Editor: It’s the middle of the month, and this beer might not even be in stock any more at Arlington’s The Brew Shop, but July’s Beer of the Month was selected by Jordan. The beer is available at the brewery, and perhaps other retailers.
What can I say about Wheatland Spring Vales? Well for starters you’ll likely read “Vales Pilsner Houblonnée” and that’s not a typo…that’s French!
Houblonnée roughly translates to hops or “hoppy,” which makes sense as this beer is as much a hoppy showcase as it is a malt medley. Hoppy pilsner may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of France, but Alsace, the hop growing region where the beer’s hops come from, has long been a beer loving place.
In fact, when I last had this beer it was on draft at Wheatland. Co-founder John Branding was telling me of a trip to France where he got to meet the hop growers; the care and attention to detail that goes into this beer shows in the final product.
“Inspiration for this lager comes from two farming regions we hold dear,” Branding writes. “Both bordered by mountains to the west and rivers to the east. Separated by distance, the Virginian and Alsatian Vales remain connected through people approaching place with purpose.”
“This lager pays homage to these Vales, or valleys, with grain from fellow small farms in the Virginia Piedmont and hops grown by farmers we know from the Alsace region in France. The Alsatian agricultural area between the Vosges Mountains and Rhine River is a special one. Farmers there have been growing outstanding hops for centuries. Many farmers in our Piedmont region of Virginia, between the Appalachian Mountains and Potomac River, share this passion for produce from their place.”
Branding and I chatted briefly about the history of beer in Alsace that day, and it prompted me to dive into some old books as I can never drag myself away from my fascination with beer history. If you dip a toe into Twenty-Five Years of Brewing with an Illustrated History of American Beer Dedicated to the Friends of George Ehret, you will find a wonderful quote about the region this beer pays homage to:
In France, a wine-country without equal, the most eminent scientists advocate the use of beer in preference to any other liquor. After the Franco-Prussian War, special freight trains, loaded exclusively with Bavarian beer, and, therefore, styled “ trains de biere,” brought, daily, about three hundred thousand gallons of the drink to Paris. But when the spirit of vengeance against the Germans got the upper-hand, the imported beer was “boycotted,” and, as a result, a great number of domestic breweries were erected, generally by Alsatians. Spain, Italy, and even China and Japan are now being invaded by King Gambrinus, and it is, indeed, only a question of time whether beer shall be, as prophesied, the universal drink.
Take the 134 year-old quote with a grain of salt, as with many 1891 texts they’re not 100% reliable! Still, this should give you an idea about how much France used to, and still does, love biere.
“Despite differences in language and traditions, there’s a shared understanding of the land,” notes Branding. “It’s anchored by a common view of the vital role that small farms play in a region’s identity — especially in our modern world.”
“Beyond the produce itself, the relationship between people and place gives us context and meaning and purpose. Nearby farms buoy regional culture through truly local food and drink. It’s a beautiful thing that we love to celebrate.”
“Vales is a bright, hoppy Pilsner. Tantalizing zippy citrus and herbal meadow flower aromas leap from the glass. Its refined malty body creates a platform for the French hops to shine,” says Branding. It’s also our beer of the month for July at The Brew Shop in Arlington, which means DC Beer members get 10% off. If you see Jordan around, thank him for selecting this hoppy pilsner, and thank the farmers and brewers, and distributors and retailers, who made it possible.
