Moving Forward Towards The Holidays
08 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in beer, beer of the bear, Breckenridge Christmas Ale, christmas, Great Divide Brewing Comany, Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier, Hudy, Sam Adams, samuel adams, Samuel Adams Winter Lager, winter classics, winter English ale
For beer seekers this autumn has been a remarkable time. The celebration of marzen and pumpkin ales has proven remarkable. For The Beer Doctor, this year produced what I consider the beer of the year, in the United States at least: Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier. A successful recipe that deliciously adheres to its German malty roots, and is a crowd pleaser, much in the same way as Samuel Adams Octoberfest. Designed to be enjoyed during this season, before giving way to the Holiday Special Brews, which have already started to arrive.
What for example, is to make of the perpetual favorites from out west, such as Breckenridge Christmas Ale, which has always been a beautiful New World take on Scottish Winter Ale that over years, has become a sublime achievement, where nothing is out of place in its palate profile.
The same can surely be said of Great Divide Hibernation Ale, a dry-hopped take on an old English Winter, where malts and hops do all the talking. As is also the case with Brooklyn Winter Ale, their holiday/winter tribute to the power of Maris Otter malt.
A careful perusal of spiced beer reveals there are many choices. Samuel Adams Winter Lager always has a huge fan base and rightfully so, considering the balanced obtained with spices added to the wheat bock recipe.
“A damn tasty winter beer,” is part of what Beer Advocate’s Todd Alstrom said of this beer, 9 years ago. Considering that I have sampled Winter Lager for at least 20 years, I marvel at the brewmasters’ skill at refining these exquisite recipes, bringing them to fruition, year after marvelous year.
The Parameter Of Purity
01 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in adjunct lager, Alstrom Brothers, aventinus, beer, beer of the bear, Bell's Hopslam, Duvel, James D. Robertson, La Binchoise, Peach Tree Brewing
I have to chuckle when I consider the arbitrary distinctions offered up by the craft brew crowd to distinguish themselves from their macro mainstream brethren. A good example of this can be found when a particular beer from a particular brewery is sought after and coveted. Bell’s Hopslam is one of those. A tasty offering that some enthusiasts consider the final word on great beer.
A sales representative was shocked that I was more modest in my assessment. I told the gentleman that Hopslam’s use of honey in the recipe provided fermented strength that simply would not be there without it. Besides, when it comes to honey beers, La Binchoise Biere des Ours, is, for myself, the world’s benchmark example. But then, how many craft beer drinkers in the United States have sampled the beer of the bear?
Then there is the use of adjunct grains, which, once upon a time, was considered a no-no, when purity, that is the German definition of using only the four ingredients (water, barley malt, hops and yeast) helped define what was considered good beer. Well that is no longer the case. Just ask Joe Kesteloot, head brewer at Peach Tree Brewing, in Knoxville, Iowa, who makes a Belgian-style ale using bushels of corn, called Cornucopia, in celebration of the Iowa sweet corn harvest. The key here is Belgian-style, since the Belgians use fruit, honey, candy sugar, and numerous spices in their creations. Reinheitsgebot does not exist in such circumstances, and many so-called cutting edge brewers in the U.S. feel the same way. Which is fine, but this does not change the fact that some of the world’s greatest beers, such as Aventinus and Fuller’s 1845 Ale, achieve their flavorful distinctions by using only the big four, where the strain of yeast, or proprietary house yeast, becomes incredibly important. Belgium’s Duvel was created by using a stolen yeast from Scotland. You might have thought that reverse engineering started with electronic devices, well think again.
The great beer writer James D. Robertson taught me long ago that when it comes to approaching beer, it is vitally important to meet the brew half way, without preconceptions.
So whatever the style, the final question is: does it taste good or not? The Alstrom Brothers founders of the web site Beer Advocate, certainly understand this, while some of the members there, not so much.
To paraphrase the late Justin Wilson: What kind of beer should you drink? The kind of beer you like!
