Thursday, January 30, 2014
The Sweet Song of Saisons
Interviewing New Belgium's Kim Jordan while writing "Mountain Brew," I was struck by a comment she made about brewing a saison in 1996 and receiving such a bad reception that they didn't brew one again until 2008. What a strange beer world, it would seem, that didn't want the refreshing taste of a saison in it.
But we are now living in the age of the saison - the classic, the crafty, even the absolute crazy. Want it with just a hint of spice to it? OK. Want it brewed with sarsaparilla, sassafras, coriander and hibiscus? That's fine too. Hell, they're both made by the same brewer, in fact.
At Vail Big Beers, Trinity Brewing's Jason Yester, that aforementioned brewer and the man who's made 60 different saisons with 80 different ingredients, pointed out the number of saisons judged at the Great American Beer Festival grew from 37 five years ago to about 90 in 2013. But he also noted one of the great key's to the style's success: There is little definition to what exactly a saison is, other than a beer in a genre that evolved from a non-specific style in Belgian farmhouses to one that allows for great creativity today.
One of the beers that the Fearless Tasting Crew kept in its fridge at that festival - you know, the beers you can drink even when your tastebuds are shot - was Trinity's La Capitaine, a blond saison regale brewed with pumpkin, cacao nibs and Buddha's Hand, then tossed about with some brett and lacto until it's done just right. It's sharp and pungent and slightly spicy, with a feel that oscillates wonderfully between grape and perfume.
But if Trinity is the known - and if you don't know it, you should get to - festivals like Big Beers allow for the exploration of the unknown as well.
Dann Paquette, owner of Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, brought in his Jack D'Or, a smooth beer (with blurry label art above)
that's higher on the bitterness scale than most other saisons but still very dry. And it, like the style, was both intriguing and drinkable.
Then, there was Mystic Brewing - like Pretty Things, a Massachusetts brewery - which offered its Descendant, a black saison made with molasses that was sweet but not overdone.
And, staying in Massachusetts for a second, there is also Cambridge Brewing, which has found a way to make a black-pepper farmhouse ale in its Sgt. Pepper (at right) and feel welcoming without being overpowering.
More Colorado breweries too are cranking up saison offerings. Both Funkwerks - the 2012 GABF Small Brewery of the Year - and Black Fox are all-saison maestros, blending peppers, fruit and everything you might think shouldn't go into a beer. And doing it well.
And you see non-saison breweries experimenting more with their offerings too. From Great Divide's Colette - which it makes even more special by kicking it up with orange zest and pepper - to Crooked Stave's slightly tart Vieille Artisanal Saison, the variety out there can be stunning.
So, what's the point? Unlike 1996, it's a damn good time to drink saison, whether you're in Denver or Boston or anywhere in between. And if you encounter one that might seem a little strange, drink it all the same; chances are it will be dry, smooth and just exciting enough to make your night.
Interviewing New Belgium's Kim Jordan while writing "Mountain Brew," I was struck by a comment she made about brewing a saison in 1996 and receiving such a bad reception that they didn't brew one again until 2008. What a strange beer world, it would seem, that didn't want the refreshing taste of a saison in it.
But we are now living in the age of the saison - the classic, the crafty, even the absolute crazy. Want it with just a hint of spice to it? OK. Want it brewed with sarsaparilla, sassafras, coriander and hibiscus? That's fine too. Hell, they're both made by the same brewer, in fact.
At Vail Big Beers, Trinity Brewing's Jason Yester, that aforementioned brewer and the man who's made 60 different saisons with 80 different ingredients, pointed out the number of saisons judged at the Great American Beer Festival grew from 37 five years ago to about 90 in 2013. But he also noted one of the great key's to the style's success: There is little definition to what exactly a saison is, other than a beer in a genre that evolved from a non-specific style in Belgian farmhouses to one that allows for great creativity today.
