Rhu-Caliente

Origin Story

Rhu-Caliente is a concept beer that is similar to White Falcon. Like White Falcon, Rhu-Caliente is "loosely" modeled after a traditional old world beer style, the Belgian White ale, that was then sufficiently hopped to be classified as a relatively new hybrid style called Belgian India White Ales. Also similar to the White Falcon, which was brewed exclusively with a hop variety that we had never used before (Falconers Flight), Rhu-Caliente was brewed exclusively with another new to Short's hop variety called, Caliente hops. However, this time, the brewers decided not to stop at style hybridization and new hop exclusivity, and tossed in a non-traditional brewing ingredient, rhubarb, inspired by the Caliente hops descriptions of having lemon and cherry fruit qualities. White beers are an unfiltered style of wheat beer that originated in Belgium during the Middle Ages. The "White" refers to its unfiltered nature and the cloudy whiteness of the beer as it appears in a glass. Uniquely different from other traditional wheat beers, like the Hefewiezens of Germany, White beers of Belgium generally incorporated the use of un-malted white wheat or other adjuncts like spices and Curacao orange peel. Traditional German wheat beers are made either entirely with malted white wheat or a combination of malted wheat and malted barley. Although quite popular upon its initial creation, White beers decreased in popularity throughout the 1900's, until the all time low for this style occurred when the last white beer brewery, in Hoegaarden, Belgium closed its doors. However, by the 1960's the style saw a revival thanks to a man named Pierre Celis, who decided to start a new brewery that would feature a White beer, based on his familiarity with the style from working in an original White beer brewery in Hoegaarden as a young man. Celis even called his breweries White beer Hoegaarden, in honor of the town where this style was originally brewed. From there, White beers began to see some significant growth due to Celis's traditional Belgian version and a new "Belgo-American-style" called Blue Moon Belgian White, by MillerCoors. The brewers of this newer Belgo-American take on the White beer tended to use malted white wheat, opposed to the traditional dedication to un-malted wheat, because they could avoid the difficulties associated with using un-malted grain. Another popular introduction to the Belgo-American version of White beer, is serving it with a slice of lemon or orange, perhaps in an attempt to enhance some of the bright fruity characters of the beer imparted by the traditional Belgian yeast strain. Whether the true to style Belgium White or the more modernized Belgo-American White, both versions would incorporate the use of hops sparingly, to keep the overall bitterness low. Making our take on this style even more distinct and truly worthy of a new name distinction Belgium India White Ale or Belgium White IPA. By adding rhubarb and some intense fruity American hops, we are able to resemble the popular practice of garnishing these beers with citrus fruit, at least in the aroma and initial flavors. However, the amplified bitterness that accompanies the finish, truly sets this and other Belgium India White Ales apart from the historical styles that inspired their creation.