By Rick Riozza
As is traditionally done in this wine column, we salute a fun summer of suds by clearing off the wine bar, grabbing a bucket of ice and plunking down a few bottles of lagers, ales, and IPAs. If we still have the energy, we scrounge around the freezer for beer mugs, check the pantry for pretzels and be on the look-out for some beer nuts & chips. A true thing can be said about us wine lovers: there’s a full appreciation of a lot of other good things.
Often there’s nothing more appealing than enjoying an ice cold beer on a hot summer’s day—let alone on our big-BIG Labor Day weekend. And while there is a panoply of foodie grilling treats and meats to savor, one of the easiest and tastiest things to throw on the grill are the “brats”—those bold and juicy Bratwurst sausages with their own unique flavor that can crave a craft beer all day long.
In a recent family get-away, we were invited to the Stone Brewery Company in Escondido to check out the amenities and taste some new brews on tap. Having visited Master Brewer Chris Anderson and the beer-making facilities over at our local CV Brewery a few times already, I didn’t feel the need to take the tour—especially in August, where it’s pretty hot, but I must say–that place is HUGE. It’s easily five to six times larger than the CVB! It puts out close to 300,000 barrels of brew a year! And here’s some beer-buzz: Stone Brewery is expanding its operations to the East Coast, and, to Bratwurst’s home country in Berlin Germany!
At Haggen Market in Rancho Mirage, where I’m the wine steward, we also have a “local Craft Beer” cold section which include many bottles of brews from CV, La Quinta Brewing, and Stone among many others. (In San Diego alone, there are close to 100 breweries!)
Back to the Stone Brewery—which is kind of a beer-Disneyland for suds-lovers. Airy and beautifully designed, take the tour, drink a beer at the bar, taste & drink a flight of beers at the bar, enjoy tastes at the Tap Room, enjoy the Bistro for lunch or dinner, take a stroll through the gardens, and find every T-shirt and accoutrement to keep one hoppy and happy. One can check out the entire scene at www.stonebrewery.com
We took the opportunity to chat with the lovely Whitney, who was working Tap Room—she’s been with the company for over seven years, and still enjoys the days with what she calls her “stone brewery family—it’s just like that!”
Certainly, most of us have had or at least heard of Stone’s famed Arrogant Bastard Ale. However, it seemed that everyone’s favorite ale was the Stone 19th Anniversary Thunderstruck IPA. As she poured the gold colored brew with a white head of foam, Whitney went on to talk about it, mirroring the tasting notes on-line:
“Our 19th anniversary beer brings the boom, delivering it to the palate in a voluminous, hop-driven thunderclap backed by the power of our brewing passion and intensity. This double IPA owes its considerable oomph to a quartet of Australian hops.
“The aroma is amazing; massively hoppy with exotic tropical fruit, peaches, citrus and pineapple characteristics, balanced with a bit of peppery-herbal dankness.
“Lots of fruity hop notes, ripe fruit, pleasantly malty and lasting intense bitterness. It’s medium bodied, bitter and dry.
“Over the last several years, we have developed an intense and thorough hop-evaluation program where we identify experimental, new or old-favorite hop varieties to evaluate, and these test beers are late-hopped and dry-hopped exclusively using the variety we are exploring. We have developed a real affinity for hops grown in Australia. In the case of Stone 19th Anniversary Thunderstruck IPA, we dry-hopped the beer with two Australian hop varietals that went through our evaluation program. Nick-named Vic Secret and Ella, both are flavorful varieties with complex fruit profiles.
“To make this beer even more authentically Australian, we also imported close to 400,000 pounds of an Australian malt called Fairview, all in 1,800-pound Super Sacks for use as the base malt. The result is a uniquely Australian beer, Stone-style. Thun-da!” Much thanks Whitney!
A really quick spiel on IPAs—India Pale Ale. The story is that when British brewers were making beer for export to India, it took a higher alcohol content to preserve the ale being shipped through the hot tropic zones; and, to keep a balance, full hop flavor with its intense bitterness was needed to match that alcohol.
Interestingly, the more experienced wine drinkers tend to really enjoy the hops and bitter quality of an American IPA with its citrus, pine, grass, or floral overtones. And typical beer grub like Buffalo chicken wings, Mexican food, burgers loaded with toppings, smoked oily fish, nachos, and of course spicy sausages like “brats” get an additional bump-up in the food & beer appreciation with an IPA.
Everyone says to grill up the “brats” low and slow—there’s always a concern that if the casing splits, a lot of the juices can escape. But that occurs if the brats are over-cooked!—no one wants that! But I like to grill them up hot and quick! Simply stay attentive—giving them char and turning them, they’ll be done in six minutes. And I love all brands of “brats”, but Johnsonville Original Bratwurst is so inexpensive and so delicious—why not relish them!
Bon Appétit & Cheers!
