Discover Craft Beer: A Moderate Extravagance

A caveat: Read only if you are proud enough to embrace the unfamiliar and extraordinary.

Popular beer culture here and in America has led us to have an appetite for unceremonious mass-marketed beer. We know the one popular brand on these shores all too well, and across the Pacific, you have Budweiser, Miller and Coors. Generally, if one decides to veer out of the norm, then an order of fine Scotch is ensued, and the alternative is usually a fondness for exquisite wine. There is, however, an increasingly popular alternative:  Artisan, or Craft Beer.

European countries have always held their brew in high regard, and plenty of North Americans, appropriately disappointed with the absence of character in their beverages, decided to step it up and produce “micro brewed” products that are all about offering the consumer quality rather than making a fast buck. Hence, world-renowned beer guru Michael Jackson (yes, that’s his name) describes the U.S.A. as the “New World of Beer”. You can tell the difference as soon as you pour the bottle into a proper glass, opening your taste buds up to a whole new universe of exciting flavors!

A primer: I wouldn’t want to get into heavy details, but there are two methods of producing beer: ales and lagers. At the end of the process, top fermenting yeasts are added to ales, and bottom fermenting yeasts to lagers. Ales are bolder, fuller in body and flavor and “hoppier”, pertaining to the hop plant used to disinfect and add bitterness to your favorite blend. Less hoppy styles are the dark and rich stout and porter as well as some varieties of exceedingly refreshing wheat beer. Lagers, on the other hand, are more familiar than you think. Light, crisp and less bitter, they are often pilsners like all San Miguel and Asia Brewery variants, as well as bocks and the generally more economical “malt liquor”, such as Red Horse.  A great misnomer is that gin or alcohol additives are placed in such beverages to increase the content. To save on sugar and fermentation time, these blends are made with “fusel oils” or potato starch, as certain local brands use chemical agents to speed up manufacture and raise alcohol content. Craft beer, on the other hand, is “pure”. Some brews are the regular malt, barley and hops, but most venture into unique ingredients such as chocolate, cinnamon, peppers, ridiculous amounts of hop and fruits among others. One of my personal favorites is Rogue’s Chocolate Stout, which I pair with a rich chocolate cake for that complete experience. Pairing is yet another thing beer geeks as myself are into, as it’s not just wine that goes well with haute cuisine.

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European styles are popular and often copied, among them, Trappist Beers pertaining to those made by monks in Abbeys across Belgium and Germany. They usually come in “Doubles” or “Triples” as a cross was used in medieval times to reference alcohol volume, therefore three crosses indicated a stronger drink. If you ever snickered at a bottle of “Chimay” due to Pinoy slang terminology, then you have come across one of the world’s best. Quadruples are also quite popular, as I treasure Rochefort 10. Alcohol by volume (ABV) is listed at 11.3%, so this is one to savor, not to chug.

For this unusual weather, wheat beer would be an exceptional choice. It’s notably refreshing with relatively low ABV. In Germany, some would have it “Mit Schuss” or with a shot of flavored syrup. Ales are not familiar to the Asian palate, as they are generally too heavy for most meals. However, if you develop a taste for ale, it may be a little hard to return to duller drinks. A pale ale, not too robust, is a standard for burgers and fries. A variation is India Pale Ale, or IPAs. These were originally made by the English to withstand trips to British India, and now made best by U.S. craft brewers. They are characterized by extreme hop, and higher ABV (6-9%). Porters and Stouts are for the dark beer aficionado. They have hints of coffee or chocolate, and tend to be rich on the palate with moderate ABV. Artisan pilsners are much more crisp, and don’t have an aftertaste, as even the water used to make these delightful blends are carefully selected to give the enthusiast the finest.

Though not exactly priced like local beers (P130-P300/330ml), they are much cheaper than most wines but offer you a whole new avenue of flavor. We have two known local craft beer makers, Pivo Praha in Manila, and Bogs Brew in Bacolod City.  Eventually, you may even start researching, joining beer clubs, purchasing glassware and cellaring bottles. Everything, however, should be taken in moderation. Don’t limit yourself to the norm. Enjoy real beer from the list below, or learn more by visiting beeradvocate.com or ratebeer.com. Cheers!

Click here to see where you can get your fill of craft beer.

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1.    Gilmore Wines and Spirits
http://winesnspirits.multiply.com/
17 Gilmore Ave. New Manila
(02) 9722730  (02)7216962
mags.villafuerte@yahoo.com

2.    Global Beer Exchange
http://www.globalbeerexchange.com.ph/
(02) 8956173

3.    The Distillery Jupiter
http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-DISTILLERY-JUPITER/138148691316
20 Jupiter Street, Bel-air Village
Makati City
(0906)577-9915, 403-5293

4.    Pivo Praha
http://pivopraha.squarespace.com/
1331 Angono Street, Makati City.
(02)899-5410
(02)896-9572

5.    Grappa’s Ristorante
Greenbelt 3, Greenbelt
Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St., Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 720-2668

6.    The Tasting Room (Greystone)
G/F Prince Plaza II Dela Rosa Makati
(02)8956173
Owned by Global Beer Exchange


Photo from flickr.com