One of the beers that the Fearless Tasting Crew kept in its fridge at that festival - you know, the beers you can drink even when your tastebuds are shot - was Trinity's La Capitaine, a blond saison regale brewed with pumpkin, cacao nibs and Buddha's Hand, then tossed about with some brett and lacto until it's done just right. It's sharp and pungent and slightly spicy, with a feel that oscillates wonderfully between grape and perfume.
But if Trinity is the known - and if you don't know it, you should get to - festivals like Big Beers allow for the exploration of the unknown as well.
that's higher on the bitterness scale than most other saisons but still very dry. And it, like the style, was both intriguing and drinkable.
Then, there was Mystic Brewing - like Pretty Things, a Massachusetts brewery - which offered its Descendant, a black saison made with molasses that was sweet but not overdone.
And, staying in Massachusetts for a second, there is also Cambridge Brewing, which has found a way to make a black-pepper farmhouse ale in its Sgt. Pepper (at right) and feel welcoming without being overpowering.More Colorado breweries too are cranking up saison offerings. Both Funkwerks - the 2012 GABF Small Brewery of the Year - and Black Fox are all-saison maestros, blending peppers, fruit and everything you might think shouldn't go into a beer. And doing it well.
And you see non-saison breweries experimenting more with their offerings too. From Great Divide's Colette - which it makes even more special by kicking it up with orange zest and pepper - to Crooked Stave's slightly tart Vieille Artisanal Saison, the variety out there can be stunning.
So, what's the point? Unlike 1996, it's a damn good time to drink saison, whether you're in Denver or Boston or anywhere in between. And if you encounter one that might seem a little strange, drink it all the same; chances are it will be dry, smooth and just exciting enough to make your night.
Labels: Big Beers, Black Fox Brewing, Cambridge Brewing, Crooked Stave, Funkwerks, Great Divide, Mystic Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, Saisons, Trinity Brewing
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Five Things I Learned from Vail Big Beers 2014
Sam Calagione set the tone appropriately in declaring at Thursday's dinner that kicked off the 2014 Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival that the event was "one of the top 10 beer festivals ... in the country." The next three days proved that, if anything, the Dogfish Head Brewery founder undersold it.
This was the year the Fearless Tasting Crew went big, splurging for a fantastic eating experience and gobbling up pretty much every seminar possible. And around every corner seemed a beer, a pairing, a bit of knowledge that opened more eyes.
The full spectrum of the lessons - and what they reveal about the current craft beer scene - will be played out here in the coming weeks over numerous columns. But it is worth saluting organizers Laura and Bill Lodge and noting a handful of things that stood out with all the subtlety of a Crooked Stave barrel-aged sour (which was on hand and wonderful).
1) Great Divide can still bring it
In a festival where one struggled to identify even a single disappointing beer (zero pour-outs in 3-1/2 hours of tasting for this guy), nothing stood out quite like Great Divide's Barrel Aged Grand Cru Cuvee. Aged in a single Syrah barrel, this creation screamed out all the joys of the festival - experimental, giant (12% ABV), tart (though not too much so) and stunningly balanced and drinkable.
Sometimes at the best festivals, people run to find the newest, hippest tastes - and those, mind you, are great. But 20 years into its life, this Denver legend still produces eye-opening surprises - enough to outdo even all the new kids on the block.
2) Sour is the new triple IPA
Sours have become more common, more clever and mixed with more ingredients in recent years. But now they appear to be going in the same direction that hop bombs went several years ago - more extreme. The difference is, these results might speak better for the genre than the envelope-pushing hop races did.
Big Beers presented sours that were pleasantly pucker-worthy (Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Casee Solera-aged American Sour Ale) and brimming with fruit that accented the wild yeast perfectly (Grand Teton Barrel Aged Huckleberry Sour). But if that wasn't enough, you could find an intriguingly good smoked sour (Paradox Skully Barrel No. 7) and a tart beer made with local ingredients (AC Golden Gooseberry Colorambic). Amp it up and push the envelope away; it only seems to be getting better.
3) The art of pumpkin beers is not dead
Less than three months ago, I lamented that every pumpkin beer of 2013 seemed to be over-spiced or under-flavored. Then I found at Big Beers that I was just trying the wrong ones.
