Terroir

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beutinbrew

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So, we've all heard of the importance of "terroir" in wine - the idea being that the land on which the grapes are grown genuinely affects the flavor of the grapes and, therefore, the nuances of the wine. The best example of this might be the intense "grapefruit" and citrus flavors that Sauvignon Blanc takes on when grown in New Zealand; as opposed to the flinty, floral notes of the same grape grown in France.

My question is this: is there Terroir in beer? Perhaps, specifically, is there terroir in Barley or other grains? And what about hops? If Fuggle is grown in Oregon, is it different in nuance than Fuggle grown in England?

Obviously, yeast brings characteristics and is extremely local ... but what about the stuff that comes out of the ground?
 
An interesting blog comment on terroir being unexplored in beer, the argument being that the differences in malts is too interesting for anyone to spend time considering the differences in a single malt grown in different countries or fields.

http://blog.geirove.org/2007/07/malt-types-and-terrior.html

Here are some guys using a pumpkin to achieve terroir. In my opinion, a complete misunderstanding of the concept, but nonetheless: this issue seems unresolved. How about some thoughts. Does terroir exist in beer?

http://appellationbeer.com/blog/the-ultimate-pumpkin-beer-photo-story/
 
I'm sure it does exist in grain. But now just go ahead and try to isolate that from the distinct flavors of yeast, and the hops, and the water, and the brewing process, and the fermenting temperature, and the lagering temperature.

Basically, we have more variables. Isolating one seems more difficult and less worthwhile.
 
We had a minor discussion awhile back about appellation in beer and I think you've nailed why it doesn't make sense in beer.

Globalization, multiple ingredients, easily substitutable ingredients, clonabale water make it diffuiclt to ascribe character of beer to terroir.
 
The closest thing I've seen to terroir in the beer world is in Belgian lambics that are naturally inoculated by the local yeast.

As for grain and hops, well, there is certainly a difference between British 2-row (Maris Otter) and american 2-row, but I can't really attribute that to terroir.

My thought on the matter is that terroir is transmitted from the grape to the glass because of minimal handling and processing. There's no boiling, and the greatest appreciators of terroir in the world (such as Nicolas Joly and Zind-Humbrecht) are militantly non-interventionist---they hardly mess with the wine at all...little or no oak, etc...so that the true beauty of the terroir is carried through to the finished product. This is the greatness of terroir: its purity.

On the other hand, beer by nature is a product manufactured by man. It is inherently different, because it requires a great deal of intervention between the barley fields and hop farms, and the bottle/keg. The grain is malted, then crushed, then mashed, then boiled for at least an hour with the hops. The variables at stake here that make great beer are all in the control of the brewer---whereas with wine, the greatness comes from the vines. This is why there is very little variation from year to year if recipes remain the same---all the human intervention at various parts of the process essentially negate any observable qualities of terroir from the raw products. That's why I love making beer but refuse to make wine from boxed juice...
 
There's also an interesting phenomena with recent changes in climate that are forcing some vineyards to move so that they can achieve the same micro-climate.
 
There certainly is some difference in the grains and the hops produced in different regions. Those differerences could be due to terroir or just desires of the producers. In hops, I expect it's more a matter of climate, since I don't hear much about why the market wants strains transplanted from the old country to differ substantially, but I do just speculate. Barley could be the same, but the maltster's priocess really has more to do with regional differences than the barley.


TL
 
I think a couple of people hit on something that's interesting in the disucssion: that the barley is so modified by the brewer by the brewing process as to make the subtle nuances of "terroir" moot.

On the other hand, I am thinking more and more now about the possibility of terroir in hops, though considering the differences between hops and grapes as functional organs of the plant, it wouldn't probably be a direct translation of the effect.

Still, couldn't there be subtle nuances between hop aromas carried by hops grown in this farm or that farm owing to climate, climate stress or even soil?
 
Terroir plays the biggest role in lambic brewing. The microflora that spontaneously ferments the beer comes from the terroir; the trees, the fruits, the wood, the soil and air, etc. Another example of terroir and beer is IIPA, because the hops grow in America they are unique and the beer is unique, England couldn't make an IIPA like America.
 
Practically no beer and most modern wines have no terroir, although I do find some hops much better than others and characteristic of where they are grown. Beer is about hydrology and local water quality. My feeling is also that non-blended raw honey and the meads made from them have big terrior; a clear connection to the land and its health
 
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