In the mean time, check out the Mermaid Tavern (Guam’s only brewery since Pacific Universal Brewers and San Miguel closed), Samoa Breweries and Palau Brewing Company.

                          

Roosterfish Brewing  Hop Warrior

Style: Double IPA 
Color: dark orange-amber
ABV: 8.7% 
Price Point: $7 for 22oz 
Technical Notes: OG 1.081    TG 1.015    Color 14.68  IBU 120.2

Hedonic Notes:

The pour is a slightly hazy orange amber color with a light caramel colored crown of foam.  The bubbles fade quickly, but the beer remains somewhat effervescent.

Citrus hop notes form the bulk of the aroma with a great deal of lemon and grapefruit.  Some grassy notes and a very strong sweet caramel malt backbone.  A bit of alcohol solvent aroma rears its head as the beer warms.

At first, the flavor is of strong sweet malt.  A strong American-style Cascade-like bitterness follows.  The citrus notes that are present in the aroma are backed up by a strong piney bitterness , but the grass flavor does not appear as much, or is perhaps  overwhelmed.  The beer is quite bitter, but the malt is strong enough to balance it and make the beer drinkable despite the alleged 120+ IBUs.  The beer finishes quite clean with a nice lingering citrus note.

After the very strong sweetness and high bitterness, one might expect a viscous and dry {mouthfeel}.  Such was not the case, as the beer was very well-balanced and felt medium-bodied.

For being 120+ IBUs, the beer does not taste overwhelmingly bitter and is perhaps almost easy to drink.  There isn’t too much in the area of earthy or spicy hop notes, but that is permissible in some American double IPAs.  One nice feature of this, however, is that it will pair well with spicy foods that have earthier flavors—ribs perhaps.  Overall, it is an enjoyable experience, but it is very difficult to compete in the American double IPA category these days.  Indeed, with everyone making their own extreme IPA, it’s difficult to stand out in the category.

Rating:  3 out of 5 corks .

Crystal structure of barley alpha amylase from PDB entry 1AMY.

The mashing process hinges on the activity of two enzymes: alpha amylase and beta amylase (genes named AMY1 and AMY2 respectively, among other isoforms).  These two enzymes break down complex starch structures into simple sugars.  By controlling the precise activity of each enzyme, one may plan a specific sugar profile for a beer, producing flavors ranging from complex and sweet to straightforward and alcoholic.

Beta amylase has the ability to break nonreducing alpha 1,4-glycosidic linkages.  Thus beta amylase yields maltose (dimmers) or maltotriose (trimers).  Yeast are not able to metabolize maltose and maltotriose quickly, and this results in a sweeter beer and a thicker mothfeel.

Alpha amylase may cut any alpha-1,4 glycosidic linkage, ultimately leaving sugar monomers.  These monomers are easily metabolized by yeast, leaving a crisp taste with a higher alcohol content.  An important function of this enzyme is that it is able to cleave beta amylase products into even simpler sugars.  Check out PDB’s February 2006 Molecule of the Month feature on amylase.

A barley stalk thanks to net_efekt at Flickr. Also, check out net_efekt's discussion of barley types.

Each enzyme operates optimally at a slightly different temperature, allowing the brewer to precisely plan the beer’s texture and flavor.  Beta amylase operates optimally at 60C to 65C while alpha amylase sees optimal activity at 72C to 75C.  Both enzymes are irreversibly denatured above 80C, leaving no activity.  By selecting mash temperatures and times within these ranges, a brewer can control the beer’s taste.

Both enzymes bind and unbind randomly, leaving chains of random lengths.  At first, the enzymes tend to diffuse between large chains, but as the chains become smaller, the enzymes tend to break the smaller portions more quickly since they diffuse to the active site more readily.  Indeed, this is a common feature of enzymatic systems and a challenge in a similar system: breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production.

Amylase enzymes work by using water to hydrate the glycosidic linkage (hydrolysis) and leave two stable sugar ends.  The resulting chains both have hydroxyl groups in a conformation identical to the bond that linked the sugars previously.  Check out this great animation from the University of Indiana.

Chapman, Pallas and Mendicino.  ”The hydrolosys of maltodextrins by a beta-amylase isolated from the leaves of vicia faba”  Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Enzymology. 1972.

Fix, George. Principles of Brewing Science.  Brewers Publications: Boulder, CO.  1999.

Kadziola et al. “Crystal and molecular structure of barley alpha-amylase” Journal of Molecular Biology. 1994.

Svensson.  ”Protein engineering in the α-amylase family: catalytic mechanism, substrate specificity, and stability” Plant Molecular Biology. 1994

                          

by Richard Pliny, Beer Correspondent

Style: “Blended IPA”
Color: Orange-straw
ABV: 9%
Price Point: $8 for 22oz
Technical Notes: From the Southern Tier website, “High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known as “the twins,” or the constellation Gemini. The astronauts of the 1960s flew as teams of two in a program named after the celestial pairing. At Southern Tier, we have our own fraternal twins, Hoppe [reviewed here] & Unearthly. Blended together & placed in this vessel, the mission of our Gemini is to travel high & take passengers on a journey far into the heavens.”

