Chief Beer Officer’s WTF – Beer Blending

CBO’s WTF –

Alright,  our head brewer isn’t the only one who’s going to subject you to a little rant.   Urs has a few days off right now, but he is with me on this one…

A few weeks back we had a beer curmudgeon, purist, geek, know-it-all, or whatever you call those over the top beer enthusiasts that must share everything with you and how you are doing it all wrong. He was opining to our hostess, anyone that would listen at the tasting bar, and eventually me how we were ruining our excellent beer by mixing it off the faucet into a pint glass.  This was just wrong and Against Proper Beer Etiquette.

Well, as a brewery owner and beer lover, I can respect some beer etiquette like serving into a clean glass and sharing turns on buying a round, but mixing as a sin, I respectfully disagree.  Actually, I think this guy was a douchebag (yes, please think of that said in George Takei’s voice as it is much funnier then).

Mixing or blending beer in our Tap Room came about organically. When we first opened we did not always have all five tap handles full; sometimes we still don’t… As our neighbors at Flagstaff Bicycle Revolution and regular guests came in they would mix it up a bit for themselves and try different combinations to suit their moods. Hostess Sharon began placing the favorites up on the beer board and creating her own blends which are now ordered regularly as we have the various beers come on.

Why try this? Because it is fun, good, and different. You can create flavor combinations that can’t always be created in the kettle and fermentor such as a kolsch blended with an IPA.  So, here are few of Sharon’s and our guest’s favorites.

• The Classic Halfski – 50% Roadside American Ale and 50% Twin Arrows Brown Ale.  This gives you the advantages of the hop character of Roadside and the malt/molasses of Twin Arrows to form something of an American brown. CJ and the bike shop guys made this one a staple.

• Texas Tea – 65% Gold Road and 35% Lost Highway Black IPA.  This is our black gold and most poplar blend in the Tap Room as it gives a light body from the kolsch and a flavor burst from the black IPA.

• Guardrail – 50% Twin Arrows Brow and 50% Lost Highway Black IPA.  A recent creation that gives a large malt body that tames some of the IPA’s hops and roast to make a smooth drinking pint.

So get out there and try some blending. Do it at your favorite pub or with bottled beers at home. The combinations are  endless. Live a little and raise a blended pint. If you are lucky, you might just piss off a beer curmudgeon!

MM