Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Holiday Shopping for the Beer Geek in Your Life by Nick Anderson

First off, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I’m writing this before the holiday, so I’m going to be positive and say mine went well and hope that by the time this is posted I’ll be sufficiently recovered from the festivities to feel human again. Now that we’re past Thanksgiving, thoughts turn to holiday shopping. One of the true perks of my job is helping folks find the right beer to give to friends, family, and loved ones during the holiday season. It can also be one of the most difficult parts of my job.

A bit of advice for those shopping for beer geeks:
If you’re looking to wow someone with a special beer, you need some basic knowledge of what it is they like. This can be as simple as knowing what some of their go-to beers are or as complex as asking them to make a list of beers they’d like to receive as a gift. Yes, I know asking someone for a wish list doesn’t sound complex, but trust me here — ask a beer geek for one and it will become complex. That’s just our nature; we can’t help ourselves.

Because of the fact that buying a beer gift is literally a matter of taste, knowledge is power. The most important thing may be your level of knowledge regarding craft beer; the less you know, the more guidance you should seek from the gift’s recipient. I can say personally that I much prefer someone to ask me directly what I may like to get as a gift if they’re planning on gifting me beer or wine. This helps to alleviate confusion for the gift giver and lets the person getting the gift know how much “getting it right” means to them. That kind of regard is the real gift anyway.

This brings me to my bigger point, which is something I try to say as much as possible every holiday season to those shoppers who fret and over-think their gift purchases: If you’re getting a beer geek some beer as a gift, they shouldn’t care what it is as much as they should appreciate that someone went to the trouble in the first place. If someone gets me a sixer of something they know I haven’t had before and I happen to be intimately familiar with it, I don’t get disappointed — I have a couple beers with my friend and enjoy the moment. If anyone ever disapproves of your gift to them or makes you feel anything less than appreciated for it that should tell you as much about them as you need to know.

Enough preachy, I want to know what you all out there would like someone to get you as a gift this year. I’ve got a few beers I’d love to get as stocking stuffers and I bet a lot of you out there do too. Also, if you have any advice for those buying beer gifts let’s hear it. Until next time.

Cheers!

New Zealand Surprise by Nick Anderson

Even though some people like to assume that I’ve sampled every good beer on this green earth, I can still be pleasantly surprised by a brew.

Just the other day, a distributor brought by Chris Knight, a representative of New Zealand’s MOA Brewing Company. I hadn’t heard a lot about MOA, but am always curious to try different things so we sampled a couple of their beers. The first one we tried was MOA’s Pale Ale, which uses New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops along with that stalwart of American Pale Ales and IPAs, Cascade.

With MOAs bottle conditioning bringing a focused carbonation, both of the hop varietals show their best aspects with floral, tropical, and earthy notes. It was a good start and I enjoyed it a lot, but it was the next of their beers that caught me off-guard. St. Josephs is a Belgian-style Tripel that uses good amounts of Belgian yeast and candi sugar to somehow create something that had the smoothness of a classic Belgian with shockingly intense cherry and eucalyptus notes.

For all of the power of the Belgian yeast in St. Josephs it doesn’t cross the line into cloying territory. I don’t get blown away by a beer often, but St. Josephs did it mostly because that was the last thing I was expecting it to do. Look for MOA beers to be available in the area soon.

People like to assume that because you work in a field, or have an interest in something, that you know everything there is to know about it. I personally can’t even keep track of how many times during the average week I hear something like “I don’t know, I’m sure you’ve tried every beer out there” in conversation with someone at the shop.

While I’ve been at this for some time and have been fortunate to try many different beers and wines, this certainly doesn’t mean I’ve tried everything or even a fraction of everything. I often find myself saying “It’s a big world out there” when chats swing in this direction, and that’s true. Part of what I love about my job is that the next beer you haven’t tried before is always around the corner; it’s part of what I think makes beer great.

There is an aspect of perpetually discovering new things that I don’t get to talk about a lot, and it’s more subtle than simply losing interest. I’m talking about leaving yourself open to being surprised; keeping yourself from allowing years of accumulated tastings and knowledge to create a mindset that says there is nothing new under the sun.

As we get older, our palates change — to decide on a favorite style or specific beer as a young person to the exclusion of everything else is not only narrow-minded, but ignores the breadth of options in the world. We all have lifelong favorite, and I’m not encouraging abandoning them; what I’m saying is that if there are really no more surprises, no chance of being struck out-of-the-blue by a beer, then why bother?

Every new beer we try is an opportunity to find a new favorite. Keep yourself open to possibilities and you’ll find those unexpected treats out there. What was the last beer you had that took you by surprise? Let’s hear about it in the comments. Until next time.
Cheers!

Fresh Hop Beer Season by Nick Anderson

Autumn is the season of the harvest and with hearty, earthy dishes hitting tables all over the country it stands to reason that breweries would take advantage of the harvest as well. With hop farmers around the U.S. harvesting their crops as summer ends and autumn begins, we’re once again seeing the short but tasty wave of Fresh Hop or Wet Hop Ales. These beers offer a short window for the enthusiast to experience a vibrant, complex hop experience that can be less aggressive than you might assume.

Sierra Nevada is largely credited with bringing the Wet Hop Ale to the public’s attention. Starting in 1996, Sierra has released a so-called Harvest Ale every year, using hops sourced from Washington’s Yakima Valley that are harvested and shipped same-day to their Chico, California brewery. Sierra Harvest Ale was such a hit that a few years back they started making one using fresh hops from New Zealand’s spring harvest. The original was renamed Northern Hemisphere Harvest Ale, and is currently on shelves. Keep an eye out for Sierra’s Estate Harvest Ale as well; arriving soon using fresh hops and barley from Sierra’s own crops at Chico.

