Drinkability of Beer A Two-Edged Sword Michael J. Lewis University of California Davis Extension. Drinkability: the Holy Grail of the brewers art Anticipation Reality Drinkability is also about the last impression not just the first one Drinkability: Traditional properties: Not satiating but more-ish Crisp not heavy Tasty but not fatiguing Elegant not rough Satisfying but anothers OK The volume beer The session beer The sociable beer Drinkability: Traditional properties Not satiating but more-ish Crisp not heavy Tasty but not fatiguing Elegant not rough Satisfying but anothers OK Consumer driven The volume beer The session beer The sociable beer The binge beer? A potential dilemma. A 5% ABV beer, highly drinkable, advertised as cheap Drinkability: Craft-brewing style: Liked or preferred beer. Different, unusual or challenging. Distinctive, inventive. Rare or even unique. Big, alcoholic, bitter. The low-volume beer The sitting-down beer Drinkability: Craft-brewing properties Liked or preferred beer. Different, unusual or challenging. Distinctive, inventive. Rare or even unique. Big, alcoholic, bitter. Will the consumer follow along? The low-volume beer The sitting-down beer The insobriety beer? A potential dilemma. Brewers many malt choices.. And hop choices And yeast choices And processing choices Yielding . many different results. Stout: 9.2 ABV 60 IBUs 7 malts Adventures & escapes to the extreme Adventures at the extremes. Lites Ultra lo-cal Ultra lo-carb Spiced Citrus Non-beer beers Competition Ultra high gravity High alcohol Spiced and flavored Ultra-bitter Ultra-black Barrel aged Fresh-hop Spontaneous Sour Brettanomyces An Adventurer: (a metaphor) Adventures at the extremes. Lites Ultra lo-cal Ultra lo-carb Spiced Citrus Non-beer beers Ultra high gravity High alcohol Spiced and flavored Ultra-bitter Ultra-black Barrel aged Fresh-hop Spontaneous Brettanomyces Is the consumer well served by boredom or by terror? Is the producer? Who is making these beers & for whom? One great thing about [extreme brewing] . if the beers suck people have nothing to compare them to Is Extreme Beer the space in the market? Have all the Hop-Heads been found? How many Rare-Beer men are there? Plenty of competition In the ale space And yet: After 30 years in the marketplace Constant press exposure Explosive growth in the number of breweries Two generations of new beer drinkers Enormous shelf space in stores A devoted following of enthusiasts We make and sell: Less than 1 in 20 beers consumed in this country 25% of those are made by one brewer We have grown no (new) regional breweries. You earn customers 12 ounces at a time.. but .You lose customers by the six-pack. By: Steve Hamburg Maybe its time to think about Drinkability. Even craft session beers. Even craft-brewed lagers This is from an article In: Fine Cooking By: Stephen Beaumont Called: In Defense of Lager lagers seem poised to make their escape from craft beer purgatory Brewers choices .. Plenty of scope for excellence Enjoyable Elegant Smooth Balanced More-ish Flavorful Delicious Sociable Plenty of scope: Enjoyable Elegant Smooth Balanced More-ish Flavorful Delicious Sociabl e Subtle/refined Tasty/distinctive Satisfying not Satiating And a toast to craft brewed lagers . Enjoyable Elegant Smooth Balanced More-ish Flavorful Delicious Sociable Presentation shows class!! (Not cold, flat, hazy, bitter beer served in jam jars!!) At the end of the day: Drinkability of beer is about our customers their enjoyment and more than a few ... Masterbrewer class of 2010 Drinkability is the name of the game! Im always ready for a session --- how about you? Diolch yn fawr iawn The End. Cheers! Best wishes and thanks! QC FAQ in an English pub: Wheres the beer ? It aint ! 5% alc!! Extreme Light Timid Fragile Scaredy-cat Blah Vanishing Hiding Prissy Exact Fussy Naive Extreme Heavy Brash Robust Crush Overwhelm Demand Insist Submit Compete Outlandish Unwise If the paintings suck . Not so much in the craft session-beer space.