The Beer Road

Warm weather seems to be finally getting here, something that I’m always excited and incredibly grateful for.  Included in the countless benefits of spring and summer are the ability to drive comfortably with the windows down, and  being able to go to work in the morning without shivering.  Let us not forget the simple pleasure of soaking in the warmth of the sun while doing most anything outside.  Ok, add to that last one…with a good beer.  No…seriously!  Truly, what’s better than to finally, FINALLY, be able to sit outside comfortably, even late into the evening after a long day, with a favorite beer?  Personally, I believe that any of one’s preferred beers will do while feeling the sun or enjoying the evening’s clear, starry sky.  But there are some beer styles which traditionally gain popularity and perhaps are more suited to warmer weather – fruit beers, wheat beers, generally lighter weight beers than those I enjoyed back in the chill of winter come to mind.  One is the widely available India Pale Ale, or IPA, and although available year round, IPAs seem to always get a mention in warm weather beer discussions.  What began as a variation of the English Pale Ale and has an interesting history and timeline dating at least back to the early 1800’s is now one of the most popular beer styles today.  It also may occasionally seem as if IPA’s have devised a plan for world domination, or at least to dominate every shelf in your favorite beer store.  Simply put, there are bunches of them out there.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, unless perhaps you’ve never tasted a good IPA, because that first taste may be just a bit surprising.

You see, one taste the sometimes very highly hopped IPA for the first time can produce that contorted, twisted, pained, “holy crap, what IS THIS?”.   Generally speaking, IPA’s are a hop lover’s dream.  This high level of hops, which back in the day was meant to help preserve the beer on long, overseas shipments from Britain to troops in India now means that if you’re into a more bitter taste, an IPA is probably your destination beer.  Some beer lovers seem to drink nothing but. However, I think IPAs are among the tougher beer styles for the casual beer drinker to acclimate themselves to, due to that same level of bitterness.

So unless you come with a built in appreciation of IPAs, one’s first introduction can be bracing.  My own introduction into IPAs such as these started on the higher end of bitterness, and years ago, I admit I probably had the same look on my face.  But the more beer I try, the more styles I taste, the wider my tastes have become.  I simply gave hoppier beers a chance to “come around” to me, and now I truly enjoy some of these, though I’m not all the way back yet.  That’s why it’s important to note that not all IPAs are the same.  There are IPAs that are not quite as extreme as others, and can make it easier to get used to the style.  My helpful source of beer info at The Wine Gourmet pointed out that there is a distinction among American IPAs, loosely divided into West Coast and East Coast styles.  West Coast IPAs are the real deal – high hops, and a higher bitter flavor, to oversimplify.  East Coast ones can simply be more balanced than others, featuring more of a malt presence in the beer to run alongside the hops, and this might mean a biscuit like, bread like, or even doughy like taste, which can even out the bitter hop flavor.  As for those hops themselves, and the beers that are not balanced out this way, their flavors are usually described as pine like, or citrus rind, or even “resin” like.  To me, the most flavorful ones that I’ve had so far are IPAs which are a bit more balanced, and that are very citrus-juicy in flavor, and along with the rind like taste, basically they can be like biting into a slice of orange, rind and all.

Under the IPA banner, there are American IPAs, and even Belgian IPAs.  There are also Imperial IPAs, or “Double” IPAs, with even higher hop content.  Oddly enough, several Imperial IPAs also have a maltier backbone for, balancing out those insane levels of hops, making for a very complex beer, in of itself.  For the uninitiated, though, IPAs can be a long road to travel, perhaps not.  But with warmer weather here, they just might be worth a shot.  Myself?  I’m over all the facial contortions.  I’ve been enjoying those evenings with IPAs such as Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA, Bell Brewing’s Two Hearted Ale, and Terrapin Brewery’s Hopsecutioner.  All are delicious, and all go well with the end of a warm day, when the only thing my face is doing is smiling.

Posted in The Road Map - One Guide To Better Beer, Style by Style.

My “beer road” started out with mostly darker beers, both ales and lagers included, as I kept on a search for beers with what I thought were similar flavors.  I was looking for beers which featured and coaxed the various flavors out of a heavier malt presence in the beer, which can include richer flavors, roasted or toasted characteristics, tastes of brown breads, dark fruits such as raisin or prune, or caramel or toffee flavors, and perhaps a sweeter taste also, which can be quite out in front or just the slightest bit sweet.  For anyone that might be curious about and new to craft beer, I still think that pursuing beers with these same types of flavors might be a good path to take.  After all, sweeter, richer foods and beverages in general seem to always be easier to acclimate oneself to instead of ones with a more bitter taste, which in the beer world would be hoppier beers like hoppy IPAs and such.  Some beer people move on to appreciate these hoppier beers, but these darker beers that I’ve mentioned before – maltier Brown Ales and Black Lagers (or Schwarzbiers) for example, I truly think can be good starting points.

Add to those my next beer road stop, a curiosity in a very old German style, the Dunkel, or Munich Dunkel.  This lager benefits from an certain brewing technique, called decoction, which at different times in the brewing process means part of the soon to be beer mixture is removed and further roasted for a richer taste.   Typically you do get a fuller bodied beer than most lagers, but they are not usually heavy.  Due to the decoction, these have a rich, dominant malty taste with a low to medium hop presence, and flavors can range from those that I was looking for – caramel, toasted malt, dark breads, and occasionally dark fruit.  The richness can be something to savor – a lot of times, a good Dunkel makes for that good end of the day, feel good, warming beer for me.  Unfortunately they are not terribly easy to find, but here are some good examples to search out – Dixie Brewing’s Blackened Voodoo was the first I tried, and might be the easiest to locate.  Most beer drinkers are familiar with Negra Modelo, which ought to show up on the beer list of any Mexican restaurant.  However, specialty shops might stock something like Ayinger’s Altbairisch Dunkel or Pennsylvania Brewing’s Penn Dark, and both are delicious.

Posted in The Road Map - One Guide To Better Beer, Style by Style.