Saturday, December 14, 2019
Three Denver Breweries Plow New Ground with Barrel Aging
Brian Grace said that he hears the sour and barrel-aging phase of craft beer may have reached its apex several years ago. Yet what Grace is doing now - and what several other brewers in the Denver area are undertaking in their study of barrels - may just prove that theorem wrong.
In fact, at least three brewers operating in the Mile High City are now taking their breweries' barrel-aging programs to new heights. And while this certainly does not encompass the whole of the experiments that are evolving in aging in the city, it gives a snapshot of what kind of ground still can be gained in an art that has been practiced for two decades but certainly has not jumped the shark.
Grace is the head brewer for Thirsty Monk's expanding national scope and is based in Denver. An alumnus of both Jolly Pumpkin and Crooked Stave, Grace started at Thirsty Monk about 14 months ago with a charge to develop a barrel-aged, sour-focused program for a three-state brewery that largely has been focused on traditional, non-biting Belgian recipes.
To launch the effort in Thirsty Monk's East 17th Avenue location, Grace brewed a Belgian dark strong ale with pluot and blackberry, aging it eight months in barrels and then five months in foeders tucked away in a south Denver warehouse. The resulting product is ready for public consumption, but it is being held back until early 2020 as the brewery figures out packaging and plans to get it to its Oregon and North Carolina locations. But Grace is satisfied with initial taste tests and believes he's onto a way to create new kinds of flavors for his traditional brewery.
"It's exciting. It's not intimidating as much as it is nerve-wracking," said Grace, who's already crafted sour mash beers for Thirsty Monk but has yet to do a classic Belgian sour like this. "You never know what you'll get with wild beers."
Kent and Greg Dawson of Briar Common Brewery + Eatery in Denver's Jefferson Park neighborhood had similar thoughts when they decided to dive into barrels. But the brothers made an even bolder move, putting aside one of the brewery's seven tanks shortly after it opened to age saison on Brettanomyces for 18 months then transfer it to French oak for another nine months to create Joyce and Brett, a beer that sparkles and works both as a smooth beer and as one that intensifies from its base style, becoming simultaneously drinkable and exquisite.
Those who head by the brewery now will find three barrel-aged beers on tap, including a porter and a Belgian dubbel in whiskey barrels. All three offer different perspectives on the barrel-aging process, but the Rochus porter aged 10 months in Wood's Whiskey barrels is a particularly pleasant sensation while still being boozy, contrasting well with Joyce on Brett and showing the many characteristics of the barrel.
"This is our first foray into barrels, and I had zero expectations," Kent Dawson said. "I just feel fortunate that they did turn out like they did."
Then there is Ratio Beerworks of RiNo, which is a relative barrel expert by now. The nearly-five-year-old brewery held its annual Genius Wizard Experience on Friday night, pairing food and art installations and, most importantly, six variants of its Genius Wizard Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout, each one of them combining the smoothness of barrels with added ingredients that brought a solid (and shockingly booze-light) big beer to new heights.
The boldest of the bunch was the Aged Maple Pecan variant, which was the most daring in terms of its big sweetness but also the most rewarding because it took the flavor furthest from the base beer and made you consider the additive values of heavy sugar. But the Aged Mayan Chocolate (pictured above), which was served without carbonation, and the Aged Chai, which sparkled with a ginger back taste, also ranked among the more interesting beers produced not just by Ratio but by any Denver brewery this year.
Ratio, frankly, shows what a brewery can do when it commands mastery of barrels - add in bold flavors and take a beer that might be perceived as heavy to drink and make it exceedingly easy to enjoy. The variants will be sold in multi-packs at the brewery until they run out, and it's highly advised you get there to buy some.
But all three of the explorer breweries should be lauded for trying to add a new flavor into a brewing scene that is becoming increasingly crowded. Each effort gives a reason for customers to stop in and a window into what bold experimentation can do, and they remind drinkers why the Denver craft beer scene may be an old dog, but it's still learning new tricks.
In fact, at least three brewers operating in the Mile High City are now taking their breweries' barrel-aging programs to new heights. And while this certainly does not encompass the whole of the experiments that are evolving in aging in the city, it gives a snapshot of what kind of ground still can be gained in an art that has been practiced for two decades but certainly has not jumped the shark.
Grace is the head brewer for Thirsty Monk's expanding national scope and is based in Denver. An alumnus of both Jolly Pumpkin and Crooked Stave, Grace started at Thirsty Monk about 14 months ago with a charge to develop a barrel-aged, sour-focused program for a three-state brewery that largely has been focused on traditional, non-biting Belgian recipes.
