I got bugs
I got bugs in my room
Bugs in my bed
Bugs in my ears
Their eggs in my head
– Pearl Jam
Since enjoying Victory’s Wild Devil at last week’s hops festival hosted by the Blue Nile, I haven’t been able to think of much else but bugs in my beer.
As is often the case when I find a craft beer that I really enjoy, I try to reverse engineer it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? So how best to go about creating my own homebrewed version of an IPA incorporating everyone’s favorite wild yeast strain, Brettanomyces? The interplay of pungent barnyard aromas from the funkified culture punctuated by the citrusy hop bitterness make Wild Devil a fantastic beer, and I intend to celebrate it to the best of my amateur zymurgistic abilities. I haven’t quite worked out all the particulars, such as whether to use Brett as my main workhorse yeast in the primary (something done to marvelous effect by breweries like Lost Abbey and Russian River), or add it to secondary as many brewers tend to do. But regardless, I’ll be brewing soon, after a particularly long hiatus. Looking forward to getting back in the laboratory.
To quench my preoccupation in the meantime, I decided to sit down with another musty, Brett-induced ale, this one from highly regarded Trappist brewery Orval.
First time I tried Orval I was shocked. Maybe it was the elegantly shaped brown bottle that suggested some kind of dark Belgian candi treat, or possibly the fact that I’d been enjoying a handful of other fine Trappist ales like Chimay Premiere and Rochefort 10. But Orval is a beautifully delicate Belgian pale ale, a big departure from what you might otherwise normally expect from many Trappist monasteries producing earthy dubbels laden with dark fruits, or boozey quads. Orval is a nicely hopped beer, marked by a massive dosing of Brett in the aroma. From what I gather, they bottle condition using Brett Bruxellensis, what White Labs describes as a “medium” intensity wild yeast that doesn’t knock you off your socks with overly aggressive sweaty horse blanket characteristics, but rather evokes a “cleaner” interpretation of the strain.
Pours a flowing, creamy head and copper coloring. Whatever mild lemon and pear-like fruitiness there is in the aroma is quickly dispersed by the Brett…highly intriguing. At first sip, a light malt character that quickly turns to a mildly biting, puckering dry finish that’s both sour and bitter. Some phenols mixed in too. Mouthfeel is very full for such a light ale, cleverly disguising the 6.9% ABV.
If anyone wonders what Brett is all about, or fine Trappist ales for that matter, just crack an Orval. A timeless, classic beer.
Rating: A
June 10, 2009 at 4:00 am
[...] the Well Fed Guide to Life broadcasts from the new Victory 44 gastropub, and Captain’s Chair tries to reverse engineer a Trappist ale by Orval. var addthis_pub = "heavytable"; var addthis_options = 'favorites, digg, delicious, [...]
June 10, 2009 at 9:56 am
Orval is damn tasty, especially if you let it age for a couple years. It pairs really well with funky yet creamy cheeses and charcuterie.
I’ve never brewed with wild yeasts, but I have heard all sorts of horror stories about them infecting equipment. I know a couple brewpubs that won’t bring in lambics or sours as guest beers; or if they do, they keep them on a separate system like they do at Town Hall. I don’t know if this is just a brewers urban legend, but it’s kept me away from brewing with brett and other wild yeasts.
June 10, 2009 at 10:21 am
My bottle was about two years old. Orval has a born-on date, and looks like they don’t recommend cellaring past five years.
Very interesting forbiddendonut, I’d never heard about that. Compared to my very simple homebrew set up consisting of a few pots and buckets, I wonder if there’s more crevices and opportunities for wild yeast to infect a commercial system. I’ll have to do some research into the whole thing before I brew…
June 10, 2009 at 11:29 am
I love Brett! Give me some hay and manure in my beer and I’m a happy clam. Haven’t had the Orval before but it looks like it’s going to have to go on my list for my next Cellar’s visit.
June 10, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Post your findings on the whole wild yeast contamination thing if you read anything interesting or definitive. I really love this style but have never even thought about brewing them. I think part of it is that they require so much patience and skill, and you’ll only know months later if you brewed something worth drinking. Plus, brewers like Cantillon and Drie Fontienen already make such incredible beer that I’m almost content to leave it up to them.
June 11, 2009 at 7:18 am
I love that beer is getting some of its due attention. The assumption of many people that wine is a better pairing item is simply a case of gastronomic snobbery.