As far back as 5,000 years ago, Scotland was brewing beer. Well, sort of...
The beer that existed in those days may have looked a little something like today's beers, but it certainly didn't taste or smell anything like it. While fermented bread would have been the source of alcohol for these ancient brews, the beer of the Neolithic Scotland region didn't contain any hops.
The first documented mention of hops was a few thousand years later, when ancient Roman author Pliny the Elder granted the plant a proper name (Humulus lupulus). Furthermore, the first known use of hops in brewing wasn't until about year 400 in Babylon, with widespread usage catching on much later - around the thirteenth century. [Read more: Hops History]
Apparently, Scotland missed the memo. Hops-less spruce and pine ales remained popular in the area as late as the 19th century. While it may be difficult to imagine beer without hops, thanks to Heather Ales Ltd., a division of Williams Bros Brewing, we don't have to; we can try it first-hand.
My mother-in-law passed me an interesting article from Inside Jersey Magazine (a publication of North Jersey's widely distributed newspaper, The Star Ledger). As a proud citizen of the Garden State, and a craft beer connoisseur-in-training, this article was particularly intriguing as it details writer Peter Genovese's crawl through New Jersey's thirteen brew pubs.
So what's the problem? Basically, New Jersey needs to step it up, big time, in the world of craft brewing. Although Genovese sung the praises of certain aspects of each pub, he inadvertently illustrates a few points which I have long identified: the brew pubs in NJ are few and far between, there are very few standout beers from the best of the bunch, and the overall brew scene in New Jersey is not going to see many awards.
New Jersey all too often finds itself at the butt of all jokes; and while I have always been the first person to jump in at the defense of the misunderstood state, I am left without a keg to stand on when battling the finely-tuned brew cultures from other (even nearby) states.
For instance, I would have loved to have attended the NJ Craft Beer Fest, and the attendees are passionate, but the scene seems... well, a little sad. Here's a video of the 2007 Fest I found on YouTube:
Again, far from torturous - I'm sure these folks had a blast. It simply seems an amateur gathering compared to some of the more prolific brewing states. Don't get me wrong, I'm a regular patron at some of the North Jersey establishments - Gaslight, Trap Rock, and Egan & Sons. I've also enjoyed a sitting at J.J. Bitting's and Kroughs, while my wife has frequented all of the above as well as Harvest Moon. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay at each and every one of these establishments; in fact the food is phenomenal at some of these places. I simply feel the beer is somewhat less refined than it could be.
There are a few reasons why this could be the case. First, the brew pub culture in New Jersey is still rather young, with its roots dating back just over a dozen years.
Next, the strict liquor laws in New Jersey limit the number of establishments in any given town, and make it difficult for any new entries to enter the mix. In addition, I've been told that the cost of a liquor license (which allows an establishment to serve alcohol) can be in excess of $750,000 in some of the Northern New Jersey towns, making it near impossible for a dreaming entrepreneur to get his or her feet wet.
Lastly, despite a recently declining market, New Jersey real estate costs (including property taxes) are disproportionately higher than around most of the country. There are indeed some microbreweries in NJ that are making waves - Flying Fish, High Point, Cricket Hill, River Horse - but let's just say the wake around New Jersey does little more than gently rock the boat.
While I'll give New Jersey the benefit of the doubt, and can admit that we, as a state, are making progress, there is still a lot of ground to cover. I see events like the Craft Beer Fest and the Atlantic City Beer Festival, and recognize their importance in promoting the craft beer movement. I think, perhaps, the patronage needs to grow and mature a bit more, and potentially we shall see that demand drives competition and further innovation. Until then, there are far worse things in life than some decent beer.
Portland, Maine is living in the shadow of the Oregon beer haven with the same name, but you'd be hard pressed to convince the folks at Allagash Brewing Company of that fact.
Since 1995 they have been producing world-class, modern American brews in classic Belgian styles. Hugh Malone Ale is Allagash's Belgian style IPA, bursting with citric hoppy flavor and a nose best described by the brewer as "pine and grapefruit."
Hugh Malone is not overwhelming or intimidating like some American style IPAs, rather aggressively aromatic while smooth and mild on the palate: flavorful, ripe, and fruity. Historically, India Pale Ales (IPAs) were strongly hopped (and over 5% alcohol by volume) to survive the voyage from England to India. Many modern American IPAs tend to showcase hops as a flavoring mechanism - bold, up-front, and extremely aggressive; while Belgian IPAs, though inspired by the American style, are a bit milder.
Hugh Malone is an American version of the Belgian version of the American version of the English India Pale Ale... Yikes! In other words, American hops and Belgian yeast. Available only in large 750ml bottles, this beer's price point may rule it out as an every-day-drinker; but you can breathe easy knowing that there's a good cause behind it all.
A maniacal jester abroad its jacket, Blithering Idiot may not strike the casual beer drinker as a great 'impulse buy.' Chances are the folks over at Weyerbacher, known for their eclectic take on style and bizarre label art, may prefer to keep it that way.
Weighing in at just over 11% alcohol, Blithering Idiot certainly makes a statement, and is hardly a casual beer by any standard. This is a rich, complex, warming and powerful beverage crafted for slow sipping on a cold winter's day.
Well, winter is a way's off, so we thought a preemptive strike might be in order.
The names "Barley Wine," "Barleywine," and "Barley Wine Style Ale" are synonymous; and no matter the variation (we'll stick with "Barley Wine"), all barley wines are beers. These beverages are not wines because the alcohol comes from fermented malt, and not fermented fruit.
Barley wines are in fact top-fermenting ales made with barley malt, further characterized by a notably substantial body and a significant percentage of alcohol. American brewers of barley wine are required by law to label their brews "Barley Wine Style Ale." There are two major variations of the style: English and American.
This past week, Chimay Trappist Ales celebrated their 25th anniversary in America. While they've been brewing in Belgium for 146 years, Chimay's presence in the United States began only a little while back, in 1983. To commemorate the occasion, Chimay released a special edition goblet. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a couple of these, as well as some other Chimay schwag. Nothing crazy - a pen, bottle opener, sticker, and an informational booklet.
Interestingly, the booklet talks about the Trappist breweries in the world, and fails to recognize Koningshoven (in the Netherlands) as an official Trappist brewery. I've seen this discrepancy elsewhere, and it seems to be related to the fact that Koningshoven's business operations are run by a subsidiary of a major Netherlands brewer (Bavaria Brewery).
While Koningshoven is the most commercialized of the Trappist brewers, the equipment and facilities are owned by the abbey, all proceeds are used to finance the monastery, and the monks have final say in the brewing process. Apparently, that wasn't good enough to make the cut! Anyhow, this is a celebration of Chimay. I invite you to think back to the America of 25 years ago, and the beer that was available at that time.
Chimay, alongside other respected brewers, had an amazing impact on brewing in America (and the rest of the world, for that matter); because of their efforts and contributions, American craft beer has made great strides in a very short while. Raise a glass in celebration. Check out some photos of the Chimay schwag on Flickr.
A Belgian-inspired saison from California's Mendocino coast, this brilliant golden/straw colored brew is a product of the renowned and respected North Coast Brewing Company. "Saison" translates from French to "season," and "Le Merle" to "The Blackbird" - but this particular name was chosen to honor a special woman named Merle: the wife of North Coast Brewing's founder Mark Ruedrich.
In its 2005 limited release, this saison was known as Silver Jubilee- a brew commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Whole Foods Markets (read more about this below). In an interview with the Oakland Tribune, North Coast's Senior VP Doug Moody says of the beer, "We thought it was so good, we didn't want to let it go away. So Mark tweaked it, made some changes and now it's Le Merle."
Thankful are we that this one stuck around. After all, this is a beer described by acclaimed English beer connoisseur (and great grandfather of beer style taxonomy) Michael Jackson as "outstanding…appetizing, refreshing," and by Celebrator Beer News as "heavenly." What makes these words all the more weighty: until a relatively recent revival, saison was widely considered an 'endangered' style. North Coast's version is a fine tribute to its predecessors.
Named after Johannes Aventinus, a great Bavarian historian best known for his written contributions to early German history, this is a strong, dark wheat doppelbock (or weizenbock) from Schneider & Sohn.
The folks over at G. Schneider & Sohn know wheat beer, and they know it well. In fact its the only type of beer they make, and they've been doing it since Georg Schneider acquired Bavaria's oldest wheat brewery in 1872.
In 1905, Mathilde Schneider took over the brewery following the untimely death of her husband Georg Schneider III, making her the only woman to run the business in its 135+ years. [Read More: Schneider Dynasty]
It was in 1907, under Mathilde's reign, that the brewery's first strong dark wheat was released: Aventinus. This top-fermenting beer showcases rich crystal and dark malts, Hallertau hops, secondary bottle fermentation, and was the first of its style- the Schneider response to the growing popularity of lager doppelbocks like Salvator.
Unlike bottom-fermenting doppelbocks, however, Aventinus uses a strain of yeast specific to wheat beers that results in the presence of phenols and esters- classes of chemical compounds that give off the strong aromatic presence of spice (clove) and fruit (banana). The resulting brew has a sweet and malty, rich, chocolaty medium body, captivating aroma, and a dense, creamy head.
Often referred to as Chimay White, this Tripel is one of three beers exported by the Trappist monks of Scourmont Abbey in the Belgian municipality of Chimay.
There are only seven Trappist monasteries in the world that produce beer, and only the products from these priories are authorized to feature the "Authentic Trappist Product" logo. All products bearing the logo are made in strict non-profit accordance to the guidelines established by the International Trappist Association [see wikipedia: Trappist beer].
Only the larger 750mL (25.4 fl. oz.) bottles carry the moniker 'Cinq Cents,' leaving the smaller bottles without a proper nickname - such is the case with Chimay's other brews (Premiére (Red) and Grande Réserve (Blue)). The brewery website makes no mention of why the larger bottles are deemed worthy of their respective titles, but in the write-up about the Grande Réserve magnum-sized bottle (51fl. oz.) the brewers propose an interesting point:
...it is important to appreciate that a large volume of beer affects the development of taste in the second fermentation of the beer in the bottle and gives it a fuller and smoother character.
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