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IN THE WORLD TOP BREWERS INTERVIEWED ESSENTIAL BEER KNOWLEDGE UNDERSTANDING STYLES DISCOVER BEER YOU’LL LOVE BATTLE OF THE IPAS THE BEST BEERS FOR EVERY SEASON
craft beer
UNDERSTANDING BEER STYLES Beer has a huge variety of colours, flavours and origins, so how do you know what you’re drinking? Here’s our guide to the most common styles
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ike gravity, beer styles had certainly existed for a long time, but weren’t fully understood. The origins, stories, and connections between them all were mysteries, and it required a journalist with a nose for a story to get to the bottom of it all. This beer equivalent of Isaac Newton, who documented and set out what the world’s beer styles were, was a Yorkshireman by the name of Michael Jackson (1942-2007). Jackson was fascinated by the stories, the people, and the near-magical uniqueness of every beer he tasted, and he travelled the world trying to understand them all. His books, including The World Guide to Beer (1977), Great Beers of Belgium (1991) and Beer Companion (1993), were not just influential, but at least partially responsible for a global renaissance in beer appreciation. Craft beer is now a global, interconnected culture, and to make beers in styles from other countries, brewers can adjust recipes, use unusual equipment and even replicate the local water profile to help them do so. As well as helping drinkers make sense of the beer they were drinking, Jackson helped brewers to better articulate their intentions. That’s the main thing to understand about beer styles: it’s a shorthand for what the brewer intended the beer to be. On the right you’ll find a quick glossary covering many of styles you’ll find in this guide: as ‘esters’, like banana, bubblegum, cloves and apples, all of which are most obviously present in unfiltered wheat beers.
“JACKSON WAS FASCINATED BY THE STORIES, THE PEOPLE, AND THE UNIQUENESS OF EVERY BEER” 6 | craft beer
understanding styles
style
description Ale
Double IPA Dubbel Gose
A broad umbrella category for beers that undergo a warm fermentation. IPAs, Saisons, Stouts and Gueuze, for example, are all ales. A stronger, more intense IPA, typically over 8% and with scaled-up hop additions to match. A Belgian style of rich, brown ale with pronounced fruit notes from the yeast. A German-style sour wheat beer that typically uses salt and coriander. Modern versions may add other ingredients such as fruit or spices.
Geuze/Gueuze
A sour beer made by blending different ages of lambic beers together.
Hefeweizen
A cloudy, German style of wheat beer with notes of banana and clove.
Helles
A light style of lager from Munich. Generally less hoppy than Pilsner.
Imperial Stout India Pale Ale (IPA) Lambic Pale Ale
Higher strength dark beers brewed for export and ageing. Once the preserve of the upper classes, now a favourite with beer geeks for their intensity. Normally a stronger Pale Ale, historically highly-hopped for preservation reasons (English/ Traditional); but now highly-hopped for aroma and flavour (American). A spontaneously fermented beer from the Pajottenland region of Belgium, generally aged and blended to make styles such as geuze/gueuze (a blend of aged and young lambic refermented), sweetened faro, kriek (cherry beer) and framboise (raspberry beer). British examples (also called Bitter) are malty, bitter and herbal. American versions are typically stronger, with pronounced hop character. Belgian Pale Ales are dry, bitter and yeast-forward.
Pilsner
A pale golden lager with bitter hop character, originating in Pilsen.
Porter
Historically, a dark brown, oak-aged beer. Modern versions are frequently indistinguishable from Stout.
Quadrupel Stout Saison Tripel Wild Ale Witbier
A strong, dark Belgian abbey-style ale, often as strong as 10-12%. A dark, rich ale. Historically, the stronger version of Porter, but now the terms are seen as being almost interchangeable. A farmhouse ale originating in modern-day Belgium and France. A dry, bitter beer with pronounced yeast and spice notes. A strong, pale Belgian abbey style ale with fruity, spicy flavours. A catch-all term for farmhouse-style beers that use wild yeast strains, and potentially bacteria, barrels, fruit and other ingredients. A Belgian style of wheat beer, lighter in colour and flavour than German wheat beers, often using fruit peel and coriander seed.
