Tag: Ashley Routson

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Book Review – The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer by Ashley Routson

I guess that I was expecting more. More of the distinctive voice of the Beer Wench (aka Ashley Routson) in her Guide to Beer.
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As it stands, her book certainly is fine. Interesting recipes for using beer with food. Interesting ideas for beer and food pairings and a thankfully not overlong section on beer styles.
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But the verve and wit and yes, attitude that I was waiting for never showed up on the page. Which is sad because that is what would have propelled this book. I could get all the information in Routson’s guide elsewhere. Be it Tasting Beer or The Brewmaster’s Table most specifically. Those two books went into much more detail without having the slow pace of this book. A more polarizing tone would have worked for me because it would have added to the pacing and anticipation.

What I was hoping to get was more on the female side of the beer world. Maybe a little backstory on her journey into the world of beer. More on blogging and social media and her thoughts on how they work or don’t work when it comes to the business of craft beer.

Sidebars that chart her favorite beers or mini-biographies of female brewers active now would have been great too. In fact I would have been happier if her book wasn’t aimed at me, the white American male at all.

For example, instead of yet another author tackling the very well covered topic on how beer is made, how about using her nom de beer, Saison de Wench as an example of how that particular beer was made by organic brewer Bison to elucidate the process instead. Use her experience to shine light from a new direction. Another tack that could have been taken would be to explore the world of beer cocktails in more depth. I have to believe that Routson has the ideas to have made that chapter much bigger.
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Ultimately, the book is OK. A reader learns about beer for sure. But The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer won’t supplant earlier efforts by other authors on the core subjects and doesn’t add measurably to more specific craft beer subjects because her personality has only lightly touched on the pages.

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Session # 44


“The 44th Session will be hosted by Ashley Routson a.k.a. The Beer Wench. In honor of Halloween month, she’s chosen “Frankenstein Beers” as her topic, which Ashley likens to Frankenstein’s monster, a creation that was “constructed of human parts and various other inanimate objects,” defying nature’s laws and ultimately “unlike anything the world had ever seen before.” She continues.

Many craft brewers are like Frankenstein. They have become mad scientists obsessed with defying the laws of brewing and creating beers that transcend style guidelines. These “Frankenstein Beers” challenge the way people perceive beer. They are freaks of nature — big, bold and intense. The ingredients resemble those of a beer and the brewing process might appear to be normal, but some aspects of the entire experience are experimental, unorthodox and insane.

An altercation with these beers produces confusion in the eye of the taster … is it a beer, or a monster?

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” — The Monster.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a blog post on “Frankenstein Beers.” There are no rules about how to write about this topic — feel free to highlight a Frankenstein brewer, brewery, beer tasting notes … or just your opinions on the concept.

So don’t be afraid, pull out the surgical tools and make a trip to the cemetery (or bar) for parts — just don’t grab the jar marked — “abnormal” — for your own post for the next Session, on Friday, October 1.”

It was a dark and stormy night…

Let’s rewind a little first. In the past year alone, I have imbibed beers with ingredients (prickly pear, ginger, pecans, figs, apricots, apple cider, lemongrass, mushrooms, chammomile, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) more suited, one would think, to ghouls and goblins than beer.

Before the first sip of these experimental beers, I would ask myself “Why?” and more importantly “I hope this works”. Then I slowly tip back the glass and voila, it does, (Eight times out of ten) because beer is a forgiving canvas upon which to paint. Dark and stormy becomes blue sky clear.

These fright inducing, sometimes cringe worthy ingredients are tossed into the kettle for many reasons. There are breweries raising nearly extinct beer styles from the dead. There are breweries pushing the ABV boundry. There are breweries that use brettamyoces just to add another note to an already great beer.

But this is no lab work in a castle on a hill during thundershowers creating monsters. It is a genuine craving (not for brains) but for big and brash flavors. I may not end up raving about each new mash-up of styles and brewing techniques, but none are unlovable monsters to be cast out to fend for itself. They are all logical extensions of one train of thought. Beer with flavor!

That’s right. In fact, the mad scientist who unleashed this bounty of crazy craft beers are the makers of the industrial water lager. Because of a lack of desire or understanding, they left a whole market open to our loved and admired demented fermenters of today. They created their own horror movie. And it is defintely in 3-D.

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Battle Chai (Don’t be scared)

If you are heading to the crazy cool GABF (Great American Beer Festival) this year well then this may need to be put into the itinerary. Once you read the press release, you will want to drink the beer.

“Mutineer Magazine and New Holland Brewing Company are excited to announce the official release of their collaboration beer, Mutinous Battle Chai, on Friday, September 17th at 2pm at Falling Rock Taphouse in Denver, CO. The event will last until all the kegs are tapped. There is no admission fee and cost is per beer. 100% of the proceeds from Mutinous Battle Chai beer sales will benefit A Child’s Right, an organization dedicated to global water relief and bringing clean water to children in underdeveloped regions.

“We are really excited about our opportunity to work with New Holland Brewing, as we bring the craft beer community together to support A Child’s Right. We are very thankful to our partners in this project, New Holland Brewing Company and Falling Rock Taphouse, for making our vision a reality.” – Brian Kropf, Mutineer Magazine

Technically, Mutinous Battle Chai does not fit the guidelines of any individual style category. The base beer was brewed with both pale and rye malts, spiced with an original interpretation of the traditional chai tea spice blend, and fermented with a Belgian wit yeast strand. The base beer was primed with brown ale wort and then underwent a secondary fermentation with merlot yeast on oak. The end result is a dry, amber-colored, medium-bodied Belgian-style spiced and oaked ale unlike any craft beer brewed before.

Other beers from New Holland Brewing Company, including Golden Cap Saison, Imperial Hattter IPA, as well as Hatter Royale Hopquila, a distilled spirit that has been steeped in hops, will also be available during the release party. This is the first time that New Holland beer will make an appearance in Colorado outside of the Great American Beer Festival.

“This collaboration has been an opportunity to have fun exploring flavor, and techniques, while celebrating this exciting time in the beer industry.” — New Holland’s Beervangelist, Fred Bueltmann

For more information on the recipe and brewing process of Mutinous Battle Chai, check out Issue 13 of Mutineer Magazine, now on newsstands.”