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ALL ABOUT BEER MAGAZINE SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 PUBLISHER & EDITOR Daniel Bradford daniel@allaboutbeer.com

MANAGING EDITOR Greg Barbera greg@allaboutbeer.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Nick Kaye, Julie Johnson

COPY EDITOR Mark Slagle

BEER STYLES GUIDE WRITER

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K. Florian Klemp

ART DIRECTION

Peter Johnstone peter@allaboutbeer.com

PHOTOGRAPHY Kinsley Dey

ADVERTISING MANAGER Amy Dalton, 800-977-BEER amy@allaboutbeer.com

OPERATIONS AND EVENT ASSOCIATE Angela Campbell angela@allaboutbeer.com

ADMINISTRATIVE / CIRCULATION Laura Reyes laura@allaboutbeer.com

Import

Drinking 101-Advice for lifetime drinkers

7 Photo: Warehouse www.buffalotracemediakit.com

One way to explore the delights of drinking is to take up alcohol consumption for the enjoyment of flavor and character. This is the path that I’ve found great pleasure in following. That’s what our craftbrewing revolution is all about, isn’t it?

The flavor and character of the huge variety of fine beer styles they have produced over the last few years is remarkable.

It doesn’t take very long to learn to enjoy even the most aggressive of these many styles of beer. Take IPAs, for example. They are not only very hoppy, but some are aggressively so.

Who wants a hideously hoppy brew with a hundred bittering units (BU)?

Me, me, me, that’s who! Hops add wonderful character to even the most mundane brew, but they are not taken easily into one’s love are they? Yet, if one follows the first IPA with a second episode on another day, perhaps we’d notice that the second IPA isn’t quite as difficult as the first had been. The first thing you know, you’ve become a lover of hoppy brews.

Sour beers in the Belgian style are another type avoided by most young drinkers. These wonderful Belgian styles are spectacular additions to

our craft beer world, but they, too, are an acquired taste.These days there is whole range of great alcoholic beverages out there. When I was young, dry red or white wines were not on my list, although an occasional sweet white wine was appreciated.

Today, I love the taste of a good dry wine, and feel myself well treated in such company, but I can’t imagine drinking them until I pass out.

Another great “craft” revolution is taking place even as I write this: Distilled spirits are being revived and re-designed. One can get some really fine distillations in a bottle these days. Steve McCarthy’s Clear Creek Distillery, here in Portland, is producing a great Scotch whisk(e)y; their 10-year old stuff is wonderful and will soon be 12 years old. They import good Scottish malts and our Widmer Brothers brew the wash. We also have two distillery pubs here and more are planned.

Light beer? Gimme a break. If drinking beer makes you fat, don’t eat so much chocolate or fat-laden steaks! Better yet, drink a glass of really fine beer, like Hair of the Dog Fred, at 10 percent ABV, and follow that with two glasses of water. Now you

have “lite” beer where you need it—in your stomach—and you don’t have to endure the indignity of being caught drinking such swill! ✹

FEckhardt@allaboutbeer.com

By Fred Eckhardt

Photo: Fred Fest www.overcarbed.com

Import

The Lite Beer Blight Make Your Own!

8 Photo: Pub Glass www.beerwinesandspirits.com

New York’s Rheingold Brewery produced the first light beer, Gablinger’s Diet Beer, in 1967, but it was a failure (didn’t sell). It had an original gravity* of 9 degrees Plato (1036 British), 4.6 percent ABV (alcohol by volume), but with almost no dextrin sugars at all (0.1 percent), which are what gives beer its flavor. Dextrins make their major contribution by increasing the good taste of beer itself. Gablinger’s had 107 calories per 12-oz bottle, almost all of them (93) from alcohol. By comparison, Budweiser (itself not particularly taste-enhanced) is a normal beer (about 150 calories) with that same alcohol content, but with 3.8 percent dextrins and it is much more flavorful and satisfying.

“Fred Lite” gives you all of the benefits of light beer and none of the negatives.

The first successful light beer was an offshoot of Meister Brau Lite out of Chicago, also unsuccessful in 1967, but which Miller bought, then somewhat reformulated and introduced as Miller Lite in 1972. The rest, as they say, is history.

In my research, one of the most

interesting aspects of light beer turned out to be the reaction of one brewer out of that era. Joe Ortlieb, Ortlieb Brewing of Philadelphia, offered a recipe for Do-it-Yourself Light Beer Kit using his beer as a base: Contents: One case Ortlieb Beer plus Ortlieb’s Sparkling Water.

Directions: Take glass pour 2 parts Ortlieb Beer, 1 part Ortlieb Sparkling Water. Stir gently. Drink immediately.

Joe’s comment was, “that’s all it takes to brew your own light beer.” Another time Ortlieb told people how to make light beer with an even simpler recipe: just add ice cubes to his beer!

Alternatively, the reader may wish to try the Fred Eckhardt Lite Beer method, which is simply to consume the water separately before, or even after, you drink the beer, thus avoiding having to drink such swill in the first place! Fred Lite gives you all of the benefits of light beer and none of the negatives. You get the full, rich taste of your favorite craft brew and, better yet, you feel fuller and hence, have less inclination to overindulge. Adding the water early is nice because it gives you the full feeling of drinking without altering the great aftertaste

of a really fine . If only our president understood that, he could have revolutionized beer drinking in his 2009 so-called “Beer Summit.” ✹

ACrouch@allaboutbeer.com

By Andy Crouch

Photo: Andy Crouch www.Faithandwork.org

Import

What is that you’re drinking now?

9 Photo: Flying Monkey Cascadian Dark Ale www.definitionale.com

Wait! Wait! There seem to be quite a few of them in my fridge and another two dozen in my cellar. And I’m getting thirsty! Thirsty, I tell ya!

What do you mean—I can’t have a beer until 4 o’clock? Gimme a break.

Once you start not drinking until four, they’ll expect you to go on that way until you get old—or worse—until you die! And, yes I know that the only reason I am still drinking, and maybe even why I am still alive (I just celebrated my fourth 21st birthday), is that I don’t often pig-out on booze.

I’m the only one in my peer group still drinking. My friends have all had to quit. My doctor knows better than to cut me off (I hope). So which one will it be?

There’s that beautiful bottle from one of my favorite brewers. Oh, it’s a big 22-oz. bottle—that’s so much better than a miserable 12-oz. regular. I’ll just tell my doctor it was one bottle, since I’m allowed two or even three bottles a day.

If you, the reader, will promise not to tell anyone how big the bottle was, we can open it.Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery is a long way east of here, in Bend, although they also have a

pub here in Portland. This particular brew, Hop in the Dark Cascadian Dark Ale, is brewed from about 16 Plato/1065 gravity at 6.5 percent ABV. It is glowing in all its wonderful dark malty beauty, at about 30 SRM (Standard Research Measure of beer color). But that’s not all. There’s 70 IBUs (International Bittering Units) here. This is a Cascadian dark ale (CDA), aka black IPA, from the Pacific Northwest, severely hopped with Oregon Cascade, Amarillo, Citra and Centennial.

I remember the first regular IPA that I tasted. Like most of our readers, I was weaned on Budweiser, which, as we all know, hasn’t changed since it was first brewed in 1879.

We know this to be the case because TV commercials tell us that it is so.

That implies Budweiser has always had only 10.5 IBUs, despite the fact that they have their own hop fields up in Idaho.

So, I had no idea what hops could do to a beer. One of the first American beers to claim the title “IPA,” Bert Grant’s Yakima Brewing version introduced in 1983, was brewed at OG 12 P/1048, 5 percent ABV and 55 IBUs

from Galena hop pellets. I thought it was too hoppy! Well, almost, but the second time I tried it, the taste was more welcome. Before long, 55 IBUs was mere child’s play. Today, I am a certified hophead and look for 100 IBUs when any are out there to be found. ✹

FEckhardt@allaboutbeer.com

By Fred Eckhardt

Photo: Fred Fest www.overcarbed.com

Import

Craft beer-state of the union, 2012

Photo: Coors Beer www.denverpost.com

10 We’re heading into 30 years after the craft brewing revolution crystallized.

It all really began in 1965, when Fritz Maytag bought the failing Anchor Brewery in San Francisco. His success with that brewery was an inspiration, but other forces were at work, too.

That same year in Scotland, Peter Maxwell Stuart, the Laird of Traquair at Traquair House in Innerleithen, restored his small brewery after over 200 years of neglect. (The estate was said to brew a strong ale when Mary Queen of Scots visited, and a special gate is still reserved to welcome the next Stuart to sit on the Scottish throne.) He offered a very small quantity of specially brewed barley wine-strength beer to the local populace.

Traquair House was, and still is, a small operation, brewing only six U.K.-barrels (260 U.S. gallons/984 liters) per month. But Jack McAuliffe, a U.S. Navy man stationed in Scotland, was so impressed that when he left the navy a few years later, he built his own small craft brewery, New Albion, in 1976 in Sonoma, CA. He brewed in 50-gallon batches and sold his first brew in 1977.

His capacity was six U.S.-barrels per month (186 gallons). His small “micro” brewery achieved modest success and the beer was very good, but production proved inadequate and, in 1983, the tiny brewery finally closed. McAuliffe’s real contribution was to make others believe that small breweries could be a success (even if his wasn’t). His effort encouraged

many others, especially among the nation’s burgeoning homebrewer population.In 1979, homebrewing was legalized due to the great efforts of Lee Coe, a California homebrew curmudgeon, and Charlie Papazian, a homebrew fanatic from Boulder, CO. The great efforts of California Senator Alan Cranston were instrumental to passing this legislation in late 1978 and having it signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, who was, I’ve been told, a teetotaler.

By 1981, there were 12 such “micro” brewery starts, and already four had failed. Even so, those of us who were lamenting the virtual demise of good beer in this country began to be encouraged.

I remember the beer days of my misbegotten youth. Good beer, as we know it today, was virtually nonexistent in America. I really had no idea at all as to what a great beverage beer could be. Other than my father’s homebrew, I had tasted very little of it, and was perfectly satisfied with most Northwest mega-beers of that era: Lucky Lager (Vancouver, WA), Rainier (Seattle), Heidelberg (Tacoma), Olympia (Tumwater, WA) or Blitz from Portland. They all tasted good, as far as I was concerned.

We called them “Western,” as opposed to “Eastern” beers such as Budweiser, Schlitz and Miller, which were supposed to be very strong and very good. They were also very expensive. In those days, Coors was the exotic brew of distinction in the Pacific Northwest, although you

couldn’t get it. Oregon didn’t allow it (it wasn’t heat pasteurized) and the company didn’t send it to Washington, either.

For the most part, we didn’t worry; beer was beer was beer. It was just that and nothing more than that. One of my friends brought in a case of Coors from California, and we had a comparison tasting. Coors turned out to taste much like Olympia, which tasted like Rainier, which tasted like Lucky Lager, etc., etc.

FEckhardt@allaboutbeer.com

By Fred Eckhardt

Photo: Fred Fest www.overcarbed.com Opposite Photo: Top of the Hops Beer Fest www.topofthehopsbeerfest.com

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Import

The one beer

12 If you look deep enough into every beer lover’s history, you will find a single beer that led to a lifetime of love and dedication to grain, hops and yeast. I’m not talking about that first sip of Coors Light stolen from a father’s temporarily abandoned can or bottle. Rather, I’m referring to that one beer that turned the head, opened the mind and cracked a world of doubts, stereotypes and suspicions about the assumedly crude character of beer. Depending upon when you came of drinking age, your One Beer might be a very different offering, ranging from an Anchor Steam or New Albion Ale to a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout.

Sparking an attraction to craft beer is all about finding the ideal beer for the right moment. After experiencing a constant stream of fizzy, yellow, freezing cold monotony, it takes the gob-smacking power and appeal of real color, aroma and flavor to stop you in your tracks. As the internal cymbal crash within you signifies the breaking of long-accepted beer stereotypes, you end up happily poised with an exclamation point in a speech bubble above your head.

After a lengthy and near-monogamous relationship with Miller Genuine Draft, my own interest in better beer started with my first sip of the famed Guinness Stout. The polar opposite in terms of body, flavor and overall perception from the American-style premium lagers I grew up with, this gateway beer encouraged me to take my first brewery tour and then

experience an impromptu jaunt through dozens of local and imported brands.

Next, I visited a new brewpub that opened in my college town and tried my first sampler, which unexpectedly led to my second beer moment.

With the first taste of Court Avenue’s BlackHawk Stout, I quietly learned the difference between the ubiquitous Irish-style dry stouts and the sweeter but less popular export stout style.

With beers from the Vermont Pub’s syrupy Wee Heavy to Capital’s malty Blonde Doppelbock to Summit’s pleasingly bitter IPA, my interest and beer experiences multiplied. And just when I foolishly think that I’ve seen and tasted it all, another beer comes along, like Sly Fox’s wonderfully hoppy German-style Pikeland Pils-a canned craft beer-and the process starts again from scratch.

That’s the funny thing about the One Beer: The experience is likely to recur in a series of beer sojourns enjoyed over an extended journey into craft beer. For every beer enthusiast, their drinking life is defined by a series of single beers and special moments. These moments happen in the right pub at the right moment, with warm weather and the perfect quenching accompaniment, with celebratory occasions with family and friends, and with stolen minutes of personal solace at the end of a long day, each accompanied by the One Beer.These singular moments, defined by individual brands, serve as path markers for the evolution of

a craft beer drinker, from the early days of inexpensive cases of beer to later travels to distant breweries and pubs. In an era where you can order extreme beers from eBay and some of the world’s greatest beers are easily available in your local store, it can be easy to lose track of where your interests developed. Losing this focus also causes disconnect with the overwhelming bulk of folks who don’t yet share our enthusiasm for the charming marriage of hops and malt.

As someone who can hearken back to that memory, I’m always trying to think about what One Beer could help deliver a friend or family member their first beer moment. ✹

ACrouch@allaboutbeer.com

By Andy Crouch Photo: Andy Crouch www.Faithandwork.org

“After experiencing a constant stream of fizzy, yellow, freezing cold monotony, it takes the gob-smacking power and appeal of real color, aroma and flavor to stop you in your tracks.�

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You’ve won Large Brewpub of the Year twice, and you have won Alpha King twice. So what I want to know is, what’s the story with the plaid pants?

That’s a good one. I like that question, right off. In my high school years, some friends of mine used to wear kind of loud pants and jackets and cruise around town, being a general menace. In college, some friends did the same type of thing, but just the loud pants, and we used to call them “party pants.”

Now, each year for the GABF I try to find a new pair that’s louder or at least just as loud, so now I’ve got quite a collection. We make a beer here at Carlsbad that won an award a few years back, called Party Pants Pilsner.

I thought it may have come from a long connection with golf outfitters…

Actually, it’s harder and harder to find new ones, or ones that fit me, because I’m tall, and a lot of the clothing made in that style is a lot smaller or a lot plainer.

Well, I’m glad to learn that there’s a connection with beer.

You’re going out for a fun time, but you’re not going out for a high-class evening-that’s when you put on your party pants.

We look forward to seeing you in the next pair of party pants up on the GABF stage next year.

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I hope so.

You started this back in high school. That was in the San Diego area, wasn’t it?

Yeah, we call it North County; it’s the northern portion of San Diego County. Encinitas is the city where I grew up, just north of the main San Diego area.

Did you grow up determined to go into brewing?

No, I did not. I got to college and realized there was better beer to drink out there, dabbled in homebrew with a friend, went to festivals, searched for beer with a lot of the people who are making beer here now. I actually had no intention of getting into brewing in college, or even when I left. It just kind of happened. My summer job through most of high school and college was working at a local YMCA. So it was the YMCA or beer?

Yeah, I bounced back and forth for a while. I got a special license to drive school buses when I was worked at the YMCA. When I graduated college, I thought I might be able to stay there, but they didn’t have a full time position. I needed something immediately, so I looked up driving jobs in the newspaper. Lo and behold, Stone Brewing Co. was hiring a driver. I went to the first ever release of their beerthe first time it was ever poured was at the Solana Beach Pizza Port, oddly enough-and I’d frequented it many times as my beer knowledge and beer desires grew.

