"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Ne research studies have concluded that men in their 70s and 0s who drank a beer a day were clearer thinkers than nondrinkers.  Clay says he drinks two beers a day so he'll be twice as clear.

Beer Vocabulary: KEGGLE.  A nickname for a commercial beer keg that has been converted into a homebrew beer kettle.  This is not to be confused with a "kegerator" which is  refrigerator in which one or more kegs are kept at a constant temperature. 

Beer Vocabulary: AMERICAN BROWN ALE.   It is much like an English brown, but higher hopped.  Chocolate and caramel malt flavors still lead, but American hops play an important supporting role.  Some can be so highly hopped it slips int brown IPA territory.   American browns are usually stronger in alcohol than British versions.

Quiz time!  Which of these craft breweries was purchased by a large brewery? A. Harpoon; B. Victory; C. 10 Barrel; D. Uinta; E. Schlafly                                        ans. c

George Washington's favorite drink was porter, a style he enjoyed brewing himself.  The famous president's brewing records indicate he make porter with a large proportion of molasses; in fact, he used nearly twice as much molasses as malt per batch.

Beer Styles: CALIFORNIA COMMON. This style is based on a San Francisco brewd bybrid lager called Steam Beer.  Anchor brewing owns the rights to that particular name, so California Common serves for the style.  Fermented at cool cellar temps of 55 to 60F, this medium amber beer isn't as clean as most other lagers, often displaying some light, fruity character above a toasty caramel malt base and rustic American hops.

Former President Obama was to most reports, the first president to brew beer in the White House, albeit with many helpers.  In order to encourage the transformation of beer culture in the US.  According to a press release, the former president introduced the practice at the White House with the hope that everyone there would learn to brew and share their own beers.

Beer Styles:  BOURBON BARREL AGED STOUT.  These are often high ABV, sweet, chewy beers with a deciely bourbon and oak flavor.  Brewers will make an intentionally thick, rich stout, quite high in alcohol, and then age the beer in a freshly emptied bourbon barrel for several months to several years.  Over time, the bourbon soaked into the wood mingles with the beer; charred oak tannins dry out some of the sweetness and smooth out the beer, with vanilla and chocolate notes.                                                                

Beer Vocabulary: IBU  This acronym stands for International Bitterness Units, a number that corresponds to the amount of iso-alpha acids dissolve into a given beer, which in turn determines the bitterness of the beer.  While theoretically it is possibe to have a beer with more than 100 IBUs, most peopee's perception of bitterness gets saturated beyond that number.  Note that a malty chewy 8%ABV  double IPA can have 90 IDUs and still taste sweeter than a lower strength with similar or lower IBUs.

Beer Styles: PASTRY or DESSERT STOUT. Big in alcohol and in sweetness these beers often have lactose added.  Most commonly, it refers to a stout brewed intentionally sweet and often made with plenty of sugary ingredients, usually to mimic a dessert’s flavor—and sometimes appearance.  Watch out for be calories.

Brewers in ancient Babylonia were held to very high standards.  Records indicate that brewers who produced poor quality beer could be sentenced to death by drowning (not in their own beer however).

Beer Vocabulary: CARAMEL MALT.  It is used to add color, body, flavor (caramel sweetness and tofee like tastes and aromas) to beer. Also called crystal malt, this type of malt is produced by allowing its enzymes to convert its own starches into sugar.  The malt kernels are then heated to caramelize those sugars, producing various grades of flavors and aromas from light to dark.

Beer Styles:  GRODZISKIE. This Polish style gets its name from Grodzisk, Poland, where it was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  It is a low gravity, highly carbonated wheat beer made with 100% smoked wheat malt.  The malt is almost always smoked over oak, but modern interpretations sometimes use woods like apple or peach.It is a very clear beer with a fruity aroma of apples and pears. It is very low in alcohol, 2.5% to 3.3%.

Beer Vocabulary: DECOCTION MASHING.  This is an old German method of mashing whereby part of the steeped malt, or mash, is removed from the main mash, brought to a boil, then returned to the main mash to increase the temperature of the main mash.  This process adds some cooked malt flavors to the beer.  While it is great for some styles, most modern brewers consider it unnecessary.  Single infusion and step mashing are alternative mashing methods tht are less time consuming. 

Beer Vocabulary: KENTUCKY COMMON. An early  American style native to pre-Prohibition Louisville, Kentucky.  It was dark in color and light in flavor with a smooth finish.  It was inexpensive to brew and fermented quickly, so it's no surprise the beer enjoyed hughe popularity.  Corn was used along with barley malt, and a corn like sweetness is part of the beers appeal. Overall it was a light, clean, malty beer with no acidity. 

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

While there are antioxidant compounds in hops, the most abundant amounts in beer come from the black and roast barley in stouts and porters. Almost 80% of these free radicans are malt derived, with 20% hop driven. Unsurprisingly, mass produced light lagers have the lowest antioxidant levels simply because they contain a greater proportion of water.

Beer Styles:  Wheatwine.  Like barleywine, wheatwine is another strong ale that doesn't rely quite so much on hops. A high percentage of wheat malt adds body and texture, as well as bready, grainy flavors.  These are clean beers, they are not super strong weizenbocks, so banana and clove notes are not to style.  They range from 8 to 12% ABV.

Quiz Tine #1.  Craft vs. Crafty.  Which of these craft breweries was purchased by a large brewery? A. Sierra Nevada; B. Bell's, C. Wachusett, D. Anderson Valley; D. Highland.                                                ans. B

A study in Japan found that moderate beer consumption can protect against chromosomal damage caused by radiation.  No word if it also protects against Godzilla.

Beer Styles: Saison.  This Belgian style varies widely.  Strength can range fro 3.5 to 9.5% ABV, and color from very pale to very dark.  Fruit, spices, and herbs are often in this seasonal style.  It usually has a strong yeast character and a dry finish.  Hop rates can be high, and most have a good bitterness at the finish.  Carbonation is also usually high. They can have some tartness.  Saison Dupont is perhaps the most famous one.

Beer Vocabulary: Cask.  A barrel shaped container for holding beer.  They usually are made of steel or wood and come in various sizes.  Smallest to largest: pins (4.5 imperial gallons), firkins (9 imperial gallons), kilderkins (18 imperial gallons), barrels (36 imperial gallons), butts (108 imperial gallons), and tuns (216 imperial gallons.)

Minnesota representative Andrew Volstead championed the Volstead Act, a US law enacted in 1919 that took effect on Jan. 17, 1920.  Better known as the National Prohibition Act, Volstead's law provided enforcement for the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.  The 18th Amerndment was the one amendment to later be repealed. 

Beer Quiz #2.  Which of these craft breweries was purchased by a large brewery? A. Pike; B. Blue Point; C. Full Sail; D. August Schell; E. Lakefront.                                                                        ans. B

Beer Vocabulary: Carbonation. Simply put, this is dissovled CO in beer.  In many styles it plays an active role in balancing sweetness.  Carbonic acid in highly carbonated beers tend to counter malt sweetness and add its own tangy, spritzy balance.  It can also make tart or astringent beers seem even more so.  Beer is usually either force carbonated under pressure in a keg or tank, or naturally carbonated with a small amount of sugar or wort prior to packaging.

Beer Styles: Imperial Stout. It originated in the 1700s when English brewers made them for export to the Russian Imperial Court.  With a strength of 8 to 12% ABV they can be very full bodies and chewy; their roast grain, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, and dried fruits  (prunes and raisins) character makes them excellent winter sippers. They tend to age well, smoothing out sharp edges and developing wine or port like notes.

Some people see a glass of beer half full, others see it as half empty.  But there is a phobia that refers to the fear of a completely empty glass.  This rare condition is called cenosillicaphobia.  The only know cure is to use opague glasses so you can't see its contents (we make that part up).