Fate Brewing's Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Pumpkin Ale had all the complexity that its name implied, but the smoke was light enough to be unobtrusive and the pumpkin was pure baked sweetness. Meanwhile, Wiley Roots Brewing's Apumpalyptic Imperial Ale was filled with non-biting spices and alcoholic warmth, just begging to be enjoyed in greater quantities than it should be.
4) Any Fort Collins tour without a stop in Loveland is wasted
Those who haven't visited Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in the past year are missing a significantly evolved beer maker that has moved beyond its traditional German roots to incorporate new styles. At the Vail Cascade, it broke out a complex Devil's Riddle again and supplemented that with a lightly soured Once Upon A Time American wild ale and a Grandfather Grim foreign export stout that was dark like a cookie.
But Verboten Brewing, also of Loveland, showed up every bit as big, especially with a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Mountain Man that had a vanilla underbelly softening the bourbon kick in a way that made it approachable. And Loveland Aleworks didn't slack a bit with an Imperial Stout that was as dark and rich as its 12.5% ABV denoted but surprisingly easy-bodied and pleasant.
5) For the 2015 festival, go big. You won't regret it.
Even at $108 per person, the Tasting Crew walked away from the Avery/Dogfish Head dinner convinced it was a bargain. The chefs at Atwater on Gore Creek crafted five courses of incredible offerings (beef sushi and Gingersnap-crusted venison, to name two) and not only paired them in a spot-on fashion but did so with beers - especially from Avery - that ranged from hard to impossible to find. (The return of the very limited Thensaurum, aged 18 months to tart perfection in rum barrels, may have been the biggest highlight.)
Beyond that, though, the chance to meander around not just for one day but for the weekend allowed good time to learn about nuances, whether it was at Friday night's winter seasonals session with four brewers or at a beer-cigar pairing where non-presenting breweries (I'm looking at you, Epic Brewing) brought their own stashes to share with crowd. And after a weekend of walking through so many treasures, one could treat Saturday not like a rush around the bigger and more spacious tasting area (pictured a few paragraphs above) but a chance to catch up again with brewers and enjoy the scene calmly.
Sam Calagione set the tone appropriately in declaring at Thursday's dinner that kicked off the 2014 Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival that the event was "one of the top 10 beer festivals ... in the country." The next three days proved that, if anything, the Dogfish Head Brewery founder undersold it.
This was the year the Fearless Tasting Crew went big, splurging for a fantastic eating experience and gobbling up pretty much every seminar possible. And around every corner seemed a beer, a pairing, a bit of knowledge that opened more eyes.
The full spectrum of the lessons - and what they reveal about the current craft beer scene - will be played out here in the coming weeks over numerous columns. But it is worth saluting organizers Laura and Bill Lodge and noting a handful of things that stood out with all the subtlety of a Crooked Stave barrel-aged sour (which was on hand and wonderful).
1) Great Divide can still bring it
In a festival where one struggled to identify even a single disappointing beer (zero pour-outs in 3-1/2 hours of tasting for this guy), nothing stood out quite like Great Divide's Barrel Aged Grand Cru Cuvee. Aged in a single Syrah barrel, this creation screamed out all the joys of the festival - experimental, giant (12% ABV), tart (though not too much so) and stunningly balanced and drinkable.
Sometimes at the best festivals, people run to find the newest, hippest tastes - and those, mind you, are great. But 20 years into its life, this Denver legend still produces eye-opening surprises - enough to outdo even all the new kids on the block.
2) Sour is the new triple IPA
Sours have become more common, more clever and mixed with more ingredients in recent years. But now they appear to be going in the same direction that hop bombs went several years ago - more extreme. The difference is, these results might speak better for the genre than the envelope-pushing hop races did.
Big Beers presented sours that were pleasantly pucker-worthy (Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Casee Solera-aged American Sour Ale) and brimming with fruit that accented the wild yeast perfectly (Grand Teton Barrel Aged Huckleberry Sour). But if that wasn't enough, you could find an intriguingly good smoked sour (Paradox Skully Barrel No. 7) and a tart beer made with local ingredients (AC Golden Gooseberry Colorambic). Amp it up and push the envelope away; it only seems to be getting better.
3) The art of pumpkin beers is not dead
Less than three months ago, I lamented that every pumpkin beer of 2013 seemed to be over-spiced or under-flavored. Then I found at Big Beers that I was just trying the wrong ones.
Fate Brewing's Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Pumpkin Ale had all the complexity that its name implied, but the smoke was light enough to be unobtrusive and the pumpkin was pure baked sweetness. Meanwhile, Wiley Roots Brewing's Apumpalyptic Imperial Ale was filled with non-biting spices and alcoholic warmth, just begging to be enjoyed in greater quantities than it should be.4) Any Fort Collins tour without a stop in Loveland is wasted
Those who haven't visited Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in the past year are missing a significantly evolved beer maker that has moved beyond its traditional German roots to incorporate new styles. At the Vail Cascade, it broke out a complex Devil's Riddle again and supplemented that with a lightly soured Once Upon A Time American wild ale and a Grandfather Grim foreign export stout that was dark like a cookie.
But Verboten Brewing, also of Loveland, showed up every bit as big, especially with a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Mountain Man that had a vanilla underbelly softening the bourbon kick in a way that made it approachable. And Loveland Aleworks didn't slack a bit with an Imperial Stout that was as dark and rich as its 12.5% ABV denoted but surprisingly easy-bodied and pleasant.
5) For the 2015 festival, go big. You won't regret it.
Even at $108 per person, the Tasting Crew walked away from the Avery/Dogfish Head dinner convinced it was a bargain. The chefs at Atwater on Gore Creek crafted five courses of incredible offerings (beef sushi and Gingersnap-crusted venison, to name two) and not only paired them in a spot-on fashion but did so with beers - especially from Avery - that ranged from hard to impossible to find. (The return of the very limited Thensaurum, aged 18 months to tart perfection in rum barrels, may have been the biggest highlight.)
Beyond that, though, the chance to meander around not just for one day but for the weekend allowed good time to learn about nuances, whether it was at Friday night's winter seasonals session with four brewers or at a beer-cigar pairing where non-presenting breweries (I'm looking at you, Epic Brewing) brought their own stashes to share with crowd. And after a weekend of walking through so many treasures, one could treat Saturday not like a rush around the bigger and more spacious tasting area (pictured a few paragraphs above) but a chance to catch up again with brewers and enjoy the scene calmly.
Labels: AC Golden, Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Cambridge Brewing, Fate Brewing, Grand Teton Brewing, Great Divide, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland Aleworks, Paradox Brewing, Verboten Brewing, Wiley Roots Brewing
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Big Beers Gets Bigger
Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, once one of the state's hidden gems, has grown in reputation to the point where it's now an accepted fact that it's the best non-GABF annual beer event in Colorado. That's enough to make any organizer rest on their laurels.
But resting is something that festival coordinator Laura Lodge doesn't do so well. And so, this year's event, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, has added more sessions, more beer knowledge and, maybe most importantly, more room for both extra patrons and extra breweries.
The biggest news, if you haven't heard - and if you haven't heard anything about the event, I'll just say: Drop your plans for the weekend and head to Vail - is that the grand tasting has moved to a bigger area with space roughly twice that of the past two years. While lines have never been a problem at the festival, elbow-to-elbow maneuvering at times has been, and this will eliminate that and give more breweries a chance to strut their stuff.
That the festival will be accommodating to more beer makers is evident from the list of just how many small but talented brewers will be pouring at sessions throughout Saturday. Trinity Brewing and Mystic Brewery will be among those discussing experimental brewing at 9:30 a.m., sour savants Captain Lawrence Brewing will co-host two seminars with Deschutes and both Bell's Brewery and Cambridge Brewing - two of the best breweries not selling in Colorado - will be part of a featured early-afternoon talk.
And for those who like to divide their gigantic-beer drinking over multiple days, there is a Brewers Association-led Friday night talk on winter seasonals and a varied lineup of rare beers from Thursday through Saturday in the Cascade Lounge.
If this all sounds like some sort of commercial for the festival, it's no more so one than all the hype that I and other bloggers try to sort through before the Great American Beer Festival. But in the case of Vail Big Beers, it's all laid out in one location - the Vail Cascade Resort - and happens to center around an event about which too few people still seem to know.
Maybe I should keep quiet and go on acting as if I know a secret. But I'd rather shout about it - and spend the next month writing blogs based on things I learned this upcoming weekend. See you there.
Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, once one of the state's hidden gems, has grown in reputation to the point where it's now an accepted fact that it's the best non-GABF annual beer event in Colorado. That's enough to make any organizer rest on their laurels.
But resting is something that festival coordinator Laura Lodge doesn't do so well. And so, this year's event, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, has added more sessions, more beer knowledge and, maybe most importantly, more room for both extra patrons and extra breweries.
The biggest news, if you haven't heard - and if you haven't heard anything about the event, I'll just say: Drop your plans for the weekend and head to Vail - is that the grand tasting has moved to a bigger area with space roughly twice that of the past two years. While lines have never been a problem at the festival, elbow-to-elbow maneuvering at times has been, and this will eliminate that and give more breweries a chance to strut their stuff.
That the festival will be accommodating to more beer makers is evident from the list of just how many small but talented brewers will be pouring at sessions throughout Saturday. Trinity Brewing and Mystic Brewery will be among those discussing experimental brewing at 9:30 a.m., sour savants Captain Lawrence Brewing will co-host two seminars with Deschutes and both Bell's Brewery and Cambridge Brewing - two of the best breweries not selling in Colorado - will be part of a featured early-afternoon talk.
And for those who like to divide their gigantic-beer drinking over multiple days, there is a Brewers Association-led Friday night talk on winter seasonals and a varied lineup of rare beers from Thursday through Saturday in the Cascade Lounge.
If this all sounds like some sort of commercial for the festival, it's no more so one than all the hype that I and other bloggers try to sort through before the Great American Beer Festival. But in the case of Vail Big Beers, it's all laid out in one location - the Vail Cascade Resort - and happens to center around an event about which too few people still seem to know.
Maybe I should keep quiet and go on acting as if I know a secret. But I'd rather shout about it - and spend the next month writing blogs based on things I learned this upcoming weekend. See you there.
Labels: Bell's Brewing, Big Beers, Cambridge Brewing, Captain Lawrence Brewing, Deschutes Brewing, Trinity Brewing, Vail Cascade
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Barack and Beer: An Unnatural Combo?
No matter what you think of President Barack Obama's politics, you have to give him this much: He knows that men should settle their disputes with a couple of beers and a hearty talk.
However, judging by the beers that the men involved in today's White House chat - especially the president - were ingesting, this great American tradition may have been a little more forced than it should have been.
By now, everyone pretty much knows the story of Obama inviting recently arrested (and angry) Harvard Professor Henry Gates and heavily criticized (and angry) Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley to the White House to talk about the recent incident that involved them and the harsh words for Crowley from the president. If you don't, here's a story about it that I wrote on Monday for the Denver Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/07/27/daily17.html.
The problem was this: When each men was asked to pick their beer, they came up with some strange choices. Gates went for a Red Stripe (a non-American beer at a great American gathering), Crowley passed over fine local options for a Blue Moon and Obama, appearing to flail and grab at the first name he could think of, chose a Budweiser. Seriously. You're the leader of the free world, you could have any brewer in America ship you a couple of cases and you choose Budweiser? Wow.
Here's the way I think it should have gone:
*Gates the professor from the hoity-toity Cambridge university should have picked something from Cambridge Brewing, which is not just an incredible local gift to the beer world but, like most professors, is very environmentally conscious. The barrel-fermented sour wild ale Cerise Cassee was, in this beer geek's opinion, the best offering at last year's Great American Beer Festival, so it certainly deserved a seat at the White House table.
*Crowley's a little more blue collar, so he could have gone with a Sam Adams product. Since he clearly likes Belgian-style wheat beers, we'll give him an Imperial White, something that should both light up his taste buds and take a little bit of the edge off when the professor and the president start to team up against him.
*Obama, meanwhile, is an Illinois resident, so he ought to bring something from his home state to the party. Goose Island is the finest brewery in the Chicago area, and he'd have quite a variety of styles from which to choose. But since he's shown that his beer tastes are, shall we say, quite conservative, we won't give him something too big. The Honkers Ale is an easily drinkable English-style bitter appropriate as a session beer - just what he needs here.
That's one beer geek's opinion. Anyone got better suggestions?
Labels: Anheuser Busch, Blue Moon Brewing, Cambridge Brewing, Goose Island, Red Stripe, Sam Adams
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Bigger But - More Importantly - BolderWhen 83 breweries show up to a festival bringing the biggest beers they make, you expect a lot of bourbon barrel-aged stouts, double IPAs and Belgian-style tripels. And, yes, there were plenty of each of those at Saturday's ninth annual Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival.
But what really stuck out this year was not just how outrageously hoppy or malty the beverages gathered in the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort were, but how creative brewers have become in making beers of at least 7 percent alcohol by volume. And thus, the event served as a peek at what the future of beer might be.
"I think 20 years from now, we'll look back and recognize now as the point where the gloves came off and consumers really recognized what beer had to offer," said Dogfish Head maestro Sam Calagione, whose recent New Yorker profile only helped to raise the visibility of big beers.
Standing out among all the giant American experimenters and ageless Belgian masters, for example, was Altitude Chophouse and Brewery of Laramie, Wyo., a brewpub so small that it considered bottling but had to nix the idea because of cost concerns. Yet, it grabbed a lot of the talk at the festival with a Cayenne Cocoa Bock that creatively combined inky, chocolaty darkness with a late-breaking fleck of heat that served as a defibrillator for the tongue.
If it wasn't a peppery bock grabbing attention, then it was one of several Belgian pale ales that brewers were rolling out. Stone Brewing led the way with a Cali-Belgique IPA, first released in August, that artfully blended hoppy floralness with Belgian esters to create something shockingly smooth. But Utah-based Uinta Brewing and Belgium's La Chouffe were among the others who also put their own versions on display, with the Belgian-made entry having significantly less of a hop characteristic.
Big, gutsy saisons also are making their imprint on a style that hasn't been as bold in the past. Several were on display in Vail, including a very sweet and drinkable Saison Rue from California-based The Bruery, a beer that could become the boldest beer of the spring and summer seasons.
And, of course, the continuing fascination with Belgian-style sour ales remains in place. Between Russian River's latest batch of Consecration (which they cracked open at the Great American Beer Festival this year), Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Casee (my personal favorite beer of the GABF) and Deschutes Brewery's Dissident Old Bruin, the best trend in American beer continues to get better.
That said, it's not like the traditional big beers are going away. There were no less than 21 barleywines, 15 tripels, 11 double or imperial IPAs and six bourbon-barrel-aged beers on display. Tasting a hopped masterpiece like Flying Dog's Double Dog Double Pale Ale reassures you the extreme beers that have been the focus of the past 10 years are still evolving art forms.
But now there are tastes for everyone, and more is still to come. At talks over the course of the day, apple and pear beers, huge coffee porters and new experiments with Brettanomyces were all mentioned and may not be far away.
Yes, there truly is a big beer for everyone at this point. Now the trick is finding the time to drink them all.
Labels: Altitude Chophouse and Brewery, Big Beers, Cambridge Brewing, Deschutes Brewing, Flying Dog, Russian River, Stone Brewing, The Bruery, Uinta Brewing
Sunday, October 12, 2008
GABF: Best of the Fest
If 2005 was the apex of extreme beers, as Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian said in a talk this weekend, then the 2008 Great American Beer Festival showed that beer makers are toning down their experimentation but getting better at what they've concocted.