I interviewed with Greg [Koch of Stone Brewing] and we spent about five minutes talking about beer and what I knew about it, before he said, “You are so hired.” I drove and delivered for them for about three months, but every time when I’d come back from driving, I’d spend time with the brewers-at the time, it was Lee Chase and Steve Wagner, who is now the president. I’d talk with them and ask questions, and after about three months, Steve said “Hey, we need another person in the brewery, if you want to work there.” Heck, yes-I was overjoyed, of course.

My first professional experience was learning production brewing at Stone.

That went on for a little while. I actually left the industry for nine months or so, but I was still very connected to Stone, very connected to Pizza Port and to the general San Diego brewing community. I knew a bunch of people at AleSmith back in the day. I ended up working for White Labs [a yeast supplier] for a little while, sold yeast and worked with the Whites for about a year until I began working with Tomme [Arthur] at Solana Beach Pizza Port.

So your technical training has all been hands-on, with Stone, or White Labs or Pizza Port?

I’ve taken small classes along the way, but no science background, no formal brewing courses. It’s all been by doing, or by listening or talking with other brewers. I know there are a few guys like me out there with that sort of background.

You may be the last wave. Now, young people going into college are aware that craft brewing is a viable career. We may be leaving the age of the homebrewer-turned-pro, and moving into the age when people actually enter higher education to train in brewing studies.

I think you’re right. I get those cats coming out of college who ask me if they can work for us, with a resume that has a lot more educational brewing background than mine does! The craft brewing phenomenon is appealing to a lot younger crowd since I started. I can remember when my friends and I starting going to festivals, we were definitely the youngest people in the crowd. That has changed, especially at our events here in San Diego. I’m starting to feel old!

A lot of those guys and gals are getting the science background, going to Davis, or Siebel or Heriot Watt, and volunteering wherever they can while they try to figure out their careers. That’s exciting for us. It means there’s a core that’s into beer, whether they want a job, or they just love it and they want to continue to support this industry. When I was in college, it was a faddy thing: a lot of people making beer just because they could. Some of the beer was really horrible. And now, the better breweries are still around, and the ones that couldn’t figure it out are gone. What people are making is getting better and better, and there’s solid, steady growth.

There’s still a big difference between book learning and producing great beer. When one of these aspiring applicants comes your way, with a resume full of hard science courses, what do they still have to learn?

I haven’t actually picked up any of these guys.We’ve done a big training-from-within program here-most of our guys have actually thrown pizzas at one time or another. But I’ve met a lot of them, and I admire the sheer ambition and curiosity they have. But you can’t learn everything until you spend time in a brewery. I’ve told some of the guys who come in here “I don’t have any brewing positions, but you can work in our bottle shop for a while. Keep asking other breweries, ‘Can I get paid to clean kegs? Can I work on the bottling line?’You’ve got to start somewhere.” At least, working in a brewery, they get the day-to-day experience. Hands-on brewing is different from what they’re learning in books-not completely different, but you learn so much from people. I know I have. Where I am in brewing today comes from the people I learned from.

I visited Pizza Port about ten years ago. I was astonished that, first of all, the place is well named: it was a pizza joint. I had expected a temple to beer, but we sat on a bench eating pizza along with people who were just there because they’re from the neighborhood and they like the place. They were stunned when they learned we’d come all the way from the East Coast for the beer.

My recollection is that all the brewing equipment was in a little hole under the bar. Am I crazy?

That would be Solana Beach, our first and original location. The brewhouse was in a kind of pit behind the bar, and the cellar for that location really is in the basement. Here at Carlsbad, in 2000, the owners used an option to lease a property next door, and they got more fermentation equipment and expanded the cellar. About three years ago, I opened the bottle shop here with about 600 to 700 bottles.

It’s doing very well.

You have a reputation for improvisational brewing at times.

[Laughs] Yeah, that’s true.

What do you enjoy about brewing in a more free-form style that Pizza Ports allows?

We’re lucky that we have the owners we do. Part of why I go that route is the atmosphere: we don’t have to be regimented. We’re consistent in the beers we make over and over again, but there are things that are fun about being looser. Last Friday, we made a Christmas beer, which we’ve never done. We had some lager yeast from Party Pants, so we were thinking about a traditional märzen, and it evolved into a sort of Christmas bock with spices and some darker malts. It happened on the fly; I sent guys to our organic foods store to get the spices when the beer was already mashed in. Things like that are fun; they make it exciting.

People ask how I formulate recipes. “Do you make pilot batches?” Well, no, our pilot batch is a15-barrel batch; we don’t really experiment until we’re making a whole batch of beer. I’ve been in this position at this brewhouse for five years now, and for every batch of beer I can look back at all the temperatures, all the grain, all the hops, all the timingI’ll either have a note, or I’ll remember what came out in the beer. That’s what we use to move forward.

One of our head brewers, in his bio on our website, his motto is “Just eyeball it.”

Back in the history of brewing, before devices were invented to measure the beer, part of the skill of a brewer must have been to know the smell and the texture of the right stage of the process, doing that in a tactile way. “Just eyeball it” could turn out to be pretty accurate.

I agree. When we were putting the spices in the Christmas beer, we’d never used those spices before in the brewhouse. We didn’t want them to overpower, so how much do we add? We’d add it to hot water and steep it, or add it to a beer that was already on draft and see what happened. There’s a lot of rough science, I guess you’d call it, that gets us where we want to be.

Fine beer from all sources?

Yes, from all over the world, whatever we can get our hands on, but obviously California craft.

The layout is kind of the same in all the pubs, the brewhouse is visible from most of the seats. It’s open, and when the brewer is making beer, people can come up and ask questions. We’re not behind a wall. This location has the biggest capacity: right now, I think we have 20 house beers on tap. With the cellar we have here, I think the average is 15 or 16.

We also carry guest beers, which is different; a lot of brewpubs only pour their own beers. We’re firm believers in presenting as many styles and breweries as we can to the public. We showcase our friends and show off their beers as well as our own.

What’s the relationship between the four Pizza Ports?

All the Pizza Ports are owned by a brother and sister, and Gina Marsaglia. I head up brewing operations for all four, and I’m the head brewer at Carlsbad. The head brewers at the three other pubs and all the assistants are under me. We also control the bar, so the bar managers are under me. It’s still a pizza joint, but we can maintain a high-quality beer profile, right through to the person who’s handing you your beer.

It gets confusing, because there’s a production brewery, Port Brewing/Lost Abbey that has almost nothing to do with the Pizza Port side. There’s a different ownership group over there: the brother and sister team, but there are other owners as well.

The brewers don’t cross over; it’s not that we’re not friends, but the companies are different, and there’s no shared employment. There are beers that started at Solana Beach back when Tomme was working there, even some of the stuff he and I worked on back in the day, that have spawned some of the beers they brew over there.

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What do you do when you’re not brewing?

In this industry, your life style and your career and your hobby and your fun time are all kind of related to each other. My fiancé and I bought a house last year, and we have three dogs. We try to travel, but a lot of that is beer events.

Is there music played in the Carlsbad brewhouse?

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In the morning, we’re here before anyone else.

Then, around 10 or 10:30, the house jukebox comes on. It draws music from another source and it’s horribly repetitive, so that’s a source of frustration, because we hear it every day. It’s pretty bad. My music tastes are almost as wide as my beer tastes, I’d say.

I was planning on hooking up a little stereo so we could play our own iPods in the morning before people got there, but it’s difficult to keep personal equipment intact. Now we kind of enjoy our silence in the morning. ✹

Are there agreed-upon recipes for beers that all Pizza Ports make, or is each different in its brewing decisions?

That’s a good question.

All the guys who are head brewers were assistants of mine, so we approach making beer in the same way.

It’s really easy for us to talk.

We have house beers we make at all four locations, but it’s not as if I call and say “OK, we’re going to all make Shark Bite Red this week.”

They know we have a handful of beers that unify all the Pizza Ports.

The rest is wide-open to them: everyone has their own IPA-or IPAs I should say-and stouts and browns and German styles.

They’re free to do what they want, but they all came out of here, so the way they approach brewing probably comes from here.

It’s all pretty relaxed, but the only thing I hold them to is keeping a wide range of styles on, something for everybody.

If you don’t have it on the house side, have it on the guest side.

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AMERICAN INDIGENOUS

STYLES AND MICROBREWS 20

Renaissance and

Early Micros

AMERICAN

Pale, Amber, Brown, Wheat and Rye Ale

W

e have been brewing for more than 7,000 years, and during that time the beer industry has faced countless obstacles. Brewers have always persevered, providing that their spirit and the voice of the beer-loving public are stronger than any political or natural hurdle. The last millennium has seen its share of strife over brewing rights and restrictions, but also innumerable contributions and technical advancements.

By Hank Webber

During this time, beer “styles” were born out of regional ingredients, terroir and technical skill. Some of them vanished, while others lived on. The cultivation of brewing hops arose, and beer making was sent on a fairly steady-though occasionally tumultuous-path to its current state, the best, most vibrant brewing culture that the world has ever known.

It was not so long ago that Britain and North America were on course to homogenize their products to the point of becoming wastelands bland, mass-produced beers. One brew was pretty much like the other. It seems the tastes of the masses were becoming so industrialized that creativity, flavor and character were vanishing. The self-imposed state of homogeneity was far worse in North America than it was in Britain, where at least some residual beer culture hung on.

North America’s blight was several decades in the making, with prohibition and the World Wars taking a tremendous toll on breweries. Post-war prosperity and group-think was the final brick in the wall, sealing America’s fate as the land of golden, light, adjunct-laden lager. By the mid-1960’s, there was scant choice among the selection of Stepford-like beers.

In Britain, the dearth of traditional real ale and cozy pub culture came to the attention of consumers, publicans and brewers at large through the formation of the Campaign for Real Ale, CAMRA, in 1971. It gained steam in a hurry, as the Brits realized a very important facet of their social life was disappearing right under their noses. The grassroots movement reached beyond brewing, and a return to more natural, homemade products followed.

In America, there was not as clear a turning point in mentality among consumers. But the events of the mid- to late 1960s did make people more aware of their environment and diet Natural and organic foods grew more common, a return to the state of things years earlier when most people are food fresh off the farm. Gradually, the lone voices of yore coalesced into a roar of the masses, a collective demand for something better. In

light of this, the boom in craft beer was inevitable, but still, It needed a spark. That came from a cadre of visionary brewers and a public that was practically screaming for what we would now call craft brew.

A noted, the unquestioned king of the North American microbrewing movement is Fritz Maytag, who turned the fast-fading Anchor Brewing in San Francisco into one of the most beloved breweries on the planet. He purchased Anchor in 1965, a full decade before other adventurous brewers took the plunge into the burgeoning field of microbrewing. But they were all up against the might of the macrobrewers and the general ignorance-or indifference-of the public. Some of those early brewers had tasted flavorful, nuanced beers in Europe while traveling or serving in the armed forces. A few imports were available back home, but the notion of making similar products in America was a mere pipe dream for the most part.

Now, one of the things we enjoy about the North American brewing scene is the fact that brewers are willing to chart virtually any course with their offerings. On the one hand, there is the highly experimental angle, and on the other , the effort to duplicate classic European styles to the letter, often going to great lengths to procure imported ingredients and employ the classic methods of Britain, Germany, Belgium and Czech Republic.

Then, there are the Americanized versions of those classics, tweaked and modified to create an entirely new type of beer, whole retaining much of the recognizable attributes of the European predecessor. The style that emerged from the early American flush of brewing were often simply made with American ingredients, but they were crafted to proudly showcase the unique characteristics of domestic hops and malted barley.

Some styles, like pale ale, porter, stout and brown ale, were imbued with a punchy, trumped-up dose of Northwestern hops.

Others were fairly new, like the generically named “amber ale.”

In other cases, these new styles were quite different from their

The four styles that follow are often called “gateway beers” those that are not so aggressive to assault an otherwise uninitiated palate yet flavorful enough to invite ale, wheat and rye beers run from light to dark, from malty to hoppy, and are all of modest gravity. original namesakes, like American wheat beer. In this case, the Yanks chose to ignore the very ingredient that made Bavarian hefeweizen so unusual: the highly flavorful and aromatic yeast used by the Germans. Instead, they employed a more neutral American strain, or even a subdued, top-fermenting yeast from the Lower Rhine River Valley in northwest Germany by way of Koln and kolschbier.

It could even be generalized that one of the very things that makes these beer styles distinctly American is the use of such neutral yeast strains, which ferment cleanly and leave the malt and hops to carry the expressive load. More recently popularized strains of American yeast have a bit more residual character than its main predecessor, known famously as “California Ale” yeast, but they offer a mere estery whisper compared to those used in Britain for similar styles of ale, stout and porter.

This does not make the North American versions ant less complex: rather the emphasis has shifted away from the yeasty footprint and toward the hop and malt bills, which can be complicated. An accompanying shift upwards in original gravity is also common to balance the brew.

The four styles that follow are often called “gateway beers” those that are not so aggressive to assault an otherwise uninitiated palate yet flavorful enough to invite ale, wheat and rye beers run from light to dark, from malty to hoppy, and are all of modest gravity.

American Pale Ale No beer style is more closely identified with American craft brewing than pale ale. For decades, the only available American-made pale or India pale ale was Ballantine, a well hopped and strong beer, at 6.5 percent ABV, that was familiar to a small

crowd of beer drinkers by the mid-1960s.

Fritz Maytag changed that when he introduced Anchor Liberty Ale in 1975 in honor of the upcoming bicentennial, essentially initiating the American public to the true potential of hoppy ale.

Many beer drinkers were not familiar with Bass Ale, though that particular brand was by then a mere shell of its former self, partly because of its reformulation and also because of the deleterious rigors of import. Liberty Ale was totally different. It tasted fresh and floral and made a full use of the hops that were being cultivated in the Pacific Northwest.

Within a short period of time, other breweries began opening, most notably New Albion of Sonoma, CA, founded by Jack McAuliffe, a Renaissance man in his own right. His shoestringbudget brewery, cobbled together by McAuliffe himself, was making ale, porter and stout by 1976. His venture lasted only five years, but the die had been cast for future brewers.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. would make perhaps the first widely available pale ale for the American market. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was first brewed in 1980, and within a few years it could be the country. American pale ale became the flagship style of many new breweries, which took the template form Sierra Nevada and Anchor: a simple grain bill of American two-row base malt and enough Crystal malt to cast a light amber hue.

Interest in homebrewing took off, and the style that they all wanted to make was APA Suddenly, people were discussing hops and malt, “cascade” became a part of the beer vernacular, and draft emporiums featuring dozens of taps were popping up everywhere. American microbrewing had arrived.

The stateside pale ale feature a clean, crisp finish; a busy hop schedule of bitterness, flavor and aroma; a slick, soft American

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Photo: Far Bar Craft Beer Tap Reboot www.farbarla.com

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malts. Not only was APA a savior of sorts for American palates itching for some flavoe, but it helped kick0start the country’s hop industry, turning it into the thriving venture it is today.

America fell in love with hops, and the affair remains as fiery as ever.

American Amber Ale As the number of microbreweries grew in the United States in the 1980s, so did the range of beers that they offered. By the early 1990s, brewpubs were busy devising recipes that covered virtually every color that could be made with the pool of ingredients that was available.

Most were making ales-brews that could be turned around in just a couple weeks- and there was a common thread that ran through them, typified by crisp maltiness and omnipresence of American hops. Slight variations among them made for entirely different beers, and this was the period of time when brewers were developing their own particular styles. The era of ore abstract experimentation was still a few years away for most, and brewers were happy to show off their skills by proudly producing a lineup of distinctly American ales.

In an effort to separate themselves from the pale adjunct la-

gers that had come to define American beers around the world, micros were proudly all-malt. There were plenty of styles that could be made in this spirit, with room to develop wholly new ones. One of those that blossomed from this period was amber ale. It fell somewhere between pale and brown ale, darker and maltier than the former and without the deep roasted malt of the latter. Amber found a happy medium that married hops and dark Crystal malts. Similar to Scottish or Irish ale on the malty end and hopped as well as English bitters, amber ale became yet another beer that proves that compromise can work.

Deep amber to reddish-brown in color and ripe with American hops, they are well-balanced and burst with sweetish toffee character of Caramel malts. Originally made on the West Coast, some of them remain as popular as ever even 20 years on. Some breweries bank on their popularity and even nostalgic nature to draw in new and old customers alike. Anderson Valley Boont Amber and North Coast Red Seal are just two of those beers, and for many it harkens back to the early days of the microbrewery boom, when the new brewers in America were just getting their brewing legs.