Other popular Wet Hop Ales include New Holland Hopivore; Terrapin So Fresh and So Green, Green; and Sixpoint Autumnation, of which the latter two for 2012 will feature the ever-growing in popularity Citra hop. Terrapin’s Fresh Hop Ale is a punchy bass line built to allow the melody of the featured hop to sing out; Sixpoint takes a different and very interesting tack. Autumnation is not only Sixpoint’s Wet Hop Ale; it’s also their Pumpkin Ale. Using fresh pumpkin and ginger every year, Sixpoint leaves the fresh hop varietal to be used up to their fans via a poll. The result is a beer with subtle gourd and spice notes with a lot of hop flavor, but not a ton of aggressive bite.

Here lies the inherent dichotomy of Wet Hop beers; while one might expect fresh hops straight off the vine to be more intense and more biting than the dried hops and pellets commonly used by brewers, but in actuality wet hops aren’t as intense in mouthfeel. Rather, fresh hops tend to impart a greater spectrum of hoppy flavors into a beer with those flavors coming through with greater clarity and subtlety. Even for those who normally aren’t fans of ‘hoppy’ beer, Wet Hop Ales can be a delightful and enjoyable surprise.

That’s not to say there aren’t a couple of hop bombs in the Fresh Hop bunch. Particularly favored by hopheads is Founder’s Harvest Ale, a limited treat that flies off shelves almost as soon as it arrives. Founder’s Harvest has a rich, sweet citrus character to go along with its earthy, piney fresh hop notes. Also worth looking for this season is Warrior IPA from Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing Company. Despite its name, Warrior isn’t the only variety of hop used; there’s a fair amount of Cascade as well along with varieties from Left Hand’s property along with those from local fans of the brewery. Built to be well-balanced and drinkable, Warrior’s 69 IBU (International Bitterness Units) pack quite a punch.
If any of these beers aren’t on shelves in the area as of press time, they will be soon. Ask your local shop or bar for them if you’re curious and get in on the fresh hop phenomenon.

Until next time.

Cheers!

Developing Your Beer Palate With Wine

This week we’re going to delve into one of my favorite topics: how knowledge of wine can affect your approach to beer, and vice versa. More specifically, what we as beer drinkers (or beer geeks, if you will — that’s how I self-identify, anyway) can take away from wine while at the same time not becoming overwrought with the pretense and snobbery too easily observed in wine (some stereotypes exist for a reason, after all).

About a week ago I read an interesting post on the blog Fuggled. The author had just returned from visiting Virginia’s wine country and overheard some chatter about how beer was becoming the “new wine,” but wouldn’t really be there until breweries and tasting rooms became less industrial and “more like wine.” The author is rightly concerned that the increasing prices of many craft beers and dearth of super high-end “cult” bottles out there will drive beer into a direction far from the communal, everyman beverage it has always been. I’ve myself have been mildly worrying for years about the growth of a cottage beer “tastemaker” industry similar to the one that all too often hobbles those looking to learn more about wine.

In defense of wine, though: more than the “wineification” of beer culture, I fear that those looking to make their name as “palates” when it comes to beer don’t have enough of a wine background to properly analyze what they’re trying. As an avid wine drinker and professional but first and foremost a beer geek, I can’t stress enough the importance of wine knowledge (by which I mean tasting as many as possible and understand why they do/don’t work for you) in literally refining the palate. My boss has a super-sharp focus on brettanomyces and as a wine guy, he understands it as a fundamental flaw in wine. While this means he is in no way a fan of the traditional beer styles that use brett to great effect, it also makes him sensitive to it in beers where it shouldn’t be present. Trying hundreds of wines every month, more than anything else in my opinion, trains you to spot flaws and appreciate the difference between something being “off” and something that is simply “bad.”

I say all of that so I can say this: the day after I read that blog post, I had this conversation on Twitter with The Barley Blog, a fine writer and reviewer of craft beers. He’d just had to dump a beer because of a spoilage or infection issue in the bottle. I offered my sympathies and he responded that he “(c)ouldn’t hang with the off flavors,” that he’d “…tried but just couldn’t do it.” Here, I think, is where beer needs to learn from wine: over on the wine side when we spot a flaw, be it TCA (aka cork taint, aka “corked”), volatile acidity, brettanomyces, or anything else we call it and move on. We don’t stick to the beverage — we acknowledge the flaw and go to the next one. No one wants beer to become as gentrified and provincial as wine is, least of all me. But overlooking fatal flaws in beers for the sake of ‘the old college try’ does no one any favors.


This will over time prove to be more difficult for beer, in light of the many styles where what in other beverages would be considered a flaw is accepted, but that only means our palates have to be that much sharper and more aware. It also means we have to be more honest: no brewer or winemaker wants to hear that they’re product is flawed. Saying someone’s stuff is “bad” is easier — that only means you didn’t like it. To look someone in the eye and tell them something about the most basic elements of their production is wrong is tough. The more we turn a blind eye, however, the longer it takes for things to get better. So next time you pick up some brett in a beer it shouldn’t be in, or get an infected or spoiled bottle, call it out — get online and shoot someone an email, post something on the social media outlet of your choice. And please, just pour it out. Life’s too short for bad beer.

Until next time.

Cheers!

Ready for the Football by Nick Anderson

Much to the chagrin of my wife and most of my friends, I’m a pretty big sports nut, and despite being a long suffering local sports fan there’s no anticipation quite like the feeling right as another pro football season starts. Maybe it’s the intensity of the game or the short schedule compared to other sports, but there’s an edge to the beginning of football season that gets me just a little extra charged up, and I know I’m not alone in that.

