I've just been reading Martyn Cornell's latest blog which I feel is of general interest and is certainly thought provoking, http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/the-real-20-most-influential-beers-of-all-time/#comments
Its a tip top list which isn't stuck in the quagmire of the present. Love the inclusion of the Westmalle and Anchor beers too which routinely get only scorn and contempt from people who should really know better.
Fritz Maytag and Anchor must be on the list. Anchor proved the a lot of Americans wanted to drink better beer and were happy to pay more for it.
Fantastic list, actually both lists are fantastic in their ways, and Mr. Cornell's reasoning is pretty hard to argue with. We owe a debt of gratitude to every brewer on the lists. Hopefully in 25 years there will be adequate reason to include Jean Van Roy.
I think the list is a good one. As with any list people's opinions are going to swing one way or another based on their personal tastes. I think American craft has it's ethos in the beginnings of brewing in Bavaria and the Old World but I feel as though the Old World has been squeezed out of retail space by the growth of American craft & consequently from most people's minds including new beer drinkers who haven't been exposed to good beer from across the pond. Unfortunately, what's on the shelves import wise these days, for the most part is now part of the big global conglomeration that continues to buy up and further homogenize beer as a whole. Thankfully there is craft & independent brewers to maintain some sort of balance, but let's never forget where it all started & how deep down THAT is what drives craft brewing today...a rich history from the Old World & a need to keep the flame alive in the face of corporate domination.
Well, when creating a list of the "most influential beers" the primary aspect should be based on knowledge of the history of the brewing industry rather than "personal tastes"... one can dislike "light beer", but still note the influence of, say, Rheingold's Gablinger's Beer on the current US beer market. "Ethos", perhaps (especially given the early US craft brewers' all malt/no adjunct beers), but clearly the earliest US craft beers from Anchor, New Albion, Boulder and Sierra Nevada were specifically modeled on the top fermenting beers (ales, porters, stouts, barleywine) of the old world's United Kingdom rather than Bavaria. Maytag "inherited" the US/German brewers' creation of "steam beer" when he bought Anchor, but even his first creations like Liberty Ale and Old Foghorn were based on UK styles.
It's difficult to decide in many cases where the influence arises. Does it arise with the progenitor or the one who made it into what it is today? The originator whom we have forgotten or the copier which is well known? The second was influenced by the first. Also , this is a US site and many US BAs will view "influential" as those bringing about their present beer scene. But this is far removed from beer in general , even in their own country and certainly world wide. Bass is perhaps worth a place in my understanding.It was a brewery which provided much of the know how which led to the introduction of pale lagers which now dominate the beer world.Their Pale Ale was a model.
Brings me back to my post.The article is about the "most influential beer of all time" ; it doesn't mention the US as being a focus.And to be truthful, most of what we have today existed, at least in embryonic form, a long time ago. The Germans were using large proportions of rice, Britain evolved Pale Ales (includingIPA, DIPA, Black IPA) and Porters (including coffee and oak aged versions!) , the Czechs brought out Pilsner ; these were the ones which could be argued were influential as what we have today resulted from them. Another form of influence is to make these popular and readily available as Swann and Edison did to the light bulb though it had been invented long before.
In trying to get my thought out I used the term "Old World" & had fully intended to include the UK under that umbrella as I do feel that both the UK & Bavaria are without a doubt the influence on craft beer if not beer in general from the days of the 1st generation beer barons of America. As for personal tastes I do believe that no matter the list, unless one is keeping things to a strict "who came first" that there is a bit of personal opinion bleed through. Having said that I believe the list referenced here is for the most part in keeping w/a stricter knowledge of brewing history.
As cheesy as it sounds Sam Adams Boston Lager. Was the first non AB MC beer that i saw in crappy bars gas stations and grocery stores in my area. For me it was a gateway to better things. During my first years of drinking i didnt think i liked beer because i hadnt discovered anything besides cheap adjunct domestic lagers. Since then the beer world has so many amazing things to offer, but that was my modest begining. I think thats where a lot of people learn that there is something more than rice water.
Huh? Click on the link - New Albion Ale has already been brewed by BBC, and on the shelves in the some markets.
On August 1, 2012, Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Samuel Adams announced they would be brewing the New Albion Ale for the first time in 30 years. The beer was served at special events at the Great American Beer Festival and will be available nationwide beginning January 2013 wikipedia page on new albion.
Not sure what your point is with the copy/paste. That Wiki quote agrees with my post - "...available nationwide beginning January 2013" - not with your comment that they will be "brewing the original pale this spring". The point is only that it is out now, as noted by several posters in the New Albion thread.
I would think that Guinness would have a place. I believe in the USA it was a tremendous influence on what we drink when it started being stocked in bars and on shelves. Boulder Beer of Colorado was also an early influence on the craft beer movement in America although I don't know enough as to whether it should given top 20 status. I was tasting that BB in the early 80s.
Doesn't it suck how a lot of beers on that list have fallen off because of being bought out and over expanding?
In the midwest (or Great Lakes on this site), most people I know who got into craft or home brewing did so because of Two Hearted.
This is not a list of beers that influenced you, or the beer scene in the states. It is Most Influential of All Time. Widen your perspective. Or at least read the article.
i understand the concept. i just explained why i thought that. I thought it was an influential breakthrough. thank you for putting me in my place and discounting my opinion. one day i will find enlightenment like yourself.
But the original list has some merit too as I have indicated. I just don't think it has the full weight of time and history behind it as in Martyn's. But by the same token I cannot for the life of me understand why Newcastle Brown has a place on Martyn's list.And the absence of SN PA is a headscratcher for sure despite the 'I'm willing to consider' explanation. Will be interesting to see what a list like this would look like in 50 years.
Sam Addams introduced many a folk to non macro beer including me. But I would have to give this one to Guinness.
Sam Adams Triple Bock and Utopia should be acknowledged as two of the most influential beers in the extreme beer movement. Unless I am mistaken, these were the first two American barrel aged beers that saw any significant distribution. And where is Weihenstephaner? Oldest continually operating brewery in the world and it sets the standard for many German-style beers.
for me....... I find La Fin Du monde... and Hennepin to be the beers that influence the whole belguim boom... for me at least... thats what curved my direction
