Brewers try to re-create beer’s style

Avril is complex, low-alcohol

Adrienne Pierluissi remembers Avril, a style of beer she found to be so beautiful that she compared it to every beer that followed.

Everything was rated as “oh, this is so close to Avril,” said Pierluissi, who owns Sugar Maple, a craft beer bar at 441 E. Lincoln Ave. She loved it for its complexity and because it was “super-low in alcohol.”

Avril is a bier de table made by Belgium’s Brasserie Dupont. Indeed, its alcohol by volume is super-low: 3.5%. It’s described as having spicy and peppery hops with herbal and floral side notes.

Pierluissi was craving a beer in the style and wondered why more American breweries hadn’t adopted it yet. She was pining in good company.

“I want to play,” said brewaster Steve Dresler, who will retire from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. this year.

In April, Sierra Nevada and Milwaukee breweries Good City, Like Minds and Enlightened will brew a beer influenced by Avril. Each will use unique ingredients to produce a lowABV beer with flavors that define Avril.

Good City Brewery brewmaster and co-founder Andy Jones said the brew will be the brewery’s first Belgian. It is getting yeast from the brewery in Belgium.

Like Minds Brewing will use foraged ingredients to make its version of the beer. It’s separate from another Like Minds project, in which the brewery is using wild yeast collected from Rocky Mountain, Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks, said brewer and owner John Lavelle.

The Avril event runs from noon to 10 p.m. on April 15. A flight of the beers from Sierra Nevada, Good City, Like Minds and Enlightened will sell for $13. There will also be glasses of the actual Avril for sale. Pierluissi will have speakers, including Dresler, on hand to talk about the beers starting at 4 p.m.