GERMAN AND CORONADO BREWERS CREATE NEW/OLD BEER

Sebastian Sauer, a brewing phenom in his home of Germany (left), consults with Coronado Brewing Company brewer Ryan Brooks. Together they created a traditional Hefeweizen with a twist that blends the best of Germany and the best that San Diego brewing has to offer. Photo by Joe Ditler. 

CORONADO – Sebastian Sauer has become a shooting star as German brewers go. He started out with a genuine fascination with beer, and was obsessed with collecting beer coasters as a child. In his teen years he and his friends sought out exotic beers in the border triangle of Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.

Today, at age 26, he has built an international reputation as a successful brewer, and has his own brewery, restaurant and distribution company in Cologne, Germany.

Sauer is making a tour of American breweries this month and brewed his first American beer with brewer Ryan Brooks of the Coronado Brewing Company on Wednesday.

The two brewers were carrying on an email exchange when it just made more sense for Sauer to hop on a plane and come to Coronado. Together they created a traditional Hefeweizen with a twist that blends the best of Germany and the best that San Diego brewing has to offer.

“Sebastian was making beer in Germany with a little American influence,” said Brooks, “and we were making American beers with a little German influence. So it was only natural that we get together and see what we could come up with.”

The young German brewer has his own opinions about beer and partnering with others. “Often collaborations don’t work,” he said. “When I look at typical collaborations, I see a finished product that either of the collaborators could have created on his own. What we’re doing is using big American hops mixed with traditional German beer. This will be something that is indeed unique to both of our markets.”

In preparation for Sauer’s visit, the CBC brewers sourced out yeast from the oldest brewery in the world, Weihenstephaner, located near Munich.

The new brew, to be called Republic of CaliVaria (a twist on California and Bavaria), will be available in two weeks at the Coronado Brewing Company’s two locations, and in a limited amount at a few of the better beer bars throughout San Diego.

“I expect it to be quite a refreshing beer,” said Brooks. “It will have a nice balance of clove spiciness and banana esters, and a hint of bubblegum.”

The 6’4” Sauer smiled at his American counterpart’s description. “Yes, rosy, that’s how I would describe it, with a little pine and a little tropical mixed in.”

Ron Chapman, left, co-founder of the Coronado Brewing Company, with Sebastian Sauer and

Ryan Brooks at CBC’s Brew Pub, located at 170 Orange Avenue. Photo by Joe Ditler.

Even at age 17, Sebastian and his friends had created a game out of tasting local beers, describing the experience, and trying to figure out what the ingredients were.

“We would ask, ‘Where is the sweetness coming from,’” said Sauer. “At some point you stop finding new beers in your region, and begin to look elsewhere. You work, you save your money, and you plan a trip to discover new beer tastes. We began to carry large bags with us that we would load up with beers to bring back to Germany to try and analyze later.”

Sauer and his brewers are reviving and modernizing Germany’s historical beer styles, creating beers that have their roots in German history and lore, but are made today with what he calls an improvement on traditional German standards.

“There’s a lot of dying out of the breweries in Germany,” Sauer recently told a brew magazine. “Germany used to have a lot of breweries, and nowadays they all produce less than they did years ago. But they don’t understand why they’re losing so much. They see themselves as the victims.”

Sauer’s solution: “I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but I want to reintroduce some of these old flavors to the new generation of beer drinkers. I do a lot of modern interpretations of the older beers. I love old style sour ales.” And so, it seems, do his customers.”

The German brewer’s best selling beer is Abraxxxas, a 6% sour beer. Inspired by the eastern German tart wheat beer once known as “Lichtenhainer.” Abraxxxas is sour and complex, with a balancing, smoky maltiness. “I wanted to bring back that beer, but not exactly as it was,” said the brewer who is equal parts entrepreneur and historian.

Ryan Brooks, left, and Sebastian Sauer spent the day creating a new/old brew, but the experience gave Sauer a chance to try numerous beers during his stay. The German brewer is only 26, but has revived the German brewing industry with his modern twists on old favorites. Photo by Joe Ditler.

“His beer is pretty unique,” said CBC’s Brooks. “When I go to Germany I see lots of big brewers, but this is the youngest guy I’ve ever seen start and be so successful at a business. They are all young guys. They don’t care about the old methods. They’re excited about change and making new beers that don’t have to follow a certain path. It must be working, because when I was in Philadelphia last week, they had the largest display table filled with his beer.”

Sauer’s brew pub is called Braustelle. Together with his African chef they have had great success with pairings and building a large clientele with exotic beer and food. At his pub he produces approximately 30 barrels a year, about the size of the Coronado Brewing Company’s Coronado Brew Pub. Aside from Abraxxxas, his most popular beers are Hoppeditz, Ottekolong Kölsch, and Pimock Hefeweizen.

Surprisingly, the thing Sauer most looked forward to seeing this trip were the places in California where Rock ‘n’ Roll was so fluent in the late 1960s. He waxed eloquently on the harmonies of the Beach Boys, the brilliance of Brian Wilson, the magic of the Mamas and the Papas, and the subtleties of Eric Burdon and the Animals. He likes Cream, Credence Clearwater Revival, and even the acoustical version of “Hotel California.” Pretty heady stuff for a 26-year-old European.

“I wanted my whole life to see these surfing cities the Beach Boys sang about,” he said, “and I played their music all the way down the coast from Los Angeles last night.”

Visiting brewer Sebastian Sauer delighted in a ride through Coronado in CBC’s 1924 Model T beer truck. The young German entrepreneur has a fetish for ’60s American Rock ‘n’ Roll. He couldn’t wait to visit the West Coast and see the places that inspired so much great music. Photo by Joe Ditler.

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This release prepared by Joe Ditler and Part-Time PR.

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