Brewery Spotlight: AleSmith

In a year of hugely anticipated releases from the likes of Omnipollo, Cloudwater and Siren, here at Brew Cavern we decided it was the perfect time to highlight a series of understated breweries that deserve more exposure.

Over a series of Blogs we will feature amazing beers that keep outside of the limelight, brews which are hard to come by, and make unique gifts for Christmas. 

The Brewery

AleSmith

You may have noticed the small tags on various bottles in store. These display the beers rating on respected beer review site ratebeer.com. 

Based on these ratings the website then compiles a list of the best breweries each year, AleSmith were Ratebeer’s brewery of the year, twice!

Founded in 1995 by Ted Newcombe and, a man with possibly the best name in beer, original brewmaster, Skip Virgilio. The pair were later joined by Peter Zien and they ran the brewery, office and tap room between the three of them.

Zien bought the San Diego based brewery in 2002. With a craft beer scene now flourishing, there was stiff competition from local breweries like Modern Times, Stone and neighbour Pizza Port who incidentally were one of the first locations to sell AleSmith beers.

Having grown in size, Pizza Port’s old premises is now base of operations for acclaimed breweries, Lost Abbey and Port Brewing. 

Having already made waves in the American beer world with a Belgian strong ale, Horny Devil, it was in 2003 that the brewery released the bourbon barrel aged beer, Speedway Stout. 

AleSmith’s flagship brew raised their profile internationally and still ranks in the top five imperial stouts in the world. 

The original brewery was based in Miramar, before success led them to move to a bigger premises only two blocks away. The former premises is now home to Mikkeller - San Diego, brewing collaboration beers as well as Mikkeller’s own brand. Zien, overseeing initially, still assists occasionally, holding a minority stake in the operation.

The Beers

AleSmith - Grand Cru

Grand Cru is a dark chestnut coloured Belgian-style Ale with vibrant fermentation aromas of fruity esters and spicy phenols. A sweet caramel malt, raisin, and plum-like character combines with the complex fermentation profile of the Belgian yeast strain and hints of bittersweet chocolate in the finish. Its full body and velvety mouthfeel make for a slow and satisfying drinking experience. Grand Cru is meant to be savoured and will age nicely.

Ratebeer 99 overall / 99 style

AleSmith - Decadence 2015

This Anniversary Ale was originally brewed in 2005 to celebrate a decade of brewing. 

Each year since a special beer of a new style has been brewed.

A fresh take on the Belgian Amber, this big, complex, amber-hued ale was brewed with a substantial amount of Belgian and European malts that complement the spiciness imparted by Belgian abbey yeast. The result is a perfect balance between rich, toasty maltiness, Belgian Candi sugar and the light, floral profile of European hops. Enjoy this hearty Belgian-inspired brew now or age at a cool temperature to increase its complexities.

Ratebeer 90 overall / 86 style

Mikkelller and AleSmith  - NY Verden (New World)

Brewed at Mikkeller San Diego the recipe was devised by Alesmith’s head brewer Anthony Chen.

Ny Verden is an old ale, that uses different sugars like piloncillo, maple syrup and dark agave syrup, working with a rich malt to a full bodied complexity, rich and filled with flavours of dark fruit,  figs and maple syrup.

The beer will improve with age and will develop sherry like undertones.

Ratebeer 95 overall / 90 style

Brewery spotlight: Jolly Pumpkin

In a year of hugely anticipated releases from the likes of Omnipollo, Cloudwater and Siren, here at Brew Cavern we decided it was the perfect time to highlight a series of understated breweries that deserve more exposure.

Over a series of Blogs we will feature amazing beers that keep outside of the limelight, brews which are hard to come by, and make unique gifts for Christmas. 

The Brewery 

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

According to founder and brewmaster Ron Jefferies there’s no story behind the name of Jolly Pumpkin apart from him having “a very strange brain”.

Jefferies, an advocate of the slower pace of life, was always keen to live his life on “Hawaiian time” and to start his own brewery. 

Having studied brewing science in 1991 he did just that, with a small team in 2004. 

Based in Dexter, Michigan, Jolly Pumpkin have an international reputation and a specialty for producing small batch, unfiltered and unpasteurised, rustic beers. 

