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.

Top Shelf Thursday: June 2013, California

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!

The Mysteries of Lambic

Lambic’s that girly beer, right?  That sweet, syrupy, berry-flavored beer-that-doesn’t-taste-like-beer?  Served in a flute for your girlfriend/wife when you want to impress her, or there are no wine coolers available?  And all lambic has a pink head, right?  NO!  First of all, stop being so sexist & condescending.  And B, there’s waaay more to the world of lambics than that ubiquitous raspberry example whose name everyone mispronounces (yeah, you’re supposed to say the ‘s’).  Nothing against Brouwerij Lindemans – they make a damn good sweetened lambic if that’s what you seek.  But the larger drinking community has been given a biased view of what lambic can be based on the commercial success of just one example.   

In truth, many lambics are complex, rustic, organic beers.  One using more flowery language might call them romantic, enigmatic, mystical.  They are fascinating examples of a near-extinct method of producing beer, one that invites & incorporates the environment rather trying to wrest control from it & shut it out.  The hot side of brewing a lambic is its own ball of strange, as lambic brewers use a large proportion of unmalted wheat in a turbid mash, creating a thick, goopy wort that’s barely filtered.  That’s right: lambics are wheat beers.  And instead of the fresh hops on which most brewers put a premium, lambic brewers used aged hops.  It’s still not clear to me why this is practiced; aged hops lose their bright character, turning cheesy & hay-like, but these notes are boiled off in the kettle anyway.  The popular reasoning is that lambic brewers are just interested in the preservative qualities of the hops, but my hunch is that the practice started out of necessity & has continued by tradition without anyone really knowing why.  Again, just a hunch.  After mashing, lambics go through a looong boil – we’re talking five or six hours, a stay in the kettle usually reserved for the biggest malt-monsters, which lambics certainly are not. 

When the wort hits the cool side, the magic starts.  The hot wort is pumped into a large, shallow, rectangular vessel known as a koelschip (“cool ship”), usually right under the brewery’s vented roof.  Overnight, the wort cools & the vents usher in the area’s native microflora – wild yeast & bacteria - who camp out in the delicious, sugary liquid.  When the wort is good & inhabited, it’s transferred to open wooden casks where it ages, allowing the zoo of microscopic critters to gorge itself.  Really, it’s more like a rain forest than a zoo, with its own ecosystem of bugs: species of enteric bacteria, lactic bacteria, saccharomyces, brettanomyces, acetobacter, kloeckera, & who knows what else.  Each of them have their go at the wort in their own time, some taking months to fully develop & metabolize – it’s a fascinating process if you’re into microbiology!  The lambic develops alcohol, acidity, & all sorts of funky, complex flavors: tart lemon, vinegar, fruitiness, vinous flavors, that famous barnyard/horse blanket character. 

One can argue that lambic is never really “finished” fermenting, but once it reaches a certain point – at least a year – it is blended with different vintages & bottle-conditioned to create gueuze, or refermented with fruit to create kriek, framboise, peche, etc., sweetened to create faro or more commercial lambics, or bottled as a straight lambic.  These funky beers are indigenous to the Senne River Valley in Belgium, & there is some controversy as to whether they can be produced elsewhere.  Many old school lambic breweries, protective of their craft, say no; others (including the brewer of Cantillon), have encouraged American brewers to try their own hand at spontaneously-fermented, eco-inclusive brews.  Allagash has had success with their own coolship – watch a video of their endeavor here.  We at House of 1000 Beers are thrilled to carry some great examples of both sweetened & “traditional” lambics, such as St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition, Oud Beersel Framboise, & Lindemans Cuvee Rene on the dry side, & the Lindemans & Timmermans lines on the sweet.  We’ve recently had some of the big names of lambic grace our shelves as well, from Belgium’s esteemed Cantillon & Drie Fonteinen breweries.  These beers are terrific paired with some funky washed-rind or blue cheeses, their close cousins in the food family tree.  And it shouldn’t come as surprise that they’re not cheap, given the time & care put into these sensitive brews.  There’s an occasion for the sweet, viscous  fruit lambics you can find on tap at most good beer bars, but there’s a whole other dimension to these wild beers.

Top Shelf Thursday: May 2013, The Tart & the Horsey

Another group gathered for our monthly Top Shelf Thursday tasting this past week, sampling ten beers that are a little off the beaten path.  We had enough response to The Sour & The Funky tasting during Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week a month ago that we decided to reprise the theme of sour & wild ales this time around, for those whose schedules or budgets prohibited them from attending the main event, or those who might have just wanted more.  Though the brews featured ran the spectrum from very sour to surprisingly sweet, the criterion for inclusion was that the beer be fermented with some agent instead of or in addition to saccharomyces, the yeast used to ferment most ales & lagers.  This could be some combination of the “wild” yeast brettanomyces (brett), or souring bacteria.  Brewers achieve this by intentionally pitching these “bugs”, through spontaneous fermentation (such as lambic brewers use), or aging in barrels with known micro-inhabitants.

Things got going with a trio of wheat-based beers, each very different from the next.  The first was Whiteout from Anchorage Brewing, a Belgian-style witbier made with lemon peel, black peppercorn, & coriander & aged in French chardonnay barrels with brett.  It was light & spicy, with just a touch of tartness & hints of vanilla & oak that gave this familiar style an interesting twist.  The Reserve Wheat from Telegraph Brewing delivered a more assertive sourness.  Based on the sour German wheat style Berliner weisse, the Reserve Wheat was rounded out by the addition of lemon verbena, a shrub with a strong lemon scent.  One of the more challenging offerings was the Gueuze Fond Tradition from Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck, a blend of multiple vintages of lambic.  Gueuze typically carries a complex profile of acidic sour & organically funky flavors, & while some in attendance thrilled to the wild character, others found it to be too much & made their way to the dump bucket.

We headed further into Belgian territory next, tasting several Flanders-style sours – reds & oud bruins, characterized by a sweet/tart balance & acetic flavors, reminiscent of vinaigrette.  Many agreed that the Bellegems Bruin from Brouwerij Bockor was a good introduction to this genus, as its delivery was mellow & balanced while still hitting all the right notes.  The Red Poppy, from The Lost Abbey in California was a bit more intense, sour, & dry, emphasized by their use of sour cherries & aging in oak barrels for a tannic quality.  The Duchesse de Bourgogne, from Brouwerij Verhaege, offered up a very round, full-bodied flavor, again with notes of cherry, dark fruit, & balanced by a moderate vinegar pucker that was not too harsh.  It’s safe to say this was the unofficial flight favorite – those new to the Duchesse really enjoyed it, & those who’d had it before were looking forward to a revisit.  This Flemish excursion ended with Goudenband (“gold label” in Dutch) by Brouwerij Liefmans, a classic oud bruin that skewed to the malty side, with some grape notes & an overall “darker” flavor.

The final three were very distinct, each showing some sour or funk in their own way, beginning with Sour in the Rye from The Bruery.  Made with 40% rye malt, this American wild showed a little spiciness from the rye which was almost overwhelmed by the intensely puckering & tannic profile imparted by aging in oak barrels for over a year.  Moving onto sweeter ground, many found Cisco Brewers’ Pedaler Bike Path Blueblerry Bleer interesting.  A blueberry ale aged in oak with brett & other bugs, it had a lighter & airy character that some described as soapy, floral, or perfumy – flavors not usually found in this style.  Rounding off the evening was the eccentric Goedenacht (“good night”, appropriately), made by Draai Laag Brewing right down the road in Millvale.  This strong Belgian-style golden ale is made with apples, orange blossom honey, & coriander, providing components of a mead & cider.  To add to the fun, it’s fermented with a farmhouse strain & brett, though any brett character is fairly subdued by the other strong flavors frolicking throughout the beer.  Goedenacht also has one of the more bizarre labels folks had seen, a conversation piece in & of itself.

So there’s another fun evening of gathering & tasting in the books!  As always, not everyone liked everything, but I don’t think anyone left feeling disappointed or cheated.  There were some challenging brews, but everyone found something to their liking, even those who admitted they were not sour fans going in.  It was interesting to see, even in such a niche & esoteric family of beers, there’s enough diversity & complexity that just about everyone can find something that speaks to them.