CRAFT BEER | 7
craft beer
THE BATTLE OF THE IPAS: EAST COAST VS WEST COAST After decades of West Coast dominance, the East Coast IPA is making a splash. What’s next for this latest evolution in the American IPA?
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n the American brewing scene, the differences between the West Coast IPA and the East Coast – or New England-style – IPA – are providing a glimpse into the way this style is changing, evolving and even splintering. Few beers have captured the public imagination quite like the IPA. Distinctly different from the maltier, lower-alcohol, less intensely hopped British IPA, the American IPA first found its footing on the West Coast. Some point to the release of Anchor Liberty Ale – technically a pale ale, but made with Cascade hops – in 1975 as the very beginning of the style. In the ensuing years, many of the earliest and most influential American craft breweries set up shop on the West Coast, and began experimenting with hop-driven brewing, particularly with American-grown hops that were, as a rule, powerful in their bitterness but also much richer in juicy, tropical fruit, and citrus flavours than their European counterparts. Sierra Nevada was launched in Chico, California in 1979, and soon made waves with its Pale Ale, which was the hoppiest beer around at its time of release. In 1994, Blind Pig, now defunct but formerly based in Temecula, California, turned out an Inaugural Ale that went even heavier on the hops, and is now considered the firstever double IPA. From these early innovators followed a wave of West Coast breweries that made their names with hoppy IPAs. Stone Brewing launched in Escondido, California in 1996, with a range of hopdriven styles; Green Flash began brewing in San Diego in 2002, and their West Coast IPA helped codify the burgeoning style; Russian River’s Pliny the Younger, a potent and hugely in-demand triple IPA, has been brewed since 2005. With each passing year, demand for and interest in the West Coast IPA grew. 2010 is cited as the high water mark of
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“THE IPA REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC, EXCITING, AND VERSATILE STYLES IN CRAFT BEER” the style: the year drinkers couldn’t get enough of that bracing bitterness; those distinctive flavours of grapefruit, pine, resin and citrus; that caramel malt base; and those intensely high ABVs and IBUs. But with every trend follows a backlash. That might explain the success of the East Coast-style IPA today, which is everything the West Coast IPA isn’t: soft on the palate, low in bitterness, murky in appearance, with a very discreet malt presence and a singular, almost overwhelming juiciness, guided by hop strains like Citra and Mosaic. The East Coast IPA is still in its adolescence. The Alchemist’s Heady
Topper, brewed in Waterbury, Vermont, is often cited as one of the forefathers of the style, and was first released in its distinctive silver cans in 2011. Today, a coterie of East Coast breweries – including Tree House, Trillium, Bissell Brothers, Tired Hands, and many more – are turning out key exemplars of the style. What’s next for the IPA, then? The East Coast IPA is still ascending, and will likely be the subject of great excitement for years to come. But if there’s any single takeaway, it’s that the IPA remains one of the most dynamic, exciting and versatile styles in craft beer – and its ongoing evolution is all but guaranteed.
IPAs & terroir
TERROIR IN BEER Terroir may be a concept that’s borrowed from the wine world, but it’s gaining new relevance for craft brewers and beer drinkers
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erroir is an idea that originates from the wine world. Its main premise: that the flavours, aromas, and other characteristics present in a wine are directly representative of where, and how, it was cultivated. From the nature of the soil to the regional climate and the amount of sun a given slope will receive, every viticultural element will have an impact on what ends up in the glass. Terroir is a wine’s unique calling card. But expressing terroir in beer is a far more complicated premise. Unlike wine, which is, for the most part, made exclusively with grapes and yeast, beer has many component parts. A single brew can feature malt produced in the UK alongside hops grown in New Zealand with fruit that hails from California, all fermented with a Belgian-born yeast strain. Given the carbon footprints implicit in using ingredients from across the globe, the idea that beer can express idiosyncratic locality may not be obvious. And yet, there are ways that terroir is still relevant to the brewing process. Hops are one example. Just as Sauvignon Blanc grapes will taste profoundly different when planted in France than in South
