Do you know the history of your Cinci de Mayo brew?

Cerveza Pacifico. Picture taken by me on the pacifican beach of Mexico easter 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Somehow, in the mists of time, the true reason for Cinco de Mayo has morphed from a minor Mexican holiday – it celebrates a little-known Mexican victory over France in the state of Puebla — to a major American beer bash. That is not a complaint, merely an observation of the power of the American beer industry. But, what most beer lovers do not know is
that many of the Mexican beers that feature red, white, and green color schemes, brightly smiling and beautiful Mexican women, and serene beach
scenes, are really German styles brought to our Latin neighbor by Bavarian immigrants as far back as the middle 1500’s.

Fermented beverages are nothing new to Mexico; history provides plenty of examples of beverages being made from such familiar ingredients as maize (corn), agave, and even cocoa beans. But, the first
evidence of beer comes from a short-lived brewery established by Alfonso de Herro in the 1940’s. This was well before the first breweries were established in either North America or Canada and establishes
Mexico as the home of the first home to beer in the Americas.

From there the history of beer in Mexico jumps ahead to the 1800’s. The influx of Bavarian immigrants saw the beginnings of the beer industry and the birth of many of the familiar brands we now consider Mexican beer. Brews such as Corona, Negra Modelo, Dos Equis, and Sol all owe their existence to German brewers, living in Mexico.

Indeed, all are recognizable European beer styles that, for one reason or another, fell out of favor in Europe, but found great approval south of the U.S. border.

Negra Modelo

A Munich Dunkel Lager, the name simply means dark lager. This smooth and sessionable brown lager displays subtle caramel character, a sweet and malty backbone, and very faint hops character. This beer pairs very
favorably with beef fajitas, enchiladas with a rich mole sauce, or other spicy Mexican fair.

Dos Equis

Long before the most interesting man in the world was born, Dos Equis began its life called as a Vienna Lager called Siglo XX. It was brewed to welcome the 20th century by German-born Wilhelm Hasse at his Moctezuma Brewery. The Ambar version of this brew is the more traditional and most closely resembles the Vienna Lager it is based on. It has a sweet, toasted malt nose with a similar, mid-palate sweet flavor. As with most brews of this style, hops are barely present and provide very little character to the beer. As a companion to Mexican
dishes, serve this with spicy salsa and chips or carnitas.

Cervaza Pacifico Clara

More commonly known as Pacífico, this Pilsner-style beer was first brewed in 1900 when three Germans opened the Cerveceria del Pacífico brewery in Mazatlán. Like its cousin Corona, Pacifico is characterized
by slightly skunky aroma and flavor that is enhanced by the addition of a lime. Though it may not score highly on many beer websites like Beer Advocate, this is one of the beers locals are most fond of. Drink this
one while sitting at the beach on the Mexican Riviera with a plump lime wedge and forget about the world for a while.

 

 

Related articles

• Fresher beers, a livelier Cinco de Mayo (utsandiego.com)
• Mexican beer cocktail (cheftoponkumer.wordpress.com)

 

 

6 Beers that are anything but ordinary

Almost on a daily basis a brewmaster somewhere comes up with a new idea for a beer flavor. Some sound interesting, others sound horrible, and still others sound just plain outrageous. Sure, there are the tried and true styles like Pale Ale, Stout, and IPA, but brewmasters are adding twists to these varieties to jazz them up and create new specialty brews.

Here are six brews that challenge your taste buds to go beyond the familiar and try something that just might blow them away.

Terrapin Liquid Bliss

Years ago a very successful candy had an equally successful ad campaign that found chocolate lovers and peanut butter lovers mixing the two flavors by accident. Terrapin’s Liquid Bliss mixes those same to flavors, but this rich, delicious porter was anything but an accident. Part of the brewery’s fabled Side Project series, this beer may be a bit difficult to come by, but should you be lucky enough to score a bottle you will find that chocolate and peanut butter can also find their way into a delightful brew.

Mamma Mia Pizza Beer

For time immemorial pizza has always been better when accompanied by a cold beer. Recognizing an opportunity, Tom and Athena Seefurth of Campton Township, Illinois created a brew that not only goes well with pizza it tastes like pizza. The beer boasts flavors garnered from tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and basil. Pizza Beer may not be showing up on the menu of your local pizzeria anytime soon, but it certainly ranks as one of the oddest flavors to ever be created.

Wells Banana Bread Beer

Banana is a common flavor in Belgian beers, but Wells Banana Bread Beer hails from UK’s largest private brewing firm Wells & Young’s. That does not deter this from being an interesting and surprisingly refreshing beer that has been described as banana pudding in a glass. The brew is widely available in the United States in both bottles and on tap. Try a pint and you see if it takes you back to those backyard barbecues and Aunt Betty’s famous dessert.

