On Obscure Beer Styles...

It depends on what your definition of "obscure" is. These days I feel like a pilsner is obscure.

Even worse for bitters, milds, Helles.....

 

Biere de Champagne shouldn't be too hard to find: DeuS (http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/202/7661/)

As far as how it is? Tastes like Champagne (dry). meh.

 

Finding an obscure style is one thing, finding an authentic one is another. Breweries take enormous liberties when labelling their beers.Look at Saisons and Kolsches , most are as authentic as my Mona Lisa.

 

I just go with the flow. If I see a beer style I haven't had yet at a bar and I am in the mood I will give it a shot. As far as seeking it out… Sounds like too much work that could detract from the pleasure of beer.

 

Start home brewing. Make every style you've never had. Great hobby and goal achieved!

 

I've seen DeuS and both Malheur Brut bottles in quite a few shops over in South Jersey. Occasionally I'll run across them here in Philly too, if you know where to look.

On the other hand, commercial Kvass proved hard to locate. Had to track them down at a Russian supermarket in the NE.

 

Don't go out of your way to buy DeuS - bought a bottle in Belgium but it was pretty uninspiring given the price - I found it has a slight meaty taste - not that appetizing! Of the friends I shared it with, most weren't that impressed, though one loved it so obviously depends on your tastebuds!

Faro should be easy (and cheap) to find. Happoshu is near-impossible, from my experience.

 

I want more Lichtenhainers.

 

The term obscure is probably what you make of it. A lot of the stuff from Ron P's site/articles show beers that are unique and only brewed in a couple locations (if that) and you have to go there to get any.
In terms of style I'd love to try more of - I'd still love to try another Dutch Oud Bruin. They're nothing like the Belgian versions and I've never had anything like one before or since.

 

I have tried a beer from every style listed on BA, and I would say that it's worth it to try every style at least once.

 

See, the thing is..Kvass is Kvass. It's not a beer. You don't "brew" it. All you need is some old stale rye bread, water and yeast. It is a fermented beverage, but it's not a beer nor a beer style. That stuff in platic bottles is a poor example of it really suppose to taste like. Nothing's better than homemade kvass. Also, it's a non-alcoholic beverage in countries that it's originated in (Russia and Ukraine). The better spelling is "kvas". It should be sourish/sweet and very dark in color. NO hops are used in the making of it.

npr link:http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...e-you-tough-enough-to-drink-real-russian-kvas
Beaver Brewing: http://www.beaverbrewingcompany.com/beers-2/kvass

 

Thanks for the NPR link. Hadn't come across that one.

I'm familiar with what kvass is - how it's made, what it's made and not made of. I've spent more time than most reading up on it. I've made it several times using recipes I've found in online articles written by Russian people about Russian foods and some from the little book by the guy from Beaver Brewing.

I also understand that there are countless 'bogus' kvasses on the market - sweetened, mock kvass - many made without even using bread. Can't say I've actually had kvass in Europe or from the bottles/cans they sell at that market near me yet. I've only had what I've made. So I myself still have some experience to gain with it.

The point of the OPs thread, I think, was about seeking out some of the more "obscure" "beer styles" listed on the BA style page. Kvass happens to be listed there.

Also - curious what exactly you mean when you say, "you don't 'brew' it". Thanks for the comment!

 

What I was trying to say is that you just use stale rye bread, water and yeast. There's no boiling/cooking.

 

They will likely be closer to style than most

 

I had a feeling you might've meant something about the no-boil part. If we were to put "brewing" in that type of context, we could also have issue with Sahti, the Finnish style.

I made one once (can't wait to make it again and make it better! verrrry interesting flavors) and, in the research I did to make sure I was doing things as traditionally as possible, found out that the wort is not to be boiled. If I remember right, you're not supposed to bring the wort over 158 F - I suppose so that the enzymes can continue to convert starches (it's a higher gravity drink), I forget. Anyway, it's not boiled, and cooled gradually before adding the yeast - which, might I add, I could not get the traditional, unique Finnish dry baker's yeast that gives off banana-like phenols similar to a Bavarian weizen - ended up using a Weihenstephaner yeast...

Similar methods here, huh? No boil. Dry yeast... The sugar content is most definitely derived from (mashed) malt though.

 

Whenever I travel to Flanders, I tend to drink a lot of Faro and unblended Lambic. They are some of my favorite beers, especially when served from the wooden keg. Bottled versions are, unfortunately, quite poor in comparison...and so I wouldn't necessarily seek them out Stateside. If you ever make it over there, however, I definitely would. Some of the places I have drunk them in -- Cantillon brewery and A la Becasse -- have pretty good atmosphere as well.

 

Faro as someone some time ago mentioned, is more so a better option on draft on the other side of the pond, claiming the bottled versions arent really true (considering that it is a sweetened lambic)

Biere Brut is one of my all time fav styles. Absolute MUST if you are a beer lover to try. Much fun too crack one with some flute glasses for a special occasion.

 

This article contained alot of interesting information on sahti, and it broadly corresponds with what I've read elsewhere on peasant brewing in Finland. In the 1700s, accounts on Finnish peasant brewing by Swedes and educated Finns talked dismissively of what was called Finsk lura. According to these accounts the Finns used a hollowed out tree trunk as a mash tun but they didn't boil the liquid, which was considered unwholesome by the Swedish and Finnish observers. Instead they used heated rocks dropped into the kuurna to heat the mash. Juniper twigs would be placed over the tap hole placed in one of the ends of the kuurna to allow for the liquid to pass through.


It is interesting to note here the traditional Finnish smoke-sauna, a windowless structure with a wood-fired fireplace with lose rocks placed on top of the fireplace. The same sauna could also be used to dry malt by placing the sprouted barley on an elevated wall structure. So in effect the same structure provided both the rocks and the malt needed for brewing.

 

Ahhh, I remember this article. Probably the most comprehensive of all I came across. Forgot about them mentioning the use of heated rocks.