Robin Shepard
Cans of local pickles with a flight of them in glasses, and a couple of dill pickles.
Pickle beers: People tend to love 'em or hate 'em.
Pickle beers are not an entirely new thing. But their increased presence is an indication of a trend among craft beer hunters. They are akin to sour beers, provoking strong likes and dislikes, with few neutral opinions. Some drinkers find the mere thought of briny beer revolting, yet many who love them swear by how refreshing the crisp dill tartness can be in a beer.
Pickle beers come in a wide range of dill intensity. Most often they are made with brine, or pickle juice. The result may give a beer the subtle accent of cucumber. Sometimes, in extreme beers, it’s the eye-watering sourness of vinegar. Salt, dill, other spices — it’s all up to the brewer and how much pickle character is preferred.
Among the better locally made choices is Delta Beer Lab’s take. Just who likes a pickle beer? Delta brewmaster Tim Piotrowski points to runners and bicyclists who tell him that pickle juice is a source of hydration.
The brewery first released one last summer using a golden ale as the base beer and then added pickle brine from local restaurants. This year Piotrowski used a kolsch and opted for a more consistent commercial brine supplier for more predictable flavors. The beer character comes through clearly, which is why I like this one. The underlying kolsch is bubbly and effervescent, yet there is plenty of sharp dill tartness. It finishes at just 4.6% and is sold in 16-ounce cans ($14-$16/four-packs).
Oliphant Brewing of Somerset has two choices on Madison-area shelves. One is a light-bodied lager made with pickle brine; it’s full of dill and a slight hint of sour vinegar. The other begins with the same brined lager, which then gets a large amount of strawberry flavoring. The berry sweetness softens the sourness and saltiness of the brine. I liked the strawberry version more than I thought I would and prefer it over the lager. Both of Oliphant’s pickle beers finish at 4% ABV and are sold in 12-ounce cans ($12/four-pack)
Earlier this summer Vintage Brewing’s Scott Manning created “Double Pickles on the Dime,” a kettle-soured gose made with jalapeno juice. The beer was a hit with pub customers and at the Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival and it was gone by mid-August. Manning says it will return after he adjusts the amount of jalapeno flavor (it stains draft lines and makes them difficult to clean). He is working on a new version of the beer likely to be on tap later this month. Watch for it to debut in Vintage’s new taproom in Cross Plains.
In the meantime, if you are interested in pickles with heat, look for Spicy Pickle Monster from Prairie Artisan Ales of Oklahoma City. It is a gose-style beer with lemon, lime, orange and habanero spice. The dill and lemon are upfront, but the heat of the habanero lingers long after you finish the glass. It finishes at 5.3% ABV and is sold in 12-ounce cans ($12/four-pack).
The Pilot Project Brewery in Milwaukee makes Donna’s Pickle Beer and it has become one of the brewery’s best-selling contract brews, appearing in eight states across the county. Donna’s is certainly full of pickle aroma and flavor, only with a very subtle sweetness in the background of the dill. The brine that is used to make it was a home-recipe of Donna’s Pickle Beer co-founder Joshua Jancewicz of San Francisco. The beer finishes at 4.7% ABV and is available year-round in 12-ounce cans ($11-$16/six-pack).
Pickle beers can be more than just enjoyed on their own. I’m becoming a fan, especially with a cheeseburger on the grill. They can also be a sidecar to a Bloody Mary, especially those with some pepper heat. And their sharp dill and vinegar sourness can be just the beer for a michelada that also mixes in tomato, limes, chili spice and salt.
