Low Carb Beers You May Have Never Considered

A year ago I decided that it was time to getting my fat ass back in to shape. For the last decade my body had been expanding like bloated dough under a heat lamp. The cause was the same that many Americans are faced with, high chloric diets and little to no exercise.

For a craft beer lover loosing the LBS's is not an easy thing. Beer is the antithesis for trying to loose weight. It is a very nutritious beverage, high in calories and carbohydrates. I never sought out the "low carb beers" over the last year because.... Well, that's not beer, at least the beer I know and love. But it got me to thinking, what is the lowest carb beer option for a beer snob like myself?

After minutes of research I found that there is no real data on the beer style that I found to be the least naturally made carbohydrate laden ale. The Lambic.

There are many styles of Lambic. The basic lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, bracingly sour beer that is generally about two to three years old. Unlike conventional ales and lagers, which are fermented by carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeasts, Lambic beers are produced by spontaneous fermentation and are exposed to wild yeasts and bacteria such as Brettanomyces bruxellensis (brett) and B. lambicus.

These "wild yeasts" used in the fermentation of these products eats sugars that regular beer yeasts can't. There are a lot of sweet lambics out there - Lindemans for example - that are loaded with sugar. The unfruited versions (gueuze) from Hanssens, Cantillon, Oud Beersel and Drie Fonteinen will have the lowest sugars.

These aren't a practical every day option for the Utah beer lover. Unless you have an iron pallet. The high tartness and acidity will wear on the stoutest of tongues, but when your in need of beer that's full on flavor, that won't shit all over your diet, you have a friend in the "Brett based beer".

Some "brett beer" recommendations available in Utah are Squatters 529, Epic's Elder Brett, Lindeman's Gueuze and Lindeman's Cuvée René.

Some other more traditional low carb craft brands include, Full Sail's Session Premium Lager and New Belgium's Skinny Dip.

As I pointed out earlier, there is no hard data on the carbohydrate levels in sour beers (that I could find), theses observations are based on the known functions of the the yeast strains discussed.

Cheers!

Two Big - New Releases

Today there are two big debuts on the Utah craft beer scene, so lets get right to it.

First off, we have RedRock's long awaited version of their collaboration beer Paardebloem (Flemish for Dandelion). This beer was brewed earlier in the year at RedRock & New Belgium breweries. While NB's version was released soon after brewing RR's went into American oak barrels for aging.

Inspired by the great hop shortage of 2008, dandelion greens were used as they have a natural bittering effect much like hops. The result is a blond ale brewed with toasted pilsener malt, flavored with fresh picked dandelion greens and grains of paradise.

Paardebloem is hazy and light gold in color with peachy/lemony nose. It has a unique floral bitterness with a big malty backbone. There is a touch of added sourness(intentional)that the New Belgium version lacks. This provides a nice balance for the big spicy/sweetness the ale carries.

The ABV is at 8.8% and sells for $15.00. Most importantly there are only 150 bottle available! So I don't have to tell you that this won't be around for much more than a couple of weeks. Only available for "in house" sales at RR's downtown SLC location.
Next we have Outer Darkness. This is the first commercially produced Imperial Stout brewed in Utah.

This beer is big all around. Big espresso notes, big cocoa, Big roastiness and big alcohol. 10.5% abv to be exact. This may put Outer Darkness very close to being Utah's strongest beer ever.

Squatters has 800 bottles and they will be $14.99 for sale at the table or out the door. For the best Outer Darkness drinking experience Brewmaster Jenny Talley recommends warming it to 45f before opening and pour the beer directly down the center of the glass without any tilt. This beer is big enough that it can be cellared for 1-3 years before resurrecting.

For sale at Squatters Pub downtown SLC and at Squatters Roadhouse Grill in Park City.

Cheers!

RedRock's Dandelion Ale

Last April we told you about a collaboration beer between RedRock and New Belgium called Paardebloem(Flemish for dandelion). This is an old school attempt at making beer without using any hops. Instead Dandelions and other herbs or spices are used for bittering.

Chris McCombs of New Belgium Brewery. Spent some time in Salt Lake last April and Kevin Templin traveled to Fort Collins a week later to New Belgium's place to assist on the creation of the brew there.

NB released their version of Paardebloem last May and RedRock's has been aging in oak ever since. Well the wait may be over soon. Kevin tells us that his Dandelion Ale will be hitting the bottles on November 20th. He's not sure exactly when it will be on sale, but by the end of the year is an optimistic guess.

It's been a wile since I tried NB's version, but I imagine RedRock's version will be noticeably different. I know a lot of people have been looking forward to this beer for a long time.Also RedRock's Harvest ale was released last Friday. This is one of my favorite RR beers. Harvest Ale is made only once a year. It's made with whole leaf Amarillo Hops, using almost 32 lbs. per batch. Then more are added post-fermentation for a very floral, somewhat citrus like aroma and flavor. Malt character and body is medium, in this unfiltered beer. It's truly a beautiful thing.

Finally, plans for the Holiday tasting are moving along nicely. I'll have the full info for you this week. Any questions? don't hesitate to drop me a line at utahbeer@gmail.com.

Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Collaboration Between RedRock & New Belgium

There's a positive trend right now in the craft brewing industry where brewers get together from various cities and towns to collaborate on beers, just to try and make them better. De Struise/Allagash, AleSmith/Mikkeller/Stone. There are too many to mention.

Now comes word that our own Kevin Templin From RedRock will be working on a collaboration beer with Chris McCombs of New Belgium Brewery. The beer is scheduled to be made today at RedRock. Coincidentally, Kevin was voted by readers of the City Weekly as Utah's Best Brewer today. Congrats Kevin!

Anyway, I don't have a lot of info on what style of beer they're making. What I do know is that the beer will be called Paardebloem (Flemish for dandelion) and will be made with no hops. Instead Dandelions and other herbs or spices will be used for bittering. Sounds pretty cutting edge... or old-school depending on your perspective.

Kevin will travel to Fort Collins next to New Belgium's place to assist on the creation of the brew there. Obviously this will be a special brew, no word yet on when it will be ready.

Also, in other RedRock news. Part of this years batch of Rêve: Belgian Style Triple will be poured over Utah cherries and re-fermented for one year before it's release early next year. Yum!

It's looking to be a good year for RedRock. Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Just to Reiterate

Okay, okay! I promise this is the last you'll hear of this (for a while anyway). I was in Evanston, Wy last week and I stopped in a liquor store to "check out the section", and lookie what I found!

Cases and cases of unchilled, room temperature New Belgium Beer. With Fat Tire dead center! And it was all just two miles from the Utah border. It's a good thing that stuff isn't sitting in Utah getting all warm 'n shit; loosing all it's "New Belgiumany" goodness. That'd be a bloody crime! Just say'n...