Africa, so individual hop varieties will differ in their aromatics depending on where in the world they’re grown. Cascade is an excellent case study. First bred in the US in 1956, the hop is famous for its role in helping to kick-start the American craft beer revolution. Drinkers know it for its distinctive grapefruit and citrus flavours, as well as its good bittering potential. But when Cascade hops were planted in New Zealand, they instead offered lime and tropical fruit aromatics – so much so that the New Zealand planting of the hop had to be renamed to Taiheke, because it didn’t taste like classic Cascade. Harvesting unique microflora for use in fermentation is another way that a brewery can express its local identity. Breweries like Cantillon in Brussels are famous for using coolships: large, open-top containers that hold freshly made wort, and which are designed to attract whatever wild yeast and bacteria are in the vicinity. Once inoculated and produced, the ‘spontaneously fermented’ beer is utterly unique; even a brewery ten miles away will have a different array of microflora. Previously a traditional brewing practice, the use of spontaneous fermentation is now being explored by a number of up-
and-coming craft breweries, including De Garde in Tillamook, Oregon and Black Project in Denver, Colorado. Then there are the breweries for which terroir is an abiding concept. Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal, a farmhouse brewery based in Tildonk, Belgium, offers an excellent example of terroir’s role in beer. Not only do the brewers harvest wild yeast from Hof Ten Dormaal’s immediate vicinity, they even grow their own grains, cultivate their own hops, and use their own well water. The result is a beer that is profoundly expressive of where it was produced; it also demonstrates how farmstead brewing can be a model of sustainability for the future. That’s just the start. From the rise of small, independent maltsters to the use of hand-foraged fruits, herbs, and other local ingredients in the brewing process, the idea of terroir in beer is only going to become more prominent, and more relevant, in the years to come.
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spring
CITRA Sweetness and bitterness elegantly combined in a single bottle
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ingle-hopped beers are an increasingly common fixture in craft beer. They are particularly useful to people trying to learn more about flavours of specific hops, like a writer reading more books in a specific genre to understand it better. Every now and again, a brewer will use a hop that can do all the work on its own. Citra is such a hop, relatively high in the alpha acids that impart bitterness to beer, and full of citrusy aroma. Oakham Ales claim to be the first British brewer to use the hop commercially, doing so back in 2009. Their Citra beer proved to be so popular it was brewed again, and again, before becoming a permanent fixture in 2011. A deep, shimmering gold, it pours with a tight and lively head that laces the glass nicely and smells absolutely divine. Its mouthwatering aroma offers grapefruit, lychee and lemons, with hardly any malt character detectable at all. This beer is a showcase for the hop, and what a hop it is. The first sip is a mouth-puckering, palate-popping burst of soft, chewable fruit. A light malt base provides a simple biscuit base as the Citra hops march out all-singing, all-dancing. Rather than muddled bursts of different fruity, bitter flavours, Oakham Citra is a smooth, rolling wave of juicy grapefruit and lime that coats the tongue and leaves a sticky, resinous finish without becoming too cloying. The finish is quite sharp, quenching and dominated by grapefruit, but each sip offers a little more: peach, melon, papaya and juicy white grapes. There’s no palate-stripping bitterness, but rather a lip-licking tartness that makes it enormously refreshing. To see Oakham Citra really shine with food, try chicken breasts cooked in apricots and créme fraiche. The Citra gets in and under the creaminess and lifts up all the juicy fruit and savoury flavours. Citra is a stunning beer that never fails to astonish with its simple, subtle brilliance.
