Beer Tasting

Wine snobs snub beer

by richiecdisc

If someone told you they were planning a trip to Bordeaux, Tuscany, or even the Napa Valley to sample the wine of that region, you would likely be envious, unless of course you didn't like wine. In fact, if they mentioned a trip to any of those areas without so much as mentioning wine, most people would assume the grape nectar would be on the itinerary. But if someone else said they were going to Franconia or Flanders to try different beers, you would probably get an entirely different reaction. Not only is a “beer trip” seen as adolescent in comparison but it's likely that most people wouldn't know where either of these regions of Europe even lie. Unfair perhaps but entirely true.

Though beer's history is longer and as storied as wine, its acceptance as a sophisticated beverage is only now coming into view. Oddly, this general acceptance is gaining its most popularity in the United States, where there is arguably the largest variety of beer styles in the world. Though US craft brewers began by copying English, German, and Belgian examples, they eventually created many of their own by utilizing local hops and pushing recipes to the extreme with regard to bitterness and alcohol content. The rush for “extreme” beers have now taken some small brewers in Belgium and Scandinavia by storm. Slowly, more conservative brewing countries like England have been influenced by the use of American hops and hybrid styles. With the advent of the European Union, even Germany's
Reinheitsgebot is coming under fire.
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