To launch the effort in Thirsty Monk's East 17th Avenue location, Grace brewed a Belgian dark strong ale with pluot and blackberry, aging it eight months in barrels and then five months in foeders tucked away in a south Denver warehouse. The resulting product is ready for public consumption, but it is being held back until early 2020 as the brewery figures out packaging and plans to get it to its Oregon and North Carolina locations. But Grace is satisfied with initial taste tests and believes he's onto a way to create new kinds of flavors for his traditional brewery.
"It's exciting. It's not intimidating as much as it is nerve-wracking," said Grace, who's already crafted sour mash beers for Thirsty Monk but has yet to do a classic Belgian sour like this. "You never know what you'll get with wild beers."
Kent and Greg Dawson of Briar Common Brewery + Eatery in Denver's Jefferson Park neighborhood had similar thoughts when they decided to dive into barrels. But the brothers made an even bolder move, putting aside one of the brewery's seven tanks shortly after it opened to age saison on Brettanomyces for 18 months then transfer it to French oak for another nine months to create Joyce and Brett, a beer that sparkles and works both as a smooth beer and as one that intensifies from its base style, becoming simultaneously drinkable and exquisite.
Those who head by the brewery now will find three barrel-aged beers on tap, including a porter and a Belgian dubbel in whiskey barrels. All three offer different perspectives on the barrel-aging process, but the Rochus porter aged 10 months in Wood's Whiskey barrels is a particularly pleasant sensation while still being boozy, contrasting well with Joyce on Brett and showing the many characteristics of the barrel.
"This is our first foray into barrels, and I had zero expectations," Kent Dawson said. "I just feel fortunate that they did turn out like they did."
Then there is Ratio Beerworks of RiNo, which is a relative barrel expert by now. The nearly-five-year-old brewery held its annual Genius Wizard Experience on Friday night, pairing food and art installations and, most importantly, six variants of its Genius Wizard Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout, each one of them combining the smoothness of barrels with added ingredients that brought a solid (and shockingly booze-light) big beer to new heights.
The boldest of the bunch was the Aged Maple Pecan variant, which was the most daring in terms of its big sweetness but also the most rewarding because it took the flavor furthest from the base beer and made you consider the additive values of heavy sugar. But the Aged Mayan Chocolate (pictured above), which was served without carbonation, and the Aged Chai, which sparkled with a ginger back taste, also ranked among the more interesting beers produced not just by Ratio but by any Denver brewery this year.
Ratio, frankly, shows what a brewery can do when it commands mastery of barrels - add in bold flavors and take a beer that might be perceived as heavy to drink and make it exceedingly easy to enjoy. The variants will be sold in multi-packs at the brewery until they run out, and it's highly advised you get there to buy some.
But all three of the explorer breweries should be lauded for trying to add a new flavor into a brewing scene that is becoming increasingly crowded. Each effort gives a reason for customers to stop in and a window into what bold experimentation can do, and they remind drinkers why the Denver craft beer scene may be an old dog, but it's still learning new tricks.
Labels: Barrel aging, Briar Common Brewery + Eatery, Crooked Stave, imperial stouts, Jolly Pumpkin, Ratio Beerworks, Saisons, sour ale, Thirsty Monk, whiskey barrels
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Michigan Beer Arrives Full Force in Colorado
Driving through Michigan with the Beer Geekette while attending a friend's wedding four years ago, I found over multiple stops at breweries and beer bars that two things stood out about the Wolverine State's brewing scene. First, there appeared to be a law that cherry had to be an ingredient in at least 25 percent of each brewery's offerings. And second, once you got past that, it was easy to see why the culture was producing so many good beers.
But while Michigan beer quality has remained one of the country's worst-kept secrets for half a decade, Coloradans have gotten only a small sampling of that goodness at local establishments through the likes of Jolly Pumpkin, Perrin and, to a more limited extent, New Holland Brewing. But that drought is ending this fall, as arguably the two finest breweries in the state finally will put products into local bars and liquor stores.
Bell's made its Colorado debut last week with parties and samplings and, thankfully, a lot of Two-Hearted Ale, the IPA that Zymurgy Magazine readers have named the best beer in the country for two years running now. And, according to PorchDrinking.com, Founders Brewing and its revered Kentucky Breakfast Stout will enter Colorado as soon as next month.
