[I read this and rejoiced that I'll be able to get Dogfish Head here
in the SF Bay Area starting in April, if the article's correct. -
rmjon23]

Extreme brews go higher
Jim Clarke, Special to The Chronicle

Friday, February 22, 2008


Got a friend who's a lightweight, getting drunk on only one or two
beers? Maybe it's not him; maybe it's the beer.

Beer typically averages around 5 percent alcohol by volume, but some
craft brews are creeping higher and higher, not only catching up to
wine, which generally falls around 13 percent, but even surpassing
it.

Hair of the Dog, a brewery in Portland, Ore., once hit the 29 percent
mark, while its regular beers average about 10 percent. Owner and
brewmaster Alan Sprints says he was inspired by British barleywine, a
19th century farmhouse ale that had all but died out. Well-made higher-
alcohol beers "have more flavor, more body and can accept more hops
because of their higher sugar," he says.

Sprints is not the only brewer who's been inspired to cross the double-
digit line by British and Belgian brewing traditions. The resulting
beers bear names like imperial stout, double (or even triple) IPA or
abbey-style beer, and may or may not be accurate reproductions of
their ancestors.

"Many craft brewers are brewing beer styles they've never tasted
before, working from texts and technical information," says Mark
Ruedrich, brewmaster at North Coast Brewing Co. in Fort Bragg
(Mendocino County). "Imperial stout, for example, was nonexistent in
1980 in Britain; it was an extinct style."

IPAs and imperial stouts were originally brewed to greater strength to
help them travel better - to India and Russia, respectively. While
that preservative quality isn't necessary today, brewers value these
styles for their history and the intensity of flavor that alcoholic
strength can bear.

The alcohol, sugar and hops in today's even stronger versions offer
strong aging potential as well. "You can get pretty amazing
longevity," says brewmaster Don Gortemiller of Pacific Coast Brewing
Co. in Oakland, citing the example of a 10 to 12 percent Ballantine's
Burton Ale, brewed in 1946, which he says had developed incredible
complexity when he recently tasted it.

Typically, over time, hoppy bitterness fades (like a wine's tannins),
flavors marry and the long, slow exposure to oxygen adds sherry-like
notes. Craft brewers first started hitting the double digits in the
early '90s, and several brewers feel those beers, if cellared
properly, are showing well today.

Few old-world role models exist, but one, Eggenberger's Samichlaus,
shows what it takes to reach 14 percent or beyond: the right yeast.
"The Hurlimann yeast they use is 99 percent of that beer; without that
yeast they can't do anything," says its importer, Martin Wetten of
Sterling, Va.

Other brewers use a series of yeasts, starting with something
traditional, then moving to Champagne yeasts and on to so-called
killer yeasts like the Hurlimann to keep nudging up the alcohol level.
Adam Avery, brewmaster at Avery Brewing in Colorado, points out that
even the right yeasts can be tricky; if fermentation goes too quickly,
they can go dormant or die, unable to expel the alcohol from their own
cells quickly enough.

Several West Coast breweries have successful creations in the double
digits. In San Francisco, local brewpubs 21st Amendment Brewery and
Magnolia Pub & Brewery celebrate their headier products with "Strong
Beer Month" each February. And where many stronger beers are available
only in the bottle, they also offer the beers on tap.

The beers the two pubs are featuring as "strong" range from 8.5 to
11.2 percent alcohol; however, two brewers on the East Coast, Boston
Beer Co. and Delaware's Dogfish Head, are taking things even further.

Boston Beer founder Jim Koch says he's not following historical
precedent; he's setting it; Samuel Adams Utopias, at 26 percent, is
the company's strongest beer yet. "One hundred years from now people
will be making their own version of Utopias," Koch says. "The
fundamental characteristics are different; it's an entirely new form
of beer. The alcohol becomes a significant flavor component, and
you're painting with a different palette."

They use the same techniques as Avery and others to get all that
alcohol: the right yeast strains in carefully controlled, slow
fermentations; barrel aging, blending and no carbonation, they found,
were the best means to balance the heady results.

Dogfish Head President Sam Calagione disagrees, and feels that higher
alcohol doesn't have to mean abandoning traditional beer styles. He
makes three beers that hover around the 20 percent mark, with a host
of others in the 10 to 15 percent range. While unconventional
techniques and ingredients are de rigueur at Dogfish Head, their
beers' ancestries are generally clear, whereas Utopias seems more at
home alongside Port and Cognac.

