I don’t want this to be a bashing of Deschutes or of their calendar, but Jubelale is always the first of the holiday seasonals to hit the market. I can understand why, Christmas beers just sell well. They started the seasonal fad. They are still the most anticipated of the seasonal releases. That said, I’m not ready for Christmas, not at the mall, not on TV, and definitely not in my pint glass.

As the hops are set to come off the vine, I’m still enjoying the long evenings and late sun. I’m still in a pilsner state of mind (well, maybe an IPA state of mind with all the fog), and if any seasonal is going to excite me it will be the return on the pumpkin ales.

Deschutes, you got me thinking about it, but this goes to all the seasonal brewers out there: No Christmas in August. In fact, no Christmas in September and if you can, let’s at least wait until some snow has fallen somewhere in the United States (Alaska and tops of mountains excluded).

As for the Jubelale, I won’t be drinking that for quite some time.

L to R: Six Rivers Chile Pepper Ale, Rogue Chipotle Ale, Mad River Super Chile Pepper Madness, Lagunitas Habenro IPA and Habanero Chocolate Stout

For this tasting I sat down with head brewers Jeremy Marshall (Lagunitas) and Dylan Schatz (Mad River) to taste a couple of their own chile beers as well as a few others we had collected. We had also brought along some Cypress Grove Herbs de Humboldt cheese, as it’s supposed to go extremely well with their local Six Rivers Chile Pepper Ale. Beers in hand, we were ready to sample.

We started with Mad River’s Super Chile Pepper Madness. This beer is based on their Extra Pale Ale but had 5 types of peppers (Anaheim, Cayenne, Yellow Wax, Jalapeno and Habanero) added to the keg. The aroma is hot, but the flavor is sweet and full of flavor. Very drinkable, this beer and the cheese were instant partners with the herbs and chiles coming together to remind me of broths created when one makes mole or tortilla soup (This is a common flavor profile with this tasting and I will try to avoid repeating myself).

Next was Lagunitas’ Habanero IPA. This beer was a salvaged palate of kegs that wouldn’t fully carbonate. Instead of throwing it away, they threw it back in a tank on some finely chopped habaneros. Not incredibly fragrant, nor full of habanero flavor, this beer shows itself in the finish as the spices lifts off the tongue with the carbonation.

Six River’s Chile Pepper Ale has always been the standard for this style of beer in Northern California, using six types of peppers in the recipe. Varying from mild to searingly hot, this batch was definitely on the hot side. Holding it to your nose, you can feel the burn fill your sinuses. Big flavors and chile pepper finish are what this beer is all about. While all three of us are fans, this batch seemed to be a bit too spicy for us this time around.

From a beer that beat you over the head with a pepper we move to Rogue’s Chipotle Ale. While the chipotle was apparent in this beer, the malt was really the star of the show, bringing out a caramel and chocolate body that provided a great base for the smoky sweetness of the peppers to shine through.

What’s a tasting flight without a little dessert? Lagunitas Habanero Chocolate Stout (75% Fusion III Imperial Stout blended with 25% bourbon barrel-aged Gnarlywine and aged on habaneros and cocoa nibs) is big on chocolate up front and fades to a light spiciness in the finish. This is definitely a sipper of a beer with the chocolate and bourbon sweetness coming to the front and the spiciness acting to balance the beer out.

As I mentioned, the Mad River was a great pair with the Herbs de Humboldt, but it was the outsider from Oregon that provided the best pairing. The Rogue malt was matched by the creaminess of the cheese while the herbs and subtle chipotle balanced together as tasty highlights. The IPA lacked the chile flavor whereas Six Rivers was overpowering alongside the cheese. The Habanero Stout was close with the stout and chocolate playing well with the cheese. Where this pairing missed was in the herbs, the chocolate and herbs were just off enough that it took away from the overall experience.

What’s interesting about the concept of chile beers and the brewers I had on hand is that in both of their cases, the beers weren’t intentional. The Habanero IPA was a salvage job and in the process lead to some additional experimentation with the stout. In Mad River’s case, access to a fresh batch of peppers served as inspiration.

While none of these beers can claim to have a chile in the bottle, they are all wonderful examples of using a different ingredient in craft beer. Have you tried any chile beers, or do you have a favorite? Where could brewers go with this? Personally, I’d love an Aztec inspired stout or porter with chocolate, peppers and cinnamon.

The atmosphere was relaxed yet full of energy on the evening we came in. Busy, but not overly so, conversation was filling the room as we managed our way to the back where the bar is located. There we saw co-owner Tyler Catalana tending to business by the bar. Shortly after, brother Justin joined us to fill us in on happenings at their new watering hole.

This day was actually a bit special as it was the first brew day for MVBW. The taps will be dominated by guest taps, but Tyler and Justin wanted to have a small system on which they could brew different and creative styles. The house beers would supplement the guest taps, not the other way around. The first beer will be a saison, but Tyler warned me to not be too anxious, as these beers can take a while to finish.

When we perused the menu of guest taps, we had trouble finding many holes. As a beer geek I was very impressed as there was something for whichever mood I found myself in. What surprised me was the ability of the menu to appeal to the common man (or woman). Nothing too experimental, but nothing too safe at the same time, MVBW is a good place to take those interested newbies who just want to try something new.

In addition to a well rounded tap list, Mill Valley Beer Works also features an impressive bottle list. Knowing I didn’t have the time to sample through any bottles, I gave the list a quick look and nothing more, not wanting to tempt myself. What I did see was a full assortment of Belgian beer and a solid representation of American beer as well.

After chatting over a beer, Justin and Tyler gave us the unofficial tour and showed us a few tricks they have under their sleeves but asked that we not spread the word just yet. Let’s just say that I’m excited for where their bottle menu will be in 4-5 years.

On the way out, the waitress asked if we were eating. Without waiting for an answer she excitedly told me I had to try the small plates. Along with the bottle list, these will be a must try the next time I find myself in Mill Valley.

As a neighborhood bar, MVBW walks a fine line of catering to the local consumer while still appealing to the beer connoisseur.  Do you know of any other places with this balance? Does it work? Are they something for everyone or are they doing two things for two crowds and doing neither well?

Get a better look at the Mill Valley Beer Works by checking out the slideshow from that evening.

The most famous and readily available example of this would be industrial macro lagers. While we may dislike these beers, it really is an amazing accomplishment that these brewers can create the same tasting beer around the world on numerous brewhouses.

The goal isn’t always to create the exact same beer. Take the Schneider and Brooklyn collaboration for example. Both are brewed with the same guidelines, but a different dry-hopping. Even with the same recipes, different brewhouses will lead to different flavors and fermentations. In this case, the Schneider version finishes at 8.2% while Brooklyn’s comes in slightly stronger at 8.5%.

With a more recent beer, Bison Brewing of Berkeley, CA and Terrapin Beer of Athens, GA took on the task of both brewing a Belgian Scotch Ale for their Reunion beer, an annual fundraiser to raise money for Myeloma research. With similar recipes in hand, both brewers set out to brew with “Belgian Scotch Ale” as the only goal in mind. The results, while within “style,” were strikingly different. The Bison beer was dark with a round soft chocolate banana flavor. At 7%, the beer was slightly heavy for a session, but went down easy. Terrapin’s was more translucent and with a tight carbonation and effervescence not found in Bison’s. Additional, Terrapins finished at 8.5%, pushing it far away from the sessionable territory.

The number one difference in these beers was the yeast being used. Bison used their house Saison yeast while Terrapin unleashed a Rochefort yeast.

Have you found any other examples of different brewers tackling the same recipe? Do you like this practice? Could this be a new trend in collaborations, with each brewer giving it their own attempt?

Whether you’re that new convert or a grizzled veteran, in my experience, beer drinkers seem to follow a certain path in their experience with craft beer. See if you can identify yourself or others you drink with.

