Blending Brews

One of the current popular trends in beer drinkg - and brewing by proxy - seems to me to be blending two different (finished) beers to create a distinct third kind. This happens not in the brewing process, or even when kegging, but rather when the beers are poured into a glass to drink.

Some micro-breweries, such as Founder’s in Grand Rapids, will give you a blend if you request it, with such concoctions as the “DubMudgeon” (a mix between their Curmudgeon Old Ale and Double Trouble Double IPA). Even some restaurants, not known for their beer, are conjuring up mixes. I’ve had the “Blasphemy” recommended to me, a mix between Founder’s Pale Ale and Bell’s Two Hearted IPA. This seems to be hitting the mainstream.

With that in mind, we decided to give it a go for ourselves. We have a number of bottled beers, and Beat the Irish Stout, Pepper Porter 2 (re-named “Couch Fire Ale” in honor of the Michigan State game) and the Boiling Greens DIPA on tap, in addition to a few microbrews, including a number of offerings from Short’s Brewing.

The obvious mix is Stout + Porter, because the styles are rather similar, and it would cut the excessive heat from the pepper. The mix is exactly as expected, with a flavor that’s mostly just a less-heated version of the pepper porter, with a little bit more body.

The more interesting mix was between Short’s Bloody Beer and the Pepper Porter. The concept itself mixes two beers that focus primarily on the non-beer flavors (capsicum for our offering, bloody mary for Short’s), and combine them in a proportion that might make the beer flavor reach a whole greater than the sum of its parts.