More Rambling Thoughts on IPA

It might seem like I’ve had IPAs on my mind a good bit lately.  There was that provocative Slate article a few months ago & the obligatory backlash.  What did people expect from a mainstream news source that prides itself on being deliberately contrarian?  Then there was IPA Day earlier this month, & the series of parodic “facts” on our Facebook & twitter feeds.  Thanks to those who got it & played along, as well as those who didn’t get it at first but then played along anyway. 

The point of that endeavor – aside from having a bit of fun – was that there are a lot of soundbytes & factoids about beer floating around out there like yeast sediment.  Many of them are spotty or half-truths, but get repeated by the guy on the radio, the gal writing the blog, or someone sitting at the end of the bar.  Many of them have assumed the place of legend among those in the know, & somehow get cemented into the ether of beer knowledge.  Beer geeks trip over each other to whip out the most esoteric piece of apocrypha out there, like some race to be the biggest know-it-all.  That’s all well & good, & like I’ve said in previous blog posts, a bit of context can do wonders to enhance the experience & appreciation of beer.  If you haven’t caught on by now, most of these “opinion” blogs veer toward chilling out & just enjoying the beer.  We don’t all need to get into a contest of one-upsmanship on who’s the most fanatical beer geek here, who landed the biggest whale, who can most accurately cite BJCP style guidelines, etc.  And maybe I’m mostly talking to myself here.

Back to IPAs, the upsurge in IPAs has really made me think about how far the collective palates of beer fans have come.  IPAs are pretty much the most popular & ubiquitous style of craft beer on the market today.  I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that 99% of craft brewers make IPAs today.  At the time of this writing, we have 12 IPAs on tap, & another four hoppy “IPA-adjacents”.  Some bemoan the glut of hopped-up beers in American bars & bottleshops, but I think it’s a check in the “win” column for craft beer & adventurous tastebuds.  Bitter is a taste that more & more people are getting into, & many will readily admit that it’s an acquired taste.  It’s a sign that craft beer is winning hearts & minds, & that more & more people are willing to try something different, even if it takes some getting used to.  Though I don’t think it’s the only one, I consider acclimation to IPAs one sign of a maturing palate.  Trends point to there being more & more beer drinkers bold enough to get to know what can be a pretty challenging style.  IPAs are basically the antithesis of light, adjunct-based lagers, & beer fans hard- & softcore have embraced them.  They’re still not for everyone, of course, but they’re definitely breaking through, & I think it’s a great thing.

Now for the Slate-esque contrarian point: how about we change the name?  I know it sounds a little crazy now, at the height of its recognition, but I don’t think the name India Pale Ale fits any more.  Or maybe it never should have been used in the first place.  Hear me out.  India Pale Ale is originally a British style with a specific historical context, & stylistic guidelines that fit within that context for that time.  What people know & love today as IPA is essentially an American invention.  The American IPA is devoid of the historical context that earned India Pale Ale its name many, many years.  And the American IPA is popular because of US brewers’ innovations in use of hops, both quality & quantity.  Sure, ye olde English IPAs are more highly hopped than their pale ale “juniors”, but have you had an English or English-style IPA lately?  I’m guessing probably not.  How many examples can you name?  Two?  Three?  What people have come to know & love in American IPA is the bright flavors & aromas that are distinct in Pacific Northwest hops.  By all accounts, English IPA was nearly extinct when, almost 30 years ago, Portland’s BridgePort Brewing made the first American beer to be dubbed “India Pale Ale”.  In a way, I liken that to Sir Walter Raleigh bringing tobacco (& not cannabis) back to the old world with him – it set the foundation upon which a paradigm was built.  Maybe this sounds chauvinistic or jingoistic, but I say that American brewers have claimed their rightful place on beer’s global stage with the bold use of bold hops, so why pay homage to an old style from the old world?  Why not brand an American art-form as distinctly American, right up there with jazz & abstract expressionism?  American ale, West Coast ale, Cascadian ale, what have you.  Yes, I might be tilting at windmills, but I’m proud of America’s brewers.  Damn proud!  The rest of the world is viewing America as the shining brewery on the hill right now, & I say we stand up, shed off the moniker of an arcane style, & give modern IPA its daddy’s name!  Now who’s with me?!

Okay, okay, I’ve calmed down.  Whew.  Enjoy your pint, everyone.

