The Naked Pint (9 page)

Today the craft beer world is thriving in America and abroad. Craft beers are available at grocery and liquor stores and are showing up in bars and restaurants all over the globe in big numbers. Though the mammoth breweries still reap high sales of light pasteurized lagers, the business of craft beer sees a steady rise each year, and beer drinking among both sexes and many different age groups grows annually. The history of craft beer’s revolution has only just begun ...

Now that you are undoubtedly impressed by beer’s grand history, it’s time to carry that weight by creating your own criteria for evaluating this ancient, beloved beverage. No pressure, we’re not requesting an essay of 400 words or less. No need to attempt to write out a fivepage outline for beer tasting, or a Haiku about hops (but if you do the latter,
please
send it to us!). We just want you to know a good thing when you drink it. This is up to you and your palate, of course. After all, you are going to have preferences of style and flavor that will differ from those of other beer lovers, but you may find as you go that many agree on what makes for an exceptional beer. Those who have been tasting for years can have wonderful insight into the quality of each brewer’s creation.

We’re offering up our favorite terms that we use to describe great beer. To us, these are
balance
,
quintessential
,
unique
,
iconic
, and
rare
. You may come up with a whole different set of guidelines—and more power to you—but we find that most beers we give an A+ to will deserve to be in at least one, if not several, of these categories.

Balance is admired in food and wine and, yes, beer. This balance is a balance of flavor components. The sweetness of the malt must be balanced by some drying or bitter hops, the alcohol must not be too overbearing, the carbonation should be at a perfect point for the beer. Needless to say, it takes many batches of brew to achieve this kind of success. And it may take brewers years to achieve the kind of balance they want in one particular recipe. Of course, sometimes you crave super-sweet, super-bitter, super-sour, and other extremes; you aren’t always necessarily looking for balance in these instances. We’re referring to the moments reserved for beers that blend all of the flavors and ingredients together into a seamless experience. It’s like when an outfit comes together—when you’re wearing the dress, it’s not wearing you; when the tie is not too loud but classic. These beers offer a subtlety, in which different flavors are present but one doesn’t overtake the other. These are the beers you want when you want the best.

For us, a balanced beer often means it finishes dry, without being bitter, leaving your palate clean and ready for more drink or food. This is somewhat subjective, however, because dry in the wine world has become a description of the best as well. People seem to admire a drink that keeps the sweetness in check, one that has a nice backbone of tannins without being too astringent or bitter. Of course one’s sensitivity to bitterness varies widely; sometimes we’ll offer someone a beer we would describe as dry, and they find it too bitter. This means their sensitivity to hops is high, either because they are new to the flavor or because they just prefer a sweeter or crisper beer. But even among sweet beers, one can strike more of a balance in comparison to others.

Balance can even apply to a hoppy IPA if the bitterness is married with a nice fruity malty background, balancing out the bitter. Every style can have an element of this balance. Sometimes it means that the complexity of flavors is almost impossible to name, simply because they come together so well. Beers that aren’t balanced often present their ingredients separately on your taste buds. The flavor of the malt, hops, and yeast are all present, but they stand apart rather than overlapping with each other. This isn’t bad, but it’s not balanced and, therefore, not great. Again, there are times when you just want to taste hops or sweet chocolate; although we acknowledge such extremes, we wouldn’t count beers like that among the elite. Here are some beers that have achieved balance:

To us,
quintessential
means a beer that perfectly fulfills its style, as in the quintessential Kölsch or the quintessential American IPA. This doesn’t mean it’s necessarily, though it often is, our favorite within a style, but it is the beer that we think best represents the original intention, the tradition, the history of that style. It represents the essence of the style. This is important to us because we find that many people spit out a beer simply because they are comparing it to a completely different style of beer. Some people will drink a British Pale Ale and call it bland because it is not as hoppy as an American IPA; others try a traditional sour Gueuze and make a mean face because it’s not sweet like the Lambics they’re used to drinking. Yes, you may have a personal preference, but it’s important to recognize that the brewer’s intention, based on the style, is different. Otherwise, it’s like comparing Pollock to Titian,
The Godfather
to
Caddyshack
, Hunter S. Thompson to Jane Austen—all great, but extremely different and from different genres. If you judge a beer with the style in mind, you may find that your appreciation of the style will grow. Finding a great representation of your least favorite style may change your mind about that style.

Oftentimes the quintessential beer within a style will be found in the country of its origin. The quintessential Rauchbier will most likely be found in Bamberg, Germany; the quintessential Abbey Ale, in Belgium. But because yeast and hops and malt can be shipped around, it is possible that the quintessential beer of a style is far from its origin. All being fair in beer, Americans can replicate an English beer to a tee if they choose to and possess the skill. And comparing one country’s creation against the other, within style, is acceptable. Just know the guidelines for a style and be aware of the brewing tradition if you want to find those beers that are quintessential. If the Hefeweizen is a true Bavarian style, look for the traditional banana and clove esters, the touch of sour; don’t judge it by the guidelines for a Saison. Speak the truth, find the essence. Here are a few quintessential brews: