Elevation Brewing Company - Prostator

German breweries long ago started a tradition of applying the suffix “-ator” to doppelbock beers—hence the name applied to this beer: Prostator. Unfortunately, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is either unaware of or doesn’t much care for this tradition, as they rejected the label for this beer citing that the name “Prostator” was too similar to the name of what might be a medication, and seemed to imply some form of health benefit. This had threatened to derail or delay the release of this beer, but the TTB was ultimately satisfied by the addition of the following words to the label: “provides no medical benefit to the prostate.” Sheesh… Maybe we beer folk should get upset when we come across pharmaceuticals ending in “tor” that aren’t doppelbock flavored… This beer represents Elevation Beer Company’s first foray into lager beer—and for their debut lager, they wanted to go big and bold, integrating smoked malts in the style of rauchbiers from Bamberg. So here we have a smoked doppelbock. Look for an opening nose featuring the clean characteristics of a well-lagered doppelbock, with notes of gingerbread, pumpernickel, caramel and leather. Giving a good swirl and letting the beer come up in temperature encourages wafts of smokiness to ensue. Bacon? Syrup? Breakfast anyone? With its big, leathery rauchbier notes, we felt that this beer could fit right in at a blind tasting of smoked beers from Bamberg. Basically a very traditional rauchbier brewed in the doppelbock style. Note the pleasant balancing spiciness from the hops, keeping this from being a complete malt bomb on the nose. On the palate, the beer is far cleaner than you’d expect from the complexity in the aroma. Somehow, lagered cleanliness is retained even with the use of beechwood smoked malts—making this a very easy to drink beer despite its size and smokiness. Rich, yet clean (can’t emphasize that enough), but paired with wonderful threads of smoke (we got a bit less campfire-y and perhaps a touch more bacon-sizzle-y in the overall smoke profile). In the finish, a gentle tingle nips at the inside of the lips—courtesy of the very spicy tettnanger hops and a pretty darned talented yeast strain. Very impressive, as smoked beers can be done a number of ways, some not so nicely—but this is beautifully executed. And not just on the rauch side—it’s a wonderfully balanced doppelbock as well. Elevation has managed to apply a creative spin not by using atypical or zany ingredients, but by the very effective blending of traditional, old-world styles into a single beer. What’s more, it’s the brewery’s first lager—and they nailed it; nothing like a good cause to bring out the best in people—especially brewing people! This beer will hold up in the bottle for quite some time—though we definitely suggest trying it now, saving a few bottles to sample in 6 month intervals for up to 3 years. After you’ve had the beer on its own, to experience it in its full unadulterated glory, try some pairings: Havarti cheese melted atop sourdough or pumpernickel, chipotle pork chops (as suggested on the label)—which will pull out some of the smoke notes if you have a very chipotle-heavy marinade, or a rich, oily maduro cigar, which works beautifully against the leathery notes in this beer. As noted earlier, this is a rare beer brewed only once and available almost exclusively through this club, so order up for a good cause! And guys, remember to get yourselves a PSA test (ladies—get after your men to have a PSA test, especially if they are 40 or older). Many insurance policies don’t cover the test before a certain age (typically 50), but for a test that could save your life, the minor out of pocket cost is worth it. Shop around—many places offer testing in the $75 range, even without any insurance at all. We should mention that there’s been a lot of debate about PSA testing in the news recently. Talk to your doctor about Prostate cancer, and if you get an abnormal level back, get tested again. We may be shamans of suds, but no, we’re not doctors over here. Education is key on this issue. For more information, check out www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/PSA

For the third consecutive year, we at The Rare Beer Club are lucky enough to bring you another beer from the Pints for Prostates (PfP) project. Prostator, a smoked doppelbock, is a one-off, single-batch brew which, once gone, will be gone forever, and—lucky you—membership in this club is just about the only way to get it (other than a couple cases at a Denver rare beer tasting, or a small amount on-site at the newly opened tasting room at Elevation Beer Company in Poncha Springs, Colorado). As always, proceeds from this beer support prostate cancer awareness, not to mention craft-brewed beer. Clearly, as a member of the club, you regularly support and advocate for the latter. But this month you can add prostate cancer awareness to your philanthropy—and if you were a member last year and/or the year before, when we ran our first two PfP beers, you know these beers are always sure to please.

OK, time for a reality check: according to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer will kill more than 28,000 men in America in 2012. Few people realize that there will be more than 235,000 prostate cancer cases diagnosed this year, or maybe even more alarmingly, that one out of six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Or the fact that prostate cancer is 33 percent more common in men than breast cancer is in women! But with early detection and proper treatment, prostate cancer has a survival rate of nearly 100 percent. Clearly, these sorts of statistics scream that awareness and early detection are critical—so how to get more people to pay attention?

As a better beer fan, you may be familiar with the writings of Rick Lyke. As a respected drinks journalist, he’s written regularly for All About Beer magazine and contributes to various other publications, including DRAFT, on all things beer, wine and spirits. His blog, Lyke2Drink.com, is another great daily read—both fun and informative. Our friend Rick got a frightening reality check of his own a few years back. At the urging of a good friend who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, Rick saw his primary care physician to get tested. The doc told him he didn’t need a PSA test until age 50 (he was 47) and since he presented with no symptoms and did not have an enlarged prostate, his doctor said there was simply no need for the blood test. Rick pressed to have it performed anyway, even though insurance wouldn’t cover it. That $75 test revealed that Rick had prostate cancer, but it was caught early, led Rick to have surgery, and saved the man’s life. It’s as simple as that folks.

Realizing the general lack of awareness about prostate cancer, and the fact that guys typically avoid talking about their health, Rick created the Pints for Prostates campaign in 2008 to reach men through the universal language of beer with an important health message: silence on this issue is costing men their lives. Get aware, get talking, and if you’re 40 or older, get tested.

As a nonprofit campaign, Pints for Prostates gets the word out in various online and print publications, and conducts various activities to fundraise for the Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network, a 501(c)3 charity that works to support, educate and advocate for men with prostate cancer and their families. This year, one such activity was partnering with one of Colorado’s newest breweries, Elevation Beer Company, and The Rare Beer Club, to create a rare, one-of-a-kind beer to be featured in The Rare Beer Club and in very limited quantities at a Denver Rare Beer Tasting on October 12th. The beer features the Pints for Prostates logo on its label, which includes the blue ribbon to remind people of the ongoing search for a cure, and a donation of $1 from every 750 ml bottle of Prostator sold will be made to the Pints for Prostates campaign through The Rare Beer Club.

The recipe was developed by the folks at Elevation Beer Co—a group of four friends who just opened up shop this year. “This is an exciting project for our new brewery and we are proud to be partnering with Pints for Prostates,” said Christian Koch, Head Brewer and Co-founder at Elevation Beer Co. “Elevation Beer is located high in the heart of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Our plan is to build a reputation for brewing rare artisan beers. We are going to focus on adventurous specialty beers and barrel-aged seasonals that will appeal to craft beer fans like us.”

The results are truly something special—so we’ll let you get to it. Raise a glass of beer to your health and really mean it!

Check out www.elevationbeerco.com for more information about this up and coming CO brewery.

Visit www.PintsForProstates.org to learn more about their important campaign and their ongoing activities (lots of good beer events to attend!).