Monday, January 31, 2022
Reviving a dormant Czech hop, Denver style
A great experiment is underway at two Denver Czech-style breweries, and it testifies to the quality of Old-World-style beer that is being made here in this community.
Sugar Creek Malt Co. — a craft malthouse from Lebanon, Indiana — came across a historically dormant Czech malt, Edelweiss, harvested it and replanted it until there was enough to make some serious beer. It then got it into the hands of just three U.S. breweries — Seedstock Brewery and Cohesion Brewing of Denver, as well as another brewery in North Carolina, according to Seedstock co-owner Jerry McIlvenna (pictured at top) —and gave them a chance to use it.
What came from the offering, in the case of Seedstock, was its Heritage Pilsner, a lager that is similar in every way to its crisp and tasty Czech Pilsner, except for the substitution of this once-forgotten malt. And trying the two pilsners side by side is a fascinating experience.
The Czech Pilsner (on the right in the above photo) is golden and clean, tinged with Saaz hops — smooth, malt-forward and simple in a classical way. But the Heritage Pilsner pops with hop freshness and bitterness in a manner that makes you take notice. The body is a bit murkier, but this is no hazy. It's straightforward in its approach to letting traditional ingredients shine, and it ranks with the crispest Colorado beers made in the past year.
McIlvenna, who bought Seedstock in early September from its original, successful owners, said he thinks the hop zing came forward in the way the brewery chose to use the under-modified malt, which made for a slower and more deliberate brew day. It undertook a quadruple concoction, stepping the temperature up each time to bring more character to the malt. And it worked — very well.
"We love brewing lagers, and it's actually a challenge," McIlvenna said last week as he guided a tasting of the two beers.
Either beer is a joy to sip, though trying the Heritage Pilsner and Czech Pilsner side-by-side and contrasting them borders on an art form in enjoying Czech-style beer. And it's a reminder just how fresh and new a beer can taste, even if its recipe comes largely down from centuries of tradition.
Labels: Cohesion Brewing, Czech-style beer, Seedstock Brewing
