkers don't comprehend this because they drink only one brand of beer, or at best a variation of one style, but they have certainly tried more then one style of wine, so even to them, wine appears to have greater complexity.
Take a look at our contemporary landscape and you will see many artifacts that widen the chasm dividing beer and wine. Observe the packaging of beer and compare it to wine. Go to a fine restaurant and look at their wine menu and compare it to the beer on tap. Look at how wine is poured and served and note the consumers drinking beer out of the bottle. Attend a wine tasting and note the attire of the guests, their restrained demeanor, the sound level of the room, and do the same at a beer tasting. Visit a winery, visit a brewery. Read a wine publication, read a beer publication. All of these clues tell a tale of stratification, that wine is elevated in stature, well mannered, and refined, while beer is common, loud, and crude.
But this perception is only a shadow of the whole truth. How did this happen? Some believe it goes all the back to the days of the Roman Empire, when Roman conquerors brought wine into the northern countries where only beer existed before. This imported beverage could only be enjoyed by the wealthy because they could afford such imported luxury, while the common people, predominately farmers, subsisted on beer. Wine is a product of fruit and fruit grows best in warm climates. Wine, being a more concentrated form of alcohol beverage, traveled better to the cooler northern countries than beer could survive travel to southern warmer countries. This is about geography, not about one being better then the other, but it may well have set the stage for the perception of wine being classier then beer.
While the Christian church and its most devout followers were major players in the development of brewing and the perfection of beer, the Bible only mentions wine, which is to say, all mentions of beer were deleted or changed to wine. For beer was always present. The very center of our earliest known civilizations grew barley and brewed beer. The simple ritual of using wine in Holy Communion by itself elevates wine's status. But could this selection simply have had something to do with the wine's blood red color?
Prohibition also had a huge hand to play in how beer and wine are generally perceived today. During Prohibition, wine was still legal for religious use, reinforcing wine above all other illegal alcohol beverages. But the real impact was the closing of some 1400 breweries. When Repeal finally came about, only the largest breweries were in a position to reopen and they did so buy selling their brand name instead of beer style. So style variation disappeared in the USA. Driven by economies of scale and generous marketing budgets, these brands competed on regional and national levels. Beer became more about identifying with the ad or slogan then with style or flavor. In fact the flavor component was continually reduced to become the least objectionable to the most people. Beer was beer, like gasoline is gasoline. Whatever is closest or cheapest fills the tank.
Until recently, wine did not fair much better. At the very least, everyone knew there was red wine and white wine, but most beer drinkers, then or today, cannot explain the difference between ale and a lager, because all beer was beer.
Today, a small but growing number of people, including the readers of Michigan Beer Guide, know and appreciate the style diversity of beer. They know beer is made from a minimum of four ingredients that are rich in food aromas and flavors, far more so than wine. Beer has more color variation than wine. Beer has a far greater alcohol content range than wine. Beer will pair better with more foods than wine. But most important, craft beer consumers know more about beer than wine consumers know about wine. It is amazing how little wine folks know about yeast, fermentation, and process. And listen to them describe a wine. For example: "A knock-out of black fruits, with aromas of fresh toasty-oak, caramel, and flowers . . . massive rich and full-bodied, and slightly deep sweet tannins . . . huge layers of extraordinary flavors, and a finish that never ends . . . well-structured style sophisticated, expressive and wonderful silky concentrated, delight." Wow, I am not sure what all that means but think it sounds delicious, and at $4,000 to $6,000 a bottle it had better be. It is a Petrus Pomerol, a rare and one of the most sought after and expensive French Bordeaux wines in the world.
By comparison, perhaps the most expensive and rarest beer in the world is described as: "The silky, brandy-colored drink is fermented and conditioned in a blend of scotch, bourbon, port and cognac casks for up to ten months using a pair of proprietary yeast strains. . . . brewers used a wide variety of malted barley including two-row, caramel, and Vienna malts, and a touch of maple syrup, then all four types of noble hops, leaving the beer spicy enough that some call it 'fiery'. . . Its warm, sweet flavor is richly highlighted with hints of vanilla, oak and caramel with subtle hints of floral, citrus and pine." Note the mention of ingredients, process, as well as specific aromas and flavors. Sam Adams Utopias is a rare example, but then so is Petrus Pomeral, but Utopias changes hands in the $200.00 range.
Wine is a great choice for many foods and occasions, while beer is wonderful with all foods and all occasions, from the most casual to the most formal. And yes beer is the preferred choice during and after hard labor, playing or observing any sport, all seasons including the hottest weather, and is suited to the tightest budget.
I am not trying to lower the stature of wine nor am I saying that beer is better then wine, but I am saying beer is every bit as worthy as wine in every way imaginable."RGH
Good article. If you have five minutes give it a read.
"A big part of what we try to do here at Michigan Beer Guide is elevate the image of beer. We try to do this with enthusiasm and education, fun and motivation. We do not write or talk about things like keggers, drinking games (or movies about drinking games), how to shoot a can of beer or how to use a beer bong, or anything else associated with volume consumption. Well, unless I'm poking fun at the mass consumption habits of the American light beer drinker.
We prefer to write and talk about beer tourism, breweries to visit, beer style complexity, beer's remarkable history and the huge role brewing played in the evolution of civilization. We try to share this with as many people as we can get to listen, and sadly 'most' people will not. For example, 'most' people will not read this publication.
For 'most' people, beer is a modest beverage of the working class. It is easily affordable, as simple to drink as carbonated water, so limited in flavor it is sold as "coldest tasting," in fact consumers need know nothing at all about beer other then its name, and that name is a brand, not a style. For them, beer is a thirst quencher, an after work reward, and a social lubricant. And this is exactly what beer has been reduced to in America.
Beer is the most-often selected alcohol beverage because it appeals to everyone, from the just-of-age student to the centurion, and both men and women. But when the occasion calls for something special, a formal celebration or a fine dining experience, wine is often ordered to fill the bill. And, as expected, it is not ordered simply by brand name, but by style. And so it should, but so to should beer.
Beer and wine are not adversaries, they are allies, partners, two of a kind, both rooted in ancient times, both products of natural fermentation, both offering huge variations in style and sensory complexity. Yet this simple fact has been so successfully removed from our vision it has been forgotten to the point of being unbelievable. For example, when I tell people "beer is more complex then wine," they don't believe me. Many wine drinkers find the statement offensive. Sadly, even the majority of beer drinkers don't comprehend this because they drink only one brand of beer, or at best a variation of one style, but they have certainly tried more then one style of wine, so even to them, wine appears to have greater complexity.
Take a look at our contemporary landscape and you will see many artifacts that widen the chasm dividing beer and wine. Observe the packaging of beer and compare it to wine. Go to a fine restaurant and look at their wine menu and compare it to the beer on tap. Look at how wine is poured and served and note the consumers drinking beer out of the bottle. Attend a wine tasting and note the attire of the guests, their restrained demeanor, the sound level of the room, and do the same at a beer tasting. Visit a winery, visit a brewery. Read a wine publication, read a beer publication. All of these clues tell a tale of stratification, that wine is elevated in stature, well mannered, and refined, while beer is common, loud, and crude.
But this perception is only a shadow of the whole truth. How did this happen? Some believe it goes all the back to the days of the Roman Empire, when Roman conquerors brought wine into the northern countries where only beer existed before. This imported beverage could only be enjoyed by the wealthy because they could afford such imported luxury, while the common people, predominately farmers, subsisted on beer. Wine is a product of fruit and fruit grows best in warm climates. Wine, being a more concentrated form of alcohol beverage, traveled better to the cooler northern countries than beer could survive travel to southern warmer countries. This is about geography, not about one being better then the other, but it may well have set the stage for the perception of wine being classier then beer.
While the Christian church and its most devout followers were major players in the development of brewing and the perfection of beer, the Bible only mentions wine, which is to say, all mentions of beer were deleted or changed to wine. For beer was always present. The very center of our earliest known civilizations grew barley and brewed beer. The simple ritual of using wine in Holy Communion by itself elevates wine's status. But could this selection simply have had something to do with the wine's blood red color?
Prohibition also had a huge hand to play in how beer and wine are generally perceived today. During Prohibition, wine was still legal for religious use, reinforcing wine above all other illegal alcohol beverages. But the real impact was the closing of some 1400 breweries. When Repeal finally came about, only the largest breweries were in a position to reopen and they did so buy selling their brand name instead of beer style. So style variation disappeared in the USA. Driven by economies of scale and generous marketing budgets, these brands competed on regional and national levels. Beer became more about identifying with the ad or slogan then with style or flavor. In fact the flavor component was continually reduced to become the least objectionable to the most people. Beer was beer, like gasoline is gasoline. Whatever is closest or cheapest fills the tank.
Until recently, wine did not fair much better. At the very least, everyone knew there was red wine and white wine, but most beer drinkers, then or today, cannot explain the difference between ale and a lager, because all beer was beer.
Today, a small but growing number of people, including the readers of Michigan Beer Guide, know and appreciate the style diversity of beer. They know beer is made from a minimum of four ingredients that are rich in food aromas and flavors, far more so than wine. Beer has more color variation than wine. Beer has a far greater alcohol content range than wine. Beer will pair better with more foods than wine. But most important, craft beer consumers know more about beer than wine consumers know about wine. It is amazing how little wine folks know about yeast, fermentation, and process. And listen to them describe a wine. For example: "A knock-out of black fruits, with aromas of fresh toasty-oak, caramel, and flowers . . . massive rich and full-bodied, and slightly deep sweet tannins . . . huge layers of extraordinary flavors, and a finish that never ends . . . well-structured style sophisticated, expressive and wonderful silky concentrated, delight." Wow, I am not sure what all that means but think it sounds delicious, and at $4,000 to $6,000 a bottle it had better be. It is a Petrus Pomerol, a rare and one of the most sought after and expensive French Bordeaux wines in the world.
By comparison, perhaps the most expensive and rarest beer in the world is described as: "The silky, brandy-colored drink is fermented and conditioned in a blend of scotch, bourbon, port and cognac casks for up to ten months using a pair of proprietary yeast strains. . . . brewers used a wide variety of malted barley including two-row, caramel, and Vienna malts, and a touch of maple syrup, then all four types of noble hops, leaving the beer spicy enough that some call it 'fiery'. . . Its warm, sweet flavor is richly highlighted with hints of vanilla, oak and caramel with subtle hints of floral, citrus and pine." Note the mention of ingredients, process, as well as specific aromas and flavors. Sam Adams Utopias is a rare example, but then so is Petrus Pomeral, but Utopias changes hands in the $200.00 range.
Wine is a great choice for many foods and occasions, while beer is wonderful with all foods and all occasions, from the most casual to the most formal. And yes beer is the preferred choice during and after hard labor, playing or observing any sport, all seasons including the hottest weather, and is suited to the tightest budget.
I am not trying to lower the stature of wine nor am I saying that beer is better then wine, but I am saying beer is every bit as worthy as wine in every way imaginable."RGH
Thank you for sharing.
