Inside the cathedral
Taste me if you can: Weedwacker, the first of Saint Arnold's new beer series,starts its fleeting run
Weedwacker, meet. Lawnmower. Lawnmower, meet ..Photo by Joel Luks
Definitely left. Definitely.Photo by Joel Luks
Lennie Ambrose, beer guru at Saint Arnold, is quick to share his passion.Photo by Joel Luks
Pious observance is recommended: Saint Arnold of Soissons, Patron Saint ofBrewers.Photo by Joel Luks
Bags and bags and bags of malt.Photo by Joel Luks
A captive audience learns all about Saint Arnold "Moveable Yeast" programfeaturing limited edition brews highlighting yeast's impact.Photo by Joel Luks
A place where yeast (and its movement) really matters isn't as hard to find as I thought.
Behaving like a 5-year-old is even easier. Saying yeast is often followed by a surge of self-containment, an effort not to giggle immaturely. I often fail miserably.
I surprised myself when I was successful recently, perhaps since I was in the presence of two esteemed CultureMap colleagues who obviously take their beer with pseudo-pious religiosity.
After all, this was a different type of yeast and I was ready to learn all about it.
I came to Saint Arnold Brewing Company to taste and to offer commentary. I had already exhibited my mischievous critiquing skills in a Heights Idol competition, I could handle beer, I thought.
The occasion? Beginning Monday, Saint Arnold will debut Weedwacker, the first of the “Moveable Yeast” series. Moving yeast? Will it dance?
Not quite, but you might after drinking a few brews.
“What we did is replace the yeast in our best-selling brew, Lawnmower, and replaced its Kolsch yeast with Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast,” Saint Arnold beer guru Lennie Ambrose explained. “That way, one can drink the two beers side by side and compare the effect yeast has on flavor.”
Beers that are meant to be enjoyed in pairs? Twin beers. From the same daddy, but more than slightly different.
Upon close inspection, Weedwacker is slightly cloudy, unfiltered au naturel, while Lawnmower is crystal clear. And their flavors? Astonishingly different.
Weedwacker’s has a golden smokey color coupled with a sweet and nutty aroma and a slight fruity and pleasant bouquet. Gentle banana flavors emerged peeling the complex tones with a clean finish. Surprisingly, considering Weedwacker’s shortened fermentation time of 10 days — Lawnmower requires two weeks — the beer's depth was titillating.
Possible food pairings? If you must, consider Weedwacker a lighter Heveweizen. It would compliment lighter seafood, pizzas, fruit and light deserts.
But that was only the start of my education on this pilgrimage.
Regretfully, I had never taken beer too seriously but upon entering the brewery, I knew this was no joking matter.
Opening the brewery's oversized monastery-like double iron doors, I was welcomed by a medieval apparition. Unaware of the behavioral decorum for interacting with him, I walked past him, only making the connection later: Behold Saint Arnold of Soissons, Patron Saint of Brewers.
A saint of the Roman Catholic Church?
Saint Arnie preached against drinking water due to contamination from the sewage system (which was more than primitive in his time) while asserting that "from man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world."
Inside, we meet Ambrose, a veteran with Saint Arnold, who educated us about the components of beer: Water, yeast, malted barley and hops.
Whereas some breweries use not-so-pleasant additives — like isinglass, made from the swim bladders of fish or animal albumin, egg albumin and dried blood powder — Saint Arnold folks are purists.
Yeast has traditionally been the forgotten neglected step-child of beer ingredients. While most seem to play around with hops and malted barley, little attention is paid to the huge influence that yeast has on the flavor of beer.
We're all about to find out the difference. Fleetingly.
Weedwacker’s availability, like the fame of most American Idol winners, will come and go rather quickly. There are only 60 barrels and given a somewhat backwards law, Weedwacker’s whereabouts cannot be revealed by Saint Arnolds until its release on Monday.
Rumors tell us that our friends at Anvil Bar and Refuge, the Flying Saucer, Onion Creek, Cedar Creek, Rudyards and McGonigel’s Mucky Duck among others will carry the beer. Care to be current? Join the cool kids and follow @SaintArnold on twitter.
Lawnmower needs no introduction. Crisp and refreshing, its popularity rose in 2007 as gold medalist of the Great American Beer Festival. With citrus notes, the influence of the malt is more apparent here.
I noticed one of my tasting buddies was not finishing her share, so I volunteered to help out. What are friends for after all?
An expert's take:
