Microbrewed Adventures - Charles Papazian [16]
Dave Thomas and Chuck Hahn worked on the original versions of Coors’ Killian’s Irish Red Ale
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GEORGE KILLIAN’S IRISH RED ALE FROM PELLFORTH
Richly flavored with the subtle and romantic floral character of Santiam hops, this ale’s long kettle boil accents the toasted and caramel character of malt. The beer’s reddish glow is impassioned by the enthusiast who seeks original red ales. This recipe can be found in About the Recipes.
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Killian’s Irish Red Ale, originally introduced to the public at the first Great American Beer Festival in 1982, was indeed “top fermented” with ale yeast, but likely lagered at cooler temperatures to soften its complexity. I recall it being very well received. Most beer enthusiasts at the time were utterly astonished that Coors would be so bold as to brew distinctive red ale with a notable degree of complexity.
Time passed, and the company probably realized that if Killians were to survive, it had to increase its appeal to the average American beer drinker. In the following years, lager yeast replaced ale yeast and the complexity was reduced to accommodate the more popular tastes of the time.
Killian’s has survived. It bears very little resemblance to the original 1982 recipe and it certainly has lost any connection, other than by name, to the red ale Peter Coors romanced in France. Yet it reminds me of the very beginnings of the emergence of microbrewed beer and of Coors’s early passion for interesting, flavorful, complex beers.
Coors remains involved with the spirit of microbrewed beers. They produce Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale and Belgian-style Wheat Beer, and at the Sandlot (micro) Brewery at the Coors Stadium in downtown Denver they are brewing a wide variety of ales and lagers. There is also limited production of Barman, an all-malt German-style pilsener, originally brewed for the enjoyment of the Coors family and available at a half-dozen restaurants in the Denver-Boulder area in Colorado.
The King Wants Homebrew
MAY I PLEASE SPEAK with Mr. Charlie Papazian?” asked a deep-voiced gentleman with a European accent.
“Hello, this is Charlie, can I help you?” I replied, with absolutely no idea that this was the beginning of an adventure I would recall for the rest of my life. I vividly remember the moment and recall it over and over. It was in July of 1982.
“Hello Mr. Papazian, my name is George Charalambous and I work for Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis. You have heard of the brewery?”
I liked this guy already. “Yes,” I replied with a nervous chuckle.
“May I call you Charlie?”
“Of course.”
“Charlie, I am organizing the annual joint meeting of District St. Louis Master Brewers Association of the Americas and the American Society of Brewing Chemists. I would like to invite you to speak at our meeting this coming April 14, 1983. We have heard you are doing some interesting things in Colorado. We cannot pay for your travel or accommodations, but we can offer you a free dinner.”
George Charalambous
I hesitated a moment, wondering a big “why?” “What would you want me to discuss?” I replied.
“I understand you have an association and some of your members are making homebrew and have started small microbreweries. I think it would be interesting to hear about them and taste some of their beers.”
This was my first contact with the “King,” Anheuser-Busch. I accepted knowing I had nine months to think about what to say. The adventure had begun.
One week later, a very enthusiastic George