Sour beers and big IPAs once again seemed to be the talk of the festival, but those that drew the most raves were not pushing the alcohol boundary as much as smoothing out their bold tastes without mellowing them. You didn't see chai and green tea ending up in every conceivable style of beer anymore, but the coffee beers that used to be hit and miss seemed more universally to be filled with java flavor.
Trying to encapsulate all that happened and was learned over the three best beer days in America isn't easy. Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing multiple pieces about trends and beer books and even optimism that the craft brewing industry will survive this recession with a measurable dent.
But to start with, I just want to rattle off one man's impression of the absolute best of this year in just a few categories. And then you can either tell me that I'm a genius or that my taste buds should be cast aside into the seventh level of hell. Sound fair?
Best in show: In a year of high-minded sour ales, Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Cassee reached the highest point. This barrel-fermented wild sour ale from Massachusetts came onto you with a sour cherry nose but evolved several times in your mouth, finishing with a bold green apple pucker. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I urged nearly everyone I was with to try it as well, and I got the same reaction. There was nothing gutsier or as well done as this gem.
Best porter/stout: Bluegrass Brewing's Kick in the Baltic Porter was four things at once: Chocolatey, smooth, warming and even slightly sweet. I never knew beer this well-crafted could come out of a state (Kentucky) that I've only associated with whiskey.
Best hoppy beer: After drinking Breckenridge 471 IPA, I hit as many great IPAs and double IPAs as I could in succession, wanting to put them up against each other. While Great Divide's Hercules Double IPA came close, nothing equalled this double's combination of flowery goodness and a sweet back taste that makes it dangerously easy to drink.
Best Scottish/red ale: Texas-based Real Ale Brewing's Real Heavy is a big, big take on the Scottish style that amps up everything in even measure and leaves you surprised and how nice it can turn out.
Best wheat: Few things are as enjoyable as the way that New Belgium's Mothership Wit glides over your tongue. This organic wheat beer touches several taste buds but does so in a gentle way, leaving you wanting more.
Best eye-opener: There are so many to choose from here. But to my mind, nothing bends a style better than Papago Brewing's Orange Blossom. The Arizona brewery's orange wheat beer tastes somewhat like a cream soda with a kick and with a fine yeast profile to boot. Friends who dislike wheats and dislike fruity beers admitted to me that this is something they would drink.
If 2005 was the apex of extreme beers, as Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian said in a talk this weekend, then the 2008 Great American Beer Festival showed that beer makers are toning down their experimentation but getting better at what they've concocted.
Sour beers and big IPAs once again seemed to be the talk of the festival, but those that drew the most raves were not pushing the alcohol boundary as much as smoothing out their bold tastes without mellowing them. You didn't see chai and green tea ending up in every conceivable style of beer anymore, but the coffee beers that used to be hit and miss seemed more universally to be filled with java flavor.
Trying to encapsulate all that happened and was learned over the three best beer days in America isn't easy. Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing multiple pieces about trends and beer books and even optimism that the craft brewing industry will survive this recession with a measurable dent.
But to start with, I just want to rattle off one man's impression of the absolute best of this year in just a few categories. And then you can either tell me that I'm a genius or that my taste buds should be cast aside into the seventh level of hell. Sound fair?
Best in show: In a year of high-minded sour ales, Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Cassee reached the highest point. This barrel-fermented wild sour ale from Massachusetts came onto you with a sour cherry nose but evolved several times in your mouth, finishing with a bold green apple pucker. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I urged nearly everyone I was with to try it as well, and I got the same reaction. There was nothing gutsier or as well done as this gem.
Best porter/stout: Bluegrass Brewing's Kick in the Baltic Porter was four things at once: Chocolatey, smooth, warming and even slightly sweet. I never knew beer this well-crafted could come out of a state (Kentucky) that I've only associated with whiskey.
Best hoppy beer: After drinking Breckenridge 471 IPA, I hit as many great IPAs and double IPAs as I could in succession, wanting to put them up against each other. While Great Divide's Hercules Double IPA came close, nothing equalled this double's combination of flowery goodness and a sweet back taste that makes it dangerously easy to drink.
