Do America's Big Breweries Get "It"?

Anyone that spends more than a few moments at a local Liquor Store will have noticed the proliferation of Craft Brewed Beers that are now available. Some are domestic, some are imported. Package styles range from the functional to the artistic and everywhere in between. Notwithstanding this development the vast majority of floor and shelf space is devoted to the American Macro Beers and Malternatives like Tequiza and Hard Lemonades... all products of the nefarious BMC (BudMillerCoors). I am always amused when a well dressed man or woman saunters into the store and lingers over the latest Californian, Austrailan or Chilean Wines before selecting the latest "hot pick", then quickly wheels over to the beer section and without pause grabs a 24 Pack of BMC and trundles off to the register thence to the Mercedes for the ride home? What are these folks thinking? Beer has as rich a heritage as wine does. There are as many if not more varieties of beer than wine and frequently beer pairs better with what is on the menu.

American brewing has a rich heritage and has been part of the backdrop for every phase of our nation's history. Washington, Adams and Jefferson were all brewers. The Immigrant brewers like Anheuser Busch started out by brewing flavorful and substantial brews. How did we get to the point we are at today? When most beer drinkers think "American Beer" is synonomous with thin, watery, fizzy, yellow beer that is sold by scantily clad ladies barely old enough to drink themselves?

But there is hope on the horizon. A faint glimmer of light is emanating from the wilds of Saint Louis, Milwaukee and Denver. Beer with flavor. Miller is touting its 1855 Celebration Lager, a macro with taste perhaps? Coors has become increasing bold with its "Winterfest" Amber Seasonal as well as it's "Blue Moon" and "Killian's" Brands. The most encouraging trend however is from no less than the Great Satan of Brewing, the megalithic Anheuser Busch. AB have always dabbled with specialty beers for example, there is Ziegenbock, available only in TX to compete with the Local specialty "Shiner Bock". There are the Michelob Specialty Lagers such as "Amberbock" and "Honey Lager" that are now widely available in bottle or draft. Lastly, in it's latest move toward flavor over quantity ... Anheuser Busch has offered up for public sale its Brewmasters Private Reserve and Michelob's Celebrate. These are clearly craft brewed products and aimed at both the craft brew drinker as well as those that shop by brand. Wheteher you care for these products or not, you have to be pleased by the current trend toward flavorful, full bodied brews over the bland "Mass Quantities" that Beldar the Conehead consumed with fried chicken embryos. At 8.5% and 10% ABV respectively these are serious brews. I have yet to try either brew but I will and I have high hopes. look for a review in a future column.

Christmas Gift sets are in the stores. Now is the time to get the beer drinkers in your life some new brews and the brewerania to match.

How To Be A Great Thanksgiving Guest

The Thanksgiving Holiday is upon us, some of you will ask your hosts what to bring to supplement the repast. Will you be that boring person that shows up with a bottle of inexpensive vino? “Oh Yellowtail how lovely” … Just say no to Pinot! Those cognoscenti that have been reading this column regularly will be armed with the information you need to be that special guest that will be welcomed and remembered for that wonderful selection of beer that you arrived with!

That is the ticket lads and lassies a laundry tub sized assortment of some quality craft-brewed beer! It will liven up the festivities, tantalize the taste buds and lubricate the arid repast that is Roasted Turkey, Dressing and Mashed Potatoes. You can pique your dinner companion’s curiosity and be the hero of the day when you produce a selection of intriguing beers whilst effortlessly discussing some distinct features of each style. Add some personal anecdotes, some brewing history and you will be the life of the party. As an aside, humbly add some pointers on what the discerning taster should expect. No more boring talk of Finite Risk Transfer, Catastrophe Bonds and Eliot Spitzer. Beer shall set you free.

Here are my suggestions, by course:

Aperitif To get the digestive juices flowing, but without overwhelming the taste buds too early might I suggest a nice Pilsner? Consider these choices:

Brooklyn Lager - Brooklyn Brewing
Pennant Pilsner - Brooklyn Brewing
Victory Prima Pils – Victory Brewing

Appetizers/Snacks Consider a Pale Ale here, the spicy hop characteristic of this style pairs nicely with salads, cheeses, fruits, nuts and that new traditional favorite - Spicy chicken wings. These are some picks:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – Sierra Nevada Brewing
Dales Pale Ale – Oskar Blues Brewing
Dogfish Head 60 Minute Pale Ale - Dogfish Head Brewery

Main Course
Consider strong Belgian-style ales. Their higher alcohol percentage pairs nicely with the seasonal comfort food:

Allagash Grand Cru – Allagash Brewing
Lunacy - Heavyweight Brewing
Rare Vos – Brewery Ommegang

Dessert

Rich Stouts and Porters pair nicely with Pecan Pie, Shoo Fly Pie, Sweet Potato Pie and other sweets including chocolate. My dessert picks are:

Black Chocolate Stout –Brooklyn Brewing
Storm King Stout – Victory Brewing
Perkuno’s Hammer (Baltic Porter) – Heavyweight Brewing
Digestive (after dinner)

It’s now time to relax, sit back and let that meal fully digest. No doubt you are well and fully bloated at this point, time to sip coffee and take a TUMS?? No way! Get off your butt and grab something smooth, rich and numbing. Reach for the Strong Old Ales and Barleywine Ales. A rich, complex, malty and alcoholic beer will settle the stomach, rectify the humors and is ideally suited for sipping. Some excellent choices include:

Monster Barleywine – Brooklyn Brewing
Bigfoot Barley Wine Style Ale – Sierra Nevada Brewing
Old Horizontal – Victory Brewing
Holidale – Berkshire Brewing Company

Happy Thanksgiving!

Winter Warmers

The chill winds of fall are blowing along the Bay Shore, the geese are flying south in formation, the Stripers are back in the bay, the election rhetoric has reached a fever pitch and its time to for a warmer wardrobe. For beer aficionados this can only mean one thing – It is time to break out the maltier, higher gravity beers to ward off the chill bay shore winds. No need to abandon the front porch, just break out the barn jacket and a snifter of the strong brews mentioned below:

Going from lightest to darkest my Fall- Winter lineup is as follows:

Wheat Wine

A newer style just coming into it’s own can also be described as a strong wheat ale. Wheat Wines contain a large portion of wheat malts, often upwards of 50%. The wheat provides a softer mouth feel. The Wheat Wines that I have sampled have been a hazy pale yellow, with a rocky head, with a floral nose and a dry-hop finish. Smutty Nose’s Wheat Wine is available on local shelves in a 22 ounce bottle. At 11% Alcohol by volume this is a perfect size for sharing.

Tripel

This Belgian Style takes its name from part of the brewing process, in which the brewers use up to three times the amount of barley malt than a standard “Single Ale”. Traditionally, Tripels are clear bright yellow or gold in color. The head tends to be big, dense and creamy. Aroma and flavor is complex, spicy, with fruity ale yeast evident, along with a sweet finish. The style’s sweetness comes from both the malts used and the higher alcohol. Tripels tend to be heavily hopped to offset the alcohol aroma and the sweet malt palate. The lighter body comes from the use of Belgian candy sugar in the fermentation tank, which not only lightens the body, but also adds alcoholic aroma and flavors. Small amounts of spices are sometimes added as well.

Some North East craft breweries include a Tripel in their regular line-up including Allagash (Maine) and Weyerbacher (Pennsylvania). Chimay (White Label) is a fine imported example that is available in most good outlets.

A Similar Style to the Triple is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. Heavyweight Brewing in Ocean Township makes a brew called “Lunacy “at nearly 8% alcohol by volume it will warm you and sustain you during the long nights of the waning year. Broueri Moortgat’s “Duvel” falls under this style.

Barley Wine

Despite its name, a Barley Wine is very much a beer, albeit a very strong and often intense beer. It is among the strongest of the beer styles. Fruity, rich and sometimes sweet, sometimes dry, a Barley Wine is always alcoholic. A brew of this strength and complexity can be a challenge to the uninitiated palate. Expect colors ranging from amber to deep brown with an aroma ranging from dark dried fruits (dates, figs currants), to spicy and floral hops. Body is typically thick, alcohol will definitely be perceived in the nose and palate, and flavors can range from fruity and sweet to highly hopped.

English varieties are quite different from the American efforts, the American versions are more intensely hopped, usually with West Coast hops (Cascades, Willamette, etc.). English versions tend to be more balanced, with slightly lower alcohol content, though this is not always the case.

Most Barley Wines can be cellared for years and will mellow and improve with age. Consider trying “Monster” by Brooklyn Brewing, “Old Horizontal” (affectionately known as “Old Ho”) by Victory Brewing or Sierra Nevada’s “Bigfoot”. Buy a sixer of each and enjoy one bottle now and cellar the rest in a cool dry space.

