Like Cabbages and Kings

As we continue our trudge through the cold, dark, winter months, I continue my frolic with cold, dark, wintry beers (you see what I did there?). I know it seems that this blog has turned into a week-by-week exposition on stouts, but as I have spent the last few months rekindling my love affair with dark beers, I feel it is incumbent upon me to share the love with all of you. How thoughtful of me.

Today’s featured stout is a mysterious one, both in how it came to be and in the fact that many beer people have never even heard of it. It is a sub-style of stout that many people cringe at merely the mention of, and as a result, has enjoyed a rather underground success in the States. Of course, I’m talking about the Oyster Stout.

Not as odd of an ingredient as you think.

Oysters in the beer? Are you crazy?

I assure you the answer to both of those questions is yes, but those answers are independent of one another.

An Abita Brewing Co brewer adding oysters to the boil!

Before you give in to your natural urge to say “yuk,” hear me out, and give the oysters a chance. Oyster stouts are quite simply stout porter ales that have either oyster shells or oysters themselves thrown into the boiling wort to add additional flavor notes to the brew. There are no oyster chunks or other oyster shenanigans floating in the beer at the point consumption. In fact, most people agree (myself included) that Oyster Stouts don’t actually taste like oysters, but rather they taste like stouts that are a touch saltier than usual.

So the obvious question is, “where did this take on stout porter ales come from and who in the world thought of such a thing in the first place?” Believe it or not, they’ve actually been around for a while, going back more than a century to Victorian England. In those days, many pub-goers ate oysters on the half shell while drinking their favorite stouts, whose bittersweet toasty flavors complemented the briny tasting flesh of the oysters quite well. In fact, the term “oyster stout” was more of a marketing campaign that referred to a pub session at which oysters were downed between sips of beer, as opposed to a particular style of beer.

The story of how oysters found their way into the beer itself is much more of a mystery. It appears that in the late 1800s, brewers discovered that oyster shells, which were rich in calcium carbonate, served as a good clarifying agent for finished beer, and they began pouring their finished product over heaps of crushed shells. Later still, some unknown brewer went even further and added the shells during the boil, along with the barley and hops, to recreate that flavor note. With that, oyster shells had become an ingredient in brewing. As for who first added the slippery oyster meat itself into the boiling beer wort, it remains a mystery — but many sources say it first happened in New Zealand in late 1920s. Thus, the transformation from happy-hour marketing term to experimental beer sub-style was complete.

These War Shore oysters get to go swimming in
Port City beer... lucky them!

The style remained fringe through most of the 20th century until it was revived in many craft breweries during the craft beer resurgence of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Today, as craft brewers strive for acknowledgement and uniqueness, the Oyster Stout has been dusted off and become a well-recognized style among craft brewers. Many breweries make Oyster Stouts, some with just the shells and others with the whole oyster. In many cases, these delicious beers never leave the brewpub taproom, amounting to just an experiment reserved for on site patrons, but not always.

A few Oyster Stouts that I've managed to get my hands on, and I highly recommend you do the same, are…

Port City Brewing Company’s Revival Stout from Alexandria, VA: This one is made in the British and Irish tradition with oysters from War Shore Oyster Company in Vienna, VA. Port City steeps War Shore’s Chesapeake Bay oyster shells in the brewing water to add mineral content and then add the oysters and their liquor to the brew during the boil. The oysters add a subtle whiff of a sea breeze, a slight briny character and a smooth textural element to the beer. Additionally, five percent of the sales of Revival Stout will be donated to the Oyster Recovery Partnership to support their efforts to revive the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Good for them!

Worse fates indeed.

21st Amendment Brewery’s Marooned on Hog Island from San Francisco, CA: This oyster stout packs an imperial punch at 7.9 percent alcohol by volume, and is made with sweet water oyster shells from the local Hog Island Oyster Farm near San Francisco. It is a rich and chewy stout with a silky, salty finish.

Flying Dog Brewing Company’s Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout from Frederick, MD: At 5.5 percent ABV, this one, made with whole oysters from Rappahannock River Oysters, in Virginia, is a traditional, roasty, toasty, delicious and malty stout, with a lovely butter-toffee finish. And just like Port City, Flying Dog donates a portion of the proceeds to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. Good beer and good people.

Helping the environment and beer world at the same time.