Final Beer Quiz (stop that cheering).  Which of these craft breweries was purchased by a large brewery? A. Deschutes, B. Station 26; C.Saint Arnold; D. Goose Island; E. Grand Teton.         ans. d

Beer Styles:  Berliner Weisse. This German speciality is a small beer with lots of character.  It usually only has 2.8 to 3.9% ABV.  Wheat malt and a clean, lactic sourness produce sourdough aromatics, though lemon or apple is also common.  They have abundant carbonation and pour a play, hazy yellow.  Many beer bars serve them with syrups to colr the beer and cut some of the tartness.

The current record for stacking pints of beer on one's head is held by John Evans of England.  He secured a Guinness World Record for the feat when in June 2020, he managed to stack 237 pints.  

Beer Vocabulary: Crowler. Halfway between a can and a growler, crowlers are popular to go containers for filling up at your local brewery or taproom.  They are aluminum and usually 32 ounces in size, whereas growlers are class and can be either 32 oro 64 ounces.  Crowlers require a device called a can seamer to seal them; when you get them home you simply cdrack them open as you would any ordinary beer can.

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Sore feet?  Try adding one bottle of stale beer to a small tub of warm water and soak you feet in it.  The beer's yeast will soften the skin and the alcohol will act as a natural antiseptic. It also helps if you drink a fresh beer while doing this. 

Did you forget to celebrate National Lager Day this past Dec. 10?  We did so just had an IPA instead. Just to remind you, lagers are distinct from ales in that they are fermented at low temperatures with cold tolerant yeast strains.  "Light" lagers were once the standard working class beers of both America and Germany, but fortunately brewers moved on to a greater diversity of brews.

Know your hop: Bitter Gold.  This high alpha hop has lineage in Brewer's Gold, Fuggle, Bullion, and Comet.  Aromas aren't its strong suit, but the flavors are luscious: plum, pear, and watermelon.  Bitterness is in the 22-19% range.  It's best as a kettle hop for IPAs, pilsners, and other lagers.

Beer Quiz! Match the craft brewery with its state of origin: 1. Stevens Point, 2. Stone 3. F.X. Matt,  4. Sweetwater, 5. Harpoon  //  A. Georgia,  B. New York, C. Wisconsin, D. Massachusetts,  E. California       ans. 1c, 2b;  3b, 4a, 5d

In 1620 Pilgrims about the Mayflower were forced to land at Plymouth Rock due to their diminishing beer supplies (really).  One passenger, Wiliam Bradford complained that he and other passengers "were hastened ashore and made to drink water, that the seamen might have the more beer."

Name that hop:  Loral.  This is a balanced hop, bringing clean elements of earthiness, fruitiness, and lemon citrus. It is good on its own but it's better when used with other hops. True noble hops have refined aromatics and flavor but are often too low in apha acids  to use as bittering hops. Some call Loral a "super noble" hop with 12% alpha acids.

One more "name that hop"   Callistra.  Popular for used in wheat beers and pale ales, Callistra traces its lineage to the fmaed Hallertan hop but has greater agronomic resistance to some common hop diseases, namely vertcillium, wilt, downy, and mildew.  Bread in Germany it has flavors of passion fruit, apricot, peach, and blackberry.  It is also known as Grungeist hop in the US>

In the late 1800s, Adolphus Busch utilized insulated railcars and a netbook of ice houses to make Budweiser this country's fist national brand. Using these innovations, beer could be kept cold and fresh from the brewery to almost any place in the US.

in the 1830s, Gabriel Sedlmayr of Munich and Anton Dreher of Vienna developed a cold fermentation method called "lagering"..Before this time, most beer was warm fermented with ale yeast, which produces a fruitier, yeastier tasting product.  Cold fermented lagers are smoother and cleaner tasting.

The final "name that hop", we promise.  Ariana.  Bred from Herkules and a wild male hop, Ariana is produced in Germany.  It's another dual purpose hop with relativel high bitterness of 10 to 13% alpha, but also high oil content so it can be used for aroma and particularly shines as a dry hop for it grapefruit, gooseberry, and vanilla flavors.

In 1919 when Americans heard beer would be outlawed by Prohibition many labor unions protested with the slogan "No Beer, No Work". The threat was never carried out and Prohibition became the law of the land for over a decade. 

What the world's oldest still operating brewery?  The answer is Benedictine Weihenstephan Abbey in Bavaria, Germany.  In 1040 the monastery and its monks established their brewery  and have never stopped production since.

Quiz time #2 (thanks for all the e-mails asking for more of these).  Match the saint with his or her beer related patronage.  1. St. Hildegard of Bingen; 2. St. Bartholomew; 3. St Martin of Tours; 4. St. Urban of Langres; 5. St. Cuthbert.  //  a. Patron saint of malsters; b. Patron saint of tavern keepers; c. Patron saint of hop growers; d. Patron saint of coopers; e. Patron saint of mead drinkers                                   Answers: 1.e; 2.c; 3.a; 4.d, 5.b 

""A cold beer at the end of the day is the best thing life has to offer." Haruki Murakami (We agree whoever he is)

We enjoy having beer in a traditional 'rathskeller' (though a glass, can or bottle is better).  The word is derived from the German 'rathaus', meaning a town hall, and 'keller', meaning a cellar. It's usually spelled Ratskeller in the United States. 

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Name that hop:  Gargoyle.  Cluster is  no longer the popular hop it sued to be but breeders are dling some unconventional crosses with it to yield more interesting varieties.  One of these is Gargoyle, still considered to be a dual purpose hop even though alpha acids are on the low side at 4 to 7.5%.  It has tropical characteristics of mango and bright citrus.  Ivanhoe is another of these California grown  Cluster crosses.

Elizabeth I, queen of England and Ireland from November 17, 1558 until her death on March 24, 1603, was fond of drinking strong ale at breakfast.  Clay and Jay ask, well who isn't?

Beer Quiz! Match the craft beer with its brewery: 1. Cable Car, 2. Hunaphu's Imperial Stout, 3. Pseudo Sue,  4. Temptation, 5. Hopslam  //  A. Cigar City,  B. Russian River, C. Bell's, D. Toppling Goliath,  E. Lost Abbey

ans. 1e, 3a, 3d, 4b, 5c

Name that hop:  Glacier. Bred by Washington State University, this popular hop's citrus, fruit, herbal, and woody character works great for pale ales and wheat beers.  The bitterness varies widely from year to year but it's generally in the 5 to 10% range.  Several classic varieties make up its heritage, including Brewer's Gold, Northern Brewer, Bullion, and East Coast Golding.  It's a high yield crop which makes it popular with growers.

Duke Wilhelm IV introduced the Bavarian Purity Law in 1516, which stated that only water, barley, and hops could b used to brew beer.  At that time the role of yeast was not yet understood. Prior to this regulation, brewers were using tree bark, crab claws, wild mushrooms, and (often toxic) herbs in beer.

Read the label: Barrel Aged.  Any beer that's been aged in a wood barrel, for any length of time, can be called barrel aged.  Most brewers prefer to use barrels that have previously held a spirit or wine, as the original liquid flavors the wood which in turn flavors the beer.  Used, charred bourbon barrels are particularly coveted for stouts.

Another new hop: Bobek. Bred in the Zalec region of Slovenia this hop was designed to maximize both aroma and bitterness.  With Northern Brewer in its heritage, paired with a Slovenian male variety, the hop exhibits pine, spice, and a floral character.  Alpha varies widely depending on who the hops are grown.  Good for lagers and lighter styles.

