#and by heavy drinking i mean like.. five cans of hard seltzer and i shared three of those with my friend 💀

[burnhamandtilly]

drinking in your late 20s is like: this is great, I feel amazing!!!!

*two hours later*: is currently experiencing physical symptoms never felt before

[xroguex1027]

Writing warm up.

Valdemar: This is Volta 069. If you can eat more than her then ill let you out of that little cage.

Having not eaten for days Julian expects no competition. How much could this tiny little lady possibly eat?

Normaly he would make a sly quip but having been starved for three days he only feels pain. He doesn't have the energy to speak.

Instead he just smirks at the odd proposal.

Valdemar: Do you accept my challenge?

Julian: When I was training under doctor satrinava we worked with these orphaned children. They were starved hadn't eaten in days. I of course brought oranges with me to protect against the scurvy. I thought I might share some with the children you see? But doctor Satrinava told me-

Valdemar: DO YOU ACCEPT?

Julian's stomach growls on cue. Not such a coincidence as its been groaning for three days straight.

Julian: I accept.

He's locked in a little room with two tables and two chairs. Each table is piled high with food. A little lady sits strapped to one chair her hands bound behind her. She's salivating like a dog.

Valdemar leads Julian to the other chair and straps him in.

Valdemar: Whoever eats everything on their table first will be released and given the prize.

Julian: Oh there's a prize? I'm not sure I like the sound of that...maybe If you were a bar made or say perhaps a magi-

Valdemar: Shut up and eat 069. Your opponent has all ready begun.

Valdemar has already unstrapped Volta's hands and she proceeds to dive face first into a blueberry pie.

Julian cautiously takes a bowl of porridge, something that will be easy on his malnourished stomach.

It feels good, warm, his stomach feels tight and empty but some how this room temperature porridge is soothing.

This is a competition though. He's nearly forgotten in the coma of his comfort food. He reaches for the top of the pile and also takes a blueberry pie.

He has no utencils to eat with. The porridge he could just tilt down his throat but this is solid food. His arms are fastened to the table at the elbows to insure he doesnt try to escape.

He lifts his hands up and turns toward to valdemar

Julian: Do you mind

With a roll of their eyes Valdemar removes Julian's gloves. Anything to hinder his progress.

Julian: You're most kind.

Valdemar: EAT!

Behind Valdemar Voltas pile of food has all ready been significantly reduced.

Julian hiccups as he shoves his last handful of blueberry pie down his throat.

It doesn't find its way easily. And the sudden sugar rush has him a little woozy. He should probably counter it with something healthy.

A chicken leg, he takes and tears it apart. It's tough and dry. He needs something to drink but there is nothing near by. An orange rolls from the pile and he takes it and peels it with his greezy hands. Its the closest thing he has to wash something down.

He squeezes each slice over his mouth before. Dropping down his throat.

Valdemar: Hurry Devorak. Your opponent is gaining on you.

Speaking of gaining now that the poridge and pie have settled Julian's deprived stomach is starting to feel a little full.

This is about the point he would end a normal meal but there is still a good 75 percent of the pile left to eat.

He decides its best to eat the heavy stuff first that way it will be easier to pack in the little things like cupcakes and beats at the end.

He attacks three sandwiches first, eating them faster than he thought he could. Next is a generous slice of chocolate cake. He's trying not to swallow more air than food to save room but it proves an ineffective strategy. He cracks open a pickle jar and begins to munch them two at a time. Three at a time.

The restraints are pressing into his bubbling stomach. He wishes he could move his hands to rub it but his arms won't bend that way because of the restraints.

Julian: *EEEERRRUUPPP* I feel sick.

Valdemar: Your opponent is almost done devorak. If you dont want to be chained up here forever I encourage you to continue.

Julian winces at a vinegar and chocolate flavored burp.

He begins to peel the five or six hard boiled eggs infront of him. He slurps them down one after another. His stomach is pushing through the gaps in the restraints.

A cramp twists in his lower stomach.

Julian: UGH

Volta: Done! Oh please. Oh please let me have me have his I'm so verry hungry.