Just watching a few minutes of a game lets you know, through the sponsorships and overwhelming number of ads, that macrobreweries are the beverage of choice for the football fan, but that’s not always the case. There are a lot of us who love more than a couple beers during a game (and more often than not before or after one as well), so here’s some recommendations for this season. Enjoy these at your next tailgate or with some great snacks in front of the TV at home.

Devil’s Backbone Striped Bass Pale Ale: Recently released, this special-run Ale from Lexington, VA is a perfect late summer/early autumn beer. Striped Bass Pale is super-clean with a focused, earthy hop character. I hesitated to recommend this as I don’t know how long it’ll be around, but it’s too good not to. Not to mention proceeds go to help out the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Oskar Blues Mama’s Lil’ Yella’ Pils: It’s very easy to get branded as “that guy” when you bring craft beer to a tailgate or a friend’s house for the game. This crisp Pilsner-style from Oskar Blues is a perfect beer to avoid this: essentially one of those beers you see TV ads for, made by someone who gives a damn, Lil’ Yella’ is familiar enough that anybody who snags a can from the cooler can enjoy it, but made to a standard that makes it obviously a craft beer.

Port City Monumental IPA: Alexandria’s Port City Brewery is on a serious roll right now. Their Monumental IPA is well-balanced, with assertive but not overly aggressive hops and a nice malty character. Bring this one out for those who want to try something different but can be overwhelmed by intense hops.

Abita Pecan Harvest Ale: This year’s Pecan Harvest Ale hasn’t arrived yet, but when it does its mix of fine malts and nutty tones makes it a perfect match for pretzels, nuts, chips — you know, all the stuff you put out on the table when you sit down for a Sunday’s worth of action. Abita recently shut down temporarily with Hurricane Isaac bearing down on the Gulf Coast, but hopefully this unique and tasty seasonal Ale will be on one of their first truck out once they’re back up and running.

Founder’s Breakfast Stout: This is a beer that’s back on the market as of this week, but will be around throughout the season and into the playoffs, meaning during the winter where we have many a Sunday matchup played under ‘football weather.’ The combination of chocolates, coffees, and flaked oats in the Founder’s Breakfast Stout give it a bold flavor and while at 8.3% ABV it may seem a bit too strong for some, the feel isn’t nearly as heavy as you might think. This is a great brew for getting your winter grillout going or for taking the edge of a winter chill.

Until next time

Cheers! Also, hail!

King of the ‘Gypsies’ by Nick Anderson

Very soon we’re going to have to devote an entire column to the relatively recent phenomenon of the ‘Gypsy Brewer’; beers produced under labels without their own brewery or brewpub. By opting out of the costs associated with owning and running their own facility, Gypsy Brewers are freed to explore their own interests more, and to very quickly turn a passing thought into a product hitting store shelves and bar taps. Some of the most exciting beers being produced today are made by these Gypsy Brewers, and as their ranks and influence grow, so does the importance of the palate and outlook of one Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, the spear’s head of the Gypsy movement and mad genius behind the Mikkeller line of brews.

While working as a math and physics teacher some eight years ago in his native Denmark Bjergsø started to experiment with homebrewing, with the thought that it would be cheaper to drink his own beer than the craft beer he’d been trying and rating for four years beforehand. In 2006, along with fellow homebrewer Kristian Klarup Keller (who later left the business to take an editorial position at the Danish music magazine Soundvenue), Mikkeller beer launched with the aim of bringing the fearless, bold, and imaginative beers found in the American beer scene to the “if it’s cheap, it’s good”-minded Danes. Soon, Mikkel’s inventive beers started finding an audience here in the U.S., and the label took off, along with the idea of the Gypsy Brewer.

With so many beers made under the Mikkeller label and their sometimes scarce production, it’s hard to pick out some to recommend. Some favorites of mine include Beer Geek Breakfast, an Imperial Stout that many of us beer geeks were introduced to Mikkel’s beers through. I’m partial to the yearly release of Jackie Brown Ale as well—its American Brown Ale influence is apparent with a great balance of roasty malts and sharp, yet subtle hops. I Hardcore You, made with Scotland’s BrewDog, is a big IPA that stands up to the baddest hop bombs American breweries have to offer. So far in 2012, we’ve been fortunate to see some great Mikkeller beers for the first time: Czech Pils and Dream Pils, BooGoop (a wheat-malt based Barleywine made in collaboration with the gang at Indiana’s Three Floyds Brewing), Black Hole Stout, and my personal favorite Big Worse Barleywine. Big Worse has the richness and cohesion of flavor you’d expect from a cellared Barleywine, but it’s young and all of those flavors come through with a vibrancy that is simply not possible with an aged beer.

Other Gypsy Brewers have emerged in the wake of Mikkeller’s success — not the least of which being Mikkel’s twin brother Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø whose Evil Twin beers have emerged as bold beer geek favorites; and Baltimore-based Brian Strumke’s Stillwater Artisanal Ales, whom I consider one of the best brewers working in the U.S. today. But it’s the unexpected reach of Mikkeller that has made it all possible for those who are looking for a different path as craft brewers. Those are different stories for another time, however. If you’re in the neighborhood this Saturday, come by to check out a special tasting of new Mikkeller arrivals featuring the beers of his Lambic-style program along with the massive Black Stout. If those aren’t to your liking, we’ve got a great selection of other Mikkeller beers to choose from.
Until next time.
Cheers!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Lager? I Hardly Know ‘er! by Nick Anderson

For our first week of German beer style exploration, we’re going to take a look at what is probably the most popular style of beer in the world — the German-style Lager. Lager has a long and fascinating history. The word Lager itself is actually medieval German for “cellar,” as it was in the caves and storehouses where these beers were originally made. The bottom-fermenting yeast that makes a Lager ferments and conditions at lower temperatures, and as a result the beers they made adopted the name of where they were most commonly brewed.