Hedonic Notes: The beer pours a translucent pale orange with very little foam.  That foam which does form is characterized by large bubbles and a brilliant white shade.  There is a slightly cloudy appearance and the bottom of the bottle has a healthy amount of sediment. Floral, aromatic hop notes pervade the aroma.  A slight bit of citrus follows, accompanied by a thick, almost honey like malt backbone.  The hop notes are complex yet subtle, with hints of pine and grass mixing with the stronger floral and citrus notes.

As the beer warms, the subtler hints become more pronounced.  Hop bitterness reminds one of an American style IPA, with prominent pine and citrus.  A delightfully sweet caramel malt forms a subdued yet appropriate contrast and highlights the more delicate aspects of the hop bitterness.  Grapefruit and orange notes dominate, while grass does not play as prominent a role as in the aroma.  Earthy notes are not as noticeable as one may expect in the finish, which is more dry than bitter.

In spite of the 9% alcohol, any sort of solvent texture is minimal, even as the beer warms.  The finish is very dry and imparts a clear astringency that quite distinct from a hop bitterness.  A surprising smoothness accompanies this dryness and astringency, making for a very unique finish.

Overall the beer is very drinkable.  It is more drinkable than Hoppe, though arguably not as good a vessel for exploring the many facets of hop bitterness.  Personally, I found Hoppe a more interesting experience, but perhaps this beer isn’t trying to compete as much as complement.  It should be noted that this beer was aged for a few months, perhaps subduing the hop flavors.  That said, it was quite unique and a delight to drink in general.

Rating: 4/5 Corks. Gemini is a delightful IPA to drink, but perhaps not as high in the sky as Southern Tier’s Hoppe.

The final frontier: beer in space!

In 2001 Kirsten Sterett, a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, conducted experiments brewing beer in space.  With the help of Coors, Sterett had a small fermentation experiment fly on a shuttle mission, with a control sample on earth.  Experiments looked at cell counts and protein expression levels.

Sterett's brewery apparatus. Thanks to NASA for the image.

Under the influence of gravity (i.e., on Earth), cells form aggregates and settle out of solution.  This results in a layer of sediment at the bottom of the beer and is largely responsible for the slow progression of aging.  In microgravity, however, the cells remain in suspension throughout the length of the fermentation.  Moreover, carbon dioxide bubbles don’t leave the system since there is no bouyant force in the absence of gravity. In remaining in suspension, the cells are able to consume sugars more rapidly since the diffusion limitations are lessened.

Sterett found, somewhat paradoxically, that total cell counts are reduced when fermentation is conducted in orbit.  However, certain proteins were expressed in higher levels. Later experiments focusing on pharmaceutical production would find that bacterial cells are able to produce better target molecule:biomass ratios in microgravity.

Though the precise mechanism is not clear, efforts are underway to engineer organisms that are able to produce similar results in gravity. The bulk of earlier microbial experiments in space focused primarily on pathogenic bacteria.  Findings from Salyut in 1982 and Spacelab D1 in 1985 seemed to indicate that microbes have increased antibiotic resistance in microgravity.  It appears microbes are able to form more dense biofilms in the absence of gravity, making mass transfer to the center of the population difficult.

The ISS would make a great place for a pub. Image courtesy of NASA

So is beer production possible in space?  The question is currently unanswered, but appears promising.  Sterett did taste about 1ml of her beer, but noted that it did not taste very good.  Space beer would no doubt be a rather different drinking experience without a proper head forming (not to mention drinking from a straw and having limited aroma due to container constraints).

Japanese brewer Sapporo offered a beer brewed with barley descended from samples grown in orbit.  The beer launched in early 2009, with a mere 100 liters were produced and sold to a lucky 250 customers chosen from a lottery for 10,000 yen (roughly $110US) per six-pack.  (as an aside, if any readers out there happen to have a bottle of this sitting around I would love to write a feature on it!) Is space beer going to be the beverage of the future?  Probably not… and I’m still waiting for my jetpack.

“R&D Report for ‘Space Barley’” Sapporo.

Suds in Space. NASA.  2001.

Wilson et al. “Space flight alters bacterial gene expression and virulence and reveals a role for global regulator Hfq.“ PNAS. 2007.

                          

Style: “Chocolate Stout”
Color: Black
ABV: 10.6%
Price Point: $22 for 750 mL
Technical Notes:
From the bottle, “Brooklyn Black Ops does not exist. However, if it did exist, it would be a robust stout concocted by the Brooklyn brewing team under cover of secrecy and hidden from everyone else at the brewery.  Supposedly Black Ops was aged for four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and re-fermented with Champagne yeast, creating big chocolate and coffee flavors with a rich underpinning of vanilla-like oak notes.  They say there are only 1,000 cases.  We have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Hedonic Notes:

The beer pours an inky black with a coffee colored head.  Bubbles in the foam are small and persistent even as the beer warms.

A malty caramel smell with faint bourbon notes make up the aroma.  As the beer warms a very distant solvent flavor can be detected.  Vanilla notes come out as the beer reaches near room temperature along with slight coffee scents.

