Five things you need to know about craft beer | The Craft Beer Channel

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Hey geeks! What do we think? Did we change your mind or say something stupid? We'd love to hear the things you wish everyone understood about beer. And want to what's gonna be big in the years to come? Check this out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWfFiYhsh7hkp9U

[@NinjaMonkeyPrime]

Related to the topic you might want to do another video about what's wrong with craft brew fans. It's kind of related to what you discussed but maybe more specific. For example, I recall reading an article that a brewer was happy to hear their last batch sold well but then were shocked to hear that no one wanted to order any more because "the fans" wanted something different. Same goes for trends like now it's impossible to make an IPA that is strong enough and new enough to keep fans happy.

[@GregTardif]

Great take! I’m a noob to this

[@canadianbrewer]

This is why I make my own beer.

[@34spooks]

Where did you get your hoody from.? Very cool👍

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@@34spooks it is our merch! You can get it from our teespring store

[@awesomeo5011]

#6 Taste is subjective, not all people taste flavors the same. If you like a beer do not let someone louder than you try to convince you it is objectively bad. Discover what you like, and only listen to others that you trust.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Amen to that.

[@taxusbaccata3001]

Jup. Also the situation influences the taste aswell. A couple of days ago I had to go to Uni and met some friends of mine. We had a cheap macro-lager outside together and it seemd like the best beer I had in a long time. (Although if got really good homebrewstuff at home^^)

[@awesomeo5011]

@@taxusbaccata3001 I totally agree.

[@koshey245]

One of my buddies that only ever drank miller lite and yeungling started getting into craft beers because he found an ale he liked. This is the same one that gave me grief nonstop for always drinking IPAs or stouts, and now he has some craft beers he drinks himself.

[@evilginge8157]

Great video, so true about the price of beer, I used to be a quantity drinker and would think nothing of spending £40 on a night out drinking terrible beer. Now I much prefer to to drink quality beer and less of it. Cheers chaps.

[@haydenhollenbaugh3958]

I made a berliner weiss with passionfruit/orange/guava for family. They kept asking when I was going to make it again. Their heads about exploded when I told them that just the 28oz of passionfruit puree was $40. The whole 10 gallons I made cost me about $100 for ingredients. It's true, there is a disconnect between the brewing process and the consumer. Especially when it is family getting a keg for free lol

[@ethancarnaby5509]

If you think that's bad, avg cost for quality craft here in Australia from a bottle shop is $9-15 USD / 440-500ml can. So I'd conside $100/10 Gallons or $100/37L is incredibly cheap tbf But I have to agree, massive disconnect and hopefully it changes with customers being exposed to the real labour charges associated with beer production; especially small independent craft breweries 👌

[@ethancarnaby5509]

@Fergus Mor mac Eirc don't know what your buying aha, locally we have some of the best Craft in Australia, if not the Southern Hemisphere 👌

[@Curly_Captures]

I went in a pub about 8-10 years ago when I was just becoming aware of craft beer. I remember my mate getting a can of Gamma ray (pre-takeover). This old bloke saw this and said to the guy behind the bar "coming to the pub and getting tins!? might as well go to bloody Asda". I just got reminded off this, seem quite amusing now.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Ha! I wonder if Gamma Ray is actually now in Asda... might be!

[@Curly_Captures]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Ha! Yeah, probably is. I'm always shocked by how good the beer ranges are in supermarkets now. I feel dirty buying it from them though.

[@joeby13]

yes! fresh isn't always best, i made an IPA , after week one it was super grassy. week 3 it had mellowed out and was way more balanced and enjoyable.

[@reovius]

On the hype-beer point, I definitely took this on board a few years back. When me and a friend of mine first got into craft beer we chased hype for a long while. Eventually we both just realised that most of the beers we enjoyed were the ones we had outside of the hype, the ones at local bars and brewery taps. I generally always try to have at least two or three new beers, preferably from breweries i've not tried before, when we go out (or rather in lockdown, when I make beer orders online). The amount of amazing quality brewers out there that I've found from just grabbing something off a shelf that I would have otherwise ignored is incalculable.

[@beerfridgepodcast]

We brewed a DIPA which after 5 weeks in the bottle tasted so much better than fresh.

[@CharlieRogers50]

The absolute best thing about craft beer is there is always something new and at least in the states almost anywhere you go you'll have unique local breweries and beers to try. Drink local!!

[@jonnyrmoore]

On freshness, I totally agree that a beer can be "too fresh". I remember a couple of years ago, a London brewery (I won't name) was releasing a new DIPA and I saw on their Instagram that it had been kegged and would be on tap at a pub nearby the same night. I was passing by and decided to grab a half... I can still remember the hop burn. Couldn't finish it. Hugely disappointed. That's not to say all ultra-fresh beer is bad, but quality should always come first.

