I was reading a recent article about the Story of Little Creatures Pale Ale and how it is one of the most popular Gateway Beers around which is no surprise. It’s a really interesting read and the writer asks the question “is it the same beer” that people fell in love with when they first drank it all those years ago or has it changed? The brewer basically replies “It is absolutely the same”.
When a link to the story was posted on social media there where a chorus of people who said it was all a lie and that the beer had undoubtedly changed, which got me thinking. What leads us to think a beer has changed, when it hasn’t? So here is what I came up with.
5 Reasons the beer you are drinking today has changed, or not!
- You forgot !
Do you have a photographic memory? Can you recall the EXACT way the beer tasted 5 or 10 years ago when you had it? I doubt it. Sometimes I can’t remember what a beer tasted like the next morning, so I am damned if I can remember what it tasted like 5 years ago. - Your tastes have changed
One thing I know for sure is that your palette changes over time. I remember the first time I tried a stout about 20 years ago and I thought I was drinking boot polish. Now I love them. When it comes to hops, what I used to consider a hoppy beer, I would now consider bland because I’ve tasted so many beers with a high IBU now. Little Creatures is a great Pale Ale, but when you compare it to some of the new bolder varieties, it can be quiet bland - Your mouth has changed
Try this. Take a mouthful of your favourite beer, then eat some nuts and have another mouthful, then eat some salami and have another mouthful. Do they all taste the same? Try the same beer the next day afterwork, or after a meal. Does it always taste the same? I doubt it, and this is a beer you know hasn’t changed. - It’s the location
Ever had a Bintang in Bali? I haven’t but people reckon they taste great. It’s not because it’s a great beer, but there is something about being in that place, on holidays, in the sun and sucking back a cold one, I believe. For me it was Lowenbrau in Germany, that beer never tastes the same as it did back there. - It’s nostalgia
You have heard this before in many conversations. Your parents said it was better back in the “good old days”, or your favourite rock band sounded better on vinyl than it does on your Ipod. This one is full of emotion because it really does take us back to something we loved. So if Little Creatures was your epiphany beer, that moment in time was special, a bit like your first kiss (or other romantic moment). As time goes on and you have lots more great beer moments (or girlfriends) but the first one holds a special memory in time.
So what ever the reason, if in your mind you believe it has changed then for you it probably has, but brewing is a science and if the brewer tells me it hasn’t changed, then you really got to ask yourself, what has changed?
If your head is full of memories of a great tasting beer, then hold on to those. If you don’t enjoy the same beer today, that’s fine, move on and enjoy something else, but for most people Little Creatures will still hold a place in their heart, much like their first girlfriend. Cheers !