The art of blending beer
I would be willing to bet that the most exposure most of us have had to blended beer is a Black and Tan, you know, one of those beers where they pour a Guinness over a spoon onto a light beer. Even then, calling it blended is a bit of a stretch. I used to work at a little brewery called Thompson’s Ales and Public House many years ago. Most of our patrons enjoyed a very popular beer called Pole Ax. A few liked to mix it up a bit. Some would add some of the brewery’s famous Ruby Ale, a light raspberry beer, to the Terminator Stout, effectively creating The Rubinator. Those of us who worked the brewery laughed until the popularity of such blended drinks caught on, and we started actually recommending them to people.
The fact of the matter is that there is no room in the world of beer for snobbery. The most highly accomplished beer writer ever, Mr. Jackson, may he rest in peace, had so little snobbishness in his person or his writings, that it was difficult for some people to take him seriously.
It is in that spirit that I look forward to spending some time at Big Sky Brewing Co. tomorrow, where Matt Vandenberghe and Matt Bonney, of Brouwers/Bottleworks fame, will be blending their 11th Anniversary Ale out of various Big Sky beers. And if you’re a fan of Big Sky, you know they have some really interesting beers hidden away in the brewery’s cellars.
If you don’t know what Brouwers/Bottlworks are, just Google best beer shops and beer cafes in the country. They’re right at the top of the list.
Matt and Matt have no fear, or snobbishness, about what beer should be. They will, in fact, try almost anything if it seems interesting. And I love that about them and their overarching love for beer.
As for tomorrow, throw a third Matt into the mix, and you’ve got something magical. Big Sky’s Matt Long has a deep and abiding love for anything interesting in the beer world. And while he’s known for brewing some really great traditional styles, Matt’s wild beer side might surprise you. I’ll be updating the blog from the brewery, if that’s possible, and I hope to shoot some video interviews with all of the Matts. Stay tuned.
Prost,
GG
Comments