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« on: November 16, 2011, 05:56:25 PM »
Curiosity: You can ferment so many things, Honey, all types of fruit...so on. Why is Mead and Cider included in beer sites, discussion, competitions and classifications such as the BJCP guidelines? Beer has been historically considered to include grain of some sort - usually barley. There might have been the odd exceptions throughout history, but I would submit that these exceptions are incorrect. Wine is wine because of the use of grapes. Beer is beer because of the types of grain and process, otherwise we should just call it all fermentable drinks and be all inclusive. Even certain "hard" liquors use grain (sometimes the same types), but we have kept them separate.
If it is just a matter of tradition or history of including Cider and Mead, it still doesn't make any sense and should really be reconsidered.