Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
As Craft Beer Market Grows, so Do Wild Flavors
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 29, 2019

Share

Anyone for steak and onion Kolsch? Or a macaroni and cheese pale ale?

Those were among the flavors at the Strange Brew Festival in Reno, Nevada, this month, where competition for attention has intensified as craft beers have boomed.

“People are looking for ways to differentiate themselves and be the next big thing. A lot of it is just about trying to get noticed.”Jon Brandt, beer aficionado

Brewers have always experimented, from the medieval Belgians who stirred sour cherries into their beer to newer varieties like the white IPA, a marriage of Belgian and American styles that was developed about a decade ago.

But today’s brewers have kicked it up a notch as they try to distinguish themselves from everyone else trying to distinguish themselves.

Visitors at the festival in Reno could sample a peanut butter and pickle pilsner, a tamale lager and a smoked carrot stout. There were concoctions from big brewers like Sierra Nevada and smaller local brew pubs, sweet beers brewed with Jolly Ranchers and spicy ones that tasted like garlic bread or mango salsa.

The U.S. had 7,346 craft brewers last year, up 93% from 2014, according to the Brewers Association, an industry trade group. Craft beer sales rose 7% to $27.6 billion last year, about one-fourth of the total U.S. beer market.

“People are looking for ways to differentiate themselves and be the next big thing,” said Jon Brandt, a beer aficionado who works for Washington-based distributor Madidus Importers. “A lot of it is just about trying to get noticed.”

Purists Criticize Trend Toward Wacky Ingredients

A beer with head-turning labels or ingredients can do just that. Denver-based Wynkoop Brewing Co. lures a lot of customers with its Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout, which is made with roasted barley, seven different grains and grilled buffalo or bull testicles.

“It actually started as an April Fool’s joke,” said John Sims, Wynkoop’s head brewer. “It’s pretty popular.”

Wynkoop has traditional ales and lagers on the menu, too. Sometimes, Brandt said, a wacky beer is a way to get people to look at the rest of a brewer’s lineup.

“I’m making a beer for you to notice me, but I really want to sell you my IPA,” he said. Among the oddest beers he has tasted is a Bloody Mary brew from Michigan’s Short’s Brewing Co. He liked it, but other tasters thought it went too far.

There are purists who decry the trend toward wacky ingredients.

“I personally am not a fan of ridiculous brews incorporating materials and gimmicks that have no historical provenance in brewing,” said Charlie Bamforth, a distinguished professor emeritus in the food science and technology department of the University of California, Davis.

Experiments That Go Too Far Get Weeded Out Quickly

Bamforth said laws restricting ingredients — like Germany has — might be going a bit too far. But he would like to see some regulations defining what can and can’t be called “beer.”

“It has to be flavorful. It has to taste like beer. It’s got to make you want another one. If it doesn’t, then it’s just gimmicky and you’re going to be out of the spotlight pretty fast.” — Hal McConnellogue, cellar manager, Drake’s Brewing Co.

“If someone wants to explore bizarre components, then I think they should do it under the umbrella of alternative beverages and not be allowed to sully the good name of beer,” he said.

Others say experiments that stray too far get weeded out quickly.

“It has to be flavorful. It has to taste like beer,” said Hal McConnellogue, cellar manager at San Leandro, California-based Drake’s Brewing Co., which had an IPA made with altar bread, grapes and terpenes at the festival. “It’s got to make you want another one. If it doesn’t, then it’s just gimmicky and you’re going to be out of the spotlight pretty fast.”

Jess Lebow, the author of The Beer Devotional and The United States of Craft Beer, says the high level of experimentation is what makes craft beer so special. Lebow said he might only try a steak and onion beer once. It might be great, but even if it’s not, it might lead to a beer that’s a big hit.

“There are really only so many flavors you can create with water, malt, barley and hops,” he said. “At the end of the day, if the brewer is having fun trying new things, then I’m probably having fun trying their beer.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Here’s What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade on Trump’s Birthday

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

2 hours ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

4 hours ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – A massive manhunt entered a second day on Sunday in Minnesota for the gunman who killed a Democratic state law...

46 minutes ago

Bullet holes mark the front door of Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who was shot alongside his wife, Yvette, in what is believed to be an attack by 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is also the lead suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Marc, in Champlin, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
46 minutes ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

Israelis take shelter at the side of a highway as siren sounds following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in central Israel June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
52 minutes ago

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
55 minutes ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

2 hours ago

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

4 hours ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

5 hours ago

Big Fresno Fair Unveils Second Wave of 2025 Concert Acts

18 hours ago

Israel Says Attacks on Iran Are Nothing Compared With What Is Coming

18 hours ago

Military Parade Barrels Through Nation’s Capital With Tanks, Troops and 21-Gun Salute

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend