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Is there such a thing as a common identity these days? Take a look at BrewDog's[/url:1nniua0v] or Cloudwater's[/url:1nniua0v]beer list. Without knowing who the breweries were you wouldn't automatically assume they are Scottish or English. Either list could just as easily be from a US brewery. Nitro stout is probably the only beer we can claim as having a real affinity with the country. Yes other countries make it but I'd bet we have the highest ratio of breweries to nitro stouts in the world.

I get your point Thomas, but there's indeed some clearly Scottish products that can be traced down go their identity... I'm not suggesting ALL breweries need to adhere to the "identity", but think hops in the American tradition, think fermentation in Belgium, think lagering in Germany. Nowadays, Italy is taking a stance on "experimenting", and even Mexico and Brazil are showing a careful use of local products (fruits and spices, mostly)...

"giacomorizzo":ighd8tec wrote: Can you expand Andrew? I'm not sure that education (as I'm thinking about it at least) helps define a national identity in this field...?[/quote:ighd8tec]
I'm not sure if this counts, but many of the Irish micros do identify with their locale; either directly (Dungarvan, Galway Bay, West Kerry) or figuratively (Metalman, 8 Degrees, N17). Likewise a lot of the beers are called after local (to the brewery) areas or features (Copper Coast, Knockmealdown, Passifyoucan)

"giacomorizzo":35oboqe7 wrote: If that's the case, how can we (consumers and Beoir) help? [/quote:35oboqe7]The preservation of local styles is also one of the concerns of the EBCU, btw, but I don't think it applies to Ireland.

"giacomorizzo":35oboqe7 wrote: we could propose some more Ireland-centric styles? I'm not sure I'm a big fan of "beer-cheology", but might be an interesting thing to work on...[/quote:35oboqe7]I can't see this being done in any meaningful way artificially. Ireland lost its styles a couple of generations ago when they were replaced by brands. With no living memory of the styles other than in modern brand form I doubt there's any way back.

"TheBeerNut":2xs3iuwq wrote: Ireland lost its styles a couple of generations ago when they were replaced by brands. With no living memory of the styles other than in modern brand form I doubt there's any way back.[/quote:2xs3iuwq]

What were our styles of beer? Given our close historic bonds with GB how would our beer style differ from theirs?

"CDow":s2o65lvv wrote: What were our styles of beer? Given our close historic bonds with GB how would our beer style differ from theirs?[/quote:s2o65lvv]
The only style Ireland could put any claim on would be red ale