beer

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

For our first week of German beer style exploration, we’re going to take a look at what is probably the most popular style of beer in the world — the German-style Lager. Lager has a long and fascinating history. The word Lager itself is actually medieval German for “cellar,” as it was in the caves and storehouses where these beers were originally made. The bottom-fermenting yeast that makes a Lager ferments and conditions at lower temperatures, and as a result the beers they made adopted the name of where they were most commonly brewed.

It was in the 15th Century when the common Lager yeast developed as a hybrid, but it would take nearly 500 more years for the beers we recognize today as Lagers to come around. There is still much that is unknown about the origins of Lager; even today we’re still learning more about how it came to be. Just last year for example, researchers discovered that one of the yeast strains involved in the hybridization that produced Lager yeast originated in Patagonia. How one specific yeast strain managed to travel from southern Argentina to Germany in the 1400s to help produce beer is a question we’re going to have to wait for an answer to.

While there are records dating back to the 1400s of cold-storage beers being brewed in Germany, it wasn’t until the mid 19th Century that the technology and scientific understanding was in place to begin crafting Lager in the manner that many of us are accustomed to seeing it today. By the turn of the 20th Century there were dozens of breweries in Munich alone, many of whom are still with us today: Hofbrau, Spaten, Paulaner, Augustinerbrau, and Hacker-Pschorr being among the most well-known. Weihenstephaner Original Lager from Freising shares many characteristics with these beers as well. Munich brewers also developed the concept of Helles (“bright”) Lager, which remains maybe the most popular German Lager form. The water of Munich was high in carbonates, which exaggerated the bitterness of hops in beers. To achieve balance, brewers tended to use fewer hops and more malt resulting in a slightly sweeter, less harsh Lager. Schalfly Summer Lager is an American-made version that sticks to this script and is a world-class example.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

After our tour of beer styles common to most of the world, we’ve arrived at the beers of Germany. Germany has one of the richest and most celebrated beer histories in the world; it’s perhaps the country most responsible for establishing beer’s presence all over the world. German beer isn’t without controversy, however. I can attest to the decline of interest in German beers over the past few years among American craft beer drinkers, and as a result have stopped stocking them as much as I once did. I hear both sides of this; from those who love German beer and wish I had more to offer, and those who perceive German beer as boring or too traditional in the era of beer experimentation. Today, before getting into the specific German styles as we normally would, we’re going to look at the law that both established German beer and in many eyes holds its development back in the modern era: the Reinheitsgebot.

The Reinheitsgebot recently celebrated its 496th anniversary on April 23. In its original form, it stated that beer could only be brewed using water, barley, and hops. Note the lack of wheat or rye: the intent of the original law was to eliminate competition for those grains so that bread makers would be able to produce enough product to keep it affordable. Yeast is not mentioned either, as it wasn’t until the 19th Century that scientists would first discover microscopic organisms and then later come to understand yeast and its role in brewing.

With the Reinheitsgebot in place, Pilsners came to dominate German brewing. As Germans immigrated they brought their brewing traditions with them; this was the rise of Lagers as the most popular and commonly brewed beers on Earth. Without the Reinheitsgebot there is no Bud, no Miller, no Coors, no Stella, no Brahma, VB, Molson, Sapporo, Singha—you get the idea. The Germans made a lot of Pils, got really good at it and then spread all over the world teaching others how to be really good at it.

What about Hefeweizen, you ask? Well, Wheat Beers are not allowed under the Reinheitsgebot, but later revised German beer laws (most notably the post-reunification Vorläufiges Biergesetz of 1993) would expand permissible ingredients to include different types of malt and even sugar in Ales. Some breweries today claim their Hefe to be made under the Reinheitsgebot, but this technically is not true — those beers are okay by the standards of the current laws in place, not the original document.

So what relevance does a 500-year old law have today in the face of a global beer market dominated by countries where regulations are less strict, if they exist at all? This is the great debate today when it comes to Germany. Many see German beer as holding too firmly to its traditions and losing its place as a powerhouse beer producer because of it. I can see the merits of this argument if you’re solely looking at the most popular exports of Germany, but like all things some deeper consideration is required. For one, I believe creativity can often flourish when one is working under certain parameters, and Germany is coming around to realizing this. The most well-known example is likely Infinium, the joint effort of Sam Adams and Weihenstephaner, the world’s oldest continually-operating brewery. Working within the Reinheitsgebot, Infinium drinks more like a Champagne than a beer and is completely unexpected from this most traditional of German breweries.

Even in Hefeweizen-style beers, innovation is happening. Schneider and Brooklyn breweries got together to produce a Hefe that featured the kind of hop character more typically seen in American Pale Ales or IPAs. The result was a hit, and a shot across the bow of those who argue that Germany has become too stale, too fixed to be interesting today. But even without the intervention of American brewers, there are so many different German styles that we as Americans haven’t even fully learned to appreciate yet: Schwarzbier, Rauchbier, Dopplebock, Weizenbock, Eisbock, Kolsch, Berlinerweisse… we’re going to get into all of these and more over the next few weeks. Hopefully by the time we’re done with Germany, we can all agree that these styles are all vibrant and worthy even today; perhaps even more so for their long histories having given brewers decades or even centuries to perfect them. In this is the Reinheitsgebot’s relevance in the 21st Century. Until next time.

