A monthly series highlighting what’s on tap at Crafty Bastard Brewery
By Aaron McClain
I was invited to a taco dinner co-curated by my friends Rachel Butzler and Rachel Elise in November 2021. It was being held at a secret garden only 6 miles from my house, so I decided to ride my bike. After traversing the back roads of South Knoxville, getting lost after realizing my GPS got me only kinda close, then finally finding the right gravel road and opening the right number of fences, I could attest that this garden indeed was a secret.
Honored to be in such exclusive company, I was curious to explore the garden after finishing the delicious meal provided by the property’s owner, Jason Stephens. I was given a tour by Rachel (of Relise Design Co., who just so happens to be the label designer for Crafty Bastard), and she explained about the many different varieties of tomatoes, squash and peppers that populated the garden. It being mid-November, many of these plants already had yielded their harvest or were nearing the end of their yearly cycles.
As we continued strolling through the massive space, I noticed a plant that seemed to be defying the season. It was vibrantly green and almost could have been mistaken for a gigantic onion plant had its potent and discernible aroma not given it away.
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked. “If you think it’s lemongrass, then you’d be right!” Rachel replied.
I stood in awe of this magnificent specimen that stood nearly as tall as me and stretched probably 3-4 feet in diameter. She produced a knife, proceeded to cut a piece of the stalk and handed it to me. The aroma was the same as when we had approached the plant but obviously exuded more intensity. (The sensation is of extraordinarily strong lemon notes with a hint of freshly cut grass – not dissimilar to a citronella candle but without the waxiness.) I took a nibble of the freshly cut piece and was greeted by an extraordinarily strong snap of acidity which resolved into a sharp, spicy finish that was reminiscent of raw ginger. While being too strong to enjoy on its own (like most spices, herbs and botanicals), I was really intrigued and began thinking about how to infuse these flavors into a beer.
I asked if the plant could over-winter, and Rachel said that while it was possible for it to survive the winter with proper mulching, the best policy – and safest bet in East Tennessee – was to cut the plant back and let the rootstock spend the winter indoors, which meant that this delicious and dynamically flavored harvest was ready to be used.
We immediately went to work infusing these sinewy stalks into different beers and found that while lemongrass has a very pleasant flavor, the slight grassiness and spiciness can be out of place in many styles. The application that made the most sense (and was friggin’ delicious) was in a pilsner. The slightly grassy herbaceousness inherent in pilsners allowed the exotic yet elegant flavors of the lemongrass to express without adding notes that were combative to the base beer. In addition, we infused some ginger to the brew to enhance the spiciness and provide a palate-cleansing finish, ensuring this beer would pair with a multitude of cuisines as well as an afternoon on a patio in the sunshine.
The beer tasted fantastic and was reviewed positively by everyone who tried it, but it did have one glaring flaw: It was November. I’ve never been one to base my drink selection entirely upon seasons, but something like this really did scream for spring. So in the summer of 2021, we planted two lemongrass plants in our patio garden at our new West Knox location at 9937 Kingston Pike. We have made it our mission to harvest lemongrass every summer and fall in order to provide our customers with a carefully curated, culinarily inspired flavor experience each spring.
On April 5 at both locations (Kingston Pike and Emory Place), we will be releasing a once-a-spring offering a year in the making. A beer like this is complex, quaffable, quirky and quaint, but it sure as hell ain’t a secret! Make sure to sample this limited-release, declassified delight before it’s gone.
