“Beer culture is not only changing in the United States, but all over the world. It’s becoming similar to wine culture, only without the pretentiousness or long walks through fields of grapes. Instead of wine tasting, people are beer tasting. Instead of grabbing a nice bottle of Merlot, they are grabbing a classy bottle of Chimay.”
Nick Larson and Jake Devincenzi
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Kinesiology senior Nick Larson and aerospace engineering senior Jake Devincenzi are Mustang News beer columnists.
This weekend we were invited to an event by some friends via a text that essentially said, “Beer Olympics at our house, pick a country and come compete!” Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the special event due to the comfort of our couches, presence of Sunday football and lack of desire to put on pants. But later that night while finishing off a growler, we thought there should actually be a “Beer Olympics” for real beer, based solely on taste. We quickly Googled to see if something similar exists.
It does.
The World Beer Cup, established in 1996, is the Olympics of beer. The biannual event held in Colorado brings together competition from five continents, globalizing the beer revolution. The tournament is structured like the Olympics we more commonly know, with each brewery (country) bringing its best beers (athletes) in each category to compete against opposing beers with the same qualifications. At the most recent World Beer Cup in 2012, there were more than 95 specific categories of beer. The specifics of each category include general style, alcohol percentage, bitterness, original gravity and final gravity. Even with the seemingly tough qualifications for entry, 3,921 beers from 799 breweries in 54 countries participated in 2012.
Who wins?
In each category, a gold, silver and bronze medal are awarded to the three most outstanding beers, selected by judges. In 2012, 211 judges, all with immense knowledge and respect in the beer community (and, of course, the best job on Earth), were selected to hand out awards. Before we go any further, the answer is yes. You can try to sign up by emailing the head of the not-for-profit Brewers Association, but the selection process is selective.
Back on topic, a gold medal is worth three points, a silver worth two and a bronze medal is worth one. Each individual beer gets to claim the medal it won, just as athletes do, and the point total goes to their brewery. At the end of the judging period, points are added up and the breweries with the most overall points win. Breweries are further broken down into subcategories based on total barrels (one barrel = 31 gallons) produced per year. The five subcategories are Small Brewery, Mid-Size Brewery, Large Brewery, Small Brewpub and Large Brewpub.
For more information on this event, check out worldbeercup.org to see stats and learn about the best beers in each category.
Why should you care?
The judges in the competition know their stuff. They didn’t just get picked up off the street and offered free beer, they are recognized as respected connoisseurs of their craft. They would scoff at us if we applied now. The benefit of the competition, however, is to help the consumer enjoy their beer as much as possible. The judges select the best so you can enjoy the best. We have already tried a few beers listed as gold medalists, and they are among our new favorites. As fun as trying 3,921 new beers sounds, it’s not practical. Luckily, we can use these results in many ways, such as knowing what is good beforehand. Also, we can use their guidelines for each type of beer to know what to look for when tasting a beer. Expanding your palate is key. There are so many good beers out there; it’s a shame to settle into one niche.
Beer culture is not only changing in the United States, but all over the world. It’s becoming similar to wine culture, only without the pretentiousness or long walks through fields of grapes. Instead of wine tasting, people are beer tasting. Instead of grabbing a nice bottle of Merlot, they are grabbing a classy bottle of Chimay. They no longer see how much they can drink, but how much they enjoy what they drink. Craft beer is here, and it’s here to stay.