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The Facts Brewer Oakham Ales Origin Peterborough, UK Strength 4.6% Type Pale Ale Web www.oakhamales.com Temperature 8-12°C
REVIVAL The moreish result of Somerset’s refreshing magical alchemy
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oor Beer Company is based on an old dairy farm in Somerset, and has been steadily expanding and winning awards for their ales since 1996. They have seen a surge of popularity recently, and with fresh branding and awards under their belt, their beer is being enjoyed up and down the country. Revival was first brewed to celebrate the revival of the brewery, and it is one of the finest pale ales being made in the UK today. Moor is also known for its ‘unfined’ beers, not using Isinglass finings to clear their beers, preferring a natural haze. As a result, Revival really shines, a beautiful, burnished gold with a slight, appetising cloudiness, sporting a thick, lasting head that laces the glass. This one’s bottleconditioned, so expect a lively pour from the hefty 660ml bottle. Revival bursts with fresh, zesty, grapefruit and lime notes, and has a pleasing, spicy kick to your nostrils. All beers should be refreshing, but Revival really takes things to the next level. Its hop profile is a fizzing, citrus rocket that zooms around and around the palate. Fierce, bubbly grapefruit bursts in tandem with jabs of lemon, orange rind, a splash of pineapple. The finish is like lemon sherbet and key lime pie. Reviving is clearly its true purpose; in fact, its hop profile could probably wake the dead. It can’t be stressed enough how sharp, juicy and smile-inducing this beer is. Matching this beer to anything fruity would simply dilute the perfect citrus character. Instead, consider using it to cut through and enhance light, soft cheeses, while its carbonation and fresh zing is equally suited to the crunchy skin of moist, roast chicken. Revival is simply invigorating. For a 4% beer, the flavours it boasts suggest some sort of magical alchemy is taking place down in Somerset, and Revival is utterly shaming to many ales of similar strength.
The Facts Brewer Moor Beer Company Origin Somerset, UK Strength 4% Type Pale Ale Web www.moorbeer.co.uk Temperature 8-12°C
CRAFT BEER | 17
Summer
CAMDEN HELLS LAGER A wonderful and endlessly refreshing London-born pale lager that’s so flavoursome it’s almost impossible to dislike
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oused beneath the railway arches of Kentish Town West overground station is Camden Town Brewery, a celebrated leading light of the London craft beer scene. Camden Hells, the brewery’s award-winning flagship lager, sums up everything great about them as a brewer: beer that is bright in clarity and flavour, with good ideas and stylish packaging. Camden Hells’ name is a nod to both Helles and Pils, and it comfortably straddles both of these categories, making for a crowd-pleasing, easy-going lager that delivers every time, whether the drinker is after refreshment or flavour. Its pale gold appearance may not blow anyone away – it looks like a lager though, which is more than enough. Its head is tight and lasting, offering an appetising lemony and bready aroma, not unlike a slice of lemon cake. The greatest thing about Camden Hells is the way it combines the light, drinkable body of a helles lager, with the crisp, firm bitterness of a pilsner. The initial sips are simple, sweet bites of clean pilsner malt with bold, bittering hops in the finish, but with each taste, there’s a little bit more flavour to it and yet, at the same time, it seems simpler and simpler. Lagers that taste clean are ten a penny, but truly impressive lagers display a sharp clarity of flavours, sweet then bitter, which truly refresh the palate. Camden Hells is such a lager, and its increasing availability on draught as well as in bottles is a welcome sight in UK pubs. Camden Town also released an unfiltered, US-hopped version called USA Hells, which even outshone its award-winning brother. For a food companion, Hells is perfectly partnered with an enormous, toppingladen hot dog. It will comfortably cleanse the palate of any salt and oil, whilst refreshing you enough for each delicious meaty bite to taste as good as the first.
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The Facts Brewer Camden Town Brewery Origin London, Britain Strength 4.6% Type Lager Web www.camdentownbrewery.com Temperature 4-8°C
THE BEER TALKING
JASPER CUPPAIDGE
CAMDEN TOWN BREWERY What’s the inspiration behind Camden Hells Lager? To make an excellent lager like those that inspired us in Germany – we aim for something between a Pilsner and a Munich Helles. What’s your favourite beer to drink after work? Hells, of course! I drink all types of beer, but always seem to wind up back at Hells. Which beer do you wish you had made? Maybe Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Which beers best demonstrate who you are as a brewery? I think beers like USA Hells and our limited release Indian Summer Lager. Although we make all types of beer, we love opening people’s eyes to new forms of lager. We take something traditional and put a new spin on it.
