October 29 2006
You might think of wine country, as, well, the domain of just wine.
According to the current issue of Men’s Journal magazine, two of the top four beers in America are made in California locales more known for their vino.
And, in fact, the #1 beer in America—yup, it’s made by a winery. Or to be crystal clear, I should say it’s made by folks whose stock-in-trade is wine.
Go figure.
The #4 best beer in America, the Russian River Temptation Ale, made by the Russian River Ale Company was founded by Korbel Champagne Cellars in 1997.
Not to be outdone, the #1 brew in America, The Firestone Walker Pale Ale, is made by the family behind Firestone Family Estates--a portfolio of business units that encompasses Firestone Vineyard, the aforementioned craft brewer, Curtis Winery, and Prosperity Wines.
The Firestone Pale Ale wins even if Men’s Journal says of this Central
Coast winery and brewer, “You may recognize the name here, either from the Napa Valley winery …”
Not quite Napa, fellas. Many people would say that comparing the Central Coast to Napa is akin to saying a Budweiser is the same as a Guinness. But, I quibble …
This whole marriage of craft brewing and wine is interesting. It makes sense--artisan and boutique is translatable … There does exist a slight marriage of the two quaffable offerings, though they are connected by Barley and not vinifera grapes. Barley wine is frequently finished with a cork and in a 750 ml bottle. According to Wikipedia:
It typically reaches an alcohol strength of 8 to 12% by volume and is brewed from specific gravities as high as 1.120. It is called a barleywine because it can be as strong as wine; but since it is made from grain rather than fruit it is in fact a beer. In the United States barleywines are required for this reason to be called “barley wine-style ales.” This is taken by some to imply that they are not truly barleywines; in fact it only means that they, like any barleywines, are not truly wines.
Most wine retailers in my neck of the woods have a pretty good selection of micro-brews, too. I’ll pop over and look for the Firestone Pale Ale next time I’m talking myself out of something too expensive.
And, for a timely review of Curtis Wines, a part of the Firestone family portfolio, check out Tim’s review at Winecast from Saturday, September 16th.
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