Best beer I ever had with a nice kick too. Unfortunatly I can' drink much beer anymore as it causes terrible runs the next day.
Posted on 10/19/2024 11:01:00 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Hanabi Lager Co. is creating craft lager out of ancient, heirloom grains.
Hanabi Lager Co. shocked the beverage world when it released its first beer in late 2020, charging $90 for a six-pack. It was a pilsner, a style people expect to cost around $1 a can. Hanabi was charging $15 per bottle, plus the cost of shipping. Facebook commentators mocked the company. VinePair said it sounded like a spoof.
But beer fans responded differently. These days, Hanabi’s lagers can sell out within an hour.
Hanabi is succeeding at producing incredibly expensive beer even when the rest of the craft beer market is going through a contraction. It helps that Hanabi has an epic California pedigree: Its founder, Nick Gislason, is the winemaker behind Screaming Eagle, a cult winery that is so sought after, it makes Hanabi’s beers look cheap (one bottle of the wine sold for $500,000 at auction). But four years later, Hanabi is still selling beer and winning fans over even after the Screaming Eagle intrigue has worn off.
Hanabi’s approach to beer is basically designed to appeal to a beer nerd like me. I’ve worked in the industry for over a decade, both behind the bar and as a beer writer, but I’d never tried any of Gislason’s beer. Recently, I saw that Hanabi was releasing its latest seasonal beer at Admiral Maltings in Alameda, so I headed over to find out if any lager could really be worth so much money.
The most expensive lager I’ve ever bought
Admiral Maltings is a natural fit for a Hanabi beer release because the brewery would likely not exist without it. Gislason has an obsessive focus on the grains used in beer, using heirloom varieties of barley grown in extremely small batches. The latest Hanabi beer is made
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Might have been a Pacific Northwest thing. Or then there was Buckhorn, Olympia’s economy brand, about which the best thing you could say was that it was just as good warm as it was cold.
“we partner with California farmers to source quality grain and produce exceptional, hand-crafted malt.”
“This beer features an heirloom grain variety named Haná that was originally used to brew the world’s first Pilsner. Brought back from near extinction by British farmers, we source it from one of the only fields in the world where it can be found today, in Norfolk, England. Our Haná Pilsner is the rhythm section of our brewery and is produced year-round. It represents the core of our house approach and style. Presented as a Pilsner style lager, this heritage barley brings aromatic notes of fresh wholegrain bread, nori, and dried spearmint, along with a long, fresh finish.”
https://cambridgewinesnj.com/products/hanabi-lager-hana-pilsner-002-500ml
“Phillips’ Screaming Eagle vineyard seems ideal for Cabernet. The soil is virtually a rock pile on a gentle, west-facing slope east of the Napa River. Drainage and exposure are excellent — witness the string of first-class vintages the wine has enjoyed. The property is at a point in the valley where the weather is hot enough during the day to ripen Cabernet to its optimum, yet the grapes are cooled by the afternoon breezes that blow north from San Pablo Bay.
“Through the years, Phillips has removed tons of rocks from her property, making a major contribution to the many rock walls you see while driving along the Silverado Trail in the Oakville area. She’s also presided over a massive replanting, replacing the white varieties with Bordeaux red grapes. One inspiration came from the late André Tchelistcheff—the master vintner urged her to focus on Cabernet and use Clone 7. This expensive undertaking took several years, but now all of her 57 acres are planted with Bordeaux varieties.
“The resulting wines are brimming with deep, plush layers of flavor, echoing currant, cassis, blackberry and black cherry. The tannins are soft, round and polished, yet firm enough to give every indication that the wines will age quite well for 10 to 20 years. Oak plays a minimal role as a flavor accent, lingering in the background.”
“Screaming Eagle is usually 75-85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3-4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest is Merlot.”
https://winespecific.com/tag/cabernet-sauvignon/
Ok, we were in the Midwest. Next cheapest beer then was Old Milwaukee.
I no longer can drink beer, but when I did I liked Old Milwaukee. Not because it was cheap - I liked the taste. But then I grew up drinking Iron City.
Best beer I ever had with a nice kick too. Unfortunatly I can' drink much beer anymore as it causes terrible runs the next day.
I long for the days of Brown Derby.
Newsom strikes again.
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