Beer of the Week: Lafitte’s Beard
Schwarzbiers are hard enough to find in their base form, but Ballast Point Brewing's head of R&D decided to add multiple smoked malts
Like many local beer enthusiasts, I love IPAs, particularly the bone-dry, hop-heavy variety brewed in and named for my hometown. And I respect the fact that light adjunct lagers of the corn and rice variety pair well with my hometown’s signature sunshine. So, I completely understand why these styles make up the lion’s share of the offerings at most San Diego County breweries. But it wasn’t always that way. ‘Twas a wondrous time just over a decade ago, when just about any style of ale, lager, mixed-fermentation or spontaneous beer could be found if you knew where to look. That variety was my favorite facet of that era’s craft-beer scene, and I relished (and still do) the opportunity to try local takes on obscure Old World styles, particularly when they were lent some sort of inventive flair. An English-style mild on cask with New Zealand hops: sign me up! A dry Irish-style stout laced with Carolina reaper peppers: why, yes, please! A Brettanomyces-spiked farmhouse ale rested on California citrus fruit…LFG! I don’t happen across such gems with as much regularity as I once did, but deep style exploration is still practiced at Ballast Point Brewing’s R&D brewery in Little Italy, where you’re likely to find pretty much anything care of Specialty Brewer Michael Bracey, who also enjoys taking traditional beers a step further. Case in point, this week’s featured beer, Lafitte’s Beard. Lafitte’s unkempt pirate’s mane must have been rather dark, because this schwarzbier is black as night with a brunette head of foam. A high-SRM (the standard reference method scale indicating a beer’s color) German-style lager that’s seen a bit of a renaissance in recent years, schwarzbiers typically bring all the nutty, chocolaty flavor imparted by specialty malts without being heavily roasty. But it’s hard to tell with Lafitte’s Beard, because Bracey added multiple varieties of smoked malt, imparting a layered woodiness that adds flavor without taking away from the base beer’s impressive drinkability. In a day and age where brewers aren’t always rewarded for stepping outside the box like they once were, it’s nice to see one with not one, but both boots outside those line-in-the-sand borders to create something both tasty and different.
It’s always gratifying to give our patrons something to try for their very first time, whether that means an uncommon style, a specialty cask or a Berliner weisse on nitro. Lafitte’s Beard was brewed in that spirit. Just when you think you know what a schwarzbier is supposed to taste like, the addition of beechwood and cherrywood smoked malts brings a surprising twist. Not as aggressive as a rauchbier, it’s a multilayered easy-drinking lager perfect for the changing seasons. And bonus: we’ll also have the beer available on cask with cocoa and vanilla.”
Michael Bracey, Specialty Brewer, Ballast Point Brewing
Ballast Point Brewing is located at 2215 India Street in Little Italy