Sweet, thick, roasted malt flavors form the start of the taste and are followed by a vanilla and oak notes, with a faint red fruit flavor in the middle.  Cocoa and toffee form the transition to the finish along with some more sweet malty notes and hints of coffee following.  The vanilla, in particular, comes out nicely as the beer warms.  As in the aroma, an ethanol solvent character comes out slightly as it warms.

From the start, the {{mouthfeel}} has a noticeable viscosity and feels very heavy and mouth-coating.  The alcohol character comes out a bit as the beer warms, but does not feel like a 10.6% beer.

Both the flavor and aroma have great balance.  Though complex, the flavors complement each other and strike a balance between the smoky and sweet notes that is simply remarkable.  The beer is, despite its robust and formidable character, surprisingly palatable.  That said, it is certainly not a lawnmower beer, but would be great with smoked salmon and plenty of time to drink it.  Serving as a dessert beer would also work very well.  Even when warm, the beer does not taste as alcohol-solvent like as one might expect for the content, I suspect that aging will improve this characteristic.  Overall, Brooklyn’s Black Ops is a great beer that is definitely worth the investment.

Rating:  4.5 out of 5 corks .  This is an excellent stout that has a wonderful amount of balance.  Try aging this for a few months and see how it develops.

Foam is a critical component in a beer’s appearance, texture and even aroma.  Foam color tells one about the malts used and bubble size lends hints about the level of carbonation and the protein content.  Bubble size and persistence influence how beer feels when drunk.  Because of the very high surface area, foam is able to act as a great interface for mass transfer, accounting for a great deal of the aroma one smells in beer.

Bubble size and persistence are two very important features of the foam that lend insight to the beer’s composition.  The size of bubbles is an indicator of the pressure inside the bubbles and the overall carbonation of the beer.  Bubble stability or persistence indicates a large number of properties responsible for maintaining the beer-air interface.

A collection of bubbles in beer foam. Notice that some of the smaller bubbles appear to be growing into larger ones. Thanks to Placbo on Flickr.

Smaller bubbles require more internal pressure to maintain curvature.  The force on a bubble’s interior surface due to pressure difference is described as the area integral of the normal vector to the bubble’s surface (this simplifies to

, where ΔP is the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the bubble and r is the bubble radius), while the force of surface tension is described as

, where γ is the fluid’s surface tension.  Balancing the two equations so that the force is zero (indicating a stable bubble) yields the solution

This equation says that the pressure of a bubble is inversely proportional to the radius and directly proportional to the surface tension.  In other words, at constant internal pressure, smaller bubbles indicate higher surface tension.  We thus see that beers which tend to have smaller bubbles (like stouts and porters) tend to be a bit more viscous and have higher sugar and protein content.  Conversely, light lagers tend to have larger bubbles due to lower content of interface-stabilizing compounds.

As demonstrated by A. Leike, beer foam decay obeys an exponential decay.  In a paper for which he won an Ig Nobel prize in 2002, Leike shows empirically that the foam height obeys the equation

where h₀ is the initial height and τ is a decay constant dependent on the particular beer.  One may thus compare foam stability of beer on a quantitative basis given measurements over time if observations are conducted carefully.

The exact parameters that determine the value of τ are quite detailed and varied.  Sugar and protein content play important roles, but so do polyphenol concentrations, presence of lipids or sterols and even alcohol content.  Foam stability in general is a topic of great interest currently and beer is just one of many areas of application for such research.

                          

For the time being, check out an article by Jon Abernathy about indigenous American beer styles over at the Hop Press.  For all of you still trapped in Europe, here’s a helpful language primer: how to say “cheers” in forty languages from Beeriety.

Skál!

                          

Hedonic Notes:

Brute pours a brilliant orange gold with a slight opacity and a great deal of carbonation.  A tall white foam forms instantly with large bubbles and dissipates quickly as well.

As soon as the cork is pulled, tart Brettanomyces barnyard scents mixed with champagne notes fill the room.  Orange peel and lemon are noticeable upon further inspection, perhaps with a hint of pineapple.  The effervescence tickles your nose as you reach for a stronger scent.

The first sips remind one of a sour candy as sweet citrus and sour Brettanomyces flavors mingle.  Champagne with a clear grape flavor fills the middle of the palate, bringing balance to the mouth-puckeringly tart Brettanomyces flavors.  The oak used to age this brew is quite faint, masked almost entirely by the drink’s sourness, but lingering on the palate a bit longer.  A hint of caramel malt eases the transition from citrus sour to lingering faint oak.

This beer, more than most others, drinks like champagne.  The high carbonation adds a distinct lightness to the body that is reinforced by prominent champagne notes in the flavor. Despite the apparent sweetness, the beer feels quite light.

In all, this beer is very drinkable.  It is very nice to see more American brewers pursuing American wild ales, with Ithaca Beer Company offering several beers featuring Brettanomyces.  That said, this beer lacks the distinct Brettanomyces character that one may expect from beers in this category.  However, its balance should be commended as a way to make an introduction to an often difficult to understand beer category.  At times the beer is more like a sour candy champagne than a beer.  The faintest hints of malt remind one that it is indeed a beer, while the champagne texture and flavors remind the drinker that it is something unique.