Cheers!

Nick Anderson keeps a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

People often ask me about ‘what’s next’ in craft beer. What will be the next big thing? The next hot brewer, or brewery, or style? In all honesty I can only offer guesses, but I think there’s something building here that no one may quite be expecting, and it may turn out to be a great force in beer here in America: the emergence of Italian craft beers and their potential influence on food-pairing in gastropubs and (increasingly) in fine-dining restaurants here in the States. With a rich craft beer scene spearheaded by brewers who came up during the 90s, it’s easy to make the joke that these beers are arriving on ‘Italian time.’

My first wine love was Italian wines. I feel that there is such a strong tie between the regional wines of Italy and their cuisines, more dynamic and vital even than in revered France, and that this tie carries over into the beers produced in Italy today. As we’ve seen more Italian beer arrivals here in the U.S., I’ve found myself more and more sitting down to dinner at restaurants, finding said beers on the menu and opting for them over some truly great options from the world over. There’s a subtlety to Italian craft beer, even ones made in more ‘extreme’ styles, that lends itself to food pairing. Part of this, I feel, is in the ingredients themselves: many brewers in Italy source locally, down to herbs and spices used in Belgian-styled Ales. From my perspective, the grains available all over Italy are a huge factor as well. Specifically spelt malt; which I believe is something of a happy medium between traditional barley and rye that brewers in other countries are just starting to discover. This harmony of flavors and feel makes Italian beers a great choice for the dinner table.

Why now, then? Well, as a niche segment of a niche market the Italian beers that did make it here came at a premium, and most still do to be frank. In my position as a retailer, I get to work with great distributors and importers, though, and there’s a wave coming over the next few months of great new selections from some of Italy’s finest brewers. As these hit bars, restaurants, and retail more folks are going to be able to try them. In my experience, this will only increase demand and in the long term expand the selection of beers available to us.

What should you be looking for? Well, as far as what’s available now I recommend Birra del Borgo, opened in 2005 on the border between Lazio and Abruzzo. Del Borgo’s made a name for itself here with their partnership with Dogfish Head, which has resulted in the Dogfish-released Namaste and My Antonia. There’s a del Borgo version of My Antonia also, and I actually prefer it to the one made here. ReAle Extra is another del Borgo beer that is available right now and is well worth checking out — it’s a great crisp Pale Ale filtered through the Italian aesthetic.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

This Saturday, April 7th, is Session Beer Day. Conceived by legendary beer/whisky writer Lew Bryson, Session Beer Day aims to celebrate the now-resurgent Session beer category—Ales and Lagers whose ABV (alcohol by volume) is 4.5% or less. Bryson has long been a staunch advocate for Session beer, and a defender of the 4.5% line. Today we’re going to look at the difference between “Session” and “sessionable”, and suggest some beers for you to celebrate the day with.

Session beers are so named because one should be able to enjoy more than one or two over a period of time without becoming intoxicated. In early 20th Century Britain, Session Bitters were commonly made at or around 4% ABV. With the emergence of the American craft beer scene, more intense Ales and Lagers started to rule the day, with many clocking in from 6-9% ABV. From there we’ve seen “superbeers” rating anywhere from 15-25% (and in a handful of cases even higher) become almost commonplace. The range of choice and complex flavors has been magical for beer fans, but over the past ten years it’s become difficult if not impossible to have a beer or two at craft beer bars without facing concerns of how to get home. The craft marketplace has spoken over the past 2-3 years, demanding easier going beers that retain the complexity and care shown by the bigger beers we’ve all come to know and love.

This being a topic in the craft beer world, it has of course come with its own set of controversies. The website Beer Advocate has set their Session ceiling at 5% ABV. The Brewers Association defines their Session Beer category for the Great American Beer Fest as anything between 4-5.1%. Lew Bryson has held firm to the 4.5% line and his dedication to it has won many supporters over, me included. Bryson derides the common usage of the word “sessionable” in beer descriptions, as it is often used to seemingly excuse a beer that simply isn’t quite as strong as other beers, but not low enough in ABV to realistically be had during a session. I admit to having perhaps too freely used the word myself over the years; most often to assuage concerns that a customer may have had about a beer being too strong, but occasionally I believe I was grading on a curve that simply wasn’t realistic for most beer drinkers. Ten years ago, when my daily drinker was Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA (9% ABV), a beer such as Troeg’s Hopback Amber (6% ABV) would have seemed a reasonable session option; with time and experience tasting through the whole breadth of Ales and Lagers from all over the world my expectations have changed, and I now look for and expect Session beers that live up to their style.

