Like all creative endeavors, craft beer tends to pick up certain trends as brewers experiment with various techniques, ingredients and processes. Craft beer provides a wide ranging canvas upon which to try out an idea. Some work, some don’t. An occasional one might even be the next best thing. Many aren’t even all that new, but somehow suddenly become mainstream.
Three years ago, it seems barrel aging suddenly became common place. Two years ago marked an explosion of high gravity beers. Last year, Black IPAs were all the rage, though the style is decades old (depending on who’s asking and who’s telling the story). These are my observations from regular visits to tap rooms, bars and various retail outlets. Truth be told, these trends are all continuing.
So what’s hot now? Belgian yeast. It’s showing up everywhere. By that I mean it’s showing up everywhere you might not expect to find it. Sure, there are more dubbels, tripels, saisons and other traditional Belgian style beers than ever before. But there’s also stouts, IPAs, and marzens popping up with the unmistakable spiciness of Belgian yeast.
Take Stone Brewing Co., for example. I’ve got a bottle of Stone’s recent Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout hanging out in the fridge waiting for a free day and some ambitious tasters. It’s a version of their Russian Imperial Stout brewed with Belgian yeast and anise. Stone also took their long running Old Guardian Barelywine and brewed up a batch with Belgian yeast. At the Montana Brewers Festival this month Carter’s Brewing was pouring a Faux Pas Belgian Style Stout. The name has be wondering whether the Belgian/Stout combination was originally an accident or merely a recognition of an unusual pairing.
It’s also true that the Belgian ale style descriptions are quite varied, providing plenty of room to allow nearly any unusual combination to fit into one category or another. A stout with Belgian yeast may be described as a “Belgian style dark ale.” Some of that is due to our obsession with making all round pegs fit into existing square holes. Some of it is certainly marketing, choosing style familiarity to better the chances of commercial acceptability.
I think Full Sail Brewing Co.’s latest Brewmaster Reserve beer, Sanctuary, leans this direction. I’m really digging it, having just spotted it in our stores. It’s billed as a Belgian dubbel, but it defies that style in a variety of ways including color, richness and more noticeable hop bitterness. Frankly, I didn’t read the label before giving it a try and immediately thought of it as an oktoberfest/marzen with Belgian yeast. There’s nothing about that I don’t like. This time of year I can’t get enough of the oktoberfests, from the lighter bodied, traditional Hacker-Pschorr to the richer American version of Sam Adams and even more full bodied, local Bayern Brewing Co. Oktoberfest. Sanctuary reminds me of a richer, American style oktoberfest with a touch of Belgian yeast spiciness throughout the flavor profile.
What’s trending in your beer world?