Nachos is one of the top offerings at most brewpubs.  Created in 1940, the original nachos included just three ingredients: tortilla chips, cheese, and pickled jalapenos.  Ignacio Anaya is credited as the inventor at his restaurant in Coahuila, Mexico.

Large scale production of beer began for the first time in 1420 AD in Germany.  Brewers there found that storing casks of beer in icy caves in the Alps made the beer taste cleaner and smoother.

Beer Quiz #2!.  Match the craft beer with its brewery: 1. Saison Rue, 2. Sexual Chocolate Stout, 3. Abner, 4. Union Jack, Cold Mountain Winter.  //   A. The Bruery, B. Firestone Walker, C, Foothills, D. Highlands, E. Hill Farmstead.

ans.1A, 2C,3E, 4B, 5D

Five thousand years ago in China beers was made using millet, tow types of barley, and tubers.  At the time o make beer.  At the time barley was exotic and expensive, making beer the fancy beverage of choice for wealthy Chinese elites.

Chicha De Jora is a corn beer made in modern Peru.  It's key ingredient is purple corn that has been chewed then spat out and left exposed to wild yeast. Dogfish Head in De did a version of the beer with employees doing the chewing.

Winston Churchill sent "amenity" ships to troops in WWII.  Each ship was equipped with 55 barrel capacity brewing pots. Eventually the British navy began building eight floating full size breweries.  Only one was ever launched due to the war's end.

"I've drunk beer for seventy five years and I ever drink water.  I have constitution of iron and water rusts iron."  Andre Simon

Our buddy Charlie noticed a sign in his local pub that read "all the beer you can drink for one dollar."  He went in and said, "that sounds like a good deal.  I'll take two dollars' worth

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

In 1295 A.D. King Wencheslas recognized the city of Pilsen in what is now the Czech Republic as the birth place of piilsner beer, and granted brewers there exclusive rights to its production.

Know your hop:  Paradigm.  Developed by Great Lakes Hops, this aroma variety drips with stone fruit, mango, melon, pineapple, and herbal flavors.  It's very popular in hazy and New England style IPAs, particularly for whirlpool and dry hop additions though it's no slouch as a bittering hop either with 8 to 12% alpha acids.

Beer Quiz!  Match the craft brewery with its state of origin:  1. Shorts Brewing; 2. The Veil; 3. Lagunitas; 4. Half Acre; 5. Angry Chair. /// A. California; B. Michigan; C. Virginia; D. Florida; E. Illinois              ans 1B, 2C, 3A, 4E, 5D

Oktoberfest became an official Munich celebration on Oct 12, 1810 when the crown prince of Bavaria, later to become King LouisI, married Princess Therese Von Sachesen.  The festival celebrating their marriage eventually became what we call Oktoberfest.  They lived happily ever after.....we think.

If you're visiting Vermon you'll find one of the greatest beer meccas in the US, if not the world - Hill Farmstead.  It is way off the beaten path in the rural town of Greensboro Bend (they do have electricity), but it's worth the trip.  Shaun Hill is a master artist when it comes to juicy iPAs and barrel aged sours.  We highly recommend it.

For those on the West Coast be sure to visit Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, CA run by Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo.  It's one of the most popular brewery destinations in the world.  They have won countless awards and their double IPA Pliny the Elder (and Younger) is truly legendary.

Know your hop: Lunga.  Polish Lubelski and a Yugoslavian make hop are this variety's parents, but it boasts lush aromatics of peach, pineapple, and orange.  Bred in Poland, its high oil content and high alpha of 8 to 13% make it ideal for IPAs both in the kettle for bittering and in the whirlpool for aroma.

IPA, still the most popular US craft ale, was a British invention.  According to legend, brewers in Burton-on-Trent recognized that the barrels of pale ale they were shipping to British troops in India would need copious amounts of hops to serve as a preservative for the long voyage.  They also added extra alcohol for the same reason.  It wasn't until West Coast style IPAs arrived from the US that the style truly made its mark on the world.

Beer Quiz #2.  Match the craft brewery with its state of origin.  1. Pipeworks Brewing; 2. Casey Brewing; 3. Suarez; 4. Fremont; b. Bottle Logic.  ///  A. California; B. Washington C. Colorado; D. New Yok; E. Louisiana  ans. 1B, 2C,3D, 4B, 5A

Know your hop: Harlequin.  This hop has peach, pineapple, and passon fruti aromatics.  Bred from Godiva, it has better bittering properties than its parent at 9 to 12% alpha.  Use this fruity hop for late and dry hopping American pale ales and IPAs.

The term "American" iis generally used with IPAs and has become a broad name but it does have a specific meaning.  It is used mainly to distinguish lighter, drier, more fiercely hopped New World IPA from the darker, maltier, generally less sharply hopped English IPA style.

Know your cask ale  Beer Engine.  This is a counter top mounted pump with a handle for serving beer from a cask. It draws ale directly fro the cask through beer line and it is best for British style ales but also fine for many other styles.

"In my opinion, ost of the great men of the past were only there for the beer.." A.J.P. Taylor (British Historian)

We've enjoyed a few of these recently and can recommend - The Memphis Hip Shake Beer Cocktail.  Directions: fill a glass with ice.  Shake 2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice ad 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth with ice in a cocktail shaker until thoroughly chilled.  Pour into a glass and top off with any grapefruit forward Double IPA.  Stir gently to blend.  I strongly recommend add more Double IPA.

Know Your Hops.  Monroe is a new hop variety from Germany that is low in bitterness with orange and raspberry notes as well as hints of fennel, cherry,and lemon.  It was originally propagated from a wild American hop variety.  It has around 2.5% alpha acids. 

Packaging in beer terminology is the container from which the finish beer is served.   Beer is most often packaged in kegs, bottles, and cans but can also come in firkins, butts, hogsheads, and a variety of other lesser known vessels. 

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Two dates have laid claim to being the day to celebrate beer.  The first, National Beer Day, is on April 7 and commemorates the law that legalized (3.2%) beer again after Prohibition.  The second is September 28, National Drink Beer Day.  We celebrate both of course with the latter being toasted daily. 

In the 1990s both Russia and Poland saw the rise of a new democratic group called the Beer Lovers Party.  It's platform was based on the reduction of taxes on beer. They never won any kind of election but we still intend to write them in this year. 

Beer is best stored between 40 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit as long as it’s out of sunlight. While cracking a cold one is refreshing and enjoyable, for long-term storage, consider keeping your beer outside of a fridge since refrigeration can affect certain beers over long periods of time.

Beer was a commodity used for trading, tithing, and payment in medieval times.  Throughout the fifth and sixth centuries monasteries began to spread through Europe, spreading Christian piety and adopting beer production and culture.  Some historians believe this was a rebellion of sorts from a former age of Roman rule in which wine was considered the only civilized drink.

Beer Quiz - woo-hoo!  Can you match these award winning beers with its brewery? 1. Volksbier Vienna, 2. Lager at World's End 3. Beachscape American Pils, 4. Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, 5. Avalon Amber Ale. // A. Boulevard Brewing; B. Ventura Coast Brewing; C. Wibby Brewing, D. Epidemic Ales; E. Bowigens Beer.       ans. 1.c, 2.d,3,b,4.a. 5.e

Beer Terms: SRM.  This acronym stands for Standard Reference Method, which quantifies the color of beer.  The measurement doesn't convey the actual color of beer, just how light or dark it is.  A 2 SR  is about the palest lager you'll find; brown ales are about a 20 SRM, and stouts begin at around 30.

In Pliny's Natural History, he speaks of Spanish brewers making beers called celia and ceria, and of the Gauls producing cerevisiae: "So exquisite is the cunning of mankind in gratifying their vicious appetites, " he writes, "that they have thus invented a method to make water itself produce intoxication."