The argument gets convoluted, it seems, when some interpret writers like Bryson as somehow considering stronger beers to be “bad”. There’s an odd defensiveness in these challenges to the definition of Session: no one is trying to force all beer below an ABV line, the Session movement is simply trying to establish and promote a style of beer. I myself am going to be deliberately hypocritical in hosting a beer tasting at Arrowine this Saturday during Session Beer Day featuring stronger beers for no other reason than because the new arrivals this week happened to be stronger. Those looking to get into the spirit of Session Beer Day, however, should check out some of these great options:

Bell’s Oarsman Ale (4% ABV): My session beer of choice. Oarsman is a Wheat Ale with a sour mash that gives it great tart citrusy notes and the slightest bit of sour. Super-refreshing and always enjoyable. If I can help it, there is always some Oarsman in my fridge.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Men are scared to be seen drinking ‘fruity’ beers. Let’s be blunt and state the simple fact here; there’s a stigma attached to beers that utilize fruit and fruit flavors and it is completely undeserved. Big ad campaigns and decades of social stereotypes have made the presence of fruit in beer something most men are downright afraid of. Let me state one thing right now: there is nothing manly about the fear of being perceived as less manly. Fear is the antithesis of bravery; it is the anchor of ignorance, and the only true barrier separating uncertainty from understanding. If you’ve taken anything away from this ‘Beer 101’ series I’ve been writing, I hope it’s the confidence to never let anyone tell you what it is you should or shouldn’t like and I include myself in that statement. The truth is that fruit has been used in beer as long as there has been beer on this planet and enjoying it says nothing about a person beyond what their taste buds respond to.

Belgian Lambic beers use different fruits such as cherries, raspberries, and black currants with varying degrees of sweetness to produce easily enjoyable Ales with intense fruit character that balance the very sour base beer they’re created from. As we’ve covered before in this space Belgian Wit (or White) beers classically use orange peel among spices like coriander and cardamom to add an additional flavor component. Dogfish Head Aprihop is a springtime treat that melds one of their hoppy IPAs with apricot, playing off of the naturally tropical notes that hops often bring to beer. Dogfish quite regularly uses fruit in their beers to great effect—from the black raspberry and blueberry in Black & Blue to the Pinot Noir juice in Red & White to their ancient Ales Midas Touch (Muscat grapes) and Chateau Jiahu (Muscat grapes and hawthorn berries). Raison d’Etre is a mainstay of the Dogfish lineup and uses golden raisins as a launching point for a malty, food-friendly Ale. Festina Peche uses fresh peach juice to add a subtle fruity note to the sour Berlinerweisse style.

Fans of Louisiana’s Abita brewery are quite familiar with two of their beers that are unabashedly fruit-forward. Purple Haze is a raspberry Wheat Ale that is as smooth as it is refreshing (and popular, I should add) and the other is one of my favorite beers ever—their Strawberry Harvest Lager. Strawberry Lager is everything a fruit beer should be; the fruit is as bittersweet as a bite into a fresh strawberry, and the Lager itself is subtle in allowing the fruit to come through while being substantive enough to reassure anyone scared to be seen not drinking a ‘real’ beer. Strawberry Lager is a once-per-year treat and it’ll be arriving soon, so try not to miss out on it.

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Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

We’ll be taking a quick detour from wrapping up our series focusing on Belgium this week to take a look at one of the best and most important topics pertaining to beer right now: local breweries.

While our area has always been a haven for beer fans supporting craft domestic and imports, until recently there was a noticeable lack of local DC, Maryland and Virginia breweries. This has often been the first piece of evidence when arguing the DC area’s lack of status or respect as a ‘beer town’. The past ten years however has seen a rise of local brewers planting their flags and brewing up world-class beer all over the region. Today, amid the continuing economic uncertainty and the spread of corporate box stores and restaurants into seemingly every available space, your local breweries are places of hope, providing employment and investing in our communities.

That’s not to say all chains are necessarily bad. If you live close enough to a Cap City Brewpub, Rock Bottom Brewpub, Gordon Biersch, or Sweetwater Tavern go check out what they’re doing. These chain restaurants/brewpubs are a seemingly endless stream of up-and-coming talent; many of the brewmasters helming new breweries came up through this ‘farm system’, and it’s always nice to be able to say “I knew them when…”

Making a big impact in their first year of operation was Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company. Located off Duke Street near the intersection with Quaker Lane, Port City’s beers are balanced and smart, showing complexity and bold flavor without succumbing to ‘big beer syndrome’. I’m a little partial to their Pale Ale and Porter myself. Look for their Oyster Stout to be released later this spring. Lost Rhino rose from the ashes of Dominion’s operation being moved up into Delaware; after spending the last couple of years occupying draft lines around the area, bottled versions of their beers are hitting shelves and each is better than the last. Try New River Pale Ale and Ice Breaker Imperial IPA.

DC Brau made quite a bit of noise last year, and has created a lot of the craft beer excitement within the District. While we’ve only managed to see their The Public Pale Ale a couple of times at retail in Virginia, their beers can be found on tap at bars and restaurants around the area. Ranging from the hoppy and classic to the experimental, we’re looking forward to seeing more of DC Brau’s offerings as we get further into 2012. While in the city, keep an eye out for beers from Three Stars Brewery and Chocolate City Brewing Company, who have also recently come online. Baseball fans, look for Bluejacket, slated to open sometime in 2013 at the Boilermaker Shops down at the Yards.

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