Top Shelf Thursday, August 2013: Fruit Beers

When trying to make a point, analogies are a frequent go-to for me.  I was trying to think of a good one for fruit beers, their niche & perception in the bigger world of beer.  This may not be the perfect parallel, but the thing that came to me first is The Monkees.  For many fans of serious music, The Monkees are a punchline.  They’re seen as gimmicky, commercial, insipid, superficial by many.  On the surface, this is what most people know The Monkees for – but not all.  Sure, there’s the TV show, the fabricated origins, the bubblegum hits.  But there’s also the part of their career that achieved some depth & quality, some really solid songwriting & even pushing the envelope a bit (check out Head & Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones Ltd.).  I’ll still argue that, at their hardest, The Monkees rocked harder than The Beatles (not better, but harder).  They never stopped being a pop band, but grew into something so much more interesting than the expendable hit machine they were engineered to be.  And even “serious” rock fans can erroneously overlook the value & pleasure of a well-crafted pop song.

Fruit beers might be The Monkees of the beer world, especially by craft’s standards.  Most craft drinkers approach fruit beers with some skepticism.  The big brewers’ attempts to break into craft markets have typically been with fruit beers.  People get turned off by gimmicky, commercial, insipid, superficial examples & may write fruit beers off entirely.  But there’s so much possibility beyond the “pop” beers, & even a well-done, easy-drinking fruit beer can be just right.  At this month’s Top Shelf Thursday tasting, we asked people to put aside their prejudices & look at some of fruit beer’s deeper cuts. 

Speaking of pushing the envelope, things kicked off with Dogfish Head’s Ta Henket, which some may remember from an episode of Discovery Channel’s Brewmasters in which Sam & crew traveled to Egypt.  The beer is based on a recipe from hieroglyphs, uses a wild saccharomyces yeast strain native to the region, as well as chamomile, za’atar (a blend of herbs, sesame, & salt), & the date-like fruit from the doum palm, or gingerbread tree.  The beer was wheat-based & had a nice round sweetness & bready complexity, even with its light ABV (4.5%).

Fruit beers are seldom hoppy, but we saw how orange zest can complement a hop-forward beer with Contact High, from 4 Hands Brewing.  The hoppy character of this pale wheat was accentuated by the citrus, & hopheads in attendance were not disappointed.

ShawneeCraft’s Raspberry Blanche, a Belgian-style witbier with raspberries, hit lighter notes.  The dry, spicy character of the witbier worked well in conjunction with the use of the slightly tart fruit.  Raspberries worked very differently in Oud Beersel’s Framboise, a traditional Belgian lambic.  It was interesting to see the versatility of the fruit, as here it emphasized the sour, funky, earthy notes of the wild ale.  On another sour note, Cuvee-Brut, from traditional Belgian brewery Liefmans, is a blend of two Flanders sour brown ales: Liefmans Oud Bruin & Goudenband.  Whereas the fruit in the Framboise seemed to add tart to sour, the addition of black cherries in the Cuvee-Brut rounded & sweetened the otherwise sharp, acidic/acetic base beers.

Locally-sourced fruit is the concept behind Hangar 24’s Local Fields series, from which we sampled their Palmero.  The use of Coachella Valley dates fit squarely within the darkly sweet & fruity profile of the Belgian-style dubbel.

Fans of sour ales were excited to try Savant Beersel from Perennial Artisan Ales, but maybe not more excited than the beer itself – both bottles gushed enthusiastically when the caps were popped!  The use of 100% brettanomyces to ferment this beer was responsible for the volatile foam-up, & the funky, dry, & sour notes of the wild ale worked great with the use of Missouri grapes & the seven months spent aging in wine barrels.  Perennial also stimulated some very different tastebuds with Fantastic Voyage.  This imperial milk stout was given a slick, almost oily feel & toasty flavor from the addition of coconut.

We ended on a high note with a pair of golden Belgian-style ales – high alcohol, if nothing else.  5 Golden Rings is the fifth in The Bruery’s 12 Beers of Christmas, a diagonal series of holiday beers.  The use of ginger, allspice, & cinnamon came through in the nose, while the taste was heavy with the addition of pineapple, which concealed the 11.5% ABV surprisingly well.  And we stretched the definition of “fruit” with Kasteel Trignac XII.  The classic Kasteel Tripel from Belgium’s Van Honsebrouck was kicked up both in flavor & alcohol content – a whole percent ABV - from time spent in cognac barrels (hey, cognac’s made from grapes, so this is a fruit beer, right?). 

