tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post2905834253086903286..comments2023-11-02T07:13:53.064-07:00Comments on Beervana: Reports of Beer's Death Greatly ExaggeratedJeff Alworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-61045615214244771392013-08-09T14:29:16.459-07:002013-08-09T14:29:16.459-07:00Not sure we need to form "camps", but co...Not sure we need to form "camps", but count me in the Lew camp on this one.<br /><br />The scariest words any bubble-watcher can ever hear? "It's different this time!"<br /><br />I look at it this way. The long term trend for craft beer is positive. The country can support far more breweries than even we have today, including all the "in-planning" ones the BA Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14285052118454128338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-18431136462124906872013-08-09T13:21:03.804-07:002013-08-09T13:21:03.804-07:00I'm even younger than Sam: I turned 21 only tw...I'm even younger than Sam: I turned 21 only two and a half years ago. My introduction to craft beer occurred before that, however, and the immediately-noticeable difference in quality between the cheap watery swill that most of my college classmates were drinking and the Harpoon IPA that made me really enjoy beer for the first time has pretty much put me off mass-market beer for life.<br /><Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04441690771849361600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-83756651747381279492013-08-09T10:40:32.187-07:002013-08-09T10:40:32.187-07:00Sorry Lew, I have to completely agree with Ken on ...Sorry Lew, I have to completely agree with Ken on Scotch. Your point is that of an aficionado. You have to consider the average drinker: my wife. To her, any scotch, be it blended, single malt, Speyside, Highlands, 10 year or 40, still tastes like scotch and she does not have a taste for it. On the other hand, while not a huge beer drinker, I can always find something that she will like. Shejfwellspdxhttp://twitter.com/jfwellspdxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-42013682791884779142013-08-09T08:22:20.879-07:002013-08-09T08:22:20.879-07:00"Also...what's that got to do with it? If..."Also...what's that got to do with it? If IPA crashes, porter won't? If the public loses their enchantment with pumpkin beers, they'll just buy more Oktoberfests? Granted, raspberry beers crashed hard in the 90s (few cried), but the rest of the category slipped pretty hard too just after that, so I think that supports me more than you."<br /><br />Yes, that's my thesis. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06079304830638310694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-25576424929684636162013-08-09T07:35:49.718-07:002013-08-09T07:35:49.718-07:00Well I’m a youngster (started legally drinking aft...Well I’m a youngster (started legally drinking after Y2K) and but I don’t think in the short term that the gallup polls mean anything major for craft beer. I think the importance of the poll, is that a roughly 30% drop in LDAC-29 year old preference for beer means the crash for mass beer, is nowhere near rock bottom – investors take head. It means BMC are completely losing their base…boomes “Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09594942287809274221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-83444786654739144652013-08-09T05:47:34.877-07:002013-08-09T05:47:34.877-07:00That said, scotch really has only one "class....<i>That said, scotch really has only one "class." Sure, there's variation on that class, but there's a platonic ideal on what scotch is. It's going to have that certain color, it's going to have that taste. It's going to be "scotch."</i><br /><br /><b>No.</b> Take a glass each of Lagavulin 16, Dewar's White Label, Glenfarclas 40 year old, and Lew Brysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-24746615275637868382013-08-09T00:01:04.120-07:002013-08-09T00:01:04.120-07:00Perhaps I slightly overstated to say that "sc...Perhaps I slightly overstated to say that "scotch is binary." Probably even more overstated on wine.<br /><br />That said, scotch really has only one "class." Sure, there's variation on that class, but there's a platonic ideal on what scotch is. It's going to have that certain color, it's going to have that taste. It's going to be "scotch."<br /><Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06079304830638310694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-57733409466830876582013-08-08T18:38:55.000-07:002013-08-08T18:38:55.000-07:00Ken, The homogeneity of the other markets is an il...Ken, The homogeneity of the other markets is an illusion. Take Scotch, for example. First, it's part of a wider whisky category (bourbon, Canadian, Irish; there are others, but not in significant volume). Then within that category, there are blends, and there are single malts, two very different propositions. Within those categories, there are basic blends -- Dewar's, Johnnie Walker Red, Lew Brysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-89813612167880174462013-08-08T12:20:50.669-07:002013-08-08T12:20:50.669-07:00Lew, two things. I think old-timers who lived thr...Lew, two things. I think old-timers who lived through years of '96-2000 have overlearned the lesson there. (I was one of them; my first article appeared in December of '96.) It's true that there was some trauma, but it was a very different market. It was anything but mature. By the mid-90s, there were a lot of speculators entering the market to make a quick buck. They sold Jeff Alworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-65839613351147443662013-08-08T11:19:07.475-07:002013-08-08T11:19:07.475-07:00One quick comment (because saying more will just e...One quick comment (because saying more will just expose my ignorance of the the market). Beer as compared to scotch or even wine, is an exceptionally diverse product, and is becoming more so as craft beer rises. IPA is very different than stout, that is very different from pilsner that is very different than kriek.<br /><br />They have very different flavors and appearances and even more so, theyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06079304830638310694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21271644.post-69123275071846502102013-08-08T10:19:42.681-07:002013-08-08T10:19:42.681-07:00Thought we might have an issue of definition of te...Thought we might have an issue of definition of terms, but...no, we actually disagree. My perspective: I've been in this as a drinker of craft/specialty beer since 1981, writing about beer and the industry since 1994. I write about beer, but I also write about spirits. I've seen this happen. I'll quote from a comment I made in my blog post. <br /><br />"The drop Ian [Logan of Lew Brysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04084380741402026573noreply@blogger.com