Domestic American Brown Ale Practically nothing has had a more profound impact on the American craft brewing industry than homebrewing. When it was legalized in 1978, the hobby blossomed into a full-fledged, above-board endeavor. The game was on. It fed the industry from the start, nearly all of the original brewers getting their feet wet- and stove tops ruined- in their own homes.

Many of them had sampled beer in Europe at some point in their lives, and English-style beers seemed to them to be the easiest to adapt to their own hobby. In truth, they are no easier than other families of beers to make well, but they required basic top-fermenting yeast and standard room temperatures, something that Belgian and German beers couldn’t necessarily offer. On top of that, they came in nearly every color- from golden amber to pitch black- and strength, from mild to “imperial.”

Not only were the styles imported, but so were some of the ingredients. However, these new brewers were keen to establish authentically American beers from one end to the other, using American-grown hops and malt. This led to the divergence from the British style, but it also taught these nascent brewers how to tweak recipes.

Homebrewers were falling in love with hops in the 1980s, and this carried over to the commercial brewers, who put this unique stamp on the evolving family of American ales. California not only handle but benefit from extra additions of hops, including those at the back end form extra additions of hops, including those at the back end of aroma. American brown, more robust and wilder than the browns that came before, was born.

Early on, the most burly of the browns became known as Texas Brown Ales, as they were included as a distinct style in the Dixie Cup homebrew competition in Houston during the era, owing, perhaps, to the notion that everything is bigger in Texas. That Texas connection is not invoked after and more, but calling a beer “American brown ale” denoted something distinctly different from the malt-accented, sweeter browns and dark mild of Britain.

American brown ale has persisted as a beloved style among craft beer drinkers, and brewers are more than happy to oblige.

And rightly so, considering that Newcatle Brown is one of the beers that introduced a lot of macro drinkers to the world of darker beer. Most American browns are still somewhat modest in strength, 5-6.5 percent ABV typically, but they have the soft, inviting sweet and nutty flavors and aromas of caramel and chocolate malt, without the roast spike of porter and stout.

Fermentative esters are largely absent, with additional aroma coming from relatively subtle late hop additions. Some versions push the upper limits, but brown ales are meant to be luscious and smooth without assaulting the palate one way or another.

American brown has always been one of the steadier, more dependable brews among the many old, new, experimental, or unusual styles, and there is something comforting in that.

Photo: Beer www.ladcommunicationsblog.com

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Photo: Wallpaper Grasses www.wallpaperson.net

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American Wheat and Rye Beer As the microbreweries moved Americans away from the pervasive world of the bland and the fizzy, America’s new breweries took pride in the fact that their beers contained none of the rice and corn adjuncts of the big macros. Proud of their all-malt beers, they were- intentionally not- exposing the rapt public to the lexicon of beer brewing.

Adjuncts were bad in the eyes of the new beer aficionados, though, truth be told, they used rather liberally in many of the world’s greatest beers. The Reinheitsgebot resigned supreme, and the beers that the new converts were enjoying were of the purest and most natural quality: beer as it was made for centuries and the way it was suppose to be. But wait a second...

What about the German weizenbiers, the oatmeal stouts and the Belgian witbiers” How did they fit into the grand scheme of craft beers?

In the spirit of further enlightenment, snobbery took back seat to the inclusion of sugars, unmalted grains and other assorted additions. In the quest to expand their offerings, brewers began making wheat beers with honest-to-goodness malted wheat. But they were modeled only partly on the German weizen styles. American brewers saw the utility of wheat beers as a light, thirst-quenching style that could be touted as a summery brew, potentially luring legions of light beer drinkers to the fold.

Many were loathe to introduce the funky weizen yeast that made the German version unique, since most breweries had either no or minimal capacity for handling sticky yeast issues. Instead, American wheat beers were made with the house yeast, generally a neutral workhorse, and a light expression of their favorite hops. This proved to be quite successful, since the wheat changed the flavor to one that had a light grainy and lemony tart background, offered an unintimidating golden color, and kept the fuller mouthfeel that was expected in the new wave of American beers. The refreshing floral and citrus hoppiness was made for the wheaten ales, and this another style was born.

Only malted wheat is used, lending a slight estery character on its own and helping establish a fine head and lace where

most beers this light do not. European noble hops are often used, providing that these varieties may be best suited to such subtle beer styles. Perhaps we can think of these as the new all-malt versions of American cream ale, or even a variation on the kolsch style. Either way, they are as good as any beer cutting the edge of summer, or introducing your light lager-loving friends to craft beer. Simply put, they are well crafted, proudly American beers.

Rye beers came to the party a little later than did wheat, but they were certainly developed in their image as North American brewers learned more about assorted grains. They could be considered an offspring of wheat beers, but one that has shown them up in a big way. What brewers discovered was that rye had much more potential than wheat, and rye beers have now left wheat beers in their wake as they have grown immensely popular in the market. The main reason for this is the more flavorful nature of rye and its body-building qualities.

American rye beers have diverged even more from the traditional ones of Germany (roggenbier) or Finland (sahti) than have wheat beers from their European predecessors. Instead, brewers here make rye beer to resemble pale ale and IPA most often, the rye making for a much better match with American hops. They have also taken a liking to flaked rye in many cases over malted, as even in this form the grain contributes considerable flavor, texture and silkiness to a brew. Rye is an influential grain, lending a bready, spicy taste and a slick, viscous mouthfeel, traits that are quite at home in pale ales and IPAs. Brewers also take advantage of the high protein content of rye by using small amounts in darker beers like red or brown ale, porter and stout. The flavor might at times get lost in these styles, but there is no mistaking the effect is has on mouthfeel, body, head and retention. In fact, rye may be added solely for those reasons, qualities that are not lost on tuned-in beer drinkers. Rye beers run the gamut stylistically, the only common thread being the addition of this muscular and luscious grain.

Ever rye bocks and imperial IPA can now be found from time to time, a testament to the versatility and merit of this often unappreciated grain. ✹

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All the beer consumed in the U.S. each year is equal to one 12oz. can for every American over the age of 21 everyday all year long (except Sundays)

Photo: Hops, IBU, and Preceived Bitterness-You Be The Judge www.notyourdadsbeer.com

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ga zin e pre sen ted All Ab ou t Be er Ma in Th ree ye ars ago, te pu bli cat ion iss ue, a sep ara its firs t sp ec ial de lve to t an me e on , an nu al lin e up ad dit ion to ou r t ou rre ad ers wo uld ic in a for ma t tha top gle er int o a sin let e Wo rld of Be oft en . Th e Co mp ke ep an d co nsu lt for n itte wr s ay ess ite d co lle cti on of Sty les wa s an ed d it covere d ove r Flo ria n Kle mp, an K. by e the ma ga zin . cla ssi c be er sty les 40 of the wo rld ’s ua l be er dri nkers cas : ort eff ff e-o s on Re ad ers loved thi en they wa nte d ’s co lle cti on wh tur ne d to Kle mp an d ind ust ry er; be direc tio ns in to ex plo re new es an d ret ail erewers , wh ole sal pre ofe ssi on als -br ir sta ffs . pie s to ed uc ate the ord ere d ex tra co oth er sub jec ts: d ial iss ue s covere Su cce ed ing sp ec . Bu t rec en tly, les sty er d “d on e” be d we tho ug ht we ha ly in the Un ite we rs, pa rti cu lar res tle ss cra ft bre for les sty er e be tur nin g to arc an Sta tes , have be en ing les , an d ge ne rat sty t los g tin ap ins pirati on , ad cle ar tha t e cam be It n. of the ir ow inn ova tive sty les int ere ste d in now be jus t as uld wo rs de r AA B rea egori es like sou on ce -ob scu re cat lea rni ng ab ou t rte r po or s lle he the they we re ab ou t be er or sah ti as t sty le gu ide. firs r ou covere d in all en ge ; Wh at are mp wit h a new ch So we tur ne d to Kle ge ? on the cu ttin g ed er sty les tha t are the em erg ing be