Name that hop: Calypso.  This is a Hopsteiner bred variety derived from Nugget and a couple of other unnamed hops.  It has great aromatics as well as a  high alpha content of 12 - 14%, so it's a versatile dual purpose hop.  Primarily used for American pale ales, stouts, and IPAs.  It has pear, apple, lime, pineapple, and mango aromatics.

Want to be a beer judge?  the American Homebrewers Association trains and certifies homebrew judges. This group, now an independent nonprofit organization, sponsors the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), and it has over 3,000members throughout the United States, Canada and many other countries. 

The first half of the Middle Ages, between 500 and 100 AD, saw brewing begin to pick up in Europe.  Monasteries and convents started centralized brewery production, in contrast to the previous tendency for each household to produce its own beer.  Because part of the brewing process involves boiling the beer for a length of time, beer was usually much safer to drink than water.

When storing beer keep the bottles upright. This is important because the sediment from yeast needs to settle on the bottom of the bottle, and if stored improperly, it can corrupt the flavor of the brew.

Name that hop: Bergamot.  This hop presents intense orange character with a long list of secondary flavors.  Nicknamed O.A.F. by brewers, it was bred by Great Lakes Hops.  Beyond the bold orange aromatics there are scents of juniper, papaya, lemon, green melon, cherry, and creamsicle.  It's best used as an aroma hop.

If your beer is pasteurized it has been subject to a temperature of 142 - 145 degrees Farenheit for thirty minutes to destroy disease-producing bacteria and to check fermentation. 

George Washington was a devout beer lover. In particular, he was fond of the dark, English-style brew that became known as porter, and always demanded that an ample supply of it whenever he took a trip. We do the same only prefer DIPAs.

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Before the Greeks inhabited the Mediterranean island of Crete, the local Minoan population were said to have made beer.  This supposition is based on the discovery of two storage jars that were found in Myrtos, a southern settlement dating to 2200 BC, that contained traces of barley residue

New England IPAs are cloudy, fruity, smooth, and hoppy without being bitter.  The style was first brewed in Vermont; most sources say Heady Topper, brewed by John Kimmich of The Alchemist, was the first example.  It's not filtered or pasteurized, and all the precious hop oils that stay in suspension to contribute to its cloudy appearance are kept fresh by the aluminum packaging.  Several other techniques are employed to make NEIPAs hazy, such as including unmalted adjunct grains such as flaked oats in the grain bill.

In 55 BC, Roman legions introduced beer to Northern Europe, even though they considered wine to be a much more civilized drink.

Know Your Hop - Yellow Sub.  From the Haas group in Germany comes this dual use cross, which in many ways resembles the popular American grown Amarilo.  Apricot, orange peel, sweet clementine, and a hint of blackberry make up the aromatics, but bittering is fairly good as well with 5-9% alpha acids.

Quiz Time!  Match the craft beer with its brewery: 1. Black Butte Porter, 2.Daisy Cutter Pale Ale, 3. Finest Kind IPA, 4. Bitter American IPA, 5. Nugget Nectar Ale.  //  A. Half Acre, B.Smuttynose, C.21st Amendment; D. Troegs, E. Dechutes, F. Nexus Brewing.  (note- of the the answers isn't used)                        Ans: 1E, 2A, 3B, 4C, 5D

While some scholars maintain Chinese samshu (aka baijiu) was distilled from fermented wheat, most agree sorghum was the original grain used to make this fiery spirit.  There are accounts of a beer like beverage much like Japanese sake that was a precursor to samshu called pe-ka, that was simply a fermented grain beer flavored with anise and other herbs. Baijiu has been arond since at least from the second century BC.

Know Your Hop - Pekko.  Citrus and floral are the main descriptors of this American grown hop's character, but you can also taste cherry and strawberry hard cand.  Named for the Finnish god of fields and crops, Pekki has been used successfully alongside Mosaic in many IPAs.

Some historians believe indigenous peoples of South Africa have made a type of beer from millet for ages.  A similar beer called bousa has been produced from other cereal grains by peoples of Nubia and other parts of Africa.

Mead is honey wine but because honey varieties are nearly unlimited, it has a lot more in common with beer than grape wine.  Also there is a mead/beer hybrid called braggot which if you can find it is well worth trying. 

One of the world's strongest beer is Brewmeister Armaggedon at 65% ABV.  Thelabel warns that just smelling it might be enough to put you over the limit.

An Eisbock is made by lowering the beer temperature to 32 degrees F andremoving the water once its frozen.  The result a liquid that is higher in alcohol andoften tastes like a Cognac or brandy.  There is however some controversy over whether this process counts as "distilling". We really don't care - we enjoy it!

Some uncommon beer terms- Esters: an aroma or flavor created by fermenting fruits or spices; Gyle: wort in the process of fermentation added to a stout or ale; Grist: the blend of milled grains in a beer; Liquor - water used in the brewing process

"Do not cease to drink beer, to eat, to intoxicate thyself, to make love, and celebrate the good days."  ancient Egyptian saying

Wort is beer before it becomes beer.  Specifically it's the liquid before it undergoes fermentation.  The "sweet wort" is what you have after malting and mashing, the "bitter wort" is what you have once hops are added.  And remember wort rhymes with hurt, not fort. 

Quiz Time.   Crystal clear beer is an indication of what?  1)  too much light during the malting stage?  2) too much water was absorbed into the grain during the Milling process?  3) or is it neither of these answers?               Ans. 3

Legend has it that Gambrinus, god of beer, challenged the devil to produce a “wine without grapes.” The historical origin of the concoction we know today can be found in 12th-century Belgium, although the Egyptians had already created fermented- grain beverages well before then.

The familiar Scandinavian toast sköl derives from scole, the drinking bowl shaped like the upper half of a human skull. Originally, these bowls were fashioned from the actual skulls of enemy killed in battle.

In olde England, town inns paid a government tax known as a 'scot' for serving beer. Beer lovers who left town to drink at rural pubs were said to be drinking 'scot free'. 

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

The first written record referring to sake in Japan dates to the third cntury, and the first reference to its manufacture dates to the eighth century.  While sake is sometimes called rice wine, the processof making it has more in common with brewing beer.

You've probably heard of National Beer Day but you might not have know about National Cheese Day.  We think goat cheese is excellent with German pilsners, Belgium strong ales and saisons with Stlton, and Gorgonzola with imperial IPAs, Barleywine, and Baltic porters. We also recommend a good weissbier or Bohemian pilsner be paired with Brie or Camembert.  As for cheddar, try a classic British bitter or Scottish ale.

A hop you should know - Zythos.  This designer hop was created by Hopunion specifically for IPAs.  It displays tangerine, pine, pineapple, and grapefruit rind when used as an aromatic hop.  It's one of the rare hops that works well for single-hopped beers, as its aromatic qualities complement its high bittering potential of 10 to 13% alpha acid.

The Greeks learned to brew beer from the Egyptians, though several accunts confirm that both the Romans and Greeks considered beer a drink only worthy of barbarians.

Another hop you should know - Relax.  With an unusual aromatic profile of cornflower, hibiscus, lemongrass, and honeydew melon, it's not hard to believe this hop was originally developed for use in tea.  However, the Huell bred aroma hop is also attractive to brewers looing to added a floral element to beers via late and dry hopping.  Flavors include lychee, cognac, roses, and avender.  Alpha acids are very low meaning Relax hops have no bittering value.

Quiz Time!!  Match the craft brewery with its state of origin.  1. Crooked Stave, 2. Funky Buddha, 3. Deschutes, 4. Westbrook, 5.  Evil Twin //  A. Oregon, B. South Carolina, C. Colorado, D. New York, E. Florida       ans.1c;2e;3a;4b;5d

In Pliny's account Natural History, he claims the Egyptians made beer from a corn-like grain, although he named the beer "zythum", which in Greek means "drink from barley."