[@BenRiley1804]

Another great video. Another point maybe for next time: you don’t always need to drink from a glass! If I’m drinking a new beer I’ve spent £7 a can on then yeah I’ll drink it from a glass for the best experience, but I’ve been known to drink a 4 pack of NM faith, for example, my favourite core pale ale, from a can. Usually at a bbq with a can koozie! 🙂

[@stevemiceter07]

important to note that craft can still be big, fullers are major pub chain but with great craft beer

[@henneshomebrew341]

For me it’s important that my beer didn’t have to travel too much. I think in most regions you have quite good breweries which need the support from from local beer friends. Plus you don’t have such a great climate-foodprint (or however you’ll call it) when you drink locally.

[@jonparry6462]

Just listened to the podcast, and hearing you talk about sometimes drinking a beer from the can/bottle made me think. In the end craft beer is still just beer. Often it's too easy to analyze every sip rather than just enjoying the moment.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

100%

[@ATL-xi7lo]

I saw a short video of Chris Lohring commenting a beer freshness and that set me straight on thinking all beer had to be drunk within 2 or 3 weeks of packaging to be good. Most of the German beers we get here in the states, along with PU, has been sitting at least a month before I buy it. It's always still good quality. Now that more of it is coming over in cans, the lagers stay very shelf stable and fresh for quite some time.

[@justina.6769]

I'm willing to pay more to try certain styles of beer. Here in the US most craft beers at a brewery go for about $5 to $6 for a pint. Now, if you start looking at Double/Triple IPA, Imperial Stouts/Porters, or even something above 9% ABV, you are likely to get a 9oz pour and pay around $7 to start depending.

[@CcoronaMoreno]

Fact 6: hype beers is not necessary good. Many people buy hype beer, willing to spend lots of money and with that combination hype and price, they think is good. Cheers for this great video, many more people has to see or hear this.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

This is also very true - particularly of the more unusual and whacky beers made by those breweries! But usually a good reputation for certain styles is a good sign. Other Half make terrible sours but still truly world class IPA

[@flowleopard893]

We have an incredibly vibrant independent lager scene here in South Africa, each brewer makes a point of creating at least one... interesting how it varies

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Interesting! Who makes the best ones?

[@flowleopard893]

Oh wow thats actually so hard to answer once asked 🤣 So by definition of "craft", Jack Black's Brew Co malt their own barley for their Brewer's Lager, which to me makes it a contender for "best" seeing as they took the craft a level deeper, and the beer is an all-day smasher, unique almost candy malt flavor with that perfect snappy finish. Most enjoyable to me personally is Darling Brew's 'Just Beer', it is a lager with hints of bready wheatiness served in hearty 660ml bottles, also perfect for watching a one-day with mates, alcohol content is a tad towards hard core at 5.8 percent ABV, but I suppose the malt backbone is what matters. The most exciting brewers here IMO are Devils Peak Brewing Co, phenomenal lager but their ales and especially Grapefruit IPA is worth mention. Not a Lager, but most noteworthy beer from South Africa is Mountain Brewery's Kölsch. Absolutely stunning.

[@ianlaker9161]

As a very keen all-grain home and long-time lover (40 plus years) of great beer (craft, cask conditioned and otherwise), I can heartily recommend Pete Brown's Craft: An argument. I think he addresses many of the points here very eloquently and with his usual excellent research and rationale. Totally agree with the 'drink fresh' thing being overstated. My hop-forward beers often taste better with the benefit of time and those citrusy American hops still leap out of the glass after a month or so. The cost issue is also a great point. Great beer is every bit as complex as a great wine. People baulk at the expense of great beer but not of wine. Great and intelligent video boys, as always!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Cheers Ian and yes Pete Brown's book is ace!

[@NinjaMonkeyPrime]

Regarding hype I can relate to the pandemic forcing me to find a local brewery. In an effort to support local businesses I was doing growler refills at a pub until I found a brewery very close by. My beer tasting friends noticed I kept visiting this tiny brewery and kept asking me how it was. I had to honestly tell them that nothing they made was worth insane hype, but it was all good. And that flipped a switch for me where I realized it shouldn't be always trying to find the "best" but just supporting someone who consistently does a good job.

[@angeliquekieser9467]

We are going through our third alcohol ban since March 2020 in SA... At Least some of us are home brewers... But it would be great to get some great craft beers.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Stay strong! I hear some lawsuits are coming in to fight it.

[@EricNeuls]

5:00 Everyone in the Tree House Brewing enthusiasts group. hell i end up waiting about 3-4 weeks to drink most of beer because i have alot int he fridge at any given time lol

[@stevelewis199]

One of the things maybe people don't know is the difference between bottled beer and canned beer. A lot of people assume bottles are better but I think cans are much fresher. The only good thing with bottles is if it's a beer with fermentation going on inside it. I had a very lively bruges zot tonight but it was amazing!!

[@barrycranston5122]

Great show, I still believe most craft beer is good or better. A smaller percentage is excellent, a smaller percentage of that is always excellent. Lots of variables affect the beer you drink so brew your own to control those variables IMHO.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Haha! Only if you are a very good homebrewer!

