Tag: Beer 101

In just a few weeks, a well-meaning loved one is going to hand you homebrewing supplies. No doubt, you’ll have questions. I’m here with answers and “wisdom.”

The continued connection between American and British ales throughout the 19th century is unexpected but fascinating.

The Matthew Vassar who brewed Vassar Ale later founded the college in Poughkeepsie that bears his name. That connection is almost certainly why Vassar’s papers have been preserved.

How long have American hops been common in British beer? Twenty years, 30 years, 50 years? Think again. It’s much longer than that.

Tasting panels are trained by smelling the chemical aroma standards responsible for each flavor—as beer geeks know, banana flavor is isoamyl acetate and butter is diacetyl—in decreasing dilutions. They taste the isolated chemicals added to polyethylene glycol until small amounts can be detected.

The evolution and slow divergence of Irish Porter from the London original is a story that’s been repeated across the world. Displace a beer and, like a plant, it will adapt to its new environment.

Before New England’s Valley Malt existed, a farmhouse brewery could never truly be a farmhouse brewery, and a harvest beer could never truly be a harvest beer.

Allagash’s Rob Tod recalls visiting spontaneous Belgian breweries with a group of American brewers, and wondering whether their techniques could be imported to the US.

In the early ’90s, two things happened: the rise of microbreweries, which started releasing their own “breweriana” into the coaster-sphere… and the internet. That’s when the “tegestologist,” or coaster collector, community really blew up.

A few hundred years as North Germany’s favorite beer, yet it’s disappeared virtually without a trace. What was it exactly, and why has it been so thoroughly forgotten?

These beer fest survival tips could mean the difference between having an epic time… and a “fail” time.

Catherine the Great had a passion for the brownest, strongest Porter from London’s great Anchor brewery. It was this ale that would eventually evolve into possibly the grandest of all beer styles.

In addition to their bittering, flavor, and aroma properties, hops help stabilize beer foam, kill unwanted bacteria, and, according to some studies, impart body-boosting antioxidants. Future breeds might bring an entire revolution to the brewing industry.

In its heyday, Faro was the go-to drink of Belgium. It was light and refreshing, and, the French notwithstanding, a pleasant respite.

You might be surprised at some of the multitude of forms Mild Ale has taken. Many were about as dissimilar from the modern version as you can imagine. But let’s get one thing straight first: The name Mild has nothing to do with low gravity or low hopping rates.

CDA must be something more than a simple IPA that happens to be black, and must be brewed with the Northwest’s distinctively aromatic hops, including Amarillo, Centennial, Chinook and, yes, Cascade.

Craft beer, this is not. Yet, there is a certain fascination with malt liquor among some craft brewers.

Just how fine can you go with your crush? The internet’s general rule of thumb says, “Crush until you’re scared and then crush a little more.” In reality, you don’t have to shoot for the maximum efficiency from your crush. Most mills’ default settings work like a charm.

If India Pale Ale gets its name from its legendary ability to withstand the month-long sea voyage from England to Bombay some 200 years ago, what should we call the new breed of super-hoppy American IPAs?

Over the years, brewers have come up with four basic types of packaging—casks, bottles, kegs and cans. Each type of package protects beer in different ways, and can cause the beer to taste quite different.

A bartender, explaining the appeal of Bock, told one newspaper reporter simply, “It makes a feller feel good sooner.” It was enough to put a smile on your face, even in the midst of the Great Depression.

Often, the grain is used to give a new twist to a classic style. When you get it just right, its spicy tang plays on a nutty, chocolate-like background with just a touch of coffee.

Deservedly or not, American wheat ale is the whipping boy for Bavarian Hefeweizen … but it turns out, that’s not such a bad thing.

The style probably dates to the 16th or 17th century and was so renowned that Napoleon’s troops supposedly called it the “Champagne of the North.”