The Beer that inspired Alesong Brewing & Blending’s Matt Van Wyk
The Beers That Made Us
Alesong Brewing & Blending co-founder Matt Van Wyk tells us about a beer that consistently inspires him
Every beer drinker has that one beer they turn to time and time again, an old faithful that never lets them down. For many, this beer is usually a staple of sorts or at least what one might call a “shelfie” in that it is readily and widely available. In some cases, this is the beer that started it all for you. Perhaps it was a pioneering craft brew that enlightened you to the world of beer that actually tastes good, or perhaps it is a beer that made you completely rethink what you thought you knew about a particular style. Whatever it may be, this is a beer that made an impact on you and is burned into your taste buds forever. In our monthly column The Beers That Made Us, we talk with brewers about the beers that have made the biggest impact on them in terms of their personal taste and love of craft beer, as well as how it inspired their personal approach to brewing.
Since 2015, Eugene, Oregon’s Alesong Brewing & Blending has been quietly carving out a place as one of the premier breweries for barrel-aged beers in the Pacific Northwest. Relatively speaking, Alesong maintains a lowkey and somewhat underrated presence in the beer market. This might be because their operation is small, or because they are focused exclusively on barrel-aged beers, which can throw off casual beer drinkers. But make no mistake about it, the small team knows how to make incredible beer, whether those are farmhouse ales, saisons, sours, or stouts aged in bourbon barrels. Much of the mastery at Alesong comes from the mind and talent of founder Matt Van Wyk. Originally from the Midwest where he got his start brewing, Matt eventually made his way to the Pacific Northwest and landed at Oakshire Brewing. During his seven years at Oakshire, Matt led it through huge growth, much of it due to the brewery’s impressive barrel-aged beers. If you’ve had the pleasure of stopping by Alesong’s gorgeous taproom just outside of Eugene or the Alesong on 5th tasting room inside town, you have likely tasted a full array of Matt’s unique style as a brewer. This of course raises the question of what beers set this former science teacher on the path to barrel-aged greatness.
Beer:
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Your first time:
Matt Van Wyk (MVW): When I started drinking 'other' beer (there was not a lot of microbrewed, as they called it then, choices in the Midwest 25 years ago), imports were the way to discover new beer flavors. I began trying and enjoying beers like Bass and Guiness, and soon graduated to drinking and homebrewing beers of the classic Belgian styles like Chimay, Duvel, Hoegaarden, etc. But when I stumbled upon Flanders red and brown ales, I [felt that] had found something so unlike any other beer I had ever drank. I knew I had to dig deeper to find out how to make something like this.
What makes it special:
MVW: Rodenbach Grand Cru holds a special place in my heart for three reasons. 1) It was my first experience with sour beers, oak-aged beers, and blended beers. Since that is what we based half of our brewery on, Rodenbach will always be my first love. 2) It's a beer that I have yet to be able to master, so it provides a never-ending challenge, and 3) During the 2006 World Beer Cup, I entered my first attempt at a Flanders-inspired beer in the Belgian sour category. Amazingly, the beer earned a silver ahead of a Dogfishhead and behind, as you might guess, Rodenbach Grand Cru. As a fairly young brewer at the time, I stumbled to the stage and mumbled something unintelligible to both Sam Calagione and Rudi Ghequire (brewmaster at Rodenbach). I still hope to speak with him outside of the starry-eyed ramble of that day sixteen years ago.
Why this beer is influential:
MVW: To me, Rodenbach Grand Cru was very influential because I had found a beer that was both sweet and sour, and also aged in a barrel. It is balanced in a way that many other beers are not, yet the complexities are endless. From a brewing standpoint, I know this is hard to achieve as mixed culture barrel-aged beers are typically dry and of course can continue to ferment and evolve in the bottle. It was also probably my first experience with aged beer and it opened my eyes to what you could do with oak aging. And it provided me a challenge to see if I could ever replicate those flavors myself.
Why beer drinkers should pay attention:
MVW: Rodenbach is a great beer for drinkers today, especially if you are new to sour and mixed culture beers. American brewers can make pretty sour beers and Rodenbach Grand Cru is a good 'introduction' to sour beers in general because it is balanced by so much sweetness and has more body than lambic beers. There is more flavor familiarity for a new-to-sour styles drinker to understand and appreciate. In fact, you might argue that the smoothie sour beers that are so popular with a subset of drinkers share some similar flavor hooks to Rodenbach. You just don't have to line up on a Saturday to get your allotment, and some light shines through Flemish red ales! As a lesson for today's brewers, we can be reminded that balance and going off the rails in one direction (sourness, fruit, hops, abv, etc) is not always the best formula for a pleasurable drinking session.
How this beer inspired your brewery:
MVW: At Alesong, we make a series of dark sour beers that is inspired by Flemish Reds, called Parliament. We typically fruit it with cherries or raspberries. However, it is still my personal White Whale. Always chasing, never mastering.
