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.

                          

Style: Double Pale Ale
Color: Amber to Red
ABV: 10%
Price Point: $10 for 22oz
Technical Notes:
From the Middle Ages Brewing Co. Website:  “Brewed in the style of an American Double IPA in celebration of our 10th anniversary. This beer is golden in color, has medium to full body, intense hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Ten additions of American hops are made throughout the brewing process.”

Hedonic notes:

The beer pours a deep red with a slight orange hue.  A slightly off white head forms and persists for some time.

Citrus hop notes dominate the aroma and are joined by a faint pine/grass like hop scent.  Sweet malt smells are reminiscent of caramel and form the backbone of the aroma.

As in the aroma, citrus hop dominates the palate.  A slight earthy hop note is present, in addition to a slightly stronger pine flavor than is present in the smell.  Sweet malt flavors are largely caramel-like and balance the hops very well.

The beer is medium bodied and has an appropriate level of carbonation for a double IPA.  Despite the strong malt flavors, the mouthfeel is not too sweet.  There is very little hint of alcohol though the beer is 10%.

Overall, Middle Ages’ X IPA is a very well-balanced beer.  It is not as aggressively hopped as many other double IPAs, but the bitterness is rounded out very well with malty sweetness.  The hop notes are largely citrus and pine/grass, with less earthy notes.  This nearly single aspect of hop flavor makes the beer seem a bit one-dimensional, but the properly proportioned malt flavor works to compensate for this shortcoming.

Rating: 2.5/5 Corks.  Though very well balanced and drinkable, the beer does little to set itself apart in a sea of American IPAs.

Science!
Hops are generally added to beer for two reasons: aroma and bitterness. These components come at different stages of the beer brewing process.

Isomerization reactions in the boil process make hop oils soluble and have profound consequences for beer flavor.  During the boil process, humulone reacts to form isohumulone, which is far more soluble.  One key difference is the absence of the aromatic ring structure, which makes the compound more stable in solution with water.

Beer bitterness is measured using international bitterness units or IBUs.  One IBU corresponds to one part per million (microgram per liter) of isohumulone.  This figure is typically measured using spectrophotometry or liquid-liquid extraction.  The precise value of this measurement is often of little importance since a malty flavor easily mask the bitterness.

Typical bitterness levels for India Pale Ales is often in the range 40-60 IBUs.  Double or imperial IPAs represent a wide range from 60 to 120 IBUs.  Most wheat beers are under 20 and lagers tend to be in the range of 10 to 30 IBUs.  These figures are in accordance with Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines that define style parameters.

Breakdown of these compounds is often blamed for stale flavors in beer.  Decomposition of isohumulone in the presence of oxygen and sunlight results in the formation of 3-Methyl-2-butene-1-thiol.  This compound imparts a distinct stale taste and skunky odor.

Other soluble compounds from hop oils are responsible for a substantial portion of the beer’s flavor profile.  Efforts to characterize the precise flavor contributions and taste thresholds hold promise for further understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the brewing process.  Additionally, such knowledge enables brewers to very accurately plan the precise flavor profiles of beers.  Characterization of these compounds also has applications in beer haze and foam stability.

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

Pozdrik, Richard, Roddick, Felicity A., Rogers, Peter J., Nguyen, Thang.  Spectrophotometric Method for Exploring 3-Methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (MBT) Formation in Lager. J. Agric. Food Chem. 53(17): 6123–6129. 2006.

Weiss, A., Schönberger, Ch., Mitter, W., Biendl, M., Krottenthaler, M., Back, W. Sensory and Analytical characteristation of reduced, isomerised hop extracts and their influence and use in beer. J. Inst. Brew. 108 (2) 236:242. 2002.

                          

Style:“Rustic Pale Wheat Ale”
Color: Pale to Amber
ABV: 8%
Price Point: $10 for 750 mL
Technical Notes:
From the Ithaca Beer website: “A Belgo-American Ale brewed with domestic barley and French wheat malts, the finest Continental and U.S. grown hops, and fermented with Belgian, English and Wild yeasts.” Bottle-conditioned.

Hedonic Notes:
The beer pours dark gold and opaque with thick white foam.  Very effervescent with bubbles rising through the glass throughout the tasting.  There is a good amount of yeast at the bottom of the bottle, as one would expect from a bottle-conditioned wheat beer.

Lemon zest and citrus notes dominate the aroma with a slight bit of funk almost akin to {Brettanomyces} horse blanket.  A slight earthy, hoppy smell is present along with a traditional Belgian clove taste.

Citrus pervades the palate to start, reinforced by a wheaty maltiness.  Initial flavors subside to a faint lingering sour taste.  The finish is drier than expected for a wheat beer.  A slight acidity may be perceived initially, possibly due to the high carbonation.  Also, this beer surprisingly lacks any solvent-like taste despite being 8% alcohol. Its dry mouthfeel with a great deal of carbonation creates a Champagne-like texture.

This beer is fairly palatable overall, with no single flavor overwhelming.  That said, the balance almost makes this beer boring.  Though the label says English yeast it’s not easily discernible, with any sweetness being dominated by the clear Belgian presence.  Belgian yeast flavors (fruity ester and spice) dominate the first flavors while lingering flavors are almost sour in composition. 

Rating: 3 out of 5 corks . With regard to other wheat beers, White Gold sets itself apart, almost reminding one of a Berliner Weisse.

Wheat beers are traditionally left cloudy and have a thicker mouthfeel.  This is due in large part to high protein content, but also to elevated beta-glucan levels.  Glucose monomers may be linked together between the 1 and 4 carbons in one of two conformations (α-1,4-glycosidic linkage).  As seen below, alpha conformations are formed when the oxygen atom attached to the number 1 carbon pointing downward, beta conformations see this same bond pointing upward.

The difference may look subtle, but the beta connection is the reason cows need 4 stomachs to digest grass, while starch begins breaking down in plain old saliva.

Polymers of beta-glucans are akin to cellulose, while alpha-glucans include starch.  Barley malt contains a very high proportion of alpha-glucans, while wheat contains a large fraction of beta-glucans.  The primary difference of concern for beer brewers is the ability to break down these sugar structures.  Amylase enzymes (to be discussed in more detail in a future post) are able to break only alpha glycosidic bonds.

Being more easily broken down, alpha-glucans yield simple and highly soluble sugars that may be metabolized easily by the yeast.  By contrast, beta-glucans can not be broken down by the barley enzymes that enable the mashing process, resulting in complex sugar structures in the wort.  These sugars help to contribute to the often sweeter final taste, relatively high final gravity, and increased viscosity prior to fermentation.

These sugar structures also have consequences for the beer production process.  Studies have shown that increased beta-glucan concentration and molecular weight result in increased viscosity of the fluid.  Even in low concentration ranges, there is a noticeable increase in viscosity.  This change in viscosity may make it more difficult to drain the wort from the grains in the lautering or sparging process.

Further Reading:
Jin, Yu-Lai; Speers, Alex; Paulson, Allen T. and Stewart, Robert J.  “Effects of Beta-Glucans and Environmental Factors on the Viscosities of Wort and Beer.”  Journal of the Institute of Brewing. 2004.

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