Beware the Ides of March

The Dude abides

First of all, I know that Monday is St. Patrick’s Day, but I will not be writing about any Irish snake whisperers today. I know many of you associate beer to St. Patty’s, and rightly so, but I plucked that low hanging fruit last year, so in order to at least appear as though I have some method to my madness, as opposed to this all being a collection of random strands in ole’ Duder’s head, I am going after an alternative target. If you simply must get your St. Patrick’s Day beer blog fix, here are some links to posts I wrote on Irish Beer and St. Patty’s and Irish Red Ales. Sláinte!

Also, since I currently find myself in administrivia mode, and by way of an apology, I’m sure many of you logged on to your computers and mobile devices last Saturday, hoping to sit down and read the latest inspiration, only to find there was none. Sometimes life gets too hectic, and even the most stalwart advocate for truth and beer can’t make a deadline. That being said, my personal hang-ups do not concern you, nor do they excuse my lack of a blog post, so for that, I apologize to you all. With any luck, I will make it up to you – maybe not today, but eventually. Then again, maybe not.

And away we go.

Et tu, Brute?

The Ides of March, or Idus Martii/Idus Martiae on the ancient Roman calendar, corresponds to March 15 and was the day that Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times by his Senators and friends, according to Bill Shakespeare. In fact, in that Shakespeare play, Caesar was warned by a soothsayer to “beware the Ides of March,” as something terrible was going to happen.

Today, the date is fairly innocuous, however mid-March (we can call it the Ides of March) is when many people start thinking about spring (read spring beer styles). I know the folks up at the Boston Beer Company release their Sam Adams Spring Variety Pack in early January for some reason, and many people have unrealistic expectations about winter weather being finished by mid-February, but I think mid-March (the Ides) is an honest time to make the transition from winter to spring – in all aspects of life – not the least of which is beer.

So how do we do that? Or more accurately, what can we expect to see in our beer glasses now that spring has sprung?

There really isn’t a specific style of beer associated with the spring season. Not in the same way that autumn is linked to Oktoberfest märzens and pumpkin ales, or winter is linked to Christmas ales and winter warmers. Even summer has any style that is light, crisp and refreshing, like kholsch, saison, hefeweisen, witbier, etc. Spring kind of gets hosed. Or does it?

Not only is spring and the month of May part of the maibock tradition, it also involves goats. Crazy Euros.

A little known beer style to season connection with spring is the helles bock or maibock. Maibocks tend to be lighter in color than other bock beers and often have a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional bock. Color can range from deep gold to light amber with a large, creamy, persistent white head, and moderate to moderately high carbonation, while alcohol content ranges from 6.3% to 7.4% by volume. The flavor is typically less malty than a traditional bock, and may be drier, hoppier, and more bitter, but still with a relatively low hop flavor, with a mild spicy or peppery quality from the hops, increased carbonation and alcohol content. Maibocks are customarily served in the spring and are oftentimes interrelated with spring festivals and celebrations in the month of May. Dead Guy Ale from Rogue Brewery in Oregon is a fine example of the style.

Sláinte!

Unfortunately, maibock is the only style that spring can claim for itself, so we are forced to get creative. Technically speaking (writing/reading), if we are to use the Ides of March as the cutoff for spring beers, and since St. Patrick’s Day falls on March 17, you could make the argument to include the Irish red ales and dry Irish stouts to our list of spring beers. Just as long as you don’t try to include any yellow fizzy industrial swill beer with green food coloring. No dice, Budweiser.

We can also attempt to invoke spring-like themes and seasonal transition motifs in our styles. For example, if winter beers are dark, and summer beers are light, than somewhere in between might make for a good spring beer – something in the red/amber color category perhaps. Meanwhile, spring usually equates to freshness, and freshness in beer is generally done with hops. Hops, needless to say, make us think of IPAs. Not to mention that IPAs are usually golden to amber colored, so they pass the arbitrary appearance test to be considered a spring beer.

But then again, IPAs should be enjoyed all year round, so we should already be enjoying them in the spring, thus making this line of opining moo – it’s a cow’s opinion. It doesn’t matter.

It's moo!

I suppose, in the end, the absence of a defined style for the season makes for abundant possibilities, which are the spice of life (is that right?). The more possibilities a brewer has, the more variety will appear in the final product, and the more opportunities for enjoyment by you – the consumer. Sounds like everyone wins to me.

Beware the Ides of March? More like rejoice in the Ides of March!!!

Spring has sprung… now let’s go drink some beer!

***UPDATE*** I just remembered that variety, not abundant possibilities, is the spice of life. Though that sounds like six of one.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!