• The Newborn – This beer drinker doesn’t know what they’re drinking, but they know they like it. Sometimes they have a parental figure to tell them what’s going on, but it’s ok if they learn on their own. Enthusiasm is generally high, but expect them to look for that familiar beer when faced with an option.
• The Adolescent – The Newborn has discovered what it is they like about beer. It could be hops, it could be malt, it could be alcohol. Either way, they have learned how to venture away from the safe haven of their favorite beer. As with any adolescent, they will dive into this head first. This is also when they discover the word “Imperial” and will cling to it like an old blanket. They’ve discovered a beer itch and will scratch it raw.
• The Young Adult – At the end of the previous stage, the Adolescent began venturing away from their specific beers into neighboring territory. Hop lovers tried malty/hoppy beers. The Young Adult has identified their favorite aspect of beer in more styles. They experiment, they continue the race to the top, looking for bigger, bolder and more intense experiences in a pint glass. Young Adults drive the “extreme” beer scene with passion and excitement.
• Mid-Life – “I just want a beer I can drink.” The chase for bigger beers has left this beer drinker a little worn out. Their taste for big beer is still alive, but they have enough experience to appreciate more session-able styles. This beer drinker can pick out the subtleties of beer. Also, this beer drinker is more comfortable with their own beer tastes. Well informed, and aware of what they want, this beer drinker has definitely hit their stride.
• The Veteran – Been there, done that. This beer drinker is hard to phase. Special bottles may excite this person, but don’t be offended if they decide to pass on your cherry-infused bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout brewed by gnomes in Greenland. This person refuses to compromise their tastes or their mood. Want to know more about beer? This is the person to talk to.

Now these are basic stage of a beer drinker, but they can always be modified by other factors. Regardless of where you fall in the timeline, the beer drinker will still be the deciding factor in how the person interacts with others. A snob can be drinking a Heineken in a frosted glass wrapped in a napkin or berating the bartender for not carrying anything more than Sierra Nevada on draft.

Where do you see yourself on this list? Where do others see you? Do you disagree?

The idea of an aggressive, strong, hoppy amber or red ale was most famously done first by Stone with Arrogant Bastard. Obviously bigger in every way than the amber ales being produced at the time, Arrogant Bastard stood alone as a style.

For the longest time, I referred to the style as a “Homebrewer’s Delight,” as I believe all homebrewers have brewed that batch that started as their favorite beer, but they added a little extra malt, tossed in the remaining bag of hops, dry-hopped it, and basically let the recipe run wild. The result would be a bit of a mess, but it was rich, sweet, strong and hoppy. The color was a dark amber in many cases and usually lended itself to being drank by the pint, even if the strength of the beer should have discouraged such behavior.

Over the past few years, numerous breweries have released their own versions of this malty hop bomb. The question still remains, what would you call this style? RateBeer includes all of these beers in the “American Strong Ale” category. A quick look at the top beers of this category show that this is more of a catch all than a true style.

So what would define this unnamed style? Descriptions of Imperial Red or Imperial Amber imply somewhere to start, but that may only help to define the lower limits. If we assume these beers must be of approximately 7.5% in strength and at least 50 IBU, at what point do these beers stop being imperial amber ales and begin being hoppy barleywines?

For my two cents, the color is obviously a requirement. Amber or red, it must be darker than your IPA but lack the brown body or opacity that would move us away from an easily identifiable style. Anything between 7-10% ion strength should be considered with a hopping significant enough to match and show itself against such a rich malt body. Lastly, it has to feel right in a pint glass. There has to be the impression of a sessionable drink, or at least one you want a full pint of, for this beer to fit amongst the Imperial Red style.

Oh, and I like the style Imperial Red. While I prefer amber ales to red ales the majority of the time, there’s something about Imperial Red ale that just sounds more appealing.

Where do you sit on this topic? Do you have requirements of these beers?

