Enegren Brewing's German Accent

It takes barely a minute to detect Enegren Brewing Company's founder and brew captain Chris Enegren's thirst for Belgian and German beers, and his passion for brewing. As proof, take a sip of Valkyrie Altbier, the Moorpark brewing facility and tasting room's hallmark brew.

The beer's name references Scandinavian folklore, where Valkyrie brought the dead warriors to Valhalla (heaven) and served them mead for their glory in battle, says Chris. "We always saw beer as a reward for hard work and that's one of the reasons the lions on our logo are high-fiving and having a cheers."

The lions also pay homage to "Iggy the Lion" of Loyola Marymount University, where the Enegren team got their start making home brew as students.

Altbier means "old beer" in German, a nod to the old style of prelager beer.

For this beer, Enegren uses an American ale yeast (rather than lager yeast), and emphasizes the beer's malt flavors with a formula that has more than 60% German Munich dark malt and chocolate wheat malt, among others. This gives the beer a toasty, smooth taste with strong caramel notes. German noble hops add a bit of bitterness for balance.

When developing brews, the Enegren team is on the lookout for perfect food parings to go with the beer. As a German-style brown ale that's brewed and fermented similarly to a lager, Valkyrie mates well with shorts ribs, steaks and wiener schnitzel, says Chris.

For more info, visit EnegrenBrewing.com.