On Overrated Beers
When I was at GABF, there was a constant, crushing crowd in front of the Lost Abbey, Russian River, New Glarus and Dogfish booths. As soon as the doors opened, thirty or so people would dutifully line up in front of their stalls, empty glasses ready. I can’t blame them – the best breweries in the country were there, at their finger tips, how could you pass up the chance to taste them. Beers from these breweries becomes the stuff of legends (admittedly, within a very small, beer centric community, but still.)
As was pointed out to me at the time, these breweries could bottle urine, and people would line up to try it. It’s especially frustrating for other, smaller craft breweries who are making a fine product, but can’t create the same type of instant buzz that the big dogs in the craft brewing world create with every release. The hype from certain breweries, and certain beers often is nearly deafening. So what happens when the beer doesn’t live up the unbelievable hype that surrounds it?
For example, this past week, City Beer sent out a email that they had Black Albert on tap and in the bottle, in very, very limited quantities. Their email read: “Some have seen it, some have tasted it, and some have only heard it spoken about it in hushed tones through various inner beer circles. Many steps were taken to ensure this holiday season your taste buds would experience this rare beverage.The De Struise Brouwers offering, “Black Albert”, will indeed make an appearance this Saturday, December 13th at the City Beer Store. It is one of only twenty kegs imported into the United States.”
The hype worked. When I got to City Beer it was quickly filling up, and the ran out of Black Albert in just a few hours. Luckily for me, I was early enough to belly up the sample taps and order one before it got really crowded. I took my pour back to my stool, allowed it to warm up a bit – it was being served very, very cold, which suppresses a lot of the subtler flavors.
I was disappointed. Really disappointed.
It wasn’t bad, by any stretch. It was good. It just wasn’t the ethereal, “I need to change my shorts” kind of good I’d been lead to expect. For an Imperial Russian Stout (or, sorry, a Royal Stout) it hid it’s 13% alcohol remarkably well, and had great dark malt notes, with a hint of licorice in the finish. All good things. But it really lacked the the richness, and velvety moth feel that I expected from a beer regarded as being just shy of able to cure cancer. For my dollar (and this beer cost several of them) I can think of several, more readily available beers that deliver a better flavor punch. For my $13 for a 12oz bottle, I would rather have a 750ml bottle of Speedway Stout, or Old Viscosity, or The Abyss.
To prove my point, I pulled a bottle of He’Brew’s Jewbelation 12 off the shelf, and had Craig crack it open for me (City Beer as a great $1 corkage to drink anything on site – they’ll even chill it to order for you.) At $6 for a 22oz bottle, it is a steal. To do some basic math, this works out to 27c per ounce, versus four times that for the Black Albert. The He’Brew was decisively warmer and much more noticeable alcohol than it’s Belgian rival, with a slightly lighter roasted malt flavor, and hints of dried fruit. It’s flavor profile stuck me as overall more complex and interesting than Black Albert, and I’m more inclined to grab a few bottles, and see how it ages.
Have you had the experience of beers that don’t live up to the hype? What beers do you feel like have really dropped the ball when you tasted to completed to the reputation that proceeds them? Or did I somehow miss something essential to the tasting experience of the Black Albert?
December 15th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Love the picture.
One thing about those breweries bottling urine…they don’t! While few have had the chance to sample De Struise, many have tried beers from Russian River, Port, Avery, etc. Coming from Santa Rosa, I can say, Russian River is a place I stop by on a regular basis and I try to bring an extra pair of shorts while at it. Sure, it’s a little sad that Pliny the Elder, Periditon, Damnation, and the rest of their “everyday” line-up don’t get me as excited as it once had, but I still do backflips for fresh kegs of Supplication or Pliny the Younger.
So what dropped the ball? Fat Tire, and most of New Belgium’s lineup for that part. I had a friend who sang the praises of Fat Tire like no other when he lived in Denver. When I finally encountered it for the first time in Oregon, I wasn’t impressed. Their lineup is hit and miss for me.
As for dig burly stouts in the $1/oz range, I’d love to get my hands on some Rasputin XI or Barrel Aged Yeti.
December 15th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
@Mario – I think that’s true – that a lot of these breweries do consistently put out amazing beers. However, not everything I think is always up to snuff, especially as they grow. The complaint about Fat Tire is a pretty common one, but La Folie and Eric’s Ale are some of my favorite beers, and I also like the Mothership Wit, although it’s less special than their wild offerings.
I had a similar experience with from D Theobroma ogfish. Reading the ingredient list, I expected an amazingly beer – what I got I thought was just OK. I’ve heard similar complaints that The Abyss from Deschutes isn’t the same as it was just a few years ago, also Mr Brand seems to still be a big fan.
December 16th, 2008 at 6:24 am
GABF attendees are human and therefore are likely to be persuaded by popular (in the beer world) opinion, the (beer) media, and the rest.
It’s not unreasonable to assume that most GABF attendees do not want to go home without having sampled the “stars” and if they do so first, they can check that off their lists and go about the rest of the time without that hanging over them.