This article was based on a previous article written on BrewedForThought.com

Having seen the madness first hand, owners Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo were quick to respond. This week, amid little fanfare, the Russian River FAQ was updated with this small bit on Pliny the Younger:

Younger is brewed once a year and is generally available around the first week of February. Given the overwhelmingly unexpected turnout at this year’s release, we are making some changes for next year. There will NO GROWLERS available to go. We will not be bottling it, either. Chances are we will still distribute a very small amount to key accounts in some or all markets in which we are distributed. That is still up for discussion. It will be available at our brewpub sometime in February to be consumed on-premise only, 10 ounces at a time. Perhaps this way it will last more than 8 hours and we won’t see it for sale on Ebay!

When contacted about the new rule, Vinnie had little to add but suggested availability within the Santa Rosa pub would be ensured throughout the week of the Younger release.

The question then goes to you, the enthusiastic beer geek. What do you make of the new rule regarding growlers?

As a local to Santa Rosa I really don’t mind. I buy surprisingly few growlers from the pub, preferring to enjoy a pint of whatever may be special that day in the pub while it’s fresh. With Pliny, Pig and various -Tions in the bottle now, the growler feels inefficient and sloppy.

My hope is that this will lead to a more casual enjoyment of this rare beer. People will be able to walk into the pub, sit down at the bar and enjoy a 10 ounce glass of hop nectar. They will then turn to their friend and be able to communicate without shouting. Isn’t this a better setting for fully appreciating a beer of this caliber than standing shoulder to shoulder, trying to pull out the rich aroma of hops and sweet malt against bad breath and body odor?

I also think this benefits those traveling long distances to drink the beer. I shared the table from a beer geek who joined us from Scandinavia. I talked to the first people in line who started waiting at 6:30 that morning and had driven from Santa Barbara (a solid 5-6 hour drive). These were success stories, but I am sure there were others who never got to try the beer. (Not to be cold-hearted but I don’t really sympathize for those who missed out, if someone came from Europe and was there in the morning, evidently there were others willing to do more to ensure they drank the beer).

Finally, I’m glad this shuts down the eBay trade. I’ve never been a fan of profiteering. People who have done nothing more than be present are making larger profits off of the product than those who put the effort into making the product. Whether it’s beer, baseball cards or life-sized military characters complete with vehicle, I’m just not a fan.

So let’s hear it!

Photo Courtesy of TheBeerSessions.com

Let’s look at the various components of a bottle shop. When I’m done, let me know if I left anything out and also let me know how your local shop fares given these criteria.

• Selection – The easiest measure of a bottle shop, selection is apparent when you walk through the door and into the beer section. Are craft breweries represented? Imports? How deep into the brands do they stock? Are there seasonal, one-offs, or vintage releases available? How experimental do the offers get? Can you find any barrel-aged beers? Sours?
• Storage – Beer needs to be kept properly. Shelf space is nice, but how big is the cooler? Is the cooler stocked with quickly moving beer or with the craft selections that might hang around for a while? What’s the ambient temperature in the store for those bottles not kept in the cooler? How much sunlight reaches the beer section?
• Turn-over – This one relates to the two previous points. Great selection can be hindered by slow turnover as that selection may be old. High turnover can save poor storage conditions. Even if a place has no cold storage, that could be excused if their entire stock is emptied out on a weekly basis. Also, high turnover means fresh beer, so you can excuse a less varied selection if you always know the beer is going to be at its best.
• Policies – Again, this refers in a way to the previous point. Let’s say you’ve got a large selection and low turnover and a customer buys an old bottle. They get home and realize, this bottle is no good. Can you bring the bottle back for an exchange? Will they pull the remaining stock knowing it’s gone bad?
• Staff – How knowledgeable is the staff? How willing are they to help you find that right beer? In a good bottle shop they tend to remember their regular, and some times, their not-so-regulars. There’s nothing better than walking in to a store and having the beer buyer say “Hey, this beer just came in and I think you’ll really like it.” Good staff leads to good purchases and more often than not, good conversations.
• Perks – I wasn’t sure what to call this point, but it basically refers to everything else. Does your bottle shop take phone orders? Can you have beer held until later (next pay day?)? Will they do special orders, even if it means they have to order a case just to get you one bottle?