So there you have it: ten pieces of evidence that fruit beers stretch beyond weak & soda-like, & can embrace adventurous & odd profiles.  What’s next – craft light beer?  I doubt we’d see a tasting based around it, but who knows?  Maybe a shandy tasting?  Hmmm…

E.S.P.

For years, Westvleteren 12 sat at the top of the beer heap.  The Trappist breweries have long held their place as the elite among beermakers, & the strong, dark ale brewed at the Abbey of St. Sixtus is celebrated as the crème de la crème.  The Top [x] Beers on the internet’s two most popular beer reviewing sites, BeerAdvocate & RateBeer, were crowned for the longest time by this holiest of holy brews.  It still is at RateBeer, but recently Westy 12 has dropped all the way down to seventh place on BeerAdvocate’s list, trumped by some highly regarded IPAs & stouts (& some damn good ones, too). 

So what changed?  The tastebuds of beer geeks?  Maybe.  It’s no secret that IPAs are gaining in popularity as more & more people get acclimated to that challenging bitterness & are breaking through to the rewards beneath.  And the beer savvy always love a good stout.  But I think there’s a general change in the perception of Westy 12 since the brewers’ foray into stateside distribution last winter.  Until last December, Westvleteren’s brews were available exclusively at the abbey & the café across the street from the abbey.  They were sold by the crate during limited hours, & cars driven by thirsty beer hunters would line up at the side door, waiting to fill up with a load of this treasured quad.  They’ve since returned to this means of distribution, but for a short time were sold in retail stores across the nation in an effort to raise funds to repair a portion of the abbey.  The pedestal was shortened.  Beer lovers, who may have before only heard & dreamed of partaking, now had this forbidden fruit at their fingertips. 

And was it all they’d hoped for?  Judging by the dip in ranking, I’m assuming some were left wondering what all the fuss was about.  Which begs the question: How much is a drinker’s perception of a beer swayed by factors beyond actual sensory input?  The appearance, aroma, flavor, & texture of a brew may only tell part of the story.  It’s hard to deny that part of the allure of Westy 12 was the journey taken in uniting beer & beer lover (& it feels so good).  The cynical refer to it as “hype” & “tasting the rare”, & jibe the gullible beer geeks whose opinions are elevated by the thrill of the hunt, by grabbing that gold ring & gulping it down.  It’s hard to blame them – beer should be evaluated by its own merits, context be damned.  Right?

Again, maybe.  Actually yeah, really.  But to be the contrarian, there’s something to be said for savoring & appreciating the context & process that went into the beer, both before AND after it’s made.  Knowing the trip that you or the bottle had to take to make this experience possible probably augments it in the eyes of the drinker.  I think that’s perfectly valid.  Okay, you can’t polish a turd; if a beer is noticeably lacking or flawed it will probably fall flat, despite what sort of adventure it took or idyllic setting in which you may be drinking it.  But let’s not discount that story, that context, that perception of the beer that is “extra-sensory”.  If perception is reality & we’re in a heightened state of awareness, finely attuned to the qualities of a beer based on its background, shouldn’t our experience rightfully be elevated?  Sure, maybe it’s hype, maybe it’s self-fulfilling expectations, depending on your perspective.  But beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, & there’s some validity to that story being able to elevate a beer.  If something’s special, if there’s some magic to holding that holy grail in your hand, why fight it?  Westvleteren 12 is, in my opinion, a wonderful beer.  It’s not my favorite beer of all time, but I can see what earned it its esteem, & part of my admiration & excitement in drinking it is that it’s not at hand whenever I want some.  That it’s got that some air of mystery & esoteric elusiveness.  Part of me hopes there are always those gold rings to reach for.

                                                                                                                                                                                          

99 Bottles of Beer on the Shelf

It was late last summer & we were trying to put together an event or two for Big Pour Week, the week leading up to the Steel City Big Pour.  2012 was our first year of sponsoring the Big Pour, & we wanted to offer something unique to our customers & the greater Pittsburgh beer community, especially something that really showed off our selection.  We thought of all the great, hard-to-find beers on our shelves that we’d like to turn people onto.  We also realized that a lot of curious beer drinkers might be really intrigued by a bottle of something, but hesitant to pull the trigger because of the price tag that often comes with the rare stuff. 