Wee Heavy (Scotch Ale)

In 19th century Scotland, these brews would also be known as a “160 Shilling”, a name derived from the now obsolete shilling currency. Tax was levied on the Original Gravity of the Brew, The higher the Original Gravity the higher the tax. Scotch Ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle for a caramelization of the wort. This produces a deep copper to brown in colored brew and subtle caramel and toffee undertones. Compared to 60 and 90 Shilling Scottish Ales, a Wee Heavy will be sweeter and fuller-bodied, and of course higher in alcohol, with a much more pronounced caramel and roasted malt flavor. To add to the complexity and offset some of the sweetness a portion of the malts used may be smoked over turf (peat) as are the malts used in Scots Whisky. For an added flourish you can serve this brew in a “Thistle” shaped glass. This glass style will pay homage to the Scottish National Flower as well as concentrate the rich aroma of this fine restorative elixir.

I recommend “Robert the Bruce” (9% ABV) by Three Floyd’s Brewing as a fine domestic example of this style. Sam Adam’s makes a decent Scotch Ale, though at 5.4% ABV it is hardly a Wee Heavy. On the import side Orkney Brewing’s “Skull Splitter” (8.5% ABV) will take the bite out of the fiercest Northeast Wind off the Raritan Bay. (The scary looking Viking on the Label is all the warning you need mate.)

Doppelbock

Stylistically speaking Double Bock or Doppelbock (also Weizenbock) are huge beers with enough malt packed in them to consider them a meal in its self. Generally these beers have a full-bodied malty profile with a creamy tan head and darker coloration than “single” bocks with a much higher level of alcohol as well. They range in color from dark amber to nearly black. Dark versions may have slight chocolate or roasted characters. For more information you can read my earlier column on this style. ( Ahhh Bock ). For two excellent examples try Sam Adams Double Bock or Paulaner’s Salvator.

Imperial Stout

Created by English brewers back in the 1800’s to win over the Russian Czar, this is the king of stouts, boasting high alcohol by volume and plenty of malty character. An Imperial Stout unlike its Nitrogen Carbonated cousins has a low to moderate level of carbonation with huge roasted, chocolate and burnt malt flavors. An Imperial Stout will have a palate with hints of rich, dark fruit and alcohol quite evident. Hop character varies from balanced to aggressive. This style inspired the Baltic Porters of Sweden and Lithuania.

Enjoy these beers with care.

SOUR BEER? ITS A GOOD THING

As we wind our way across the seasons and begin our transition to the comfort foods and Maltier Beers of Fall I thought I’d take a step back and talk about a unique beer style that is traditionally a summer style. This brew is available for your enjoyment year-round.

The style in question is Berliner Weisse which is a top-fermented, bottle conditioned wheat beer made with both traditional warm-fermenting yeasts and lactobacillus culture. It has a rapidly vanishing head and a hazy, pale golden straw-colored appearance. The taste is refreshing, tart, sour and acidic, with a lemony sharpness and little hop bitterness in the finish.

Berliner Weiss is traditionally served in wide bulbous stemmed glasses. Visitors to Berlin will often order one as a "Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (literally with a shot): Himbeere" or "Berliner Weisse mit Schuss: Waldmeister". These are sweet syrups that are added to make the sourness more palatable. They have the pleasant visual effect of changing the brews color as well. Himbeere is sweet raspberry syrup (bright red) and Waldmeister is sweetened essence of woodruff (lurid green). I actually enjoy the Berliner Weisse on its own, but I did try adding some Grenadine Syrup to see what sweet syrups would do to the flavor profile. The taste remained sour but the sweet fruit syrup gave it a flavor profile reminiscent of a sour ball candy. Not an unpleasant taste at all, though not something I would seek out very often.

The most common brand of Berliner Weisse available in this country is Berliner Kindl Weisse. Despite having only 2.5% Alcohol by Volume this beer is extremely flavorful and somewhat pricey. $14.99 for a six pack at Whole Foods. I have also seen it for a buck or two less at Spirits Unlimited in Red Bank, though last time I looked there was a health layer of dust on the packaging which gave me pause.

New in the local stores Wiedenmayer “Jersey Lager”. If you like a maltier Oktoberfest Beer this one is a must try. Pair it with some Chili and Saltines.