musing

The IPA at the end of the journey: Why Pete Brown is smiling

Pete BrownIf you don’t want to drink this beer then I will:

“It poured a rich, deep copper colour, slightly hazy. It reminded me of American IPAs – you could almost see the weighty alcohol content. The nose was an absolute delight – an initial sharp citrus tang, followed by a deeper range of tropical fruit – I was reminded of mango and papaya. Later, after it had breathed for a while, it went a bit sherberty. On the tongue it simply exploded with rich, ripe fruit, a little bit of pepper, and a wonderfully clean bitter finish that left my tongue buzzing.”

After months of drinking dreadful beer along the way, Pete Brown finally got to open the India Pale Ale hauled from Burton-on-Trent to India.

He’s writing a book about this journey — which better be available in the U.S., dammit — but promises details in his blog first.

Meanwhile, consider this:

I’ve found large elements of the IPA story to be myth, but this central fact – it wasn’t just the brewer but also the journey that created this beer – holds up.

I guess this means a beer terroir could include the open sea.

Monday morning musing: Beer gaining ground

Having spent much of three days in airports, airplanes and a moving car (a new project I’ll write about here sooner than later) I’m in serious catch-up mode this morning, but early on noticed a post at Miller’s Brew Blog indicating the sales balance between spirits and beer may be beginning to swing back beer’s way.

Makes perfect sense to me since I used my airplane time to breeze through “The Business of Spirits,” which “describes how clever marketing, innovative production methods, and a booming market for luxury goods turned small, family-run business into huge global corporations.”

This could be one of those magazine cover curse things &#151 once a trend turns up on the cover of a prominent magazine (or this case a whole book is devoted to it) that means it has crested. After all, demand for spirits has always been cyclical.

Of course if that is the case then we should start worrying about “craft” beer given the attention that growth in the category is getting. (Today’s Wall Street Journal has a story about Bell’s Brewery and its distribution dispute in Chicago – subscription required.)

An interesting book, although one I’d suggest grabbing out your local library than adding to your own collection. And for fun, one quote:

Soon, says Dave Pickerell, Maker’s Mark master distiller, your drink may become spicy. “The American palate is migrating to the more sweet and will move on to savory,” he says. “The next coming down the pipe is spices.” People usually start with sweeter flavors but as their palates get more experience and mature, they begin gravitating to more bitter and complex tasting spirits. (The same process usually happens with people who eat a lot of chocolate. They started out eating sweeter milk chocolate, and as their palates get more refined, they begin gravitating to increasingly darker and and often more expensive chocolate.)

Back to play catchup.

Bitter, baby: It says so right here

Olfabrikken labelThis is just a great idea from Ølfabrikken, or maybe from Shelton Brothers, which imports the Danish beer.

I want to see similar information on the label of every beer in the store.

What else do you need to know?

OK, if 100 gram IPA is any good (yes) and if it is worth $8.99 (in New Mexico; well that’s $4 more than Stone Ruination). And maybe they need a fourth scale – either ranging from “beginner” to “experienced” (my idea of bitter might be different than some) or “bland” to “intense.” In either case all the blocks would be filled in for 100 gram.

But wouldn’t you love to see a similar chart &#151 like brewing competitors would every come up with a standard &#151 on the back of very bottle?

The label also provides a little information about the brewery, and the fact its beers are unpasteurized, unfiltered and naturally carbonated.

And about the beer itself: “Our 100 Gram IPA is an Imperial IPA, hopped continuously throughout the entire boil. Hops additions are made every three minutes, and are increased by 100 grams with each addition. The result is a flavorful bitter ale, with intense floral aromas from the huge quantities of hops added near the end of the boil.”

While I love the informative label and that beer drinkers in Denmark can enjoy locally brewed Double IPAs I’m still trying to figure out why it is necessary to ship the hops back to the United States.

Fantasy Beer Dinner #3: Sean Paxton

Sean PaxtonFor more about what this is part of look here.

Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef, was a professional chef for years and has been a homebrewer since 1993. The meals he prepares annually for Northern California Homebrew Festival are legendary, and he writes a regular food column for Beer Advocate magazine.

