From the Beer Writer: When embarking on the year-long Beer to the Rescue campaign, a fundraising effort where local breweries craft specialty beers to support the Lupus Foundation of Southern California, there was one outlandish ale I was eager to see taken from concept to glass. Peanut butter-infused brown ales and stouts have been en vogue for roughly two years. But like coffee, I actually think the added flavor of peanut butter shines better when incorporated into lighter beer styles. In particular, I thought it would be a brilliant addition to a traditional, Bavarian-style hefeweizen. A wheat beer packed with yeast-borne flavors of banana and clove, I thought the result of such an experiment would be a peanut butter- and banana-flavored ale. It’s one of my favorite taste combinations and, although it’s popular amongst most taste bud-equipped humans, when I mentioned the idea to brewers, it was met with the same incredulous looks and question mark-populated thought bubbles you’re probably throwing up while reading this. Even by brewers who brew peanut butter beers and/or hefeweizens! So one must admire the bravery and adventurous spirit of Fallbrook Brewing Company brewmaster Chuck McLaughlin. His lovely coffee-infused cream ale led me to believe he’d have the goods to deftly cram that peanut butter into a similarly golden-hued beer. Fallbrook Lupus Has Left the Building proves me right. To me, McLaughlin’s as much the king as the man who enjoyed this flavor combo even more than me.
From the Brewer: “Lupus Has Left the Building started off as a challenge that I prematurely accepted but eagerly jumped into. This beer is based off The King’s favorite sandwich. That’s Elvis Presley for those of you that don’t know. It was (or is depending on your thoughts on the matter) a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich called ‘Fool’s Gold.’ The original also has bacon but I thought that might be a little too much. Who knows…maybe next year? We decided the hefeweizen style would be the perfect base beer. With low hop additions, the underlying, grainy, bready flavor from wheat and Pilsner malts shines through, and the yeast provides signature fruity banana esters. To add a little nuttiness to the beer, I substituted Light Vienna and Munich malts for a portion of the Pilsner malt. The final grain bill was 50% wheat, 25% Pilsner, 20% Vienna and 5% Munich. Coming in around 5% alcohol-by-volume, the beer is refreshing and balanced. Thanks go out to San Diego’s master of Germanic beer styles, Doug Hasker of Gordon Biersch’s Mission Valley brewpub, for some helpful hefe tips. As for the peanut butter addition, that’s a trade secret provided by an industry great that shall remain nameless. Gotta love the sharing nature of the San Diego beer industry!”—Chuck McLaughlin, Brewmaster, Fallbrook Brewing Co.