Faces of Craft, Part 2

Continuing last week’s blog, here are a few more of the bigger & brighter personalities in craft beer, specifically brewers.

Sam Calagione – Maybe the most recognized dude making craft beer today, partly because of the Discovery Channel’s Brewmasters series from a few years ago.  Sam’s definitely a big personality: talks like a surfer, has seemingly boundless energy, a great sense of humor, gets geeked about all kinds of music, & can freestyle rap on cue.  It’s probably fair to say that Dogfish Head is the brewery most responsible for pushing boundaries when it comes to ingredients, recipes, & maybe even ‘extremity’ in craft beer.  Regardless what you think of his beers (or his “fame”), it’s hard to deny Sam’s passion: at SAVOR a few years ago he delivered a talk entitled “Fuck the Reinheitsgebot”.  Yeah!  His first ever batch of homebrew was a pale ale, to which he somewhat impulsively added cherries.  Guy’s got so many stories, & how about this fun fact, comedy nerds?  He used to be roommates with half the cast of sketch comedy show The State.

Greg Koch – Jumping off comedy references from the last profile, Greg Koch reminds me of Brian Posehn – into metal & full of nerd rage.  His brewery, Stone, is known for projecting an air of tongue-in-cheek superiority, uses gargoyle imagery, & basically challenges drinkers to like their beer.  Greg has seemingly mellowed some in the past year or so (dig the beard), but still rails against the “fizzy yellow beer” establishment.  The flipside of some of the playful arrogance & vitriol is a sense of community & brotherhood with his craft brethren – Stone might hold the record for most collaborations brewed, & his “I Am a Craft Brewer” video encouraged small brewers to stand up & be counted.

Tomme Arthur - The virtuosic brewmaster for Port & Lost Abbey (his own side project) has a reputation for being a bit...um...cranky.  Some of it may be inflated or apocryphal, but beer geeks have taken a few incidents & ascribed to him the persona of a curmudgeon – unapologetic &, for better or worse, uncompromising.  He's the subject of Tomme Arthur vs. the World, a comic centered around lampooning this persona (that, distorted or not, is pretty funny).  I'm sure this perception is exaggerated, & there's plenty of evidence that he's a good guy that plays well with others.  He makes some damn good beer, & there's even the story of him randomly showing up to a tasting of beer fans with a box of rare Lost Abbey stuff.  Maybe lovable curmudgeon is more accurate.

Vinnie Cilurzo - I don't think it's too far a leap to say that Vinnie - of Russian River &, historically, the Blind Pig - might be the most esteemed person in today's craft beer culture.  He makes some amazing beer & is, technically, about as close to perfect a brewer as you can find.  He's credited (with some debate) for inventing the double IPA - by accident, no less! - & the American wild ale.  And maybe most importantly, he doesn't get flack for showboating or shooting his mouth off & is, by all accounts, one of the nicest & most pleasant dudes you'll find running a brewery.  Considering the insane amount of attention & accolade that Russian River gets, staying humble is no mean feat.

 

Tony Magee - Tony's a little bit of a provocateur.  As eloquent (& rambling) in his serial tweets/manifestos as on Lagunitas' labels, Tony isn't afraid to bear his soul to the on-line community, 140 characters or less at a time.  Sometimes he reflects on the beer world & his place in it, but he also isn't afraid to lob a few volleys at his colleagues in the beer world; last year he set his sights on New Belgium’s & Sierra Nevada’s expansion strategies.  Tony appears to be a true libertarian, both fiscally & socially (it’s 4:20 somewhere, right?).  I’ve long thought of Lagunitas as Stone meets Cheech & Chong, & Mr. Magee pretty much personifies that, simultaneously self-righteous & self-deprecating.

 
So there are just a few in a much, much longer list of the characters inhabiting the craft beer kingdom.  I could include some big names from the homebrewing world, or the beer criticism world, but that's a whole other kettle of fish.  These folks are remarkable partly for who they are, & because their personalities come through in the beer they make.  They make their beer with passion, & that passion is exuded in their public personae.  Consider that next time you delve into a glass: that the liquid you're about to imbibe is infused with someone's heart & soul.  It’s craft beer’s secret ingredient.

Faces of Craft, Part 1

If American beer had a Mount Rushmore, its visage would probably include August Busch, Adolphus Coors, Frederick Pabst, & Frederick Miller.  Regardless of whether you like their products or their businesses - both of which may be far afield from what they’d envisioned many decades ago – it’s hard to argue their prominence in the history of American brewing.  They are pretty much beer’s equivalents of the founding fathers.  But name one name or face associated with any of their companies now.  Stumped you, didn’t I?  Sure, there was that Coors heir fording a Rocky Mountain stream in their commercials from about 15 years ago.  His name was…I dunno, *Something* Coors.  The large, multinational breweries, though they too had small beginnings, have become faceless, impersonal behemoths, far removed from their roots & the driving visions behind their brews.  I’ve always respected Yuengling who, at a formidable size & lineage themselves, have kept their operation in the family; the face of Dick Yuengling is still pretty closely associated with their beer.

The most important & appealing aspect about craft beer is just that: the beer.  But one big thing that distinguishes smaller craft brewers from the big boys is that it’s an individualistic & ego-driven product – in a good way!  Just like the best art is almost always a reflection of the person creating it, good craft brewers put a part of their heart & soul into every bottle, can, keg, or cask that leaves their brewery.  And part of the fun & overall character of craft comes from the characters who have helped make it what it is (like this guy, for instance).  Here’s a look at some of the rock stars of the craft brewing world:

Fritz Maytag – If craft had a Mt. Rushmore, this guy’s face would be in Washington’s place.  After college, Fritz drifted for a while, unsure of what to make of his life.  Luckily he happened to be heir to the Maytag Corporation & Dairy Farm (responsible for washing machines & delicious cheese, respectively), & bought the Anchor Brewing Company upon learning of its imminent demise.  In a landscape practically devoid of alternatives to Americanized pilsner, Fritz resurrected steam beer, India pale ale, porter, & barleywine in the US market, & retains respect as the godfather of American craft beer to this day.

Jim Koch – If you ask me, those who turn up their nose at Sam Adams beer can’t see the forest for the trees.  Sure, they’re the largest brewery to fall under the Brewers Association’s craft guidelines.  Sure, they make a nearly ubiquitous lager.  Have you tried Boston Lager lately?  It’s damn good.  Have you seen Sam Adams portfolio?  Last year they released a gose, a barrel-aged barleywine, a sahti, a chocolate chili bock, a red made with Tasmanian hops, the ‘World’s Longest-Reigning Insane Beer’ Utopias, & about 50 other brews.  They put out a Cranberry Lambic that sounded nuts & that most people thought was gross.  And why?  Because they’re playing it safe & are only concerned with their bottom line?  Well yeah, that’s actually about half of it.  But Jim is a big part of the other half, of SA pushing the envelope.  Early on (& maybe still), craft’s early pioneers criticized him as being as much a brew-marketer as a brewmaster, partly because of contract brewing out of Pittsburgh.  But if you ask me, this guy has earned his stripes.  Sam Adams has shown itself to be a good community leader, sharing its hops when supplies were low & playing ball with everyone in the scene.  And maybe most endearing of all, Jim is notorious for partaking with gusto  – this guy knows the good stuff. 

Garrett Oliver – Whereas others are content to celebrate beer (a noble endeavor in itself), Mr. Oliver aims to elevate it.  The brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery not only believes that beer deserves a pedestal in the culinary world equal to that of wine, he makes a good case for beer’s superiority.  He not only pours a mean glass of beer, he can pair it with seviche & look good doing it.  His writing has earned him some esteem, too, as the author of The Brewmaster’s Table, a quintessential tome on beer & food, & the editor of the Oxford Companion to Beer.  And while I’m sure he would bristle at being called a ‘beer snob’, he’s known for making some exciting & inflammatory claims (against the growler & the shaker pint, for instance).  And he’s endlessly quotable: what the hell does ‘beer is made by people, not machines’ even mean?  At any rate, he’s a great proponent & pretty fascinating to boot.  He also wins the award for the most-used resource for The House’s blog.

Looks like I’m getting a little long-winded.  Let’s call this part one, we’ll grab a brew, & reconvene.  

Top Shelf Thursday: July 2013, Collaboration

It was almost a decade ago that Russian River Brewing's Vinnie Cilurzo & Avery Brewing's Adam Avery, friends & compatriots in the craft brewing world, came to realize both of their portfolios contained a beer with the name Salvation.  What to do?  They could have issued cease & desist letters or pursued trademark infringement lawsuits, as others have done.  But no!  In the good will to which every brewer hopefully aspires, they put their heads & beers together, blending the two & dubbing the new creation 'Collaboration Not Litigation Ale'.  This may not have been the first inter-brewer collaboration, but it was a landmark in promoting craft beer's culture as one of camaraderie.  This month's Top Shelf Thursday was all about collaboration, showcasing beers that have resulted from two or more brewers (or other creative entities) getting together & saying 'Let's do this'.
 
Gypsy brewers Evil Twin & Omnipollo obviously had some fun devising Russian Roulette, the first beer of the evening.  Russian Roulette is actually *two* beers - an American IPA & a black IPA - though you never know which one is in the bottle til you 'bust the cap' & pour (both received some good reviews, by the way).  
 
Each of these beers gave folks something to talk about, least of which was Manneken-Penn, brewed for Philadelphia Beer Week by Brasserie de la Senne, Weyerbacher, & Monk's Cafe proprietor Tom Peters.  Manneken-Penn is an abbey-style 'Belgo-American' dubbel made with oats, molasses, & American & European hops, whose label depicts an illustration of Philadelphia City Hall, with the statue of William Penn replaced by Manneken-Pis, filling the city with...something?  Laughs were had, remarks made.
 
A few Top Shelf Thursday veterans caught our first 'encore' beer: Brux Domesticated Wild Ale from Sierra Nevada & Russian River.  Also poured at the very first tasting back in September, this Belgian-style pale gets a secondary fermentation with brettanomyces bruxellensis, giving the beer a dry, slightly funky character, as well as its name.  Sierra Nevada had another showing with their Ovila Belgian-style Golden Ale, brewed to aid the fundraising effort of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California.  This strong, golden ale hit all the right marks, with fruit & honey notes, a dry ending & a moderate alcohol presence backing it up.

Dogfish Head teamed with hip-hop producer Dan the Automator for Positive Contact, a strong Belgian-style wheat.  Never sticking to style, the Dogfish/Dan (Dogomator?) combo spun this beer with a strong cidery flavor from the addition of Fuji apples, threw in some farro & cilantro, & gave it a kick of cayenne in the finish.

Mouths watered for La Petite Mort, from Central Waters & Local Option.  This weizenbock put off big caramel & banana notes, accentuated by its time spent in bourbon barrels.  The Belgian yeast strain got a little lost in translation, though the crowd had a fun time trying to decipher the phrase ‘Scheiss Bier kann todlich sein’ on the label.  Go on, give it a try.

We stepped into a snug pair of Clown Shoes next, first with their collab with Brash Brewing, a ‘double double brown ale’ dubbed Pimp.  Pimp was made by blending Clown Shoes’ Brown Angel with a Belgian brown brewed by Brash, giving off big, roasty coffee & chocolate notes.  Clown Shoes also paired up with Rochester’s Three Heads Brewing, blending Eagle Claw Fist imperial amber with Three Heads’ Loopy oatmeal red to birth Third Party Candidate.  Named for Three Heads’ Geoff Dale & his tongue-in-cheek presidential bid, Third Party Candidate’s label features its namesake giving his own kind of victory sign.

A dark horse in more ways than one, Outblack, from De Struise Brouwers & Stillwater Artisanal Ales, surprised folks with its rich profile of dark fruit, molasses, & minty spiciness.  A cross between a Belgian strong dark ale & a black IPA, this beer seemed to benefit from a bit of ‘aging’ in our stock room. 

The piece de resistance for many was the Conflux No. 1 (Collage) from Oregon breweries Deschutes & Hair of the Dog.  Befitting its name, Collage is a blend of Deschutes’ beers The Stoic, a quadruple, & The Dissident, an ‘imperial’ Flanders-style red aged on cherries, with Hair of the Dog’s Fred, an American strong ale, & Adam, an ‘old-world’ style dark ale with a little smokiness.  This four-beer blend is then aged in no fewer than seven barrels: rye whiskey, cognac, sherry, pinot noir, bourbon, new American oak, & new Oregon oak.  Strong & super complex, Collage delivered movements of cherry, port, smoke, leather, oaky tannins, bourbon, caramel – one well-attuned attendee even picked up some dill!  This is one bold, creative beer that really shows how collaboration can yield a finished product that’s more than the sum of its parts.  Here’s to the partnership that continues to drive craft beer in America & abroad, & to many more collaborations!

Meet the Hops

Hops, hops, hops.  Everybody’s lovin’ hops these days.  Except for those who hate them - or at least think they do.  Truth is, beer without hops would be almost unrecognizable as beer to the modern drinker’s palate, closer to a molasses soda.  Sounds yummy, right?  Hops provide bitterness to keep the sugary, bready malt from being cloying, sure, but they do so much more!  They lend complex fruity, floral, piney, citric, even earthy & funky character to beer, in all kinds of more specific combinations & sub-flavors.  Often these correlate with bitterness, but not always.  It can be a fun exercise in sensory training to try picking out the hops used in a beer, but there are also so many varietals – literally scores – that many profiles overlap & it can be splitting hairs to distinguish one from the other, especially when used in combination, as the majority of beers do.

 More breweries, like Flying Dog & Dark Horse, are releasing beers that use a single breed as part of a series, showcasing the ins & outs of these wonderful little plants & encouraging familiarity with their distinct characteristics.  Several years ago, Samuel Adams released cases of their Latitude 48 Deconstructed project, each case containing 6 different beers: Latitude 48 IPA, & 5 more IPAs, each one single-hopped with the breeds used in the Latitude 48 (Simcoe, Zeus, Ahtanum, Hallertau, & East Kent Golding). 

Like I said, there are so many hops it would be an overwhelming venture to single out all of them, but here’s a quick primer of some of the biggies:

Cascade – The quintessential American hop, known for a strong resemblance to grapefruit.  New Albion Ale broke ground for its use of this flavorful, aromatic breed, but Sierra Nevada Pale Ale really put it on the map, though it’s not single-hopped with Cascade.  Check out Dark Horse’s Edacsac Dekoorc Eert or Deschutes’ Mirror Pond.

Centennial – Prolific & popular for its floral characteristics, with a higher alpha acid content (read: more bittering power) than Cascade.  You might be able to find Flying Dog’s Centennial Single Hop Imperial IPA around, but if not, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale also uses solely Centennial for its flowery profile, & Founders Centennial IPA showcases it beautifully.

Citra – A relative newcomer that’s become hugely popular for its tropical fruit notes.  Three Floyds uses it in their beloved Zombie Dust, & more availably are Flying Dog’s Citra Single Hop Imperial IPA & Dark Horse Artic Dekoorc Eert.

Nelson Sauvin – Another fairly newer breed, sought after for its ‘white wine’ taste & smell.  Look for it in Widmer Brothers’ Nelson Imperial IPA & Schneider Tap X Mein Nelson Sauvin.

Noble ­Hops – Not a single breed, the “noble” hops are Hallertau, Tettnang, Spalter, & Saaz.  They are wild hops named for the areas around which they naturally propagate, & are prized for their high aromatic qualities & low bitterness.  Traditionally, they are used in German & Czech lagers & pilsners – think of the spicy, herbal qualities of Pilsner Urquell.  Sam Adams also highlightsts the aroma & flavor of these hops superbly in their Noble Pils.

Simcoe – A trademarked variety bred for its concentrated oils.  Known for a dank, resinous flavor & “catty” aroma, if you know what I mean.  Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe is the perfect place to start with this bad boy.

That’s just scratching the surface.  I imagine more breweries will be dropping more single-hopped beers, & growers developing more varietals with their own unique characteristics, so stay tuned.  Another great exercise is to hit a homebrew store (the closest to us is Ruffled Wine & Beermaking in Oakmont), pick up some hop pellets yourself & sniff away!  Hops have so much to offer, so don’t be scared – bitter is just the beginning.