Arizona Beer Class: Perch Zilla Cuke ESB

(Every Thursday, MXSW reveals the story behind one of Arizona’s noteworthy craft beers. See previous Arizona Beer Classes here.)

This week’s subject: Perch Zilla Cuke ESB

Zilla Cuke is a cucumber-flavored extra special bitter (5.2% ABV) brewed by The Perch Pub & Brewery in Chandler. Despite the style’s name, ESBs typically are not bitter. The Perch has 35 taps, but its small 3-barrel system only produces enough beers for five or six handles; the rest are guest beers.

Where did the idea for Zilla Cuke come from?

“Sean Jennings, a home-brewing friend of mine I’d met at HC (the National Homebrewers Conference) in San Diego, had done it a few times at home and really wanted to do it,” says Perch brewer Andrew Bauman.

“So I said, ‘Hey, let’s do the first collab. Come on down.’ For 100 gallons we used 50 pounds of cucumbers. It sounded perfect for summer. Sean’s made it many times and it’s really good. That’s why I wanted to do it.”

Why do it as an ESB instead of, say, a saison?

“(ESB) is a British, or English, style of beer,” Bauman says. “Medium hoppiness, a little more maltiness, but still pretty easy to drink. When you’re adding fruits to beers, you don’t want the hops to get in the way so you want to use something that complements the flavor. If you’re using American hops, maybe that honey-citrus-floral thing is going to get in the way more than an English variety of hop.”

Where did the name Zilla Cuke come from?

“ZillaBrew is Sean’s home brew, so we called it Zilla Cuke. We had it on at House of Brews during their local tap takeover last week. That was pretty fun.”

Do drinkers expect a strong cucumber flavor?

“I hope they do because they’re going to get it,” Bauman says. “It doesn’t finish like, ‘Oh, I just ate a whole bunch of cucumbers,’ but in the nose and at the front there’s a lot of cucumber. Then it kinda eases off and you get that maltiness and a little bit of hoppy from the ESB.

“If anyone’s had my beer, they’re probably not surprised because I don’t call something a beer unless you’ll actually know that’s what it is. When I call it a Rosemary IPA, you’re gonna know it’s rosemary. You’re gonna know it’s lemon (in the Grilled Lemon Cream Ale).”

And if someone doesn’t like cucumbers?

“If they don’t like cucumber, I don’t want them to try it,” Bauman says. “They would hate it because it’s cucumber. Like our ginger beer. If you don’t like ginger you’re not gonna like that beer because it’s gin-ger.”

What’s been the reaction to Zilla Cuke so far?

“I think it’s our top-selling beer right now,” Bauman says. “I mean, it’s hard to say. They’re all move pretty much the same. People get a favorite and they want to drink it all the time.

“Will I ever make it again? Probably. When? I don’t know. We’re always going to be changing our beers. Having anything on for more than a month is going to be unique. The Rosemary IPA and Grilled Lemon have been on for awhile, but once summer ends those will be gone too.”

Are flavored beers going to be a regular thing?

“No, not really,” Bauman says. “We have another pale ale and another IPA coming out this week, and those are just straight-up beers. I have a rose hip Belgian coming out. I guess you could say that’s a flavoring, but it’s kinda traditional.

“Then we’ve got a strawberry wheat, and then a porter we made today. At this point it’s just going to be a standard porter, but who knows? Something might say, ‘Oh, do this!’”

Will Zilla Cuke be anywhere besides The Perch?

“I had a keg at House of Brews last week,” Bauman says. “I’m gonna have one Saturday at World of Beer. But generally no, only because I need more kegs before I can start sending any out.

“What I have can just take care of us, especially with it getting busier in the fall. Even for (just The Perch), I’m definitely going to need more kegs.”