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De Ranke H.O.P. Flower Power!
Nino and Guido, meet the Partridge Family . . .
That's what this label looks like, anyway.The quintessential fake-family/fake-rock band's fake-psychedelic mini-bus makes its way through a veritable shit-storm of what almost looks like marijuana, but is in fact Nino and Guido's absolute favorite flower -- fragrant, spicy, Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops. You all remember the Partridges, surely. (You know, Danny Bonaducci's first band?) And if you're reading this, you already know Nino and Guido pretty well. So how did this artistic collaboration come about?
Admittedly, the old Belgian beer appreciation group, De Objectieve BierProevers ('Objective Beer Tasters') has never been among our faves at Shelton Brothers. With their glossy magazine, their suit-and-tie corporate guy at the top, and their tendency to lend support to, and take money from, big Belgian breweries making increasingly bland and lifeless beer, they were definitely going in a direction quite different from ours. But Carl Kins, whom we bump into regularly along the beer geek circuit, from Denver to Copenhagen to Bamberg, is one of the good ones. He doesn't wear a tie, and he doesn't care for big-brewery dreck. He just loves beer, and he loves hops too much -- just as Nino and Guido do -- so, naturally, when he started up his own splinter group apart from the OBP, he had to come up with something yielding the acronym H.O.P.: Heerlijk Objectief Proeven -- which translates approximately as 'Delicious Objective Tests.' You have to be Flemish to understand, I guess.
A few years ago, the O.B.P. lost the guy with the tie, and became a new group called Zythos that cares more about beer than the "beer business." We go to their festival in March every year.
Meanwhile, Carl and his H.O.P. people wanted a limited edition beer to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary this year, and of course they wanted it to be supremely hoppy. They settled on an idea that's been a minor trend in the U.S. and the U.K.: wet-hopping, which is the addition of fresh hops right from the fields that haven't been dried, as hops normally are. To make Belgium's first ever wet-hopped beer, H.O.P. turned to Nino and Guido of De Ranke brewery, the only place in Belgium that makes a point of using only whole hop flowers, all the time. (You will recall that Nino and Guido were the geniuses who, in 1996, invented XX Bitter.) It just happens that 2009 is the 15th anniversary of De Ranke, too, so this collaboration makes sense for at least 15² reasons.
Nino and Guido used Brewer's Gold and Challenger hops for bittering, and Saaz and Mittelfrüh for aroma. The hops added "wet" were also Mittelfrüh. They were picked in early September and tossed into the brew kettle hours later, on September 4th. The first thing you'll notice is a very green, herbal, almost stinging hop wallop. That's the flavor of perfectly fresh Hallertauer hops.
According to Nino:
"We put an enormous amount of 80 kg of wet hops in the kettle. The whole village of Dottignies has been smelling for 2 days. ('Smelling' is maybe not the good word; maybe 'aromatised?'). I think it is the first wet hop beer or Harvest Ale in Belgium. And the taste and aroma are wonderfull!!!"
This hoppy, hoppy, hoppy beer is roughly in the style of a modern saison. Moderate alcohol, at 6%, earthy, sharply bitter, and wholly refreshing. Emphasis on bitter, actually . . .
Thank you Carl. Thank you Nino. Thank you Guido.
This beer will never be made again. We've only got 1200 of the 750ml champagne-type bottles. So if you see it, buy it (before it's gone forever). Regrettably, distribution will be limited to only a handful of states, the ones that have no blood-sucking label registration fees. If you're not living in one of those blessed states, lobby your state legislature now to repeal the label registration laws!
Meanwhile, stay tuned for the daughter of Flower Power, a beer to be named Saison de Dottignies. With luck we might see this in the early Springtime.
