Beer, Wine & Spirits: Barrels, wild yeast spur the U.S. beer renaissance

Back in the days when the American beer scene was one of the world’s least complicated, choosing a brew was often simply a case of picking “regular” or “light.” Thankfully, that’s no longer the case.

In fact, the domestic beer scene is now one of the most fascinating brewing cultures on the planet. Today, the average selection in any given restaurant or retail store presents a mosaic of styles that would have been unimaginable only a handful of years ago. Yet while this is unquestionably a positive development, it is one that can prove as confounding as it is compelling.

From time to time it is useful to pause and consider the movements that are driving these changes in the industry. One such trend is the current shift toward sour beers. Inspired by several Belgian beer styles that use the micro-organism Brettanomyces to fully dry and partially sour the beer, notably the spontaneously-fermented lambics of the Senne Valley near Brussels, numerous American brewers have begun experimenting with the Brett bacteria in their own beers. A handful of more “out there” brewers are also attempting domestic versions of wild-yeast-fermented ales, but in such small quantities as to be of interest only to the most committed of beer connoisseurs.

When completed, these beers range from hoppy, bitter ales imbued with bone-drying tartness to fruit beers reminiscent of rosé Champagnes and complex, faintly sour strong ales. Usually, these beers’ labels will make reference to the souring element, serving both as an advertisement for aficionados and a word of warning for more tentative drinkers.

Often, Brettanomyces-fermented beers will also spend time in wooden barrels, thus tying them to not one but two popular current trends. Barrel aging of beer shows no signs of waning, with wine, port and even Scotch whisky casks having joined used bourbon barrels in the storage houses of numerous breweries. While typically used to impart bourbon’s classic fruity vanilla notes to strong and dark ales, a growing trend is to use shorter amounts of barrel exposure to season less potent and lighter hued pale ales and India Pale Ales, or IPAs, and even more subtly nuanced, Belgian-style blonde ales.

Then, of course, there’s the seasonal-beer trend that has resulted in a minor boom in wheat beers of all varieties. Light bodied and well-suited to summer, these usually warm-fermented brews can be made in a variety of styles, including German, or fruity and clove-accented, and Belgian, or spiced with orange peel, coriander and other seasonings. They also can be just lighter versions of American golden ales.

Well-hopped IPAs are also making a mark in the domestic beer scene. It has become de rigueur for craft breweries to include an IPA in their portfolios, and American patrons have developed a real thirst for the beer’s aggressive, and frequently quite grapefruity, bitterness.