It was in the 15th Century when the common Lager yeast developed as a hybrid, but it would take nearly 500 more years for the beers we recognize today as Lagers to come around. There is still much that is unknown about the origins of Lager; even today we’re still learning more about how it came to be. Just last year for example, researchers discovered that one of the yeast strains involved in the hybridization that produced Lager yeast originated in Patagonia. How one specific yeast strain managed to travel from southern Argentina to Germany in the 1400s to help produce beer is a question we’re going to have to wait for an answer to.

While there are records dating back to the 1400s of cold-storage beers being brewed in Germany, it wasn’t until the mid 19th Century that the technology and scientific understanding was in place to begin crafting Lager in the manner that many of us are accustomed to seeing it today. By the turn of the 20th Century there were dozens of breweries in Munich alone, many of whom are still with us today: Hofbrau, Spaten, Paulaner, Augustinerbrau, and Hacker-Pschorr being among the most well-known. Weihenstephaner Original Lager from Freising shares many characteristics with these beers as well. Munich brewers also developed the concept of Helles (“bright”) Lager, which remains maybe the most popular German Lager form. The water of Munich was high in carbonates, which exaggerated the bitterness of hops in beers. To achieve balance, brewers tended to use fewer hops and more malt resulting in a slightly sweeter, less harsh Lager. Schalfly Summer Lager is an American-made version that sticks to this script and is a world-class example.


The Lagers of Dortmund have a pronounced bready character to their malts, with a sharper hop tone than their cousins in Munich. Ayinger and DAB are the most common seen in the U.S. today, with Cleveland’s Great Lakes making perhaps the finest example of Dortmunder stateside. Vienna Lager actually has its origin in Germany, with another irony being that the most well-known examples all seem to be made here in the States these days. Beers like Sam Adams Boston Lager, Abita Amber, Great Lakes Elliot Ness, and Leinenkugel Red can all be categorized as Vienna Lager. The hallmark of Vienna Lager is a slightly darker color from the abundance of malts used, yet they tend to not be as sweet as the Munich Lagers even with the additional malt.

Innovation in Lager brewing led to an explosion of variants in the style. We’ll be getting to these in the next couple weeks, so don’t fret if your favorite didn’t show up today. For now, get out there and try the classic beer of Germany, armed with just a bit more knowledge about the provenance of some of its styles.

Until next time.
Cheers!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Finding the Right Hefeweizen by Nick Anderson

My first experience with Hefeweizen was probably much like many people of my age: a happy hour special ordered because ‘look at that tall glass—that’s a deal,’ served with a wedge of lemon. In those days I thought that was a beautiful thing, and if I’m honest there are some days even now when I still do (don’t tell anyone, though. I’ve got a rep to maintain here). There were a great many things I didn’t know, however. Things I’d learn only with time and experience. To many here in the U.S. though, the classic German Wheat Ale is still that cloudy junk you throw citrus into. Let’s take a few moments today to explore true Hefeweizen, and see if we can’t find the right one for you. Because there is a right Wheat Beer for everyone.

Hefeweizen/Hefeweisse: Consider the two terms interchangeable. “Hefe” refers to the special yeast used in these Ales, which along with them being unfiltered is mostly responsible for the banana and spice notes often found in them as well as their cloudy appearance. In Bavaria the term Weisse (“white”) is used; in other regions of Germany Weizen (“wheat”) is more common. I’m going to use Hefeweizen as it’s the term I use more often. Classic Hefeweizen uses a combination of that special yeast strain and at least 50% wheat malt with a very limited amount of hops to create an easy-drinking Ale with notes of banana, clove, and lemon. The wheat malt contributes a bit of the fruit flavor, but more than that it brings a biscuit-y bread-like note that serves to balance the style. Weihenstephaner, Schneider, and Paulaner make some of the most commonly-found and classic Hefeweizen you’ll find. Among American breweries, you’ll find seasonals like Sierra Nevada Kellerweis, Victory Sunrise Weissbier, and Troeg’s Dreamweaver.

Kristalweizen: A style of Hefeweizen that has been filtered, which not only gives the beer a clear appearance, but brightens up and softens some of the fruit notes as well. Weihenstephaner’s Kristalweizen is my go-to, but the recent release of Brooklyn-based Sixpoint Brewery’s Apollo has been great as well.

Dunkelweizen: Dunkel means “dark,” so you can take a stab at this one. The higher malt content can produce beers ranging from slightly amber in color to very dark brown. The more intense the malts, the more muted the spice and fruit are in the beer. Franziskaner, Ayinger, Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, and even Sam Adams and Great Divide make fine examples of the style.


Weizenbock: Is there a stronger alternative to a major beer style? If there is, we here in the States are likely to jump all over it and Hefeweizen is no different. Weizenbock are stronger, more intense styles of Hefeweizen and while there aren’t that many still coming over from Germany (Vitus from Weihenstephaner is my favorite); it’s the Americans who have taken the style and run with it. Brooklyn Brewery makes a fine example in collaboration with Schneider; Victory’s Moonglow is a rare treat, and if you can catch it when released Weyerbacher’s Slam Dunkel is a cool Weizenbock that adds a touch of malt to give the style extra smoothness.

