A trip to London and in particular Shoreditch is always interesting. We visited a few pubs in the area and one thing that struct me was the lack of established ale brands on show and the increase in beers and brewers I'd not seen before. Also it was clear that the 300ml bottle is an ever popular pack size, many full of funky beers with wonderful names I'd not heard of. So all very exciting that there are lots smart young brewers out there producing great new beers and stretching the boundaries of style and flavours, or so it would seem........
Because, in some ways Craft Beer Rising also showed that every small brewer seems to be doing the hopped beer and the IPA style in particular to the extreme. The IPA category is still blossoming and its certainly the most well known ale catagory (apart from Stout) that consumers seem to recognise. However I could not help wondering what comes next, where does it go from here? Even more hops, new varieties perhaps? Maybe there will come a point where the strongly hopped beer or beer with the latest hop variety ceases to be fashionable!
Every brewer at the event had an IPA style beer, most had a Pale Ale, lots had Ryle Ales as well as the obligatory dark ale or Stout. There was some innovation, on our bar, the St Austell Brewery bar we had a superb German Gose style beer that was brilliant and caused much interest. However for me there was one classic beer style missing?
Missing or over looked by most was the traditional English Golden ale. A very drinkable and commercial beer, the hops used provide balance and a touch of savoury refreshment rather than dominate a beer. Perhaps these beers have grown out of fashion over the past few years - their flavours don't grab you by the throat but instead gently tip-toes across the taste buds, whetting the appetite rather than overpowering it ready for the next delicious slurp. Sadly they just don't stand out in a crowd and there lies the problem. In a market that is constantly looking for the next most hopped beer, the golden ale will always get overlooked.
A common question on our bar was "What have you got that does not contain lots of hops? The consumer is still looking for the lighter colour beer but one with less bite, so the real challenge might be less hops to brew a beer that consumers really want to drink rather than more?
There are lots of fine golden beers out there, many brewed by the established brewers. Maybe their labels and pump clips have become too familiar or old fashioned but don't overlook them, they have a lot to offer and you'll find them a very pleasant and enjoyable drink.
Cheers!