Eureka!  Why not have a tasting of some select beers that we want to expose people to, at a low-risk price?  If folks like what’s offered, they’ll feel more comfortable shelling out a little more for what they know is a great beer.  If something’s not to their liking, they won’t feel burned or ripped off.  Top Shelf Thursday was born.  The first one got enough demand that we decided to make it a monthly event.  They’re a lot of fun, with faces old & new at each tasting & diverse styles of beer – some like all, all like some (& folks have found stuff they’ve absolutely loved, too!).  Folks meet, drink, & make friends - naturally a lot of the conversation tends to veer toward beer.  July saw the tenth tasting in eleven months (we skipped December), so we thought it a good time to do a recap of all the beers we’ve poured so far.

AleSmith Decadence 2012

AleSmith Grand Cru

AleSmith IPA

Anchorage Whiteout

Ballast Point Dorado

Beer Here Morke Pumpernickel Porter

Blue Point Old Howling Bastard

Bockor Bellegems Bruin

Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge

Boom Island Thoprock IPA

Brash The Bollocks

Brooklyn Black Ops

Bruery Mischief

Bruery Rueuze

Bruery Smoking Wood – Rye Barrel-Aged

Bruery Sour in the Rye

Bruery White Orchard

Caldera Vas Deferens

Caracole Saxo

Central Waters/Local Option Le Petite Mort

Charlevoix Dominus Vobiscum Double

Chimay Tripel

Cisco Pedaller Bike Path Blueberry Bleer

Clown Shoes Clementine 1.5

Clown Shoes/Brash Pimp

Clown Shoes/Three Heads Third Party Candidate

Dansk Mjod Old Danish Braggot

De la Senne/Allagash Very Special Belge

De La Senne/Weyerbacher/Tom Peters Manneken-Penn

De Struise/Stillwater Outblack

Deschutes/Hair of the Dog Conflux No. 1 (Collage)

Dieu du Ciel Routes des Epices

Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu

Dogfish Head Noble Rot

Dogfish Head/Dan the Automator Positive Contact

Draai Laag Goedenacht

DuClaw Double Naked Fish

Evil Twin Disco Beer

Evil Twin Even More Jesus

Evil Twin Symphony No. 9

Evil Twin/Omnipollo Russian Roulette

FiftyFifty Eclipse – Mellow Corn

FiftyFifty Eclipse – Old Fitzgerald

FiftyFifty Eclipse – Rittenhouse Rye

Firestone Walker Walker’s Reserve Porter

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Hambleton Nightmare

Hangar 24 Chocolate Porter

Hangar 24 Double IPA

Hanssens Oudbeitje Lambic

Hanssens Oude Kriek

Hanssens Scarenbecca Kriek

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 16

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 30

Heller-Trum Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche

Helltown Spiteful Saison

Heretic Evil Twin

Hoppin’ Frog Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S.

Hoppin’ Frog Barrel-Aged Naked Evil

Hoppin’ Frog B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher

Hoppin’ Frog D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer

Hoppin’ Frog Hop Dam Triple IPA

Invercargill Smokin’ Bishop

Jandrain-Jandrenouille V Cense

Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especiale

Liefmans Goudenband

Lost Abbey Angel’s Share

Lost Abbey Red Poppy

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

Mikkeller Chipotle Porter

Nebraska Apricot au Poivre Saison

Nebraska Fathead

North Coast/Deschutes/Rogue Class of /88 Barleywine

Omnipollo Leon

Oud Beersel Bersalis

Perfect Crime Smoking Gun

Port Anniversary Ale

Port Older Viscosity

Pretty Things Lovely Saint Winefride

Russian River Redemption

Saint-Germain Page 24 Reserve Hildegarde

Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo

Sierra Nevada/Abbey of New Clairvaux Ovila Belgian-style Golden Ale

Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Rhizing Bines

Sierra Nevada/Russian River Brux Domesticated Wild Ale

Silenrieux Joseph Spelt Ale

Southern Tier Pumking

Stillwater Folklore

Stillwater/Hof ten Dormaal Bronze Age

Telegraph Reserve Wheat

Tilquin Oude Gueuze Tilquin a L’Ancienne

Uinta Oak Jacked

Van Honsebrouck St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition

Van Steenberge Piraat

Van Steenberge St. Stefanus Grand Cru

Verhaege Duchesse de Bourgogne

Victory Golden Monkey

Victory Oak Horizontal

Victory White Monkey

The next Top Shelf Thursday is August 15^th from 7-9pm, featuring fruit beers that are a bit outside the box.  Call or stop The House to reserve your spot, & we hope to see you there!

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!