Yet another hop you should know - Oktawia.  This Polish hop, also called Octavia, nearly disappeared, but was revived when the Olimp brewery in Poland used it exclusively in a single hop plae ale they called Zefir.  The beer was so popular that Oktawia became sought after by other breweries for its unusual flavor profile of melon, white grape, fresh cucumber, and lime.  it's primarily an aroma hop but its alpha acid content of 7-9% make ti suitable for bittering.

Englishman Daniel Wheeler invented the drum roaster in 1817, which allowed breweries to produce black patent malt.  Porters and stouts brewed with this ingredient were called black beers, while brown ales referred to those brewed without black patent malt.  Pale ale soon overshadowed them both, though they are still popular in Scotland.

Yes it's true, Lambic and Gueuze are essentially the same thing. Lambic originated in Belgium and is a sour, wild wheat ale fermented in an open container.  Gueuze is made by mixing aged lambic with new lambic in a bottle allowing the yeasts in the old one to re-ferment with the new one's sugar.  Unlike Bouza, we love these.  By the way we pronounce Gueuze  "Goes Ah".  

What to teach a pompous waiter at a fancy steak house a lesson? Instead of ordering red wine for your red meat ask for a Flanders Red  Its tang and slight fruitiness will add another layer of complexity to the meal the wine won't..   

Plato really did say "he was a wise man who invented beer".  He also said "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."  Not bad but we prefer the beer one.  Plato also said "Opinions is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.Actually we don't care about that one either.

Lagers are fermented at cooler temperatures by so-called “bottom fermenting” yeast. Beers in the lager family need to be conditioned—or “lagered”—somewhere cool for a number of weeks before they are ready to drink. Ales are fermented atwarmer temperature by top-fermenting yeast strains, and are ready to drink sooner.

We enjoyed a "beertail" at a party recently called a Dragoon's Punch.  Give it a try.  The recipe: in large bowl mix 3 bottles porter, 3 bottles of pale  ale, 4 tablespoons confectioner's sugar, and 3 sliced oranges.  Stir slightly.  Just before serving add large chunks of ice and 2 bottles of chilled champagne. Woo-hoo.

In the early 19th century most people believed a nursing mother should drink at least seven pints of beer a day.  However in 1876the Munich Health Dept. decreed that seven pints was excessive and that only two were actually needed.

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Know your hop - Cashmere.  Washington University bred this variety from old-timers Cascade and Northern Brewer.  It has a fairy high alpha content at 7 to 10% but really shines as an aroma hop because of its assortment of fruity notes: melon, peach, time, lemon, coconut, an hers.  Brewers use it in sour ales, fruit beers, IPAs, and farmhouse beers.  Dry hopping and whirlpool hopping are the best ways to coax out that huge array of flavors.

A "sour", is also called "tart", "wild", and "mixed fermentation" beer.  Sours are a more ancient , traditional style like Berliner weisse and lambic that have always had a tart component.  Acidity is usually added by means of lactobacillus and other wort souring bacteria, though some fruit beer take on a tartness from the fruit alone.

In the second book of Herodotus, dated to around 450 BC, there is an account of ancient Egyptians making wine from barley, as grapes did not grow in their part of the world.  However, several accounts from scripture and other sources confirm that the grape actually grew quite well in Egypt, so one might conclude the people there simply had a preference for beer. 

Cream ales are light, pale beers that appeared in the US before Prohibition.  They were produced to compete with popular European style pale lagers but with domestic ingredients, such as six row barley, corn, and wheat instead of pilsner malt.  They were fermented with ale yeast instead of lager yeast.  One of the best is from Genesee Brewery.

Quiz Time!  Match the craft brewery with its state of origin: 1.  Tired Hands; 2. 3 Floyds; 3 Firestone Walker; 4. Tree House; 5. Toppling // A. California;  B. Indiana; C. Pennsylvania.                    ans: 1c, 2b, 3a, 4e,5d

Hop time - Taus.  Another Hop Breeding Company product.  It is a daughter of Sabro and Wasbred using open pollination with a Pacific northwest hop.  It is prmarily an aroma hop intended for dry hopping and whirlpool additions.   Aromatics include grapefruit zest, rose pedals, pine, sage, mango, and coconut.  It's a good choice for highly arp,atoc O{As. bit smooth and clean enough for lagers and wheat ales.  Bitterness comes from the 8 to 9% apha acids.

Ancient Egyptians workers received beer as payment for their labors, as it was highly prized.  So, some scholars speculate that the great pyramids could have been the result of beer.

Did you know there is something known as a rose beer?  Brewery Ommegang makes perhaps the most elegant one -  Saison Rose, which they color a vibrant pinkish with grape juice and hibiscus, then age it in wine barrels.  Surly makes and excellent one too with black currants and strawberries.

Quiz #2!!  Match the craft brewery with the state of origin (we know it's the same topic but the breweries are different).  1. Yuengling; 2. August Shell, 3. Long Trail; 4. Rhinegeist; 5. Georgetown.  //  A. Washington; B. Minnesota; C. Vermont; D. Pennsylvania; E. Ohio                                                    ans.1,D, 2B,3C,4E, 5A

Belgium witbier, which iterally means "white beer, dtes back to the 14th century.  It was produced by monks using fermentable grains and a blend of herbs and spices.  This intoxicating  blend, called gruit, was what medieval brewers used to add balancing bitterness to beer before the use of hops became common.  In the 16th century the small town of Hoegaarten became famous for their version ow witbier.  Pierre Celis, in Texas is credited with reviving the style in modern times.

Know your hop:  Sabro.  This hope was designed by the Hop Breeding Company as a unique cross pollination of a female neomexicanus hop.  Sabro is a very sought after, high oil, dual purpose hop.  Its profile includes tangerine, orange soda, mango, pineapple, peach, apricot, and mint.  It also makes a great bittering hop with 14 to 17% apha acid content.

Basic brewing term:  Malt- barley or  other grain which has been soaked in water, allowed to sprout, and then dried.  Sprouting allows development of the enzymes that bring about starch conversion in the mash.   

Created in 1589 to brew beer for the Duke of Bavaria, the Hofbrauhaus is still a working brewery and restaurant.  Beer is served in one liter steins which are always kept under careful watch to prevent their theft as "souvenirs." 

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario found that micronutrients called polyphenols in one 12-ounce bottle of beer create protective levels of plasma antioxidants that can prevent heart disease.  But at three bottles a day, the

cardiovascular benefits of beer are reversed by the pro-oxidants your body creates as it metabolizes excess ethanol. 

They never researched what would happen if you drank siz bottles a day.  Jay and I will let you know.  Anything for science.

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Scholars maintain that a beer made from red barley called heqa was made in Egypt.  It was documented in hieroglyphics as early as the fourth dynasty, the golden age" of ancients Egypt between 2613 and 2494 BC. That's almost as old as some of the beers we've seen on a few stores' shelfs recently.

Beer terms:  Specific Gravity.  It's a measurement of wort density at a specific temperature.  This measurement allows a brewer to determine if fermentation is complete, and to estimate the density of alcohol per volume based on hydrometer readings before and after fermentation.  An alternate density scale commonly used in commercial breweries is degrees Plato.  Pure water has a specific gravity of 0.000.  A strong ale may have a specific gravity of 1.070.  

Porter was king in the early 18th century in Britain and quickly spread abroad.  This black ale was particularly popular in the Russia, Poland, and Germany.  Stronger porters were brewed for export.  This style eventually became known as Baltic Porter.

Name that Hop: BRU-1.  This hop was engineered by Yakima Valley's John I Haas, Inc.  It was designed to be a dual prupose hop with high bittering capability, but also infused with a big, aromatic oils.  Pear, green apple, ripe pineapple, grass, and peach fill out the aromatics.  This Cascade relative is also designed to help clarity in the finished beer.  It's mostly used for American pale ales and IPAs.

The dry stout style we know today originated in Dublin when in 1840 the old Guinness brewery at St. James Gate began brewing a lighter, dryer version of stout with roasted barley.  The term stout in early London referred to a strong version of porter.

New Hop: Amethyst.  What makes this hop special is its disease resistance.  Originally produced in the Czech Republic, it descends from the classic Saaz hop, and has a fairly low bitterness with aromas suited to lagers and pale ales. It has wood, earth, and spice character.

Early cultures from Mexico, Central and South America produced beers from maize (chicha), cassava, and manioc root.  They also made a mildly alcoholic beverage called pulque from agave sap.

Beer beats wine because: 1. Beer foam sticks around longer. 2. Beer makes you happy, wine makes you moody.  3. Wine is broken down into only a few basic types - red, white, and sparkling.  There are a nearly endless variety of beer styles.  We rest our case.

Don't worry, we didn't forget our Beer Quiz.  Match the craft brewery with its state of origin.  1. Great Lakes Brewing; 2. Troegs Brewing; 3. Summit Brewing; 4. Abita Brewing; 5. Minhas Brewing.  //  A. Minnesota; B. Ohio; C. Wisconsin;

D. Pennsylvania; E. Louisiana.                                                                 ans. 1B, 2D, 3.A, 4.E, 5.C

The global market, beer was valued at $768.55 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $996.49 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.3% during the forecast period,  We're doing out part for sure!

The Philippines has it's own version of Oktoberfest. The yearly celebration debuted in October 1982, and it’s now the longest-running beer and music festival in the Philippines. 

The Pilsner’s name came from the Czech city of Pilsen (Plzeň) where it was first brewed in 1842 by Bavarian brewer Josef Groll. Thanks to him, the city of Plzeň still produces the first and original Blond Lager up to this day. 

According to a new study, drinking stout with your meals helps fight free radicals, which occurs when the body starts to metabolize the food. That's a good thing.

The Chodovar Beer Spa in the Czech Republic offers a 20-minute bath in beer brewing ingredients. The company says that this method boosts blood circulation, opens up pores, softens the skin and infuses the body with vitamins. We'd rather just drink it.

Beer Quiz.  Multiple Choice.  1. Krueger Beer introduced canned beer in what year? A. 1925; B. 1935; C. 1946; D.1959.  /  2. Which of the following is a variety of hops developed at Oregon State University in the 1950s became a craft brewing staple? A. Comet; B. Cascade; C. Kent Golding; D. Strata //  3. Kirin Brewery was founded in what country? A. North Korea; B. China; C. Japan; D. Philippines; E. None of these.//           ans. 1B, 2B, 3C

The largest museum dedicated to beermaking is in Altenburg, Germany. 

The Guinness Book of World Records was conceived by Hugh Beaver, Executive Director of the Guinness Brewing Company. He came up with the idea of creating an authoritative source for pub-goers to settle their disputes about the record of a particular phenomenon. 

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Egyptian medical records dating back to 1600 BC include dozens of prescriptions that use beer as an ingredient.  Physicans believed beer nourished all three parts of the human soul: the ka, the ba, and the akh.  We'll drink to that.

Beer Quiz Time!  Match the craft beer with the brewery:  1. Dales' Pale; 2. Hop Drop n Roll; 3. Plate Wrecker; 4. 90 Minute IPA; 5. Citra Ninja.  A. Green Flash; B. Oskar Blues; C. Dogfish Head; D. Pipeworks; E. No Da

ans. 1b, 2e, 3a, 4c, 5.d

Pretzel/bread sticks have been around since 610 AD, when Italian monks purportedly first made them from leftover bread scraps.  The shape supposedly symbolizes arms folded in prayer.  Brought to American shores by European immigrants, pretzels played a big part in American beer history, particularly in Philadelphia.  In Bavaria, Bretz'n, the huge, soft kind of pretzels are a familiar sight at Oktoberfest. 

New Hop: Taiheke.  Grown in New Zeland, this dual use hop was bread from the Fuggle hop and an unknown male plant related to the Serebrianka hop.  Taiheke is the first commercially bred hop from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.  Tropical fruit, grapefruit, and lime are the rpimary sensory characteristics.  Bitterness is  6 to 8% aplha acids

Bavarian Josef Groll brewed the first pilsner beer after the citizens of Pilsen (Czech Republic) revolted, dumping kegs of poor quality city beer into the streets.  In 1839 the town hired Groll and architect Martin Stelzer to build a new brewery, and with the soft local water and new pale malting techniques the produced the first golden lager, still the most popular beer style today.

Beer Quiz #2 - Match the craft brewery with its state of origin:  1. The Bruery; 2. Allagash; 3. New Belgium; 4. Hoppin Frog; 5. Cycle.   A. Florida; B. Ohio; C California; D. Maine; E. Colorado                          ans. 1.c, 2.d, 3. e, 4.b; 5.a

New Hop:  Boadicea.  If you know Celtic history you'll recognize the name of this hop.  Boadicea was a Celtic queen who led an uprising against eh Roman Empire in 60 AD. The hop is sharp and spicy with floral hints, and it has a strong resistance to aphids, downy mildew, and verticillium wilt.  It is bitter enough for early  addition to the kittle or can be used late as an oil rich aroma hop.

Historians speculate that beer made in ancient Egypt had to be consumed quickly before it lost its natural carbonation.

It was on April 7, 1933 that Americans could once again purchase beer for the first time in 13 years thanks to the Cullen-Harrison Act.  Prohibition was finally over.  It should be noted that the beer still had to be under 4% ABV.  Both Jay and Clay both toast April 7 every day of the week but never use 4.3% beer to do it.

By the 13th Century the English town of Burton-on-Trent had become famous for its pale ales, having leaned that the local water supply was particularly suited to this hoppy, fruity style that was brewed nearby ty the Wetmore order of monks.  Burton-on-Trent would go on to become the foremost producer of.....IPA.

Last Quiz - These beers have won gold medals at the GABF.  Can you match the craft beer with it's brewery?

1, Crusie to Nowhere; 2. Deep Roots; 3. Get Up Offa That Brown; 4. Pepper & Peaches; 5. Wicket Awesome.  

A. Three Weavers; B. Claremont; C. Town; D. Golden Road; E. Eureka Heights              ans. 1.c; 2.a; 3.d, 4. b, 5.e

Yet another new hop:  Contessa.  Bred by Hopsteiner, Contessa is an attempt to design a low alpha bitter hop with "noble" character - smooth, clean, mild flavors that are best for pilsners and other light lagers.  Despite the fact that its lineage is from two old school ale hops (Cascade and Fuggle) this hop has green tea, light pear, lemongrass, and floral character with low bitterness.

The Treehouse brewery has been considered one of the very best in the USA  since it first opened in 2011,  They do NOT distribute the beer and sell it only at their location in Charlton, MA.  It's popularity made for long lines of over an d hour or more wait to buy beer.  They now have opened other locations on Cape Coke, and Deefield in Western MA, plus one in Woodstock, CT.  

For those willing to take on a dark, low-strength, smoked beer, this historic Danish style may be the way to go. Danish tradition: brewing skibsøl.  The aroma is very smoked, like the way your clothes would smell after spending a night around the bonfire. Also, you notice a bit of sweetness, but the smoke pretty much dominates the aroma of the beer. The flavor is also mostly smoke, with a very subtle bitterness at the end and a bit of sweetness in the mouth 

With warm weather sure to begin soon, we recommend giving with refreshing beer cocktail a try:

  1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

  3 (12 fluid ounce) bottles Mexican beer (such as Corona®)

  ½ cup vodka

  6 lime wedges, for garnish

Combine the limeade, beer, and vodka in a pitcher; gently stir. Serve over ice and garnish with lime wedges.

