Holiday Beer 2011 #3: 2 Wassails
15 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Anchor Christmas, beer, Gold Star Chili, James D. Robertson, our special ale, rivertown brewing, spiced winter ale, Uncategorized
First let me get to the new kid on the block: Rivertown Winter Ale, from Lockland, Ohio. This is a big time local wassail where Rivertown reveals its Cincinnati location. Its use of cinnamon reminds me immediately of locally famous Gold Star Chili, just a bit, despite its 7.5% strength, a remarkably drinkable ale. A smooth-spicy experience, with molasses providing additional fermentation, and of course the cinnamon. A home town recipe to be sure.
Then there is the 37th edition of Anchor’s famous “Our Special Ale”. A Christmas wassail that uses the signature spruce profile, but in a more subtle presentation. It reminds me of James D. Robertson’s comments that the first few “special ales” were not wassails at all. This latest version serves as a reminder of its holiday roots, where spices compliment, rather than overwhelm, the final presentation.
Incredibly well made. I also recall recall what a sales representative from Anchor told me a couple months ago: that the parameters of the basic recipe have been thoroughly established. Who knows? Next year’s recipe may not be a spiced ale at all.
Cheers!
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!
Imagine The Surprize
27 Apr 2009 1 Comment
in adjunct lager, beer, bock, Great Lakes Brewing, InBev, James D. Robertson, Uncategorized
Fifteen years ago when the craft brew world was starting to go into orbit, few at the time would have imagined that the orbit is permanent, or L5 as they say. Recently sampling Great Lakes Grassroots Ale, I was struck by the fact a brewery located in Cleveland, Ohio could produce an herbal farmhouse style of ale, found in Belgian and French farms, and somewhat rare, even in their countries of origin. Mind you, it is not my favorite beer, but the Belgian yeast strain, combined with the herbs, keep this in authentic context. On the bottle’s label, it is referred to as a mild ale, which when you see that it is 6.2% abv, they are using the term mild in the Belgian sense of the word. In British vocabulary this ale would be deemed strong.
But there is certainly something to be said about sitting in the backyard, on one of the warmest days so far this year, amidst abundant foliage and sunlight, and pouring this beautiful golden ale into what could be rightfully called a performance ale glass, which exhibits this beer in all its saison glory.
Brewers in the United States are very interested in all different styles of beer. Take Andygator from The Abita Brewing Company in Louisiana. A big southern take on the traditional German Mai bock. Packaged into a 22oz bottle (a bomber as the beer crowd calls it) this 8% golden boy, is most definitely a bottle for two. If you open this while alone, well its time to get happy and responisble ( by not performing any tasks that require responsibility). Time to sit back and enjoy the malty golden nectar.
Which brings me to a point I would like to make. As The Beer Doctor, I was schooled in tasting by Beer Hound James D. Robertson, who taught me as a taster, its my job to meet any beer’s recipe halfway. In other words, if I am sampling a beer brewed with corn grits, say Straub or Pabst for example, I am not going to compare it with an all malt recipe. To say that beers made with adjunct grains are inferior is to deny the history of brewing (especially in the United States) that brought them about. Whether it is macrobrews or craft brewed, these marketing terms are incredibly overrated, because in truth, it is the recipe that counts, and how it is put into production. Of course branding has something to say, when it comes to satisfying the ticklish consumer palate. That is why Heineken Lager is sold in green bottles. Why Corona is sold as some fantasy beach vacation, rather than the dull migrant cooler that it actually is. Stella Artois is another marketing coup, taking a rather common table lager from Belgium, and making it “Reassuringly Expensive” as it was touted in England up until a couple of years ago.
The price of beer is often used as a way to determine the quality of the beer. After many years in the trenches, so to speak, I can assure the dear reader that this is not so. But people believe what they want to believe, so I am not at all surprised when I observe someone forking out serious dough, for a six pack of something I would consider not worth buying at half the prize. Such is essential human freedom, and bless us all for deciding what each of us wants to drink.
The recipe is the thing that will catch the conscience of The Beer Doctor. Whether it is new world or old world or downright acrchaic (such as brew lagered for months in stone caves). If it tastes good or interesting, it is going to be counted. Cheers!