Berliner Weisse: If you’re the type to ask for extra lemon in your Hefe, give this a shot. Low in alcohol and bottle conditioned, Berliner Weisse gain a tart, sometimes full-on sour character from either a second fermentation or addition of lactobacillus. Fritz Briem 1809 is my favorite German available around here, and Dogfish Head has just released their seasonal Festina Peche, based on a Berliner Weisse but with fresh peach juice added to the tank during fermentation. Traditionally, Berliner Weisse beers are served with a shot of raspberry and woodruff syrup to cut the tartness of the style. With Sour Ales entering a Renaissance, many breweries are making them to be enjoyed on their own. California’s The Bruery makes Hottenroth; a bold, once-per-year Berliner-style, and while it’s classification as a Berliner-style is questionable in my book, BeerAdvocate.com has the fantastic Bell’s Oarsman Ale marked as a Berliner-style. Oarsman does seem influenced by Berliner Weisse, but I’m not so sure it can really be considered one: the use of Bell’s proprietary yeast strain gives it a slightly more round feeling than a true Berliner. That said, Oarsman is my go-to session beer — at 4% ABV with the right balance of tart, sour, and refreshing, there’s nary a moment you’ll catch me without some in my fridge. If you’re looking for something a little more tart than a straight Hefeweizen, try one of these out.

I hope this gives you a good jumping-off point to explore the joys of Wheat Ales. Just remember, if it feels wrong to throw a slice of lemon in the glass — it probably is. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Chasing the Elusive Rare Craft Beer by Nick Anderson

I want to address something today that has always been an issue in the craft beer community and is only going to become bigger as more people come into the fold: rare beers and trying to acquire them.

I got to have a conversation with a representative from a major craft brewer this week, and as we talked the subject of limited run, highly sought-after beers came up. Now, I try not to consider myself “old” by any stretch, but I’ve been doing this for a while, and I mentioned the difference between when I started and now as far as getting a hold of limited production beers goes. This led to an informative and reasoned discussion of the pressures facing retailers, bars, and breweries alike. What I gained from that conversation and wish to pass along is a greater appreciation for the limits of craft beer output and the limits of a given institution’s “buying power.”
I’ve read a great deal online recently about who is or isn’t getting ‘enough’ of one special release or another, and read some pretty harsh judgments of stores and buyers who I respect and know for a fact are doing their jobs to the best of their ability. What needs to be kept in mind is this: there are so many hands in the pot that weren’t there even two or three years ago that it means something if someone gets any of a special release at all. As an example: before I came to Arrowine I was buying beer for another shop in the area. When the Stone brewery put their 11th Anniversary Ale out, I got dozens of cases and sold them all within a couple of weeks. Last year, when the 15th Anniversary came out and I was at Arrowine, all of my contacts and expertise amounted to three cases for our shelf. That reflects on nothing but the exponential increase in attention for craft beer in the mainstream.

That increase in attention is a good thing. Those new eyes and palates allow growth (or in many cases, survival) for small breweries who otherwise wouldn’t be practicing the same fantastic dark magic otherwise. But it also means expansion into other states, other markets, and those markets demand attention in the form of some of the rare beers we may have taken for granted around here. I hate to think that I may have once taken for granted how much of one release or another I could get, or that I’m now of an age to have a “good ol’ days” of beer buying, but the facts say otherwise.


Contrary to what you may assume, growth of awareness of a brand does not equal output of their smallest production beers. Even if it does, there are so many more hands in the pot today for those rare beers that supplies are going to only become more limited. As a retail buyer, my default is to demand every last bottle made of these beers, but I know better in my heart and can often only do the best I can to make sure as many bottles as possible get into as many hands as possible.

If you’re chasing the rarest of the rare, I can only offer a couple points of advice:

1. If it means that much to you, make sure you get it. Your local retailer can make sure you get your hands on something if you let them know how much you want it. If you expect to walk into a shop and just happen across some brewery’s Anniversary or once-per-year release, I gotta say it — it isn’t 2007 anymore. These things spend little time on shelves if they hit them at all. If it means that much to you, keep tabs on arrival schedules and stay in touch with your retailer of choice. Today’s environment benefits the informed consumer more than ever.

2. Don’t trash the store that doesn’t have the super-rare beer you’re looking for. I’ve seen too much of this lately; too much discussion online and elsewhere about who isn’t what they used to be because they didn’t have overflowing shelves of this or that. As someone who goes out of his way to have unique and hard-to-get beers on his shelf, let me let you in on something: no one gets to have those overflowing amounts of rare beers anymore. Even those beers I bring to Arrowine through importers that you won’t find anywhere else are in limited quantities. That’s not because I don’t want more than I’m getting — it’s because craft beer is a thing right now. Craft beer is hot, and everyone wants in. That is a very good thing in terms of diversity of product, but it means that what was once occasional is now scarce, and what was scarce is now almost instantly gone once it arrives.

Limiting your beer interests to the rare and hard-to-find is a path that only leads to frustration, especially in today’s environment. Keep perspective and accept that you may have to make more than one stop and you’ll do just fine. Communicate with your local beer buyers; make sure you can get what you want. If you don’t do these things, you’ll have no place to complain.

Until next time.

Cheers!
Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Lawnmower Beer by NIck Anderson

Mrs. Beermonger and I are moving into a new home this weekend, and it has completely taken over our lives. We’ve always heard of the “joys of homeownership,” but we were blindsided by the sheer amount of work that needed to be put into the place before we officially move in.

Luckily, in the course of spackling, grouting, sanding, taping, painting (so much painting), and moving stuff, I’ve found a handful of brews that I’d like to recommend if you have a big summer project to get done, or if you’re just looking for a new “lawnmower beer.” Here we go:

Bell’s Oarsman: I tout this beer often, perhaps too much. All I can say after the last couple of weeks is that after getting back to my current place from my future place, often times after having spent the day at my job, this stuff is like water. Except better, because it’s beer.

Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat Ale: A lovely Wheat Ale that flaunts its yeasty character but doesn’t have the overpowering banana/clove component often seen in such beers. This is a refreshing beer with citrusy and subtle minty notes.