While it may seem like a "no-duh" statement that the finest breweries in America want to have their products on shelves in one of the top beer states in the country, that hasn't always been the case. Colorado is a notoriously tough market that has sent other well-known national names packing because of its drinkers' penchant for wanting to support local. As a result, the Centennial State is the 40th one that Bell's has gone into, while Founders has only three states in the country that it's not in yet besides Colorado.
For those unfamiliar with Bell's, you can expect a lot of darkness, mixed with some superb hopping quality and interesting experiments. Two Hearted earns its reputation by being both a bomb of Centennial hops and a well-balanced offering whose malt accents the grassy tones running through it. Its five-deep collection of regular stout offerings runs the flavor gamut from classic to imperial to a cherry stout that may be the best example of how to imbue unique flavor from the unofficial state fruit. And friends swear that Oberon, a slightly hoppy American wheat ale, is the perfect summer seasonal, available from April through August.
Founders, meanwhile, is associated with its KBS, which is one of the finest examples of how to brew a beer swimming with coffee aroma and flavors without leaving the bitter sting that can come with using too much of the signature bean. Its Dirty Bastard scotch ale is as big a malt monster as we currently have on the market, though, and its beers too span the spectrum of styles.
Even after those two breweries debut in Colorado, there is much more to the Michigan scene.
Short's Brewing, a favorite spot for many to hit at the Great American Beer Festival, creates beers with flavors ranging from spruce to carrot cake to key lime. Dragonmead Microbrewery - which I discovered in a beer bar in downtown Flint, of all places - makes a sooty red the likes of which was served at breweries in the 1990s, but far better. Petoskey, the 5,700-person bay city where I happened to be for said wedding had not one but two breweries (Beards Brewery and Petoskey Brewing, where the Beer Geekette is enjoying her samplers in the photo) that offered bold IPAs as well as smooth doppelbocks.
It's unrealistic to think the day will come when any brewery with a beer worth admiring will be able to put six-packs or tap handles in Colorado. But by bringing Bell's and Founders here, this state gets to see the excellent work that's taking place two time zones away. And everyone wins there.
Driving through Michigan with the Beer Geekette while attending a friend's wedding four years ago, I found over multiple stops at breweries and beer bars that two things stood out about the Wolverine State's brewing scene. First, there appeared to be a law that cherry had to be an ingredient in at least 25 percent of each brewery's offerings. And second, once you got past that, it was easy to see why the culture was producing so many good beers.
But while Michigan beer quality has remained one of the country's worst-kept secrets for half a decade, Coloradans have gotten only a small sampling of that goodness at local establishments through the likes of Jolly Pumpkin, Perrin and, to a more limited extent, New Holland Brewing. But that drought is ending this fall, as arguably the two finest breweries in the state finally will put products into local bars and liquor stores.
Bell's made its Colorado debut last week with parties and samplings and, thankfully, a lot of Two-Hearted Ale, the IPA that Zymurgy Magazine readers have named the best beer in the country for two years running now. And, according to PorchDrinking.com, Founders Brewing and its revered Kentucky Breakfast Stout will enter Colorado as soon as next month.
While it may seem like a "no-duh" statement that the finest breweries in America want to have their products on shelves in one of the top beer states in the country, that hasn't always been the case. Colorado is a notoriously tough market that has sent other well-known national names packing because of its drinkers' penchant for wanting to support local. As a result, the Centennial State is the 40th one that Bell's has gone into, while Founders has only three states in the country that it's not in yet besides Colorado.For those unfamiliar with Bell's, you can expect a lot of darkness, mixed with some superb hopping quality and interesting experiments. Two Hearted earns its reputation by being both a bomb of Centennial hops and a well-balanced offering whose malt accents the grassy tones running through it. Its five-deep collection of regular stout offerings runs the flavor gamut from classic to imperial to a cherry stout that may be the best example of how to imbue unique flavor from the unofficial state fruit. And friends swear that Oberon, a slightly hoppy American wheat ale, is the perfect summer seasonal, available from April through August.
Founders, meanwhile, is associated with its KBS, which is one of the finest examples of how to brew a beer swimming with coffee aroma and flavors without leaving the bitter sting that can come with using too much of the signature bean. Its Dirty Bastard scotch ale is as big a malt monster as we currently have on the market, though, and its beers too span the spectrum of styles.
Even after those two breweries debut in Colorado, there is much more to the Michigan scene.
