The Wild Streak

There was a time when all beers were aged in wood, and yeasts ran wild and cavorted together. Modern brewing is wonderful, of course, but sometimes a little cavorting is a fine thing. Sometimes it gives you a chance to reveal your funky side.  That is the beginning of the story of how Garrett Oliver and his team at Brooklyn Brewery decided to reveal their Wild Streak.

The Brooklyn Wild Streak starts off as a Belgian-style golden ale, but the brewers work their magic to transform that ale into a Barrel-Aged Brett Beer.  The ingredients are straightforward: Pilsner malts, along with three types of hops: German Perle, Slovenian Aurora and Styrian Golding Celia.  In addition, the brewers use their house Belgian yeast strain for the primary fermentation.  After that fermentation and a brief conditioning, the brewers then age the beer for several months in second-use bourbon barrels, which the brewers describe as giving the beer a soft, round character infused with nicely balanced oak flavors. Finally, the brewers bottle the beer flat and re-ferment it with blend of priming sugar, Pris de Mousse Champagne yeast and the wild yeast strain Brettanomyces Lambicus. And then the cavorting begins.  When all is said and done, the end result is natural carbonation. The beer is aged for almost a year (the cavorting takes a while) and then it is available for craft beer enthusiasts who like "a wonderfully complex earthy funk."  (That includes me.)

The Wild Streak pours a sort of hazy golden color, with a thick foam that recedes with time but never disappears.  The aromas initially reveal the bourbon barrels, with a combination of alcohol, bourbon and oak wood.  Those elements are accompanied by a little earth and grass.  The latter elements introduce the drinker to the funk to come in the taste.  

The earthy funk actually represents the outcome of a epic battle between two very strong flavor elements: the Brettanomyces and the bourbon barrels.  To some extent, the Brett struggles to overcome the bourbon barrels.  Other times, the bourbon barrels seemed to be overcome by the Brett.  There are other elements that also make an appearance, such as tart apple, pear, some citrus and a clear booziness that comes with a beer packing a 10% ABV.  Ultimately, the battle between the wild yeast and the bourbon barrels ultimately ends in a stalemate, as the overall taste of the beer provides a good combination of the wild yeast and bourbon barrels. At the end of the glass, I could not say that either the Brettanomyces or the bourbon barrels had outshined the other, both were represented well in the beer. 

The brewers suggest that the Wild Streak is "particularly great with cheese and game meats."  They particularly suggest washed rind cheeses.  This is an interesting suggestion, one that perhaps invites another battle between the funk of the beer and the funk of the washed cheeses.  

I found this beer at local grocery stores, and, a bottle sells for $23.99 (which is the same price as the Brooklyn Black Ops).  It is definitely worth the purchase, but only if you have a wild streak yourself.

ENJOY!

The Lost Belgian Brett

The label of a recent Lips of Faith bottled by New Belgium Brewing confirms what I've said in the past, "[t]he best part of collaboration is discovering mutual passions."  I have tried a wide range of collaboration beers, which usually showcase the brewers' interests and passions, often with some rather interesting and unique ingredients.  There are the collaborations that feature green tea in an India Pale Ale or the use of rye malt in a Saison.  Other collaborations seek to transform existing beer styles, such as "imperialize" a Flanders red ale. 

With the recent collaboration of New Belgium Brewing and The Lost Abbey, it was the use of Brettanomyces, a wild yeast strain.  The term is Greek for "British fungus."  Why it is referred to as "British fungus" is a little unclear, although Wikipedia notes that, in 1904, N. Hjelte Claussen discovered one strain of the yeast, Brettanomyces claussenii, while investigating the spoilage of English Ales.  Whatever the origin of the name, it is the bane of the wine world, causing wines to exude smells or display tastes that have been described with words and phrases like "barnyard," "horse stable," "sweaty saddle," and "cheese."  With respect to that last description, wine may go well with cheese, you just don't want your wine tasting like cheese.

Many of these elements may also be present in beers that are fermented with Brett.  However, the elements seem to work much better with hops and malts than with grapes.  Indeed, the Brett often provides a distinctive, yet agreeable character, such as a grassy aroma or a tart flavor.

This is what the brewers of New Belgium and The Lost Abbey were striving to achieve.  As they note on the bottle, "[u]sing Belgian inspiration, we fermented the beer with Brettanomyces, to bring out tropical fruit notes, crisp haziness and bright flavors."  They also brewed the beer with pale malts, along with Target, Centennial and Sorachi hops, which were intended to bring a slight citrus flavor to the beer.

