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Something special is always brewing |
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Written by By Barry Shlachter, McClatchy Newspapers
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Thursday, 10 August 2006 |
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Seasonal lagers and ales aren't the only special offerings artisan brewers create to spice up their core offerings. Some keep their fans keenly interested with special limited-production, single-batch beers.
Last fall, Shiner released the first in a series of different commemorative beers for each year through its centennial in 2009. The next, Shiner 97, is due out in September and will be a Bohemian black lager.
Anheuser-Busch, the country's biggest producer, has gotten into the act with Michelob Celebration. I recently picked up its 2005 edition from last winter, a 10-percent-alcohol alt beer made with vanilla, and found it quite enjoyable.
Saint Arnold, Samuel Adams, Allagash, Avery, Lagunitas and Canada's Unibroue are among the microbreweries that turn out occasional single-batch releases, though many don't find their way onto the Texas market because of the state's difficult labeling regulations.
Saint Arnold's, luckily, is one that does, and the Houston microbrewery named for the patron saint of brewers has used its collective skills to create what could be its best beer to date. The bad news is that Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 2, being a limited-production release, may never be made again. And when I say limited, that means it could be gone in days or even hours.
Last year, Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 1 was a barley wine, and it flew out of stores.
It was made all the more limited when a quarter of the batch was lost in a production mishap, leaving 327 cases.
"People were literally lined up outside Spec's downtown" Houston store the morning it came out, marveled Brock Wagner, the brewery's founder and president. "It turned it into something of a phenomenon. We thought it was going to be gone in weeks. It went in minutes."
The Dallas-Fort Worth market was allocated 10 cases, all quickly snapped up.
This time around, Wagner produced 787 cases, of which the Dallas-Fort Worth region will get 60.
This year's Divine is a Belgian strong ale with a taste and complexity to rival some of the better Flemish abbey brews. It pours a rich mahogany hue with winey notes of dates and figs, a whiff of toffee and a pleasant mouth feel. Drink it in a chalice if you've got one, a brandy snifter if you don't — it's a truly memorable ale that might even improve with a little aging.
Wagner drewed two ales, one using a Belgian Trappist yeast and another using a yeast associated with Sierra Nevada's American Pale Ale, called Chico, then blended them.
"My goal was to make a beer people would be willing to spend $13 or $14 bucks (on a six-pack) — and feel they have a value," he said. "All too many people are hooked on beer as an inexpensive product."
The retail price reflects a hefty production cost. Whereas Saint Arnold Amber Ale takes two weeks to brew; Divine 2 took three months.
"At the end of the day, we probably don't lose money but probably don't make money," says Wagner. "It ties up tanks. We could have made several batches of beer in the time we made this one batch."
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