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.

                          

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: 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.

                          

An Alsace-style bottle with an aesthetically pleasing AND informative label (info not shown, but trust me, it's there...)

Appellation: Finger Lakes
Grape: Gewürztraminer
ABV:13.6%
RS: 0.5%
Price Point: $18
Closure: Natural cork

Technical Notes: Tons of info, courtesy of the website. Bravo to Sheldrake for transparency and geek info! TA: 6.3 g/L, pH: 3.53. Hand harvested at 23.2 Brix, 6.7 g/L Ta, 3.7 pH. “The fruit was destemmed, cold-soaked for three [days]. The cold settled juices were racked to fermentation tanks two days later. All lots were fermented using Epernay II yeast at 60-63 F with tartaric acid additions for pH control. The free run lot fermented for 39 days and was stopped at 0.5% residual sugar; the press fraction fermented for 70 days to 0.5% residual sugar. The free run and press fraction lots were combined to become the varietal Gewurztraminer.”

Hedonic Notes: Rosey on the nose with peach and fleshy fruit. On the palate, bold and concentrated. Excellent balance of flowery and firm fruity aromas (something I definitely look for in Gewürztraminer. Often one finds a bunch of flowers transforming an ordinary bottle of wine into grandma’s perfume collection. Not so in this case.) This wine is packed with flavor and a great example of a grape that has been living in the shadow of Riesling in this region.

Rating: 4 out of 5 corks . Great stuff, one of my favorite wines of 2009.

Science!
One of the defining aroma characteristics of Gewürztraminer wines is the characteristic rose/lychee aroma. In fact, in some blind tastings, people will say “lychee” if they think a wine is Gewürztraminer, whether they have actually seen or eaten a lychee or not. I have had lychee juice (you can get it at the grocery store, probably in the Asian section) and it’s a pretty good descriptor for Gewürztraminer.

Lychee fruit, a member of the soapberry (...?) family

The chemical compound responsible for this lychee aroma is cis-rose oxide, so called because it is also found in rose oil. A study from 1999, done at the Cornell Extension in Geneva, showed that lychee fruit and Gewürztraminer share many aroma compounds in common, including cis-rose oxide (Ong and Acree, “Similarities in the Aroma Chemistry of Gewürztraminer Variety Wines and Lychee (Litchi chinesis Sonn.) Fruit“, J. Ag. Food Chem., 1999).

cis-rose oxide

For the most part, perception of cis-rose oxide is unique to wines with Muscat/Gewürztraminer parentage. It’s considered a primary aroma, meaning it is found in the grapes themselves and not strictly a product of fermentation. However, during fermentation, yeast can also hydrolyze some terpene precursors to create more of the compound, so fermentation definitely contributes to the aroma. (Koslitz et al., “Stereoselective Formation of the Varietal Aroma Compound Rose Oxide during Alcoholic Fermentation“, J. Ag. Food Chem, 2008.)

BONUS: I tasted this wine live with Dave from Eating Ithaca during our interview. Hear some thoughts about Gewürztraminer, Sheldrake, and more around 1:09:00 (click to listen).

                          

A cool spring afternoon with some bubbly. Click to visit the Dr. Frank website

Appelation: Finger Lakes Champagne (now, before you get all grumpy, let me assure you that this sparkling wine is legally allowed to be called “champagne” in the U.S., see this article for more details.)
Varietal: Pinot Noir 95% Pinot Meunier 5%
ABV: 11.1% (marked 12% on the bottle, but this data is from winemaker’s notes on the Dr. Frank website)
RS: 1%
Price Point: $30
Notes:
Looks: Faint yellow with lots of bubbles
Nose: Subtle fruit around. Later it gets mushroomy, earthy. What I thought of was our middle school pool. Not necessarily the chlorine smell, but the mix of locker room and warm humidity. Don’t misinterpret that, it’s a good thing, because swimming for gym class was the best gym class.
Palate: Wow. Rich {mouthfeel}, very full-bodied. A little bit of yeasty, bready aroma sneaking in on the palate. Acidity balances this wine nicely, and the touch of residual sugar smooths everything out. Very balanced, full-bodied, and complex. I really, really like this wine.
Rating: 4 corks

Lots of bottles. The crude cell phone pic does not really capture the sheer number of bottles. Click to enlarge

Keuka Lake makes its debut on Ithacork and comes out swinging! Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars has become one of the most well-known wine producers in the Finger Lakes. This is likely due in part to the fact that they were the first to successfully make wine with {vinifera} grapes in the region. Also, they are darn good at it. In fact, when I arrived in Ithaca, one of the first names I heard in reference to wine in the Finger Lakes was Dr. Frank. I had the opportunity to tour the winery as part of a winemaking class at Cornell. On the tour, we were afforded a rare opportunity to see the cellars of Chateau Frank, the sparkling wine production house. A lovely elderly (but quite spry) woman, the wife of the late Willy Frank (Dr. Konstantin’s son) gave us the cellar tour and we were able to see bottles and bottles and bottles of sparkling wine at various stages of the famous Champagne process. You can read about it in the wikipedia link, but briefly, base wine is bottled with a dose of sugar and yeast and a secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. The bottles are left on the yeast for a long time, usually on the order of years before the yeast is disgorged and the champagne is bottled. It was awesome. If you like this wine, or you like your bubbly a little sweeter, may I suggest the Célèbre crémant, made with riesling grapes! It is also fantastic.

This wine is a great example of sparkling wine in the Finger Lakes. To make sparkling wine, winemakers usually start with base wines that are high in acid and relatively low in sugar, something that cool climates can produce without even trying. Even though sparkling wine is labor- and equipment-intensive, many of the sparkling wines I have had from the Finger Lakes (Lamoreaux Landing is another good bet) have been excellent. I think that sparkling wine has the potential to be huge in this region. One last note: to many people, sparkling wine is something only drunk on special occasions, celebrations, or hungover mornings with orange juice. I had this wine with a sub from Wegman’s, and I’ve previously been known to pair sparkling wine with Southern fried chicken. There is lots of great sparkling wine out there, and sometimes opening a bottle is cause enough to celebrate!

*Science!
Some of the rich mouthfeel that shows up in sparkling wines can be attributed to extended contact (aka tirage) with yeast lees (i.e., yeast cells). Over time, yeast cells will die and undergo cell lysis, or autolysis. Products of yeast autolysis include mannoproteins, which have been shown to increase perceived body and mouthfeel in wines (Ref: Alexandre and Guilloux-Benatier, “Yeast autolysis in sparkling wine – a review”, Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 2006). Basically, long periods of aging (in this case several years) will cause the dead yeast cells to break up, releasing nucleotides, enzymes, cell wall bits, and other insides into the wine. How long to age the wine on the lees and when to bottle is a winemaking decision, and according to winemaker Paul Brock (Lamoreaux), sparkling wine that is on the shelf is generally ready to drink, as all the aging has been done in the cellar.