The Old Crustacean

Unbeknownst to me, there is apparently a title that is coveted by craft brewers.  It is the title of "Cognac of Beers."  Sam Adams seized the title for its Utopias beer, which is an American Strong Ale that packs a whopping 27% ABV. (That 27% is probably the closest any beer comes to the approximately 40% alcohol content in cognac.)  Fuller's Brewery claimed the title of "Cognac of Beers" for its Golden Pride beer, a barleywine that has only an 8.5% ABV.  I have to admit that I have not tried either beer, in part because I am not inclined to spend the princely sum on a bottle of Sam Adam's Utopia and I have not seen Fuller's Golden Pride.

However, I did come across another brewer who has claimed the title of "Cognac of Beers" and I did try their offering.  It is Rogue Ales, who claims that its Old Crustacean, with its 11.5% ABV, is the rightful Cognac of Beers." 

The Old Crustacean is an American-style barleywine, that the Rogue brewers create with just seven ingredients.  Three of the ingredients are malts: 2 Row, Munich and Crystal 40.  Two of the ingredients are hops: Chinook and Newport Hops.  The remaining ingredients are Pacman yeast and "free range coastal waters."  When all of these ingredients are combined, they produce on of the best American-style barleywines that I have had in a long time.

Although I have discussed the style in the past, some background in the American style barleywine.  The authorities at the Beer Judge Certification Program describe these beers as having a color that ranges from light amber to medium copper, although a few of the beers could achieve a dark brown color.   As for the aroma of these beers, the BJCP describes the elements as having a "rich and intensive maltiness," with a "moderate to assertive" hop character.  (The hop character is what sets American barleywines apart from their British counterparts.) The hop aromas tend toward the citrus or resin elements typical of American hops.  Finally, the BJCP describe the taste of an American barleywine as having a strong malt flavor with a noticeable bitterness, that can range from moderately strong to aggressive. 

The Old Crustacean sets itself apart from the typical American style barleywine described by BJCP.  The beer pours a dark copper in color, with brown, rust hues.  The aroma of the beer is full of sweet elements, such as notes of dried fruit, brown sugar, raisins, and marshmallow, as well as some butterscotch and toffee.  Many of these elements are also reflected in the taste of the Old Crustacean, along with other flavors, such as brandied cherries and some crystallized citrus.  Overall, the Old Crustacean displays a nice balance between the malts and the hops, all of which is encased in a gentle booziness that reminds you of why the brewers at Rogue Ales have claimed the title of "Cognac of Beers" for this barleywine. 

When it comes to pairing, this beer is clearly a dessert beer.  That means it is a beer that can be served as dessert.  While I am sure that there are other pairings, I think this beer falls within the class that is best enjoyed by itself.

The Old Crustacean is found at beer stores with a large variety of craft beers.  It sells for about $20.00 a bottle. 

Nøgne-Ø Sunturnbrew

So it begins ..."while most people think differently, Norwegians are convinced that the sun turns and actually changes direction on every December 21st."  The only movement I am aware of is the ever so slight change in the light of the stars that happens during a solar eclipse, which was discovered during the course of proving Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. In any event, the brewers at Nøgne-Ø wanted to pay tribute to "this stubborn idea" by making a "Sunturnbrew."

And, just what is a "Sunturnbrew"?  Technically speaking, it is an American barleywine.  The ingredient list is rather short: Grimstad water, malted barley, malted rye, malted wheat, hops and yeast. Nøgne-Ø describes a Sunturnbrew as much, much more: it is a beer brewed at the same time as the Norwegians think the sun changes direction.  The brewers declare, "[t]his brew is for the the changing direction of the sun, the change of mind and the change of perception."

A change in mind and change in perception is exactly the way to describe this beer.  Back in May, when I was sampling different beers at the International Beer Fest in Cleveland, Ohio, I tried the Sunturnbrew.  I was not impressed with it.  I did not have anything nice to say about it, so I left it out of my posts.  The beer tasted like burnt plastic or burnt rubber.  I was quite disappointed because Nøgne-Ø  is a great craft brewer and I really like their other beers, such as the #100 Barleywine Style Ale. I was unsure if I would ever try it again ... except for the fact that that my dad bought me a bottle of the Sunturnbrew, from batch number 474, which had been quietly resting in our basement.  

So, I decided that I would try it again.  Remember the "change in mind and change in perception."  The Sunturnbrew had changed 180 degrees from that taste I had back in May.  The beer poured a dark brown, the color of healthy, vitamin laden soil.  The aromatic elements of the beer gave gentle reminders of smoked malts and even a little smoked peat.  Those elements reminded me of L'Abri de Tempete's Corps Mort, which ranks as one of my favorite smoked beers.  (The Corps Mort earns that distinction because the brewers use smoked grains from a local smokehouse that makes smoked herring and smoked mackerel -- the use of those particular local ingredients sets that beer apart from others, at least for me.)   

As for the taste of the beer, it possessed a similar range of flavors as the Corps Mort, minus the taste of pepper.  There was a pleasant, smooth smokiness to the taste of the Sunturnbrew.  The smoked flavors were accompanied by a hint of vanilla and some spice, although all of the flavors were mellowed and rounded out by both the alcohol (11% ABV) and age.  After all, the beer had been resting in my basement for at least several months.  What had first seemed like burnt plastic, now tasted like a nice sipping beer, one that could be enjoyed by a fireplace on a cold winter night.  (Too bad I drank it during the fall.)  

As I mentioned above, I was given a bottle of Sunturnbrew as a gift.  I have seen it at some beer and wine stores that have large international and/or craft beer selections.

ENJOY!

Troegs Brewing Company's Flying Mouflan

When one speaks of "cellaring" (that is, sticking it in a dark, cool place for months or a year), one usually thinks of wine.  People purchase a vintage of a wine that they enjoy, stick it in the wine rack (or, for those more fortunate, a wine cellar), where the wine will continue to "age" for years, which, in most cases, helps to develop the taste of the wine.

Until recently, the concept of cellaring a beer seemed odd.  After all, most beer is mass-produced in order to be consumed quickly and in large amounts.  (You know the types of mass-produced beers that I'm talking about.)  And who would want to cellar any of those beers to "age" anyways?

Craft brewers, like Troegs Brewing Company, have been exploring the possibility of cellaring beers in order to develop the flavors of those beers.  Troegs' Flying Mouflan, an American Barleywine, entices buyers on its label to exercise patience and cellar the beer for four months.  The reward ... a beer with "mellowed hops and luscious malt."

As originally brewed, the Flying Mouflan is one strong beer.  The stats of the beer include an ABV of 9.3% and an IBU (International Bitterness Units) of over 100.  That is a beer with strong alcohol and hop notes.  The brewer uses four different kinds of malts (Euro Pils, Vienna, Munich and Dark Crystal) and three kinds of hops (Simcoe, Warrior and Chinook), along with cane sugar. Given all of these ingredients, one would expect an assertive barleywine if he or she drank the beer when purchased.

When I bought a bottle of the Flying Mouflan, I accepted the brewer's challenge and raised it by one.  Not only did I cellar the beer, I cellared it for a year.  The beer I bought was bottled on April 6, 2010.  I opened the bottle on April 6, 2011.  The result was very surprising.

The Flying Mouflan pours a dark caramel in color, with a nice foam that quickly subsides to the edges of the beer.  The aromatics of the beer focus on the alcohol, which surrounds the more subtle scents of the hops and the malts.  And, as for the taste, the Flying Mouflan tasted as if, for the year it sat in my basement, it was aged in a whiskey barrel.  There were definitely flavors of whiskey or other spirits in the taste of the beer, even though it had never seen the inside of a barrel.

Troegs Brewing Company produces the Flying Mouflan every April. It is best enjoyed between August and the following April.

ENJOY!