Brewers See Opportunity In Beer-Wine Hybrids

Several years ago, a few craft brewers began experimenting with wine grapes and wine grape juice in their beers. Now the practice is becoming more widespread, as brewers see rising consumer opportunity in these beer-wine hybrids.

Portland, Maine-based craft brewer Allagash first started fusing beer and wine ingredients in 2006, adding crushed Chardonnay grapes to its mash to create Victoria ale. A sibling label, Victor, was launched the following year when Cabernet Franc grapes were added to the mash. Victor and Victoria, with the suggested retail price of $15 a 750-ml. bottle, are brewed just once a year and typically released in May.

Dogfish Head, meanwhile, has been producing beer-wine hybrids for a number of years. Offerings include Red & White, a Belgian-style wit bier brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice. First released in 2007, Red & White is available on a limited basis, as is Noble Rot, Dogfish Head’s newest beer-wine hybrid. Introduced to about 25 states for the first time in early 2012, Noble Rot is a saison-style beer blended with Viognier grapes infected with the fungus botrytis, or “noble rot”—the same method used in producing the sweet wines of Sauternes—as well as Pinot Gris must. Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione says the brewery had estimated sales of more than 8,000 barrels of beer-wine hybrids in 2012.

With the roll out of Blue Moon Vintage Blonde last year by MillerCoors’ Tenth & Blake division, consumer awareness of beer-wine hybrids is likely to grow. Vintage Blonde, which includes the juice of Chardonnay grapes, was first concocted by brewmaster Keith Villa in 1995. “It was ahead of its time,” he says. “There was a wall between wine and beer back then.” But by 2006, “the wall had crumbled,” and the brew began showing up at various festivals. Following test marketing in 2011, MillerCoors expanded Vintage Blonde ($9.99 a 750-ml. bottle) nationally in 2012, and the product will be available on draft this year.

Villa and others say the hybrids, while attracting craft beer consumers, also draw in wine drinkers. Beer-wine hybrids and sour beers “present a strong alternative to wine, especially for female consumers,” remarks Joe Camm.

New beer-wine hybrids will continue to hit the market. Calagione says Dogfish Head will release another hybrid this year. “It’s a category with a lot of opportunity,” Villa says.

This week's news, comes from Shanken News Daily and talks about one of the newest trends in the industry, Beer-Wine Hybrids. Stop in today to pickup a bottle of Dogfish Head Noble Rot while supplies last!

Beer 101: Ale vs. Lager

At its most basic level, beer can be categorized into two types: Ale and Lager. Both are "beer," but they are very different from each other and it comes down to yeast and fermentation.

Ales have been brewed for centuries and centuries. The type of yeast that's used in ales is called top-fermenting, meaning that it sits on the top of the liquid as it ages, which doesn't take very long for ales. Generally ales are aged in a matter of a few weeks (some ales are ready to go within 7 days, even). The temperature at which these special yeasts ferment is warm, as high as 70 degrees for some ales. The type and length of fermentation produces what's called "esters," which are compounds caused by the chemical reactions going on in fermentation. They result in strong flavors that are often fruity, spicy or flowery. Esters make ales complex, with a multi-layered flavor profile. They're higher in alcohol than lagers, and should be served cool, rather than cold. Some countries even serve ales at room temperature. Types of beer that fall under the ale umbrella are Pale Ale, Amber Ale (all the "Ales," naturally), Stout, Porter, and Wheat beer, among others.

Lager comes from the German word "lagern," which means "to store." Lagers typically ferment much longer than ales do, typically for many months, and at much colder temperatures, as low as 50 degrees. Fermenting the yeast at such a low temperature results in increased sulfur production (rather than esters), but the increased length of storage allows the sulfur to integrate into the beer. As strange as it sounds, the added sulfur results in a crisper, cleaner flavor. Where ales's flavors are complex and multi-layered, lagers have one dominant flavor that comes through. Also unlike ales, lagers are best served cold, but not colder than 38F, as the lager will lose its flavor. If you see, in addition to "lager," of course, words like Pilsner, Bock, Helles or Oktoberfest, you're looking at a lager-style brew.

Belgian Beer

Six weeks ago, New Jersey craft beer drinkers were introduced to one of the most eclectic and exciting breweries in the United States – The Lost Abbey/Port Brewing. For those of you that aren’t aware, the same brewers package all of their “American style” beers under Port Brewing, while the “Belgian-styles” are packaged under The Lost Abbey. While the Port side of the brewery is equally as amazing, I’d like to shift focus to the Belgian-inspired side.

Over in Belgium beer isn’t just a commodity or beverage, it’s a culture. With dozens of different styles that range from dark fruit driven 11% ABV quads, to funky and woody sours, to light and champagne-like saisons, there is literally something there for every beer drinker. You won’t (normally) find the hop bombs you’ll find over here in the States, but will you find painstakingly handcrafted brews that can be enjoyed by beer novices or the most experienced craft fanatic. There is absolutely nothing better than pairing a Belgian stout (Allagash Black is a great domestic interpretation) with dark chocolate or black forest cake. Well, maybe there is, like pairing a spritzy saison (i.e. the classic Saison Dupont) with mussels and spicy sausage.

