Beer Tasting

Everyone knows about the craft beer craze of recent years in the US. It has done much to further the evolution of beers and brewing around the world. Since I've started brewing, I've come to the realization that American beers are in some ways still very much lacking to beers in countries with a long history in brewing. The American brewing industry has led to the development of many new and different hop strains, which we've used to great success in brewing.

Where the US brewing scene lacks, however, is in the use of malts (both base and specialty). The prevalence of Rahr malts (the largest malting site in the world), has resulted in a fairly basic malt bill for many American beers (remember, there are many exceptions, I'm generalizing here).

This weekend I'm hosting a beer tasting where we are exploring different malts from around the world, used in beers from the US and elsewhere, beers that may have been overlooked by the average consumer. I'm trying to create a moment of open discussion and peer review in which we try to see if there is another direction that brewers should be working towards.

It should be really interesting to see what becomes of it. It has already been a blast selecting beers to fit the constraints of the theme.

Also, if you didn't get invited to this beer tasting (I host one every now and then), its likely because I can't invite everybody, and I try to mix it up. Send me a message and I'll see to it that you get invited to one sometime.