Another Top Shelf Thursday has come & gone. We’d had some requests for a menu that would
satisfy the hopheads, but didn’t exactly want to do ten IPAs back-to-back
(palate fatigue, anyone?). We decided to
do a spotlight on California, arguably the nation’s best beer state. This focus would, naturally, include some
great hop-heavy ales while also showing some of the versatility of the Golden
State’s brewers. California, here we
come!
We landed in California via Belgium, starting things off
with Russian River’s Redemption, a pale abbey-style single. A style rarely seen & traditionally
brewed by monks as their “house beer”, Russian River’s example was light,
effervescent, & dry with some solid bready notes. Orchard White, from The Bruery, offered a twist
on a Belgian-style witbier, incorporating lavender into the traditional mix of
wheat, coriander, & orange peel.
This seemed to be a surprise hit of the evening - far from gimmicky, the
lavender blended superbly with the other seasonings, emphasizing the citrus
& lending a smooth airiness that really elevated this elegant style. These two subtle, well-executed beers showed
that Cali brewers can really nail Belgian styles.
We ventured into solidly west coast territory with a slew of
hopped-up ales, beginning with the classic AleSmith IPA. AleSmith hits it out of the park with this
no-frills IPA, full of citrus & a little pine flavor, bright & buoyant,
not overwhelming or destroying the tastebuds.
The collaboration between Sierra Nevada & Delaware’s Dogfish Head,
dubbed “Rhizing Bines”, presented an unusual flavor & aroma for a double
IPA. Atypically sweet with notes of mint
& anise, some found this one a little challenging, possibly from
dry-hopping with an experimental hop breed HB 644. One guest said it smelled like pet store (not
that that’s anything wrong with that!).
Hangar 24’s Double IPA hit more familiar notes. In addition to more traditional “C” hops, it
uses Citra for a fruity character & Simcoe for that underlying “cattiness”,
as well as orange blossom honey.
Everyone expected Ballast Point’s Dorado to be one hoppy monster based
on the description of its process – it’s mash-hopped, first wort-hopped,
kettle-hopped, & dry-hopped. What
they found was that, while having an assertive hop presence, it was pretty
well-balanced & did not kill the palate.
And rounding off the foray into IPAs was Port Brewing’s Anniversary
Ale. Described as an ‘Imperial Pale
Ale’, it had a resiny, dank bitterness & citrusy hop flavor that stood up
well to the 10% ABV, & received accolades from many in attendance.
As always, there were some who went into the “IPA movement”
of the tasting with some prejudice, but left with a little more appreciation of
what this family of ales has to offer.
Nonetheless, everyone was happy to try the next: the Class of ’88
Barleywine, from North Coast in collaboration with Deschutes & Rogue. Both team effort & history lesson, it
gave a pleasing, malty respite from the gauntlet of hopped-up beers we’d just
tasted. AleSmith once again proved that
they can brew an excellent Belgian-style ale, with the 2012 edition of their
Decadence anniversary ale. An
abbey-style quadruple, it gave off rich, warming notes of raisin, fig, rum,
& chocolate, & was surprisingly smooth for 12% ABV. And capping off the evening was The Bruery’s
Rye Barrel-Aged Smoking Wood, a smoked rye imperial porter aged in rye whiskey
barrels (whew!). A complex beer that
could’ve easily been an unwieldy mess, The Bruery nailed it with a smooth &
full-bodied blend of smoke, roast, & spicy oak character that meshed
instead of competing.
Being that America’s craft beer movement was born in
California, it only makes sense that such a variety of bold & innovative
beers are being made there today, & we really saw the quality &
versatility of some of the state’s top brewers.
There are many, many more where they came from – we sampled just eight out
of over 400 in the state! But these
beers are more evidence again that the US is truly the best place to be for
beer right now. Hope you can join us
next month!
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