Terrapin Easy Rider: One of my newer obsessions. We’ve started to see the rise of hoppy Session beers, and this amber-tinged gem from Athens, GA is a standout. The malts are just right, and Easy Rider packs a hoppy punch that belies its 4.5% ABV.

21st Amendment Bitter American: The vanguard of the hoppy Session movement. Bitter American is, ironically, based off of an English-style ESB that sees some dry-hopping. Originally a seasonal release, Bitter American proved so popular that 21st made it available all year long. Smart move.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche: I love me some tart beer goodness, and this Berlinerweisse-style Ale brings it. Clear, clean, with subtle fruit notes, Peche is a great summer treat.

Keep some of these on hand this summer to refresh and revive yourself after working in our area’s absurd heat and humidity. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger.

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Maturation of the Beer Geek by Nick Anderson

Having gone through the process of buying (and recently moving into) a home, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about maturity, responsibility, and growing up. I feel that all of us, as beer geeks, are coming of age right now, and that all of our changing palates and preferences are poised to make the craft beer scene more open and accessible than ever before.

The most obvious way that this is happening is in a more reasoned approach to “extreme” beers. That isn’t to say that the Imperial IPA is dead, or even dying. I mean to say that these days fewer of us are being brought into the craft beer fold through insanely hoppy IPAs or brutish Stouts, and that’s thanks to the evolution and maturing of those of us who, 10-15 years ago, became beer geeks precisely because of those big beers. The maturing of the beer geek palate has facilitated the rise of session beers of all styles, not to mention the proliferation of international styles previously unknown to many Americans and the recent resurgence of craft Pilsner and other Lagers here in the States. The combination of more approachable (though still unique) styles with world-class versions of familiar Lager beers is contributing to the mainstreaming of craft beer, and creating a new generation of beer geek for whom bigger isn’t necessarily better.

As I said, though, Imperial styles aren’t going anywhere. People just now coming into the fold are going to be curious and will seek out the big beers eventually, and the rest of us still enjoy an over-the-top hop bomb on occasion. As we all get to experience new styles and new approaches to classic styles, we are entering an era where context will be king. The next 10 years or so in craft beer will look much like the Slow Food or Organic movements; as more consumers become aware of their options, products will emerge to fill voids and find niches. To draw out the analogy, think back to about 10 years ago: having knowledge of organic and biodynamic farming was just starting to expand beyond the niche of being a “foodie”, but within a few years even the biggest of box stores were touting “local” and “organic” produce. The ’00s saw the emergence of “organic” after decades of hard work and relative obscurity, as the movement itself and the public at large matured with regard to their approach to it. I feel we’re on the verge of a similar emergence with craft beer.

From the sudden appearance of craft brewers on grocery store shelves, to craft beers taking a spot or two on the draft list of the local watering hole, to the resurrection of the neighborhood brewery/brewpub, to even the copycat “macromicro” beers being put out by the biggest of big breweries, craft beer is finally coming of age as we are. It’s going to become more important as we move forward to keep perspective, to make sure we take things in the right context as they develop. In other words, we need to be mature. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to grow up. Until next time.

Cheers!

The Spirit of Collaboration by Nick Anderson

If I may toot the horn of the craft beer movement a bit: there’s a camaraderie and sense of community amongst the beer geeks, from the drinkers to the brewers and everyone in-between, that is truly unique. Competitions are almost always healthy, entered with the knowledge that at the end of the day, we’re all going to sit down and enjoy a couple cold ones regardless of the outcome. The most notable result of this brother/sisterhood is the collaboration beer, where two or more breweries get together and see what happens when ideas starting being bandied about.

Collaborative wines or liquors are almost unheard of, and while over the years the number of ‘collab’ beers has grown to the point of parody I still believe that their spirit exhibits the best of beer culture. More often than not, collaborations are once-per-year or one-time-only deals, but let me give you a rundown of some that you should be able to find right now without going too far out of your way:

Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (Avery/Russian River): Both Colorado’s Avery Brewing Company and California’s Russian River Brewing Company make Belgian-styled beers named Salvation. It would have been easy for the two to sue the hell out of each other for the name and moved on, but that’s not what they did. What they did was get together, have some beers, and decide to blend the two Salvations together into a new, third beer. This was the first collaboration that I can remember having, and its story became a tenet of my own beer geekdom as it related to openness and not thinking territorially. Russian River will be coming up again very soon in this column.

Land Ho! (Heavy Seas/Devil’s Backbone): Virginia and Maryland working together. Baltimore’s Heavy Seas is a fixture in the region’s craft beer scene, where Lexington’s Devil’s Backbone is only starting to grow its name in the D.C. area, though it’s doing that quickly. This joint effort is a “Black Pils”, with all of the clean, grassy, refreshing feel of an old-school Pilsner with enough malt to color it black and add a touch of chocolate and caramel.

Sobrehumano Palena’ole (Maui/Jolly Pumpkin): A favorite of mine from SAVOR that just arrived recently in Virginia, Sobrehumano is the work of the gang at Maui Brewing Company with Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin Artisanal Ales. Using tart cherries from Michigan and Hawaiian passion fruit, this Amber Ale is refreshing, complex, and bracing all at once.

BRUX (Sierra Nevada/Russian River): Told you Russian River was coming up again. This one, if it isn’t available by the time you read this, will be in the area next week. Working with the legendary Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Russian River brings the Belgian influence to BRUX with a re-fermentation of this Pale Ale with Brettanomyces yeast, giving it subtle yet funky notes of spice and tropical fruits. BRUX won’t last long, so if you’ve enjoyed Wild Ales don’t miss out.
Saison du BUFF (Stone/Dogfish Head/Victory): When three of the biggest and baddest craft breweries in the U.S. got together a few years back and decided to make a beer together, most of us were expecting some kind of hop-based ordinance that would be inaccessible to mere mortals. Instead, we got Saison du BUFF; a subtle, refined, easy-drinking take on the Belgian style using the full Scarborough Fair (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme). The herbs come through almost like a grassy hop character in the brew, which is made at each brewery in turn during years when it’s released. Stone’s version is just arriving, but it should still be feasible to track down the Victory and Dogfish Head-made ones too.

