At the end of Christine Cryne’s article in the last edition on the current state of craft brewing in the USA, I mentioned the US Brewers Association. Here Lotte Peplow, their American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, continues the theme of looking ‘across the pond’.
THE GREAT AMERICAN AND GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVALS – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) was the inspiration behind the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) which this year celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Both are a beer lover’s paradise and offer a plethora of innovative and high-quality beers that push the borders of creativity and discovery.
The difference between the two can be summed up in one word – size! The GABF, held annually in Denver, Colorado, and organised by the Brewers Association (see below) is huge! It featured 500 breweries, pouring 2,000 beers enjoyed by 40,000 visitors and that’s 25% less than normal due to refurbishment works at the venue. The GBBF was also affected by refurbishment at its Olympia home and welcomed 346 breweries pouring 742 beers.
GABF offers a world of entertainment with crazy costumes, a silent disco, huge pretzel necklaces, Paired (the unique beer and food pairing experience), a ‘Backyard’ games area, a Brewers Studio for talks and tastings and much more.
But, on both sides of the pond, beer is undoubtedly the star of the show. At GABF, tickets are all-in, allowing attendees to sample unlimited 30ml samples in a 4.5 hour session. Long queues develop for ‘hype’ beers and the beer-savvy, well prepared festival goers have this down to a tee. The pint and half pint measures at GBBF mean less queueing for beers. American craft brewers have long been considered the pioneers of the current craft beer which we see around the world today. Ground-breaking innovation and an unswerving commitment to quality are hallmarks of this industry and, having recently attended GABF, I can testify to that. Following three days at the festival here’s what I discovered:
• IPA: IPAs in their many iterations continue to dominate the American craft brewing scene with approximately one third of all sales. Well-made, high quality, classic IPAs featuring punchy, flavoursome American hops were highly prevalent as both brewers and drinkers alike sought a return to traditional flavours. The latest trend is for Cold IPA, a heavily dry-hopped ale/lager hybrid made using bottom fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures to give a clean, crispness with hop intensity and supreme drinkability. Imperial IPAs are driving much of today’s growth and hazy/juicy IPAs were also popular although slightly less so than in 2019 when some brewers offered three or four version of this one style.
• Lagers and lighter styles: lighter and more approachable styles were much in evidence, with a return to less palate-challenging and more easy-drinking beers. Lagers including Helles, Pilsner, Oktoberfest, Festbier, Marzen, Bocks and much more all featured heavily.
• Low and No: alcohol-free beers account for a small but rapidly growing sector of the American craft beer with 0.5% of the total market. This may seem small but compared to other sub-sectors of craft beer it’s a big chunk. There were more examples of ‘low and no’ alcohol beers than ever before, with brewers showing high levels of ingenuity and imagination, for example Athletic Brewing Co’s medal winning Lemon Radler.
• Wood & barrel-aged strong beers: pastry stouts were less of a thing this year but intense, high ABV rare beers were much sought after, for example Firestone Walker Parabola imperial stout, aged in Bourbon barrels for a year, and Bruery’s Ivoire, also a Bourbon barrel-aged ale.
• Weird and wacky: although not necessarily a trend, American craft brewers love pushing the envelope, with the likes of Carrot & Turmeric Saison, Gose with marsh salt and spirulina (a food-grade algae that gave the beer a green colour) and Peanut Butter Hefeweizen.
The demand for IPA and juicy/hazy IPAs is mirrored in the results of the GABF competition, which ran concurrently with the festival and took place for the 36th time. This year 9,904 beers in 177 beer styles entered the competition, judged by 235 judges who awarded 300 medals in total.
The UK is the largest export market in Europe for American craft beer and the second biggest individual export market, accounting for 8.4% of all exports. American craft beer can be found at on line retailers such as Athletic Brewing, the Cascade Club, Beers of Europe, Beer Merchants.com, Beer Gonzo and House of Trembling Madness and on line subscription services plus supermarkets and select bottle shops, off licences, pubs and bars.
Free downloadable resources to help you understand and enjoy American craft beer are available from www.brewersassociation.org.
Lotte Peplow
About the Author: Lotte is a Certified Cicerone, accredited Beer Sommelier, international beer judge and beer writer who conducts talks and tastings about American craft beer, organises events and is a keen advocate of beer and food pairing. She co-authored World’s Greatest Beers, published by CAMRA in August 2022. She has been involved with the Brewers Association since 2006 and, in 2019, was awarded the title of American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe. Her role is to identify opportunities for international expansion of American craft beer, educate and inform the trade and industry about American craft beer and to raise awareness about the quality and diversity of beer styles from America’s small and independent craft brewers. Lotte is based in London and is also a member of CAMRA’s London tasting panel.
The Brewers Association: the Brewers Association is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. It represents over 5,600 breweries in the USA. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. See CraftBeer.com for more details.