"joshua bernstein" news and stories

Photo: Jenene Chesbrough

Joshua M. Bernstein, Gourmet.com's beer columnist, has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and The New York Times.

Classically, wheat beers are as cloudy as a late-March afternoon, with a tart, yeasty edge that lends itself well to a squeeze of lemon. These easy drinkers are ideal for sipping by the pool or beneath a leafy canopy, as summertime sweat trickles down your cheek.

Unsurprisingly, Munster, Indiana's Three Floyds Brewing didn't get the message. Since 1996, these rule-breaking brewers have attracted a ferocious following with gonzo beers like the mango-y Dreadnaught IPA and the culty Dark Lord, a monstrous Russian imperial stout brewed with honey, molasses and coffee. (It's only sold once a year at the brewery, bringing out crowds before dawn).

Naturally, Three Floyds dared not design a wimpy wheat. Summer seasonal Gumballhead is crafted with gobs of red wheat, then infused with oodles of Amarillo hops, creating an intoxicating nose that recalls strolling through a grove of grapefruit and lemon trees. And though the scent is more in line with a mouth-puckering IPA, Gumballhead hardly drinks like a hop monster.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Blanche. Photo: Les Trois Mousquetaires.

Joshua M. Bernstein, Gourmet.com's beer columnist, has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and The New York Times.

With much of the country smothered by a hot, damp quilt of humidity, drinkers need a brew suited for combating the unrepentant sun. While mowing-the-lawn beers like the Brothers Light (Bud and Coors, that is) may slake thirst, they're like fizzy tap water. A finer alternative is the flavorful German Hefeweizen.

Classically, the cloudy, unfiltered ale (examples include Jolly Pumpkin's sour Weizen Bam and the classic Schneider Weisse) possesses heaps of wheat, creating a lively beverage with a banana aroma and tangy edge.

"When I'm looking for the perfect thirst-quencher, I want a beer with a light body without being watery," says Jonathan Lafortune, the president and brewmaster behind Quebec's Les Trois Mousquetaires."[I like a] beer with a slight acidity that gives me a refreshing sensation and a little bit of spice."

That's Blanche to a tee.

Sure, North Carolina's better known for pulled pork than beer, but Black Mountain's Pisgah Brewing Company crafts liquid delicacies more divine than any swine. Since 2005, this Asheville-area microbrewery (named after a local mountain) has fashioned small-batch organic wonders, like the crisp pale ale; the smooth, obsidian-hued porter; and, to your sobriety's enduring detriment, the Solstice.

The Solstice (sold in corked 750 ml champagne bottles) is a Tripel, a Belgian ale so-called because brewers employ triple the normal malt. This makes Tripels serious knockouts, with alcohol percentages that sky into double digits-sipping (Solstice is 9.5 percent). While inelegant Tripels recall jet fuel, the best, like Solstice, finesse the boozy jolt, creating a complex potion that's dangerously delicious.