Societe Brewing Company | Four Brewers Podcast

Season 2, Episode 9 – This week, we’re going back to the hops with homebrew from Nagel and hoppy radness from Noble Ale Works, Alpine Beer Company, and Societe Brewing Company.

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Now that we’re all fully recovered from last week’s epic stout tasting, we’re back with a homebrew from Greg, and some beers from some of SoCal’s best breweries: Noble Ale Works, Alpine Beer Company, and Societe Brewing Company. John Ryti also joins us for the festivities.

We kick the show off with a unique homebrew from Greg that’s kind of saison, and kind of a pilsner. Weird, right? The beer was intended to be a saison, and technically speaking, it is. It was brewed with Belgian pilsner and rye malts, and fermented with White Labs WLP568 Saison yeast. What makes this beer different was the utilization of whole leaf Saaz hops. The beer was bittered with Nelson Sauvin in the boil, while the Saaz hops were used in a custom hopback made by Greg. The Saaz come through so much in this beer that it’s reminiscent of a Czech pilsner. All in all, it’s a tasty, easy drinking beer and an example of how experimentation with homebrewing can lead to unintended, yet interesting results.

Hoppy Brews from Noble, Alpine, and Societe

Next up is yet another attempt to convince Matt that Sorachi Ace hops aren’t just extract from an old lady’s perfume bottle, Noble Ale Works Sorachi Ace Showers. Matt was given this beer from the brewer himself, Evan Price. If you aren’t familiar with the “Showers” line of beers, it’s a series that Noble Ale Works has been doing for quite a while now, that focuses on one specific hop. This beer is a great example of how to utilize the characteristic of this hop. The malt profile on the beer has a unique, malty, savory flavor, almost like candy, and the hops back it up with a balanced, lemony bitterness. This beer doesn’t smack you in the face, and it’s quite refreshing. Interestingly enough, Matt kind of digs the beer, while Jason is simply not a fan. Thanks for the beer, Evan!

The next two beers are from Alpine Beer Company. Jason picked up a couple of growlers from Green Flash Brewing Company, who is now brewing Alpine beers at their facility in San Diego, California. Alpine Beer Company is a very small brewpub out of Alpine, California who is known for their spectacular beers, most notably their hoppy beers. They were recently purchased by Green Flash Brewing Company to help expand the brand, get the beers to a bigger market, and help Alpine Beer Company keep making the truly unique brews that they are so well known for. The two beers we have on this episode, Hoppy Birthday and Nelson, are two classics from Alpine. Both of these were brewed at Green Flash, which in comparison to Alpine’s brewhouse, is enormous. There are certain recipe scaling issues that come about when stepping up a beer to a production run of this size. We discuss those issues on the show, and whether or not these beers are truly accurate iterations of the beer Alpine is known for.

Alpine Beer Company - Nelson — Alpine Beer Company – Nelson

The final beer of this episode is The Miser from Societe Brewing Company, by way of our good friend and “Ruler of the Underworld” at Societe, Mike Sardina. This beer is made with Amarillo, Simcoe, Mosaic and El Dorado hops, and boy does it show on the nose. This beer smells absolutely delish. Coming in at 10% ABV, the body on this beer is really nice, and not just a vehicle for hop delivery. Societe very much prides themselves on making a unique, quality product, and it really shows in this beer. Expect an on-location episode from Societe in the near future…

BREW THE SHIT OUT OF IT.

Links to things from this week’s episode:
S2/E9 Show Outline
Noble Ale Works
Alpine Beer Company
Societe Brewing Company
Firkfest 2015

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Season 1, Episode 8 – This week, we’re once again joined by the lovely Denise Ratfield of Pink Boots Society and Stone Brewing Co., who (like the dope lady she is) brought #AllTheBeers. Robert French is also back in the studio with us. We try three varieties of Societe’s “The Bachelor”, learn more about Denise, and learn that Jason simply dominates during “Guess That Brew.”

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If you have yet to hear about Societe Brewing Company in San Diego, California, well…get in the know! They’re making killer beer in San Diego that’s uncompromising and true to their take on what craft beer should be.

