There is something special about a big barley wine or an imposing Russian Imperial Stout. They are beer you just have to respect, not just for their heft, but for their complexity and subtlety. As a homebrewer my respect is enhanced because I have a sense of just how difficult these beer are to make as well. It is not as simple as tossing in more malt and brewing as normal. These are complex, challenging beer which require a deft hand.
That is the point of my latest Beer 101 column on the Sherbrooke Liquor website, which starts a series examining big beer. I wanted to explore the land of the giants to give beer consumers a sense of how hard it is to make an excellent version of a higher-alcohol beer. A Thomas Hardy’s Ale is no malt liquor – the old phrase for higher alcohol beer and now associated with poor quality. It is a delicte, multi-layered concoction that combines the warming of alcohol with rich malt and sharp hops.
The first in the series looks at the moderately big beer – DIPAs, Doppelbocks and Wee Heavies. I argue in the piece that the common theme among these three beer is “containment”, trying to hold the dominant feature of the beer in check while still going bigger with the overall presentation. Anyone can make a hop bomb, but can you make a bitter, hoppy beer that invites a second glass? Leaving lots of residual sugar behind will create something similar to a doppelbock, but it only reaches this historic style if it can remain just on this side of cloying. Thus my point about containment. The skill in making a good example of these three beer is going ALMOST all out – holding just enough back to keep the beer enjoyable. The best versions of these styles exemplify that spirit.
In the next couple of months Beer 101 will look at other categories of big beer, expanding upon the argument that they are beer to be respected, on a number of levels.
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