AUGUSTINER-BRAU LAGERBIER HELL The classic Helles lager from an old Munich brewery THE FACTS Brewer Augustiner-Brau, Munich Origin Munich, Germany Strength 5.2% Type Helles Lager Web www.augustiner-braeu.de Temperature 4-8°C
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ugustiner Brau was established back in 1328, making it Munich’s oldest independent brewery. It’s famous for its traditional methods in the brewing of all its beers, not least its most well-known and popular brew: the Helles lager. Helles, or Hell, means ‘light’ in German, and these beers epitomise Bavarian lager. Augustiner is famous for putting this lager through a second maturation of several months, which many believe sets it apart from competitors. Indeed, Augustiner is so confident of the quality of its beer that it doesn’t really advertise it at all. The liquid itself is a duller hue of gold than most lagers, sharing that ever so slightly
deeper shade shared by authentic pilsner. The head is full, lively and aromatic. On the nose, there’s freshly baked bread, just a touch of Hallertau hop pepper and a sharp lemon zing. It’s a classic combination that makes the mouth water. From the tip of the tongue to the back of your throat, this is a proper lager, through and through. That extra maturation has made a very refined but enjoyable and satisfying beast. Soft, biscuity sweetness gives way to a full mule-kick of hop bitterness. A gentle, citrusy aftertaste tingles on the tongue. There isn’t much more to it, but then, there doesn’t need to be. It may be straightforward, but Augustiner Helles is just so damn classy and likeable that you don’t care. This is an absolutely glorious just-got-home-beer, and gives you plenty to enjoy without any of it getting in the way of you drinking it. All it needs alongside it is some slices of ham, bread and cheese – simple, flavoursome and unpretentious, just like the beer.
OUDE GEUZE The moreish style of Altbier comes to the fore THE FACTS Brewer Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen Origin Beersel, Belgium Strength 6% Type Geuze Web www.3fonteinen.be Temperature 8-10°c
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rmand Debelder and his brother Guido took over 3 Fonteinen from their father in 1982, and, despite the difficulties faced by many lambic beer producers as the style became increasingly marginalised, 3 Fonteinen built a reputation as one of the best brewers and blenders of geuze (also ‘gueuze’, depending where you are in Belgium) in the world, using lambics from Girardin, Boon and Lindemans as well as their own. Of all the problems that could potentially hinder a small business, a faulty thermostat nearly spelled the end of 3 Fonteinen. 13,000 bottles of its beers exploded when the thermostat wrongly set the temperature in the warehouse to over 60°C, and many thousands more were ruined. Only through
sheer determination and the support of his fellow lambic makers was Debelder able to keep his business going, and eventually get his brewery back on its feet. By 2013, 3 Fonteinen was brewing its own lambic again, having survived a crisis that almost saw it disappear forever. In 2016, it opened a new warehouse, visitor centre and tasting room, and the business continues to go from strength to strength. There’s a force to the flavours of 3 Fonteinen’s lambic which mirrors the zeal, fervency, and determination that helped the brewery survive. Its young lambic, before it is blended, is furiously sharp, with vivid funk and barnyard aromas and a palate full of grapefruit, musty oak and tart sweetness. Its rambunctiousness is tempered by time and interaction with its elders, much like some people are. The blend of one, two and three-year-old lambics, refermented into Oude Geuze, possesses all the vibrancy of the fruity, funky young lambic, and the dry, refined character of the aged beer. And that’s just when it’s at its freshest. Like the brewery itself, these beers have great futures ahead of them.
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autumn TRIBUTE
SAISON SAUVIN
St Austell, Cornwall UK Type Bitter Strength 4.2%
8 Wired Brewing, Warkworth, New Zealand Type Saison Strength 7%
• Tribute is the best-selling beer from Cornwall’s largest regional brewer. First brewed in 1999 to celebrate a total solar eclipse in Britain which was best seen from Cornwall, it is now brewed to celebrate any occasion. It pours a light, oaky brown with orange and spice aromas, leading to a gently spicy orange marmalade, cinnamon and toffee taste with a complex, bittersweet finish.
• If you love the tropical and grassy qualities locked away inside New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops then look no further than Saison Sauvin from 8 Wired Brewing. Saison Sauvin explodes out of the glass with notes of passion fruit and gooseberry before being rounded out with funky Belgian yeast esters and a bone dry finish.
HARVEST ALE RED ROCKET ALE Bear Republic Brewing Co, California USA Type Red Ale Strength 6.8% • This crimson-tinged mahogany beer has an aroma of caramel, roasted malt, pine, fresh bread and a little mango. The first sip screams malt and caramel sweetness. It sits heavily while a gradual rumble of piney, resinous hops roll across the tongue. A blast of roasted coffee signals the beginning of an imperial-stout-esque finish, full of red fruit and dark chocolate.
