With Independence Day behind us, my thoughts turn to the excitement that, for now, sleeps like a stunned giant on the horizon.  In the next few weeks, our Monday Night Tasting Group unleashes the power of Christmas in July with a vertical tasting of  Samichlaus, Tsjeeses, and all the Santa’s Butts one can bear - or, more properly, ‘bare.’  By mid-August, we celebrate an early winter with Barleywine in August, while the sweat rolls gently from our brow.  It is indeed time to add a new cache of beer to the vintage treasures that yet remain in my freshly invaded Beer Cellar.

With the counsel of my closest advisors, this well-stocked, cool cave would hold any beer lover captive, unaware of the brutish weather descending from the North.  Recommendations from these beer connoisseurs insist upon a base of precious jewels:  Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, Cantillon Gueuze, Sly Fox Ichor Quadrupel, New Holland Pilgrim’s Dole Wheatwine, Lambik and Gueuze from Drie Fonteinen, Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout, Victory Storm King Russian Imperial Stout, DeuS Brut des Flandres, Midnight Sun BREWtality Espresso Black Bier, Duck Rabbit Milk Stout, and Green’s Gluten Free Endeavour Dubbel Ale for my Celiac friends.  My mind expands to the desire for more.

No beer cellar should be without a few Organic Beers, particularly Pinkus JubilateSpecial Reserve Dark Lager from Brauerei Pinkus Müller in Munster, Germany.  Pinkus Müller Brewery claims to be “the first brewery to brew with only organically grown barley malt and whole hop blossoms.”  Accredited by the USDA and certified organic by ABCERT GmbH, its value in environmental stewardship stands on firm ground.  The deep copper clarity of this bready beauty complements its signature toasted maltiness, achievable only by using untainted grains from natural sources.  Finish is crisp and clean, with a medium light mouthfeel and 5.5% ABV.  

Samuel Smith's Winter Warmer flanks Pinkus JubilateAnother “not-to-be-missed” organic brewer is Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England.  Also certified organic by the USDA - California Certified Organic Farmers, Samuel Smith’s produces six beers under the Certified Organic label including Organic Ale, Organic Lager, Organic Cider, and Strawberry, Raspberry and Cherry Organic Fruit Beers.  Vegan, but not organic, is Samuel Smith’s   Winter Welcome Ale.  Often referred to as a Winter Warmer, this rich ale is more like a welcome to the season than the ‘warmer’ counterparts that command slow sipping by a raging fire.  The tangerine-red body brings forth thoughts of fresh baked Challah, toasted, then slathered with marmalade of orange and mango.  A dusting with holiday spices of nutmeg and butter sprinkles would bring forth the same aromas that linger in the air.  Vanilla lays gently in the background.   

   
In 1996, the late Beer Hunter Michael Jackson wrote,” I have always been fascinated by Samuel Smith's, it having been one of the first beers I drank regularly, as a 16-year-old newspaper reporter in the Leeds area in the 1950s.  Two decade later I prominently featured Smith's products in my book The World Guide to Beer.”  This fascination with Samuel Smith’s was not only borne of a youth’s joy at sustaining underage drinking, but also stimulated by continuous study, discovering secrets nearly dead in the modern brewing world.  

Samuel Smith’s, dating back to 1758, is the oldest, independent brewery in Northern Yorkshire.  It continues to use the “Samuel Smith yeast strain,” virtually unchanged since its introduction in the early 1900s.   In copper mash tuns, malts are mixed with water drawn from a 200-year-old well with an 85 foot depth.  The Master Hop Blender hand weighs a blend of Fuggles and Goldings hops for the boil.  Most unique of all, is the practice of fermentation using the “Yorkshire Stone Square System.”

 
Tadcaster’s history dates to the Roman period.  Historical records document that local stone quarries supplied military fortresses in York, less than ten miles to the northeast.  It would only be a matter of time before the innovative mind of man would adapt these abundant natural resources to industry.

In 1722, Joseph Priestly presented to the Royal Society a research paper on impregnating water with fixed air – more precisely, on the absorption of gases in liquids. His work also included pneumatics and laid the foundation that led to the Yorkshire Stone Square System.  The actual development of the system came sometime toward the end of the century by Timothy Bentley of the Lockwood Brewery near Huddersfield.  It is unclear whether Bentley had any actual contact with Priestly, but at least 2 sources in the archive of Bentley’s Yorkshire Breweries, Ltd. infer that Bentley made full use of the scientific works written by Priestly.

This system employs an upper and lower deck that were made of local hard stone.  In order to stimulate complete conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, the Samuel Smith yeast strain needs to be roused and aerated several times due to its rapid flocculation to the top of the fermenting chamber.   The fermenting wort circulates between these two chambers, alternating between pumping action and periods of rest.  The result creates a beer that holds large quantities of carbon dioxide and is lively, with a full creaminess borne of this traditional method.  

The original stone decks were well established by 1830, but by the early 1900s had been replaced by Welsh slate.  Today only a handful of breweries in Northern Yorkshire still use this system.  Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery in Tadcaster is among this elite group.  Black Sheep Brewery brews some beers in a 100-year-old slate system but Tetley Brewery of Leeds ceased production in stone squares in 2007.  A few others stand in defunct breweries like old skeletons of a recent past.  

Samuel Smith’s has just announced the release of a very limited production of 2,000 cases of Yorkshire Stingo, fermented in stone squares and barrel aged in oak for over a year.  Bottle conditioned and vintage dated, this strong ale has a complexity that carries a wood nuttiness through a fruity malt backbone.  Add this as a must-have treasure for that Beer Cellar, available through Merchant du Vin, Importers.

Cheers!

Content copyright © 2009 by Carolyn Smagalski. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Carolyn Smagalski. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission.
Contact Carolyn Smagalski for details.