Extreme beer goes in a different direction

Greg Kitsock at The Washington Post wrote an article on extreme beer with quotes from Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Co., which brews Samuel Adams beers. Koch says he coined the term "extreme beer" when his company brewed Triple Bock in 1994. It was the strongest commercial beer at the time at almost 18 percent alcohol.

Kitsock says that people often wrongly think that extreme beer also means strong beer. Not so. Extreme beers can also be beers made with unorthodox ingredients.* Kitsock writes about several such beers**, but the one that really caught by eye was by the Scottish brewery BrewDog, a brewery that happens to be a new arrival in the Sarasota area.

They brewed an extreme beer called Nanny State, which weighs in at the ultra-low alcohol level of 1.1 percent. I could say that's extreme on its own, but Nanny State is also supposedly so full of hops that it's the most bitter beer out there. You can measure how bitter a beer is by testing it for IBUs.

IBU stands for International Bitterness Unit. The higher the number, the bitterer the beer. Hops make beer bitter. Nanny State's IBU level is 225. For reference, Kitsock writes, "Budweiser measures about 12 IBUs; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, 37; a typical imperial IPA, 75 to 100." I've read that the human palate can't detect anything beyond 90 IBUs, so Nanny State's professed level of 225 IBUs is just a gimmick.


But that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to try it. Too bad it's not sold in the United States.

*See my post about a Dogfish Head beer made with corn moistened in the brewer's mouth.


**He includes Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, a dark beer that's very hoppy and good: I've had it at the Cock & Bull; Brooklyn's Manhattan Project, "a draft-only offering using the same botanicals that go into vermouth and bitters, adding a dash of tart cherry juice and aging the beer in Rittenhouse rye whiskey barrels;" and Otter Creek's Quercus Vitis Humulus, which is "fermented with sauvignon blanc grape juice, fermented with a champagne yeast and aged in French oak."

Review: Cali-Belgique

I was happily surprised to see a note on BeerAdvocate that Cali-Belgique from Stone was in stock. I heard from friends that this beer started out as a one-off, but was so popular that Stone is brewing it year-round. A 22-ounce bottle was $6 at Total Wine & More on Aug. 20, but I heard it was part of a special order, so don't be surprised if they are out of it.

Stone calls this a Belgian IPA, which, according to BeerAdvocate, is a style Belgian brewers started making after having hoppy American beers. The key to these beers is Belgian yeast, which adds its special spicy, earthy -- even funky -- notes to beer. So now Stone makes a Californian (Cali) version of a Belgian (Belgique*) beer that was inspired by hoppy American beers like Stone's regular lineup. You can call this the circle of life.

From my notes:

What a beautiful beer. It's bright gold in color with a large sticky white head. The aroma spicy and lightly hoppy. It has a similar taste of spice and general Belgian beer flavors. Mild levels of hops for a Stone beer, which takes little getting used to. But after wrapping my mind around it I like it. There is still a good hop presence, but it a non-Stone way.

Overall this is a very good beer and a neat departure for Stone from their normal hoppy brews. This is a beer to seek out.

*Note: You may see this beer labeled Cali-Belgique or Cali-Belgie. Why? As usual, Stone writes a lot of notes on the back of the bottle. They explain that they don't want to alienate Belgians, some of whom speak French, some of whom speak Flemish. So about 50 percent of the bottles are Cali-Belgique and 50 percent are Cali-Belgie.

Review: 13th Anniversary Ale

Stone makes some mean beers. They're not for the craft beer newbie.

As I've written about before, I'm very excited to have Stone's 13th Anniversary Ale after reading their comments that it's the hoppiest beer they've ever made. That's like Barrett Rifles saying they've made their biggest gun yet.*

From my notes:

It's very, very deep red with a big foamy light brown head. The aroma is hoppy, of course, and even spicy. A depth of hops, if that's such a thing. The strength of the beer must be controlling some of the hops, because this isn't slamming me with hop aromas. The taste is barleywine-like. Big, warming malt flavors (toffee, caramel, biscuit) combine with huge hop flavors (spice, citrus, floral) to make a really big, hoppy beer. A smooth and creamy, even oily, body. Slick.