Aside from some of our top selling Belgians or Belgian-inspired beers like the Chimays, Allagashs, Ommegangs, and Lindemans, there is a whole world of fantastic beer that unfortunately goes unnoticed far too often. The price tags may turn some folks off (like a $20 Gueuze) but these beers are well worth the money spent and will offer flavors and aromas never experienced before. Here are some hidden gems you will find at either of our locations, starting with the domestic side:

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja – This is easily one of my favorite beers of all time. Brewed in the Flanders tradition, this amber-bodied brew will offer aromas and flavors of earth, oak, and sour cherries and apples with that unmistakable Jolly Pumpkin yeast strain. Given the acidity, it shares many traits with an earthy Barbera d’Alba and can be paired with anything from buttery cheeses to traditional pork chops.

Weyerbacher Tiny – Tiny is not tiny. An 11% imperial stout brewed with an Abbey yeast strain, this beer showcases the traditional stout flavors of chocolate and vanilla with the Belgian yeast completely eliminating any harshness from the alcohol. It is often hard to find extremely complex beers that are perfect balanced, and Tiny pulls it off while pulling no punches.To be honest, for the price, you simply can’t beat this beer. An absolutely perfect dessert beer.

And on the Belgian side,

Boon Oude Kriek Mariage Parfait- Brewed with a crazy amount of cherries (this vintage is 40%), this beer is a must-try for any Kriek lover. Not overly sweet like the Lindeman’s line or too sour like some Cantillons, the amount of cherries added balances everything out and offers a truly one of a kind experience. Act quick, though, there’s not much of this to go around.

De Proef Reinart- Want to convert a white-wine or champagne drinker to the wonderful world of beer? Look no further. This spritzy, light-bodied Belgian pale ale is a sure shot pleaser. The flavors of green apple and flowers are offset by the funky lemon and biscuit flavors deriving from the brettanomyces yeast. Swap this with the next white wine you pair with dinner and you’ll be amazed at the different (and dare I say better) experience.

A Special Oatmeal Stout

An interesting product was brought to the attention of the Internet gurus that work in the offices of Joe Canal's. It's an Imperial Oatmeal Stout that's brewed with coffee. While this isn't too impressive (there are plenty of delicious coffee stouts), the particular coffee that is used to brew this beer is not just any coffee.

Mikkeller's Beer Geek Brunch Weasel is a high-octane, 10.9% ABV stout.

I remember watching a movie called The Bucket List a few years back where they talked about this special coffee. They made it into a joke in the movie, and while the idea of it is rather amusing, the story behind the coffee itself is really quite interesting.

The coffee used to brew Beer Geek Brunch is called Kopi Luwak, and it is one of the world's most expensive coffees. In Indonesian, the word kopi means coffee, and the word luwak is the local name of a weasel-like cat called a civet. The coffee is made from the beans of coffee cherries (did you know that coffee is actually a cherry?) which have been eaten by the civets, and passed through their digestive tracts. While the civets love the fleshy pulp of the coffee berries, the beans inside are undigestable. Enzymes seep deep into the beans, breaking them down and simplifying the acids within. Nature takes its course, and the beans are expelled from the civet, intact. After gathering, the beans are thoroughly (thoroughly!!) washed and then dried in the sun. After the beans are lightly roasted and brewed, the resulting coffee has much less bitterness than other types of coffee, with a beautiful aroma.

Kopi Luwak coffee is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi, as well as in the Philippines.

So, exactly how much does the most expensive coffee in the world cost? Generally, it costs between $100 and $600 per pound. There is one type of kopi luwak that is made by collecting coffee beans eaten by wild civets that can cost up to $3,000 per pound! A cup of this coffee in a coffee shop, if you're lucky to find one that serves it, will run you about $50 a cup!

Have you ever tried Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch or kopi luwak coffee? I'd love to hear what you thought, please drop me a comment below!

Beer 101: All About Ale

Wednesdays on the BottleBlog will feature an education session on wine, beer or spirits. Today, Shannon Spare continues her beer education

Last time I talked about the difference between beer and ale. Today I'll talk a little bit about ale, specifically.

In medieval times, ale was brewed as a source of nutrition. It was drunk by nearly everyone, as it was high enough in alcohol to act as a preservative, but low enough that it could be drunk in large amounts without causing intoxication. The higher alcohol was reserved for recreational drinking.

The following is a little bit about the most popular types of ale. All of the following, as I discussed, use yeast that sits on the top of the beer as it ferments, and ferments in higher temperatures for a long period of time. Originally, Ale was brewed without hops, but nowadays hops are lightly used in the production of most ales.

Classically Belgian, Golden Ale is generally high in alcohol, usually around 9%. They have low-to-medium bitterness and a touch of sweetness due to added malt. Golden Ales are lower bodied due to a higher carbonation level.

Pale Ale is made using a malt called, appropriately, a pale malt, which results in its lighter color. Pale ales are generally dry, and although they're known for being bitter they can actually range from bitter to quite mild.

India Pale Ale, or IPAs, are very high in hops so they're very bitter and dry, and usually a warmer copper color.

Amber Ale, is, you guessed it, amber in color. There are special malts, such as crystal malt, that are added to the beer to give it the richer, deeper color. Amber Ales are considered a medium point between the super light pale ales and the deep, dark browns.

Brown Ales are the darkest of the bunch, from a deep amber to a very dark brown. Brown are high in flavor, sometimes having nutty, chocolate or coffee tastes to them. Very heavy bodied, brown ales are generally sweet and lower in alcohol.