Draught Day

The commish

With the first overall pick in the 2013 craft beer draft, the Sous Brewer selects…

Okay, so all bad puns that may or may not exist within the title of this post aside (perhaps it’s a palindrome); the NFL draft is currently underway up in New York. It got me thinking, what if there was a craft beer draft? What if you had the number one overall pick?

It’s basically a question of “what is your favorite craft beer?” This of course is a nearly impossible question to answer, as there are so many wonderful craft beers out there to choose from. Even if you have a favorite style, which might help to limit the field somewhat, you’re still faced with the daunting task of selecting one out of a cast of thousands; a brew that you can build your evening around. Perhaps you select based on best available, or perhaps you select based on biggest need.

Then again, perhaps there is no wrong answer and this is all much ado about nothing.

So how do people decide? What are the factors that we use, whether they are conscious or subconscious, to choose between all of these delicious options we have before us?

Yeah, that's right, whatever beer I want, whenever I want

The first thing that comes to mind is availability, which technically is a limitation that is imposed on us beyond our control and not a determining factor that we use to help us choose. You could levy some degree of control over availability by only dining in restaurants with expansive beer menus, or choosing to shop at a specialty beer store over a grocery store, but even then, you’re still at the mercy of someone else’s understanding of what people like. In a perfect world, we could all have access to whatever beer we want at any given time because we would have the computer that Jean Luc Picard has in his stateroom that makes whatever food or drink you say into it. In a perfect world, I would be paid $100 per word for these ridiculous blog posts of mine.

An example of a distinguishing factor that we have a lot more control over is the “support your local brewer” mentality. If offering patronage to your native economy is something that gives you a sense of civic pride, this is a great way to select one beer over another. The locals are becoming more prevalent in most markets, but are often times smaller and more artisinal. For this reason, they crave your business, and by selecting them, you keep your money in the local economy. Everybody wins!

Brand loyalty from southeastern Pennsylvania

Somewhat related to the “local” motivator is the “brand loyalty” objective. Many people grew up on a particular brand of beer, or have a loved one who works for a specific company. Perhaps you prefer breweries from the city you were born in (which is kind of like extended-local brewer support). Whatever the reason for your loyalty, assuming your preferred brewery is available (there’s that pesky availability thing again), it can certainly help you whittle down the options.

You could also pick based on a brewery’s, or even on a beer’s, reputation. It’s very common for people to see a beer that they’re not sure about, but since it’s made by a brewery that they know makes great beer, they go for it, based on the reputation of the brewers. Similarly, perhaps they read beer blogs and other brewing publications, and notice that everyone is raving about a particular brew. Reputation is great way to separate the throngs of available options on the beer shelf.

Speaking of people raving about beer, another determining factor could be a recommendation. If you have friends like me in your life, you've probably got a list a mile long of “beers you have to try.” We beer people love to share our experiences (obviously), so if you’re looking for someone to make the choice for you, all you have to do is ask.

Most people will never see this
Untappd badge, awarded for drinking
2,500 unique beers

The final motivator that I will mention here is probably my favorite… the “ I've never had this beer before” consideration. This one speaks to the inner-adventurer in all of us. This is a style of beer selection that has been propped-up by the Untappd app on our smart phones and hand-held devices, which has created a legion of beer drinkers who are always on the lookout for the ever-elusive unique check-in. When you are trolling the aisles at the beer store looking specifically for beers you've never had before, particularly if you’re checking your Untappd account to make sure, you know you've become what I affectionately call a beer nerd. It’s okay to admit it.

There are, of course, many other motivating factors at play that lead a person to select one brew over another (IE: label art, mood, cleverness of the name, etc.). Whichever method you are using, as long as it helps you narrow down the potential beers, it works. As long as you don’t wind up in the hypothetical situation of having to select the first overall pick in a craft beer draft of sorts, in which case I don’t know what to tell you. Trade down?

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Someone Put Fruit in My Beer!!!

Fruit in beer you say? Bad form Mr. Smee!

Blogger’s Note: I know it’s bad form to begin a blog post with administrivia, but we need to take a brief timeout before we even get started for this important announcement: Today marks the glorious and magnanimous return of the slowest growing blog sensation on these interwebs. After making you writhe in insecurity and misery for the past two weeks, I am back from my hiatus, full of energy, piss, and vinegar (full of something), and ready to bring craft-brewed enlightenment to your curious and thirsty souls. You don’t have to thank me. It’s the least I can do. Now, let’s get to it.

One of the most common complaints that I hear when enjoying craft beer with others is about fruit beers. For many people, the sweet and/or tart flavor profiles achieved through brewing with fruit are too much, and offensive. While I will admit that I have encountered fruit beers that were over the top and not as enjoyable as I would like, it is an absolute fallacy to say that all fruit beers are bad. You’ll find that like everything else in brewing, there are multitudes of factors that determine the end result, and by extension, whether said result is enjoyable or not.

Historically, brewing with fruit goes all the way back to the beginning. Brewers have always looked for ways to impart unique and enjoyable flavors into their beer, mainly because fermented malted barley by itself tastes incomplete. This is one of the reasons we use hops in beer today (not the only reason), as the bittering qualities of the hop flower add flavors that balance and pair well with the sweet malted barley. In the days before hops, brewers used a substance called gruit to flavor the beer. Gruit was quite literally whatever a brewer could find lying around that could be used to flavor beer, which often included fruit. In spite of what the Reinheitsgebot purists of Germany would profess, the reality is that fruit has been part of beer brewing since beer brewing became a thing.