Finding a good bottle shop in your town is great as it can sometimes feel like a second home. Whether it’s a well-stocked grocery store, a liquor store with an enthusiastic manager or a warehouse-style beverage retailer, your bottle shop is unique to where you live. Now let’s hear about the one in your town and your favorites you’ve run into over the years.

Before jumping to conclusions and pointing fingers at the brewers, we should first look back at a time when spoilage was a common occurrence in the craft beer world. Anyone who drank “microbrews” in the 90’s knows that quality control wasn’t so controlled. While I came into good beer towards the tail end of the decade, I can remember playing microbrew roulette, not knowing the quality of the liquid inside the bottle. Spoiled batches were pushed onto shelves and whether the brewery knew about it or not, they definitely weren’t part of a public recall. So first things first, let’s applaud these breweries in 2010 for doing the right thing and assuring the beer we buy is of the best quality.

With the most recent news coming from Deschutes, the Black Butte XXII release was canceled. While a press release let beer lovers know that cocoa butter was coming out of solution, rumors have begun to make their way back to Bend that the beer was actually rancid. Larry Sidor, brewer with Deschutes, assured me this is not the case and that “the beer is fantastic.”

“The problem is, people drink with their eyes,” Larry told me. The problem stems from an experimental technique where chocolate was added to the brite tanks. While this had been done for 4 previous years on smaller test batches, after bottling, a distinct buttery white layer was forming on top of the stark black liquid. The brewery felt that many would excuse this visual flaw, but among casual beer drinkers and those who truly examine beer (RateBeerians?) the problem would be catastrophic. The decision was made to not release any of the beer.

With the previous recalls from Avery, Goose Island and Bell’s, the issue wasn’t visual, but one that affected the taste of the beer. While Avery’s recall was brought about by customer complaints, Goose Island and Bell’s recalls were initiated internally, presumably thanks to good lab work in identifying the presence of souring bugs.

I posed the questions I started the article with to a handful of brewers and got pretty much the same answer from all of them. Brewers take their sanitation processes seriously. Even with the high level of sanitation, sometimes something can slip through.

Another common sentiment was that despite recalls and canceled releases, craft brewers are not deterred in continuing to push the envelope. Whether it’s a large brewer with worldwide distribution or a small local brewpub, there is a commitment to brewing interesting beer and trying new things.

All of the news is reassuring in the end. It shows a difference in the craft beer market that was sorely lacking 15 years ago. While a soured beer isn’t enjoyable, it beats one tainted with shards of glass.

For those who read this and thought “I’d still like to try the Black Butte XXII,” don’t worry. At Deschutes brewpubs, the beer will be available on draft with a disclaimer provided by the bartender. No bottles will be going out for sampling though, so this would be your only chance to try the beer.

While Chimay makes a few cheeses, only one is made using their famous beers: Chimay with Beer.

The very personal preparation and maturing of this cheese make it an exclusive product.

Its natural rind is bathed in Chimay Trappist beer so that its incomparable flavour flatters the palate and the nose.

The washed rind on the cheese is sharply salty while the center of the cheese is rich and creamy with a yeasty bite. Against the Cinq Cents, the cheese softens the beer’s intensity, urging you to drink to quench the briney flavor. With the more malty Première and Grande Réserve, a sweet and salty contrast heightens the flavors of the beer, creating a more decadent experience with each bite. The creaminess of the cheese provides a solid foundation for the increasing intensity to play against.

Other brewers have toyed with cheese, but I am not sure if others have created cheese. Fritz Maytag, in addition to home appliances, made Anchor Steam beer for over 30 years as well as the Maytag Blue Cheese.

While not made by the brewers, there are numerous cheese made with beer as an ingredient. Fiscalini’s Hop Scotch is soaked in Devil’s Canyon’s Full Boar Scotch Ale while Sartori’s Raspberry BellaVitano is soaked in New Glarus’ Raspeberry Tart.

What other beer soaked, washed, infused cheeses have you tried? Where else have the brewers ventured into the realm of cheese makers. Chare your experiences and comments below.