Page 36 - the Noise July 2016

Summer 2016 reVieW: Oak Creek Brewery
snakecharmer ipa
“the sun blazed its midday maledictions upon the parched land, laying its anathema on all moist things.” — Walter m. miller, jr.
We’ve made it through June. Congratulations dear reader. Whenever I tell folks from the East about how June is worse than August in the des- ert, they look at me like I’ve got a sharpie tattoo on my forehead in the style one might receive after being the first to pass out at a party. They just don’t get it. But we do. The hottest month of them all and we’ve conquered it. The monsoons are upon us and the mercury has begun to drop. This calls for a celebration! Let’s head out to Sedona, swim in Oak Creek, and then go pop some bottles. And seeing as how you’re reading a column about beer, I say we should crack something of the genre. Because really, what else were you expecting in the beer article? Wine? Talk to the Monk about that. And since we’re already swimming in Oak Creek, let’s go hit up the brewpub of the same name.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re sitting there, shouting at the magazine in your hand, saying I’ve already written about Oak Creek. And I appreci- ate your concern. Seeing as how that particular article was only my second article here, it means you’ve been reading my ramblings for about a year. Thank you, dear reader. But to address your prior statement, yes, Oak Creek Brewing Company has been featured on this hallowed ground of hyperbole and sarcasm before. However, then we talked about the brewery on Yavapai by the Goodwill. This time, we’re heading into the brewpub at Talacky. . . Telaquep. . . screw it. You know the place. (Tlaquepaque. Thanks Google.) And if you’re really lucky, as I was, the brewer for the pub’s itsy bitsy seven barrel system will be the guy behind the bar, pouring your beer.
“I designed these beers so that you could jump back and forth between them,” said brewer Rich Edwards as he poured pints of Doc’s Pale Ale and
revieW & photo by Gary kurtZ
snakecharmer iPa. “The pale is fresh and lively, and the IPA is not so aggres- sively bitter and piney.” The pale has a lovely amber body, all hopped up with Cascade and Centennial hops, classic for the American pale style. But that’s not the beer I kept coming back to. Unlike the pale, Snakecharmer has a copper body more fitting in Jerome than Sedona. Also unlike its brother the pale, the Snakecharmer is dosed up with every hop-head’s new favorite, Citra.
What’s so great about Citra hops? Let’s get the obvious out of the way right off the bat. They taste and smell like citrus. Grapefruit, lime, orange peel, and lemon are common descriptors of citra aroma, and the Snakecharmer has them in droves. Second, while being high in alpha-acids, our favorite substance that makes hops bitter, they are very low in another bittering substance called co- humulone. Hops high in co-humulone tend to have a very sharp bitterness reminiscent of Dr. House, while those low in co-humulone tend to have a softer, rounder bitterness more reminiscent of Grumpy Cat. Third, due to their high demand, they are also expensive. And we all know expensive things are better. What do these qualities associated with the hops bring to the Snakecharmer? They combine with the malts to create a lovely, supple IPA bitter enough to play a grumpy TV doctor while not being overly aggressive to the drinker.
Now let’s talk about the -pub side of brewpub. Do yourself a favor and get the yellowfin tuna sandwich, rare, with fries. Just do it. Especially if you get the IPA. It’s a match made in heaven. If you can, sit at the bar. Behind the bar are four copper seven barrel tanks used by Brewer Edwards to craft many of the beers poured at the pub. The rest come kegged from the commercial brewery location on Yavapai. If you’re as lucky as I was and have Mr. Edwards pouring for you on your visit, ask him to pour you the beer he’s most proud of. He’ll be thrilled you care and you’ll get to taste his delicious porter, the recipe for which he developed on his own. It’s a lovely porter that straddles the line with a stout, which means that while tasty, it is still a bit too heavy of a beer for this time of year. So settle in and have yourself another Snakecharmer.
the nöísẽ | the best of arizona | JULY 2016 {online at thenoise.us} • 36