[@akula4669]

I always try to go for the local beer as much as possible, both when at home or travelling. In regards to price, completely understandable that craft beer is more expensive to make than a macro pilsner, but it definitely feels like here in London (might be an exception) is expensive for the sake of being expensive pretty often. Recently paid £7 for a pint of local craft in a standard central pub that was around 5% while in the same pub, some imported beer of the same style and strength was £6. Now an extra £1 won't bankrupt me, but the prices have been rising way too quickly in the last couple of years. Plus you expect a beer that had to be transported and import taxes paid for would be more expensive. Another example is pre-pandemic, went to have a few beers at the source in a popular London brewery that shall not be named, but has a lot of colourful skeleton artwork. The prices were more or less the same as central London despite there being no transportation costs, pub/bar mark up, a non central location and even the area itself was just a few benches outside (basically 0 spent on the interior). Funnily they even charged £2 deposit for the glasses. Must say that we enjoyed the beer, but the experience was way below that what you would normally expect when you go directly to the source in other European breweries large or small local craft ones.

[@mrougelot]

Great insights guys, back to basics indeed, but very important to keep them in mind every time we drink. I feel like this stuff should be on textbooks somewhere: is that just me?

[@jameslopez958]

Really appreciate the information Brother 😎✌️😁. Tucson Arizona Desert 🏜️. Time To Crack One 👍🍺

[@ThomasOpent]

I've had so many IPA's that were nicer after a month than 2 days old. As for hype beers.... I check untappd when I'm curious about a beer, but I always check if the friends I have who's palate I trust and opinions I trust have had it and what they think. I don't care about the InterWebz brownie points. But if my best mate who shares my taste in beers scores it highly, I'll consider it.

[@mattthompson4913]

You say beer should be treated more like wine which I tend to agree. But do you think in the future breweries should become more like vineyards and operate as breweries and hop farms/maltsters in the aim of driving ingredient cost down and make beer specific to the land they are on?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I mean that would be really cool and a return to the farmhouse brewing of mi century Europe- but unfortunately the hops and malts we love now mostly come from very specific climates so I could never see that being common. I also doubt it would be any cheaper- it certainly doesnt make wine cheaper!

[@TheHoumann]

You should check out To Øl at To Øl City in Denmark; they're growing an orchard right next to their brewery as well as some other stuff. Adjuncts could probably more or less easily be produced locally, even hops...

[@tylerb6081]

Nano scale, high quality craft beer can be had super cheap if you brew it yourself. I can do 25 cents per pour for an excellent (and award winning) Pale and Blonde. But you can't put a $/hr on your time, then all the savings are shot. It's all about paying the brewer for their costs, like the building, equipment, staff, utilities, packaging, etc. Raw input product at wholesale rates (water, malt, hops, yeast) is cheap compared to the overhead costs of running a business.

[@GregTardif]

Love the oasis glasses for the thumbnail

[@CharlieRogers50]

Great video guys. Hit on a lot of good points that I've often discussed with my mates that are domestic beer drinkers. They often mispronounce it on purpose and call it "crap beer". Lol The absolute worst thing about craft beer is the pretentiousness and arrogance that seems to permeate the craft beer culture. THAT is the biggest thing preventing craft beer from accelerating in popularity at this point. That and the monopoly of domestic beer distributors in the states lol

[@jorispattyn9690]

Guys, true on all 5. (NB I didn't know about the 'Ratebeer Festival'.) One thing, maybe. Make a difference between 'Pilsner' and 'lager'. The macrobrews might call their stuff Pilsner, it certainly isn't the same thing. I had the privilege of tasting Plensky Prazdroj straight from the lagertank before it was bought and changed, and the same with Budejovice Budvar, and those beers were easily as complex as lambic is.

[@knavesquill9198]

I had to get into the wonderful world of pilsners on my own and word of mouth/friend's recommendations, in spite of the overwhelming noise of advertising and self-inflation around other types. Don't get me wrong, IPAs are amazing, really my top, but I am so glad I worked past the narrow-minded hype.

[@DougAdams-Outside]

RE: Fact #2, I'll usually note in untappd if I rated something low because it didn't taste right because of possible shipping/packaging issue. And I'll try that same beer again in the future hoping that it tastes correct the next time.

[@BrewabitRick]

Great advice guys I like your thinking, thanks for spreading your knowledge cheers 👍🍻

[@racefrazier7998]

I went to a brewery and I said surprise me to the bartender. He blended a cream ail and a raspberry blond, boasting that this is a very popular. I tried it and didn't like it. I said there was an off not. I'm not a beer expert by any means so the bartender took a taste, made an odd face and ran into the back. About 30 minutes later I heard cursing and kegs being thrown. Some wild yeast got in there and messed it up.

[@stevemiceter07]

love this video, cask king says me happy

[@cmasailor]

Well done

[@nickmarks6066]

I wonder what beer festival you are talking about?

[@dannyarcher6163]

This is true, alot of craft beer is shit. Many companies out there just hopping up their largers and calling it pale, hiding off flavours in overbearing aroma etc.

[@saladaufdieeichel]

Some months ago I bought a mixed sixpack from new local micro brewery... all of them where to some extent sour... an IPA with PH 3,5 was the worst. Where not really interested in the feedback... only thing they cared about was their untapped rating...