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Many early cultures, particularly in Africa and South Aerica, did not separate grain hulls from beer before it was consumed.  Instead, they filtered out most of the solids by drinking beer with straws.  No little umbrellas, just straws.

In the USA any beer above 6% ABV is considered malt liquor.  Many imports have this designation on the label of the can or bottle.  The designation also refers to a style of inexpensive pale lager that is usually very strong: 8 -10%.

New Hop - Vojvodina.  From the former Yugoslavia, this aroma hop displays smooth, grassy, floral, and spicy "noble" characteristics, making it perfect for pale lagers.  Bred from a cross of Northern Brewer and an unknown Yugoslavian wild hop, it was created by Hop Research Station in its country of origin.  Bittering potential is also quite good at 6 to 10% alpha acids.

Beer Quiz!  Match the craft beer with its brewery-  1. Darkness, 2. Kate the Great, 3. The Abyss, 4 Yellow Bus, 5. Old Numbskull.  //  A. Deschutes; B Surly; C. Portsmouth, D. Alesmith; E. Lost Abbey                  ans. 1B, 2C, 3A, 4E, 5D

Generally speaking any beer under 5% ABV is considered a "session" or session strength beer.  Nearly any beer can be made to a lighter strength and dubbed a session beer, but session IPAs are the most popular.  Many styles, like Scottish light, mild ale, and ordinary bitter, are by default session beers, as their maximum allowable strength does not exceed 5% ABV.

Egyptians may have maintained the first commercial beer production facilities.  These facilities likely produced beer for burial ceremonies (as it was a necessary provision for the afterlife), medicine, and royalty.

New Hop - Enigma.  Hailing from Australia, this hop is best for late and dry hopping.  Doing so infuses beer with white wine grape, red currant, raspberry, melon, and tropical fruit notes.  It's got lots of bitterns at 16-19% alpha acid and a high oil content.  Ths one tends to work better with other hops than by itself.

Looking for a "beercation" spot, you might consider Tampa Florida which, among other breweries, features Cigar City.  It has been brewing there sine 2009, and since then has made more than 6,000 individual brands of beer.  Check out their website for the release of their legendary Hunahpu Imperial Stout.  

William of Malnesbury, a famous English historian of the twelfth century, wrote that during the reign of Henry II, the English were overly fond of drinking ale.  By that time, the monasteries had already become famous for producing this dark, warm-fermented fruity style of beer.

Definition:  IBUs.  International Bittering Units, or IBUs, correspond to the amount of iso-alpha acids dissolved into a given beer, which in turn determines the amount of bitterness in the beer.  While theoretically it is possible to have a beer with more than 100 IBUs, most people's perception of bitterness gets saturated beyond that number.

The really great breakfast cereals contain barley, oats, and wheat, and the obvious method of enjoying these wholsesome grains is to drink them as beer.  Case in point - Founders Breakfast Stout.  Can there be a greater calling for cereal?

New Hop: Topaz.  Hop Products Australia bred this aroma hop from a cross of unspecified Wye College hops and high-alpha Australian hops.  But, while ti was originally intended for bittering only, the cross turned out better suited for late and dry hopping.  When used in the kettle, the aromatics come across as resinous and grassy, but when used as a late hop, you can expect passion fruit, clove, blackberry, and grapefurit.  Topaz is truly a dual purpose hop with an impressively high 16 - 18 % alpha acid bittering potential.

Beer Quiz #2.  Match the brewery with its state of origin:  a. Surly, 2. Jack's Abby, 3. Other Half, 4. Hair of the Dog    5. Port.  // A. Oregon; B. Massachusetts; C. California; D. Minnesota; E. New York   .   ans.1D, 2B, 3E, 4A, 5C

Never look at your beer as half empty. Look at it as halfway to your next beer. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Kveik is not so much a beer style as a domesticate Norwegian farmhouse ale yeast strain that is becomming increaingly popular with craft brewers around the world.  Why? Because it can do something most normal beer yeast strains cannot: ferment a perfectly drinkable ale at astounding wamr temps. in a matter of hours not days.

The concept of different beer styles may have originated with the Babylonians, as it's thought their extensive brewing operations produced as many as twenty different varieties of beer.  The varieties may have differed with the available of brewing brains, mainly barley and emmer (type of wheat).  All were probably cloudy and sour.

When you think tequila you really should be thinking beer.  Some of the most flavorful craft beers today are aged in barrels that previously held the liquor. Give Lost Abbey's Agave Maria Ale or Westbrook's Mexican cake and you'll know what we mean.

If your wine friends as for a beer give them one of these since they're made tih fermented grape must: Two Roads Sauvingnon Blanc Gose, Dogfish Head Mixed Media, Allagash Victor, or Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castelton.

Some historians believe beer may have predated bread, especially among nomadic civilizations.  A Stanford archaeology team uncovered 13,000 year old stone mortars in what was once Palesting along with other evidence of beer production by a group called the Natufian people.

Beer Quiz!  These beers won gold at the Great American Beer Festival.  Can you match the beer with its brewery?

1. Cosmic Sloth, 2. Perle Haggard, 3. Brown Claw, 4. 325 Pineapple Chili; 5. Daybreak

A. Wolf's Ridge Brewing, OH; B. Ex Novo, OR, C. Pinthouse, TX; D. Kern River, CA; E. Hoops, MN

answers: 1C, 2B, 3D, 4E, 5A

Original Gravity refers to how much sugar is in a solution prior to fermentation.  Generally high-gravity beers are higher in alcohol, more filling, and more flavorfill. Gravity is expressed as degrees Plato or as original specific gravity.

Agave sap, from the mague plant, has long been used in central Mexico to create a fermented beverage called pulque (or octli). It is an ancient drink dating from before 200 AD.  It is milky white with a yeasty sour flavor.

New hop:  Kohatu.  Hailing from New Zealand, this hop;s name means stone in the Maori language.  Its aromatics have intense notes of mango, peach, and florals.  It is a cross between the classic noble German hop Hallertau and a New Zealand male hop.  

Persimmons, a great source of fermentable sugar when ripe were once used in North America to make a type of wine.  In 1773, Finnish naturalist Pehr Kalm wrote that this beveage was "preferable to other beer."  In China and Japan, persimmons hae histoically been harvested in the fall and fermented into wine.

Beer Quiz #2!  Match the beer with its brewery (easier than the last one) 1. Supplication, 2. Arrogant Bastard, 3. Flat Tire; 4. Sky Kraken; 5. Focal Banger //  A. New Belgium Brewing; B. Russian River; C, The Alchemist, D. Stone; E. Fremont

File under "oh, my" - not only did the U.S. spirits industry overtake beer in dollars sold domestically last year, but it also broke its sales record for exports, too!… 

File under "who would have ever thunk it" - Mexican imports. The latter has become an existential threat to Bud Light’s reign, with Modelo Especial now poised to overtake Anheuser-Busch InBev’s flagship as the No. 1 overall spot in dollar sales.

Why do they never serve beer at a math party? – Because you can’t drink and derive. 

Beer is like the sun It rises in the yeast and sets in the waist. 

After those two, it's definitely time to go.  See you next month!

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Hangovers are caused by an excess of scetaldhyde in the liver.  Your liver metabolizes alcohol by breaking it down into acetaldehyde wgucg is the cause of the hangover symptoms.  The only foolproof remedy is rehydration, rest, and eating a meal high in potassium, complex carbs, and a bit of fat.  We've had success with a whole wheat tortilla, egg, and avocado along with big glasses of water.  Not that we ever get hangovers.