How, how can she possibly be hungry? Julian peels another orange and remember the rest of his encounter with the orphaned children.

Dr.Satrinava had told him not to feed them too many. Their tummys were weak from starvation and they wouldn't be able to digest a lot at a time.

An unsavory growl rose from Julian's chest and manifested as a belch.

Julian: Does this mean I can stop?

Valdemar: Do you want to be free?

Julian: I thought freedom was the prize?

He was beginning to hope Valdemar had some seltzer water as a consolation prize.

Julian struggled to lay his head between his elbows. His swollen belly gargling pie and eggs and pickles and none of it was sitting well at all.

Volta: No. No. Its more food. Surely its more food.

Julian moaned.

Valdemar: oh no. Its something much better.

From their coat they produced a shiny knife.

Volta: For cutting right? Is it for cutting me a slice of pie or cake?

Julian was having difficulty stomaching words pertaining to food. Voltas enthusiasm was the icing on the cake.

He was having a nauseous staring contest with the cupcakes in front of him.

Surely he'd be sick.

Valdemar: Not for slicing food.

Volta face fell but Julians brightened with curiosity.

Valdemar: But when our Dr here finishes all the cupcakes I have so generously provided for him you can have all the food you want.

Volta: *gasp* yes yes he must eat. Oh doctor you must. I'm starving.

Valdemar picks up a cupcake and brings it to Julian's lips.

Now that there is a knife involved Julian isn't sure he wants to risk disobeying.

He struggles through every last cupcake. And nearly loses it as Valdemar spins his chair around to cut him free of the restraints.

Julian: hrng!

His stomach is significantly larger, bloated, full, and gurgling unpleasantly. The cramp has spread upward into his chest.

Finally free Julian rubs his tinder stomach.

*Glurp*

Julian: Did-did I eat all of that?

Valdemar: Not quite.

The devilish courtier unscrews the lid on the pickle jar.

Julian: its empty

Valdemar: Ide look again if I were you.

Julian nearly gags

Julian: The juice? You want me to drink the juice?

Valdemar: if you want to be free 069, you must consume everything.

Julian chugs the jar of pickle juice. It dribbles down his neck, the vinegar burning his cuts and scrapes from being bamged around inside a cage.

An awful burp threatens him when hes finished.

Valdemar cuts the last of the restraints digging into Julian's belly.

Ohhh his belly. His achy nauseous belly. Its so full it hurts so much. He's sweating with pain. He may be free but he can't move.

*Bluuurrrrppp*

The burp does nothing to settle his stomach.

Julian: Make it stop.

He grimaces and leans forward hugging his stomach.

Several burps rise from his gut each louder and wetter than the last.

Valdemar: Oh dear Volta it seems our doctor has eaten himself sick.

Volta: Its all because he didn't share

Volta whales.

Valdemar: of course the best way to unstuff something is to take out the stuffing.

Valdemar hands Volta the knife.

Volta: Oh is there stuffing? Stuffing and turkey?

Each time she mentions food Julian's stomach grows weaker. He's so nauseous that he's almost unconscious. Before he realises what they are discussing the cold edge of the knife is pressed against his taught stomach.

Julian: Do your worst.

Volta presses the point into his belly and a crimson drip slides down to his navel.

Julian Winces with an Oof and bights his lip.

Julian: Feels good

He's lying. An acidic burp gets stuck in his throat and he starts to cough.

Valdemar: What are you doing?

[wineanddinosaur]

Next Round: New RTD Cocktail Brand Zuzu is Betting on Transparency and Real Fruit

Airing between regular episodes of the VinePair Podcast, “Next Round” explores the ideas and innovations that are helping drinks businesses adapt in a time of unprecedented change. As the coronavirus crisis continues and new challenges arise, VP Pro is in your corner, supporting the drinks community for all the rounds to come. If you have a story or perspective to share, email us at podcast@vinepair.com.

In this “Next Round” episode, host Zach Geballe sits down with Ali Schmidt, one of the co-founders of Zuzu Drinks. Schmidt and her co-founder Greta Caruso came together to develop and launch Zuzu as a new line of quality RTD cocktails. Unlike hard seltzer, Zuzu’s products are made with an agave spirit and the “wholest” ingredients possible. Here, Schmidt discusses what the flavor testing process looked like, and why she and Caruso ultimately chose to use an agave spirit.

Both co-founders come from culinary backgrounds and believe in the idea that “less is more delicious” when it comes to working with high-quality ingredients. Schmidt is a self-described “passion fruit super freak” and emphasizes that incorporating real passion fruit juice was one of the most difficult parts of this process — but she and Caruso refused to cut corners. When others suggested adding preservatives, these co-founders stayed true to their brand, and eventually released the Zuzu we know today.

Read on to learn what Schmidt says makes these drinks “hangover proof,” and what differences really exist between an “agave spirit” and tequila.

Listen Online

Listen on Apple Podcasts

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Or Check Out the Conversation Here

Zach: From Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe and this is a “VinePair Podcast” Next Round conversation. We’re bringing you these conversations in between our regular podcast episodes in order to focus on a range of issues and stories in the drinks world. So today I’m speaking with Ali Schmidt. She’s a co-founder of Zuzu, which is a new line of ready-to-drink sparkling cocktails. Ali, thanks so much for your time.

Ali: Thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here.

Z: Yeah, my pleasure. And I’ll be honest at the get go, I have not yet tried Zuzu. You guys are based in New York, from what I understand. And that out here in the hinterlands in Seattle, not quite on your distribution route, but I will say that the VinePair Slack has been hot and heavy with some people expressing their love for the drinks. So that’s part of how this all came to be. And so, yeah, that is not me just blowing smoke.

A: That’s great, love to hear it.

Z: So let’s start briefly with an understanding of what Zuzu is and maybe a little bit, too, in there, how it came to be.

A: Yeah, of course. So the long and short of it is that Zuzu, like you’re saying, is a sparkling cocktail. It’s a light cocktail, five percent alcohol by volume, and it’s made with 100 percent agave spirit, some fresh citrus juice, and some sparkling water. So it’s really simple and of the philosophy that less is more delicious with really high quality ingredients. And Greta and I started this company about a year and a half ago now. So quite a while ago. And as I said, I’m so happy to hear that you like the flavors and that your team likes it, because we probably went through like 40 iterations of both flavors because we’re so obsessed with taste and quality that it’s like it’s so thrilling to hear that. So I think that’s part of why it took us so long to get this thing out onto shelves.

Z: So let’s maybe get into that a little bit about how you came to the formulation or the recipes. So one of the things I think that’s interesting to me about these is that we’ve seen a lot of things in the RTD cocktail space that are, “here’s a canned x or here’s a bottle of y,” or a drink I think people are familiar with. And I’m sure there’s a cocktail nerd out there who can tell me exactly what this cocktail is. I mean, I’m a former bartender, so I’m reasonably familiar, but it feels like you’re looking at like we wanted to make something that was like a sparkling Margarita, but not really. And like, was there a drink in your and Greta’s eye you were trying to create, or recreate? Or was this like we think these flavors work, but we’re going to make something new?

A: Well, we started this whole thing by just making this drink for ourselves. So Greta and I’ve known each other for the better part of 20 years and we were actually both in the food world before we started Zuzu. She worked in California with Alice Waters at the Edible Schoolyard. I went to cooking school in Ireland, of all places, and worked as a chef for two years in London. So food and really good food has always been super important to us. And so when we started creating Zuzu, we at first thought it was going to be some sort of a food object. We just knew we wanted to start a company together. And I mean, we looked at the breakfast space. We looked at healthy candy, as if that’s even a thing. And, I think at our darkest hour, we were looking in the cracker market and we were trying to make Cheez-Its in Greta’s kitchen out of sweet potatoes and nutritional yeast, which I can say those were definitely our darkest days. And so in those, most harrowing trials of crackers, we started making ourselves what eventually became Zuzu. And for us, the flavor profile was always driven by what was seasonal. So of course, limes are never seasonal in New York, but everything has a little bit of a touch of citrus to it, which I think is a real signature of the Zuzu flavor profile. Always a little bit tart rather than super sweet, because as you were saying before, I think the problem with Margaritas is everyone’s had that sugary, deathly hangover the next day. And we would experiment with fun things, whether it was plums or whether it was persimmons or different kinds of grapefruit. So that’s really how we started thinking about our flavors. So we would just make it for ourselves, basically. And one day we’re like, this is amazing. And we want to be drinking this every day and we need to turn it into a product. And the question was like, how do you go about doing that? And that was all very new to us and exciting. And we started working with someone who was a former chef and formulator here in New York. And we were like, okay, let’s go wide. Let’s figure out what are the best flavors. We know we want something with a lime profile. We are both super freaks for passion fruit. I don’t know if you feel this way about passion fruit, but either you’re a passion fruit freak or you’re not. And we fell in that realm, and those were just the two that came out as the most delicious. I think because we come from a background in food, we only ever want to put out flavors that are what we consider to be very well-balanced and perfect.

Z: And so maybe a little more about that process of searching for and sourcing the ingredients, because I think something that is clear in the way that you guys have positioned Zuzu and just some of the press materials and whatnot, there’s a lot of talk about transparency and sourcing, and so obviously, you know, those things don’t appear in a press release for no reason. They’re obviously important to you and Greta. So can you talk a little bit about how both philosophically what that means, and also practically what you did?

A: Of course. So transparency to us is pretty simple. It goes back to this quality that less is more delicious. When we started sourcing our passion fruit, for example, you would be amazed. It’s like the juices that we were finding were either bulked out with other kinds of juices. So it wasn’t just passion fruit. It was like they would sneak in some apple juice and some pear juice in there to bulk it out or it had cane sugar in there to act as a preservative. So everything we did in our sourcing was to make sure that if we were going to use passion fruit, it was just the stuff, itself. It wasn’t anything else. And that means we had to use a passion fruit pureé, which separates in our drink. But we think it’s worth it because it is the real true thing. Of course, it means that our raw ingredient is frozen, which logistically is more complicated and is more expensive. But those are exactly the kinds of corners that we’re unwilling to cut, because at the end of the day, you try our passion fruit product, and it actually tastes like passion fruit, not just like a weird derivative of the thing itself, because it is the real stuff. So I think it’s a commitment to always be sourcing the “wholest” versions of whatever ingredients we’re using.

Z: So speaking about ingredients and transparency, one thing that’s interesting to me about Zuzu is that you guys are using agave spirit as the alcohol in the cocktails. And for a lot of our listeners, I think the distinction between agave spirit and tequila might be not something they’re familiar with. My understanding is we’re talking about something that’s much more of a technical and legalistic distinction, as opposed to a flavor distinction that would be noticeable to the drinker. So can you explain what the difference there is?

A: Yeah, that’s exactly right. The taste will be pretty much the same. All that we’re doing with a 100 percent agave spirit is distilling it in the U.S. So we’re buying our plants from Mexico. Our distiller that we work with here in the U.S. has a direct relationship with a multigenerational organic family farm 20 minutes outside of Jalisco. And because we’re distilling it in the U.S. rather than in Mexico, in the five regions where tequila has its denomination, we cannot call it tequila. We can just call it an agave spirit. And that’s what we’re doing.

Z: Yeah. Gotcha. And so I would wonder — “sourcing” tequila — we’ve talked about this on the podcast in a variety of different ways. And it’s a very complicated issue that I don’t really intend to get into in any great depth here. But is it more about just being able to make sure that you have a clear source, I suppose that you know and understand?

A: Yeah, that’s exactly right. I think the important thing to note is we’re so small right now that we have very little buying power. And so what feels good to us is to be able to have a super pure product and know that our dollars are being spent directly at this one farm in Mexico. I think we’re super interested in expanding and looking into other sources for tequila as we grow and gain some more buying power. The other thing is that tequila needs to be one hundred percent pure. Tequila needs to be bottled in Mexico. So we would be looking at a situation where we’d be buying bottles from Mexico, importing them into the U.S., just to dump it out here and put it into another bottle and call it Zuzu. And that felt like a lot of waste for us. So this just felt like the best way, at our scale, to get a really pure product.

Z: And I’m wondering too, back in your “dark days” you described with sweet potatoes and nutritional yeast, was tequila always the spirit of choice? How did that become something that you and Greta gravitated towards?

A: Yeah, it has always been the spirit of choice for us. I think the flavor of it is so great. It’s a little bit sweet, but it’s also the healthiest of them. It has the fewest calories. And we anecdotally looked around and suddenly, it was like everybody was drinking tequila sodas. And so I think it came from a place of the flavor itself, and then the quality of tequila and it felt healthier than other options out on the market.

Z: And I’m wondering, too, you mentioned the fact that Zuzu is five percent alcohol, which I don’t know in positioning it, it’s obviously not no-alcohol. But it definitely fits into this broader low-alcohol range of drinks. And I’m wondering, I think this isn’t a question with a right or wrong answer. I’m just curious, was it more about getting to that number because that’s what gave you the “health” profile that you were looking for? Or was it “hey, we just think at this point this is where if we blind tasted 15 different formulations ranging in alcohol from three to 20 percent or whatever, this is the one that we think tasted the best”? That decision is something that you’re making consciously in some sense. How did you make that decision?

A: Yeah, we tested all different ranges of ABV. And you’re right, three percent it was like, do we even feel it? And seven percent, suddenly you’d have one and you’d start to feel you’d have two and suddenly you’d feel really drunk. And that’s not something that we wanted. We want Zuzu to feel like a really nice way to take the edge off. Something that you could have on a weeknight either alone or at a nice dinner party with your friends if we’re ever able to do that again. Fingers crossed. So it’s just the right amount to make you feel good and take the edge off, but also low enough that you wake up and you don’t feel like garbage the next day and your liver has time to process the amount of alcohol. So I think that “sessionable” aspect of it was really important for us.

Z: Gotcha. And so on that note, one thing that’s in the press release you guys set out, which let’s say you’re going to have to convince me of something. Which is that Zuzu was described as a “hangover proof” drinking experience, and I understand that to some extent, you don’t mean, if someone drank 20 of them, there would be no repercussions. Obviously, anyone who can think critically doesn’t really think that’s true. But I guess I’m wondering what does that mean? And also, as someone who is in his now, sadly, late 30s and ever more aware of how much hangovers suck. Why is that in particular such a selling point? Because I guess what I mean is, I think there are certain drinks that are targeted at certain demographics that are like we know you’re not going to care. Like, the next morning is not your consideration. Obviously, that’s not what you’re targeting here. So maybe also if you can talk about who you envision — obviously you would love everyone to drink this — but when you’re thinking about the person who is “hangover-conscious,” or alternatively not unconscious, who is that?

A: Yeah. Well, first of all, let me just say it’s definitely not hangover proof. I mean, you drink 10 Zuzus, you will likely feel hungover the next day because alcohol is alcohol. It’s ultimately an ethanol. So what we’re doing is trying to create the conditions of minimal hangovers, which gets back to our fundamental thesis that I spoke about before, that less ingredients is better. I think for us, what’s important here is that there are no synthetic sweeteners or no artificial preservatives or no other additives that will make you feel hungover or accelerate your hangover. It’s just exactly what it says that it is. And I think that our customers care about that because she is a person who cares about what goes into her product. She’s the person who looks at her nutritional lists at the supermarket. And she’s the professional person that wakes up the next day and does feel like she needs to get to work, and doesn’t have time to be super hungover in the morning. I keep saying “she” but my brother, for example, is probably Zuzu’s number one fan. So let that be known.

Z: And I’m wondering, on that note, I guess I have to tell you two questions that I want to get to and they kind of go in different directions. So I apologize. The first one there is when you are working without preservatives and you’re working without all those things, is there a discernible shelf life for this? Is that a consideration? Obviously, alcohol helps, and even carbonation helps to some extent. There’s actual fruit obviously in both of these, and not just citrus. What is the shelf life on these?

A: Yeah, it’s a great question. Thank you for asking because I spent about a year in R&D trying to figure out this question and the shelf life is 12 months on this. And that’s pretty remarkable because there are so few ingredients in it. I can’t tell you how many times along the way people push you to do what is the status quo, which is add potassium sorbate, which is a preservative, or there’s this product called Valkyrien…

Z: Oh yeah, I’m a wine person so…

A: Okay, yeah you get it. You literally have to wear a hazmat suit to touch it,and people are like, “just put some Valkyrien in it.” So what we do at Zuzu, and it’s low enough in alcohol that actually the alcohol doesn’t kill off all of the bacteria. And we do have six or seven percent of the quantity of it as juice. And that’s why it tastes so good. And that means that we pasteurize our product, so we heat it for a certain time and at a certain temperature. And once it’s been in bottles then that kills the bacteria. And I think part of the reason why it took us so long to get Zuzu out onto the market was finding the right person that could manufacture this for us, that we really trusted and cared about the quality of our ingredients, because we were unwilling to just throw these preservatives into it.

Z: Gotcha. And then my other question is, you mentioned obviously a guiding light for you and Greta, in designing these was citrus and “tartness.” And I would imagine, like I said, I haven’t tried them, but I would imagine that both the Calamansi Lime and Passionfruit bring a lot of that. Is there another either specific flavor or alternatively, are you thinking, “okay, well, two flavors is great,” but presumably the intention is not to stop there. Like what are the other dimensions you’re looking at?

A: Yeah, we definitely want to create more flavors. I think we at this point are learning so much, now that Zuzu is in the market, about what people like. Interestingly, lime is the gateway drug and then passionfruit slowly creeps up on people so that they start spinning about which one they like more. It’s fun for me to watch. But our goal right now is we are developing a couple of other flavors, but we really want to hear from our customers. We want to hear from people that are Zuzu drinkers that are like, “I love sour cherries, can you please make a sour cherry one?” Or like, “grapefruit is the only Spindrift that I drink.” And that’s what I need you guys to create next. I think we’re just trying to get as much feedback as we can from our customers and listen to what they want and produce it.

Z: Very cool. And last of all, for people who are interested, what’s the step for them to take to track down Zuzu?

A: Well, if you’re in New York State, you can go onto our website, drinkzuzu.com, and you can have Zuzu currently delivered straight to your door, or you can get it delivered through our local marketplace, which is also on our website. And there’s also a list of stockists there. So you can actually go to the store and buy it in person. I will also say that we should have national shipping in the next month or so. So you in the hinterlands of Seattle can get it delivered straight to your door, which we’re really excited about, because there are a bunch of people out in the country that are asking for it now, which we’re very, very thankful for.

Z: Awesome. Well, Ali, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it. I look forward to giving the product a try one of these days. When the covered wagons make it all the way out here.

A: To the Wild West!

Z: Yeah, exactly. And yeah, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it. And best of luck with Zuzu going forward.

A: Thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair Podcast. If you enjoy listening to us every week, please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits. VinePair is produced by myself and Zach Geballe. It is also mixed and edited by him. Yeah, Zach, we know you do a lot. I’d also like to thank the entire VinePair team, including my co-founder, Josh, and our associate editor, Cat. Thanks so much for listening. See you next week.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article Next Round: New RTD Cocktail Brand Zuzu is Betting on Transparency and Real Fruit appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/next-round-ali-schmidt-zuzu/

[wineanddinosaur]

We Asked 20 Brewers: What Are the Worst Trends in Beer Right Now?

Not all beer trends are created equal. Some have staying power and become national or global phenomena, while others fizzle quickly. There are several movements coursing through American breweries that are worth celebrating, but, for now, let’s focus on the absolute worst. We’re examining the garbage gimmicks that deserve a good riddance. That leave a bad taste in your mouth. That make you want to White Claw your eyes out.

