A Little Bit About Pie Theory

You might have read a few of my beer reviews and came across a reference to something called "Pie Theory." Don't be alarmed. It's not something that's included in the vernacular of the beer community. Like Rocky Balboa said on the news while punching meat in a cooler: "I think I invented it."


Pie Theory is something I came up with that best describes an experience you can have with a variety of beers out there. In my book, Pie Theory comes into play mainly with fruit and pumpkin beers.

I believe that in order to fully enjoy a fruit beer, that beer needs to resemble some form of a dessert. I guess you can say that the fruit resembles the filling inside of a well-crafted pie. As for the crust, this is where the yeast/bread presence comes into play.

If you understand the facets of beer history you know that beer is pretty much known as liquid bread. This is also a big part of the reason we enjoy pairing cheese with different types of beers. In ancient times, pairing these two items provided a multitude of nutrition. Beer combined water and bread. The cheese was the dairy. We still enjoy much of the same today.

Amazingly enough, beer can be used in similar, but different ways. Pie Theory is what I decided to get out of drinking fruit beers. When my family gathers, my favorite course is usually dessert. I always love a good slice of blueberry or cherry pie. There are a lot of fruit beers out there that have a lovely fruit presence and a good yeast/crust character as a good backbone. Think of it this way. Beer can be a bit less filling than pie and a bit healthier. The sugar is eaten by the yeast and converted to alcohol!