Brewers Journal Europe - Summer 2020

Page 28

BREWING BITTERNESS AND BETTER BEER UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN SIDE OF BITTER WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS BETTER WHICH LEADS TO BETTER BITTER SALES. VELO MITROVICH REPORTS.

W

hile this sounds

the US,” said Greg Koch, Stone executive

like the start of a

chairman and co-founder. “We felt Amer-

‘priest, minister,

icans deserved better, so we brewed it

and rabbi’ joke,

for them. When we saw much of Germa-

it’s a true story. A

ny stuck in a similar status quo of cheap

Californian walks into a London pub and

beer, we were convinced we could help.

asks for the most hoppy IPA available –

As it stands now, German beer prices are

tap, bottled or canned, it doesn’t matter

among the cheapest in Western Europe.

as long as the bitternes is there.

As most of us know from life, the best

“If you want hops, then try this,” says the

things are rarely the cheapest.

barman, with a sly expression like he just snuck a Ghost Chili into the tourist’s beer.

“Amazing beer is being brewed by amazing brewers all over the country [Germa-

Back at the table, the Californian stares at

ny]. Unfortunately, according to the stats,

his beer. “What’s up?” asks his friends.

most Germans are still ignoring these

“I asked for a hoppy IPA, I don’t know

wonderful beers and buying the cheap

what this is supposed to be. A lager?”

stuff. We invested a significant portion of

Some beer drinkers talk about IBUs,

a decade and significant millions [$30m]

hoppy-bitter flavours, like they’re 13-year-

building Stone Berlin. And it didn’t work

old boys discussing the hair on their

out. These things hurt and these things

neither regions, with ‘more’ always seen

happen. This one happened. And this one

as better. But in Europe is there really a

hurts a lot.”

demand or desire for an IPA that would

On opening day in 2016, Stone Brewery

win applause on the US West Coast?

created a pyramid out of German beers,

In a move some saw as pure arrogance

lifted a stone above it with a crane, and

and ignorance, San Diego’s ultra-hop – or

let it go, symbolically smashing Ger-

ultra-hip – brewery Stone decided it was

many’s beer industry. Three years later,

going to bring “real” beer back to Germa-

Stone fled back to the States with its tail

ny by building a California-style brewery

between its legs, its brewery a flop.

in Berlin.

So, why brew high IBU hoppy beers now? While Germany has an increasing

28

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SUMMER 2020

“We started Stone in 1996 because we

number of craft breweries which have

weren’t OK with the status quo of beer in

bitter IPAs, in France you’re more likely to

BREWERS JOURNAL EUROPE


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