Southern Tier Crème Brulee Imperial Milk Stout

Fancy restaurants make a killing on their dessert cart. One of the items on that cart is almost always Crème Brulee, a sweet custard with a caramelized sugar crust on top of it. Southern Tier took the deep burnt sugar and rich flavors of custard and somehow got it into this astounding brew. If you see this beer on the list at your favorite restaurant, order it instead of dessert. It is definitely worth it.

Anheuser-Busch Budweiser & Clamato Chelada

In Mexico a Michelada is a mixture of beer, lime, salt, and hot sauces or chile slices. Add to that interesting concoction clam juice and you have the Budweiser & Clamato Chelada. A-B says that they “Clamato is carefully blended with the beer to create the proper balance of the crisp finish of Budweiser or Bud Light and the signature taste of Clamato.” We say try at your own risk.

St. Somewhere Lectio Divina

The folks over at St. Somewhere in Tarpon Springs, Fla. are masters at producing authentic Belgian flavors in their wonderful and funky brews. In this brew they took it a step further and added the refreshing flavor of rosemary to the mix. Lectio Divina is a tart, red beer that lingers on the palate in only the most pleasing of ways. This is a real treat of a beer.

Related articles

• Estranged Brew Review: Budweiser & Clamato Chelada (thebrowntweedsociety.com)
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Brewers Association adds historical styles to 2013 guidelines

Every year the Brewers Association (BA) updates and releases its guide to beer styles that sets the bar for brewers across the nation. This year’s version, the 2013 Beer Style Guide was released Monday, March 4 with a few new styles and several modifications to existing styles. The BA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting craft breweries in the United States through educational programs and advocacy.

In this year’s edition, the number of recognized styles has grown from 140 to 142. The two additional styles are Adambier and Grätzer. Both brews are historic brews that have been appearing more and more in American breweries. Adambier is a German beer that was popular around Dortmund, while Grätzer is native to Poland.

Adambier, also called Dortmunder Adambier or Dortmunder Alt, is a potent, smoky beer often weighing in above 10% ABV. Traditionally the beer was strong, dark, and sour with high hopping rates and, in historic batches, a significant amount of wheat. The beer was typically barrel-aged for at least a year and often much longer.  The new style guidelines according to the BA are:

“Light brown to very dark in color. It may or may not use wheat in its formulation. Original styles of this beer may have a low or medium low degree of smokiness. Smoke character may be absent in contemporary versions of this beer. Astringency of highly roasted malt should be absent. Toast and caramel-like malt characters may be evident. Low to medium hop bitterness are perceived. Low hop flavor and aroma are perceived. It is originally a style from Dortmund. Adambier is a strong, dark, hoppy, sour ale extensively aged in wood barrels. Extensive aging and the acidification of this beer can mask malt and hop character to varying degrees. Traditional and non-hybrid varieties of European hops were traditionally used. A Kölsch-like ale fermentation is typical Aging in barrels may contribute some level of Brettanomyces and lactic character. The end result is a medium to full bodied complex beer in hop, malt, Brett and acidic balance.*”

The second new addition, Grätzer, gets its name from the town where it originated, Gratz in what used to be Prussia. The town is now called Grodzisk and is located in the province of Wielkopolski in western Poland. The region has a well-established brewing history as evidenced by the output of the port city of Gdansk. In the 15^th century, the city on the Baltic Sea managed to produce well over 6 million gallons of beer at over 300 breweries. The Grätzer style of history is that of a smoked, white wheat beer. Traditionally the wheat malt was smoke with oak or birch wood. The guidelines for the style set out by the Brewers Association state:

“Grätzer is a Polish-Germanic pre-Reinheitsgebot style of golden to copper colored ale. The distinctive character comes from at least 50% oak wood smoked wheat malt with a percentage of barley malt optional. The overall balance is a balanced and sessionably low to medium assertively oak-smoky malt emphasized beer. It has a low to medium low hop bitterness; none or very low European noble hop flavor and aroma. A Kölsch-like ale fermentation and aging process lends a low degree of crisp and ester fruitiness Low to medium low body. Neither diacetyl nor sweet corn-like DMS (dimethylsulfide) should be perceived.*”

It is important to note that the style guidelines set forth by the BA are used as the basis for judging beers at the Great American Beer Festival held every year in Denver, Colo. and at the World Beer Cup. These style may differ slightly from style guides produced by other beer judging organizations, but are by far considered the Gospel by many brewers both hobbyist and professional.

The addition of historical styles as well as popular style indicates that craft brewing is coming into its own. Interest in traditional styles is on the rise allowing for new generations of beer enthusiasts to experience the delights inherent in each. As new historical styles are discovered and rise in popularity, they too will no doubt find their place in future Brewers Association guidelines.

*2013 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines used with permission of Brewers Association.

