Wine (Beer) Education

Education

With Beer Fest on Saturday, we thought we would feature a little education related to both beer and wine.  

A little more education: We are going to try to feature either a grape or a wine region each week at our stores. We will give you some background information on the grape or region and feature a wine that highlights what we are featuring. We will taste that wine on Saturday at all four of our locations. (no tasting this week at Forsyth because of Beer Fest, the other stores will still feature wines) We will post it here in our blog and send it out in our emails - click here to sign up for our emails

I have started a new label "Education" that you can hit to read all the education articles (see the right column under the heading "labels".

Brettanomyces
by Aaron Zwicker, Wine Buyer

As the wine buyer at St. Louis’ best wine and beer shop I’m learning something new everyday usually about beer.  One of my biggest Ah Ha! moments came when discussing the Green Flash Rayon Vert beer.    I had heard great things about this beer and personally had enjoyed the Green Flash West Coast IPA quite a bit so I took home a 4-pack of the Rayon Vert and after half a bottle I was done, I could not pinpoint what I didn’t like but I sure didn’t like it.   The culprit as it turns out was Brettanomyces, as a “wine guy” I’ve been trained to see “Brett” as a flaw and I am very sensitive to it’s presence in wine and as it turns out beer. With The Wine and Cheese Place  Annual Beer Fest coming up this Saturday you will have a great opportunity to taste an amazing array of  beers including some “Brett” beers that people keep telling me are fantastic.

Brettanomyces in Wine:   When Brettanomyces grows in wine it produces several compounds that can alter the palate and bouquet. At low levels some winemakers agree that the presence of these compounds has a positive effect on wine, contributing a complexity, and giving an aged character to some young red wines. However when the levels of the sensory compounds greatly exceed the sensory threshold, their perception is almost always negative. The sensory threshold can differ between individuals, and some find the compounds more unattractive than others. While it can be desirable at lower levels, there is no guarantee that high levels will not be produced. As Brettanomyces can potentially spoil a wine it is generally seen as a wine spoilage yeast, and its presence in wine as a wine fault.

Brettanomyces in Beer:   In most beer styles Brettanomyces is viewed as a contaminant and the characteristics it imparts are considered unwelcome "off-flavors." However, in some styles, particularly certain traditional Belgian ales, it is appreciated and encouraged. Lambic and gueuze owe their unique flavour profiles to Brettanomyces, as do wild yeast saison or farmhouse styles; and it is also found in Oud Bruin and Flanders red ale.[2] Commercial examples of these styles include Liefmans Brown Ale, Rodenbach Grand Cru, and Duchesse de Bourgogne. The Orval Trappist monastery is unique in crafting the only Trappist beer with Brettanomyces characteristics. Several American craft breweries use Brettanomyces in their beers (try local beers like 2nd Shift Katy and Perennial Aria). This use began with a renewed interest in Belgian style ales and later formed new styles altogether. Some breweries use 100% Brettanomyces for the fermentation of some of their beers.