Have New Age Craft Brewers Gone Too Far?

Recently i've heard more than a few people talking about how brewers have gotten a little too experimental.  I can see where they are coming from.  Take a walk through your local bottle shop and really pay attention to what is on the shelves these days.  You'll see Double IPA's, Tripel IPA's, Black IPA's, Coffee Stouts, Lemongrass Wheats, beers brewed with pumpkin, beers brewed with Yerba Mate and many more.  With so many different styles of beer available from a growing amount of brewers, it's easy to get lost when trying to decide on a beer.  It's not just the Americans who are making all these wacky beers either.  Belgians are now making Double IPA's and Barley Wines.

You may be surprised to hear that putting all these funky, often strange ingredients in beer is not all that new.  Belgians have been brewing using herbs, spices and barrel aging beers for centuries.  In Scandinavia there are many ancient recipes that call for different roots, barks and local herbs.  Believe it or not, hops have not always been a part of the brewing process.  What we are seeing a lot of today is the resurrection of ancient brewing traditions.  Dogfish Head makes a beer called Midas Touch, which is derived from a recipe from an Egyptian Tomb from 2700 years ago.  It's brewed with honey and  muscat grapes and has a very interesting flavor to it.

It is breweries like Dogfish Head that really push the envelope.  They're not afraid to try anything.  Experimentation is the only way we'll be able to keep our beer scene interesting.  If every beer brewed was supposed to appeal to every beer drinker out there we would be drinking some pretty boring beers.  Homogenization of beer in the 80's anyone?  As our palates expand and crave more flavor, the craft brewers of the world will be there to appease our taste buds.

I recently picked up a beer at a local bottle shop called Lambrucha by Vanberg & DeWulf.  The idea of the beer is a blend of lambic beer with kombucha - a fermented health drink.  I have to admit, I am a fan of both Lambic Beer and Kombucha to begin with, but never would I have thought to blend the two.  The resulting beer has a welcome tartness and fine bubbly carbonation.  It's a great spring or summer beer at 3.5% ABV so you can have a few glasses of it and spare yourself the nap afterwards.

I've been keeping track of all the beers I drink using BeerCraving.  This site helps you remember the beers you drink through pictures.  You can add tasting notes and even tag the place where you bought the beer to remember for later.  They'll be launching a beer app in January which will make it even easier to keep track of  the beers I drink.

So to all you highly experimental craft brewers out there, continue to make the most interesting beer you can think of.  I can't guarantee we'll like everything you produce, but we will admire the risks you take to further the craft.