When I opened my brewbook today I discovered I was on the brink of a milestone. I was about to brew my 200th batch of beer for Empire. I know in my last post, I said I was thinking of brewing an American Strong Ale. Thats about all it was, a thought. I will get to a Strong Ale, but it just didn't seem to be the right choice going into summer. While at the Craft Brewers Conference, I attended an event that was sponsored by the German Hop Growers Association. They had four beers they were featuring that were brewed by the Victory Brewing Co. Each one was a varietal, meaning they only used one hop in each beer. Varietals really showcase the hop, and after drinking one there should be no question as to the charchteristic of that particular hop. Three of the beers used new varities of German hops, and one used the traditional Hallertau variety. All of these beers were good, well crafted and very clean. However, it was the traditional beer that really made and impression on me. It was so crisp, and the hop charchter was intense, the flavor was spicey, and the aroma, earthy. It was this beer that came to mind when I was getting ready to brew my 200th batch of Empire beer. It is in the tank now. I used a German Pilsner malt for the base malt. I hopped it nicely with all German Hallertau hops, and keeping with my tradition of putting my own twist on a beer, I finished it with a touch of dried lemon peel. It will be called Empire Summer Ale, and it should be ready to drink in about another week. I really can't wait for this one.