Until next time.
Cheers!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Fruit of the Vine by Nick Anderson



Men are scared to be seen drinking ‘fruity’ beers. Let’s be blunt and state the simple fact here; there’s a stigma attached to beers that utilize fruit and fruit flavors and it is completely undeserved. Big ad campaigns and decades of social stereotypes have made the presence of fruit in beer something most men are downright afraid of. Let me state one thing right now: there is nothing manly about the fear of being perceived as less manly. Fear is the antithesis of bravery; it is the anchor of ignorance, and the only true barrier separating uncertainty from understanding. If you’ve taken anything away from this ‘Beer 101’ series I’ve been writing, I hope it’s the confidence to never let anyone tell you what it is you should or shouldn’t like and I include myself in that statement. The truth is that fruit has been used in beer as long as there has been beer on this planet and enjoying it says nothing about a person beyond what their taste buds respond to.

Belgian Lambic beers use different fruits such as cherries, raspberries, and black currants with varying degrees of sweetness to produce easily enjoyable Ales with intense fruit character that balance the very sour base beer they’re created from. As we’ve covered before in this space Belgian Wit (or White) beers classically use orange peel among spices like coriander and cardamom to add an additional flavor component. Dogfish Head Aprihop is a springtime treat that melds one of their hoppy IPAs with apricot, playing off of the naturally tropical notes that hops often bring to beer. Dogfish quite regularly uses fruit in their beers to great effect—from the black raspberry and blueberry in Black & Blue to the Pinot Noir juice in Red & White to their ancient Ales Midas Touch (Muscat grapes) and Chateau Jiahu (Muscat grapes and hawthorn berries). Raison d’Etre is a mainstay of the Dogfish lineup and uses golden raisins as a launching point for a malty, food-friendly Ale. Festina Peche uses fresh peach juice to add a subtle fruity note to the sour Berlinerweisse style.

Fans of Louisiana’s Abita brewery are quite familiar with two of their beers that are unabashedly fruit-forward. Purple Haze is a raspberry Wheat Ale that is as smooth as it is refreshing (and popular, I should add) and the other is one of my favorite beers ever—their Strawberry Harvest Lager. Strawberry Lager is everything a fruit beer should be; the fruit is as bittersweet as a bite into a fresh strawberry, and the Lager itself is subtle in allowing the fruit to come through while being substantive enough to reassure anyone scared to be seen not drinking a ‘real’ beer. Strawberry Lager is a once-per-year treat and it’ll be arriving soon, so try not to miss out on it.


All things considered, fruit flavors are as natural to beer as anything. Hoppy beers are often lauded for their ‘citrus’, ‘tropical fruit’, or ‘grapefruit’ notes. Ale yeasts are partially identified by the fruitier character they have as opposed to Lager yeasts. Wheat Ales of all types are naturally lemony and if you tell me you’ve never been served a Hefeweizen with a slice of lemon I will call you a liar to your face. For a twist on that idea check out 21st Amendment’s Hell Or High Watermelon or Mana Wheat from Maui Brewing, made with fresh pineapple juice.  Just as wine should taste fruity (it is grape juice, after all), the function of beer as a refreshing and bright beverage almost necessitates some form of fruit character. What you should pay attention to when exploring fruit beers is your response to the level of sugar in the beer. Again, as with wine, there is a plain difference between what we as professionals would consider ‘fruit sweet’ rather than ‘sugar sweet’. That’s not to say sugary stuff doesn’t have its place; it’s simply to say that the vast majority of the time one is more desirable than the other. There is no reason to ever shy away from trying a fruit beer aside from not being a fan of the fruit featured. If anyone gives you grief… well, ask them if they like Pumpkin Ales. If they say no, well they at least know what they like and don’t like. If they say yes, call them a hypocrite and grab another round on me. ‘Tis the season, beer fans. Until next time.

Cheers!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Local Breweries and Beerpubs by Nick Anderson

We’ll be taking a quick detour from wrapping up our series focusing on Belgium this week to take a look at one of the best and most important topics pertaining to beer right now: local breweries.

While our area has always been a haven for beer fans supporting craft domestic and imports, until recently there was a noticeable lack of local DC, Maryland and Virginia breweries. This has often been the first piece of evidence when arguing the DC area’s lack of status or respect as a ‘beer town’. The past ten years however has seen a rise of local brewers planting their flags and brewing up world-class beer all over the region. Today, amid the continuing economic uncertainty and the spread of corporate box stores and restaurants into seemingly every available space, your local breweries are places of hope, providing employment and investing in our communities.

That’s not to say all chains are necessarily bad. If you live close enough to a Cap City Brewpub, Rock Bottom Brewpub, Gordon Biersch, or Sweetwater Tavern go check out what they’re doing. These chain restaurants/brewpubs are a seemingly endless stream of up-and-coming talent; many of the brewmasters helming new breweries came up through this ‘farm system’, and it’s always nice to be able to say “I knew them when…”

Making a big impact in their first year of operation was Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company. Located off Duke Street near the intersection with Quaker Lane, Port City’s beers are balanced and smart, showing complexity and bold flavor without succumbing to ‘big beer syndrome’. I’m a little partial to their Pale Ale and Porter myself. Look for their Oyster Stout to be released later this spring. Lost Rhino rose from the ashes of Dominion’s operation being moved up into Delaware; after spending the last couple of years occupying draft lines around the area, bottled versions of their beers are hitting shelves and each is better than the last. Try New River Pale Ale and Ice Breaker Imperial IPA.