P.S. Before some ignorant beer writer starts calling this beer another 'Belgian I.P.A.,' we want to remind everyone that the Belgians have a proud tradition of extremely hoppy, if not over-hopped, beer that goes back much further than the American I.P.A. phenomenon, which is, by our reckoning, not much more than 25 years old. XX Bitter is not a 'Belgian I.P.A.' either. Nino and Guido don't like I.P.A.s. XX Bitter is an attempt to create the ideal version of the beers that Nino and Guido drank in Belgium, before commercialization ruined everything. Any beer that calls itself a Belgian I.P.A. is just pandering to the narcissistic American market. Don't buy it!
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Dec 11, 09 | 7:11 pm | Profile
10 Comments | Archived under: Tastings, Notes, and Beers
We're in the ugly uphill climb of the holiday beer-shipping season, but we must take a little time out to announce the U.S. debut of a brand new brewery that we're excited about.
La Companiya Cervesera del Montseny -- known to friends simply as CCM -- is Spain's first bona fide craft brewery. They've sent us three of their beers, which are available now.
  
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Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Oct 04, 09 | 2:42 pm | Profile
2 Comments | Archived under:
A quick note to let everybody know that Bryan Baird will be visiting Denver this week, as well Ron Jeffries of Jolly Pumpkin. Daniel & Tessa along with a couple others of the SBs crew will also be there.
Thursday night we will be in the basement of the Falling Rock Taphouse, for what will surely be a nice quiet evening of intimate conversation ;) We will have some beers from some of our favorite US brewers there: Jolly Pumpkin, High & Mighty, St. Somewhere, Smuttynose, Pretty Things, Pizza Port (Carlsbad), Modern Monks. We will also have some other "American" beers from Dieu du Ciel and Trois Mousquetaires. Remember, American doesn't just mean the US!
We will also have some beers from the first craft brewery in Spain: Cervesera del Montseny.
We'd love to see everybody there. Any US brewers out there who would like to talk about export or possible collaboration brews around the world should definitely look us up. Shoot an email to matt AT sheltonbrothers.com and we can try to arrange something! Please insert the appropriate symbol for the letters AT.
Prost!
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Sep 23, 09 | 10:32 am | Profile
0 Comments | Archived under:
Next week in Boston is the Craft Brewer's Conference. Lots of brewers, distributors and other industry folks will be converging on Beantown for the event. As Boston is basically our backyard, we decided we would make sure we entertained everybody. So, we've rallied the troops, Shelton Brothers-style. Below is a list of brewers we work with who will be taking part in our festivities, followed by the main events Tuesday night at the Other Side Cafe (407 Newbury Street, on "the other side" of Mass Ave.
Boston, MA), and Wednesday & Thursday nights at Deep Ellum (477 Cambridge Street, Allston, MA):
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Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Apr 12, 09 | 4:34 pm | Profile
0 Comments | Archived under: Tastings, Notes, and Beers
Graduate students at Western New England College are researching buyer behavior for imported craft beer. This research is being conducted for educational purposes and involves interviewing someone who drinks imported craft beer. The interview will involve a variety of questions that seek help students understand the motivations for consuming imported craft beer, as well as the process for purchasing craft beer. The survey will be conducted by phone and should take approximately 15 minutes of your time. These interviews will be taking place in early February. If you would like to participate in this project, please contact Professor Harlan Spotts (hspotts@ymail.com) and provide an email address and phone number to contact you.
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Jan 14, 09 | 6:47 pm | Profile
1 Comments | Archived under: Miscellaneous
Dear Sarah,
We know you are probably busy keeping an eye on Russia for us, but we thought maybe you could use a break from that and the new baby and everything, ya know? We would like to invite you to visit the Shelton Brothers booth at the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival being held in Anchorage this weekend.
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Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Jan 13, 09 | 10:39 pm | Profile
2 Comments | Archived under: Travel
 Something fun is taking place in Minneapolis soon. The event is officially called Where the Wild Beers Are. It is being put on by a guy we call Jeff Two Wallets, from Twin Cities Imbiber, and hosted by the good folks at Stub & Herbs. Sunday August, 17th is the date, and sign up is required for those that are interested. Check the Where the Wild Beers Are website for that.