BROADSIDE Adnams, Southwold UK Type Bitter Strength 4.7% in cask, 6.3% in bottle • Whether Adnams Broadside is better from cask or bottle is a pub debate that will never die. It’s good in both servings, with cask lending it a creamy smooth body, while the bottled version is strong and, for some, has more flavour. They’re actually different recipes, with the bottled being the original. It has a deep, ruby brown colour, brown sugar and dried fruit aromas. Broadside’s big body wraps your tongue in a muscular hug and smothers it warmly with rich, malt loaf and toffee flavours. Widely available from supermarkets in bottles.
LITTLE BRETT Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine, USA Type American Wild Ale Strength 4.8% • If you like Allagash’s famous White Ale then you’ll love Little Brett. This beer is 100% fermented with Allagash’s house strain of Brettanomyces before being graced with an addition of Mosaic hops. It’s tart and funky up front, with hints of mango and pineapple rounded off with a dry finish and just a kiss of acidity.
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JW Lees, Manchester UK Type Strong Ale/Barley Wine Strength 11.5% • A cult legend in its own right, Harvest Ale has been made by JW Lees since 1986. It is made from freshly harvested barley in autumn and released just prior to Christmas. Although pasteurised, it will mature in the bottle and is recommended for drinking fresh or ageing. The profile can vary from vintage to vintage and depending on when it is drunk, but common characteristics include sumptuous chocolate, sherry, dried fruits and spice flavours. Available from specialist off-licences, online retailers and the brewery website.
BREEZE Affinity Brew Co, London, UK Type Saison Strength 3.8% • Despite being such a young brewery, Tottenham’s Affinity Brew Co has quickly established itself as one to watch in the London brewing scene. Its flagship beer is a sessionable table saison called Breeze that’s brewed with lime zest and coriander seed, flavours of which mix and mingle with a slightly funky, dry Belgian yeast character.
SAISON DE BRETTAVILLE Almanac Beer Company, San Francisco, California, USA Type Saison Strength 7.2% • Almanac is famous for its oak-aged, farminspired ales. This complex, nuanced and delicious saison uses 12 different strains of Brettanomyces (wild yeast), before ageing the resulting beer in white wine barrels and dryhopping it with Hallertau Blanc, Mandarina and Mosaic. It sounds complicated, but the funky notes from the yeast and barrels dovetail beautifully with the delicate citrus hop notes.
RUMPKIN Avery Brewing Co, Boulder, Colorado, USA Type Pumpkin Ale Strength 17.5% • Rumpkin is a pumpkin ale of walloping intensity and heady, exhilarating strength. To make this seasonal brew, Avery produces a base of rich, spice-led pumpkin ale before transferring it to fresh rum barrels, which impart their molasses sweetness to the beer. Deep copper in the glass, Rumpkin offers a bouquet of pumpkin, gingerbread, clove, vanilla, toffee, and rye bread notes, plus a luscious, almost sticky mouthfeel.
CWTCH Tiny Rebel, Wales, UK Type Amber Ale Strength 4.6%
XXXB Batemans, Wainfleet, Linconcolnshire, UK Type Best Bitter Strength 4.8% • Lincolnshire’s Batemans Brewery is perhaps best known for its XB bitter, but those in the know will seek out its stronger, richer cousin, XXXB. This copper coloured beer is hopped with both Kentish and Styrian Goldings that add earthy and peppery qualities to a backbone of biscuit malt and vinous berry fruits before leading to a bitter finish.
BATHAMS BEST BITTER Bathams Brewery, Brierley Hill, West Midlands, UK Type Best Bitter Strength 4.3%
• Tiny by name and tiny by nature, this Welsh superstar brewery can’t keep up with the huge demand they receive, so their beers are available on a sort of revolving basis. Cwtch (pronounced ‘kutch’, the Welsh word for cuddle) is worth seeking out when it’s next available. It is amber in colour, with a vibrant hoppy aroma, and lush citrus, pine and caramel on the taste. It gives more than the modest strength would suggest. Available from some supermarkets, specialist off-licences and the brewery website.