ore d in the pa st? les have we ign ow Wh ich cla ssi c sty de rs ne ed to kn his tor ies do rea er Wh ich inf lue nti al be ft cra in ing en an d wh ats ha pp ab ou t to un de rst lum e vo w ne s thi s me t ass ign me nt co tod ay ? Ou t of tha wo rld of be er. d eve r-c ha ng ing an e ers er on the div to en joy go od be rfe ctly po ssi ble Of co urs e, its pe ee d, Ind . les sty er a thi ng ab ou t be r wit ho ut kn ow ing o eve r na rrowe sor tin g be er int of a the ve ry ide rec en t. l cat egori es is ve ry op le did n’t trave ry or so, mo st pe ntu ce t las the til Un som e y, inl rta Ce er. ith er did the ir be of ve ry far, an d ne tsi de the ir pave ieved ren ow n ou ach ws l ria reg ion al bre pe im d Ru ssi an -In dia pa le ale an ng ori gin , an d a few -flu far , ive luc rat -be cam e pa rt of sto ut, for ex am ple y tra de ne two rks . t a fam ilia r, loc all le, “b ee r” me an a Bu t for mo st pe op in g tin var ian sit beve rage. Th e Ba e fer me nte d gra in nc rie pe ex the tha t n mi gh t sup po se in Mu nic h bie rga rte ern tav a at t pin an dri nk ing a of an En gli shm as his ow n. nti ally the sam e sta sub be uld me Yo rks hire wo et tha t they be co ir two wo rld s me m.

It’s on ly wh en the the e fin de to nt en ce s, an d may wa aw are of the dif fer bo th y ma ale le pa s an d an En gli sh A Bavar ian he lle ser ve d in res po nse beve rage tha t is ard nd t be the sta two co un tri es. Bu “a be er” in the to a req ue st for

the beve rages are ve ry dif feren t. An d wh en a mo de rn be er en thu sia st is co nfron ted wit h bo th be ers on Am eri can me nu , an kn ow ing the dif fer en ce me an s a mo ed uc ate d sel esc re tio n-a nd a mo re en joyable ex pe rie An acc ura te sty le nc e. de cri pti on can co nn ec t a be er dri nk wit h a be er to sui er t the oc cas ion .

Co dif ied sty le de scr ipt ion s als o pro mo te an op en mi nd ed att itu de tow ard s be er ch ara cte ris tic s, acc om mo da tin g the wid e ran ge of pro file s tha t can ap pro pri ate in a be be er. If a brewe r de scr ibe s his be er as a sto ut, stron g roa sty no tes are ap t; bu t if tha t be er is po rte r, the sam e a ele me nts may be ou t of pla ce.

Fin ally, the sto ry of a be er sty le is a sm all sli ce ou r ge olo gic al, of ag ric ult ure an d cu ltu ral pa st. In tim es go ne by, we fer me nte d wh at we ha d on ha nd , an d var ied ing red ien the ts, rec ipe s an d brewin g tec hn iqu tha t mo de rn bre es we rs fol low to cre ate the dis tin cti ch ara cte r of de fin ve ed sty les we re on ce, sim ply, the wa on e brewe d. Th e y be st arg um en t for an un de rst an din of be er sty les g is tha t, viewe d throu gh the len an tiq uit y, eve ry s of be er we po ur is his tor y in a gla Th at’s a he rit age ss. wo rth ce leb rat ing . Th ree ye ars ago, Ab ou t Be er Ma ga All zin e pre sen ted its firs t sp ec ial iss ue a sep ara te pu bli , cat ion in ad dit ion to ou r an nu al lin up, on e me an t to e de lve int o a sin gle top ic in a for ma t

tha t ou rre ad ers wo uld ke ep an d co nsu lt oft en . Th Co mp let e Wo rld e of Be er Sty les wa s an ed ite d co lle cti on of ess ay s wr itte n for the ma ga zin e

by K. Flo ria n Kle an d it covere d ove mp, r 40 of the wo rld ’s cla ssi c be er sty les Re ad ers loved thi . s on e-o ff eff ort : cas ua l be er dri nk tur ne d to Kle mp ’s ers co lle cti on wh en the y wa nte d to ex plo new direc tio ns re in be er; an d ind ust ry pre ofe ssi on brewe rs, wh ole sal als es an d ret ail er- ord ere d ex tra co pie to ed uc ate the ir s sta ffs .

Su cce ed ing sp ec ial iss ue s covere d oth er sub jec we tho ug ht we ts: ha d “d on e” be er sty les . Bu t rec en res tle ss cra ft bre tly, we rs, pa rti cu larly in the Un ite d Sta have be en tur nin tes , g to arc an e be er sty les for ins pirati ad ap tin g los t sty on , les , an d ge ne rat ing inn ova tive sty les the ir ow n. It be cam of e cle ar tha t AA B rea de rs wo uld no be jus t as int ere w ste d in lea rni ng ab ou t on ce -ob scu cat egori es like sou re r be er or sah ti as they we re ab ou t the he lle s or po rte r covere d in ou r firs t sty le gu ide.

So we tur ne d to Kle mp wit h a ne w ch all en ge ; Wh at are the em erg ing be er sty les tha t are on the cu ttin g ed Wh ich cla ssi c sty ge ? les have we ign ore d in the pa st? Wh inf lue nti al his tor ich ies do rea de rs ne ed to kn ow ab ou un de rst an d wh ats t to ha pp en ing in cra ft be er tod ay ? Ou tha t ass ign me nt t of co me s thi s new vo lum e on the divers e an d eve r-c ha ng ing wo rld of be er. ✹

