HOLIDAY BEER NOTES
05 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in 21st Amendment Brewery, A Christmas Carol, Affligem Noel, beer, classic porter, Fireside Chat, holiday beer, porter, spiced winter ale, Uncategorized, wassail, winter English ale, world class beers
The eve of Saint Nicholas Day is a good a day as any to raise a toast and a cup of cheer to the magical effects of human goodness: With Saint Nicholas speed as it were, the patron saint of brewers.
I find it difficult to bah humbug those who think of cellaring holiday beers. For myself, nothing is quite so great as a freshly completed limited edition, so I do not consider ‘putting down’ (sounds like organized crime lingo) a few special edition bottles for some time later. I’ve always had the suspicion that people who obsess about ‘vertical tastings’, have a secret desire to be wine collectors. But what I am concerned with here is beer, and when it comes to holiday beer, it is most certainly, time to drink.
One of the great beauties of fresh beer is that you get to taste what the beer actually tastes like when it came out of the brewery. Affligem Noel, available fresh at the grocery store this year, is a prime example of what world class beer actually tastes like. How is it possible to describe its enormous quality and character? And without those typical musty notes attributed to cellared versions? Fresh is best. I would say for all holiday beers, whether spiced (wassail) versions or not. Sure many a winter beer will keep for quite some time, but that is most certainly not the point, because holiday beers are designed to be festive and celebratory.
Wassail recipes abound. 21st Amendment Brewery’s Fireside Chat is quite a kick both graphically and physically. A six-pack of cans containing strong spiced winter ale, with a depiction of FDR enjoying a holiday glass and a smoke. The ale itself is a powerful statement for beer in cans. Made at the old Cold Spring Brewery in Cold Spring, Minnesota. One of those “ho ho whoa!” brews available at this time of year.
“When this result was brought about, old Fezziwig, clapping his hands to stop the dance. cried out, “Well done!” and the fiddler plunged his hot face into a pot of porter, especially provided for that purpose.”
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
The game is afoot…
A NEW GENERATION
25 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in 21st Amendment Brewery, aluminum cans, arbitrary distinctions, beer, California beer, Oskar Blues Brewery, Patrick Rue, The Bruery
“Let the word go forth that the brewery stein has been passed to a new generation of Americans…”
One of the benefits of growing older is to observe the follies of this world, including your own. Which also explains the great pleasure at observing a new generation who look at things from a different angle, and where, if I am being honest, I must admit, I would have never thought of.
Take for example this whole business about whether or not beer should be brewed in aluminum cans. For many of the so-called craft brewers of the late 20th century, this would be heresy. It was glass, or you did not pass. Not any longer. Brewers at 21st Amendment and Oskar Blues among a growing number of others, decided that the recipe of a brew is far more important than the aesthetic desire of a glass container, and besides that, it is deemed more ecologically responsible, since aluminum is 100% recyclable.
But that is only part of the story. A new generation of brewers have developed their own unique takes on recipes, producing bold assertive beers of great character. Take a look at what Patrick Rue is doing in California at The Bruery. An operation dedicated to producing, for the most part, artisanal Belgian-style style variations in 25 ounce bottles, with names like Mischief and Saison Rue.
The truth of the matter is, there is a lot of love going forward in this ancient beverage. The idea of producing a product that is flavor neutral, as was the practice in the 20th century macro-brewing industry, seems distant and strange today.
