The Beer Column By Brewery Bird
Session beers are going to be the popular choice for 2018, brewers are predicting, both in cask and more surprisingly craft keg too. Drinkers might also see a rise of more English-style brews emerging on the keg front, to perhaps offset a potential further decline in cask for brewers all vying for the same bar-space. Expect to see more hazy IPA’s in both cask & keg with lower bitterness, beers which will have a similar depth of flavour to their stronger counter-parts, without the alcohol hit of a DIPA (double IPA) On the other side of the coin, ABVs will continue to push 8-10%+, particularly IPAs, with people prepared to drink less but receive more in terms of flavour and intensity.
Our friends across the pond are predicting continued popularity of the IPA, and whilst this extremely fruity, juicy and generally strong brew will continue to assault drinkers’ taste buds both here and ‘over there’ for the foreseeable, we will see a rise in varietals such as White IPAs, Red IPAs, Barrel Aged IPAs, fruit-infused, session…..you get the picture. Whatever your palate, you’ll find a style to match. The craze for hazy to full on murky unfiltered brews will also continue to grow – making for happy vegans everywhere.
Lager still has a somewhat poor rep, thanks in part to its treatment at the hands of big corporations (we all know who I’m talking about). Staggeringly, there are drinkers out there who just don’t appreciate hazy, hoppy IPAs, full-flavoured stouts and porters or the hedgerow bitterness of standard ales (I know); so lager drinkers will be happily well-catered for this coming year with more breweries offering a lager-style beer within their standard range. Aside from the standard pilsner or Vienna style we’ll hopefully see more traditionally German styles on offer from Helles to Dunkels, bocks to marzens along with a few cross-over varieties to keep the hop-heads and bitter-needy happy.
Whilst we beer-drinkers have known that, of course, beer goes better with cheese for yonks (it just does), turns out the rest of the world has finally started to cotton on and with this astonishing revelation the tides are finally turning on wine alone being the prized sole accompaniment to food. Actually many good pubs have been offering beer pairings on their menus for years, but this year beer will no longer find itself lagging behind its vinous counterpart in even the best restaurants. Ok, it may take a little longer than 12 months, but beer’s many characteristics and ability to blend in or contrast with pretty much any dish you can name, as well as beer sommeliers becoming as vital to a restaurants reputation as its prize dish; it’s only a matter of time.