[@alexcwilde]

This has inspired me to use higher grade OJ when mixing my Cantillon into a Lindemans. Quality costs! ;)

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Tropicana or higher.

[@alexcwilde]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Hahaha. I think I can push to that. Doubt I will be doing it again, but with Brexit hell kicking in it is easier to get Cantillon and 3F (in Denmark) than Track and Newbarns, so never say never!

[@marklandry5710]

I would love to hear more of the outlandish things you guys hear

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Haha there are a few in these comments! Maybe we will pick some classics out in our podcast this week (The Bubble)

[@JackBWakeham]

I find anywhere between 2-4 weeks to be the sweet spot with NEIPA's, had 4 cans of NE DIPA from an unnamed brewery at 2 -3 weeks it was great, but at 2 months it was an absolute mess. However i find it to be very inconsistent across the board which is probably part of the issue (and of course opinion plays a huge part)

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Indeed. That's why the dream is breweries put canned on and best before dates to help consumers - but sadly they have no control over when that beer actually gets to consumers and how it's treated in between so it's so hard to know.

[@JackBWakeham]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Is worth mentioning I mostly buy direct and the beer that was a mess after 2 months came direct a couple days after canning and had a COD and went straight in the fridge. But yeah don't think it'll ever be perfect.

[@Blapto]

What online UK beer shops do people recommend who look after the beer and ship it right?

[@ElectricApe]

Obviously the fresh rule applies most to hop forward beers, Impy stouts and guezes are good for YEARS. In fact they change and sometimes improve with age.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Indeed they do - although not all will. We did a video on it last year... kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZy2gZ2EaN5paLc

[@alexjackson9491]

Dunno if I agree that 2020 had less hype than before, all those double/triple IPAs if anything had more hype and online bottle shops/direct delivery has been more available than ever. Been doing some local for local trades to get a sense what else is out there beyond the bigger names

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Interesting. We saw a real switch towards core and local both in our drinking and from my reporting on the stats for GBH - maybe it wasnt a switch from beer geeks but just new people coming into the scene

[@therosieway]

Regarding the whole hype-thing, I think it's a very good point, especially when it comes to IPA. A few of the hyped US breweries are still, in my opinion, a bit better, but 98% of them probably aren't. When it comes to barrel aged imp. stouts and barleywines, though, I definitely think there's some way to go for the European breweries before they match the very best in the US.

[@RoranRock]

careful about saying "bad beer=bad brewer", good equipement that allows you to get minimized O2 exposure is crazy expensive, not all brewery can afford it. Many brewers don't care to make to last geeky style of IPA, but most are trying to make the best beer they can with the equipement they have, for the market they are targeting.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Didn't we say the exact opposite? Bad beer isn't always the brewers fault. Even then though, not having the equipment is no excuse. No brewery should be sending out badly oxidised beer, and as a homebrewer I can produce 3-4 month shelf stable hazy IPA so no reason a professional brewer - whatever their equipment - shouldn't be able to.

[@RoranRock]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel 4 month shelf stable hazy IPA in bottle ? you must have the secret sauce :p

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@@RoranRock Sorry I was talking keg! Bottles are a nightmare but if the brewery doesn't have the set up to get D.O. low enough they shouldn't make those styles - if they don't then they can get away with higher oxidation and then we won't notice!

[@warrensmit4889]

I love how you say a lot of people have started drinking from their local breweries with all the lock downs and have found that there is a lot more out there than just the hype beer. My only issue is that my local brewery is Deya. Sorry I lied. Its not a issue. I'm just bragging.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

You get the hype and local prize!

[@AlisonEGrasso]

Another great vid! Dying to know what that SMEG thing behind your head is though... (please pardon me, I'm American.)

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

It's a heater...with a screen to show fake flames

[@AlisonEGrasso]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel I want one

[@ricoranger2]

I don't think they make them anymore. I've been looking for one for ages.

[@tylerb6081]

Ok. 2 weeks is a bit overzealous. So what is the beer age at which one crafty person would refuse to buy an IPA? My own personal limit is 3 months if found in a cooler. Never buy any IPA stored ambient.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

These are very good rough rules.

[@nickmarks6066]

How can you be sure what happened to it during transit? A beer in a fridge in quality bottle shop might have been treated like a tin of soup in transit. Buy the beer that you think/hope you will like.

[@tyrannosaurus696]

Fact 2 - Surely to mitigate the degradation in quality, the best option is to keep as much control over the storage, transit and presentation of the beer as possible? If a brewery wants its beer to reach the customer in the best possible condition, then don't sell to supermarkets, or shit pubs, and have good connections with bottle shops. Or just sell it directly. I think the excuse that the beer gets mishandled after it leaves the brewery is a bit of a cop-out for those larger breweries who put volume of sales and profit above everything else. There are many breweries who don't put their beer in supermarkets precisely because they want control over how the beer reaches the customer, even if that means sacrifices in income.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Totally agree on supermarkets - it is a BIG brand risk to put you beer out there on warm shelves. But the issue is many breweries NEED to rely on third parties to sell their beer because they dont have the in house logistics experience or systems to do it. So the responsibility absolutely rests with the brewer still, but also with the distros and the servers because there is only so much a small brewery can do.

