This picture perfectly sums up the beer-scene zeitgeist in the UK over the last 12 months. The hazy, low bitterness, hoppy and fruit-forward pale ale reigned supreme; everyone (worth their salt) tried to make them and when they were good, people loved them and lapped them up. Verdant down in Falmouth, Cornwall were one of the best proponents of the style IMO but, of course, nothing ever stays the same forever! Just when we'd gotten used to the hazy pale along looms the "Brut IPA" with all the major craft brewers releasing batches to market over the Summer it would seem that perhaps this new style represents the next wave?
Having mentioned the "next wave" it's worth noting that the only thing guaranteed about future predictions is that they won't pan out how you think; there are several candidate styles for the next hype-wave in beer, you've got your barrel-aged versions of every other style, sours, Belgian-American hybrids, Lambic, blends and many others, who knows, we may even see a return to traditional "bitter"? But, I reckon if that happens it'll be under the guise of some kind of chimeric US/UK style. The world of beer has changed so much in the last few years!
Having mentioned the "next wave" it's worth noting that the only thing guaranteed about future predictions is that they won't pan out how you think; there are several candidate styles for the next hype-wave in beer, you've got your barrel-aged versions of every other style, sours, Belgian-American hybrids, Lambic, blends and many others, who knows, we may even see a return to traditional "bitter"? But, I reckon if that happens it'll be under the guise of some kind of chimeric US/UK style. The world of beer has changed so much in the last few years!
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