As with many American Breweries, Jolly Pumpkin are heavily influenced by Belgian styles. Their niche, however, is to age beers in wooden barrels formerly used to store wine. 

Occurring naturally in these containers are wild yeasts and bacterias, including Brettanomyces, adding a complex flavour profile to the beer, which remain through to bottling, to create unique ageing characteristics. 

The aim of this is to recreate an approximation of the taste of beer before pasteurisation and industrialisation. 

Jolly Pumpkin operate three pubs in Ann Arbor, Traverse City and Detroit with a tap room at the brewery. 

As a state Michigan is also home to Founders, Bell’s and Mead producer B.Nektar, who collaborated with UK Brewer Siren on Uncle Zester, a sour citrus braggot, a style which is almost a mead ale hybrid.

The Beer

Jolly Pumpkin - Luciernaga

750ml

Rate Beer - 99 Overall / 100 Style

Luciernaga or “The Firefly” is a 6.5% ale loosely described as a Spiced Belgian Pale. 

Brewed in the Grand Cru tradition, yeast cultures are used to create an effervescence and smooth mouth feel. Coriander and Grains of Paradise - a citrusy pepper related to Ginger - are added to round out a spicy palate to sit against the soft American hop aroma, complimenting a silky body and earthy wood, apple, and a saison like funk.

Imperial Porter and Stout bottle share

Impromptu Imperial Porter and Stout sharing night with four fantastic examples from the Brew Cavern range.

We decided to drink in order of percentage straight from the shop with no further refrigeration.

First up a vertical between Ramsgate Brewery's Gadds Imperial Stout 2014 and the 2012, aged with Brett. 

The 2014 was rich and thick but not overly viscous, moderate carbonation gave a slight fizz but it poured with a thin head that dispersed quickly. Dry Chocolate and coffee on the nose and a dark black colour.

Robust but understated with chocolate, light coffee, some dark fruit, bitter chocolate from the Kent grown Hops (although I am struggling to find out what variety), good mouth feel with a gentle warming alcohol finish despite the 10% abv. A solid Stout without any flaws.

But how has the extra two years in the bottle with Brettanomyces affected the beer?

Increased carbonation gives a richer, silky body leaving a thin white head, the fizziness, however, has diminished.  The base Stout has matured, more chocolate and a little sweeter, but the Brett!

Masses of rich dark fruit, raisins and dates. Still understated these new flavours are set back and deep with in the beer, slight metallic dryness but no sourness. Again the abv, now 12%, is hardly noticeable. Wonderful.

Next Buxton Brewery's Rain Shadow, Bourbon Barrel Aged, 12.2%

I like the original beer, luxurious and rich malt sweetness and bitterness to make it incredibly moreish. 

You never quite know how Barrel ageing will affect a beer, this is a masterclass. 

The bitterness has gone but has turned to a roasted flavour. Rich chocolate and sweet bourbon base a perfect level of alcohol, and top notes of vanilla coffee, molasses and oak. It's exactly what you want from this beer, and so few barrel aged beers deliver as well as this.

I shan't go into anymore detail as I had the last one in the shop, sorry!

Finally 

To Øl, Smoke On The Porter, 13.4%

An Imperial Porter brewed with peat smoked grain and oats, this has a pour as thick as the stouts with a subtle carbonation and a viscous body. A complex aroma of dark fruit, peat, licorice, chocolate and coffee. 

One of the smoothest beers I have ever drunk, beautiful spicy peat, chocolate, licorice and the smoke, wow. I felt like I could have breathed it out after sipping, but it was a delicate, bonfire-like smokiness ingrained with the peat, lingering just enough. Along side this a warming whisky finish. World Class.

Smoke on the Porter, Ramsgate's Imperial Stout 2014 and Bretted 2012 are still available at Brew Cavern. 

They're not hanging around tho!

Note from Matt H: hoping to grab another case of the Bourbon Rainshadow soon, so keep an eye out for that one!

Review: Mikkeller Forêt Limousine, Medium Toasted Barley Wine

Mikkeller Forêt Limousine, Medium Toasted Barley Wine

19.3%

We featured this beer in a recent article about beers to pair with cheese, so it would be rude not to try it.

