When Worlds Collide: Beer and Wine

I'd like to say that what is happening in the world of beer is so much more on the cutting edge than what is taking place in regards to wine, but I feel that parading out a brief phrase like on the cutting edge is a way too clinical and mundane way to describe the experimentation going on in American breweries. I would prefer to convey the creative, forward-thinking mindset of the beer community as crazy, ridiculous, outrageous, and reckless. Risky. How would you like to hear a business plan for a beer that would be cork-finished, flavored with cherries, aged in used Pinot Noir barrels, sour in taste, and secondarily fermented in the bottle like true French Champagne? Oh, still willing to write a check? One more thing. It's going to be a 12 ounce bottle that will cost 13 dollars. Still there? Great. So allow me to introduce Supplication from Russian River Brewing.

How does it taste? It's delicious: tangy and sour with a nice crisp finish. Definitely a beer you pour into a nice tulip-shaped glass and savor. I am still a bit fuzzy on what barrel-aging does for a beer. (Help me, science.) And how, specifically, Pinot Noir barrels get the nod for this beer versus any other wine grape aged in wood.

With the sour cherries and the Pinot Noir barrels involved, I think this would be an amazing match with anything duck. Might I also suggest a sampling of the runniest and stinkiest of cheeses? Yes, please.

Jameson Fink is a wine buyer at a bustling grocery store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He moved to Seattle from Chicago (where he dabbled in the restaurant and wine industries) five years ago to pursue a full-time career in wine. He’d rather be drinking Champagne and eating popcorn right now.