Rating: 4/5 corks. Ithaca’s Brute is a great introduction to wild ales and a good example of an American wild ale.

Lambic aging in barrels. Thanks to cizauskas on Flickr.

In addition to fermenting over longer time periods than S. cerevisiae, Brettanomyces yeasts are able to metabolize a wider range of carbon sources.  In addition to the smaller dextrins that nearly all microbes eat, Brettanomyces is able to break down beta glucans and even structures like cellobiose.  Indeed, beers brewed with Brettanomyces are often observed to have a lower final gravity.

Brettanomyces is used almost exclusively in a very narrow category of beers: sour ales.  Traditionally these are Flanders ales, Lambics.  Flanders red and brown ales are, as the name may suggest, brewed in the Flanders region of Belgium.  Lambics, too, hail from Belgium, and are typically fruit ales.  Berliner weisse is a unique style of sour wheat beer, but relies on Lactobacillus rather than Bretannomyces to lend a sour flavor.

Flanders red ale is a traditional style from west Flanders, while brown ales hale from east Flanders.   The red ales are often aged for up to two years in used barrels that contain a variety of microorganisms that give the beer its unique flavors.  Brown ales, however, are not aged in oak and are typically served young.  The Flanders brown ales tend to be based as very light ales with some caramel malt for color, where red ales are made largely of slightly darker malts.  In either case, low alpha content hops are used.

Brettanomyces photo from Cal State Fresno: Note the formation of chains that contributes to their ability to form biofilms.

Lambics are often made using a Flanders brown ale as a base malt, but with the addition of large amounts of unmalted wheat.  Traditionally these are made almost the same way as red wine, with large open slate casks serving as primary fermentation of fruit and wort mixtures, after which the fruit is pressed and the remaining liquid is fermented and aged in barrels.

In addition to the classic styles, Brettanomyces has been the subject of interest recently in brewing.  Brewers like Ithaca, Russian River and New Belgium have started Brettanomcyes to make unique sour ales that are quite distinct from their classic forefathers.  Branching out from S. cerevisiae has lead to a return to classical brewing styles and emulating wild fermentation.

Careful management of fermentation time and conditions allows one to make very complex beers with Brettanomcyes.  In wines, the yeast is notorious for destroying delicate fruit aromas and flavors, but in beer it lends a degree of complexity that is difficult to replicate with S. cerevisiae.  They are known for their ability to create ranges of flavor from earthy to spicy and from fruity to sour all at once and sometimes at levels that do not offend or obfuscate the beer’s character.

Though very useful if used properly, Brettanomcyes is notorious for being very difficult to eliminate when not desired.  Because it is able to eat nearly anything and is very durable to a wide range of conditions (even very high alcohol content) and ability to make biofilms, Brettanomyces is able to elude many cleaning strategies.  Many brewers who use multiple types of yeast tend to use different sets of equipment for each yeast genus in an effort to avoid contamination.

Sparrow, Jeff. WildBrews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast. Brewer’s Publications: Boulder, CO. 2005.

                          

Butternuts Beer & Ale’s Porkslap

Style: Pale Ale
Color: amber
ABV: 4.3%
Price Point: $7 for 6-12 oz cans
Technical Notes:
From the Butternuts Beer and Ale Website:  “Porkslap Pale Ale is brewed with 2 row North American barley and English crystal malt. The beer is flavored with crystal hop and a touch of fresh ginger to create a distinct flavor only a porkslapper can love. At 4.3% abv this beer is designed to have a good ale flavor and a crisp mild finish.”

Hedonic Notes:

The beer pours a medium red-amber with a cream colored foam.  A think, cream colored head forms with small bubbles and persists for some time.

Sweet malt makes for most of the aroma while faint hints of citrus hops dance in the background.  Even when warm, the aroma is very mild.

Malt flavors are very prevalent in the palate.  Pale malts impart a slight sweetness to the beverage, while mild earthy/spicy hops linger in the background.  A faint hint of ginger sits in the middle of the palate and imparts a unique spice like flavor that becomes increasingly obvious as the beer warms.

A medium mouthfeel is accompanied by a surprisingly mouthcoating linger hop dryness that may be described as a mild astringency.

Overall the beer is a bit rough around the edges.  The hops are present, but not as strong as one might expect for an IPA.  Indeed, the beer is quite unlike most American IPAs and is best described as a pale ale or a British style IPA.  The lingering dry bitterness is unexpected given the very mild aroma and the contributions of the ginger are almost odd.  Yet, the beer has a great deal of character.  The beer is generally palatable, but certainly not for everyone.  As an aside, it’s nice to see craft beers showing up in cans these days.

Rating: 2.5/5 Corks.  Porkslap is rather unique beer that’s worth a try.

The debate of cans vs bottles has been renewed recently with some craft brewers choosing to use cans rather than the traditional bottles.  Bottles are alleged to preserve flavor better and be more recyclable, while cans are easier to ship and preserve the contents better.

Part of the bottling process is pasteurization, which may affect the beer's quality compared to the typically unpasteurized kegged counterparts. Image via wikipedia

Jim Koch of the Boston Beer Company insists that bottles are best.  Item VI of his Beer Drinker’s Bill of Rights states that “Beer shall be offered in bottles, not cans, so that no brew is jeopardized with the taste of metal.”  While this was a concern for early canned beverages, modern advances have all but removed this risk.  Indeed, metallic flavors are more often associated with the brewing process than the storage method.

That said, aluminum does leach into beer during storage. Whether or not these levels of aluminum are sufficient to justify concern is an item that is open to debate.  Indeed, low levels of lead are detected in canned and bottled beer, and even higher levels are found in beer in kegs.

In addition to detesting bottles, Jim Koch also insists on specially designed six pack cartons to protect bottles from sunlight, which may cause beer to grow skunky.  Yet, such items are not a concern in cans, where the aluminum’s opacity shields the beer from ultraviolet light.  Moreover, the cans leave less free volume in the vessel, lowering the risk of oxygen contamination compared to bottles.

The amount of beer per unit volume of packaging of cans is much higher than that for bottles.  One may fit nearly 24 cans in the space required for 12 bottles, permitting greater shipping density.  Conversely, bottles may be recycled without needing to melt down and remake them, where aluminum cans require a great deal of processing.  Moreover, making new aluminum cans requires a great deal of energy.    It is not clear if the environmental cost of shipping offsets that of recycling or making new aluminum cans.

Bottles are boss and cans are cool, but casks are simply capital. Thanks to janusz I on flickr

So which is best?  The answer is not straight forward or perhaps even answerable.  Each container has its purpose and both are worth keeping around.  If one wishes to have the best tasting beer possible, the answer is quite clear in this case: neither.  Kegs and (when the style is appropriate) casks offer a better taste than bottles or cans.  This is because kegged beer is normally not pasteurized, and thus does not lose flavor from being heated, nor does it gain off flavors from preservatives.  Cask beer still has living yeast inside and will mature with age.  Kegs also use less packing material per unit volume of beverage.

That said, I enjoy seeing craft beer in cans.  The can is more convenient and easier to transport larger quantities, perhaps to a picnic or party.  Its much easier to carry cans to and from your destination than bottles, and they’re much easier to clean up.  Unfortunately, home brewers can’t reuse cans as they do bottles.  I prefer kegs whenever possible, cans for convenience and bottles for everything else.  In the end though, the container doesn’t matter as much as the quality of the beer, no matter how you drink it make sure you enjoy it.

Brendan I. Koerner. “Wear Green, Drink Greenly: The eco-guide to responsible drinking.”  Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2186219/

M. M. Vela, R. B. Toma, W. Reiboldt and A. Pierri.  ”Detection of aluminum residue in fresh and stored canned beer” Food Chemistry 63(2): 235-239. 1998.

J. C. Sherlock , C. J. Pickford, G. F. White.  ”Lead in alcoholic beverages“ Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A 3(4): 347 – 354. 1986.

                          

Ithaca Brewing Company’s Old Habbit

Style: Oak Aged Rye Ale
Color: Deep Ruby
ABV: 9.0%
Price Point: $12 for 750 ml bottle
Technical Notes:
From the Ithaca Beer Company Website:  “A Robust American Ale brewed with four different Rye Malts, fresh Centennial and Crystal Hops and our proprietary Ale Yeast. It is partly fermented in Tennesee Rye Whiskey Barrels, then carefully blended. Enjoy the gorgeous ruby color, strong aromas of vanilla and black cherry, earthy flavors of nuts and oak and the warm spicy finish.”

Hedonic Notes:

The beer pours a deep opaque ruby, that is only perceived when held to the light.  Clearly this is a very malty beer.  A thick stable foam forms quickly with a slight tan tinge.

A deep sweet malty aroma is obvious, with an oaky follow-through.  Slight notes of whiskey dance in the aroma and are followed by subdued spicy and very faint vanilla notes.  No hop bitterness in the aroma, as may be expected with the use of centennial hops.

Clear oaky flavors present initially, with a few whiskey notes providing reinforcement.  Oaky tannin notes impart a slight astringency that is perceived as a faint bitter dryness.  The beer is very malty and sweet with a caramel flavor being obvious in the start, with a slight cinnamon and nutmeg flavor following.  Rye flavors mix in with the barley malt, imparting a rather specific sweetness that is reminiscent of apples.  Bitterness is not obvious, but is rather earthy, with the hops (crystal in particular) contributing spice flavors more than bitterness.  Vanilla and spice mingle with malty caramel flavors in the finish with a very slight tannin sensation.

This beer is a bit highly carbonated (as demonstrated by the head that forms), but does not feel overly bubbly.  A slight viscous feeling is noticed, no doubt due to the rye malt.  The beer is more mothcoating than one might expect and the sensation lingers pleasantly.  The lingering mouthfeel seems to due in part to an appropriate level of tannins from the oak aging.

Blending has no doubt benefited this beer, as the oak and malt flavors are very well balanced.  The beer is very complex, yet balanced enough to be very palatable.  Other beers that are in similar categories are often overwhelmingly oaky or have overpowering rye derived red fruit flavors.  Blending, however, permits the brewer to make a diverse batch and create a palatable average, which seems to be the case.  Like most of the Excelsior! beers tasted, this one is impeccably balanced and allows one to perceive and appreciate each of the distinct flavors in its own right.

Rating: 4/5 Corks. This beer is delightful example of a very well balanced rye ale.

Wood has been used in beer production since the early days of fermentation.  Since barrels were the only feasible containers for the early history of brewing, they served as fermentation and serving vessels.  Before stainless conical fermentors, barrels or open stone vessels served as fermentation, storage and serving containers.

Beyond being convenient, wood proves a unique set of flavors to beer, in very much the same way as wine.  Wood leaches tannins into the fermenting fluid.  In wine, aging is a necessary step to polymerize tannins and soften their impact in the beverage.  Most beer styles, however, consider tannins a flaw.

Structure of Flavone (courtsey of wikipedia)

Tannins impart a bitter or astringent mouthfeel to drinks.  They come from a number of plant sources, but are present in high concentrations in wood bark.  In grapes, tannins are present in the skins, seeds and stems, though addition of purified tannins and aging in barrels are often more substantial sources.  Beer gets its tannins from grain husks and small amounts in hops.

In lagers, precipitation of tannins contributes to chill haze.  This is avoided by carefully managing mash schedules.  Over-steeping grains or steeping at too high a temperature can increase tannin concentration in the wort.  A long protein rest can increase protein content and contribute to chill haze as well.  High alpha acid hops tend to also contribute greater levels of polyphenols that contribute to haze.

Fining techniques may also be used to remediate tannin enhanced chill haze.  Addition of negatively charged substances to the fermenting fluid encourages proteins to agglomerate.  Common choices for this are plastic beads made of PVP, egg whites and Irish moss, a seaweed extract.  These tend to encourage proteins to crash out of solution while providing no detectable contribution to the flavor.

Beer aging in barrels thanks to sunbeer on Flickr

Ales, however, are less affected by tannin content because the characteristically stronger flavors tend to mask the subtle tannin contributions.  In some styles (lambics and big beers notably), the tannins are considered to play a role very much akin to that in wine.  Ithaca’s Old Habit falls in to the latter category.  Here, the tannins provide a soft lingering sensation in the mouthfeel.

Aging beer in oak also permits the absorption of other compounds.  Used barrels contribute subtle hints of the prior contents.  Whiskey and sherry barrels are two common choices in beer production, contributing a smoky and sweet flavor respectively.  Though not common, new oak may also be used to age beer, contributing higher tannins and an “oaky” flavor.

Fix, George.  Principles of Brewing Science.  Brewers Publications: Boulder, CO.  1999.

Mosedale, J.R. “Effects of oak wood on the maturation of alcoholic beverages with particular reference to whiskey.” Forestry 68(3): 203-230. 1995.

Sparrow, Jeff. WildBrews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast. Brewer’s Publications: Boulder, CO. 2005.

                          

Style: Imperial Extra Bitter Ale

Color: Yellow
ABV: 8.3%
Price Point: $9 for 22 oz bottle
Technical Notes:
From the Southern Tier Brewing website:  “The simplicity of Hoppe tests the skill and ability of the brewer to create something truly majestic. We craft this much like a sculptor who uses only a hammer and chisel to shape stone into a masterpiece. Hoppe is spawned of these few essentials: barley, wheat, hops, yeast and water. This limited palette is an exercise in minimalism, with refined elements which are deliberately selected. This simple combination creates a golden shimmering brew infused with delicate aromas. The artful nature of this beer is exposed with the first taste. As the malt and hops create a composition of flavors, an elegant finish leaves an impression that your tastes will not soon forget.”

Hedonic notes:

This beer is a medium yellow with a slight haze.  There is a somewhat high level of carbonation, but the slightly off-white foam dissipates fairly quickly.

The smell clearly classifies this beer as an American style pale ale.  Citrus and pine hop aromas constitute the bulk of the aroma, with some light malt scents mingling in the background.  The bottle notes that Amarillo hops were used for aroma and Columbus and Amarillo were used for dry-hopping and the aroma does a great job of highlighting the unique characteristics of these varieties.  In particular, the Amarillo hops contribute their characteristic citrus scent while the Columbus hops account for the pine.  As an aside, Columbus are often noted for their earthy flavor as well, but this typically does not come out in the aroma.

Complex caramel malt flavors begin to form the palate along with an almost woody flavor.  A slight bit of wheat malt softness follows along with the hop flavors.  As in the aroma, the hops are complex and clear.  A sweet grapefruit flavor from the Amarillo forms the beginning of the hop spectrum, followed by a spicy note from the Columbus and a lingering oily strong earthy hop tone.  Each characteristic bitterness is highlighted perfectly and forms a distinct part of the palate.  Slight malty sweetness lingers in the finish along with an oily earthy hop flavor.

Though it is extremely light in color, the beer has a fairly thick mouthfeel.  The lingering hop flavors provide an almost oily mouth-coating sensation that lingers for some time.  The carbonation is appropriate for the beer, with the effervescence adding a refreshing crispness to the texture.

Southern Tier’s Hoppe is simply amazing overall.  It is not very often that I encounter a beer that is this good from first sip to last.  The hop flavors are each distinct and perfectly highlighted, clearly representing the hops from which they came.  For the beer’s light color, one does not expect such a distinct caramel malt flavor.  Indeed, the surprises do not stop there.  It is rare indeed to find a beer that does such a good job at separating and highlighting the hop flavors.  Boil times for the hops were well informed and proportions were planned perfectly.   When the bottle was done I found myself wishing I had more.  It is a bit more bitter than some may enjoy, but extraordinarily palatable and approachable to those who do enjoy bitter beers.

Rating: 5/5 Corks! Southern Tier’s Hoppe is effectively flawless, certainly one of the best examples of a American style pale ale that I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.

For those trying to adhere strictly to style guidelines, beer color is a very important consideration.  Beer color formation can be broken into three distinct parts of the brewing process: malting, boiling and fermentation.  The malting process relies on caramelization to introduce color, while the Maillard reaction accounts for color change during boiling and polyphenol oxidase is typically credited for color change during fermentation.  Of the three, the enzymatic browning is very rarely an item of concern and will not be discussed here.

adapted from bradleypjohnson at Flickr

During the malting process, oxidation of sugars via caramelization reactions.  Caramelization occurs in complex sugars like maltose at temperatures around 180°C.  Roasting grains at high temperatures caramelizes sugars and darkens the malt.  The process results in cross-linking of sugar complexes to form larger sugar complexes.   It should be noted that this is done only for caramel, chocolate, black patent and other dark malts.  Base malts are not roasted in this way.

Larger and more complex sugar structures, particularly those with extensively branching chains, tend to be darker in color than simple sugars.  During caramelization, sugars are linked to one another stochastically, resulting in larger and more complex sugars than were initially present.  More generally, it is an example of pyrolysis—the breakdown of compounds at high temperature and in the absence of oxygen.  Caramelization is the same process that creates the golden brown crust on top of crème brûlée.

Louis-Camille Maillard was attempting to reproduce biological protein synthesis in 1912 when he discovered what is now known as the Maillard reaction.  He failed to reproduce protein synthesis (and indeed the same problem still exists today).  In the Maillard reaction, the carbonyl group on a reducing sugar reacts with free amino groups on the protein structures.

Complex nitrogen containing ring structures often result from the Maillard reaction.  These compounds are often associated with biscuit or cracker-like flavors and are detected at very low concentrations.  This process causes the wort to darken throughout the boil.  Homebrewers who use malt extract notice that their beer is often darker than intended because the spray dried malt sugars tend to brown more quickly than freshly extracted sugars.

In small-scale brewing, malt extract is added late in the boil to avoid making the beer too dark.  This results in different hop boil dynamics.  With less malt in the boil, the hop acids will be more stable and will not react with reducing sugars, making their flavor more noticeable.  Often, one may reduce the hop amounts by 20% to compensate for this.

Beer color is measured using the Lovibond scale (shown below, table from Wikipedia).  This scale was developed to measure the color of gasses, but has found application in beverage production.   The range effectively spans from 2.0°L (a very pale yellow as in an American light lager) to 25.0°L, a deep black.  Amber beers typically fall between 7°L and 9°L while red is about 12°L and brown is 15-18°L.

Originally measured with the use of a series of glass slides, the Lovibond scale was notoriously imprecise.  It has since been replaced with the standard reference method (SRM) scale, which utilizes the same numerical values but is measured using a spectrophotometer.  The SRM correlates to 12.7 (a correction factor to scale SRM to the Lovibond scale) multiplied by the log of absorbance of 430nm light.  The European Brewing Convention (EBC), an alternate scale, uses a factor of 25 rather than 12.7.

SRM is also used to describe malt color.  One may estimate the color of beer from the malts used and adding a small correction for Maillard reaction.  Normal light base malts are in the range of 1.5-3.0°L, while caramel malts may range from 10 to 120°L.  Chocolate malts are around 350°L and black malts can be as dark as 500°L.  Very small amounts of specialty grains can have drastic consequences for a beer’s color, as may be seen in the drastic range of malt darkness.  As little as 1lb of chocolate malt in 15lbs of base grain can make a beer appear a medium colored brown.

Daniels, Ray.  Designing Great Beers.  Brewer’s Publications: Boulder, CO.  2000.

Fix, George.  Principles of Brewing Science.  Brewers Publications: Boulder, CO.  1999.

                          

Style: India Pale Ale
Color: Amber
ABV: 7.5%
Price Point: $8 for 6-12 oz bottles
Technical Notes:
From the Ithaca Beer Company Website:  “Enjoy the clover honey hue and tropical nose. Simultaneously Punchy and soothing with a big body and a finish that boasts pineapple and grapefruit. Flower power is hopped and dry-hopped five different times throughout the brewing and fermentation process.”

Hedonic notes:

The pour is a rich amber color with a slightly off white foam.  The carbonation persists at an appropriate level throughout the tasting though the foam dissipates in a few minutes.

A strong citrus hop aroma dominates and is clearly composed of Amarillo hops.  A pine scent floats around faintly in the hop scents.  Very slight honey malt notes rest in the background.

Citrus/floral hop flavors dominate the palate.  A sweet grapefruit and grassy note characteristic of Cascade hops forms the middle of the hop flavor, followed by an almost pungent or spicy, earthy lingering finish reminding one of Columbus hops.  A light malty sweetness balances slightly, but does not disrupt the hop flavor and does not linger.

The mouthfeel is somewhat light despite the low yet appropriate level of carbonation.  Mouthcoating bitterness lingers as a reminder.  One would never guess that this beer is 7.5% alcohol.

This beer is quite delightful to drink overall.  As far as American IPAs are concerned, this is a very good example.  The clear dominance of Cascade and Amarillo (Amarillo is often described as a “super cascade”) hops imparts a clear citrus flavor and aroma that clearly places this beer in the American style category.  Though not as balanced as some, the malt flavor is present merely to mask undesirable aspects of very high hop beers, allowing the beer to showcase the pleasant side of the selected hops.  That said, it is perhaps not the most drinkable beer for those who do not enjoy IPAs as it is quite bitter (Ithaca Brewing Company reports 75 IBUs).  Within its style, however, Flower Power is a great example of an American IPA that is able to showcase citrus characteristics of hops.

Rating: 4/5 Corks.  This beer is a prime example of an American IPA.

This week’s review was published to commemorate Ithaca Brewery’s Flower Power IPA making it to the top 8 in Brewing News’ Third Annual National IPA Championship.  Flower Power made it to the final four last year so it should show well this year.  I will depart from the usual format of beer and science to instead discuss beer history.

The pale ale style finds its origins in the mid 1600s, when malters began the practice of using coke fired kilns to dry the malt.  Prior to this point, malt was difficult to dry properly to create a pale grain.  Moreover, these ale styles demanded a harder water than was typically available.   Lacking sufficiently hard water, London is known more for its brown ales and the pale ales never caught on in Colonial America.  American Colonists used their cheap pale malt to make lagers, which would become the dominant style of American beer for some time.

The need for hard water meant that Burton-on-Trent  became the epicenter of pale ale production, where brown ales remained the dominant beer in London.  Today, Bass beer (brewed in Burton-on-Trent) is a good example of this style.  The high sulphate concentration brings out the hop flavors.  Addition of gypsum was discovered to emulate this effect in other water sources, bringing about pale ale production in London in the late 1700s.

In most of Britain, pale ale and bitter are synonymous words (except in Burton-on-Trent, where it denotes their unique local style).  A number of brewers in Britain lost their export licenses to Russia (a huge beer market at the time) in the late eighteenth century, causing the consolidation of a number of well known pale ale breweries in the area.  Reeling from the loss of a large market, brewers pursued contracts with the British East India Trading Company.

One of the first brewers to win a British East India contract was Samuel Allsop and Sons Brewer located in Burton-on-Trent.  Allsop made a pale ale in the style of Hodgson, a previously famous London pale ale that had failed due to the loss of the Russian market.  The beer was very light with a stronger hop flavor than most pales of the time.  It is unlikely that this beer was much stronger than the contemporary bitters, though it was hopped more aggressively.  These beers were fermented to a very low residual content, creating a very dry flavor and mouthfeel.

It happened that the Indian market very much enjoyed this beer.  Its lighter taste made it well suited for the warmer climate and the bitter flavor appealed to customers.  The legend that the beer was developed as a high alcohol and high hop beer for the lengthy sea voyage to India is probably not true.  Porters of the time survived the trip despite higher residual sugars and lower alcohol content than IPAs of the time.  It is sometimes said that these beers would be infected with Brettanomyces during the voyage, resulting in the characteristic horse blanket flavor.

The birth of the modern American IPA would not be until sometime after the British IPA was well established.  In the early 1990s, with the rapid growth of the American craft brewing industry on the west coast, the American IPA as we know it today developed gradually.  Availability of American hop varieties (Cascade, Centennial and Willamette most notably) enabled brewers to make the distinctly citrus aromas that are characteristic of American IPAs.

Cascade hops (photo by michaelstyne on Flickr)

Invention of the Double IPA marked the formalization of the American Style IPA.  In 1994, Vinnie Cilurzo (now of Russian River fame) made a mistake in producing an IPA while working at Blind Pig Brewery.  He accidentally added 50% too much grain, and made up for the balance by adding double the hops.  It should be noted that some often credit this invention to Rogue Ales’ I2PA, first brewed in 1990, which followed a similar formula of increased malt and hops.

American IPAs have relied on the development of super hop strains that provide sufficient bitterness.  While Cascade, Centennial and Willamette provide great aroma, varieties like Warrior and Chinook lend a bittering kick to any beer.  More recent developments (called super alpha hops) like Summit, Tomahawk and Apollo have enabled American brewers to take the IPA and double IPA to a new level of bitterness.

Further Reading:

Bamfroth, Charles. Beer: Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing. Oxford University Press: Oxford.  2009.

Daniels, Ray.  Designing Great Beers.  Brewer’s Publications: Boulder, CO.  2000.

Woolsey, David Alan.  Libations of the Eighteenth Century.  Universal Publishers. 2002.