Short's Brewing, a favorite spot for many to hit at the Great American Beer Festival, creates beers with flavors ranging from spruce to carrot cake to key lime. Dragonmead Microbrewery - which I discovered in a beer bar in downtown Flint, of all places - makes a sooty red the likes of which was served at breweries in the 1990s, but far better. Petoskey, the 5,700-person bay city where I happened to be for said wedding had not one but two breweries (Beards Brewery and Petoskey Brewing, where the Beer Geekette is enjoying her samplers in the photo) that offered bold IPAs as well as smooth doppelbocks.
It's unrealistic to think the day will come when any brewery with a beer worth admiring will be able to put six-packs or tap handles in Colorado. But by bringing Bell's and Founders here, this state gets to see the excellent work that's taking place two time zones away. And everyone wins there.
Labels: Beards Brewery, Bell's Brewing, Dragonmead Microbrewery, Founders Brewing, Jolly Pumpkin, Michigan beers, New Holland Brewing, Perrin Brewing, Petoskey Brewing, Short's Brewing
Friday, December 23, 2011
Holiday Beer Week, Part Four: Nowhere Near Style
There isn't an official style for "Christmas Ale." But if there was, there are several beers that it would not include - some of which should feel very proud to be outside the lines.
Firs
t among them is Jolly Pumpkin's Noel de Calabaza Special Ale, a beer that combines so many different flavors that trying to tie any description to it would do it injustice. But know this: This might be the most appealing beer yet produce by the Michigan brewer of barrel-aged ales.
t among them is Jolly Pumpkin's Noel de Calabaza Special Ale, a beer that combines so many different flavors that trying to tie any description to it would do it injustice. But know this: This might be the most appealing beer yet produce by the Michigan brewer of barrel-aged ales.Noel, like most Jolly Pumpkin beers, has a wild-yeast sour flavor to it. But this version backs it with a malt body that lays down such a solid cushion to the tart character that it evens out the bite and spreads it across the entire palate. This really is an extraordinary beer, one that defies any expectations of a Christmas beer - like most of what comes out of the brewery - but manages to be extremely pleasing despite the complex body.
Gift of the 
Magi, Lost Abbey's Christmas offering, serves up Brettanomyces, but not in as palatable an offering. This one is equally style-breaking, but more sharply alcoholic. And its fairly translucent amber body gives way to a sharp ale that presents itself more as a melange of flavors than as a coherent taste profile, leaving it too open to interpretation to make it an easily enjoyable package.
Magi, Lost Abbey's Christmas offering, serves up Brettanomyces, but not in as palatable an offering. This one is equally style-breaking, but more sharply alcoholic. And its fairly translucent amber body gives way to a sharp ale that presents itself more as a melange of flavors than as a coherent taste profile, leaving it too open to interpretation to make it an easily enjoyable package.Then there's Breckenridge Christmas Ale, a beer that very well could have gone into the first part of this series as a dark, wonderful ale. But it has such a cult following that you feel it really ought to stand out somewhere else. This is a beer that blends malt darkness with just a touch of hops to make one of the most balanced beers of the year. It is dark, yet it is special. And that's how a beer goes beyond any particular labels.
This is day four of a five-part series examining the beers of this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy new beer!
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Holiday beers, Jolly Pumpkin, Lost Abbey
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Exotic Beers - We've Only Just Begun
Ron Jeffries put it best when he said that even in Michigan, people are doing things with wild sour beers.
That's not to discount breweries in the Wolverine State, as Bell's, Michigan Brewing and Jeffries' own Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales each add something special to the beer world. But when you think of Michigan - home of rugged workers, time-tested American cars and smash mouth football (in most years) - it's not the first place you'd think of as an exotic beer emporium.
Yet, Jeffries' point was well taken: At the recent Great American Beer Festival, California, Colorado and Dogfish Head Brewing clearly no longer held the monopoly on exotic brews. Cambridge Brewing of Massachusetts dazzled with its experimental sours and barleywines. A pizza pub from Arkansas (Vino's) served a Christmas ale that may redefine the style. The silver medal for sour ales went to a brewery (Upstream) from Nebraska, for pete's sake.
And the exotic kept getting just a little, well, exoticker. Russian River Brewing, whose barrel-fermented, cherry-soaked Supplication had for a while served as the peak of the sour beer style, overshadowed its monster with a new creation, Consecration, aged in Cabernet barrels with 33 pounds of currants. (This will be available in Colorado liquor stores by March, brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo said.)