Part of a range from Mikkeller, that also features a lightly toasted oak version, this barley wine has a boozy sweet aroma of caramel and sherry. 

Appearance is a deep amber/orange, with a thin off white head.

Mouthfeel is thick and viscous with soft carbonation.

The taste is sticky, sweet and with a base of sugared orchard fruit, rounded off with a long oak like finish with port wine, figs and a slight hint of vanilla.

It’s boozy, but does drink well below it’s 19.3% ABV!

We recommend pairing with strong, mature blue cheeses on a cold night.

Ratebeer: 92 overall

Check out the other beers to pair with cheese chosen from The Cheese Shop in Exclusive Magazine available online and free around Nottingham.

Tilquin, Lambic and Gueuze.

We are very excited to have acquired bottles of Oude Mûre Tilquin à l’Ancienne from Gueuzerie Tilquin.

Gueuzerie Tilquin is based in the Senne Valley, Belgium. The only gueuze blendery in the French speaking region of Wallonia. 

A Gueuzerie is not a brewery, but rather a blending and ageing operation. 

Tilquin and others take from breweries and blend and age lambic beer to make there own trademark Gueuze, in this case, Gueuze à l’Ancienne.

At Tilquin, freshly brewed worts, the liquid extracted from the mashing of wheat and barley malt at the very beginning of making beer, are purchased from different producers in the regions of Payottenland and Brussels, then pumped into oak barrels for fermentation with wild yeasts to produce lambic style beer. 

It is worth pointing out that beer can only be called Lambic when produced in the area of Payottenland and at Cantillon in Brussels. 

The way the yeast reacts is known as spontaneous fermentation, meaning the yeast culture is present in the air, the barrels or is uncultured. Most importantly, the yeast is not deliberately introduced by brewers to ferment at a particular time or temperature. 

This process creates a complex varied, tart and vinous pallet. 

The lambic beer created is then used in one of two ways, aged over fruit to create Kriek, Mùre etc or aged for several years without fruit to be blended to create a Gueuze.

Blenders create Gueuze by taking the lambic at 1, 2 and 3 years of age and blending together, before being bottled. Secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle over a period of six months and the beer continues to develop as with all bottle conditioned beers. 

In the case of Mùre and other fruit lambic, a lambic is brewed and the beer is aged over fruit before being bottled and going through secondary fermentation.

Many breweries, like Cantillon, brew, blend and age there own beers, but there is a great skill and focus by Gueuzeries like Tilquin.

The Gueuzerie Tilquin began operations in February 2009. Director Pierre Tilquin is a former bio-engineer who took an intensive course in brewing science and has experience at the legendary lambic breweries 3 Fonteinen and Cantillon.

Oude Mûre Tilquin à l’Ancienne is made from the fermentation of 350g of blackberries per litre. 

A wonderful tart blackberry and citric taste. Complex and fruity with woody notes and a long finish. Medium carbonation and rich mouthfeel. 

Rate Beer

99/91style

Evil Twin

The Evil Twin story started in 1997.
In a country dominated by the Carlsberg Brewery, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø started a beer club to find quality beer and share bottles.
It was not long until the group, including Jeppe’s twin brother Mikel (the man behind Mikkeller), were home brewing and entering their beers into competitions. 
In 2005, while still working as a school teacher, Jeppe opened the now renowned Ølbutikken bottle shop in Copenhagen, importing from the US and abroad as well as distributing other breweries including his brothers.
There is some playful rivalry between the two, and with Mikkeller already established Jeppe was keen to be an independent force in the beer world. 
In 2012, ignoring any drawn comparisons, he started brewing professionally as the “Evil Twin” to brother Mikkel. The pair are both "Gypsy Brewers" perfecting recipes at home then visiting commercial brewerys to create a release.
Evil Twin's ethos avoids being tied down to the brewing process but focuses on how it turns out. Producing beers with creativity and spontaneity. 
With Brews like: Even More Jesus, Xmas Eve in a New York City Hotel Room and Ryan and the Gosling, Jeppe states that another criteria for an Evil Twin beer must be a weird name. 
Always influenced by US brewers, Jeppe moved with his family in 2012 to a permanent head quarters in Brooklyn, New York and is now brewing across America. 