Since it remains a fringe style, availability is not always ensured, so if you are hunting Oyster Stouts, I would either call ahead or check the interwebs for availability. Then again, the best way may be to simply fall into them, and let them be a pleasant surprise. Whatever the case, if you see an Oyster Stout, don’t shy away from it… they really are delicious, and you won’t be sorry you through caution to the wind and let this unique style of beer impress you.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Humulus Lupulus

The whole is equal to the sum of its parts, or so I've been told. In beer, the parts are water, malted grain, hops, and yeast. There are often other ingredients too, but all beer that is made correctly contains at the very least water, malted grain, hops, and yeast. So in order to better understand the “whole” in this case, it helps to better grasp the individual parts. Make sense?

Today, the beer “part” that I am focusing on is everybody’s favorite – hops. Most of us are aware by now that hops are little plants that make the beer bitter. What you probably didn't already know is that there are literally thousands of other things to know about hops. I won’t be able to go into them all, but we can scratch the surface enough attain insight.

Glorious hop flowers

Humulus Lupulus (hops) are the flowering cone of a perennial vining plant and a cousin of the cannabis variety (sorry no THC in this stuff) that typically thrives in climates similar to the ones that grapes do. Hop plants are dioecious, meaning the males and females flower on separate plants -- and the female cones are used in the brewing process. Hops season the beer, ward-off spoilage from wild bacteria and bring balance to the sweet malts. They also lend a hand in head retention, help to clear beer (acting as a natural filter) and please the palate by imparting their unique characters and flavors.

Old school brewing

Before there were hops, there was gruit. Gruit was a combination of herbs that were used to flavor and bitter ancient beer. Some of the most common herbs that were used in gruit, such as sweet gale (Myrica gale), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), horehound (Marrubium vulgare), and heather (Calluna vulgaris) were mildly to moderately narcotic. Gruit varied somewhat since each gruit producer included different herbs to produce unique flavors and effects. Other adjunct herbs found in gruit included black henbane, juniper berries, ginger, caraway seed, aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, and even hops in variable proportions.

The story of how the brewing world came to abandon gruit in favor of hops varies by region and by time. Hops originated in China from where they moved east- and west-wards. The first documented instance of hop cultivation in Europe was in 736, in the Hallertau region of present-day Germany, although the first mention of the use of hops in brewing in that country wasn't until 1079. However in the will of Charlemagne’s father, Pepin the Short, in 768 hop gardens were left to the Cloister of Saint-Denis. Not until the 13th century did hops begin to start threatening the use of gruit for flavoring—which was used depending on the taxes that the nobility and the church levied on either hops or gruit – whichever one was taxed made the brewer quickly switch to the other one.

In Britain, hopped beer was first imported from Holland around 1400, but hops were condemned in 1519 as a "wicked and pernicious weed" and thus couldn’t be grown in England. Hops were imported from France, Holland and Germany and naturally import duty was raised on those. It wasn’t until 1524 that hops were first grown in the southeast of England (Kent) when they were introduced as an agricultural crop by Dutch farmers. It was another century before hop cultivation began in the present-day United States, in 1629 by English and Dutch farmers.

The 48th parallel covers both Germany and
the Pacific Northwest of the USA

Today, Hops production is concentrated in moist temperate climates, with much of the world's production occurring near the 48th parallel north. Important production centers are the Hallertau in Germany, the Yakima (Washington) and Willamette (Oregon) valleys, and western Canyon County, Idaho. The principal production centers in the UK are in Kent (which produces Kent Goldings hops) and Worcestershire. As of 2010, Germany produced the most hops in the world (34,249 metric tons) with the United States coming in second (23,701 metric tons).

Hops are usually dried in an oast house (drying house) before they are used in the brewing process, but are sometimes used to make "wet-hop" beer immediately after a harvest and without drying. They are also often processed into hop pellets prior to being used for brewing. Hops are added in varying types, times and quantities throughout the boil of the wort (young beer), depending on what the brewer is trying achieve. In very simple terms, the brewer adds the hops to flavor the beer at the beginning of the boil and adds the hops to increase aroma at the end of the boil. Beyond that, many brewers add additional hops during the fermentation process (called dry hopping) in order to further increase the strong “hoppy” aromas in the brew.

Cross section of a hop cone

The money of the hop is found in the resins that are contained within, which are composed of two main acids: alpha and beta acids. Alpha acids are responsible for the bitter flavor in the beer, have a mild antibiotic effect, and favor brewing yeast during the fermentation process. Beta acids do not isomerize during the boil of wort, and have a negligible effect on beer taste. Instead, they contribute to beer's bitter aroma, and high beta acid hop varieties are often added at the end of the wort boil for aroma.

