Bock, 2010 and 2011

The Brewers Association made a few changes to its style guidelines for 2011. The most talked about likely will be renaming the beer formerly known as American-Style India Black Ale, now calling it American-Style Black Ale. The press release also notes several beer style descriptions have been significantly updated.

I thought you might be curious what that means, and probably don’t have your own copy of the 2010 guidelines lying around so you can compare to the old and new. Here are both versions of the description of Traditional German-Style Bock.

2011
Traditional bocks are made with all malt and are strong, malty, medium- to full-bodied, bottom-fermented beers with moderate hop bitterness that should increase proportionately with the starting gravity. Malt character should be a balance of sweetness and toasted/nut-like malt; not caramel. Hop flavor should be low and hop aroma should be very low. Bocks can range in color from deep copper to dark brown. Fruity esters should be minimal. Diacetyl should be absent.

Original Gravity (ºPlato) 1.066-1.074 (16.5-18 ºPlato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato) 1.018-1.024 (4.5-6 ºPlato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5-6% (6.3-7.5%)
Bitterness (IBU) 20-30
Color SRM (EBC) 20-30 (40-60 EBC)

2010
Traditional bocks are made with all malt and are strong, malty, medium- to full-bodied, bottom-fermented beers with moderate hop bitterness that should increase proportionately with the starting gravity. Hop flavor should be low and hop aroma should be very low. Bocks can range in color from deep copper to dark brown. Fruity esters should be minimal.

Specification unchanged from 2010 to 2011.

Which beer is not like the others (II)?

It was kind of fun the other day, so let’s give it another try.

The goal, again, is to identify the outlier and explain why it doesn’t belong on the list. There may be more than one answer, although I happen to have a specific one in mind.

a) Three Floyd’s Alpha King
b) Fuller’s Vintage Ale
c) Ommegang Abbey Ale
d) De Ranke XX Bitter
e) Saint Arnold Summer Pils

Just so you know, nobody’s definition of “craft beer” sets any of these beers apart, nor does the country of origin.

Which beer is not like the others?

Can you identify the outlier?

a) Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat
b) Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat Ale
c) Samuel Adams Honey Porter
d) Yuengling Black & Tan
e) Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss Bier

Yes, there may be more than one correct answer (perhaps even one I haven’t thought of), so please include an explanation.

 

The opposite of extreme beer? ‘Comfort beer’

A very nice article in the current Zymurgy (the magazine mailed to members of the American Homebrewers Association and also available on newsstands) by Martyn Cornell and Antony Hayes titled “Burton Ale: A British Comfort Beer.”

I particularly like this paragraph: “Burton Ale is a comforting beer brewed for adults. It is not an extreme beer catering to childish tastes, but a strong, rich beer, playing off plenty of bitterness against a sweet, malty undertone. It has no rough edges.”

And this one: “When brewing a Burton Ale, it is best to remember the things that comforted you most as a child — your teddy bear or blanket perhaps — and then aim for a beer that will evoke similar emotions.”

(If you grew up hugging pine cones, then obviously you’re gonna brew a different beer. That’s a discussion for another day.)

I must admit my shoulders drooped a bit when I read the recipe (which calls for an alarming amount of East Kent Golding hops — comparable to well over 3 pounds per barrel before dry hopping — and discovered a bit of bad news: “Rack into maturation tanks and mature for a year.”

There’s a reason they call them maturation tanks.

Session #47: A recipe for Stilton Cheese Soup

The SessionDave Jensen at Beer 47 asks us to write about Cooking With Beer for the 47th gathering of The Session. Fifteen years ago Lucy Saunders wrote a book by with that title for Time-Life, and my wife (Daria Labinsky) and I then compiled a companion called The Brewpub Cookbook.

Not all the recipes we collected ended up in the book, but fortunately we saved them (first on 3½ floppies; it was a while ago) because several turned out to be favorites. That includes this one for Stilton Cheese Soup from Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland.

It’s rich, with a powerful, sharp Stilton flavor. Great Lakes used, and may still use, its Dortmunder Gold in making the soup. It goes well with Burning River Pale Ale, because that beer has enough hops to “cut right through the cheese.”

Stilton Cheese Soup

1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup lager beer
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 3/4 cups crumbled Stilton cheese

1. In a food processor or blender, purée carrots and onion until nearly smooth. Set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, or until mixture turns a copper color.

3. Carefully stir in chicken stock, cream, beer, carrot-onion mixture, pepper, Tabasco, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, stir the cornstarch and water together. Add to the soup. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Discard bay leaf.

5. Gradually add cheeses, cooking and stirring until melted.

Yield: 4-6 servings