An exploration of the world’s most important and influential beers, those that have been much imitated but rarely equaled, and what makes them tick. Earlier entries in the series: Schlenkerla Märzen, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Schneider Weisse, Fuller’s ESB, Grant’s IPA, Pilsner Urquell, Anchor Steam, Orval.
The story of Bass Pale Ale charts the course of English brewing over the past two centuries. To tell Bass’ story is to describe the rise of the most important brewing nation at the most important time in brewing history.
What’s the best German pilsner? Only a fool would dare answer such a question. But important?—that might be easier to answer. In a field of beers with descending punchiness, one pilsner has managed to remind us that this is a bitter style of beer.
If you see the phrase “Czech dark lager” on a taplist, you may wonder about the story behind the style. To find the source, you have to start at a brewpub that has been making beers for over five centuries at the center of Prague.
Schwarzbiers aren’t the most popular lagers on American taplists, but they’re fairly common. If it hadn’t been for one brewery, there might be none at all. This is the 500-year story of the most famous black lager brewery, Köstritzer.
Among living beer styles, rare is the is the case where a single beer accounts for the survival of a whole tradition, but it’s mostly true in the case of saison. Well, a single beer, an English writer, and an American importer.
Pliny was a bright light in the fog. Despite its hurricane of flavors, it was more focused, refined, and elegant than other IPAs of the day. With the benefit of time, we can see that it reset expectations about what was possible, pointing to the future we now inhabit.
Pay close attention to what pours from the cask engines of English pubs, and you’ll notice the beer has gotten juicer and more daring. Even old-school breweries have tuned up their ales. This change owes a lot to today’s classic, Thornbridge Jaipur IPA.
Guinness is treated as if it is one beer, not a brewery. Like Pacifico or Heineken, naming the company names the beer. Yet the beer we think of when we name the brewery doesn't date to 1759, but two hundred years later. Here's its story:
Located in the West Flanders city of Roeselare, Rodenbach has been making dark ales for 200 years in a brewery that inspires the reverence of an old church. The brewery’s history, their process, and the beer’s quality make Grand Cru one of the most important beers in Belgium.
Today we visit the hidden land of Franconia, lately a font of lager types Americans are embracing. The most visible ambassador is Mahr’s oddly-named Ungespundet, a perfect example of what makes Franconia so special.