Beer of the Week: Rare Form

From the Beer Writer: Though San Diego beer has been an institution for over a quarter century, back in 2012, only about a half-dozen breweries qualified as “coastal” and even fewer had legitimate beach-adjacent locations. Yet, that’s where the majority of beer-drinking took place. Familiar with the demographics that frequented Pacific Beach thanks to years spent operating a restaurant bordering SDSU’s campus, entrepreneurs Alex Pierson and JC Hill (Alvarado Street Brewery) duplicated their California Kebab concept on the second story of a PB strip mall a block from the beach, adding a small brewing setup to make house beers. From those humble beginnings came a line of music-themed beers that made regulars of their neighbors and opened the eyes of tourists to the glories of San Diego craft beer. Eventually, the venue’s name was changed to that of its brewing arm, Amplified Ale Works, and the rest is a history well worth celebrating. That’s just what Amplified is doing this weekend and, as is tradition, their barrel-aged Belgian-style quadrupel ale, Rare Form, will be part of the festivities. Dark mahogany in color and brawny on the palate with layers of chestnut, vanilla, prune, date, mace, allspice and a warming booziness, it’s the perfect specialty offering to sit and sip in a zipped hoodie on Amplified’s open-air deck watching the sun set, listening to the waves crash and reminiscing on eight years.

From the Brewery: “Rare Form is Amplified’s anniversary beer, an amped up Belgian dark strong quad brewed with 100% Belgian malt and candi sugar. After pouring bottles of it at the Great American Beer Festival and getting very good responses from people, we’ve kept the malt bill more or less the same the past three years. The 2020 variant was split equally between bourbon and rye barrels and, coincidentally, spent exactly one (leap) year in the wood. The beer usually comes out big and warming in time for the cooler months and really settles down towards the end of winter with big, rich caramel and vanilla notes backed by dark fruits (cherry for me) coming from the Belgian yeast. This is a favorite of mine for bottle shares because it’s a departure from the sunny day, lighter, patio-friendly styles we’re typically are known for, and people are often pleasantly surprised with its complexity and richness. It gives people a chance to enjoy something from Amplified’s dark side, which also includes 2020 San Diego International Beer Competition medal-winning barrel-aged imperial stout Nyctophobia, my personal favorite Phase Shifter barrel-aged barley wine, and a new addition this year, Midnight Toker, a barrel-aged Baltic porter with star anise, piloncillo and plums we brewed with South Park Brewing.”—Jeff Campbell, Director of Brewing Operations, Amplified Ale Works

“Rare Form holds a special place for us as it’s one of the first recipes we ever brewed on our original three-barrel system in 2012, which was crammed into the back of our PB brewpub’s kitchen. Now, eight years later, it marks one of the few consistencies of consumer preference we’ve witnessed over this timespan. While IPA sub-styles have seemingly come and gone, this Belgian-style quad aged in bourbon barrels (and rye, this year) finds a consistent following year after year with its complex combination of burnt caramel, dried cherries, dark chocolate and alcohol warmth. We’ve bottled this annual favorite in 22-ounce bombers this year to be better shared amongst (socially-distanced) friends. Cheers to eight years of Amplified and the kickoff of San Diego Beer Week! “—Alex Pierson, Co-founder & Owner, Amplified Ale Works