Not everyone agrees that all that alcohol is a good thing. In Santa
Rosa, Russian River Brewing's Vinnie Cilurzo makes a triple IPA, Pliny
the Younger, that tops out at 11 percent. Over that, he says, there is
too much alcohol and too much sweetness. Importer Dan Shelton believes
that craft brewers, lacking the economies of scale of big brewers, use
higher alcohol levels to justify higher prices. For beer drinkers, he
says, "It's a macho thing. There's this idea that the high-alcohol
stuff is the real stuff." He imports many Belgian beers and
acknowledges that the stronger ones generally sell better - in the
United States.

In Belgium, Brouwerij de Regenboog brewmaster Johan Brandt sees no
such trend, and in 2000 another brewery, Scaldis, which has long made
Belgium's strongest beer, at 12 percent, introduced its 7 percent
Cuvee des Trolls because it found that younger beer drinkers were
looking for something lighter and more refreshing.

Another argument against these beers will sound familiar to wine
drinkers: In a competition or tasting lineup, a beer's extra alcohol
can overpower a subtler competitor, even if the less-alcoholic beer is
more flavorful. Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, an
American trade group, says it has become enough of a problem that this
year, judges at the Great American Beer Festival were given special
training in recognizing alcoholic content and its effect on flavor and
body.

High-alcohol wines are also often faulted for overpowering most food.
Do beers face the same difficulty? Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at
Brooklyn Brewery and author of "The Brewmaster's Table," says pairing
with entrees can be difficult; strong beers work best at the end of
the meal, with cheese or dessert. Chocolate in particular seems a
brewers' favorite pairing for the strongest, darker beers.

On the other hand, if you're having one of these beers, you may not
need dessert. Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA has 450 calories before
you even pick up a fork, and it's not alone. If your lightweight
friend is drinking these beers, he may build a tolerance - and he
won't stay lightweight for long.

Tasting notes
Owing to their lengthier brewing process and other factors, many high-
alcohol beers are only available on a seasonal basis. All of these
breweries have distribution in California aside from Dogfish Head,
which will begin distribution here in April.

Samuel Adams Utopias ($140, 24 ounces, 25.6%) Walnut, caramel and dark
fruit aromas; very sweet and rich, with some prickliness from the
alcohol.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA ($7, 12 ounces, 20%) Full-bodied and
extremely hoppy, with notes of apricot, orange zest and toasted
hazelnut. Moderately sweet and lightly carbonated, with a touch of
heat on the finish.

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout ($9, 12 ounces, 18%) Full, fairly dry,
with light carbonation and only a touch of alcoholic heat. Shows lots
of bitter chocolate and roasted espresso aromas, as well as notes of
molasses and dates.

Avery Brewing Mephistopheles Stout ($10, 12 ounces, 15.1 %) Licorice,
dark chocolate and prune aromas dominate, with espresso and fruitier
touches on the finish. Very smooth and round.

Brouwerij de Regenboog't Smisje BBBourgondier ($6.50, 11.2 ounces,12%)
Fruit-driven, with plum and cherry aromas along with toffee, malt and
light coffee notes. Full and mildly sweet.

Brasserie Dubuisson Scaldis ($4.50, 8.45 ounces, 12%) Shows malt,
caramel and yeasty touches alongside notes of toasted hazelnut and
floral hoppiness. Fairly dry, but still smooth, with well-integrated
alcohol.

North Coast Brewing Old Stock Ale ($4, 12 ounces, 11.7%) Complex, with
fruit aromas of figs and quince complemented by caramel, toffee and
brown sugar touches. Dry, and somewhat bitter on the finish.

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws ($5.50, 12 ounces, 11.5%) Piney hops and
some fruit on the nose, with toffee and caramel coming through on the
palate. Fairly dry, with a bitter touch on the finish.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1998 ($8, 12 ounces, 11.5%) Rich and flavorful,
with brown sugar, molasses and pipe tobacco aromas offset by notes of
dates and prunes as well as a serious licorice touch. Full-bodied,
with great length and moderate sweetness.

Pacific Coast Brewing, Imperial Stout ($4.50, 1 pint, at Pacific Coast
Brewing Co., 10%) Lots of malt, cocoa and espresso aromas, with malty
flavors emerging on the palate. Somewhat sweet, and quite full and
rich.

- Jim Clarke

Jim Clarke is a New York City writer and wine director at Megu
restaurant. E-mail him at .

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg.../WILQTSUB1.DTL

This article appeared on page F - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle