Free Microbrewed Adventures by Charles Papazian Page B

head brewer and brewmaster of New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, makers of the very popular Fat Tire amber lager. Peter is Belgian, with experience and friends at several breweries in Belgium. Now he has relocated to Colorado, bringing with him special skills and an attitude that admires both the obvious and the not-so-obvious world of brewing’s science and art.
    Speaking English with a Flemish accent, Peter confides, “It is so nice, yes, that in America there are so many people experimenting with all aspects of brewing. The large brewers in Europe are not doing this. The homebrewers, microbrewers and craft brewers are all important to helping us all understand and explore all these interrelationships and very new ways of doing things. If you have many brewing projects that you and others may be working on, it is very valuable to be able to take little pieces of knowledge from each project and fit the pieces together to achieve a new beer.”
    Others have often said that there are so many good beers in the world, but so little time to try them all. Peter is one who realizes that there is so much to learn and do in creating beers, but so little time to brew them all. He possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience, gained from delving into matters of brewing frontiers.
    We discuss the addition of herbs and fruits to beer. There are secrets Peter won’t tell me, but he makes me realize that not all herbs and fruits can be treated equally, explaining, “It all depends on the chemical nature of the flavor and character you are trying to finally end up with in your beer.” You need to understand very specifically the chemical nature of a cherry’s or a raspberry’s flavor. For example, raspberry flavors have ketones in their makeup. If they are fermented, certain other flavors are derived from the fermentation and aging process of these compounds.
    How do you maintain the red color of cherries? “This is something I know about through experimentation and discussion with colleagues,” Peter says with a smile. “I can’t tell you too much about this because now we consider it is confidential.” He leaves me with the thought that the answer is both process and ingredient related.
    â€œYou have to treat spices the same way,” he says. For example, if you use kaffir lime leaves, the flavor compound that you want to perceive in the final beer is related to citronellal. He explains that this is chemically described as an aldehyde. If this is acted upon during the fermentation process, it can be broken down into alcohol, and this in turn can be broken down into esters. All have the elements of citrus character, but at each stage the flavor and aroma threshold can increase or decrease dramatically. So you have to be careful about how much you add, as well as when you add it. Every spice and herb is different. “If you are seeking a desired final balance of flavors then it is nice to be able to understand these things,” Peter adds.
    There are many creative beers brewed at the New Belgium Brewery. The tasting room/pub is worth a visit, for some of the most interesting and experimental beers are available only on site and at the brewery. One beer that is available nearly everywhere is their well-known Fat Tire. But New Belgium also has unusual beers such as their 1554, which intrigues me as a beer enthusiast and homebrewer. Its recipe is based on references to a Belgian-style black ale, brewed as far back as 1447 and quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
    â€œZwart bier,” or black beer, is virtually unknown in today’s Belgium. Phil Benstein, one of the brewers Peter works with at New Belgium, came across a reference to black beer at the Colorado State University library. Further research led Peter to other references in the 1903 book One Hundred Years of Brewing , but he could not find any Belgian brewers who knew of this historic beer. On one