The Perfect Beer

Published on Monday, July 20, 2009, by Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin / Edit Post

The Perfect Beer

By Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin

Lessley Anderson, CHOW’s senior editor, has been following the beers made by brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company, and has written about the wild yeast used in them, called Brettanomyces. Here, she explains why she appoints Cilurzo’s Supplication ale as the perfect beer, and CHOW follows as Cilurzo talks about how the beer is made. (Note: Supplication is extremely difficult to find. Your best bet is through trading on sites like RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com. You could also try easier-to-find Russian River sour beers like Consecration and Temptation. For other beers in this style, check out Lessley’s story on funky wild ales.)

The unparalleled. The best in show. We call it The Perfect: our video series on how something so very good gets to be that way.

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  • For anyone that was wondering this type of beer is called a Labmic. Most lambics are based off wild fermentation in the senne vally, the main yeast that is expressed is Brettanomyces bruxellensis. Two styles of Lambic are prevalent, the most common are the sweetened fruit beers such as Framboise or Kriek. These fuite beers are made with the sour Lambic base by means of a second fermentation with...+READ

    For anyone that was wondering this type of beer is called a Labmic. Most lambics are based off wild fermentation in the senne vally, the main yeast that is expressed is Brettanomyces bruxellensis. Two styles of Lambic are prevalent, the most common are the sweetened fruit beers such as Framboise or Kriek. These fuite beers are made with the sour Lambic base by means of a second fermentation with the fruit. The second type of lambic is farm beer or when sparkling gueuze(though some gueuze can be sweet), it is unsweetened lambic and can be very sour. Unsweetened lambic can be hard to find, out of the ones you can find in the USA the Cantilion gueuze is good as is the Boon gueuze.-COLLAPSE

  • The Supplication is on tap at Devil's Den in Philadelphia this week, but it is alternating with the Consecration--they were not straight up with me when I asked how many kegs they had.

  • had to address a couple comments:
    - Westy 12 is not impossible to find in the states. It can be bought at at Perry's Liquor at around $25 bottle.
    - Beatification is not THE rarest of Vinnie's brews, it would probably be Toronado 20th or Deviation - Bottleworks 9th Anniversary
    - Westy 12 has few similarities with Supplication

  • I actually have tried the Westvleteren 12 and it is simply amazing!!! I traveled to Belgium to get the stuff, and went to the abbey and they were closed!! (All Saints Day). Then I went to Amsterdam and found it in a store called Beer Konig. I cleaned them out. :)

    Anywho...it really is a phenomenal beer, but you'll probably stop after two because it's filling. My favorite everyday beer that I...+READ

    I actually have tried the Westvleteren 12 and it is simply amazing!!! I traveled to Belgium to get the stuff, and went to the abbey and they were closed!! (All Saints Day). Then I went to Amsterdam and found it in a store called Beer Konig. I cleaned them out. :)

    Anywho...it really is a phenomenal beer, but you'll probably stop after two because it's filling. My favorite everyday beer that I discovered over there is La Rulle Triple.-COLLAPSE

  • kind of funny they put all that effort into their beer and then use comic sans on the label.

    i say that as a beer snob and a design snob.

  • Supplication isn't hard to find but it is only deployed at certain times of the year. Last time I was in San Francisco in the beginning of December, they had it available for take out and on-tap at the RRBC brew pub in Santa Rosa. Also, City Beer Store had a number of bottles on the shelves and in the fridge. Plus last night Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia had it on their available bottle list along...+READ

    Supplication isn't hard to find but it is only deployed at certain times of the year. Last time I was in San Francisco in the beginning of December, they had it available for take out and on-tap at the RRBC brew pub in Santa Rosa. Also, City Beer Store had a number of bottles on the shelves and in the fridge. Plus last night Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia had it on their available bottle list along with Consecration, Damnation, and Temptation. Really, Beatification is the rarest one of Vinnie's brews.-COLLAPSE

  • I live in Omaha Nefrickinbraska. You can't swing a bat without hitting a bottle of Westy 12 over here.

    Seriously.

