If the concept of terroir can be applied to beer, it would be with the spontaneously fermented, wild lambics. Lambic is inoculated by airborne microbes of the landscape and banked within barrels. They are the pinnacle of natural, native, organic brewing—a cascade of countless transformations that separate them from the rest of the beer world.... View Article
Brewed to match the rich, sweet and fragrant cuisine of the holidays, winter warmers and spiced holiday ales are stout enough to warm the soul and savory enough to abide the hearty fare. After the tease of autumnal Märzen and pumpkin beer, we have come to anticipate these specialties greatly. Winter warmers are typically loaded... View Article
In recent years, some esoteric top-fermented North German beer styles have joined the beer renaissance party. Leipziger gose and Berliner weisse, imported and microbrewed, are now familiar offerings. Kölsch is mainstream. Another, the Düsseldorf-style altbier, remains elusive and enigmatic. In Düsseldorf, the coppery, crisp and malty beer is the undisputed king. Rhenish cousin to Kölsch,... View Article
This story first appeared in the July 2015 issue of All About Beer Magazine. Click here to subscribe. Our obsession with black beers is undeniable. Porter and stout are stalwarts, and newly cobbled styles, such as black IPA and saison, more trendy. But the eldest and most anachronistic of them all is German schwarzbier (black... View Article
Thanks to brewing giant Guinness, stout is one of the most far-reaching and recognizable types of beer in the world. The brewery’s global march began more than 200 years ago, and the influence and pervasiveness of dry stout is still vigorous, especially among the new wave of brewers. Though dry stout is synonymous with Ireland,... View Article
Not too long ago, saison was considered rare and somewhat endangered, a stranger to all but the most enlightened. Things couldn’t be more different today. Those from Belgium are rightfully well-regarded, and North American-brewed versions are among the hottest styles. Saison, French for season, is perfectly emblematic of venerable Belgian and flourishing North American brewing... View Article
Traditional beer styles are often closely identified by cities, regions, strength or particular moment of invention. Doppelbock (double bock) can claim all of those. Its roots lie in the North German city of Einbeck, but is now synonymous with Bavaria. More specifically, the prototype is a monastic creation, designed for sustenance during Lenten deprivation. The... View Article
The catchall term “Scottish ale” is used for a group of modestly hopped, malty and sociable brews. Somewhat generic, it often leads to rather limited expectations. But the clan of authentic Scottish ale being made today is actually quite diverse, the progeny of the brews that survived the relative famine of the 1960s and came... View Article
Belgian brews were once considered mysterious and idiosyncratic, but have become mainstream and far from unusual. Now, it is more the sentiment of tradition that makes them so engaging. Belgian brewers are famous for wild and woolly lambics and sours, rustic farmhouse and wheat brews and spicy, savory abbey and monastic beers. Monastic brews made... View Article