As you can imagine, hops are categorized into two groups: bittering (or flavoring) hops and aroma hops, depending on whether they are high in alpha acids or high in beta acids. The bittering hops are generally boiled for 60-90 minutes in order to maximize the isomerization of the alpha acids and impart as much flavor into the finished product as possible. European strains, such as the noble hops, typically average 5–9% alpha acids by weight (AABW), and the newer American cultivars typically range from 8–19% AABW.

Aroma hops usually have a lower concentration of alpha acids (~5%) and are the primary contributors of hop aroma and (non-bitter) flavor. Aroma hops are typically added to the wort later to prevent the evaporation of the essential oils. They are added with 30 minutes left to impart a non-bitter hop taste and/or with 10 minutes left to impart aroma notes. The three major components of the essential oil of hops are myrcene, humulene, and caryophyllene, which comprise about 60–80% of the oil for most hop varieties. There are over 250 components of essential oils that have been identified, but only 22 are known to have significant influence on the flavor and aroma.

A casual stroll through a hop farm

Flavors and aromas are described appreciatively using terms which include "grassy", "floral", "citrus", "spicy", "piney", "lemony", "grapefruit", and "earthy". Many pale lagers, such as the ones made by big beer, have fairly low hop influence, while lagers marketed as Pilsner or brewed in the Czech Republic may have noticeable noble hop aroma. Certain ales (particularly the highly-hopped style known as India Pale Ale, or IPA) can have high levels of hop bitterness.

Particular hop varieties are associated with beer regions and styles, for example pale lagers are usually brewed with European (often German, Polish or Czech) noble hop varieties such as Saaz, Hallertau and Strissel Spalt. British ales use hop varieties such as Fuggles, Goldings and W.G.V. North American beers often use Cascade hops, Columbus hops, Centennial hops, Willamette, Amarillo hops and about forty more varieties as the U.S.A. have lately been the more significant breeders of new hop varieties, including dwarf hop varieties. For a fairly complete list of hop varieties and their characteristics, click here.

So, I think I've given you enough information about hops to last a life time. The next time you drink your favorite craft beer, and the flavors and aromas hit you, you’ll have a better understanding of what they are and where they come from.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Brewper Bowl II Post Game Report

The Norm Peterson Trophy

Welcome back to our coverage of the 2013 Brewper Bowl, live from not-so-snowy and actually-rather-pleasant-at-the-moment Northern Virginia. The game is over, and without further ado, it is my pleasure to announce that the winner is…

…wait for it…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND!!!

Now it’s time to show my work.

San Francisco led off the contest with the Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout from Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, CA. The first thing I noticed was that the toasted oats and roasted barley provided a very sweet aroma and flavor. The beer was jet black with a nice tan head on top and was crisp and refreshing. Overall, the beer was excellent, and I rated it a 9 out of 10, thinking that it would be a tough act to follow.

Not only did Baltimore follow, they knocked it out of the park with a hay maker right out of the opening bell. Their offering was the Gonzo Imperial Porter from the Flying Dog Brewing Company in Frederick, MD. Gonzo was dark and malty, but was hoppy too, clocking in at 85 IBUs. Some might say that this was an unfair tactic, but you gotta play to your strengths. Gonzo scored a 10 out of 10 and placed Baltimore squarely into the driver’s seat.

The flagship of the Heavy Seas fleet

Seizing on their momentum, Baltimore went for an onside kick and retained possession. The next participant from Chesapeake Bay was Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA from Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, MD. Heavy Seas’ flagship brew was a crisp, fruity IPA and was nearly perfect to the style. She scored a 9 out of 10 and had Baltimore ahead 19-9.

San Francisco countered with a flagship of their own – one of the oldest and most respected craft beers in America – Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing Company in downtown San Francisco. As its reputation dictates, this brew was smooth and delicious, hoppy but not overly so, very tasty and lacking nothing. My only criticism was in a lack of “wow-factor,” so I scored it a 9 out of 10, which brought the score up to 19-18 at half time.

In the second half, San Francisco hit Baltimore with some of their own medicine and recovered an onside kick of their own. They brought out Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale from the Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, CA. This beer was crispy like a wheat beer and hoppy like a pale ale; a mystery, wrapped into a riddle and juxtaposed to an enigma… novel and delicious. I scored it a solid 9 out of 10, which gave Frisco the lead 27-19.

Next up for Baltimore was the Hellrazer IPA from DuClaw Brewing Company in Abingdon, MD. This IPA was bright and crisp, and was more citrusy and fruity than it was bitter. Hellrazer was a very delicious and solid to the style American IPA, and I gave it a 9 out of 10, which allowed Baltimore to retake the lead 28-27, with only two more beers remaining.

American pride in a can

For their last combatant, San Francisco unveiled one of my favorite craft brews, the Brew Free! Or Die IPA from 21st Amendment Brewing Company in San Francisco. Interestingly enough, because they were back to back on the flight, I was able to taste the similarities between Brew Free and Hellrazer… they were nearly identical. Brew Free was a touch hoppier, but not by much, if at all. I scored Brew Free at 9 out of 10, which gave San Francisco the lead 36-28, going into the last beer of the game.

That last beer came in the form of Winter Storm Cat 5 Ale from Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, MD. Winter Storm is an ESB (extra special bitter), which tend to be maltier than their hoppy brothers, the IPAs. While an excellent style to be a brewery’s winter seasonal, it was an odd choice for a Brewper Bowl flight full of hop bombs. On its own, Winter Storm was very good and true to its style. The flavors and aromas were quite pronounced and it was pleasant. Stacked up against the rest of the brews on this flight, it was underwhelming and only earned an 8 out of 10. This meant that the score at the end of regulation was tied at 36-36.

Unlike in the football version, the Brewper Bowl does not keep playing until someone wins. The final score at the end of regulation is the final score, and in this case, the final score of Brewper Bowl II was 36-36, as in a tie. We do, however, have tie breakers, and as it turned out, we only needed one.

The MVB of Brewper Bowl II

The first tie breaker in the Brewper Bowl is highest individual score, or which brewery site had the individual beer with the highest score. San Francisco’s high score was 9 out of 10. In fact, all of the beers in San Francisco’s half of the flight scored a 9 out of 10. If it were a consistency contest, they would've been declared the winner. But, consistency, while important, isn't everything, and on this fateful night, it wasn't enough. Baltimore, by virtue of the Gonzo Imperial Porter and it’s 10 out of 10 score, was declared the winner of Brewper Bowl II. Of course, Gonzo was also named the MVB (most valuable brew), and was heard exclaiming to reporters after the game, “I’m going to Disney World!”

So that’s it! Brewper Bowl II is in the books. Baltimore joins New England in the chronicles of mash tun lore and, if the Ravens earn them the right to do so, will defend their crown next year in Brewper Bowl III. Until then…

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Brewper Bowl II Pre-Game Report

The second one ever... hence the II.

I’m reporting to you live from cold and snowy Northern Virginia - the site of Brewper Bowl II. After several grueling months of drinking beer and watching football (rough business I know), we finally know who the combatants will be and they are standing at the precipice of greatness and immortality as this annual fermented fisticuffs is about to be underway.

But first, a few words about what the Brewper Bowl is.

As the Roman numerals most likely give away, this is the second Brewper Bowl, which indicates that last year’s Brewper Bowl was the first one ever (ADVANCED MATHEMATICS ALERT). If you’re looking to remember the magic from Brewper Bowl I, check out the pregame and post-game recap posts. It started out as a trivial drinking game to coincide with the Super Bowl, but in only a year’s time, it has morphed into a monster beer drinking affair.

The premise is quite simple: you take a few beers from the hometown or region of one of the two Super Bowl teams and match them up in a taste test against a few beers from the hometown or region of the other Super Bowl team. I try to pick match ups of like styles so that I can compare apples to apples, but that’s not necessarily important. During the big game, or sometime close to it, you drink the beers and compare them against one another, judging them for look, smell, taste, mouthfeel, etc. Keep score, and when it’s all said and done, the city or region with the better beers wins the Brewper Bowl. Pretty easy right?

As much fun as the execution is, the setup is the key to success. Obviously, the more effort you put into the setup, the better the Brewper Bowl will be. I recommend that you find a specialty beer store that offers multitudes of craft beer options from all over the country so you can fill out your flight with a lot of variety. For Brewper Bowl I, I settled for my local grocery store, which has a very respectable craft beer selection as far as grocery stores go, but their assortment wasn't great, and I feel that it affected the overall awesomeness of the event. For Brewper Bowl II, I went to my local Total Wine, which has a far greater selection, and as a result, this year’s flight is amazing.

Of course, a lot of this depends on which teams are in the Super Bowl and how enlightened of a beer culture those cities or regions have. Distribution is another major factor.

The stage is set.