At Brew Cavern we are proud to stock:

Ron And The Beast Ryan 

7% 

Limited version of Saison Ryan and the Beaster Bunny with wild yeast, brettanomyces. 

Complex Tropical Fruits and citrus with farmhouse funk and yeast presence. 

Rate Beer 96 Overall

Imperial Doughnut Break

11.5%

Version of Imperial Biscotti Break that’s been “Dry-Doughnutted”. 

Coffee, Bitter Sweet Almonds and Chocolate. 

Rate Beer 100 Overall 

Molotov Cocktail Heavy

17.2%

Heavy Version of an Imperial IPA. 

Caramel malt, dried fruit, with citrus, alcohol and heavily hopped. 

Low Life

5.5%

“Young unacknowledged hoppy Pilsner”

Crisp citrus taste, light maltiness and good bitterness. 

Even More Jesus

12% 

“Thick fudge-like body, pitch black color, amazingly overwhelming aromas of chocolate, coffee, dark fruits and muscovado sugar”

A Classic

Rate Beer 100

Falco
7%

“What makes a great leader? First of all a perfectly balanced blend of qualities, the ability to stand out,be authoritative without overpowering. Show courage and endurance, you will lead the way and set the standards. Very important, be appealing and refreshing to the people. This stereotypical portrait applies whether referring to politics, religion or maybe even this outstanding IPA.”

Wet Dream

6%

“Brown ale boosted with a delightful aroma of citrus, spice and gourmet Keini, Kenya Beans from The Coffee Collective, Copenhagen”

Retro IPA

6%

Moreish bitterness and sharp citrus and pine hops.  

“1985 style IPA. Perhaps you remember the hip hop times. Enjoy a full on hoppy beer infused with everything you loved about the 80’s” 

From Tennessee with Smoke

6.3%

Collaboration with Blackberry Farm with malt and hops smoked by Benton’s Ham’s

“With a rich, earthy hickory smoke character, and a nod to traditional European smoked beers and finished with a Belgian yeast strain, this beer straddles both the Old and New World as interpreted through inspired collaboration.”

Rate Beer 99 Overall

Justin Blåbær 
4.5%

Collaboration with Westbrook and Charleston. Blueberry Berliner Weisse. 

“If you have Blåbær fever this is the only cure for you. We stuffed so many blueberries into this beer its going to make you shout Oh Baby!"

http://eviltwin.dk/

Brekeriet - Swedish sour masters

Brekeriet is a small craft brewery based since 2015 in Landskrona, Sweden.

The brewery was started in Djurslöv, a small village outside of Malmö, in 2012 by brothers Fredrik, Christian and André Ek. 

Brekeriet are currently the only brewery in Sweden to ferment solely with wild yeast and/or bacteria, the brothers also utilise secondary fermentation over fruit and berries.

With a background in business and food engineering, the trio originally owned and ran a beer import firm always with the goal to start there own brewery.

Brekeriet state their aim is to create complex, authentic and rustic farmhouse ales with a handcrafted nature that permeates the beers. 

Much of the fermentation and limited brews are still done at the Djurslöv premises including: use of wild yeasts, brettanomyces and saccharomyces, and lactic acid bacteria cultures. While the "Sour Patch" range are produced in Landskrona.

At Brew Cavern we are proud to stock Brekeriet and the beers below:

Sour Patch Range - Cassis - ''An elegant and fruity sour ale, fermented with loads of blackcurrants. Brettanomyces yeast and lactic acid add a great complexity to the beer."

A staff favourite, this beer is full of complexity and depth with blackcurrant and a long tart, moreish finish.

Specials - Raudhetta - "An elegant and complex red sour ale spontaneously fermented in four different oak barrels for eight months."

This red ale in the Flemish style has a light balsamic and oak flavour with dark fruits and subtle acidity and wood.

Specials - Blondette - "An elegant, rustic and complex sour ale spontaneously fermented and blended from several oak barrels."

Similar to a traditional Gueuze this beer has a hoppier nature and citrus undertones, balanced with oak and light fruitiness.