[@stefansoder8287]

THANK YOU 👍😁😁😁😁

[@oliverhemmings1978]

I would add how beers brewed years a part can be different like an IPA you loved in 2019 might be different brewed in 2021, I found this with Cloudwater's IPA and no one can deny how Punk IPA has become less hoppy over the years, but that's more to do with increased scale I suspect. Brewing a beer isn't as simple as following a recipe and lots can change over the years from brewers moving on, up-scaling equipment, relocating to a new water source...

[@chrishaines1677]

Same with Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ald.

[@michaelwise535]

Some of the best beers do cost more. That’s why quality is always better than quantity.

[@GregTardif]

Have you tried Miller lite?

[@michaelwise535]

Yes and it is not for me. Stouts, Milds, and juicy IPAs are my speed. Quality

[@GregTardif]

@@michaelwise535 yummy

[@GregTardif]

@@michaelwise535 I love juicy ipas...actually all of them

[@michaelwise535]

A SC brewery called 13 hands has a juicy IPA that blew my mind. It is what has set the standard for me.

[@hardrinker1989]

Dry January is nearly at an end chaps 😀😀😀

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

So close I can taste the DIPAs

[@whosradl]

In your minds how do facts 1 and 4 (the first 4) overlap (venn diagram, or spectrum?)? I agree that craft doesn’t necessarily mean good, and I also agree that there are great similar options nowadays to the hype beers that are out there made by unknown breweries. If there’s lots of craft beer that’s not good then do people’s local craft offerings have a higher percent chance at being “bad” to the hyped beers they might be able to get their hands on? How much thought does the average person want to put into choosing a beer? Taste is so subjective, but I also want a good to-style example when the brewery puts that style on the label. I think it’s also fair to say that many don’t want to go down the rabbit holes that learning about good beer can go. Because I love beer, learning about it, and love sharing it, I’ve found joy in them, but there’s sooooo many rabbit holes! Haha. Cheers guys, love the content and questions.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Haha it gets complicated doesn't it! I guess hype breweries are usually safer bets but unfortunately they are often priced much higher. We did a video about buying in bottle shops to help work out what is going to be good and what won't be... maybe that will help! kzbin.info/www/bejne/e33ZoGmIbZeWY5o

[@whosradl]

Yes, also a great video for things to watch out for when shopping in a bottle shop (hoping one has access to a good bottle shop that takes care of the beer). How often do you have experiences with bad “local” craft beer? Like if you get beer directly from the brewery, or stored well at your trusted bottle shop, and it seems to be within a reasonable date, how often is it just a bad out of style beer? How often do you stray outside the many beers you know are good, or the breweries you have had a great experience drinking?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@@whosradl we are always trying to things, and we get sent samples on a weekly basis. Of the new stuff we get, only around half is stuff we would drink again if we saw it in a pub or bottleshop - and usually that has been well treated because it's direct from the brewery.

[@whosradl]

Oh wow. Do those breweries ask for honest feedback, and when they get it, how receptive are they to it and make changes? As a homebrewer I know how tough it is to get honest feedback from family and friends that are either too nice to say anything (even when I ask them to be brutally honest), or not experienced enough to know off flavors in beers when they have them. I remember one time early on when I made a maibock for a friends birthday that was garbage. Lots of oxidation and other off flavors, so I started dumping the bottles, and my dad was like, “I liked those.” Haha

[@tyrannosaurus696]

Fact 4.1 - while I agree that hype can be misleading, any business has to produce products that consumers want. There are breweries who will only produce niche styles, and will shy away from the current trend towards fruity, hazy IPAs that appeal to a wide market. The reality is that those niche beers are not going to generate as much hype as a DIPA or TIPA. I've seen breweries attempt to create hype around pastry stouts or mixed ferms or lagers and it just doesn't really work. Even Wild Beer, who are known for their sours/mixed ferms, produce SIPAs and IPAs because they understand they at least need to make a nod towards the wider market (possible under advisement from Jonny, who I know works with them). Wild's small batch stuff is stunning, but you need to entice the customer towards those by throwing a few breadcrumb beers.

[@FatherEarth93]

I don't think you can expect someone new into 'craft' beers to pick up on diacetyl or acetaldehyde in a pilsener. A sense of what's 'in or out of style' in a beer is something you develop with experience or not at all.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Fair point though that is something else hope to help with!

[@zeveroarerules]

It doesn't happen with a pilsner? Hill Farmstead Marie, that's a helles, it's extremely hyped...

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Is it!? Not seen that chatter but having had it I'd say it's fine. Not a patch on Notch Brewing also from New England.

[@oscarBot-bf8ck]

I thought you boys were doing dry Jan?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

What makes you think we filmed this in January?

