The Naked Pint (34 page)

Because of the high alcohol content and big flavor, Barleywines benefit from aging in barrels, and this common old English practice continues today. The aging can help mellow out the intensity and add dryness, which comes from the tannins in the wood barrels. If not aged in wood, simply the passage of time helps mellow these ales, just as it does for wine. Beer enthusiasts love to taste different vintages of Barleywine from the same producer, noting how the recipes for each year vary and how time can make one more nuanced than the other. These ales are released in the winter, which makes sense; nothing better than a rich Barleywine to warm you up in the cooler months. Here are some recent favorites:

To us, a Quadrupel is sort of like a double-double Abbey Ale. It’s a name sometimes given to super-strong Trappist, Abbey, and Abbey-style ales. They are the extreme beer of the Belgians, big and burly, fruity and full of spirit. Many beers are now calling themselves Quadrupel to make it known that they are brewed in the style of the Belgian Trappist beers, but bigger. There is much debate as to whether a Quadrupel is actually a true beer style. The Beer Judges Certification Program doesn’t recognize the Quadrupel as a style, instead relegating many of these beers to a Belgian Strong Ale or Belgian Specialty Ale category. Official beer style or not, if you hear the word
quadrupel
, expect a super-malty and viscous sweet beer with notes of cherries, plums, figs, and sometimes chocolate, with lots of heat in the exhaust. The ABV on these Belgian bad boys usually
starts
at 10%, so strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. Check out these Quads:

T
here comes a time in every beer drinker’s life when you break through a beer barrier. A time when you drink a beer that your mother never would. A time when you try a beer that makes you stop after your first sip and go, “Whoa . . . is this good or bad? Is this the best beer I’ve had in my life or has something gone terribly wrong? Is this even beer?” Yes, we’re talking about sour beers here, folks. Sour beers are at once complex and acerbic and wonderfully and painfully tart. It’s the kind of pain that fulfills your desires and keeps you coming back for more. If a Pilsner is the nice comfortable down pillow of the beer world, sour beer is the leather whip. So coordinate your safe word with your respective craft beer drinking partner(s), and let’s start experimenting with sour beers that hurt oh so good.

To ease you into sour beers, the first style we’re going to talk about is the light and refreshing beer local to the city of Berlin called (what else?) Berliner Weisse. As the
Weisse
in the name suggests, the majority of this beer style’s malt source comes from wheat, so this beer is technically classified as a wheat beer (see Chapter 3). However, because the flavor profile of this beer is so different from that of a typical wheat, we felt that it actually belonged in the sour beer section.

Berliner Weisse beers are known throughout Germany as summer refreshers and thirst quenchers. They are lemony and super light bodied, with an ABV usually around 3% or even less. However, in addition to using normal ale top fermentation, Berliner Weisse brewers also use a lactic bacterial fermentation called
Lactobacillus
(see Chapter 9), which gives this beer style a flavor punch with a sizzle of puckering sour lactic acidity, much like the zing found in wine from malic acid. In addition to the acidity, these beers are effervescent and super dry, and have virtually no hop bitterness.