Craft Beer Ennui

Arguably there has never been a better time in American history to be a craft beer drinker.  The explosion of small breweries in the last three to five years is phenomenal - maening that it is a phenomenon people.  It is amazing and almost unparalleled in our national history.

And it is getting to be boooorrrrring...

I think I'm in the early stages of experiencing craft beer ennui, and there is a tremendous irony here because the craft beer industry has never been more experimental, cutting-edge and unique as it is right now.  I just saw a promo for a smoked porter with chili peppers!  C'mon, that's incredible!  And the other day I read about a brewery in Washington D. C. that aged a porter on the lees of some red wine made in Virginia.  Are you kidding me, that's amazing!  So what the hell is wrong with me?

The smoked pepper porter of which I raved.  And the label is badass too!  What's wrong with me?!

I think I know what's wrong, and both of these examples sum it up.  Ten years ago the release of a smoked porter brewed with chilies would have spun my head backwards and my wallet would have leaped from my back pocket.  But today...not so much.  News flash for those of you who do not read Beerpulse.com: there are a lot of smoked pepper porters out there.  And there are a lot of beers with strange fruits in them, and lots of IPAs with words like "triple" and "imperial" in their descriptors, and big stouts whose dark colors are as threatening as a matterless vortex in outer space.  In sum the craft beer industry is throwing out unparalleled beers left and right and, in our modern age of ceaseless and expanding information delivery (i.e. the interweb), we can't escape the bombardment of the original, to the point that nothing seems original anymore!

Enter my ennui.  A decade ago I could get excited about Sam Calagione poring over the archaeological evidence of an Egyptian tomb to recreate an ancient beer, but today...meh.  The industry that I love and that I want to see thrive is practicing the age-old tradition of shooting itself in the foot with a trend-gun.  This is basically the same thing any thriving beer industry at any particular point in history in a given cultural context has done.  In 18th century London the brewers were hawking porters the way American microbreweries are hawking IPAs.  People were jumping on the bandwagon to make a buck and ride the wave of public taste.  I won't say it was all bad; it certainly wasn't bad for the beer industry in general.  But I'm sure a lot of bad beer was made.  Or perhaps more importantly, a lot of good beer that could have been made instead wasn't.  To me that is the greater crime.

Is there a solution for me?  Well I'm glad you asked, because there is!  I find that when my head is spinning from the constant media barrage of beer labels and new releases and must-haves and all of that, I can do one of two things to clear my head:

1. Go down to the basement and pour out a pint of a beer of recognizable lineage and flavor, handcrafted by yours truly with love and passsion (blah blah blah); or
2. Head down to my favorite beer store with it's limited selection, grab a six pack of a reliably well-made standby of recognizable lineage and flavor, and enjoy the serenity of the experience.

There, that's better.