Though the process of brewing is a science, creating good beer is an art. The craft-brewer is an artisan as well as a practical scientist. One alter-ego cannot survive without the other. Sure, there are many scientifically perfect beers, brewed with little or no creativity, like the typical American or European macro-lagers. These flavor challenged beers are designed to be accepted into our mouth like water, with just enough flavor to disguise the alcohol, allowing us to ingest large volumes seemingly without consequence. This reminds me of saying on a favorite T-shirt owned by the recently deceased beer writer Michael Jackson; “Beer– If you can’t taste it, why bother?”

“Tasting” requires some conscious effort on our part. For instance, when biting into a wonderful slice of pizza Margherita at Lola’s, one can pick out the subtle balance between the acidity of the tomato, the balancing effect of the cheese, the bready crust and the gentle “tickling” of the brain offered by the garlic and basil. Without these balancing elements, the pizza wouldn’t be as pleasing. Why would we want anything less?

But less is exactly what you get when you grab that ice-cold can of Bud-light and pour it down your throat! The macro-beer boys design a beer by survey and market analysis, then they try to sell you feeling or a lifestyle. They use made-up brewing language like “ice brewed”– what the heck is that? They take the “milquetoast” route instead of trying to create a flavorful product that would sell, nonetheless. (More Harvard than hops!)

Craft beer is “crafted” to taste like something. Like, say, the celebration of golden malt and hops of Czech pilsener — or the journey to “the dark side” offered by roasted dry stouts or porter beers. These beers live on opposite ends of the beer flavor and color spectrum, but in order to deliver maximum impact both must offer a balanced flavor.

Balance in a beer can mean a lot of things and most of the time it refers to the balance between bitterness and sweetness. But, in the end, a balanced beer is flavorful, interesting and agreeable. Many fellow beer snobs will take me to task on that last item, but I believe that a really well-crafted beer should have a “hook,” something that makes you want another. I drink many beers and even love some that are very special and esoteric — but one is enough. These are often historically significant styles or may employ very special brewing techniques, but are not likely to capture the passions of but a very few beer-geeky palates where interest overcomes affection. Then there are very strong beers like Barleywines that are supposed to be sipped like a fine brandy or cognac and one is all you will need — but they, too, should offer something to balance the alcohol, whether hops, spices, maltiness or all of the above.

In recent years, the American craft beer scene has been delivering a wide range of very original brews; many that have been groundbreaking in their impact. Artisan brewers like Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River, Adam Avery of Avery brewing and Sam Caligione of Dogfish Head have all pushed the envelope on the use of hops and hopping techniques, mostly with good results. I say mostly because some (very few) of these “Hop Bomb” creations are so out of balance that they challenge even the most sympathetic of palates. I have also run across a few sour ales that are way over the top in acidity, even from classic producers such as Rodenbach of Belgium. Their Grand Cru is a traditional Flemish sour-ale that burns me all the way down, while standard “Rodenbach” is a beer I can drink all evening; attesting to the balance of the latter beer.

If you dare to try, there are a few beers locally available that I would consider good examples of “out of balance.” Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve is just too bitter for its size; Saranac’s Caramel Porter tastes like a “butter bomb”; and Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat is great if you like “Fruit Loops” in your beer! Dominion brewing has released a beer they call “Oak Barrel Stout” where more oak barrel comes through than stout, making it a woodpecker’s dream beer.

And let’s not forget Coor’s Light, which tastes like… nothing.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.