Checkout this piece by the New York Times on Brett beers with comments from brewers at Crooked Stave, The Lost Abbey, Green Flash, Jolly Pumpkin, Russian River and others. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/dining/brettanomyces-a-funky-yeast-makes-flavorful-beers.html Slideshow: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/01/02/dining/20130102-WILD.html Thoughts?
Nice article about one corner of what's going on in craft brewing. TheTimes owes us many more such articles about the many such niches. Every Wednesday, the Times has a dining section devoted to food and drink. There's usually a page devoted to wine. Is there anywhere near as much innovation and evolution--i.e., news--going on in the wine world as there is in the American craft beer industry right now? Every week, there ought to be at least one, if not multiple, articles on beer. This is, after all, the golden age of American brewing. The paper of record shouldn't miss it. If the Times wonders even for a moment why it is not bringing in new readers, why it is not reaching a new generation, it need look no farther than the beverage coverage in its Dining section. If there's not an article there every week, then we're not there every week looking for it.
Well-done piece, but did Fromson feel obligated to use every single piece of reporting he did? The Green Flash chief executive quote didn't seem necessary at all. Good read, though, and the ending with the Grossmans really emphasizes the innovation. I'd recommend this to those just getting interested.
Not a big fan of brett beers. I prefer the lacto sour beers more. Cascade Brewing in Portland, OR make excellent lacto sours.
Interesting article.....I still don't understand sours. People get me to try them all the time and I still think they're just horrible....
I love brett beers, Anchorage is one of my favorite brewery's! Btw if you're in to brett beers you should check out the iipa with brett that To Øl and Mikkeller did.
White Labs has an informative list of brett strains, but scroll down for an interesting article by Tomme Arthur on the early days of brett experimentation by California craft brewers: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/bacteria.html
Good article, aside from the mistake of linking vinegar-like acidity to lacto bugs instead of acetobacter.
I'm kind of surprised at the west-coast love in that article. Now that I think of it, if I were from certain areas of Europe and reading that article, I might be a little miffed.
Brettonomyces means "British Fungus" and was a characteristic of much British beer which was routinely aged in wood for long periods ; it would have been in IPA and old ales, Porter and even ordinary ales and beers (even Bass was found to contain it in the 1930s) yet this factor has been completely ignored in the article.
Actually, in just its second paragraph the article cites Chad Yacobson of Crooked Stave as recognizing that Brett "was common in beer before the advent of modern sanitation in the late 19th century," referring to Brett as "an old friend." Later, the article speaks of "brewers' enthusiasm for reviving tastes of the past."
The article looks great in today's Dining section. The Times certainly spoke to the right people and created a nice introduction to a particular style of beverage. Lift a glass to the possibility of many more such articles from the Times! (Noting that the cover story of today's Dining section is essentially about coffee, my fear is the section's editors see today's edition as a one-off or at best occasional alternative beverage edition--back to nearly exclusive wine coverage next week.)
Anyone know how much alcohol will be added to an ave. strength stout (say 5.6%) if it sits on Brett for a year?
I'm a big fan of brett when it is complimentary. It can add subtle nuances that can be blissful. (Sofie, Bruery Easter Saison, Fantome Saisons) but not a big fan when the Brett smacks you in the face, and tastes and smells like a horse pissed in your beer and filtered it through a diaper. (Avery 15th anniversery, almost every brett-homebrew I've had)
A couple of other good brett beers are Femne Fatale Brett by Evil Twin and Brett & No Mices from Westbrook
Indeed, somebody pointed this out to the author apparently: This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: December 31, 2012 An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to a flavor produced by lactic acid bacteria in barrel-aged wild beers, implying that the bacteria can yield a sour note reminiscent of balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar note that can emerge is due to acetic acid, which comes from a different kind of bacteria or directly from Brettanomyces.
That was me. I emailed them about the mistake and the next day the correction appeared online. The print version is the corrected version.
Haha! That was my guess...but i figured it was possible they actually talked to somebody interviewed in the story who had read the final product. Nice work you've changed the future!
