Month: July 2014

I met Pau - the brewer at Cervesera Alcoiana - while gypsy brewing at a craft brewery not far from where he brews. Pau is partners with Toni, operating Cervesera Alcoiana and brewing the house brand Cervesa Spigha as well as a few contract beers. What impressed me about Pau was his passion for making good beer, and his voracious appetite for reading anything he can find about brewing.

So when I knew I was returning to Spain, I contacted Pau and asked if he would like to collaborate. Pau and Toni said "Let's do it." so we started talking about what specialty beer would express something about the brewery, and the region wherein it lies. The town of Alcoy in Spain is know for producing a coffee liquor called Licor de Café. We decided a Robust Porter with a Spanish coffee blend was the beer to make.

I pulled together a recipe and brewed a pilot batch. The challenge was getting both a medium roast bean from Spain that they call "Café Natural", and a special process roasted bean called "Café Torrefaco". Torrefacto is coffee beans roasted with an addition of sugar that deeply caramelizes and coats the beans in shiny blackness. The process adds a character similar to the torched sugar on the top of crème brûlée. And I wanted a touch of that character in this beer. And the pilot batch was frankly fantastic.

So with a couple tweaks to make it even better, and scale up to the volume brewed at Spigha, I sent the recipe off with enough time for them to pull the ingredients together before brew day.

There's a few people to thank for getting this beer done right in addition to Pau and Toni. First, my friend Manu Pérez Sánchez from Valencia Spain who drove us out to Alcoy (about 90 minutes from Valencia). Jackz Maertens of Illuminati Brewery (a German trained brewer) for coming along and for his assistance at the brewery. And also Mitch Steele head brewer from Stone Brewing Co. for his tips on using coffee in a big dark beer.

Ok, enough chit-chat. On to the photos.

¡Salud!
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I suggested we brew again, and Alberto loves the idea.

Here's the thing about Mateo & Bernabé. First, Alberto is a good brewer - and by my standards he's making some of the best beers in Spain. Before he became a pro-brewer, he was a pro-chef. So he knows taste, balance, and nuance. We need more people with his skills making beer. Second, they have a very functional and efficient brew system. They get awesome efficiency (sugar production from grains), and there's no surprises. I calculate a recipe and the only concern that crosses my my mind is it might be too strong.

But too strong is anything but a concern when Alberto says in an email, "Let's do something radical like an American Double IPA." No, seriously - an American Double IPA in Spain just isn't (or, hadn't been) done. So I reply, "Are you sure? An American DIPA will be 9% alcohol or more, and 100 IBU, with huge late additions of hops. What % ABV and IBU do you want?" Alberto answers "10% ABV and 100IBU." I LOLed - seriously, I laughed out loud when I read his response. First, because Alberto's got some big brass brewers balls to bring a beer so huge to the Spanish Market. And second, because I get to help bring the first truly American West Coast DIPA to Spain. All the Double IPAs I have tried there are more like English Barley Wines than American DIPAs.

Then Alberto says, "Let's make two beers." First we discuss a Belgian Quad aged in Pedro Ximénez Sherry Barrels - which would be Godly - but he can't get the Belgian Candi Syrup we need to do it right in time for brew day. So I ask him to send me his inventory. I review it and suggest a White IPA with locally grown hops for mild bittering, and American IPA styled flavor and aroma hops. Alberto gives it the thumbs up. So the second beer will be a WIPA.

Now we're talking! Two hop flavor and aroma forward, bleeding edge beer styles that have not yet been done right (by my experience) in Spain. Time to show budding craft beer consumers - they call them "frikis" - in Spain what hops are all about. Not bitterness - I'm talking flavors and aromas. Hop bursting - big late hop additions, and huge dry hop additions. American Northwest hops supported by designer hops like Simcoe and some fruity delicious New Zealand hops.

Both the Double IPA and the White IPA will be an awakening for the Spanish craft beer market. And they would be great beers in the US market. Unfortunate for us, we may not see them imported to the US. At least not the first batch. So in consolation, I offer some photos of the brew day.

We were joined by Dom of Drinking Spanish - who was also a chef before being seduced by craft beer - and is studying for a Beer Sommelier certification.

Cheers!
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So my friends - especially my friends in Spain - may ask, "Pardon me, but what the hell is a White IPA?" And that's a fair question. Especially since you will have, in Spain, a White IPA that Alberto and I brewed at Mateo & Bernabé in La Rioja Spain in a few weeks.

The use of the style name "White IPA" is fairly new. And only in the past few years do we see examples from Deschutes, Anchorage Brewing, El Segundo Brewing, and a few others. The first I ever brewed was last year in a collaboration with my friend Dan at Out of the Park Pizza - a Double India Witte we called "Dwight".

The roots of a White IPA come from the base beer, which is the Belgian Witbier. So the backbone underlying the presentation of hops should be:

• A light colored beer, slightly cloudy from the wheat, with aggressive carbonation and a full head
• A crisp and light malt profile expressing the pepper and clean sweetness of wheat
• The presence of peppery, mildly Belgian funky, and fruity yeast esters

Which means the hop selection is a bit tricky. Too dank, herbal/savory , or resinous an you'll step all over the refreshing characteristics in the Witbier base. Trickier still, you have to layer the hops with clean bittering as a backnote to support the hop freshness forward target - from late hop bursting, and dry hopping - appropriate to the style.

You want a crisp and refreshing beer, with a big head and aggressive carbonation, slightly bitter and peppery, with a nice punch of fresh citrus, herbs, and peppery spice to finish it off. And this White IPA Alberto and I brewed should have all this, and more.

Why more? I'm sitting in a hotel room in Zaragoza Spain tuning up the recipe for this WIPA, thinking "crispy, funky, bright, citrusy, peppery, herbal/fresh". An email comes in with a photo from Alberto. He says, How about Lemon Thyme and fresh Valencia Orange Zest for the White IPA? I quickly answered, "We are thinking the same - that's perfect."

This WIPA will be:

• About 7% ABV
• About 41 IBU
• Under 5 SRM (9 EBC) - light color and slightly cloudy
• Blossoming with hop aromas and flavors

This is another beer, like the DIPA we brewed, that will be an awakening for the Spanish Craft Beer market. And I salute Alberto of Mateo & Bernabé for the bravery and forward thinking he is showing, to bring the leading edge interpretation of the Double IPA and White IPA to Spain.

Again, this beer is a special release and may not make it to the USA as an import. I envy you my Spanish friends. You will get to drink it.

Un Abrazo,
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