Overrated beers

[MmmBeer]

Saison is an interesting one in that I don’t think their are a huge number of commercial examples it certainly wasn’t dominating the taps in the pub like Sours, and Hazy IPA’s the last time I was in one. Likewise looking at the ‘what are you drinking tonight’ thread on here while their are a lot of Saison drinkers it seems to be very much dominated by home brewed ones far more so than other styles which is part of why I wouldn’t see it as over rated.

As for the popularity amongst home brewers I can only speak for myself Saison has the advantage of typically having a fairly simple grain bill and can be fermented without much regard for temperature control. If you like them (which I personally do) this makes them a great beer for home brewing.

Personally I have only ever tried commercial examples and have always found them disappointing and unpleasant. Whenever I bought a mixture of assorted beers back from Belgium or France and opened one that was a Saison, I got the "Damn why did I buy one of those again!" moments on the first sip.

This is why I was so bemused whey i joined this forum and found so many members enthused about Saison. For that reason I find them overrated.

 

[Sadfield]

Cantillon Gueze. I really wanted to like this beer, as I love this style and it's supposed to be the pinnacle. I bought it and aged it for a year as recommended. When opened, it was completely flat, and taste-wise was no better than many cheaper Gueze. £25 of liquid disappointment.

Sounds like your Cork dried out. Did you store it horizontally when ageing?

 

[obscure]

Personally I have only ever tried commercial examples and have always found them disappointing and unpleasant. Whenever I bought a mixture of assorted beers back from Belgium or France and opened one that was a Saison, I got the "Damn why did I buy one of those again!" moments on the first sip.

This is why I was so bemused whey i joined this forum and found so many members enthused about Saison. For that reason I find them overrated.

Fair enough I think @Covrich has it about right describing them as a Marmite beer you either love them or hate them as they have a very distinctive taste

 

[MickDundee]

I think Saison is a real marmite style as its quite a strong flavour which is a bit left field..

I do love a good saison and i made one with lemon drop hops which was amazing .. but it wont be a lot of peoples tastes

Lots of people on various FB brewing groups doing saison kits and either thinking something has gone wrong with it or saying it tastes disgusting.

 

[jeg3]

Lots of people on various FB brewing groups doing saison kits and either thinking something has gone wrong with it or saying it tastes disgusting.

I think to understand a Saison needs a bit of understanding of the brewing process and in particular how yeast affects the flavour and mouthfeel of a beer.

It is faddy, a bit like juicy IPAs and NEIPAs. The trouble with fads is that people will buy into the trend without really understanding what they are buying into. No disrespect to anyone here, it is perfectly understandable that someone new to brewing who likes pale ales, bitters and maybe lagers may find Saison to be off, or very unpalatable.

A lot of people who know I brew beer are amazed that I like such a variety of different styles, yet I don't think I've even scratched the surface really. But of course you get folks who will only ever drink one particular beer in their local, and that's perfectly OK as well.

 

[TonyT]

Well I live in West Wales and I’ve never come across a saison so I’ve no idea what the style tastes like. Around here, the height of style appears to be drinking Peroni at over a fiver a go.

 

[Clint]

I liked SAISON! from the first I tasted,brewed the Young's New World which came out similar to Brewdog Electric India,then went on to have a go when I moved on to AG brewing. I can't say I've been disappointed with any of with any I've had in beer swaps. I have a Pennine SAISON in the brew fridge now. If it's half as good as Pennine's I'll be very pleased. True though,they can be an acquired taste.

 

[531Man]

I see it has been mentioned - overhyped Hazy NEIPA, and then the more extreme recent iterations styles milkshake, brioche, cream gateau whatever crazy name you can think of that implies creamy opaque and sweet.
I think I am correct these come out of the USA, particularly West coast.
This fits in with an observation by SHMBO'd and me when visiting there about all the bread in the shops was sweetened, even advertised as such.
One of the things mentioned by Paul Hollywood when he took Bakeoff to the USA was they didn't appreciate his criticism that all the contestants' bread products were too sweet.
In general the taste there appears to be sweeter-toothed than here in the UK, so that's why we prefer bitter ales, and the overhyped styles from the USA are fruitier and less bitter because of the way they utilise their hops amongst others.

 

[Sadfield]

The irony of this thread is that the benchmark by which everything is being judged, comes from the 70s and 80s, a time when tax collectors, and global companies eradicated choice, lowered abvs and made beer the least diverse it has ever been. From this narrow view point anything new is considered faddy, when the reality is an exploration, resurrection and development of dyeing or lost styles. It's fine to not like something, but dismissing things one hasn't tried or have any cultural or historical understanding of is very much reminiscent of 'I'm not eating that foreign muck', bland, low quality british food scene of the same era, which thankfully has changed.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

The irony of this thread is that the benchmark by which everything is being judged, comes from the 70s and 80s, a time when tax collectors, and global companies eradicated choice, lowered abvs and made beer the least diverse it has ever been. From this narrow view point anything new is considered faddy, when the reality is an exploration, resurrection and development of dyeing or lost styles. It's fine to not like something, but dismissing things one hasn't tried or have any cultural or historical understanding of is very much reminiscent of 'I'm not eating that foreign muck', bland, low quality british food scene of the same era, which thankfully has changed.

