Microbrews in Tallahassee, FL

American Microbrews

By Brandon Chaplin, Specialty Manager

Since the 1980’s there has been a revolution in American beer brewing. The popularity of quality craft beer has swept the nation in the last couple of decades. America’s growing passion for better beer has resulted in literally hundreds of microbreweries opening and thriving in the United States. Each year these microbreweries claim larger and larger portions of the beer market, while struggling to keep up with an ever-increasing demand. These microbreweries produce thousands of various incarnations of traditional European and American beer styles along with countless unique experimental and seasonal brews.

Ales & Lagers
While all beer is made using the process of fermentation—yeast consumes sugar, usually from a grain source, and converts it into alcohol and carbon dioxide—there are two main types of beer: ales and lagers. Ales and lagers and are distinguished by the types of yeast used in fermentation and the temperature at which the fermentation occurs. Ales are distinguished by the use of top fermenting yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that thrive and perform best at a warmer temperature range than lager yeast. These top fermenting yeasts are aerobic organisms that require oxygen to metabolize and convert sugar, and often produce fruity aromas and chemical compounds called esters. Styles of ale commonly produced by American microbreweries include, but are not limited to: Amber ale, barley wine, wheat wine, blonde ale, brown ale, black ale, pale ale, IPA, cream ale, pumpkin ale, porter, and stout as well as Belgian-style ale and Lambic.

Lagers on the other hand use an anaerobic yeast strain (Saccharomyces uvarum) and a colder, bottom fermentation process. Lagers tend to take a longer period of time to fully ferment due to the cooler temperature required by the yeast. This, however, allows the yeast to convert more of the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The lack of interaction between the yeast and oxygen, along with a colder fermentation process, produces a more crisp and clean flavor. While these styles of beer are produced by Macro Breweries and include the common weak adjunct lagers and pilsners that for many decades defined American beer, there have been many fine lager style beers produced by microbreweries in the U.S. since the explosion of the craft beer industry. These excellent micro brewed lager styles include; red lager, pale lager, California common, Czech-style pilsners, European-style dark/ pale lagers along with several German-style pilsner, bock/doppelbock and Oktoberfest beer.

There are thousands of variations on all of these styles and some very unique regional offerings from microbreweries all over the country, so having any kind of definitive beer guide here would be an impossible undertaking. I will, however, point out a few of the most popular beer styles and their general distinctions.

India Pale Ale (IPA)
By far the most popular style of craft beer today is the India Pale Ale. American craft brewers have taken IPA, originally a British style of beer, to a whole new level. Originally brewed for the English soldiers who occupied India in the 1700’s, it had a greater hop profile along with a higher malt and alcohol content. This was done to allow the beer to withstand the long sea voyage from England. Once in India, the brew was watered down for the common soldier but the English officers and governing officials consumed it at full strength. Over the years the English IPA became weaker and weaker due to increasing taxes. Along with lower alcohol content, the hops and barley malt content were proportionally reduced leaving a beer that paled in comparison to the original. IPAs has been resurrected by American craft brewers; some have tried passionately to recreate the historical English-style recipes, while others have made it distinctly American using American hop varietals that impart intense citrus and floral note and plenty of malt to balance it out. American IPA’s are decidedly more flavorful than their English counterparts. Many microbreweries make a more extreme IPA using an overload of hops and malt producing a full bodied, intensely hopped and higher alcohol IPA. These extreme IPA’s are referred to as Double or Imperial IPA’s.

Stout
Another popular style of ale that was originally the domain of English or Irish breweries is stout. Microbreweries have really added to the style of the traditional stout giving American stouts a wide range of flavors. Some stout has added coffee; others are intensely hopped or have chocolate as an ingredient. There are milk stouts, cream stouts and stouts that have been aged in old whiskey barrels. Some American stout has a quite high alcohol content while others hover around the 3-4% range. All stout beers are exactly what their name implies: full bodied and dark with roasted oat or barley flavors.

Just as with IPA’s, there are extreme versions of stouts. These are usually very viscous, intensely flavored, highly spiced and contain a high percentage of alcohol. These are based on the Russian Imperial Stouts that were traditionally brewed to impress the Russian Czar. Some are so thick that you can almost chew them. These over the top American stouts are called double stouts or imperial stouts.

Czech-style Pilsner
Czech-style pilsner has had a long history of popularity in this country beginning with the early arrival of Czech immigrant farmers to the United States. These light crisp pilsners are what eventually the mass market turned into weak watered down adjunct lagers after prohibition. Thankfully, the true versions of these styles are re-emerging from microbreweries all across the country and are gaining in popularity. Some brewers are using the traditional Czech saaz hops while others are using American hops or even Bavarian hops. Pilsners are especially enjoyable in the hotter months and are one of the styles of beer that most people associate with summer time back yard barbecue.

These are just brief descriptions of only a few of the almost endless types of beer that is being produced in microbreweries. The world of beer is a fun and interesting place to explore, especially since craft beer is finding its way onto the shelves of stores and into the taprooms of bars everywhere. Microbreweries across the country are constantly trying new and innovative recipes and brewing techniques. This means that there are always new versions of traditional styles and unique hybrid beers available to try and enjoy.