 

Dopplebocks are a spring tradition that began with monks in Germany

This time of year is special to Christians world-wide. From Fat Tuesday to Good Friday, Christians celebrate the season of Lent when Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray before his crucifixion. It is a serious time that is revered by both lay persons and those who have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord.

So, what is the connection to beer? It seems that the German Paulaner monks at Cloister Neudeck ob der Au in Munich took their fasting serious during Lent and ate no solid food during the Holy time. Therefore, instead of making bread with their grain they brewed beer – what they called liquid bread to sustain them through the long season.

The beer they brewed has gone by several names including Fastenbier or Starkbier it is more commonly known as Doppelbock. According to the Beer Judge Certification Program guidelines, this brew should be very rich and malty with a touch of chocolate but still crisp and smooth. Doppelbock, literally double bock, is generally relatively high in alcohol at between 7 and 12 percent. In the higher alcohol versions, there is generally a mild burn from the alcohol.

This classic Bavarian style has a long and checkered history. Depending on which documents you believe, the style began somewhere between 1630 and 1670. Being men of the cloth, the monks were not so sure that they should be drinking such an intoxicating and delicious brew during Lent, typically a time of denial. So, they sought guidance from their earthly leader, the Holy Father himself in Rome.

The monks dispatched a keg of their brew to Rome, but since the journey was long and wound through the Alps and the hot plains, of Italy the beer got warmed in the sun and shaken by the road over a period of several weeks. When it arrived in Rome it had been through quite an ordeal and was less than ideal for consumption. The pope took one taste of the brew and decided that such a vile brew would be fitting as a drink during a time when the monks were supposed to be denying themselves earthly pleasures.

But, monks are not the only ones to have used the brew as a means of fasting. A few years ago a J. Wilson approached an Iowa brewery and asked them to create a Doppelbock for him. His goal was to imitate the Paulaner monks and go on a liquid diet for the entire Lenten season.  Wilson drank four beers on weekdays and five on weekends along with water and ate nothing during his fast. At the end of his Lenten experiment he was 25 pounds lighter and reported very few ill effects. However, in an interview for Men’s Health magazine, Wilson said he would not recommend the diet as a healthy way to lose weight.

The monks of eventually named their brew Salvator after the savior. In deference to that original brew, when imitators began making their own versions, most were named with the –ator ending to the appellation. Commercial versions that are currently available include Spaten Optimator and Ayinger Celebrator. Recently the style was reproduced in Jacksonville by Intuition Ale Works as a special beer for the brewery’s Mug Club.

Related articles

• Doppelbock: The Lenten Beer That’s Not Just For Lent (badassdigest.com)
• Liquid Bread for Lent (boiseweekly.com)

 

Hunahpu’s Day is coming, be prepared

Tampa Bay Beer Week is less than a month away. The annual event will be chock full of beer events, tastings, and, perhaps the most anticipated day of the year for many Florida beer freaks — the 4th Annual Hunahpu’s Day Release Party set for Saturday, March 9th at Cigar City Brewing.

On Hunahpu’s Day Cigar City Brewing releases its legendary brew Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout. The mere mention of the brew is likely to cause grown men to break into fits of whimsy and has been known to spur spontaneous trips to Tampa from far-flung locations. The beer is brewed only once per year and sold only at the at the brewery and only on Hunahpu’s Day.

According to the brewery’s website, “In Mayan mythology, Hun Hunahpu was the father of the Mayan hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Hun Hunahpu, along with his brother Vucub Hunahpu, was tricked by the Dark Lords of the underworld and slain. Hun Hunahpu’s corpse morphed into a cacao tree, his head becoming a cacao pod, which in typically awesome mythology fashion, spit upon the hand of a young maiden named Xiquic who promptly became pregnant with the hero twins. The twins would ultimately grow up to avenge their father and uncle and defeat the Dark Lords and ascend to the heavens to become the moon and sun.”

Regardless of the mythical origins of the brew, Hunahpu is a brew you do not want to miss out on. Beer tasters at website Ratebeer give it a perfect score of 100. Cigar City brewer, Wayne Wambles says of his brew,  ”Pours extremely dark in color with a brown head with notes of big chocolate and espresso, moderate notes of vanilla and cinnamon and a mild tinge of tobacco and chilis. The flavor opens with a big blast of chocolate and moderate espresso with elements of dark toffee and interjecting threads of vanilla with lingering hints of cinnamon and tobacco and chillies notes with a mild scoville heat in the finish.”

But, if you want it, you had better get there early. The day has grown into such a huge event that the brewery has given very specific information on its website to ensure everything goes smoothly and everyone has a good time. They thought of everything including parking hints and nearby hotel information. If you plan to go, definitely stop by the page first. Just go to www.cigarcitybrewing.com and click the Hunahpu’s Day link in the top navigation bar.

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