As the originator of this thread my bench mark was not 70's and 80's beers. I've been drinking beer since the late 60's and in most of those 50+ years the beers were terrible. Today we have a fabulous selection of beers and long may it continue. I only asked what beers were overrated and people who think a beer is overrated are not narrow minded.

 

[Galena]

John Smith’s ! Massive, they sell it everywhere, it’s almost a British institution but to me its like drinking creamy p!$$ water.

I was going to post the same, John Smith's is usually drunk by persons with no taste whatsoever in beer.

Doombar, bland. It may have been good at some point in the past but is now dumbed down alongside Marston's pedigree to be easy to keep by unskilled bar staff, both being house beers in Marston's pubs.

Marston's Pedigree - not awful but definitely overrated and survives on it's heritage from the days it was a fantastic drink, re-formulated years ago and drunk by the uneducated masses who know no better. (Do I sound like a beer snob )

Draught Bass - Ruined by Molsen Coors who destroyed the yeast strain and had no interest whatsoever in Britains most popular ask ale. Shameful what they have done to it. Now brewed by Marstons and tastes pretty much like the dumbed down Pedigree.

 

[Clint]

A lot of beers USED to be good....they've been cheapened over the years by the big breweries to push profits...there's nothing good about Boddingtons now but it used to be a great pint.

 

[Pavros]

A lot of beers USED to be good....they've been cheapened over the years by the big breweries to push profits...there's nothing good about Boddingtons now but it used to be a great pint.

A lot of the ales have been altered to achieve the same profit levels as the cheap bland lagers which are served ice cold.

Boddingtons was an excellent pint on draught in the 80s. Just like Pedigree, Stones etc.

Back on topic, I don't get on with many sour beers, fruited beers or traditional stouts. And don't get me started on the sour IPAs which have started appearing over the last 18 months.

 

[Sadfield]

As the originator of this thread my bench mark was not 70's and 80's beers. I've been drinking beer since the late 60's and in most of those 50+ years the beers were terrible. Today we have a fabulous selection of beers and long may it continue. I only asked what beers were overrated and people who think a beer is overrated are not narrow minded.

However, many of the replies that form this thread don't mention specific beers, but do condemn whole styles to be overrated.

 

[obscure]

John Smith’s ! Massive, they sell it everywhere, it’s almost a British institution but to me its like drinking creamy p!$$ water.

I have a strange fondness for John Smiths Extra Smooth reminds me of when I was traveling back and forth from Leicester via Birmingham and would have a swift pint of it while waiting for my connecting train in Birmingham New Street.

I agree that it’s a pretty below average bitter but I wouldn’t count it as over rated purely on the grounds that no one really rates it to begin with (a bit like Carling or Bud Light).

 

[Redwulf]

Stella, Estralla, Peroni, Moretti basically any beer that ends in A or I from a commercial brewery with a TV ad.

I'd go as far as saying that most of the offerings from "Big Beer" are overrated and do not stand up to an equivalent brew from a smaller craft brewery that knows what its doing and cares about its product.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

However, many of the replies that form this thread don't mention specific beers, but do condemn whole styles to be overrated.

True

 

[Pennine]

I'm surprised at all the comments on Bud and Coors. I don't think they are overrated at all, there are only a couple of beers that would be rated lower than them and they are made by the same companies. We all know they are ****, but sometimes they can be the right beer for the time.

I think this seltzer nonsense is overated. Might as well drink flavoured sparkly water.

 

[Covrich]

Guinness? I am not the biggest stout drinker but I find it really bland..

I think this push to extra cold doesn't help.. it is as if they are trying to hide something

 

[moto748]

It's hard to call beers like Stella overrated. Does anyone really rate it? it is what it is, a dull Eurobrew, designed to upset no-one.

I told my son, who lives in Fashionable ThatLondon, and thus has access to more trendy beers than me, that I was brewing a saison, and his response, was, oh, do you think you'll like it? So he is clearly a saison-sceptic! Me, I'll just wait and see.

I am a regular Guinness drinker in pubs (or I was); my local sells lousy beer, sweet, keg, barely alcoholic. But the Guinness is pretty decent as draught Guinness goes, However, my satisfaction with draught Guinness is decreasingly rapidly when I start to compare it to the stouts I am making myself! , which, whilst no stronger, are a lot tastier and just generally have a lot more going on.