Anyone can understand the obvious, but it is a true technician and craftsman with a well trained palate that can understand the subtleties of finesse and discreet complexity.

You can easily draw comparisons with the wine industry where for years winemakers chased accolades from the likes of Robert Parker for big overpowered red wines, and ignored the development of elegance. It is only recently that the market has matured and become more sophisticated that it now respects well made wines that aren’t “in your face”.

Another analogy is music … where there is room for death metal, thrash, garage, jazz, roots and all forms of music because like brewing it is an art form, and appreciation of style is a personal taste thing. Just because you might like full-on thrash core music, doesn’t mean its better than traditional blues … it’s just different …

Having said all that, there is a place for big gutsy beer styles, that are well made and in balance. There shouldn’t be a place for beers that are clumsily made and over-hopped.

Hops are merely a seasoning in beer, they are there to provide balance to the sweetness of the malt, and provide extra flavour or complexity.

Imagine if you were served up a meat dish that was just chock a block full of chillies to a point where it was inedible. It wouldn’t matter what the meat was and whether it was good cut.

If you have a beautiful piece of fresh rich seafood, you would be mad to spoil it with a pile of chilli to a point where the flavour of the seafood is lost.

Enough of this rant for now …

Cheers

froth and bubble

The thing is, they all fit well, they are all ‘shoes’ and they are all special. I just have to make sure I don’t turn up to a romantic dinner with Mrs Pilsner wearing my Blunnies!

Cheers
Prof