28

AMERICANS

DRINK ENOUGH BEER EACH YEAR

TO FILL

330 OIL TANKERS

A NN U AL B E E R CONSUMPTION IS ABOUT

22 G A L LON S

PER PERSON 29

india pale ale

strong pale ale

oatmeal stout

imperial stout

dry stout

english pale ale/ bitter

american porter

ENGL ISH STRONG ALE

OL D AL E

AMERICAN STRONG AL E

BARLEY WINE

SCOTCH ALE

KRISTAL-WEIZEN

fruit

faro

gueuze

LA M BI C

Ale

weissbier

DUNKEL-WEIZEN

BL ACK IPA

DOUBLE IPA

WEIZEN-BOCK

AMERICAN WHEAT ALE

PREMIUM BITTER/ESB

witbier

HEFEWEIZEN

BU RTON PAL E ALE

LIGHT/SU MMER ALE

BERLINER WEISSE

roggenbier

GOSE

G ER MA N AL E

AMBER AL E

BLONDE AL E

P A LE ALE

american pale ale

foreign stout

S W EET S TO U T

T OP FERMENT ED

30 P OR TE R

english porter

american stout

flanders red ale

oud bruin

belgian dark ale

biere de grande

belgian pale ale

biere de chapagne

saison

B E LG IAN S TRO NG DAR K ALE

Q UAD R UPE L

D UB B E L

TR IPE L

B E LG IAN S TRO NG PALE ALE

BE L GI A N A LE

AMERICAN

B OT T OM FERMEN T ED

EU R O PE A N LA G E R

M AIB O C K/H E LLE S

D O PPE LB O C K

E IS B O C K

D UNKLE R B O C K

M UNIC H D UNKE L

M UNIC H H E LLE S

G E R M A N L A GE R

english porter

european pale PILSNER lager

LIGHT BEER

DRY BEER

ICE BEER

american stout

european dark lager

MALT LIQUOR

english porter

american stout european strong lager

A M ERI C AN L AG E R

american dark/amber lager

bohemian pilsner

PI L S N E R

american pale lager

german pilsner

AMERI CAN PILSNER

american adjunct lager

american imperial pilsner

california common

english porter

american stout

Lager

31

32

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R

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is as history g in s any w e t cient a m’s br n a iu the firs d lg n e B among hops able a r e r e e n e w v there rich, using rewers tility of om other. B virtue and u stray fr last to the e use e o th e h s g to amon d farm n d a n a c ti r s it is in bee ion of mona till, and dit ident s yed to the v e the tra is rtra g. This at is po rings that are brewin sion th s ffe e r o p e this im flected in th e r , c old publi at we h ted. eries th nalism w e so cove r b io ose ir tradit st of th But mo ecause of the stablished e a rb tury, a ilt or re ard as so dea ally bu late- 19th cen ntry g forw tu in g c v a in o n e m r fi u re sy we co - to was bu with brewers es and the mid roughout the m g iu in r lg u , ti e d th B nti nd ive of calm wn ide bility a to surv very ing period means loping their o off the grow of insta riod, nearly e s ie r tu g e e n v e p e in e c d ll is d th r n a er afte and e fe nt in ing th rn me tim er brew oveme le. Dur g impr d most mode t the sa f the pale lag strugg a in w e r an fic b re o alized scienti pressu . anaged was re lly defined. s k o Europe o t have m u a o m n b iu textb io a ld g lg o d f Be ere re s, those sual an wers o styles w ost unu re in the Belgian g with he bre m e T e th f th o t u ase cult e ou ewin e In the c turned to br to carv ent brewing wild ne to th t, e o d r rely on n d s s e n y n p a e a e t s p s d ti e a r k abb even in p a r e r e o ts asts, rld. I es we e to th e o y y ip h e c W y e r e r ld n o O old rieta is muc take Some y prop s. This ped to lates and ic n m p lo ia is s e n v r lg a future. e o e a ely B roorg ones d ging p to much ue mic es that uniqu ith smooth g o but new e of the chan r d w , g This le t defin e bugs s and rewers advanta techniques. of wha le thos r bbey b t p a lo u o o d e c e C th v ers ong ppis avor. s of all a impro m fl r lt a T a fuse be e m m in s l th li to ta r a n e u s s e d id e n n n ll u r; a d ngn indiv conti hich fe ; a willi d candi suga r w f e te o c a e r n som cha on to th es a re also e. it, spic onventi ating e u c . w r fr w s e h o d r ie it r o w ber to th brewer uring this tim t that li ensity ulture. ecular rrive a ilt d a prop a u r wing c b u e e ie o Many s r r y b b r it d o e w n d , th a e , s ic h d s eate tions ong win f lamb establi distinc at perm e tyles o eld strong am s th th it t ld a ir o sp the sh look of ers, as While our ale tele, the rest ws is a nd abbey be s o s ll s r e fo d t n n ta n style Wha and Fla regional clie Trappis lesser-know n e e n tw w be f the their o some o ws. well as re b r gula and sin s r ge of rewe tic ima gious n The B a m o g, r eli evailin olves r The pr that inv lity is a nt s r u e q e b ed a importa Belgian and unmatch r a ve y n is o ti e r o v e e d t are ut th re one. B ose tha potent n between th d those that a o n a ti t d c n n is s, a it disti rapp bey ale lle - in cally T b ti a n s e a th au vely stma collecti nks from We 50 by o known d in 18 an m e e h s th li f b o ta e s g beg as e can b brewin imay w d h n ame a C , . s 2 k 185 ay bec mon im n h e r C te y ll Westvle 862; eventua rewers to sell 1 tb there in f the Trappis rt was o Rochefo nd they t , s r 7 fi 8 8 1 a the n l, I e n, ublic. m Ach shoeve to the p y monks fro g in n o e b K . m d 9 a e er, c in 189 found h bord ewing tc r u b D n e a only beg ver th day the d just o situate 1884 and is to in online

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it could ng them, eely amo fr k has his rc le at de C it would th , id ts t a is s p e p b r Trappis e Tra among th nts all ove the most ri is p ally it u d q n s r a e a e , h n k e e eer ma estmall has be e b e e W t tr e is H y b . p il g p m in ra brew the fa e secular existing T . among th fluential in traditional l m in a iu ti n lg e e u B fl in s the outside rewers nd and make dubbel a Trappist b brewers. ), e a s e tr x th pist ales f (e t o a le h g All w in s in . rval, Trap g rs O e in r e b rk fo f o t The o w p e p u Exc makeup. e very were now tripel line pport r in their u a s sidered th il n to o t im ts c s c is e n x re b a ists e , adju could brewing re simple The Trapp nd their familial nd e Belgian recipes a a d freely a s e e e b apex of th s t lv e u o e s rn n re o a m ld e b u rs is th o a g w is u t I bottleand s , and th me industry. d they are nasteries would co to n o l a is a m , th y ze ll s re ra u e fo lib nces ir obvio long be ugh, as d. Differe rther out of the down, tho onditione r ther to fu c e o om e n fr b a e n e crashing n m ig o o ply em c assist nce of fore ulprits rewing sim pists among th alting B . m h c the influe in c a s e n re th o their variati Wars le. Trap t d h ic rl g h o li e ll s v ility in the W a b a d a m an at ns, vari es them f many s o rt iv o ti e g a p e es x n ic e li if c c n e e sp and recip ys bee Europe in the d ays have alwa ter supply roughout w a th w ld l s o l a e a c ri ir u e lo e id g th brew astating r the indiv combinin odern ave a dev tailored fo ns with m io it - would h f d o a r to tr e s s. me and e numb d brewerie bled when it co effect. Th rewers an lgium tum is is chnology e th te B d in n secular b s a , e e , re 0 c s a 0 n k 9 a n re 1 n o e h te m in breweri s T ong the t than in their su an 3,000 n m e th a s id re e v 0 o e e 0 y m ,0 nt, more from out 1 emplo nowhere non-existe are never 1920 to ab use They ertising is o v d War II re h d to 2,000 in a rl a w o s e re W y f b m e o the and na g mon e start e 1980s. t spendin before th and labels nd pointed. The ment, 150 by th shy abou ip n a u a q d th e s re ir s e s e the and le unclutt e and ong the to upgrad e German m th rtify a tru a y e n c b w d to o e n k ir o c e a ti s th o . er was n e g y e s g in tr o b s Th keep e indu rappist , includin T th rs d a in the te s w c , e ie te s it th il pro himay in rewerie during finest fac rmative osed by C rappist b fo p T ed ro fi e rn p ti e th t n d f re e o rs o e fi eir m are id ers w some e During th while oth Today, all th t, . il ’s t d u 0 is t te b 3 u p s 9 li re p B 1 n . ra e y were nding uthentic T years, the s brewing sly left sta , the with an “A , which ha e famous miraculou II th r f a o W lp ademark d e to tr rl h k o t” c rc W u r le d e C Pro 92. an d even aft were e since 19 scientist Je ersee some of reweries een in us b v o d Trappist b hile others were n t a s o em refine gw s. Becaus again flourishin operation tes were s e ared a h th T s . s g a n w s. If oledge flounderi n le k a l is a n th a f o artis stery shifting to tron mona a p a is there

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Abbey Brews

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Those Belgians that are known as “abbey” beers are brewed in the image of the monastic Trappist family. They outsell the Trappists by more than tow to one. Much of this success is based on the high quality of the beer itself 0 a testament to the power of the monastic image - but the high sales numbers are also a result of the sheer volume and availability of their products.

The name, as well as the logo on the label, are trademarked to differentiate the beers from the Trappists. The designation gives a nod to the breweries’ secular interest while capitalizing on the popularity and mystique of the Trappists. Even the beer styles and names mimic the tru monastic brews.

Abbey breweries do have to adhere to some fairly strict guidelines as they relate to how they treat the privilege of using that label and designation. It is controlled by the trade organization known as the Belgian Brewers, and the “Certified Belgian Abbey” logo carries with it certain guidelines. The brewery must have

a link to a former or existing abbey, pay royalties to charities that protect the cultural heritage or benefit an institution that represents the abbey, and the abbey or affiliated institution must have control over the advertising material.

Not all of the abbeys that are now licensed to brew actually contained breweries at some point in their history, though some of them did. The more well-known among those are Leffe, Corsendonk, Affligem, Maredsous, Grimbergen and St. Feuillien. Some abbey breweries are controlled by the massive international brewing comglomerates, while others are more regional. Their products might not have the mystique of the Trappists’ wares, but the beer is often of equal quality.

Strong Dark and Quadrupel Ale Belgian beers are notable for many things, including their

strength, and these behemoths are at the top of the heap in that respect. It is easy to get distracted by the ease with which they flood the palate with soft, full, dark malt flavors before they unleash their potency. Strong dark and quadrupel are closely related siblings - if not essentially the same beers - and much like old ale and barley wine, they overlap in profile.

