I first met Louis Sachs when I went to hear my wife's choir
perform in a Gilbert & Sullivan sing-along in Jerusalem. The operetta
was Trial by Jury, to be exact, and Louis was the organizer, narrator and
conductor. His stage presence was a little wacky, a little witty.
There was no doubting his love for the D'oyly Carte duo.
But the thing that most
impressed me was the hot and spiced apple wine being served to the guests as
they arrived. The label on the bottle said, "Hinden-Sachs Brauerei:
Hand crafted in Jerusalem's German Colony." Despite the
Teutonic-sounding name and location, there is nothing remotely German about
Sachs or his wife Simi Hinden, and the German Colony, which was founded by
German settlers in the 1870s and whose descendants were deported by the British
during World War II, retains only its name.
After we enjoyed the
sing-along, he invited me to visit him and Simi, to hear his story and taste
his beverages. And so I did.
Louis gives special attention
to his IPA. "I love hops," he admits. "I've never
had a beer too hoppy for me."
"We've done Pirates of
Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Patience, and now Trial by Jury -- and next year we
plan to do The Mikado."
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Louis Sachs greeted the old blogger with a trio of beautiful beverages. (Photo: Mike Horton) |
No, it was the contents of the
bottle that had me from the first sip. Like a warm, liquid apple pie --
full of sweet and juicy real apple goodness, spiced with cinnamon, cloves,
ginger and allspice. The taste was akin to apple liqueur, and alcoholic
strength was 10%.
Take me to your maker, I said
to the glass -- and to a few other people who could really give me an
answer. When Louis was pointed out to me, I went and introduced
myself. He told me he makes not only apple wine and cider, but also brews
beer. I guess I would have guessed.
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The Hinden-Sachs brewer in a rather contemplative pose. (Photo: Mike Horton) |
Louis started brewing in
Chicago at age 16, when his father gave him a home-brewing kit for his
birthday. While he was a student at Simpson College in Iowa, Louis
started making apple cider. A nearby apple orchard owner would give
apples to anyone who was making apple cider -- if they gave him a share of the
finished product.
When Louis came to Israel five
years ago, he continued to refine his brewing and fermentation skills. Today,
he uses Champagne yeast in his apple cider, which gives it a sparkling, dry
taste. It's as pale as Champagne as well, with the apples giving up most
of their tastes and sugars. Alcoholic strength is 7%.
The Hinden-Sachs Brauerei IPA: "Hand-crafted in Jerusalem's German Colony." |
As with many IPA brewers, Louis
uses a huge amount of hops to make his IPAs, and he's found an interesting way
to keep his costs down. "Every year there seems to be a new 'hot'
variety of hops that all home-brewers are using. However, the suppliers
always have a quantity of 'last year's' hops, and they are willing to sell me
these at a discount." For the IPA that I tasted, Louis uses Galaxy,
Centennial and Huell Melon hops, known for adding citrus and fruity flavors and
aromas.
Louis's IPA is a mid-amber
color with mild carbonation. The aroma brings some hop esters, but also a
surprising bready malt. The taste is very bitter -- attesting to the
quantity of hops that Louis uses. Apple and citrus are the flavors we
detected -- leaving my drinking partner Moshe to remark that this IPA shared
some characteristics with the dry cider. We both felt that the bitterness
was well balanced by the malt. Alcohol by volume is 7%.
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A contemporary caricature of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan |
Louis developed his other great
passion -- Gilbert & Sullivan -- also as a teenager. He sang opera
and operetta in high school in Des Moines, Iowa, and later worked as a music
teacher in Chicago. "The city had two G&S companies," Louis
says, "so there were always shows for me to attend."
In Jerusalem, he founded the
sing-along group, which gives concerts once a year. "Anyone can
learn to sing Gilbert and Sullivan," Louis adds. "The
cast doesn't do more than one or two rehearsals, and we hand out the lyrics so
the audience has no problem joining in.
If Louis welcomes the audience
once again with his apple wine and beer (and, of course, if my wife's choir is on stage), I may just show up.
Wow! Sounds great in both meanings of the word "sounds."
ReplyDeleteClassic epic Louis!
ReplyDelete