Beer of the Week! 07/27/21

Stillwater Exra Dry

Regularly $11.99 / Now on Sale for $10.96
Saison Style Ale Brewed with Sake Rice

Using rice as a fermentable grain while making beer is nothing new. Japanese breweries have been making rice lagers since the 1870s. Also, of course, American mega-brewers regularly use rice to — how shall we say — make sure their beers are light-bodied and not overly burdened with taste. However, recently craft breweries have been putting a new spin on an old fermentable — sake rice.

Whereas you’d expect a brewer to kick out a lager with sake rice (we’ve seen that before), wandering brewery without a brewery, Stillwater Artisanal now presents the Extra Dry, a sake rice Saison Style Ale.

True to its name, this beer is crisp, light, and so, soooo dry. However, the use of sake rice keeps the resultant brew from falling over the cliff into “carbonation and hop sting” that the short-lived “Brut IPA” often was. Instead, the Extra Dry has that clean, clear taste of sake in a refreshing Saison. At a more than reasonable 4.2% ABV, the Extra Dry becomes an ideal summertime brew … and what more would you want from a Saison?

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause rice can be nice, but we also bet on black!)

Evil Twin Scandi Noir

Regularly $22.99 / Now on Sale for $20.96
Imperial Stout Brewed with Peanuts and Vanilla

Peanuts and vanilla in an imperial stout — you think these ingredients would just constitute a gimmick, but they actually turn out to be a smart brewing choice. As with so many things, subtly is the key. The Scandi Noir is NOT trying to be a Peanut Butter Stout. You can barely taste the peanuts. The roast of the peanuts folds so evenly into the roasted malts that the former ends up giving the latter added dimension. Also, we bet the peanuts add a silky texture to this light stout without increasing its body. This Imperial Stout is our new surprise find.

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