This column appears on page 4 of the June 2012 print issue, which you can download or view here.
Last month, I talked about beer’s sense of place, which develops from time and geographic influence. I find the current brewing climate fascinating because everyone around the world is sharing ideas with everyone else. Who knew that there were wonderful American-style IPAs being brewed in Japan? How about one aged on cedar in a traditional sake method? Brewers all around the world are taking the best ideas from other regions and using their local tastes and ingredients to craft new flavors. I know I wouldn’t mind trying a pale ale that originally came from England, got the American hop treatment, and then a little toasted sesame in Japan.
The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival being held this June 9 will bring 40 of the best brewers from around the world to Paso Robles, California. It all started sometime last year in a brewers’ meeting when our brewmaster, Matt Brynildson, brought up the idea of hosting a beer festival. This wouldn’t be an ordinary festival — no volunteer pourers or others who are not knowledgeable about the beer they’re serving. This festival would require that the brewers themselves poured their beer, so that attendees could hear firsthand about the beers and brewery. Each brewer would bring two beers: one “sessionable” beer, and something special to showcase the pinnacle of their ingenuity and creativity. The brewers would be invited from a pool of his personal favorites from around the world. The concept sounded good to me, though perhaps a little ambitious. Getting several dozen of the world’s best brewers to personally come and pour their beer on the Central Coast sounded a bit like herding cats, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if it all came together as envisioned.
And come together it has: San Diego will be represented by AleSmith, Alpine, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey, and Pizza Port. A few familiar faces from the West Coast will also be in attendance, including Russian River, Kern River, Bear Republic, Trumer (can’t wait to see what second beer they bring, as they only officially make one beer), The Bruery, Fifty Fifty, and Beachwood BBQ & Brewing. Joining them from across the country are a group of brewers that are seldom if ever seen in California. Three Floyds and Sun King are making the trek out from Indiana, accompanied by their neighbors from Michigan, Bells and Founders. From elsewhere in the country, Boulevard, Odell, Cigar City, Nebraska Brewing, Southern Tier, and Revolution Brewing are among those also coming to Paso.
In spite of this elite group of American brewers, the most interesting to me are the brewers coming from overseas: Mikkeller from Denmark (though brewing in Belgium and Norway as well), Way Beer from Brazil, and Yo-Ho from Japan. All three of these brewers are heavily influenced by American brewing, and brew some of their beers in an unquestionably American style. They also draw upon the flavors of their homelands to craft beers that are familiar, yet unique. Brewing has always been a progression of cross-pollination, and we are now witnessing American influences manifesting all over the world. This cross-pollination has in the past been predominantly one-way from the Old World brewing centers of Europe to the rest of the world, but now it’s happening in every imaginable direction.
Mikkeller makes some fantastic beers in just about every style imaginable. The brewing scene in Scandinavia has broadly been influenced by American brewing, though it retains much of an older influence from British brewing. Just like the US, their beer scene was previously dominated by large lager breweries and has had an incredible renaissance in recent years. Mikkeller brews some of his beer at Nogne Ø in Norway, which is another brewer that fuses British and American style with impressive results. He also brews American and Belgian-style ales and various lagers at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium, borrowing on the traditions of Continental brewing as well. If anyone embodies the modern international spirit of brewing, it is this “gypsy” brewer from Copenhagen. Mikkel, brewer and owner of Mikkeller, recently visited California and had an IPA brewed at Drakes up in the Bay Area, which was released as “Invasion IPA.”
I hope that everyone coming to the festival has an amazing time at this meeting of brewers from around the world. We are now part of a truly international brewing movement toward beers of flavor and character, sharing the best of what we discover, and drawing upon our unique cultural and environmental influences to lift beer to new and delicious heights.