Beer Spotlight!

Stillwater Extra Dry

$11.99 for the 4-pack 16oz cans
Saison Style Ale Brewed with Saké Rice

Returning to our shop is the Stillwater Extra Dry from Stillwater Artisanal Ales, a Saison style ale brewed with rice.

Now, rice is a very, very mild fermentable grain that can add alcohol but little taste to your brew. It’s for this reason, along with the fact that they can get rice cheaper than barley, that the mega-brewers will sneak it (and corn) into their light lagers. (Rice is your bud!) However, former nomadic brewer Stillwater actually builds this ale around the taste of rice. “Taste?” Yes. “But you just said—” Ahh … the difference … is saké rice.

In a few ways saké rice is not like the rice sitting under your red beans and jumbalaya. There are (from what we understand), two main branches of the rice family tree — Africa rice and Asia rice. Saké rice is, you guessed it, an Asian rice. Your dinner rice most likely developed from the African rice plant — unless you’re all fancy with your basmati self. We ain’t fancy, so we go for a long grain rice on our table. In comparison, saké rice tends to be medium grain. Saké rice has a harder shell and more starch at its center. It also has a quiet earthiness that provides a foundation for saké flavor. That flavor foundation is front and center in the Extra Dry.

Though more prominent than some African rices, saké rice’s flavor is not what you would call bold. So Stillwater puts it against Pilsner malt to make sure it doesn’t get lost. This pairing means that, like with saké, the Extra Dry enjoys the tension between an earthy bitterness resting beneath a clear and clean ale on top. Quiet balance is the name of the game here as Stillwater has paired down the hop profile — going from a trio of hops to just Hallertau Blanc and Citra. While you can find rice lagers around (especially from Japan), a rice ale, especially a quality one like this, is a rare treat.

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