Oh sweet oaking...

The beer world is not exempt from trendy behaviors. You remember how acid washed jeans eventually turned into (artificially) dirty-knee jeans and now it's skinny jeans? Well, I've noticed that the brewing world has gone from Session ales to Imperial beers to Extreme beers and has most recently decided that Oaking any style of beer makes it better. The mantra has been "Add more hops, add more malt, add more everything," and that's still true. Our local brewers are jumping on that wagon - Rock Art's "Extreme Series," Long Trail Imperial Coffee Stout, Otter Creek Imperial Russian Stout, etc. But the national trend is now headed towards adding oak to everything. As I'm sitting here typing, I'm sipping on an Oak-Aged IPA! Who in their right mind would have guessed this two years ago? Oak has been applied to many beers, and of course, it's a historical brewing vessel, sure. We oak-age stouts to round out the edges and add vanilla notes without actually adding vanilla. Oak smooths over the rough edges of any poorly constructed product as well (read "cheap chardonnay"). But why are we oaking IPA's? Are we trying to smooth out the rough edges given by the huge over-addition of hops? It seems rediculous: Add lots of malt, add lots of hops to make a sweet but really really bitter beer, and ok, now put it into an oak barrel to smooth out all that bitterness that we added with all the extra hops.....

I'm not saying that experimentation is bad, though. I would never get to drink a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron or a Schmaltz Lenny Bruce R.I.P.A. (Rye-IPA) if brewers didn't push the limits and use unusual methods or ingredients. All I'm saying is this: brewers should beware of following any brewing trend blindly to the extreme! Some things just make the beer more expensive, not better. There's a complimentary phrase in the wine world when a vintner uses oak in the right way: "judicious use of oak." Brewers, please take note.

I can't wait to see the world's first Imperial Oak-Aged Hefeweizen!
Cheers,
Jeff