Page 17 - Beverage MasterAprMay 2021

Craft Brewery
Craft Brewery

because the meaningful differences between an ale brewery. Like the homebrewers that created this
vs. a lager can be summed up by describing what a classification system, he’s using familiar points of
beer tastes like, rather than referencing the species the naming system to communicate to others how
of the fungus that digested the barley sugar. they should take a stab at their own version of this
creation – and that, ultimately, is the soul of what
Sure, because of the growing popularity of the the craft brewing industry is about – and what will
industry, some of those terms have made it into insure it moves on into the future: experimenta-
modern beer-drinking vernacular, but only on a tion, innovation, and creativity, and then, iteration.
limited basis. In fact, the reason IPA has worked so Style guidelines are merely the framework with
well as a moniker for craft beer is that it is short, which that is communicated, and nothing more.
easy to remember, and is attached to a bold flavor They are not a holy book of information and to
profile. Consider, though, that the term IPA has most of the rest of the world, the words used with-
been on a centuries long journey. What current- in them are largely meaningless.
ly constitutes an IPA today would be completely
unrecognizable to the people who originally made Style guidelines are excellent tools for internal
them. Consider, too, that many customers do not communication. They’re great for recipe develop-
know that IPA is an acronym. Nor do they associate ment. They’re even okay when used to classify beer
it with a particular color or the species of yeast, for competition. But that’s where they stop being
and they would be hard pressed to tell you why the useful. When you’re selling beer in packaging or
word “India” is involved at all. It probably involves across a bar, it’s important to meet people where
boats. they are. Communicate with your customers in
their vernacular, not your jargon.
Calling Davey’s iteration of a style a “Cold IPA” is
fine, even though it’s not really cold, nor an ale, nor
Indian, because it’s created a term in which indus-
try members can communicate the techniques he’s
using in order to iterate upon the idea at another

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