You might as well call this a barleywine, and this is a good one. Seek it out.

I bought two 22-ounce bottles ($7 each) at Total Wine & More on University Parkway. I'd be surprised if it's still in stock, though, because I hear they only had one case of 12 bottles.

*I see that Stone uses 4.5 pounds of hops per barrel with this beer. Samuel Adams used 6 pounds of hops per barrel for their LongShot Double IPA. Take that, Stone! And for those keeping score at home, a beer barrel holds 31 gallons.

Beer haul: Cigar City, Stone, Hoppin' Frog and Bell's

After being alerted on BeerAdvocate that Stone's 13th Anniversary ale was in stock at Total Wine & More, I had to get some. (Remember, Stone calls this the "hoppiest beer we've ever brewed.") Sure enough, a phone call confirmed that they had 22-ounce bottles in stock for $7 each. So I headed over on today.

Not only did they have the anniversary ale, they also had Stone's Cali-Belgique ($6), their take on a Belgian IPA.

I also picked up a new Cigar City beer: Bolita Brown ($10 for a 750 mL), their double English brown ale that's 9 percent alcohol. Cigar City beers sell fast, so get them while you can at your favorite beer store.

I also bought three bottles of Hoppin Frog, an Ohio brewery that's a new arrival here. Pricey stuff for 22-ounce bottles: I hope they're good. The three: B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout ($10), Hoppin' to Heaven IPA ($9) and Mean Manalishi Double IPA ($12!).

Finally I bought a 12-ounce bottle of Bell's Sparkling Ale, a Belgian triple that they compare to champagne. And no, we're not talking about Miller High Life.

All these are new beers for me. Exciting stuff.

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale is coming to Florida

Hopheads, take note:

I spoke today with Scott Sheridan, Stone's Southeast regional brewery representative, and he said Stone 13th Anniversary Ale (see my previous post), which they call their hoppiest beer yet, will "most certainly" be coming to Sarasota-Manatee and the greater Tampa Bay area.

Whole Foods and Total Wine & More are two of the local stores that will have it, possibly by June 29, he said.

I asked if the beer would also be available in kegs. He said there would be a few kegs in the region, about six or seven, at select bars. He mentioned Mellow Mushroom, Brass Tap and Oldsmar Tap House as likely places.

Stone announces its hoppiest brew

I learned from writer/actor Wil Wheaton (via Twitter, of course, its not like I've met him), that Stone Brewing Co., maker of such excellent beers as Arrogant Bastard and Ruination IPA, has announced its 13th Anniversary Ale on its blog.

They call this "the hoppiest beer we've ever brewed." For those who don't know, that's saying a lot. Stone makes some of the hoppiest beers around -- check out the above-mentioned Ruination.

For the beer geeks, Stone used more hops per barrel than they have ever used before: 4.5 pounds. They used Chinook hops in the boil and dry-hopped it with Simcoe and Centennial hops. Then they dry-hopped it a second time. Here's Stone's description:

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale pours brilliant deep red with a light tan foam. Up front, the aroma is all piney, resinous and citrus hops. Upon tasting, the hops are still on the front, and they are balanced with the malty, toffee like flavors contributed from the blend of crystal and amber malts used in the brewhouse. The finish is deliciously bitter, with a touch of warmth provided by the 9.5% alcohol. Bitterness comes in at 90+ IBU.

For the uninitiated, hops used during the boil make beer bitter and add flavor, depending on when you add them during the boil. Dry-hopping is adding hops to the fermenting beer long after the boil, this primarily adds hop flavor. Different strains of hops (Chinook, Simcoe, Centennial, etc.) have different qualities, some add mostly bitterness, others add mostly flavor.

IBUs stand for International Bittering Units. They are a measure of how bitter something is. Most experts believe humans can't taste beyond 100 IBUs. Budweiser, by comparison, is about 10 IBU. So you could say this is a bitter beer. Fantastic!

I really hope this limited-edition beer, which Stone's official page says will hit store shelves on June 29, comes to Florida. I'll contact them and post what I find out.