Below, beer makers confess the recent developments they wish would disappear.

“Lactose in IPAs. Not a fan.” — Brandon Tolbert, Owner and Brewer, Short Throw Brewing

“Big Beer creating new breweries in popular beer-centric destinations while posing them as independent startups. The average consumer is unaware that their money is not supporting the local craft-beer community, but rather the international beer conglomerates.” — Ignacio Montenegro, Co-Founder, Tripping Animals Brewing Company

“I’m tired of breweries ignoring sexual harassment and sexism and treating it as ‘boys being boys.’ In over half of the breweries I’ve worked at, I‘ve experienced examples as blatant as a head brewer telling everyone he would screw me straight. Or less obvious instances where a man asks why I’m the one carrying something heavy. It’s 2019 and I demand equality and respect.” — Megan Stone, Brewer

“I think ratings on apps and websites have taken some of the human element out of craft beer. While it’s great to have craft-beer fans excited about beer X, Y, or Z, I often see consumers relying too heavily on ratings to drive what they purchase as opposed to having a conversation with their bartenders and brewers. Most all of my beer ‘Aha!’ moments have come through connecting with someone and trying something completely new and unfamiliar. I think it’s our jobs as brewers and bartenders to help guide more of those experiences for craft-beer fans.” — Corey Gargiulo, General Manager, Evil Twin Brewing NYC

“The packaging and selling of unfinished beer. Many small breweries don’t have the necessary pasteurization capabilities in order to make a product stable after blending in various fruits and juices, so they package it in cans and warn the consumer to ‘keep it cold’ to avoid the cans exploding. For me, this is a trend I’d like to see fade away. Either buy a pasteurizer for your cans, or simply keep it on tap in your taproom where it can be controlled.” — Paul Wasmund, Head Brewer and Blender, Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending

“The ‘slow pour’ pilsner. I appreciate and cherish the craft of beer and can see why this is desirable. However, there are other ways to achieve optimal flavors and aromas without bartenders having to wait five to seven minutes to serve the beer.” — Mark Johnson, Brewer, DuClaw Brewing Company

“Seltzers in breweries. I think the trend will leave a negative impact on the integrity of the industry. I understand the desire to diversify, especially given stagnant sales across the industry of late, but hard seltzer is not the answer. I can get down with hazy IPAs, pastry stouts, and even beer cocktails. Seltzer is a quick copout for a lot of fledgling places. I’d like to see low-calorie beer or even nonalcoholic craft options fill the void. At least it’s still beer.” — Chris Gilmore, Brewer, Lone Tree Brewing Company

“A trend making me sad, but I don’t see it ever going away, unfortunately, is the ouroboros of hype. People want to get a beer everyone’s talking about, stand in line for its release or pay scandalous money, sometimes more than eightfold the initial price, and of course they will rate it marvelous even if it’s just O.K. Nobody wants to admit putting a lot of effort, be it time or money or both, into just a good beer. So they call it exceptional and more people want it. And here we go again. This leaves out of the spectrum of attention thousands of really good breweries. Plus, there is enjoyment-versus-price ratio. Do you feel that beer was worth every penny you paid? Sometimes you pay a lot but feel cheated because the beer wasn’t as great as you expected it to be. And if someone pays way more than the brewery price and is not happy, all the discontent unfairly goes to the brewer, not to the secondary market trader in part driving the hype.” — Lana Svitankova, Speaker, Varvar Brew

“Was glitter beer ever a trend?” — Mike Shatzel, Co-Owner, Thin Man Brewery

“Not enough minorities, blacks, and Hispanics drinking craft beer. I’ve been in the brewing industry since 2015 and have experienced nothing but greatness from the beer to the people who enter our establishment. What I do not see, though, is a lot of color. … Overall, I’ve experienced great beers and breweries but I would love to see more diversity in the industry.” — James Higgs, Intern, Forager Brewery

“Distributor consolidation and the buying up of craft breweries and brands by large multinational companies is creating a super-challenging retail environment for all the independent craft brewers.” — Ron Jeffries, Founder and Brewer, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

