Michael Jackson’s Influence on Craft Beer Alive & Well…

[10/29 Update: Per RBC’s Kris Calef, “We brought in 50 or so more cases on this one than we needed to for reorders and that shouldn’t dwindle down for 2-3 months so if someone wants to try it, they can just call us at 800-625-8238 and we’d make sure they receive it in their first shipment.”]

(Lake Forest, CA) – This month, The Rare Beer Club™ is featuring a craft beer from the Czech Republic that was made just once and is available exclusively to its members. Even more exciting is that it might represent the creation of a new beer style. Although “one-offs” don’t generally qualify as creating a style, we sincerely hope it to be the case here since “Czech IPA”, if anything like this beer, would be a welcomed addition to the various styles currently defined. So, who’s behind this very unusual brew? None other than Michael Jackson himself.

It was with a heavy heart and a feeling of gratitude that we first sampled Kocour IPA Samuraj as it was a beer Michael encouraged the brewer to create. Sadly, he never got the chance to taste what may be the Czech Republic’s first IPA, but we still feel a strong sense of respect and celebration with the feeling that Michael was reaching out from the afterlife to turn us all on to yet another great beer.

After his first visit to the Great American Beer Festival in 2001, Honza Kocka, former Czech Airlines steward turned acclaimed beer writer, beer tasting judge, blogger and journalist, decided that he must take beer more seriously. After spending time with other beer writers like Michael Jackson and Stephen Beaumont, he was encouraged to vocally broadcast the virtues of better beer back home in the Czech Republic. He enlisted the help of Michael Jackson and the owners of the Herold Brewing Company to assist him in that effort, holding a press conference to create a local buzz. In the process, Honza and Michael became good friends, with Michael apparently having total faith that if Honza started a brewery, it would put out top quality beer. In fact, Michael threw out an enticing offer—he’d purchase the first batch of Honza’s inaugural brew featured in The Rare Beer Club to help get them off the ground. They began discussing what that first beer should be, and the concept of a Czech IPA was born.

Why an IPA? Well, similar to the environment that fostered the US microbrewery revolution, the Czech Republic is still currently very much focused on lagers. Honza and Michael felt that it was time to introduce the nation to the beery bounty of ales and the glory of the hop. Honza founded The Kocour Brewery and committed himself to an uneasy task, “To persuade domestic conservative beer drinkers that beer does not equal a chilled bottle in the fridge, that beer means more than a Czech lager, that beer can go easily with gastronomy, that there is a beer for every season, for every state of mind……that beer is simply much more than is usually perceived.“

As a result, Kocour has the widest beer style portfolio in the Czech Republic, with several beers being developed with help of foreign brewers and friends. Kocour IPA Samuraj was created with the help of now legendary Toshii Ishii of Yo Ho Brewing in Japan. As Honza recently told us when asked to comment on this special release of Kocour IPA Samuraj, “Yes, we admire the US craft beer scene, it has certainly influenced us a lot. It is our pleasure to send an IPA brewed in the Czech Republic back to its US roots.”

We know Michael would have appreciated this beer, and we are beyond excited that this beer finally came to be, so that we can honor Michael’s original commitment to Honza and to developing the Czech beer scene, by sharing a great rare beer with our members.

Kocour IPA Samuraj Tasting Notes – This modest 5.1% IPA pours a hazy medium straw color with a massive, pillowy white head that laces wonderfully in the decay. Look for a great nose of clean pilsner malt, chockfull of fresh grains, biscuits and dough. These notes are embraced by a floral, perfume-like aroma of noble hops, gently supplemented by grapefruit. Despite using Amarillo and Simcoe hops, with only a “brewer’s pinch” of Czech Saaz hops, herbal, lemony, notes are prominent upfront. Expect a minor note of lager-like sulfur, akin to a pilsner. Take your first sip and look for a surge of extremely dry, earthy hoppiness. Notes of black peppercorns quickly follow. The malt backbone remains clean, yet aptly supportive, just barely holding up against the repeated strokes of bitterness that the high alpha acid content strikes upon the palate. At full warmth, the US-hops offer notes of orange zest and lemon meringue. So clean, it seems rather lager-like, a result of this ale having been cold-conditioned at pilsner/lager temperatures (37-39F) and made with locally grown Czech Pilsner malt. The beer finishes quite dry, and rather powerfully bitter, yet somehow delicate and demure. Expect an extremely lengthy finish with the floral bitterness hanging on for at least a few minutes.

For what we have become accustomed to as “IPA-like” in the states, especially those emanating from or inspired by the Pacific Northwest, you may not think the IPA label is appropriate—but we suggest you open your mind as that fact is that no one really knows what IPAs are “supposed” to taste like. Original versions sent to India in the days of colonial Britain are long gone and the versions that we now have in the US are probably not representative of the original style, since hops from the Pacific Northwest were not widely used to ‘hop’ British beers of the era. The point is, “IPA” is wide open to interpretation. This version on one hand evokes today’s British versions of the style, yet also has some severely bitter hop notes present in American IPAs—but beyond that, it introduces a clean, almost lager-like quality to the style, putting a Czech spin on things. It’s brash and refined at the same time, atop a base of clean, pilsner-like grains (appropriately as it is from the birthplace of Pilsner), and we hope it sets the standard for what would be a welcomed sub-style of beer: Czech IPA—clean malts, crisp flavor and girthed up hop bitterness. Great when partnered with a Ploughman’s Lunch, with the sharpest Cheddar or Blue possible, and some seriously pickled onions.