Dogfish Head, no longer content with breaking new barriers in hoppiness, is spending more time developing ancient recipes discovered by university archaeology professors. Take the Theobroma, an ancient Aztec recipe brewed with chiles, annetto seed, honey, cocoa nibs and cocoa powder. Sweet, slightly punchy on the back taste, absolutely unique.
"What I love is, (exotic) is subjective," Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione said at brewers' talk at the festival. "You've got to remember that 20 years ago, Anchor Steam was an extreme beer."
It's not hard now to walk into a store and find a quadruple Belgian or oak-aged imperial stout. What once was exotic in its rareness is now becoming exotic and yet accessible.
Some breweries have their rare beers that don't get sold with the rest. (If somebody finds Deschutes' sour brown The Dissident somewhere in the Denver area, I beg you to write me.) Other breweries are dedicated only to exotic beers.
That's the theory under which Jeffries founded Jolly Pumpkin in 2004. A man who used to brew a different wheat beer to be enjoyed with each pizza that was served at a pub where he used to work, he decided to be the first U.S. brewery to age 100 percent of its products in oak.
Its beers (available at a select number of Colorado liquor stores), like the tenderly spicy Fuego del Otono, don't shock the palate as much as they demand you to think about their complexity. And where there was nothing five years ago, there is now a determination to try what hasn't been tried. Jeffries admitted that he wakes up every day thinking of a new beer style.
So where does this trend, this experimentation, end? Talking to Jeffries, to Cilurzo, to Calagione, it doesn't.
"I don't think there's a lot off the top of my head I wouldn't consider," Jeffries said.
And remember, this is coming not from a Belgian, but from a guy who lives in Michigan.
Ron Jeffries put it best when he said that even in Michigan, people are doing things with wild sour beers.
That's not to discount breweries in the Wolverine State, as Bell's, Michigan Brewing and Jeffries' own Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales each add something special to the beer world. But when you think of Michigan - home of rugged workers, time-tested American cars and smash mouth football (in most years) - it's not the first place you'd think of as an exotic beer emporium.
Yet, Jeffries' point was well taken: At the recent Great American Beer Festival, California, Colorado and Dogfish Head Brewing clearly no longer held the monopoly on exotic brews. Cambridge Brewing of Massachusetts dazzled with its experimental sours and barleywines. A pizza pub from Arkansas (Vino's) served a Christmas ale that may redefine the style. The silver medal for sour ales went to a brewery (Upstream) from Nebraska, for pete's sake.
And the exotic kept getting just a little, well, exoticker. Russian River Brewing, whose barrel-fermented, cherry-soaked Supplication had for a while served as the peak of the sour beer style, overshadowed its monster with a new creation, Consecration, aged in Cabernet barrels with 33 pounds of currants. (This will be available in Colorado liquor stores by March, brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo said.)
Dogfish Head, no longer content with breaking new barriers in hoppiness, is spending more time developing ancient recipes discovered by university archaeology professors. Take the Theobroma, an ancient Aztec recipe brewed with chiles, annetto seed, honey, cocoa nibs and cocoa powder. Sweet, slightly punchy on the back taste, absolutely unique.
"What I love is, (exotic) is subjective," Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione said at brewers' talk at the festival. "You've got to remember that 20 years ago, Anchor Steam was an extreme beer."
It's not hard now to walk into a store and find a quadruple Belgian or oak-aged imperial stout. What once was exotic in its rareness is now becoming exotic and yet accessible.
Some breweries have their rare beers that don't get sold with the rest. (If somebody finds Deschutes' sour brown The Dissident somewhere in the Denver area, I beg you to write me.) Other breweries are dedicated only to exotic beers.
That's the theory under which Jeffries founded Jolly Pumpkin in 2004. A man who used to brew a different wheat beer to be enjoyed with each pizza that was served at a pub where he used to work, he decided to be the first U.S. brewery to age 100 percent of its products in oak.
Its beers (available at a select number of Colorado liquor stores), like the tenderly spicy Fuego del Otono, don't shock the palate as much as they demand you to think about their complexity. And where there was nothing five years ago, there is now a determination to try what hasn't been tried. Jeffries admitted that he wakes up every day thinking of a new beer style.
So where does this trend, this experimentation, end? Talking to Jeffries, to Cilurzo, to Calagione, it doesn't.
"I don't think there's a lot off the top of my head I wouldn't consider," Jeffries said.
And remember, this is coming not from a Belgian, but from a guy who lives in Michigan.
Labels: Dogfish Head, Exotic beers, Jolly Pumpkin, Russian River