“Whole pastries, instead of constituent ingredients, going into stouts. You’re not even thinking about flavors anymore, you’re just trying to do something for Instagram.” — Ethan Buckman, Co-Owner and Head Brewer, Stickman Brews

“The liberal interpretation of double dry hopping, or DDH, is a pet peeve of mine. DDH is an actual process where the first dry hop is added during active fermentation and the second in secondary. But most people simply just dry hop multiple days. And also, double of what? Since most brewers don’t disclose their original dry hop rate, they’ve started a dry hopping arms race. I’ve seen as high as 15 pounds per barrel, and that’s just a waste! Only so much hop oil can dissolve in beer. At a certain point it’s literally throwing money down the drain.” — Morgan Clark Snyder Jr., Owner and Brewer, Buttonwoods Brewery

“I’m over the meatheads who still think it’s O.K. to put out sexist beer labels and social media posts. It’s not edgy or tongue in cheek. It’s gross, it’s harmful, and it should be beneath us as an industry. I also think it appeals to the type of crowd who have no problem commenting on a female bartender’s appearance, but would only take a beer recommendation from a dude. No one needs more of that.” — Jonathan Moxey, Head Brewer, Rockwell Beer Company

”It’s exciting that the popularity of high quality and well-made lagers is on the rise. It’s a huge bummer, however, when brewers chase trends and make lagers with cheap ingredients, poor brewing techniques, and fast tank times. It has taken a long time and a great deal of hard work to get well-made, vibrant, and incredible lagers out to the U.S. beer drinker. I believe that innovation and tradition can go hand in hand with this realm of beers, but the key is for the brewer to respect the scope and the challenge of brewing lager beer.” — Josh Pfreim, Co-Founder and Brewmaster, pFreim Family Brewers

“The beer community is a vocal one, and we love how people freely review, discuss, and share their opinions about beers they try. However, a trend I see that isn’t constructive is a tendency of people to default their reviews to a comparison of any given beer to an archetype of that beer style. As opposed to evaluating a beer as an independent expression of a style — and most importantly whether they liked it! — it becomes more a question of does it taste like X beer or is it better than Y beer. We as a brewery place primary importance on innovation and are never trying to duplicate an expression of any given style. So, we believe it would be a positive move for craft beer if the community would keep an open mind and evaluate beers as unique steps along an evolution of a style, not a catalog of archetype imitations.” — Harris Stewart, Founder and CEO, TrimTab Brewing

“I honestly hate the unfermented, super-fruited beers, the ones where you can literally chew on the fruit particles like a smoothie. The first time someone let me taste one I thought it was some sort of beer slushie. These aren’t safe unless you have a way to pasteurize. Then more power to you. But at that point just go down to Jamba Juice and get yourself a smoothie.” — Alyssa Thorpe, Head Brewer, Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery

“As a Belgian brewer who believes in the artistry of beer, I am afraid brewers are complacent with the ‘Chardonnization’ of their beers. We are bound by styles and rules but we’re not able to differentiate ourselves. You sell a kettle sour, a porter, and an IPA. Oh, great. So does Starbucks — sorry, I mean the brewery on the other side of the street. How do you make your taproom stand out? Is it the liquid? Is it your ties to the community? I challenge brewers to think out of the box. If you have an IPA that’s fruity, can you describe it differently than an IPA? Can you educate the consumer who hates IPAs on how they can appreciate this emerging style that now has so many subcategories? Unfortunately, we have seen winemakers go down the road and sell their wine by grape variety in the new world or by region in the old world. Creatively, I think we can push ourselves even more!” — Peter Bouckaert, Co-Owner and Brewer, Purpose Brewing & Cellars

“Overloaded sweetness. Great for sipping, but ruins the session and really messes up your gut.” — Tim Matthews, Head of Brewing Operations, Oskar Blues Brewery

“The eternally unsatisfied drinker.” — Antonio Lopes, Owner and Brewer, Lupum

The article We Asked 20 Brewers: What Are the Worst Trends in Beer Right Now? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/20-worst-beer-trends-craft/