The Naked Pint (21 page)
Authors: Christina Perozzi
Note:
This red ale is not to be confused with Flanders-style red ale, which is an altogether different thing (see Chapter 6).
This red ale is not to be confused with Flanders-style red ale, which is an altogether different thing (see Chapter 6).
Nuts to You: Browns and Nut Browns
THIS BEER’S FOR YOU IF YOU LIKE:
BROWNIES WITH WALNUTS. HAZELNUT LATTES. SESSION BEERS. ENGLAND. LOW ALCOHOL. NUTTY FLAVORS. LOW BITTERNESS.
BROWNIES WITH WALNUTS. HAZELNUT LATTES. SESSION BEERS. ENGLAND. LOW ALCOHOL. NUTTY FLAVORS. LOW BITTERNESS.
Brown, or Nut Brown, beer originated in England around 1600, and the Brits are still great producers and fans of this style. Brown Ales are a great showcase for malt in the same way that Hefeweizens and Witbiers are a great showcase for yeast. Drinking Nut Browns is a good way to test your palate on the different styles and roast levels of malt used in an ale. Of course there is a presence of both yeast and hops in this style, but they are meant to add a nuance of butterscotch or balance the sweetness of the malt, respectively. Describing a Brown Ale is a test of your nutty vocabulary: hazelnut, peanut, almond, filbert (wait, isn’t that a hazelnut?). As we always say, use words that you know when searching your brain for a way to describe the malty taste of these ales. Much of the malt itself is named after common foods: biscuit malt, chocolate malt, coffee malt, and so on. Other, more daring descriptors that pop up with Brown Ale flavor profiles include crème brulee, toffee, caramel, brownies, fudge, chocolate-chip cookies... (okay, now we’re just naming our favorite desserts).
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH REAL ALE?
You may hear a lot of chatter in the pub from beer lovers about Cask Ale or Real Ale. So does that mean that the Pale Ale in front of you is an illusion? Are all the beers on tap just pretending? And isn’t cask that beer you heard about in England? What’s the deal?
Real Ale (or cask-conditioned ale) is a term coined by Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), a voluntary group formed by four British beer devotees in 1973 in an attempt to protect the quality of English ale. This was a reaction to the spread of highly carbonated, pasteurized, boring beers taking over the pubs of Europe at the time. Traditionally, Real Ale is beer left to mature in an 11-gallon cask, where it undergoes a secondary fermentation (this is what is meant by conditioned). It is then served to the public from this same cask. It is understood that this beer will not be filtered or kept super cold (though it is kept cool) and therefore has a shelf life, meaning it is meant to be consumed fairly quickly and is not for the mass beer market. Because it is not filtered or pasteurized, and the yeast is still alive and fermenting, it is considered a living thing.
Typically, Cask Ale is served without the addition of the CO
2
pressure that is usually used to propel beer through modern draught systems. The CO
2
pressure added to modern beer kegs keeps the existing CO
2
in the beer from being released until it hits your glass. In Real or Cask Ales, the beer is preserved in its native state without this pressure. Because of this, Cask Ales tend to be flatter than typical draught beer, but this isn’t a bad thing; this is beer in its natural state, with as many bubbles as God intended.
2
pressure that is usually used to propel beer through modern draught systems. The CO
2
pressure added to modern beer kegs keeps the existing CO
2
in the beer from being released until it hits your glass. In Real or Cask Ales, the beer is preserved in its native state without this pressure. Because of this, Cask Ales tend to be flatter than typical draught beer, but this isn’t a bad thing; this is beer in its natural state, with as many bubbles as God intended.
Cask Ales favor some beer styles over others. Beers that are meant to contain their carbonation and be quite sparkly, such as Hefeweizens, may not be best on cask, whereas others that go well with a creamy, less-carbonated mouthfeel, like Brown Ales and Stouts, tend to show well on cask. In fact, the nitrogen taps, or “creamer faucets,” used for beers like Guinness were created in part to re-create the creamy mouthfeel of a Cask Ale. The lower carbonation allows different flavors to come through that may not be as present if the same beer is on a traditional tap.
Cask beer in the American craft beer world has become a highly desirable thing among its devotees, though still relatively rare in bars. In England, any respectable pub will have at least one cask tap, but American pubs aren’t used to the pump, and the general public isn’t savvy to the pleasures of cask. Those who are in the know actively seek out cask offerings. Cask beer lovers trade e-mails and constantly call specialty beer bars searching for Real Ale. A craft beer on cask can have quite a different flavor profile from that same beer on a regular tap, and this makes the experience desirable to beer lovers searching for the best and most rare.
Nut Browns are ales that use brown or dark malt and have relatively low bitterness, leaving the malt free to express its nutty characteristics. The alcohol is generally low, and these ales are often described as sweet. We find a lot of ladies respond well to the hazelnut, chocolate, caramel, toasty character of these ales, especially if they want something sweet but not necessarily fruity. Here are some great Brown Ales that can start you down that nutty road to happiness:
SAMUEL SMITH’S NUT BROWN ALE:
Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. Creamy and nutty, buttered bread, dry finish. 5% ABV.
NAUTICAL NUT BROWN ALE: AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, California. Roasted almonds, caramel, bitter hops. 4.8% ABV.
HAZELNUT BROWN NECTAR: Rogue Brewery, Newport, Oregon. Sweet American Brown, super hazelnutty, not bitter. 6.2% ABV.
SIXPOINT BROWNSTONE:Sixpoint Craft Ales, Brooklyn, New York. Chocolate, toffee, grassy bitter hops. 5.8% ABV.
SAMUEL SMITH’S NUT BROWN ALE:Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. Creamy and nutty, buttered bread, dry finish. 5% ABV.
HOW DOES A KEG WORK?
A keg—or, more appropriately, a half barrel—has a stainless-steel tube inside of it that goes all the way to the bottom. At the top is a spring-loaded ball valve that opens when you tap the beer. The beer keg has added CO
2
pressure to contain the carbonation until tapping. Once tapped, the CO
2
pressure mixed with the pressure of the gas in the beer line will force the beer through the line all the way to the pint glass. The top of the keg is attached to something called a coupler (a device used to tap the keg), which is attached to the beer line (a long plastic hose that hooks up to the tap system in the bar) and a CO
2
line (a line that hooks up to the gas system).
2
pressure to contain the carbonation until tapping. Once tapped, the CO
2
pressure mixed with the pressure of the gas in the beer line will force the beer through the line all the way to the pint glass. The top of the keg is attached to something called a coupler (a device used to tap the keg), which is attached to the beer line (a long plastic hose that hooks up to the tap system in the bar) and a CO
2
line (a line that hooks up to the gas system).
Now if you have ever gotten a keg for a party at home, you may remember that these have that hand pump thing (are you having high school flashbacks?). This pump pushes air into the keg, forcing beer to come out of the hose in the same way the CO
2
gas forces the beer out of the keg in a bar.
2
gas forces the beer out of the keg in a bar.
NAUTICAL NUT BROWN ALE: AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, California. Roasted almonds, caramel, bitter hops. 4.8% ABV.HAZELNUT BROWN NECTAR: Rogue Brewery, Newport, Oregon. Sweet American Brown, super hazelnutty, not bitter. 6.2% ABV.SIXPOINT BROWNSTONE:Sixpoint Craft Ales, Brooklyn, New York. Chocolate, toffee, grassy bitter hops. 5.8% ABV.
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