How’s This for Extreme?

This is a call to all of my favorite craft brewers out there, advocates of beer, and overall beer aficionados: what is the obsession with extreme beer?

Seriously, maybe I’m missing something. I’m definitely one to push for different kinds of beer (as most people who read this blog from time to time…I know all three of you…can attest to my passion for the “beverage for the masses), but, where is the envelope going to take us. At the same time I’m kind of excited to see what’s next; I mean, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head brewing company last year planned on brewing a beer my grinding the necessary ingredients…by himself…in his mouth. Now, for those of you who know Dogfish Head and their “Ancient Beer Series,” such a beer is a throwback to ancient cultures and how they would mash up their ingredients to brew (I guess the pestle and mortar weren’t quite invented at this point),  which is the next in the line of their Ancient Beer series. This might work on a small scale, maybe for a five or maybe even ten gallon batch; but could you imagine chewing that stuff for a commercial brew? I’m getting cotton mouth just thinking about it.

While I do hope, one day, I can find the coconut beer in some distant location in the middle of some distant mountain that Michael Jackson found (no, not that Michael Jackson, the one associated with beer…Google him), is it wrong of me to expect, maybe a little selfishly, a nice, low alcohol, refreshing, session beer?

While the movement to extreme brewing was pushed by the fact that the market was flooded with everyone’s version of an IPA, pale ale, stout, etc., so brewers felt they needed to do things in order to differentiate their product. While extreme brewing was cool at first; who doesn’t want to attempt to drink Dogfish Head’s 120 minute IPA, rolling it at 20% (they have since lowered it to 17% because it was a bit too extreme…and like turpentine)? But, now everyone has a double IPA, Imperial stout, Imperial…whatever. Other than manual mashing, what’s next? Brewing beer with fish skeletons?

I really feel that it’s time for us to “bring it back.” Give me a really good, sessionable IPA or pilsener; I don’t care anywhere how much alcohol or IBUs you can rock in order to make my stomach churn like the vat of acid Harvey Dent falls into.

But, they wouldn’t keep trying to push the envelope; to find some obscure ingredient to make some ridiculously alcoholic beer, if we, the consumer, didn’t continue to buy it. I guess you can’t blame them when their patrons are clamoring for it. The top 5 beers on sites like beeradvocate.com and ratebeer.com average 10% to 11% ABV…far above the 5% to 6% of typical session beers. SO, of course the brewers are going to push for the extreme beers…it’s what the people want.

While I understand the economic forces of supply and demand, I think there are cooler, more unique ways to differentiate your beer. Take Indigo Imp Brewery, for example. They dip one of their bottles of every six pack in wax, with a different color wax for different styles. This does two things (1) makes their sixers look really cool and (2) gives the beer extra protection from the harmful UV rays from light. Double bonus!

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