[@oscarBot-bf8ck]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel smart... not long to go now :)

[@joshtheprune]

With any exciting, entreprenuerial industry like craft beer the unspoken question is the value placed on innovation by those at the top. The ingredients are kind of expensive, but I think we all know that with some skill these beers can be made at 20L a pop for a fraction of the price. And so when you consider scale (and putting marketing aside for the time being), the question really becomes: are we really talking about making a living or are we really preserving the right of craft beer entrepreneurs to become millionaires by preserving a high margin? i think the latter, really, and the hype and the macros argument are both just different ways of approaching the same conversation. I am amazed that there is still no brewery in a craft scene designed at taking on what the macros breweries do well (price), but creatively and ethically without channeling money upstairs to make a massive sellout chunk for the owners. I guess it's because... who would invest in it? But I know that i'd buy their beer. I think we're all fucking sick of Brewdog and so on flaunting craft credentials and at the same time being able to buy airlines.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I think you overstate the ability for brewers to make money - there are very very few millionaires in craft beer. Literally only hundreds across around 20,000 breweries worldwide. While some beer is overpriced it is likely to cover serious overheads (duty, corporation tax, business rates, transport, wholesale margins, rent, ingredients, bills, debt servicing) and still find money for wages and growth. Homebrewing has always been cheaper - that is nothing new, quality just has to outshine it for the price. I agree some breweries take larger margins than the beers are worth but no one is getting rich off it.

[@joshtheprune]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Sure, I probably do overstate it - unlike you guys I have no industry insight, I'm just a punter. It's more a feeling you get. When I got into craft beer 10 years ago, the beers were a bit more expensive than macros but not by that much. Today I regularly buy cans (*cans*) of IPA for 6 or 7 quid. It reminds me of when my sister worked in high end fashion, and for years while she was in the industry she toed the line and insisted the clothes were priced according to value. Then as soon as she quit the industry she admitted they just cost that much because that's what they *can* charge.

[@joshtheprune]

And although I'm sure it's no goldmine, the fact that so many new breweries have been opening in the last few years suggests that there's a few quid flying around, surely?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I do definitely think price will come down in emerging markets soon - partly because breweries will reach economy of scale partly because like you say punters will start to demand more reasonable pricing. But brewing is a lifestyle job - people get into it with no business experience and make poor choices. In 2019 UK numbers only grew by 2 because so many closed and in 2020 more shut. The high price of beer is more inefficiency than profit finding!

[@joshtheprune]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel that’s interesting, I hadn’t thought of it like that. Creative brewers rather than business majors

[@ShortMan_123]

To answer your question- the last time people got hyped about a lager was when a quarter of a million people ordered a pack of Brewdog lost lager. But like you say, it was all just good marketing and who's gonna turn down a free 4 pack of anything? haha

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Ha - I think they were hyped about free beer not pilsner!

[@ShortMan_123]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel indeed, as I said haha- great vid guys as always, keep it up 👍🏻

[@solasta]

I think that "craft beer" is laargely a marketing thing tbh.

[@alexy8520]

Wow 2 fact 4's! Hehe

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

DAMNIT

[@DrGruffLes]

I was just searching through the comments to see if i was the only one that noticed? ... not likely i know :D

[@RoraighPrice]

I Had a Stewart brewery APA called small giant the other day that I was really looking forward to. it was rubbish, it tasted thin and tinny which means it probably lost most of its hop flavor due to age i don't blame the brewery because I know that this tin had been sitting on an unchilled shelf in a supermarket for weeks and weeks if not a month or two since it was brewed. It's just unfortunate.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Indeed. Glad you haven't written off the brewer as a result - give a fresh can a go...and in the meantime we need to get refrigerated storage wider!

[@jonparry6462]

Along the lines of Fact 2, if I drink a bottle/can at home and it's clearly gone wrong somewhere, then I generally won't give it a rating on untappd because that's not a fair reflection on the brewery.

[@verykeen2please]

If you grow a beard, it tastes better? Fresh - "beer miles" is so important , like seasonal veg, if comes 1000's of the miles the chances of things, going wrong are in transportation

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

100%. That's why drinking at the brewery is best, even if the beer isn't bang fresh.

[@amedeothebest]

No one: - Brad: Jonnyy

[@Juiceboxbrian]

Fuck this gave me a good laugh

[@stevenmcdonald4165]

Would love some content on identifying those off flavours! P.S you’ve got fact 4 twice 😂 Great video keep em coming

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Just keeping you on your toes.

[@andy_lincoln]

Not fetishizing freshness, couldn't have said it better myself. I totally agree while freshness is important,but not drinking NEIPAs after two weeks is utter bollocks. The snobbery about freshness is so enraging to me. Beer should be stable enough after two weeks and if it isn't...maybe it's not very good beer?

[@josephbridges7470]

Good basics. I can always tell the hype chasers who have zero clue what they’re talking about everywhere I go. Way too many hype chasers skip over fantastic stuff that’s literally just as good. As far as craft does not equal good, I think where I live in the US (Ohio), it’s become bad business to be bad. The mediocre breweries are going out of business because they just can’t compete against better product. Oddly bucking the trend, I live near one of the worst breweries I’ve ever been to in all my travels. I’ve now tried nearly 20 beers from them and they are really really really bad. They’re not even reaching the mediocrity of bad macro brews. They are approaching a decade in business so I guess people who live near must like it.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Are they making trendy styles but just doing it poorly?