The event seems a bit unique, in that it is being billed as a "collaborative tasting" or a "sour share". Basically, you bring a good bottle of a commercially produced sour or wild beer and donate it to gain admission. Those donations will make up the core of the tasting selection for the day. See their website for more details. Sounds like a good excuse to share some unique beers with others who are bound to appreciate them. If you haven't much experience with these sorts of beers, we suggest you find a bottle of Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, Jolly Pumpkin, Panil Barriquée, Flemish Primitive, Fantome...have I left anything out?
Oh yeah, there's the Kriek from De Ranke, plus their latest release Cuvee...there's a new release from Haandbryggeriet called Haandbakk...Old Odense Ale from Nørrebro Bryghus...whoa, do we import some good sour beers or what?! The point of this wasn't to brag, though...just to suggest that you ought be able to find a good "wild" beer to contribute if you want to take a walk on that side, babe...
We also know that a keg of Cantillon Iris will be pouring during this event. That sounds like reason enough to go right there. Attendance is limited, so get signed up soon...
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Aug 06, 08 | 4:34 pm | Profile
2 Comments | Archived under: Tastings, Notes, and Beers
That's right folks, the Franconians are coming to California. Soon, and maybe even as we speak, BevMo stores across the state will be filling their shelves with some wonderful lagers from what might just be the best beer region on Earth. Look for fresh 5L mini-kegs from Kulmbacher, as well as bottles of Kulmbacher Pils, EKU Pils, Kapuziner Weisse, and Kapuziner Schwarz-Weizen. BUT, wait...it gets better. We are going to dig deeper into Franconia still. You should also look for small amounts of Mahr's Brau Weiss, their special Der Weisse Bock and Spezial Rauchbier Lager.
It doesn't stop there, either. Dan slipped some more specialties into those direct shipments from Franconia. Check this out:
Keesmann-Bräu Bamberger Herren Pils
Löwenbräu Buttenheim Ungespundetes Lagerbier
Weissenohe Eucharius Märzen
Kundmüller Weiherer Rauch
Ahornberger Maibock
There isn't much of these to go around, so find them quickly and drink them while they are nice and fresh. You'll be glad you did.
Once you find yourself addicted to Franconian beer, you'll want to check in with Fred, who runs the Online Guide to Franconian Beer. The folks there might be able to help you track down these Franconian treats out in the Golden State. You'll also find lots of great photos and notes on the region.
Prost
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Jun 19, 08 | 12:36 am | Profile
2 Comments | Archived under: Tastings, Notes, and Beers
As I type this, Dan is preparing for Martin Wine Cellars' first beer dinner. Their Metairie location (New Orleans suburb), which features a gourmet bistro and deli, will host the event tonight. Unfortunately, for all of you just hearing about this now, the event is already sold out. However, you can take a peak at the pairings.
By the way, notice the De Ranke Guldenberg on the list. There have been some rumblings that this beer seems even better than ever lately...if that is somehow true, we might now be in heaven.
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Jun 17, 08 | 5:24 pm | Profile
2 Comments | Archived under: Tastings, Notes, and Beers
This Saturday, the folks at the Falling Rock have agreed to play host to an informal beer gathering featuring some beers from Brouwerij de Molen in the Netherlands. Two of the Ron Pattinson (re)creations will be available, as well as a couple from the regular De Molen line-up. Proprietor Chris Black has held onto a keg of Cantillon Cuvee des Champions for this night, and who knows what else might be around. It promises to be a fun evening. I'm looking forward to it, I know that much. I'll probably get there around 5pm, but I bet beer will be flowing before that hour arrives. Stop in, say hi and drink some beer...that sounds like something to do.
Posted by: Shelton Brothers
on Jun 10, 08 | 11:42 pm | Profile
3 Comments | Archived under: Tastings, Notes, and Beers
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