The numeric system harkens back to a time when beers were identified by a number that corresponded to strngth, denoting original gravity. For instance, an original gravity of 1060 is given the number 6, 1080 the number 8, and so on. This old method gave rise to single (3), dubbel (6) and tripel (9), though the numbers are somewhat imprecise these days. Twelve was used well before the style was given the name quadrupel. In any

hallmark spiciness, with notes of cinnamon, clove, earth and anise, among other things, seems to run through most traditional Belgian ale easts. The truth is, breweries old and new in many cases select their yeast from similar stock over the years, and it is hard to say how long the yeast stocks intersected before records were kept. On occasion, small amounts actual spices are added to the kettle.

case, quadrupel and 12 are strong dark ales, and for the sake of simplicity, all three designations will be treated as the same here.

Strong dark ales are, paradoxically, complex in character yet simplistic intheir production. Often, they consist of nothing more than a grain bill of pilsner malt with one or two darker malts. These vary among the breweries, from crystal to chocolate to roasted malt, but all serve the same purpose of adding just enough color and flavor to separate them from tripel ales. Kettle caramelization is also a key component, with prolonged boils to provide extra depth They are usually augmented with some sort of sugar, either light or dark candy sugar, or brew’s caramel. Rather than making the beer cloyingly sweet, this actually lightens the body. Hops are kept to a bare minimum, resulting in roughly the same bitterness to gravity ratio as doppelbock.

Like most Belgian ales, the yeast influences the outcome as much or more than any other ingredient. The style’s

The combination of yeast impact, dark malt, light body and potency is a powerful one indeed. Among the Trappists, loo for La Trappe Quadrupel, Rochefort 10, Chimau Grande Reserve and Achel Extra. Other great Belgians are St. Bernardus 12, Malheur 12, Gulden Draak Dark Tripel and Delirium Tremens Nocturnum. In North America, there are dozens, including Brooklyn Local 2, Ommegang Three Philosophers, Unibroue Terrible, Avery The Beast and the original American version Weyerbacher Quad. Getting a tast of Westvleteren 12 considered by many the Holy Grail of beers - requires a trip to the source in Belgium Blonde and Pale Ale In the hierarchy of Belgian ales, the historical term enkel has largely disappeared from the lexicon. Enkel is Flemish for “single”,

signifying a brewery’s lowest strength product, one designed for more day-to-day consumption or to accompany meals. Among the Trappists, dubbels are usually the lower end of the scale that is represented today, though Achel makes both a 5 degree Blonde and a Bruin (brown).

Belgian brewers, and their North American imitators, still make lighter brews that fit roughly into that mold, those of modest strength or lighter character. We know them as Belgian blondes and pale ales. Blondes are usually given that name by the brewery, whereas pale ale is usually a brand name that doesn’t lend any hints to its actual style. In either case, the two types of beer can come from abbey or independent secular breweries, and they are less

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robust and lighter in color than dubbles.

They are often all-malt, though some contain adjuncts in the form of maize (corn) or sugar. Well balanced, they are designed to be modest brews all the way around, from the softness of palate, clean, spice notes and just a hint of hops. Blondes could

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be thought of as toned down version of tripel, bright gold with a reliance on pilsner malts. They are a fairly new style of beer that was made to compete with pales lagers.

Belgian pale ales have more color and are similar to English bitters or American pales ales, with a measure of toasted or caramelized malts. They are outstanding transitional brews for those looking to branch out

into the realm of Belgian ale, easy enough on the senses and the faculties.

The brewery that defines the Belgian pale ale style is De Koninck of Antwerp. The brewery was built in 1833 as a brewpub. It has survived largely on the strength of a single product, known simply as De Koninck (the King). It is an easy and unassuming beer, and looks the part of an American or English pale ale. The bronzed color comes

from a blend of pilsner and Vienna malt. It is hopped with Saaz only, to 25 IBU. The soft, toasty malt is backed by the typical spicy belgian yeast character, reminiscent of cinnamon in this case. it is the infpiration of similar brews made in America, such as Brooklyn Main Engine Start and Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale Orval Among the Trappist breweries, Orval is certainly unusual, as it makes only one principal beer and enlists the help of Brett-anomyces, the wild yeast more associated with the Flanders and lambic specialty brews. The beer is known eponymously as Orval, so distinctive that nothing else

is required. Orval is made in roughly the model of pale ale, but it is much more than that, designed to stand out and transformative in character upon aging. It is worthy of individual appreciation The Abbaye d’Orval was established in the year 1070, making it the oldest among the Trappists. It is named for the Valley of Gold in which it sits. After standing for many centures, it was destroyed by the French in 1790 and left untouched until 1926, when it was rebuilt. Brewing resumed in 1932, and a recipe was created by two brewers, one German and one French, to be different from the rest of the Trappist ales, many of which were based on older styles. It is thought that today’s Orval is the same on that was brewed from the outset.

Orval is crafted from three pale and two caramel malts, which are scrupulously selected each

year by the brewer, and liquid light candi sugar is added. It is brewed to an original gravity of 1055, and hopped with Styrian Goldings and Hallertau in the kettle.

After normal primary fermentation with a single strain of proprietary yeast, the beer is conditioned in the secondary fermenters for three weeks at 59 degrees, and a second dose of yeast - a multi strain culture “of the area” that also contains Brettanomyces - is added. It is also dry-hopped at this stage with whole Styrian Golding hops. The finished beer is then centrifuged and given a final dose of primary yeast and priming sugar before bottling. This is left for five weeks before release.

The residual Brettanomyces continues to attenuate the wort and exert its own earthy influence in the bottle. AFter several months, Orval is at its peak. Its character is less like the other Trappist ales and more like that of the many farmhouse ales that can be found in belgium and nearby France. It is musty, dry and floral, and at 39 IBUs and aggressive attenuation, has an appetizing bitterness and quenching finish. ✹

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Glossary Acetobacter: an aerobic bacteria that produces acetic acid in a beer, generally undesirable except in a few styles, such as a lambic and Flemish red or brown ales.

Ale: family of beer that ferments at warmer temperatures, also called “warm-fermenting” or “top-fermenting” because of the action of ale yeast.

Attenuation: the degree to which fermentable sugars are converted into alcohol as influenced by yeast, mash conditions and ingredients among other things.

Bottom-fermenting: a term for the lager family of beers, based on the tendency of lager yeast to be active in the bottom of a fermentation tank.

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Barley, two-row and six-row: refers to the number of kernel rows in the head of the stalk, two-row is the more commonly used, while six-row is used when extra amylase enzymes are required to convert other grains.

Brettanomyces: a yeast that produces horsey, cheesy or barnyard aromas and flavors, generally undesirable in beer except in lambic and a few others.

Decoction: a traditional German procedure where a portion of the mash is heated to boiling separately and return to the main mash to raise the whole stepwise through ideal enzymatic ranges.

Fermentation: the process by which yeast metabolizes simple sugars into alcohol.

Grist: crushed or milled grain before it is mixed with hot water to form a mash.

Hops: the cone-shaped flowers of the vine Humulus lupulus, used to give beer its bitterness and aroma, and as a preserving agent.

IBU: Inernational Bittering Units, a measure concentrations of various hop compounds in a beer, an indication of the beer’s bitterness.

Lactobacillus: an anaerobic bacteria that produces sour notes in a beer, generally undesireable expect in a few styles, such as lambic and Flemish red or brown ales.

Lager: family of beer that ferments at cooler temperatures, also called “cold-fermenting” or “bottom-fermenting” because of the action of ale yeast.

Malt: grain (usually) barley, that is allowed to germinate, with the process stopped by heat. The amount and duration of the heat determins the color and other qualities of the malt, which govern the color of the beer and many other components.

Mash: a mixture of milled grain (grist) and water used to produce fermentable liquid.

Melanoidins: heat-catalyzed chemical reactions that enhance color, aroma and flavor of malt or wort via the interaction of sugar and protein components.

Noble Hops: hop varieties, including Hallertauer Mittelfruh, Tettnang Tettanger, Spalt Spalter and Czech Saaz, prized for their aromatic qualities.

Parti-gyle: an ancient brewing practice where successive beers are produced by draining the mash and resaturating several times to create incrementally weaker beers from a single mash.

Reinheitsgebot or the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516: a law that mandated that beer could be made only from malted barley, hops and water; amended later to include yeast.

Top-fermenting: a term for the ale family of beers, based on the tendency of ale yeast to be active at the top of a fermentation tank.

Yeast: in the making of beer, the micro-organism that ferments sugar into alcohol.

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