Brewer Q & A (Issue 20)

95 Rating – Full Sail Brewing Co. – Full Sail ESB 

Responses from Full Sail brewer Barney Brennan.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?  
Barney: This was a Full Sail brewing team collaboration.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?  
Barney: The unique hop aroma and flavor from the exclusive use of Challenger hops.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
Barney: Our Northwest style coupled with a respect for tradition.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”  
Barney: I could drink this one forever in Hood River, [Oregon, Full Sail's hometown] but for the tropics I would choose Full Sail Pilsner.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Barney: Complex malt flavors balanced with spicy, earthy hops -- deliciously drinkable.

BC: Do you know a story -- or have a personal story -- that revolves around this beer?  
Barney: This beer was born from our brewing team’s annual visit to the hop fields to select ingredients from the new harvest. The Challenger hops were not on our shopping list, but they were so fantastic we had to buy some and build a beer around them. Though it was originally a pub-only release, it was so well received that we decided to keep it going and share it with our friends nationwide.

94 Rating – Wicked Weed Brewing – White Angel

Responses from Wicked Weed owner and "head blender" Walt Dickinson.

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
Walt: I did. Remember, Luke [Dickinson, Walt's brother and Wicked Weed co-brewmaster] hates sour beer. ;-)

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
Walt: Growing up in the South, I have always been enamored with our wild grapes. There is a Belgian Geuze flavor that I always associate with Muscadine grapes, so for me, naturally, it was an ingredient that I wanted to work with at some point. There is a wildness and rustic flavor to this local grape that fits so beautifully with the pastoral character of Brettanomyces. This beer has three pounds of grapes per gallon, so the grape character of the beer is almost wine-like. 

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
Walt: Black Angel, our Bourbon Barrel-Aged Black Sour with Michigan tart cherries, was the first Angel and the second sour beer we ever made at Wicked Weed. It quickly became, and still is, one of the most sought after beers we produce. After its success, I was inspired to create more Angels that used color as an inspiration. White Angel is 1 of 4 we have released this year -- it represents the white muscadine grape. The others are Red Angel with raspberries, Golden Angel with apricots, and the yet-to-be-released Angel of Darkness with… well, I would tell you what's in it, but then I'd have to kill you.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Walt: No. This beer is really complex with tons of acid and fruit character, and it's crafted to be savored in special moments. If I drank it every day it would ruin the beer for me. My desert island beer would be a beer from Brasserie De La Senne called Tarass Boulba.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Walt: Muscadine, Tart, Muscadine, Lemon Pith, Muscadine, Old Hay, Muscadine, Plum Skin… I think that was actually 11, so you can omit one Muscadine.

BC: Do you know a story -- or have a personal story -- that revolves around this beer?
Walt: Just the fantasy that our brand manager Erin Jones wrote for the label: "The great Nor'ester lashed its white fury across the barren, blinding hinterland. Polar isolation drove deep into the desolate hearts of the clansmen. From the faith for a night without desperate cold, the White Angel was manifest. His stealth and clandestine canter silenced the stinging winds. Stillness settled across the boreal nighttime, metered only by the pulse of the Great Lights. Warmth displaced cold, tempest turned to peace, and kinship overcame obscurity."