The Brett pours a light golden color, with a substantial amount of "haziness" and a decent amount of foam.  The aromas were definitely suggestive of fruit, such as lemon, pineapple or tropical fruits.  However, the distinction comes from the flavor of the beer.  Of all the Brett beers I've tried (and I've had several), this beer was perhaps the most distinctive.  There was no significant barnyard or horse stable element to the beer.  Sure, there was a little funk, but it was relegated to the background or edges of the beer.  The principal feature of the taste was the citrus fruits from the hops wrapped in a bread-like notes from the malts and yeast.   This was by far the most drinkable Brett beer insofar as the funk was relatively tamed and not running wild through the aroma  and taste of the beer.

Beers brewed with Brettanomyces are often very difficult to pair with foods, precisely because of the unique flavors added by the yeast.  The brewers at New Belgium do offer a suggestion: Roasted Salmon with Lemon Scented Goat Cheese.  It might be worth a try the next time I have one of these beers.  And there will be a next time. 

I found the Brett beer at a local beer store with a large selection of craft beer.  If I recall correctly, it sold for about $8.99 per bottle.

ENJOY!

Les Deux Brasseurs

De Proef Brouwerij and its brewer, Dirk Naudts, have worked with various American craft brewers to produce collaboration beers.  I reviewed one of Naudt's collaborations with Terrapin Brewing Company, the Monstre Rouge. My beautiful Angel found another one of Naudt's collaborations, and bought a bottle of Les Deux Brasseurs Belgian Ale.  This collaboration represents the combination of the talents and creativity of Naudts with Jason Perkins, the head brewer at Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine.

Les Deux Brasseurs ("the Two Brewers") is a Belgian Style Golden Ale.  This beer sets itself apart from other golden ales by the fact the beer is fermented with two different strains of Brettanomyces, which are wild yeast strains.  Commonly referred to as "Brett," these yeast strains are the bane of winemakers, but craft brewers love them.  Allagash's strain of Brett was discovered and isolated in their brewery.  Allagash flew this yeast strain to Belgium just days before the brew day for Les Deux Brasseurs.  On behalf of De Proef, Naudt chose his personal favorite strain of Brett.  The two Brett strains provided a second level of collaboration, working together to provide a unique flavor for this beer.  The brewers fermented and aged the beer for four months, during which time it was dry-hopped with Czech Saaz hops. 

According to brewers, the two yeasts strains yield notes of pear, apple and subtle pineapple, along with flavors of graham cracker, bread crust and subtle distinctive barnyard character.  That is quite an interesting description for the beer. 

The beer is a hazy, golden color, with a lot of fermentation.  Small bubbles working their way up through the beer to the surface, while dead yeast cells linger along the bottom of the glass.  That "barnyard" character is present in the aroma, but not the taste, which is marked with the pear, apple and pineapple.  The Brett yeast strains worked incredibly well together.

Generally speaking, so-called "Brett" beers are very difficult to pair with food.  This beer is best enjoyed on its own, or, maybe with some soft cheeses that do not have their own "barnyard character."

This beer is a little hard to find and I have not found it at any stores.  However, Clare found it at a beer store in Virginia, where it sold for $17.99 a bottle. 

ENJOY!

Avery Brewing Company's Salvation

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Avery Brewing Company brews a wide range of beers, but the ones that I really like are the brewer's "series."  One of these series is the "Holy Trinity of Ales," which includes the Hog Heaven Barleywine, the Reverend Quadruple and the Salvation Belgian-Style Golden Ale.  Recently, I saw the Salvation, so I decided to pick one up and give it a try.

The Belgian Golden Ale is one of several styles of strong ales that, unlike some beers, is relatively new.  This style was developed by the Moorgat Brewery after World War II to capitalize on the popularity of pilsner beers. A Golden Ale is very similar to a Belgian Tripel, but tends to be lighter, dryer and fruitier. 

Avery's Salvation pours a nice golden color, which is appropriate given it is a golden ale.  Avery brewed this beer with Stryian Golding hops, along with two row barley, cara 8 and cara 20 malts.  The aromatic elements of this beer feature fruit and spice.  The brewer suggests apricots and peach, with nutmeg and cinnamon.  I can definitely see the nutmeg and cinnamon, which carry through into the taste, both at the front and at the end.  The fruit are present in the aromatics, and carry over to the taste as well, but a little less than the spice.

This beer has an ABV of 9.0% and sells for $6.99 a bottle.  The brewer suggests that the beer can be cellared for up to three years. Perhaps the next time I buy this beer, I'll consider cellaring it to see what change, if any, there is to the beer over time.

ENJOY!

For more about the Golden Ale style, check out the Beer Certification Judge Program.