DC Brau made quite a bit of noise last year, and has created a lot of the craft beer excitement within the District. While we’ve only managed to see their The Public Pale Ale a couple of times at retail in Virginia, their beers can be found on tap at bars and restaurants around the area. Ranging from the hoppy and classic to the experimental, we’re looking forward to seeing more of DC Brau’s offerings as we get further into 2012. While in the city, keep an eye out for beers from Three Stars Brewery and Chocolate City Brewing Company, who have also recently come online. Baseball fans, look for Bluejacket, slated to open sometime in 2013 at the Boilermaker Shops down at the Yards.


If I had to choose a favorite local brewpub, it would have to be the Mad Fox Brewpub in Falls Church. Brewer Bill Madden leads a team in concocting some of the most well-thought and carefully made beers on the East Coast. His Kolsch is arguably the best made in America, and I try not to suffer much argument about the Kellerbier version. With a broad selection ranging from a delightful sessionable English Common to the super-hoppy Orange Whip IPA and Tupper’s India Ink Black IPA, there’s a beer for everyone at Mad Fox. Usually there’s at least one beer available on cask too, for that true pub experience. Not that you’ll spend the entirety of your visit waxing poetic over the beer; the food at Mad Fox is fantastic as well. From great pizza to joyful special offerings, there’s not much to dislike at the Fox.

If you’re in Maryland, Baltimore’s Heavy Seas Brewery has been turning out outstanding craft beer since the 90’s and they’re only getting better; try to make it by Brewer’s Art or one of the DuClaw locations if you can as well. If you’re driving about the area, don’t miss out on Fredericksburg’s Battlefield Brewing Company and Blue and Gray Brewing Company. Further south you’ll find the excellent brews of Legend’s Brewery (Richmond), Williamsburg AleWerks (who are starting to get on a serious roll), Devil’s Backbone and Blue Mountain (whose stuff I’m hopeful we’ll be seeing more of our shelves very soon).

All things considered, drinking local is a simple way to support independent neighborhood businesses that in turn add color to our communities and give us a place to all get together. Also you get to drink beer while doing this. So why wouldn’t you?

Cheers.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Live For The Funk, Die For The Funk

Today’s column touches on a sensitive subject related to last week’s look at Lambic beers. That would be the subject of brettanomyces, the wild yeast that makes the spontaneous fermentation of Lambic happen. Brett is a touchy topic as many tend to either love or hate its presence in beer. In fact, brett is the dividing line that keeps many wine drinkers from appreciating beer, as its presence in wine is a basic, inherit fault. In beer however, brett has a long history of use and is a major factor in the profile of many beer styles.

In beer or wine, brettanomyces imparts notes as varied as ‘band-aid’, ‘barnyard’, ‘horse stable’, but are widely recognized by beer fans as ‘funk’. In wine these notes are a fatal flaw (though some wineries and regions hold on to brett as a link to a style’s past; or ‘the way things used to be’) that can kill the drinker’s perception of the fruit and hinder a wine’s ability to age. In most beers as well, brett can ruin what should otherwise be a clean, refreshing drink. Only in beers where brett is intended to be there and is a crucial part of the beer’s style does it even have a chance of making sense.

Beyond Lambic, Belgian beers prominently featuring brettanomyces include Flanders Red Ale (Duchess de Bourgogne, DeProef Zoetzur, Vichtenaar, Monk’s Café, Rodenbach Grand Cru) which uses lactobacillus for a more sour feel and are often aged in oak to create a very ‘wine-like’ style of beer; Oud Bruin (Liefman’s Goudenband, Petrus Oud Bruin), with their smooth malty tones balancing the funk; and the singular Trappist Ale from Orval, unique among the Trappist breweries for not only being the lone beer among them to use brett but to specifically add it to the beer as it’s bottled. This is the main factor in the ‘snowflake’ perception that no two bottles of Orval are alike; it’s hoppy character and funky notes are an adventure every time you crack one open.

With the emergence of Belgian-style beers in the U.S., American craft brewers started experimenting with brett as well. Ommegang used brett to good effect in their Ommegeddon and Biere de Mars special releases. West Coast IPA producers Russian River and Port/Lost Abbey have legendary lines of Belgian-style Ales that use brett one way or another. Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey actually went to Belgium a few years back to create a Wild Ale/IPA hybrid with Dirk Naudts of DeProef Brewery.


Dirk Naudts has become a sort of patron saint of brettanomyces to Belgian beer fans here and abroad. His Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale is about as intense a brett experience as anyone could ever imagine. Redolent with band-aid and rich funky notes and nearly opaque with yeast floating in the bottle, Reinaert is completely over-the-top and unnecessary. If you live for the funk, though, it’s well worth tracking down. A more recent release from Dirk is Broderlijke Liefde, a collaboration with Brian O’Reilly of Pennsylvania’s Sly Fox Brewery. Made for last years’ Philly Beer Week, Broderlijke sees a much more subtle use of the wild yeast alongside traditional Saison yeast. The brett gives a funky twist to this otherwise very bright and traditional Saison.

It must be said, in the end, that brett beers are not for everyone. Actually, they’re not for most people. If you do enjoy them, however, they can be a source for endless fascination and interesting beer hunting (related: if anyone out there has seen any Boulevard Saison-Brett please try it out and then immediately contact me). Make sure you know what you’re getting into when trying a bretty beer and you may just find yourself with a new beer obsession.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson keeps a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger.