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The Pursuit of Hoppiness

By Chris King

Beer has been very, very good to Paul Jensen. Without accumulating even the slightest incipient curve of a beer belly, he has sold, drunk and tasted beer all of his adult life, all over the world. Now he also collects and cellars fine beers and is a partner in a microbrewery, the River Road Cider House, getting under way in Grafton, which has every beer geek in the bi-state area on the edge of his barstool.

Jensen, who is 42 and lives in St. Louis Hills, has worked in business-to-business sales for a beer distributor, but his beer obsession was nurtured as one of the founding bartenders at Schlafly’s flagship downtown location, the Tap Room. At his bartop he met the beer gypsies, such as Mark Naski, with whom he has traveled to Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Estonia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Luxembourg and all over North America, all in search of the best local pint of beer.

As he became obsessed with beer, Jensen found himself surprised by its complexities. “Even a lighter style, like a pilsner,” he says, “the farther north you go in Germany, the hoppier it gets, while the farther south you go, it gets maltier, sweeter. Even in seemingly pedestrian styles of beer, there are all these things going on.”

He realized surprising facts—for example, that there are different kinds of bitterness. “In American Pale Ale,” he says, “you use hops with a lot of acid from the Pacific Northwest—the bitterness is reminiscent of grapefruit—but if you brew with certain German hops, like hallertau, the bitterness is more flowery, not as acidic.”

Jensen also learned that carefully made beers can improve, rather than skunk, with age. Given that craft beers are typically bolder and heavier than mass-market fare, he was surprised to find, after tasting it all, that his favorite style is actually a lighter style, Kölsch—a beer born in Cologne, where he feels comfortably at home.

He finds one aspect of the gourmet-beer experience—food/beer pairings—a bit overrated. (“People say, ‘What should I have with this?’” I say, ‘Have what you like.’”) True beerhounds, he says, pair beers with seasons: a golden Maibock in the spring, a wheat beer (perhaps brewed with fruit juice) in the summer, marzen in the fall. Winter is the domain of big, bold, high-alcohol, bone-warming ales.

“I love scallops sautéed in a wit [wheat] beer, which has a nice herbal quality that complements the fish,” Jensen adds. “In the winter, take your grandma’s beef-stew recipe and throw in some Newcastle Brown. If a recipe calls for water, substitute beer—then drink that beer with your meal.”

One thing he has never done is let beer become work. “Some people can’t have a drink to enjoy themselves,” he says. “They think every drink has to be a critique session. They can’t sit down and enjoy the moment.” He pauses to enjoy the moment. “I’ve got this crazy, diverse group of friends that I know only through this stuff. You couldn’t imagine the cast of characters. You couldn’t make it up.”


The biggest misconception about beer? That lagers are light, ales dark. “You can have a pale straw-colored ale or a jet-black lager,” says Anheuser-Busch brewmaster Nathaniel Davis. “What differentiates them is the yeast strain. Ale strains prefer a warmer, more rapid fermentation, which drives fruity and robust notes. Lagers prefer lower temperatures; lagern, German for “to store,” refers to a secondary fermentation where the yeast is allowed to mellow and round out the beer, so you get a crispness in the finish.” Try drinking lager in a Champagne flute, Davis suggests: The tall, thin glass will accentuate citrus and spicy, aromatic hoppiness, and when you tilt it far back to drink, the beer will hit your tongue at the front, where the carbonation will explode and then wash very quickly across your palate. For an ale, use a glass that opens up at the base; that will accentuate malty and ripe fruit notes, caramel, coffee and nuttiness. “Tilt the glass so the beer leaves a film, then inhale the aroma as the film evaporates.” Whatever you do, don’t drink from the bottle. Pour straight down the middle of the glass and let the carbonation explode in a solid head of foam, noting whether it’s white or pale tan, tight and lacy or bubbly. “You drink first with your eyes,” Davis murmurs.

Jensen’s Suggestions for Four Interesting Pints

Kölsch: “It’s a very difficult beer to make because it has a dry, white-wine, mineral quality to it. Young guys start out wanting big, bold beers that knock you over. As you spend time in Germany, though, you realize that light beer can have great taste.”

Hefeweizen: “It has a clove-banana character. When I first tasted that, it was so unlike anything else I’ve ever had. It’s a very unique thing in the beer world.”

Saison: “They would make this stuff and let it age over the summer and have it in the fall season. It’s very complex, with a nice tart quality to it. It’s something I think about quite a bit.”

Guerze: “It’s very sour and acidic—in a pleasant way. It’s aged in white-oak casks, and it takes a number of years for this stuff to get to the market. You can cellar it like a wine.”