Societe Brewing Company - The Bachelor — Societe Brewing Company – The Bachelor

Denise brought three varieties of Societe’s American IPA, The Bachelor, to share with us. These growlers were provided by our good bud, Mike Sardina, Societe’s “Ruler of the Underworld.” Mike is one of the most sincere craft beer geeks we’ve ever met, and he’s a perfect fit over at Societe.

The Bachelor is an ever-changing, single hop IPA. The hops in the beer vary from batch to batch, so you can really get the true essence of whatever hop was used in the beer pretty well.

The first variant of The Bachelor we’re drinking is made with Mosaic hops. Mosaic hops tend to come off very much like passion fruits, and this beer definitely delivers the fruit, perhaps even all over your face.

The second variant of The Bachelor is made with Amarillo hops. Amarillo is a great hop for IPA, especially when combined with Simcoe, so it’s really nice to see it used in The Bachelor as a single hop.

The third variant of The Bachelor is made with Citra. [Citra is so hot right now. So hot.] We all love its citrus-like characteristics and it really shines in this beer. Societe makes some of the cleanest beer you’ll ever drink, and Citra in The Bachelor is a match made in beer heaven.

Feature: “Guess That Brew!”

We’re back for another round of “Guess That Brew.” This time, we’re reading two reviews of two very different but much sought after brews. Jason proves once again that he is the master of this game. Don’t cross this dude—he’ll lay the smack down.

Feature: Denise Ratfield and “Unite Pale Ale.”

Denise Ratfield has been involved in the brewing industry since 1995 when she worked on the bottling line at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. She currently works at Stone Brewing Co.’s headquarters as their Brewceptionist.

Along with working at Stone, Denise has been an active member of the Pink Boots Society as the Social Media Committee Chair. She also recently organized the massive brewday that was International Women’s Collaborative Brew Day.

Pink Boots Society is comprised of women who work in the beer industry. Their main goal is to empower women in the brewing industry through an open exchange of ideas and scholarships. There are many women working behind the scenes in the beer industry, whether they be brewers, brewery owners, shop owners, or even beer writers. Their voices and advancement in the industry are important. Pink Boots Society is there to help them advance and thrive, and encourage even more women to get involved in the beer industry.

Mike Hess Brewing and Pink Boots Society Collaboration Beer - Unite Pale Ale — Mike Hess Brewing and Pink Boots Society Collaboration Beer – Unite Pale Ale

As mentioned earlier, Denise was the event organizer for International Women’s Collaborative Brew Day. The idea was originally brought to Denise and Pink Boots Society by Sophie de Ronde from Brentwood Brewery in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with Project Venus UK (think Pink Boots Society, but in the UK). The thought was to have women in the beer industry from all over the world unite for one day and brew a beer. In this case, it was a pale ale made with Cascade hops—a true classic. A recipe was posted online, and those who participated could tweak the recipe as needed and brew the beer. Over 70 breweries around the world participated. The beer was named “Unite Pale Ale.”

The variation of Unite that we are drinking this week was brewed at Mike Hess Brewing Company in San Diego, California, by two team members from Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, CA, Laura Mirsch (Brewer at Stone Brewing Co.) and Hollie Stephenson (Brewery Supervisor at Stone Brewing Co.). It’s a 4.9% pale ale that’s quite delicious.

Latitude 33 and Pink Boots Society Collaboration Beer Label — Latitude 33 and Pink Boots Collaboration Beer Label

Denise is all about the Pink Boots Collaborations these days, and her latest is with Latitude 33 Brewing Company out of San Diego, California. Denise and Kevin Buckley (Latitude 33’s Brewmaster and Head of Brewing Operations) made a 5.3% oatmeal pale ale (ah-hem, John…?) with Nugget, Nelson, Southern Cross, and Motueka hops named “Worldly Scholar.” It’s on draft and in bottles, and it’s available RIGHT NOW! Funds raised from the sale of the beer will benefit Pink Boots Society scholarships.

Denise will also be pouring this beer at Beervana, a two day celebration of craft beer in New Zealand.

If you didn’t hear already, we’re officially on Stitcher.

Cheers, and we’ll see you next week!

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