  • I believe I will stay with my favourite, Black Tiger Beer.

    I have tried all the major American brands and every micro brew I could find and nothing compares.

    The "new country" has never been able to match European brewmasters.

    the closest competitors are the English Dark Ales and Black Porters with a few of the Dark German and Belgian close but Black Tiger is still the best.

  • Is it possible to find this beer in Spain ? I guess not ...

  • The bar Tria in Philadelphia occasionally has russian river beers. They have a good relationship with the brewery. They've had this beer for around 14$. BTW, its fantastic. Their other beer Temptation I feel is even better.

  • Helmut:

    http://shop.belgianshop.com/acatalog/Westvleteren.html

    Will sometimes have it, have a few in the cellar from them right now.

  • odie201:

    st sixtus yellow cap (westvleteren 12) is impossible to get here in the states--do you have any leads? They had it for a while at the Toronado, San Francisco back in the mid nineties....there was no label just the yellow cap!
    Supplication, Westvleteren 12, St Bernardus 12, De Dolle's Ara Bier--these are all perfect beers.
    Chris of CHOW

  • Russian River beers like this one are typically in the $25 range for a 750mL bottle, when purchased at the brewery.

  • Hi -

    While I am a huge fan of the Russian River Brewing Company, did anyone at Chow try Westvleteren 12?
    It has been consistently voted one of the world's best beers for quite a number of years on Ratebeer.com. It has many of the qualities that are described in the video (layered complex flavors that develop on the palatte - like a complex wine). I have yet to try a beer as great and...+READ

    Hi -

    While I am a huge fan of the Russian River Brewing Company, did anyone at Chow try Westvleteren 12?
    It has been consistently voted one of the world's best beers for quite a number of years on Ratebeer.com. It has many of the qualities that are described in the video (layered complex flavors that develop on the palatte - like a complex wine). I have yet to try a beer as great and perfect as this one.-COLLAPSE

  • thomas64:

    I don't really understand your line of thinking. "Perfect" diamonds are also the most expensive ones so why would the criteria for something being perfect mean that it's an average price?

    Also beer is one of the most affordable luxuries. The very best wines will easily cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. But the most expensive beers are under $20. EVERYONE can afford that....+READ

    thomas64:

    I don't really understand your line of thinking. "Perfect" diamonds are also the most expensive ones so why would the criteria for something being perfect mean that it's an average price?

    Also beer is one of the most affordable luxuries. The very best wines will easily cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. But the most expensive beers are under $20. EVERYONE can afford that. Seriously. Even if you have the worst paying job in the country you can splurge on a very good beer. It won't be your regular drinking beer but you can definitely give it a try.-COLLAPSE

  • OK, I guess, but it sure seems strange to have the "perfect" beer be one that 99.9% of the public can't drink.

  • Hi Thomas64, Thanks for your comment. When we ask critics and writers to choose their "Perfects," we put no limitations on them. We just ask that they look for something that exemplifies the qualities that they think of as ideal. In the case of Supplication ale, it's a very hard to find beer, and the price varies widely, but I can guarantee you that unless you're in Santa Rosa at the right time...+READ

    Hi Thomas64, Thanks for your comment. When we ask critics and writers to choose their "Perfects," we put no limitations on them. We just ask that they look for something that exemplifies the qualities that they think of as ideal. In the case of Supplication ale, it's a very hard to find beer, and the price varies widely, but I can guarantee you that unless you're in Santa Rosa at the right time of the year, it will cost you more than $10. Meredith of CHOW-COLLAPSE

  • I realize prices vary by region and distributor, but why is it that CHOW never gives a price for the items in their "perfect" series? Even a ballpark figure would be fine. Shouldn't the parameters of the "perfect" beer include accessibility and affordability? As to the beer, it looks good, and I'll try it if I can find it, unless it costs more than $10 per bottle.

  • The perfect beer? Now you're getting into controversial territory. I think an Obsessive series about the beer maker would have been more fitting.

  • Awesome job on the video! Can't wait to try it. Curious to see if I can find it at City Beer http://www.chow.com/places/1619