I love beer, I do. But shit is getting out of control on the beer front. Beer has become a pissing contest. Beer has toppled into the “bigger stronger faster” world of hot sauces and truffle oil on everything. More alcohol. More hops. Darker malts. More oak aging. It’s silly and gets away from what beer is supposed to be: a nourishing beverage. It’s meant to be ersatz-bread that won’t go moldy. It’s meant to be enjoyed, not to be a chore.
These beers incapacitate me. They get me drunk too fast and it’s not the euphoric drunk I get from drinking wine. It weighs me down. Slows me down. Sure, they can be an interesting exercise in flavor and some of them can be quite good, but drinking more than a half-pint can be ruinous.
It’s not the existence of these beers per se that I object to, but rather their ubiquity. You’ll find beer bars where, amongst a dozen or more taps, you’ll find 2, maybe 3 beers that are under 6% ABV.
Thankfully, there are newer breweries, including several right here in LA, that are bringing “session” style beers back into the market. But, while breweries like Eagle Rock Brewery, Angel City, and Golden Road, are making headway, high-octane IPAs and Belgians still rule the roost.
Let’s work on changing this.
