Just had a bottle of Freigeist Abraxxxas the other night, which is the best Berliner Weisse I've ever had. I love the balance of yeasty wheat, with a tart/sour finish and it got me wondering why more breweries don't brew this style of beer. It is a very approachable style with a lower ABV that would make it a good intro into craft beer for newbs, yet still have the depth and complexity to attract craft beer lovers (especially the Abraxxxas, which has a slight smokey/peaty taste too). It just seems like an under appreciated beer style. What are some other beer styles you don't see many breweries making, which you would like to see more of?
I'd like to see more American brewers take a stab at making an English-style bitter that weighs in at no higher than 4.0% abv. Failing that, I'd like to be able to find more English-proper bitters at my local beer emporia. But alas, what I've read here and elsewhere indicates that it's not a style that travels well.
Abraxxxas might actually be a spin on a Gratzer more than a Berliner. Personally, I want to see more dunkels. For some reason schwarzbiers are relatively popular with American craft brewers, but dunkels are few and far between. I never understood that. IMO, they're far more approachable for both normal craft drinkers and macro converts alike.
In before someone that is inexplicably afraid of lagers comes in and says "In before the lager crowd shows up!" EDIT: Maibock/Hellsbock and Czech Pils
I'm not familiar with the Gratzer style, so you very well may be right that it is more similar to that than a Berliner Weisse. The bottle actually calls it a "Smoked Lichtenhainer Weisse" and the description on the bottle says it is in the Berliner Weisse style. Either way, it is an excellent German Wheat, that's for sure!
You can do a search on Lichtenhainer and find that is an almost extinct style. Or read this from Ron. http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2008/01/lichtenhainer.html
Come to Colorado, seems like everyone is brewing them here, Hell, even Spoetzl will have one out this spring... Back on track though, weizenbock. I haven't seen too many around outside of the german beer section of the bomber rooms. I would love to see some american interpretations.
Great info. Thanks for the link! I'd love to see more breweries doing that Lichtenhainer/Berliner Weisse style of sour wheat beers. Amazing style! Too bad it is almost an extinct style(s)....hope they make a booming return.
Things have gotten quite good here in the U.S. with Hill Farmstead, Upright, Tired Hands, and others, but I would still love to see more. I would love to see more low abv offerings in general, particularly including kolsch, "American Bitters," and berliner weiss. Low abv saisons are fantastic as well. Finally, I would really like to see more American breweries starting to experiment with true spontaneous fermentation.
Agreed there are more and more US breweries making quality Saisons. Two more to add to the list are Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Funkwerks
Apparently I need to copy down these Saison suggestions and see what's available near me. Thanks for the info!
Kellerweiss. I was damned impressed with New Glarus' offering. Patersbier/Enkel. No one makes them. No one seems to want to recognize their existence. We recognize Dubbel, Tripel, and Quadrupel, but not Enkel? I'd love to see a local offering in the vein of Chimay Doree. Braggot. I've only had two; one was excellent, one was pretty good. Irish Dry Stout. There's no love for it outside of the auld country, especially from U.S. breweries. Of course, I'd say the same thing about Irish Reds and Cream Ales. Does no one else love Kilkenny?
I'd love to see American breweries tackle, and get right, Hefes and Dunkelweizens. Sierra Nevada did right with the Kellerweis, I'd love to see them mass market a dunkel based off that recipe.
I would say Stillwater (absolutely love Premium, Table Beer, and Brian's BA stuff), but Funkwerks hasn't wowed me with anything as of yet. I didn't have an exhaustive list, just mentioning some of my favorites. On the funky side, of course Jolly Pumpkin gets a big mention as well. And, as Eric mentions below, I was reckless in leaving out Logsdon, one of the best. I'm also a huge Oxbow fan. Yes, absolutely Logsdon. Thank you.
prob IPA, Double IPA, imperial stout.... ok seriously though - +1 on milds/sessions and German style beers.
The other day I saw Brooklyn irish Dry Stout for sale and I was going to pounce on it but I ultimately passed.
Don't let them get you too excited. Most of those breweries either don't distribute or have very limited distribution, Stillwater being the exception. I'd say I wanted more Biere de Garde, but I've never had a domestic BdG that was any good. I'd really like to see a good biere de mars, too. With saisons finally gaining well deserved popularity amongst drinkers and brewers alike, hopefully more breweries will realize they have yet to explore the malty side of farmhouse ales.
As has been mentioned, I'd like to try and become familiar with more of the German styles. I'd also like to try a wider array of lagers. I know Jacks Abby, and perhaps a few others, specialize in lager varieties. I'd like to try more of it. As with many craft drinkers, I'm an ale drinker 99% of the time. But I'm still confident that lagers can be just as exciting, there just aren't that many exciting ones out there. So, while perhaps they're not very traditional styles, I'd like to see more breweries experiment with beers like India Pale Lagers, smoked lagers, black lagers, etc.
Maybe not under-produced but I wish there were more saisons, or at least more saisons available in my area. Generally it seems German styles are under-produced. Sure, there are lots of hefes and pilsners but fewer dunkelweizens, alts, bocks, etc. out there.
The really true smoked beers like the master Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier It's been years since I've had it, but maybe Alaskan Smoked Porter makes the grade.
