Comments on: What is a Seasonal http://www.theweeklybrew.com/2009/12/what-is-a-seasonal/ Ramblings of a Kitchen Chemist Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:08:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Beermented http://www.theweeklybrew.com/2009/12/what-is-a-seasonal/comment-page-1/#comment-1835 Beermented Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:01:03 +0000 http://www.theweeklybrew.com/2009/12/what-is-a-seasonal/#comment-1835 I'm with ya on this thought! Seasonal beers don't seem to stick to traditional standards. If there ever was a traditional standard, which I think there was... with a capital "W" on was. Maybe it depends on how beer educated the drinker is? Answering your questions: *So the question becomes how do we determine the difference between a seasonal and a limited release now? They might as well be the same thing....? *Is the idea of seasonals outdated? No..... just has become more commercialized by the smell of profits? *If seasonals are an outdated idea then how do we define what makes a good winter/spring/summer/fall beer? I don't think they're outdated, I think seasonal beers have been taken advantage of, more for the sake of making a buck on any style beer and calling it a seasonal. *Are we no longer looking for a gullet warming thick malty brew for those cold January evenings? What about a nice hoppy low alcohol beer for those hot August nights? Just lost sight of tradition. Lets be honest. It's America, we love to take OLD WORLD traditions and bastardize them into something we call our own. Beer is no exception! Old World and even New World Winter Warmers ( aka Wassails) have been totally bastardized from the origin of big, strong malty and/or spicy beers. Look at the worlds traditions for a WInter Beer and then look at what we're doing. While some breweries stick to tradition, many are just going for the seasonal buck. I’m with ya on this thought! Seasonal beers don’t seem to stick to traditional standards. If there ever was a traditional standard, which I think there was… with a capital “W” on was. Maybe it depends on how beer educated the drinker is?

Answering your questions:

*So the question becomes how do we determine the difference between a seasonal and a limited release now?

They might as well be the same thing….?

*Is the idea of seasonals outdated?

No….. just has become more commercialized by the smell of profits?

*If seasonals are an outdated idea then how do we define what makes a good winter/spring/summer/fall beer?

I don’t think they’re outdated, I think seasonal beers have been taken advantage of, more for the sake of making a buck on any style beer and calling it a seasonal.

*Are we no longer looking for a gullet warming thick malty brew for those cold January evenings? What about a nice hoppy low alcohol beer for those hot August nights?

Just lost sight of tradition.

Lets be honest. It’s America, we love to take OLD WORLD traditions and bastardize them into something we call our own. Beer is no exception! Old World and even New World Winter Warmers ( aka Wassails) have been totally bastardized from the origin of big, strong malty and/or spicy beers. Look at the worlds traditions for a WInter Beer and then look at what we’re doing. While some breweries stick to tradition, many are just going for the seasonal buck.

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