December 16th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
[...] gave it a look. Cool site – great pictures and a lot of good food coverage, which I love. Check out Beer & Nosh’s write up of the Black Albert tasting at City Beer [...]
December 16th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
@ Ed – I completely agree, and am totally guilty of going to try these renowned beers myself. I just wonder how many of them live up to expectations, especially in an environment like a convention hall. It’s a lot easier to fall madly in love with a beer over a great dinner than it is from a sample glass. Some beers do turn out to be worth such as New Glarus’ Belgium Cherry Red, but others, like Black Albert, really disappoint considering the mystique surrounding them.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Interesting subject with a simple answer…. I think.
Popularity of breweries is cultivated by…….US! Well…. Maybe not exactly you or I, but the beer enthusiasts and beer geeks in our country. ;-}
It’s a given that some High end beer drinkers will find a favorite and others will jump onto the train. Many are easy sheep, who follow the heard. Some will enjoy the train ride and others will wish they took the bus…. ;-}
Sometimes it’s all about marketing…… Sometimes it’s about using the right mouth pieces to spread the word; i.e., The Beer Media, Beer Personalities and the like. The media has a big influence on all our us beer buyers… and lets just say some hype and opinions are BOUGHT…some are not.
Deschutes has been hyping up their Abyss for the past two years. Funny thing is, every year the beer gets a little less interesting…. This years Abyss is a little less interesting than last year and the same for the year before…. SOME PEOPLE don’t notice the difference…. others do! ;-} Hook em’ in and they’ll take that ride with question! American advertising at it’s best! I’m always waiting for a Bell’s Expedition Stout, but instead, we may get an Anderson Valley Barney Flats Stout or an Abyss. The singular outstanding Dark Chocolate profile of this years Abyss is nice, along with it’s viscosity, but (IMO) it’s missing a lot of other normal Stout/RIS Characteristics. Is there anything wrong with the Abyss or Barney Flats? Absolutely not!! We’re still talking hype vs. reality.
Beer Hype = Caveat Emptor!
December 16th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Did you get any Dissident from Deschutes, Mike? I’m not the biggest Abyss fan and agree that it’s in decline but I thought Dissident was outstanding. If you didn’t catch it while it was out, I’m sure you know enough people up there who have bottles that they’d crack open with you. Well worth seeking out!
December 16th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
I do have two bottle of The Dissident in my Cellar.
It was pretty good, but I think it needs to age. The flavors were a little all over the page and could use a little drying out. I know it was aged for like 16 months, but it has a sweet worty taste like it hasn’t been completely fermented out. Note sure that’s the problem, but that’s what it tastes like. If it is an UN-fermented worty taste it may NOT get better with age! If it’s just flavor component in the beer, it should smooth put with age. BUT, YES! It was a nice effort and think with some age it could be better.
December 17th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Having tried the Black Albert this past weekend, and just now the Tsjeeses, I’m really, really hoping the Pannepot pulls through. I’m getting a “yummy homebrew” vibe so far, but nothing near the accolades (hrm, best brewery in the world?) that have been foisted upon De Struise. Great beer, sure. But there’s lots of great beer out there. (And ditto on the delicious, yet arguably overrated Theobroma.)
December 17th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Rob?
Can we define, “Yummy Homebrew?” “Yummy” is just a little to…..Uh…..nondescript…. ;-}
December 18th, 2008 at 4:49 am
Sure. “Yummy” means, hey, this is really good, but you know what, it’s got all sorts of strange rough edges and doesn’t taste refined at all, sort of wild, sort of unhinged, but not flawed in any discernible way. It has two or three really nice, promising, loud notes, but there’s a kitchen sink of unclear flavors kicking around in the background. In contrast with “gross” homebrew, which is more common. But see, I can get yummy homebrew tasting beer for far less – and without fighting folks in a line to the keg. So there’s that overrated thing again.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:58 am
I think Lost Abbey is consistently underwhelming. I have been disappointed with all of their stock beers (Devotion, Lost and Found, Judment Day, Red Barn, Avent Garde, and Lost and Found). Witch’s Wit was watery and boring. 10 Commandments 2008 was okay and its only saving grace was its nice Brett presence. The only two I have liked have been Inferno and Gift of the Magi. I am not sure how my bottle of 2008 Cable Car will taste.
I did spend $12 on a bottle of Black Albert at Healthy Spirits on Thursday. Maybe I will like it now that the bar has been set so low.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Rob,
Fair enough…. ;-}
December 28th, 2008 at 4:25 am
Brewty is in the eye of the beerholder. But what do I know? My favorite Dogfish brew is Indian Brown and I reach for Allagash over Russian River.
January 1st, 2009 at 9:58 pm
@Brian
I completely agree with your beer philosophy!
You know what you like and make a “personal” decision…. That’s the major difference between Bandwagon beer drinking which leads ‘Overrated Beers.”
BTW, I’m a big fan of Dogfish Indian Brown too…. ;-}