"microbrew" news and stories

Compared to the lush Pacific Northwest and Midwest, the South is a veritable craft-brew desert. Nonetheless, in recent years numerous microbreweries have made inroads into the land of lagers, like Kiln, Mississippi's Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company. It's the state's first -- and still its best -- microbrewery.

Since its 2003 founding, husband-and-wife owners Mark and Leslie Henderson (she's the brewer) have focused on beers employing distinctly Southern ingredients. The silky Jefferson Stout is formulated with sweet potatoes, while the refreshing and lightly sweetened Southern Gold incorporates local honey.

"The South joined the craft-beer revolution pretty late, so many ingredients available here have never been tried in beers," Leslie explains -- notably that of the pecan, which has become Lazy Magnolia's finest muse -- once Leslie cleared a tricky hurdle.

Just when I thought that winter was kaput, that rascally groundhog spotted his shadow, consigning us to six more chilly weeks. On cue, Mother Nature sent blizzards screaming across the Midwest and East Coast, coating the country in a snowy blanket -- and forcing me to reach for a strong winter warmer, a malty-sweet English-style ale that'll heat up even the coldest bones.

I could opt for a winter warmer from a brewery that knows snow -- say, Old Jubilation Ale from Boulder, Colorado's Avery -- but instead I'm smitten by the Winter Warmer Warmer Winter from Cigar City Brewing, situated in sunny Tampa, Fla.

"This year, we actually got some downright frigid days," explains owner Joey Redner. "It actually worked out great -- the cold snap followed shortly after we released the beer."

Hooksett, New Hampshire's Bill Herlicka was burned out. So with layoffs impending at his firm, the avid homebrewer took a leap of faith: "I thought, You only live once. Let's see how you can make a brewery work."

Last June, Herlicka launched the artisanal White Birch microbrewery -- emphasis on micro. White Birch is essentially a one-man operation, with Herlicka brewing, bottling, labeling and distributing his robust, complex line of barley wines, wild ales and Belgian-style brews.

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.

Like many of the world's finest epicurean delights, the secret ingredient in the microbrews from Quebec's À l'abri de la Tempête is salt. The brewery is located on Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine, a 50-mile-long archipelago of untamed beaches in the Atlantic Ocean. The sea breeze leaves its traces in the locally sourced barley, imparting a delicate salty profile.

"It's a signature for all our products," says head brewer Jean-Sébastien Bernier. Despite À l'abri de la Tempête's watery locale and diminutive size, it's made waves with its smoky, spicy Corps Mort barley wine and its standout, the Corne de Brume ("foghorn") Scottish ale. Unlike the average North American Scottish ale, which overdoses on sugar to even out a heavy booze load, Bernier naturally takes his cues from overseas.

"When you taste the classics from the Old World, they are more on the dry side," he says. "We put in lots of work to keep that dry, caramel-bitterness and alcohol well balanced."

Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. 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.

We adore our double IPAs and super-charged Russian imperial stouts as much as the next craft-beer geek, but sometimes we like drinking a microbrew that doesn't hit us as hard as a right hook in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

So in lieu of quaffing another deliciously inebriating 18-percent ale like Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, we instead look to the lower end of the alcoholic spectrum. Allow us to introduce the Berliner Weisse, a wheat beer that's barely boozier than water.

Sacrificing ABV need not mean sacrificing flavor. The Berliner -- which was, duh, born in Berlin -- is typically tart and straw-hued, with the lactobacillus culture providing a sour, citric edge that's as invigorating as just-squeezed lemonade. "The Berliner weisse is such a low-alcohol beer that it can appeal to the most hardcore beer geeks and to those who don't like beer," says Patrick Rue, head brewer and owner of Placenta, California's the Bruery.

While the Bruery specializes in unfiltered, Belgian-style ales such as the rustic, earthy Saison Rue and spiced Orchard White witbier, it channels Germany for its 3.1 percent ABV Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. It goes into the goblet a pale, hazy yellow, with rapid bubbles and a fast-diminishing head. The nose is all citrus, wheat and barnyard funk, while the Hottenroth drinks prickly and crisp -- if the tartness is too much, you can sweeten the beer with raspberry or woodruff syrup.

This is one beer you won't sour on too soon.

Do you like a nice Berliner Weisse? Come on, drop your thoughts in the comments.