Specials - Lilac - "In this beautiful sour ale we've added fresh lilac flowers to the secondary fermentation, giving the beer it's elegant lilac notes."

A smooth tart beer with lilac and sweet apple flavours.

Specials - Maschusch - "This lovely sour wheat ale gets its special flower notes from fermentation with fresh elderflowers. Multiple strains of wild yeast and bacteria adds a nice complexity to the beer."

A truly complex beer with elderflower on the nose and through out the beer. Balanced along side oak, citrusy lemon and apple tartness, hay and wheat.

EKG Sour - "A sour ale fermented with several wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria strains. The beer is dry hopped with East Kent Goldings hops."

Farmhouse yeast and funk with light malt character, gooseberry and grapefruit.

Specials - Picnic Sour Ale - "A very special low alcohol beer with a nice and fruity rhubarb flavour. The fermentation with lactobacillus bacteria adds a crisp and refreshing taste."

Extremely complex for a low alcohol beer with a farmhouse feel, citrus and rhubarb with a sweet-sour finish. 

Cascade Brewing

Cascade Brewing was founded in 1998 by owner Art Larrance and brewmaster Ron Gansberg. 

Larrance (a spry 72) and Gansberg (formally of Bridgeport Brewing) have both worked in the industry for 40 years. They designed and installed a 10-barrel brewing system in Southwest Portland, creating and distributing flavourful ales in classic styles.

Having grown tired of Americas “hops arms race” they both wanted to focus on beers that offered an intense and interesting taste that wasn't reliant on hops.

Larrance and Gansberg considered what was available locally: wine barrels and fruit. Purposefully staying away from simply copying Belgian styles they began experimenting and perfecting complex sour beers.

By 2006 Cascade were producing their base beers, golden and wheat ales, to blend and age in wine, port and whiskey oak barrels. 

In 2008, the brewery released Kriek, Apricot and Cuvee du Jongleur. Oak barrel-aged, Northwest sour ales fermented with lactobacillus, a bacteria that produces moderate levels of acidity and a sour complexity.

Cascade Kriek won a bronze medal at the Great American Beer Festival, and the brewery went on to win Gold and Silver in 2009. These wins propelled the obscure brewery into the forefront.

In September 2010, the Cascade Brewing Barrel House was opened, their “House of Sour” containing production, a barrel room, cooler as well as a tasting room.

In 2014, they moved to The Cascade Blending House a bigger premises holding all of the blending, ageing, packaging and distribution. All of the beers continue to be brewed at the original brewery.

Currently beers are aged in oak barrels; a mixture of Bourbon, Wine and Whiskey and aged over locally sourced fruit for between 12 and 24 months.

We’re really happy to have Cascade in stock at Brew Cavern. Matt says: “We are extremely proud, and a little lucky, to have Cascade at Brew Cavern. Only a very limited number of bottles make it to these shores. Having tasted a few of these rare sour masterpieces I can vouch for their high RateBeer scores."

Fancy seeing what the fuss is all about?

We stock:

Blackcap Raspberry - wheat and blond ales blended and aged for 14 months on raspberries in barrels

Strawberry - wheat and blond ales blended and aged for 12 months on strawberries and vanilla pod in oak barrels

Cranberry - a blend of wheat ales aged for 14 months on cranberries with orange peel and cinnamon in oak barrels

Sang Noir - a blend of select red ales aged for 2 Years on Bing cherries in Bourbon and wine barrels. Vintage 2014

Review: Pipeworks - Crimson Snapper

Pipeworks - Chicago, Illinois

Crimson Snapper 9.5%

IPA with Citra, Blood Orange and Honey

Rate Beer - 100 Overall / 99 Style

I shared this with friends whilst listening to records, but could have happily done the bomber bottle on my own!

Big bold orange colour and soft carbonation. A well hidden ABV and a rich honey texture. A taste of blood orange with balanced honey, not overly bitter, but with Citra hops cutting through to make this beer incredibly moreish. 

It's true that some hop flavour can die off in transporting American Hoppy beer, if this has happened it does not take anything away from the beer.

And as for the ridiculous blurb on the bottle, you'll have to come in and read that for yourself!