Best Scottish/red ale: Texas-based Real Ale Brewing's Real Heavy is a big, big take on the Scottish style that amps up everything in even measure and leaves you surprised and how nice it can turn out.
Best wheat: Few things are as enjoyable as the way that New Belgium's Mothership Wit glides over your tongue. This organic wheat beer touches several taste buds but does so in a gentle way, leaving you wanting more.
Best eye-opener: There are so many to choose from here. But to my mind, nothing bends a style better than Papago Brewing's Orange Blossom. The Arizona brewery's orange wheat beer tastes somewhat like a cream soda with a kick and with a fine yeast profile to boot. Friends who dislike wheats and dislike fruity beers admitted to me that this is something they would drink.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Cambridge Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, New Belgium Brewing
Friday, October 10, 2008
Notes from Day One of the GABF
First, I'll just say that it's great to be in this time of year again. I think that's something upon which we all can agree. But on to beer talk . . .
*The buzz of the festival once again seems to center around the many great sours out there. Smaller and smaller breweries are bringing their versions, and there are more framboisens and Flemish browns on the floor than I can remember.
There was a long line of people waiting to try Vinnie Cilurzo's new creation, Consecration, at Russian River, and it was well worth the wait. Aged six months in a Cabernet barrel and brewed with 33 pounds of currants in each barrel, it is tart and dark and a worthy competitor to his Supplication for the best sour of the festival.
That said, the beer that my group of friends and I couldn't stop raving about was the Cerise Cassee from tiny Cambridge Brewing Company of Massachusetts. It's a barrel-fermented wild sour ale that absolutely blows your taste buds off.
*As mentioned before, the lines were long from the get-go at New Glarus, Russian River and the Lost Abbey. For some reason, there was little gathering around Stone Brewing. And yet the southern California brewery brought its best lineup in years. The 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale is sweetly hopped and flows easier than a beer that strong should, the Ruination IPA is its fantastic self and the 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is a thick, dark piece of work that mellows nicely after a couple of sips. Anyone skipping this booth is doing so at their own peril.
*Finally, I have to thank last night's Fearless Tasting Crew for their walking me through Texas breweries that they used to haunt. Some of them were forgettable, but tucked in the back of the convention hall is a gem of a beer called Real Ale Real Heavy. A 9.7 percent Scottish ale, this is deep and rich and somewhat sweet and is an all-around taste-bud-kicking experience.
First, I'll just say that it's great to be in this time of year again. I think that's something upon which we all can agree. But on to beer talk . . .
*The buzz of the festival once again seems to center around the many great sours out there. Smaller and smaller breweries are bringing their versions, and there are more framboisens and Flemish browns on the floor than I can remember.
There was a long line of people waiting to try Vinnie Cilurzo's new creation, Consecration, at Russian River, and it was well worth the wait. Aged six months in a Cabernet barrel and brewed with 33 pounds of currants in each barrel, it is tart and dark and a worthy competitor to his Supplication for the best sour of the festival.
That said, the beer that my group of friends and I couldn't stop raving about was the Cerise Cassee from tiny Cambridge Brewing Company of Massachusetts. It's a barrel-fermented wild sour ale that absolutely blows your taste buds off.
*As mentioned before, the lines were long from the get-go at New Glarus, Russian River and the Lost Abbey. For some reason, there was little gathering around Stone Brewing. And yet the southern California brewery brought its best lineup in years. The 08.08.08 Vertical Epic Ale is sweetly hopped and flows easier than a beer that strong should, the Ruination IPA is its fantastic self and the 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is a thick, dark piece of work that mellows nicely after a couple of sips. Anyone skipping this booth is doing so at their own peril.
*Finally, I have to thank last night's Fearless Tasting Crew for their walking me through Texas breweries that they used to haunt. Some of them were forgettable, but tucked in the back of the convention hall is a gem of a beer called Real Ale Real Heavy. A 9.7 percent Scottish ale, this is deep and rich and somewhat sweet and is an all-around taste-bud-kicking experience.
Labels: Cambridge Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Real Ale, Russian River, Stone Brewing
