Springtime For Beer

Originally published March 3, 2010

One of the best things about living in Northern California is that the spring weather arrives a little earlier than in many other parts of the country. Spring beer also arrives early, with strong, heavy beers giving way to lighter, though still flavorful seasonal styles.

March used to signal the end of the brewing season in the days before refrigeration, when the weather became too warm to brew. In Germany, they brewed beer for Oktoberfest, known as Marzen — German for March — in the waning weeks of the season. Today, of course, marzens are made year-round.

Similarly, in France and Belgium, they brew Biere de Mars, or March beer. It’s similar to the Biere de Garde style — light and malty with a hint of spices — and is meant to be enjoyed immediately. Several American craft brewers, including Jolly Pumpkin, New Belgium and Ommegang, also make this beer.

A six-pack of spring seasonals

If you missed trying this year’s Pliny the Younger, Russian River Brewing’s triple IPA, which sold out in eight hours, there’s still plenty of spring seasonals left to sample. Be sure to pick up some 21st Amendment Monk’s Blood before it’s all gone, too. Here are a few more worth drinking this season.

Deschutes Red Chair: This spring, Deschutes is replacing its other red seasonal, Cinder Cone, with Red Chair, which they describe as a Northwest Pale Ale. Though it uses seven different malts, without which it would be called an IPA, it’s true character comes from the citrusy American hops that define it and make it a joy to drink.

Drake’s Expedition Ale: Technically an American-style red or amber ale, it’s loaded with so many hops, Cascade and Chinook primarily, that they describe it as a “dark IPA.” And that seems correct — not quite a black IPA but pretty darn close, with rich malt and tangy grapefruit hops playing quite well together in a beer that is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Gordon Biersch Dunkelweizen: This may be my favorite beer by Dan Gordon. Trained at Germany’s famous Weihenstephan brewing school, Gordon knows his German-style beers, but this dark wheat beer is just about perfect. Rich malt and light wheat character marry to make a great food beer, especially when paired with heavy meat dishes.

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot: This is yet another original seasonal beer from the crazy-like-a-foxtrot brewers at Lagunitas. It’s an imperial brown, meaning it’s light-bodied like a brown ale, but with rich roasted and chocolate notes, similar to a stout. At nearly 8 percent a.b.v., it’s almost twice as strong as the average brown ale.

Pyramid Fling Pale Ale: Pyramid’s new seasonal brew is their first pale ale in several years. In addition to American Nugget and Willamette hops, Fling is also made with a new experimental hop that’s a hybrid of American Cascades and English Fuggles. The new hop variety gives an interesting tang that balances this otherwise sweeter pale ale nicely.

Samuel Adams Noble Pils: Boston Beer’s latest seasonal is a spicy pilsner, using five noble hop varieties. Noble hops are a bit elusive, with not everyone agreeing on which varieties should be included on the list. Many experts say there are just four while others believe there are as many as eight, but whichever list you agree with, their character is clear. These are some of the oldest hop varieties and they impart soft, spicy character with floral and strong spicy aromas.