You were so preoccupied with whether you could put fruit in
beer, you didn't stop to ask if you should.

Spin it forward to today and we find many different “fruit beers” available at your local craft beer retail establishment. Those who follow this blog know that I am meticulous about categorizing things, and spoiler alert – it’s about to happen again. Where is Ian Malcolm?

The first type of fruit beer that I am going to mention briefly and then dismiss completely is what I call “Commercial Fermented Fruit Brews” or CFFBs. CFFBs are your hard ciders and malted fruit juice drinks like Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Bacardi Whatever, etc. I have no time for these, even if they are properly made and independently owned, which would qualify them for craft status. Some people like them; I do not. If you must drink them, I recommend drinking the Angry Orchard series as I know for a fact it is privately owned and properly operated. Check the label when you drink these as they are often made by Budweiser, Miller, Coors, or one of the other miscreants out there.

The second category of fruit beers are those that live on the opposite side of the spectrum from CFFBs, in which the brewer is using fruit as a balancing equal part of a larger equation. We’ll call these “Fruit as a Balancing Adjunct Brew” or FBABs. A good example of this is a properly made Belgian witbier, in which the brewer adds citrus zest to the boil in order to impart a slight citrus note into the finished product. The fruit flavor will not be dominant in the end, and it isn't meant to be. It will simply be part of the whole flavor profile that the finished product has. Most Christmas Ales will fit this category too as they are usually brewed with fruit, but that fruit is only part of the greater compliment of flavors like cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.

Let's make a witbier! Look at that lovely citrus!

The third and final category that I am creating here today in this blog (you’re reading history here folks) is the one that lies in the middle – the category that encompasses all fruit beers where the brewer has chosen to celebrate a particular fruit and make it the star of the show. In fact, let’s call them “Fruit as the Star of the Show Brews” or FSSBs. These will be easy to spot, as they will probably include the name of the fruit being showcased in the title or style of the brew. This is the category where Belgian lambics live. This is also the category where most of your “they went too far” reactions are going to live, mainly because brewing with fruit is tricky.

Why is fruit brewing tricky you ask? It’s tricky because fruits react differently under boiling temperatures, time exposures and fermenting. Some fruit, like citrus, react favorably to the brewing process, maintaining their flavors and aromas, balancing well with bittering hops, and making the final product quite delightful. Then again, grapefruit is a citrus, and it probably wouldn't balance by itself, so there goes that theory. Contrarily, fruits like pumpkins lose the bulk of their flavor and aroma when brewing, which is why most pumpkin ales are heavily laced with pumpkin pie spices to ensure that the desired pumpkin flavor isn't lost.

Sam Calgione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery prepping strawberries for his Tweason Ale.

Strawberries are another example of a fruit that loses most of its flavor and aroma while boiling. In fact, if you’re a chef or baker, you already know this as it applies to cooking as well as brewing. If you are setting out to make a strawberry beer, you’re already fighting an uphill battle. Many brewers do one of two things to ensure their strawberry beer tastes like strawberries. They either over strawberry it, particularly after the boil during fermentation, or they use strawberry extract which is mostly sugar either in place of the berries or to prop up the berries, again after the boil. The problem with extract is that it is very easy for the end result to taste like cough syrup.

This extract problem doesn't just apply to strawberries, but it seems that strawberries, due to their particular lack of cooperation when brewing, are the most glaring example of “when fruit beers go wrong.” Of course, the key to brewing is balance, so perhaps it’s not the extract that makes the beer unbearable, but rather that the extract is unbalanced. In standard brewing, you balance malt and hops – as in, if you’re setting out to make a hop bomb, you need to add more grain proportionate to how bitter your brew is getting. On the other hand, if you’re making a strong ale and are plussing up the malt to drive your ABV up, you need to add more hops in order to balance the sweetness of the grain.

Good advice right there.

The same type of principle applies to fruit brewing – which is why that last category (FSSBs) is so problematic. When your mission is to highlight a particular fruit, you’re already setting out to unbalance it because you want it to be the star of the show. The trick is to find a way to balance the flavor type without balancing the flavor itself. In other words, balance the sweetness of the cherries without overwhelming the cherry flavor. The pumpkin ale example is a good model of this, though as the pumpkin already has a subtle sweet flavor that is all but lost in the boil anyways, perhaps it is too easy. In this brewer’s opinion, it all comes back to hops. Just like overhopping to compensate for sweet malt, you overhop to compensate for sweet fruit. You could also go with spices to balance out the flavor, but that can be tricky too; if you use uncomplimentary spices, the whole thing could get weird quickly.

The best advice I can give for the drinker is to keep an open mind and try to appreciate and understand the beer you’re drinking for what it is. When you drink a fruit beer that is “not good,” try to dissect it and think about what went wrong. Perhaps now that you have a 101-level understanding of brewing with fruit, you can troubleshoot the brew and come up with ideas of how you would've done things differently. Then again, you could go to the other extreme and post a picture of yourself pouring it out on Untappd. Whatever you need to do.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!