Among Short’s shiny and beautiful things is the 2007 Imperial Beer Series of 13 beers, hand bottled in 750 ml bottles, hand labeled, each with a separate story, with a hand-made case. The 13 beers were conceived and brewed over the course of a year, which culminated in a beer dinner, pairing each beer with food. The beers ranged from a traditionally-inspired imperial porter; to a strong ale with blueberries, strawberries and blackberries; to Bloody Beer, fermented with Roma tomatoes and spiced with tellicherry peppercorns, celery seed, fresh horseradish and dill. There were ales flavored with anise, others with toasted pecans or blue spruce―all in all, a exuberant brewing effort.
As their companies grow―one observing its fifth anniversary and the other nearing its fifteenth―both men know the importance of staying close to the brewing process. “For me, being the evangelist and the cheerleader who shouts and articulates what the company is about, both internally and to the outside world, that’s probably the last job that a good leader should relinquish to somebody else,” says Calagione. “But I’m a brewer, and I never want to relinquish that, either. I always want to be able to call myself a brewer.”
Traditional Iconoclasts
Vinnie Cilurzo
Russian River Brewing Co.
Santa Rosa, CA
Yvan de Baets
Brasserie de la Senne
Brussels, Belgium
Early pale ales piqued American beer drinkers’ thirst for hoppy beer, but Vinnie Cilurzo actually attempted to satisfy the hops craving, brewing what is commonly acknowledged as the first double IPA in the 1990s.
As the story goes, this was just the most recent twist in our love affair with hops. This passion for escalating bitterness conquered the country over a couple of decades, crossed international borders, and even taught a thing or two to veteran Belgian brewers, who are now brewing IPAs thanks to the Americans.
Not so fast. Yvan de Baets has unsettling news for fans of Belgian beer: no one has to introduce the Belgians to bitter beer, he insists. The Belgians just need to throw off the palate-deadening results of the past few decades and reclaim their bitter beer heritage.