In case you forgot, the questions are: If you could invite four people dead or alive to a beer dinner who would they be? What four beers would you serve?

So many people to chose from, yet the more I think about it, the easier the guest list is.

Father Dominique, Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy. What we taste today in Rochefort’s 8 and 10, might not be how those two beers started back at the turn of the century without his help. Father Dominique’s improvements to the production and quality of the brewing techniques, ultimately changed the course of the monastery future. To discuss with him what and how the beers were made before and what changes were implemented would make for a pretty incredible evening. Can he bring some samples to share at the table?

Charles Greene. One of the two brothers who brought us the Greene & Greene style of architecture. I see many similarities in highly skilled trade and decorative art using wood, to a brewer designing a great beer for the palate and brewing it. His take on food and beer would add a nice mix to the table.

Matt Bryndilson. Besides being a great brewer (at Firestone Walker), he is also a total foodie at heart. With his crazy blend of last years 10 and soon to be released 11, Matt’s experience in blending beers, aging in oak and hop knowledge, could spark an interesting discussion on the future of brewing. I would also love his take on the meal and beers that were served over dinner. And besides, he’s still alive.

And Michael Jackson. I only met him once and never got a chance to cook for him. That would have been cool, to cook for such an amazing inspiration. That menu would take a long time to create. But, oh the conversation that would come out of it.

The first course would start with a glass of De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserve 2000 aged in Boudreaux Barrels for 18 months. The flavors of toffee, apricots, cherries, grapes, cinnamon and touches of spices that you can almost identify, but meld into another flavor dancing on your tongue. I’d pair this with a selection of Trappist cheeses: Chimay Grand Reserve, Orval and Westmalle Tripel Crème, garnishing the plate with fresh figs, dried apricots, toasted hazelnuts, cinnamon infused honey and a rustic sourdough.

Second beer would be De Struise French Oak Aged Pannepot. When I first tasted this elixir, I thought “Sex in a Glass.” Urbain and his crazy/wild team of brewers created a brew that is perfect with food, or to sit by a fire and smoke a nice cigar. To pair with this treat, I would have to have to do a Seared Duck Breast, cooked a juicy medium rare, on a Bed of Pureed Celery Root, with a sauce reduced from New Glarus Cherry, duck stock and thyme from the garden.

I would have to serve my almost done Saucerful of Secrets to my four guests. With a crazy and complex grain bill, different sugars and a radical fermentation, it would be an honor to pour this for a third course. I would pair a Fig Wood Smoke Rack of Lamb, served with a Fig Coriander Demi and Black Truffle Mash Potatoes topped with Seared Foie Gras to play off the dark fruit flavors in the beer.

And my last beer would be Hair of the Dog Dave. Created by triple freezing Adam, aging it in Bourbon Barrels for 6 months, flavors beyond most ideas of what beer is, wash over the tongue. The fact that It’s over 28% abv and over 10 years old now sure helps . . . I did a Beeramisu for Fred Eckhardt’s 80th with Alan, using this beer and pairing with it. The intense malt flavors pair nicely with the nutty mascarpone and a sprinkle of 120L crystal malt. A nice way to end the evening.

Fantasy Beer Dinner #2: Steve Hales

Steven D. HalesFor more about what this is part of look here.

Steven D. Hales is Professor of Philosophy at Bloomsburg State University, but more relevant here is that he edited Beer & Philosophy. He also contributed a wonderful essay in which he introduces us to the idea that quality is the density of pleasure.

In case you forgot, the questions are: If you could invite four people dead or alive to a beer dinner who would they be? What four beers would you serve?

Here’s my list, of folks that were great raconteurs who liked to drink, and would be a hoot at dinner:

Socrates
Benjamin Franklin
Winston Churchill
Ernest Hemingway

If I added a fifth it would be Scottish philosopher David Hume.

Here’s what I’d serve. And I imagine the beers going with specific foods, too.

1. Franziskaner Weissbier. Served with a salad.
2. Saison Dupont. With a broth vegetable soup.
3. Ommegang Abbey Ale. Served with a roast lamb.
4. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. With a dense chocolate
torte dessert.