[@josephbridges7470]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel the brewery I mentioned makes everything. Even their standard beers are very poorly done. It’s not just me. Every person I know who likes to visit breweries has said their beers are not drinkable.

[@austenbach3356]

For lovers of Craft beer, I find a label or promoted style on the can does NOT always deliver as advertised. Because a huge majority of Craft beer is average, their attempts at more complex styles and recipes is massively lacking. Your fruited double imperial may end up being less exciting than a cheap lager, NOT because of shipping/storage but because they actually suck.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Ha, I wouldn't say the huge majority - I'd say it's a pretty even split. But yes a lot of the novelty style brewing is very poor. Although in some cases those awful off flavours are even more exciting.

[@SLM3573]

I get that craft brewers dont have the contracts and prices that the massive macros do but its still way overpriced. Me as homebrewer can make a very juicy IPA for 45 quid (20l volume) which works out at about 2.30 a litre (not counting overheads water & electricity) but these craft breweries some are also quite big in scale are asking over 6 quid for a 440 can thats over 5 times my cost and they are producing at scale. How can it be here in Bayern you have breweries making great Helles, Weißbier and Pils plus all the other styles and you wouldnt pay more than 1.50Eur for a half litre bottle with the only difference being hops are locally sourced and less quantity used, thats not making a 5-8 Eur difference on price per bottle I think anyway. Breweries are pricing based on hype a lot of the time

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

The answer lies in your comment - overheads. In the UK brewers pay 8 times the amount of alcohol duty that German brewers do, and the stronger the beer the more you pay. They then have add VAT, pay wages and corporation tax. On top of that they have electricity and water to pay, waste disposal to sort, overheads to pay, and transport costs to cover. Finally they have to deal with lost and damaged orders, returns and the occasional batch going down the drain. Look at it another way. A loaf of bread costs you maybe £1.50 in a supermarket. The cost of the flour, water and yeast used in that loaf wouldn't total more than 10p. That's not to say SOME breweries don't overcharge, but £6 for an 8% DIPA isn't a rip off, it's the price of businesses

[@scientologypolice422]

You've missed a point here comparing two opposite ends of the spectrum. It's not just supermarket macro lager for cheap, and decent craft tall boys for £5-8 a go. There is a middle ground, and that's decent craft beer in supermarkets for little over £1 a can. Northern Monk, Evil Twin, Vocation, Thornbridge, North, Magic Rock (yes, I know), Salt etc all have AMAZING beers available in you-know-which supermarket for little over £1 a can. And a decent choice of 440ml strong & imperial stouts and IPAs for £3-£3.50. If a brewery can afford to sell those beers to the supermarket and have them sold at that price whilst still turning a profit, then charging £8 for a single can of anything on their own website is just taking the piss. So my point is that I don't get annoyed when someone says "I could get 6 cans of for that price", if anything it's a bit embarrassing for the guy that just shelled out £8 for a single beer (me!).

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

While from a consumer point of view it may look that way, it's not quite true. The recipes for the beers in bottle shops and those in supermarkets will be WILDLY different - both in quality and quantity - because supermarket beers are often brewed to a certain spec and price point. There's also economy of scale and man hour costs per batch to think about here too. If a brewer can do a double batch of something, package it and ship it straight off to one supermarket depot that saves them a LOT of time, money, risk and effort compared to the same beer being stored at the brewery for weeks, sold by their sales team, promoted by their marketing and PR teams, then shipped out to a few hundred different customers not just one.

[@themonopolyking316]

Good video guys, would your agree if you replaced the words Craft Beer with Real Ale this video would mostly remain true? Do you remember Real Ale? Do you miss it? I’d love to see some content about it when the pubs open up again, I fear it will need all the help it can get. Enjoy your Putty’s when you can! 😜

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

We miss it so much we brewed our own in the summer lockdown! I think our points stand for real ale as well - we dont separate the two. The only change would be that real ale is actually undervalued massively and the price should be higher

[@themonopolyking316]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel yes I whole heartedly agree with you! And on the don’t blame the brewery point I think for the cask side it goes double. What’s the pint of cask you are missing the most? For me it’s Grainstore - Ten Fifty

[@XxBergyxX]

On facebook groups/reddit it always bugs me, that people think that drinking 5-6 cans/day of Craft is OK, only, because it's Craft. It's still a lot of alcohol, money, and - calories. Obviously people do what they want, but drinking 5-6 cans a day is not healthy, and (at least in the UK) there are not a lot of breweries that will try to ecnourage people to do something about it. Or maybe im overracting!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

You are definitely not over-reacting. In fact we have a video about it coming next week! - Jonny has taken January off drinking and spoken to experts about it. "good" alcohol is still alcohol - it's the same base drug and needs to be respected.

[@aaoa666]

"Its not alcoholism, it's a hobby!" its really, really wierd how people don't see that it isn't good for you just because it IS tasty as hell.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@@aaoa666 Indeed! Surely life has taught us all the fun things will kill us in the end.