So while we’re on the subject of Brewper Bowl II’s flight, let’s meet the competitors. First, representing Baltimore, MD:

Gonzo Imperial Porter, Flying Dog Brewing Company, Frederick, MD

Gonzo is big, bold, and beautiful like the man it was brewed in honor of, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Flavor notes include roasted chocolate, coffee, and vanilla malt balanced with a unique hop bite. She weighs in at 9.2% ABV and 85 IBU. Past honors include gold medals at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival and 2008 World Beer Cup.

Hellrazer IPA, DuClaw Brewing Company, Abingdon, MD

This medium-bodied, golden IPA gets in your face from first sweet sip to crisp, dry finish with exotic tropical fruit flavors and aromas of New Zealand Motueka hops. With just enough malt character to keep the unruly hops (85 IBU) and 7.5% ABV in check, this brew was born to raze hell.

Loose Cannon Hop³ IPA, Heavy Seas Brewing, Baltimore, MD

Heavy Seas’ flagship beer, Loose Cannon wins people over at first smell. The carefully cultivated interplay of Simcoe, Palisade, and Centennial hops creates a most fragrant IPA—its nose bursts with notes of grapefruit, herbs, and pine. Bitterness is somewhat subdued by the floral quality that pervades the taste. The color is burnished gold, and the mouthfeel is creamy. A strong malt backbone balances out the triple-hopped beer. Its nickname, Hop3, comes from the brewing process: the brewers hop Loose Cannon in the boil, the hopback, and the fermenter. It won a second place CAMRA award at the 2010 Great British Beer Festival. Loose Cannon is 7.25% ABV and 45 IBU.

Winter Storm Category 5 Ale, Heavy Seas Brewing, Baltimore, MD

Winter Storm is an imperial ESB that draws on hops from the West Coast and the UK for its pronounced bitterness. A mix of pale and darker malts give it its tawny color and its bigger body. True to the style, Winter Storm’s aroma is nutty malts and earthy hops. This is a perfect fall beer, especially because of its warming qualities. She weighs in 7.5% ABV and 50 IBU.

Now, let’s meet the participants representing San Francisco, CA:

Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA

Darkness.  The deep ebony color, voluptuous mahogany head and bold, roasty flavors in our Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout are what serious beer drinkers expect from this style.  Aromas of freshly baked bread, espresso, and dried cherries meld seamlessly with rich toffee flavors and a creamy mouth feel to create an unparalleled drinking experience. This Oatmeal Stout is 5.8% ABV and 14 IBU.

Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA

Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is a truly unique style featuring a strong hop finish on a silky body. It is a filtered pale wheat ale that is great for both IPA and wheat beer fans. This beer is 7.5% ABV.

BREW FREE! OR DIE IPA, 21^st Amendment Brewery, San Francisco, CA

BREW FREE! OR DIE IPA is brewed with some serious west coast attitude. This aromatic golden IPA starts with a sucker punch of six different hops to the nose, quickly balanced by a solid malt backbone. Our top selling beer at the pub, this IPA starts big and finishes clean leaving you wanting more. This IPA weighs in at 7% ABV and 70 IBU.

Liberty Ale, Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, CA

The champagne-like bubbles, distinctive hop bouquet, and balanced character of Liberty Ale revives centuries-old ale brewing traditions that are now more relevant than ever. First introduced in 1975, Liberty Ale is brewed strictly according to traditional brewing methods, and uses only natural ingredients — pale malted barley, fresh whole-cone Cascade hops and a special top-fermenting yeast, and water. The yeast used during fermentation produces many of Liberty Ale's subtle flavors and characteristics. A natural process called "bunging" creates gentle carbonation, and the practice of dry hopping (adding fresh hops to the brew during aging), revived by Anchor, creates its unique aroma. Liberty Ale was first brewed to celebrate the bicentennial of Paul Revere’s historic ride. As the first modern American IPA brewed after prohibition and the first modern American single-hop ale and dry-hopped ale, Anchor’s Liberty Ale® is the original craft brewed ale and the beer that started a revolution. Liberty weighs in at 5.9% ABV.

You're doing it wrong!

As you can see, this is an amazing lineup… one that can’t be taken lightly. Both sides have thrown in a dark beer, and both sides are appealing to my inner-hop head. This should be a good old fashioned slog-fest. Stay tuned for my next report, after the dust settles and the men are separated from the boys. Baltimore vs. San Francisco. East coast beers vs. west coast beers. Brewper Bowl II.

To be continued...

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!