Beer of the Week: Uno

Ilove everything about brewery anniversaries. Brewing company owners and their teams spend all year balancing their desires with those of their customers. That’s a great way to operate, making sure a business stays true to its creative muse and the reasons it was founded in the first place, while maintaining a close gauge on what the people who support that enterprise like best about it and beer, in general. But come anniversary time, for one splendid brew day, these operations have carte blanche to do just about anything they want. After all, it’s just a single batch of what is likely to be a one-time-only creation versus the invention of a year-round core beer that must appeal to a great many and help pay the bills. Typically, breweries will go the indulgent route with their anniversaries, crafting something big, burly and high in alcohol; something in step with the grandeur of the occasion and an all-out event commemorating another year in the beer biz. In preparing for his Santee concern’s one-year anniversary, Scott Christian originally planned on brewing a triple IPA. He went so far as writing a recipe before having a change of heart and going back to the drawing board to instead put together a blueprint for a sessionable beer. Not only was it something he was excited about brewing, but he felt it was something the regulars who would attend his anniversary fete would prefer drinking. Enter this week’s featured beer, Uno from Sunny Grove Brewing. Named for the milestone it was brewed for, this amber Mexican-style lager goes down easy, which is not to say it has the water-substitution blandness of many adjunct crushers. To the contrary, Uno offers light caramel flavor, plus a slight nuttiness and mild toastiness on the back end. These qualities add to its food-friendly nature, but it’s plenty delightful all on its own. Feliz Aniversario, Arboleda Soleada!

For our first anniversary, we wanted to stay true to ourselves and what we love. So, while we threw around a few different ideas of what to make, we ultimately chose a Mexican amber lager. Uno is a 5% (alcohol-by-volume) crushable lager that has just enough complexity to keep it interesting yet crisp, with a dry finish that’s perfect for summer. We used Vienna malt as a base and added a variety of German Cara malts, plus a touch of flaked corn to give it slight toast and caramel flavors, but with a touch of sweet corn to round it out. And as part of our anniversary party on Saturday, June 21, our friends will debut their new ceviche pop-up, making for a perfect beer-and-food pairing!”

Scott Christian, Co-owner & Head Brewer, Sunny Grove Brewing

Sunny Grove Brewing is located at 8665 Argent Street, Suite B in Santee