[@user-mr9tw6dj6h]

i think the whole idea of craft beer is to having a beer to your taste. your taste. no others. dont care about what other has to say. im crafting myself a wasabi cucumber shoyu pale ale. who is going to stop me?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I'd argue that's more the point of homebrew than craft beer?

[@user-mr9tw6dj6h]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel i think the whole idea of craft beer is that brewers do not want to drink anymore of those commercial factory produce by gazillion litre beer, hence they start crafting their own. every craft brew started small, maybe smaller than a certain home brew. so to me crafting is tuning, is creating, regardless of how small

[@magnus.nasmark]

Sour beers from most craft brewers are really bad. Many highly hopped beers from the US taste very off after they have spent 3 months or more travelling to Europe. I don't mind spending a lot on a really good beer, but the craft beer boom has made it legitimate for some pubs to charge as much for crap macro beer made to look like craft beer. Pisses me off!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I think there are some fantastic sour beers from modern breweries! What have you been drinking? We can offer some tip offs if you enjoy the styles.

[@kschepelern]

oh A-MEN! on #3.

[@dougalmctavish3915]

Here’s one. Stop assuming that the person working in the bottle shop has tried everything. New beers come in all the time, we can’t possibly have a personal opinion on everything. And even then, wether we like it or not don’t let that sway your opinion on things if YOU like it. If we all had the same taste we would be back to all drinking the same beer and that sound dull to me. An enjoyable beer doesn’t have to be a “thinker”, craft beer can be silly and fun for the sake of it, it doesn’t have to be “clever” it can just make you smile. But of course we can muse over hop, malt and yeast verities too but at the end of the day we’re in this to enjoy some beer, not be snobby and exclusive.

[@stomas5640]

Thank You, there is some serious nasty craft beer

[@samshornvibes]

IMO 5 weeks is the point at which a good ipa starts to become great. This whole super fresh trend is BS.

[@kevinpayne3482]

The worst are those dam craft beer conspiracy theories!

[@MetroidChild]

"small batch beer is expensive to make" *laughs in swedish alcohol tax*

[@ZionForman]

pilsners > all other beer styles = fact !

[@michelhv]

The first rule of Fact #5 is that nobody talks about it...

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Lol. My bad.

[@michelhv]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel When this whole thing is over, you can forgive yourself by coming over to Québec to try our brews!

[@thebackyardbrewer5611]

I walked into a large "trendy" craft brewery and bought a paddle of 4 of their beers, the only IPA on my paddle was a diacetyl bomb and was undrinkable and the other 3 left me feeling like a mass produced lager!

[@lien683]

The large capital injection and unlimited replication and the homogenisation is definitely the dead end of craft beer.it must be remain independent and different always

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I used to think this way too, but unfortunately small and independent brewers have proven themselves equally likely to be inethical of late (see the work of Brienna Allan). So we have shifted to push for ethical consumption of beer, regardless of ownership. Actions matter.

[@lien683]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel yes you’re right.This requires a national or small regional beer association to supervise. Just my a little mind.But it is not a good thing to hand over this supervision power to the government! Corruption is easy to breed!

[@theluigimon]

People who drink craft beer feel more entitled than people who drink beer to get drunk because of taste and price

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

I can assure you craft beer drinkers drink to get drunk

[@tillbae114]

Label isn't taste!

[@martynG7769]

£40 for 8 beers at a bottleshop? Where are you shopping? You'll be lucky to get 5/6

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Ha! Well I'm not expecting people to only buy DIPAs and Imperial Stouts... maybe that's wrong.

[@daveswinburne7946]

Easy. Buy beers which are sub-£5.

[@terencedoherty3645]

Five (other) things you need to know about Kraft beer ⊙ it must be brewed in Islington ⊙ the drinker must live in Islington ⊙ who has a beard ⊙ it must cost £8 or more ⊙ it must be served in a half pint glass ⊙ you must report back on social media ...... 😩😩😩

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Hardly any beer is brewed in islington. In fact the only thing you got right is the obsession with social media... though you posting that on social media ads an interesting element to that

[@kw2142]

Have your actually ever been to Islington? Or are you just believing the right wing culture war shite about Islington metropolitan Remainers? There are literally zero hipster types in Islington, it's too expensive.

[@KingMinosxxvi]

COST-- NO it should not cost more.. A bottle of Westmalle trippel is 3.19 euro online right now. Are you going to find a bottle of beer anywhere in the world better than that. NO maybe just as good maybe different but NO you not going to find one thats better....therefore..any beer you are paying more than a cent per ml for is objectively overpriced. How much does a pint of PU or Budvar cost in the CR. If you think 10 pounds is a. good price for any beer you are wrong. Since you can't get better in quality instead what you are paying for is supporting the arts. You are therefore acting as patron instead of a customer and you dismiss that you overpaying because you believe in supporting the craft. You are non the less overpaying.

[@nathantrout2234]

Stop trying to make pilsner happen

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Lol. NEVER.

[@tylerb6081]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Krispy hype is real.