• Some beers might be traditional, others might be the object of a cult following, but few can boast to be both. Only available locally to the brewery, ‘The Batham’s’ is the definitive Black Country bitter, balancing a honeyed, bready body with peppery, leafy English hop character and finishing with a session-beer dryness that makes it impossible to drink just one.
HOP ROD RYE
Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, Missouri, USA Type Farmhouse Ale Strength 8.5%
Bear Republic Brewing Company, Healdsburg, California, USA Type Rye IPA Strength 8% • Bear Republic’s Hop Rod Rye is brewed with 18% rye malt – enough to impart the classic rye profile of spiciness and crisp-edged dryness to the brew. To match the rye’s intensity, as well as the caramel sweetness provided by the barley malt, the brewery is generous with its hops. The end result boasts an aroma of sugared lemon and piney bitterness on the palate.
D’ETRE
SAISON BRETT
• Tank 7 – Boulevard Brewing Company’s flagship farmhouse ale – is the base for this limited-edition release. Dry hopped, bottle-conditioned with Brettanomyces, and aged for a minimum of three months, Saison Brett offers a beautiful balance of honeyed sweetness and pleasing bitterness. On the palate, the beer offers a complex array of citrus, fruit, and vinous characteristics, which evolve into a spicy and off-dry finish.
Boundary Brewing Cooperative, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Type Saison Strength Varies
LA (SAINT) JEAN
• Belfast’s Boundary Brewing Cooperative has quickly built a reputation on the back of its pale ales and stouts. However, its barrel-ageing project is where head brewer Matthew Dick’s true passion lies. D’être is a summation of his ambition, an ever-changing Saison that lets him push the boundaries of his creativity, whether it’s “hopped up the wazoo” or laden with fresh fruit such as passion fruit or raspberries.
• You wouldn’t think that some of the best craft beers being produced in France were being done so by a Scot – however that means you won’t have tried the excellent beers produced by Brasserie Craig Allen. La (Saint) Jean is a classic Belgian-style farmhouse ale that evokes aromas of cut grass that has been left in the sun to slowly dry, which mingle with the barnyard funk of Belgian yeast.
Brasserie Craig Allen, Plessis de Roye, France Type Saison Strength 4.5%
CRAFT BEER | 97
winter
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9000
THE ABYSS Open this beer and embrace the darkness but pray it does not take your soul
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hen does a beer cease to become more than simply a beer? Perhaps when the final product is something that is greater than the sum of its parts. In brewing, blending is a true art form that is attempted by some but only truly mastered by a select few. Brewers can study best brewing techniques and practices as well as learn fermentation science inside and out – but when it comes to blending there is only one thing to trust – your palate. One wonderful example of the fine art of blending beer is The Abyss, an imperial stout from Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes – a brewery perhaps better known for its core beers such as Fresh Squeezed IPA and Black Butte Porter. The Abyss is a seasonal beer that the brewery releases annually and is almost certainly a beverage that can be described as greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a complex beer even before it spends time in barrels, featuring six types of malt, four hop varieties plus the addition of black strap molasses, brewer’s liquorice, vanilla beans and cherry bark.
Fifty per cent of the final blend then spends the better part of the next 12 months in Bourbon, Pinot Noir and virgin Oregon oak barrels. It’s then masterfully blended back to form the finished product. As you’d expect, The Abyss pours oubliette black, releasing the aromas from the additions of molasses, liquorice and vanilla as it oozes from the bottleneck. These flavours mingle on the palate along with warming alcohol before leading to a tannic, bourbon and red wine tinged finish. It’s an incredibly complex beer, but given time to warm and open up the flavours will soften and you too will finally be able conquer and enjoy The Abyss.
The Facts Brewer Deschutes Brewery Origin Bend, Oregon, USA Strength 11.1% Type Imperial Stout Web www.deschutesbrewery.com Temperature 14-16°C
“IT’S AN INCREDIBLY COMPLEX BEER, BUT GIVEN TIME TO WARM AND OPEN UP THE FLAVOURS WILL SOFTEN AND YOU TOO WILL FINALLY BE ABLE CONQUER AND ENJOY THE ABYSS” CRAFT BEER | 129