Pipeworks' Emerald Grouper is on order and due to arrive at the shop in a couple of weeks. If Crimson Snapper is anything to go by I am very excited to try it.

Matt P

untappd - Pumfrey

So what is craft beer?

"What is craft beer?" It's a question we hear often, particularly in the shop. And it's a difficult one to answer. To date craft beer doesn't have a definition in the UK, so how do you explain it to someone in the absence of a definition? And how do you define the undefinable?

In the USA breweries have forged a definition that is based around brewery size, its independence and the use of traditional ingredients and brewing methods. So a brewery that has an annual output of more than 6 million barrels, and is more than 25% owned by an alcoholic drinks business that isn't a craft brewer, wouldn't be considered a craft brewery.

This American definition simply wouldn't work in the UK. Our biggest 'craft' brewer, Brewdog, currently produces only 220,000 Hectolitres (187,000 barrels). They're currently in the final stages of expanding their operation to 1 million hectolitres, which is still only 852,000 barrels, leaving them some way to go before hitting the ceiling of the US definition of craft.

Many believe that in a country of our size, the 6 million barrel definition leaves far too much room for bandwagon jumpers, from the marketing departments of multi national conglomerates, to stick the words 'craft beer' on a product and cash in on the term. Provided their output is less than 6 million barrels a year, they are less than 25% owned by an alcoholic drinks company that isn't a craft brewer and the majority of their total volume derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients they would still be considered a craft brewer by the US definition. But would the UK craft beer scene accept them as craft brewers?

This predicament recently came to the fore with AB InBev, the worlds largest brewery, acquiring Camden Town Brewery. You may remember that Camden, Brewdog, Beavertown and Magic Rock were leading towards a UK definition for craft beer (James Watt had been talking about the need for such a definition since 2012) by forming United Craft Brewers and in late 2015 things seemed to be progressing nicely.

Then came the bombshell that Camden had sold out to AB InBev and the craft community went into meltdown, with Twitter rants a plenty, from both sides of the argument. James Watt took the opportunity to announce that Brewdog would not sell any more Camden beers as they "don't sell anything made by AB InBev."

Whatever your stance on the acquisition it's hard not to see a dilemma emerging in the UK whereby a brewery who sells a portion of their operation to a larger company (Camden still own 95% of their business so are still 'craft' by the US definition) can be struck off by large portions of the craft beer scene as having sold out. We find ourselves back to square one with the United Craft Brewers, whose membership is presumably one high profile brewery down, and whose website has disappeared.

So maybe now we need a definition more than ever, before craft beer does indeed become bastardised by the multi nationals. With the merger of the worlds two largest breweries, AB InBev and SabMiller, looming, that threat seems ever more likely.

As a committee member of Nottingham Craft Beer Week I was tasked with coming up with a definition of craft beer, as a useful guidepost for those people new to the scene. This is by no means a commercial definition and is a long way from absolute, but it stands as a starting point for those who are perhaps unsure about what makes craft beer, or a nod & a wink to those who maybe still hang on to the Craft Beer vs. Real Ale argument. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Craft Beer - defining the undefinable

We're living in an age of revival in the beer scene. Rule books are being ripped up and palates are becoming awakened as a new wave of brewers reinvent what we thought we knew about beer. As organisers of Nottingham Craft Beer Week we wanted to present our interpretation of what makes craft beer, we hope you agree:

- craft beer is inclusive, so whilst it doesn't always conform to the rules of traditional real ale it doesn’t exclude those rules either. 

- craft beer can be served in keg, cask, bottle or can.

- craft beer is often unfined, unfiltered and unpasteurised. These beers are usually hazy. This is a good thing! 

- craft beer is generally produced, sold & supported by independent breweries, distributors, wholesalers, bottle shops, bars and pubs. 

- craft beer doesn't compromise on ingredients or flavour.

- craft beer looks to the future whilst respecting hundreds of years of tradition.

- craft beer is brewed, sold and consumed by people with passion, who care about great beer and care where it is brewed, who it is brewed by, where it is sold and of course how it tastes! 

- craft beer doesn't require an awesome beard, but it does act as a useful bib for when things get heavy!