Ale Street News Online

Since there is already one holdover beer from last year lined up to go into the 3-beer Longshot 6-pack (the right hops could not be sourced last year for Mike McDole’s (IL) winning Double IPA recipe), our task was to pick one of four beers. The problem was that we four judges each chose a different favorite from the four finalist beers -- Pilsener, Bock, Mild and Espresso Stout -- culled from 1367 entries nationwide. This certainly led to some interesting discussion, but of course my lips are sealed until the winner is announced at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver this October. That is also where the third winning beer – from recipes brewed by Boston Beer Co. employees will be chosen. The Longshot 6-pack will be released in Feb, 09.

Following the judging, brewer Jennifer brought us samples of some experimental Belgian brews the Jamaica Plain brewers have been conditioning in barrels: an 11% Blonde featuring cardamom spice; a 6-month-old (very hearty and fruity) Kriek; and a longer-aged brew called Cosmic Mother Funk featuring some Utopias-like notes (think micro-oxidation). There are no details on commercial releases of these experimental brews or whether they will be used for more blending.

We repaired to the new beer garden outside the test-brewing facility, complete with picnic tables and hop vines -- actually the whole place is under repair, or, in fact, redesign to accommodate the hundreds of people who come by for tours every day (yes, for some it’s a regular visit – like the guy from Maine who has completed 80-something tours including 2 for his birthday). The barrel tasting sparked some discussion of some alarming news from California regarding new requirements for brewers who are using wood to the good for their beers.  New state rules require that less than one half of one percent of the alcohol in a barrel aged beer must come from "other sources," i.e. leeching from the wood of barrels previously used for bourbon, whiskey or wine. While the requirements are designed to crack down on such malternatives as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Mojito, they put barrel-agers in a quandary. The burden of proof is on the brewer, but no one really knows how to test for such wood leeching. How much is flavor; how much is actual measureable alcohol?