Millet is a highly prized grain for making an African style of beer variously named Bantu, malwa, pombe, or tchouk.  This beer is usually opaque, and varies in alcohol content. The beer varies in alcohol content from region to region.  In many West African cultures it is used to celebrate special social events.

Did you ask what does "bottle conditioned" mean?  It doesn't matter since we're going to tell you anyway.  After a beer has finished its primary fermentation, it is "conditioned", meaning it is held for a second fermentation to induce carbonation.  For many styles the fermented beer is mixed with a small amount of sugar then bottled.  The refermentation in the bottle produces enough CO2 to carbonate the beer while consuming any staling oxygen present and producing a bit of yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle/can.

Hop: Akoya.  Bred by Hopsteiner, Akoya is a cross between Zenith and another male plant.  It has spice, pepper, tea, and lime character.  It is great for lighter ales and lagers with Alpha acids in the 9 to 10% range.

We know you're waiting for it and here it is - Beer Quiz!  Match the brewery with it's state of origin.  1. AleSmith; 2. New Glarus; c. Cigar City; 4. De Garde; 5. Founders.  // A. Florida; B. Michigan; C. California; D. Wisconsin;             E. Oregon                                                                                                                ans.:1c, 2d, 3a, 4e,5b

Maize, or corn, has long been used for ancient beer style called chicha, especially in South America. It is often made by communally by chewing the grain and spitting it into a large pot where it then ferments.  Don't worry, it's boiled.

Hop: Godiva.  This unusual aroma hop has a white wine like character to Nelson Sauvin.  Tangerine, white grape, and light spice make it good for pale lagers and ales alike.  Alpha acids are 6 to 9%.  It's a daughter of the tropical and grapefruit Jester hop.

Although there is much theological and historical debate surrounding this biblical event, some scholars maintain that beer was included in Noah's provisions on the Ark.  Hopefully he brought more than 2 barrels. 

Charlie Papazian is the founder of the Brewers Association and an international "ambassador" of homebrewing.

Beer was first sold in cans back in 1935, and while metal was once considered inferior to glass for beer packaging,  cans are cool again.  Aluminum cans are now fully lined so that beer never comes in contact with the metal.  They are fully recyclable and since the invention of the Sta-Tab i 1975, first rolled out by Falls City Brewing of Louisville, Kentucky, sharp edged pull tabs are no longer cutting fingers or littering.

What is "dry hopping"?  It means adding whole or pelletized hops to beer that has already fermented.  Technically it adds no bitterness though hop oils and related aromatic compounds can often give that impression.  Dry hopped beers are often cloudy since the hop oils tend to form a hop haze at higher concentrations.

Iceland is the most expensive country to drink a beer. The cheapest country for beer is Vietnam.  For the same amount you can get three beers in New Zealand and only two in the US and 14 in Vietnam. 

"Never take a beer to a job interview."  Clay Moore    //    "I am willing to taste any beer once." Jay Silvers 

Caliente is a dual purpose American hop used for both bittering and aroma.  It has ripe plum notes with lesser amounts of lemon and pine.  Its big alpha acid component of 15% makes it great or American pale ales and IPAs.

"Clay is an accomplished magician.  One day I saw him walking down the street and -poof- he turned into a bar."  Jay Silvers

One method of checking a beer’s quality is the way in which the foam adheres to the side of the glass after each sip. Beer connoisseurs call this “Brussels lace.” However that's only true  if the glass was properly cleaned.  

Beer was the first legal alcoholic beverage to be sold when prohibition was repealed.  Beer was legal on April 7, 1933, but other alcoholic beverages could not be legally purchased until December 5, 1933.

Beer can make you smarter.  A recent study showed that moderate beer drinking can improve memory, reasoning, and problem solving.  As an added bonus, beer has been shown to reduce the chances of kidney stones by 40%! 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Roggenbier is a German style of ale made with rye.  It is typically made up of at least 50% malted rye and carries the grain's characteristic spicy, bready flavor.

Most American now live within 10 miles of a craft brewery.  If that's not you, Clay says consider moving.  

"Barleywine improves with age and we improve with age and we improve with barleywine."  Jay Silvers

New Hop: Elsaesser.  Light ales and lagers are the best use for this noble Australian variety.  Originally from France, it is of Alsatian ancestry, and legend has it that Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Younger, grew it in his hop garden in the 17th century.  

Hefeweizen, or Bavarian wheat beer, literally means "yeast wheat beer."  It is bottled with live yeast sediment traditionally, and often has aromas of clove and banana.

Some people (and bars) insist on keeping their beer glasses in the freezer but a well carbonated beer poured into a frosty glass will result in more foam than beer.  You can solve that dilemma by giving the chilled glass a quick rinse of cold water before pouring the beer.  Even better, don't put the glass in the freezer in the first place.

New Hop:  Souther Star.  A pungent South African hop, Southern Star has tangerine, blueberries, pine topical fruit, pineapple, watermelon, and spice flavors.

Defintion - Hoptimist: a person who believes the world is a better place with beer.

Beer Quiz:  Which of these styles is the highest in alcohol? A. Extra Special Bitter; B. Baltic Porter; C. Irish Stout; 

D. Northern English Brown; E, Kettbusser.                                                                                   ans. b

Kolsch and Altbier should be served from a small cylindrical glass called a stange.

Beer Glossary: BJCP - the letters stand for the Beer Judge Certification Program.  It's a nonprofit group that trains beer judges and standardizes a dynamic set of styleguidelines for beer competition judge use.  

Definition "lactobacillus".  It is one of the more common types of acid producing bacteria found in the brewery.  It occurs

naturally on malted barley grains and in making most sour beer.

Beer Cocktail: The Brooklyn Tai.  You start with a Vienna style lager.  Combine in 3/4 oz. of almond, juice, 3/4 oz. of lime juice, 2 dashes of bitters, and 1 oz of spicy rum.  Shake the ingredients then strain into a pilsner glass.  Top with beer to and garnish with lime.   Nice.

Vassar College was one of the first women's colleges in the USA.  Matthew Vassar gave almost half his large fortune and over 200 acres of land to create the school in Poughkeepsie NY.  Mr. Vassar made his money as a brewer. 

Quiz #2 - match the celebrities with they beers they've famously endorsed - 1. Ed McMahon & Frank Sinatra; 2. Billy Dee Williams; 3. Gordon Ramsay; 4. Lance Armstrong; 5, Harrison Ford. // The beers: 1. Innis & Gunn; b. Michelob Ultra;c. Budweiser; d. Colt 45; e. Kirin                                                                                     The answers:  1.c; 2.d; 3.a; 4.b; 5.e 

Did we tell you about the bar regular Charlie? He just got contacts.  Now he doesn't wear glasses, he just empties them.

"My books are like beer; those of the great geniuses are like fine aged wine.  Fortunately everybody a lot more people drink beer"   Mark Twain 

Saint Arnold of Metz ,one of dozens of patron saints to beer, brewers and hop-pickers, saved thousands of people and help end a plague by convincing people to drink beer rather than impure water.  A saintly act, indeed.

A beer belly might mean you’ve consumed a lot in the past, but it doesn’t mean you can automatically handle more alcohol in one go than someone slimmer. In fact, a lean person will be less affected by booze because water-rich muscle tissues absorb alcohol effectively, preventing it from reaching the brain. 

According to recent study conducted spirits mixed with diet soda will get you 18% more inebriated than spirits mixed with the full calorie varieties. The theory is that your body recognizes full-sugar drinks as food, which slows down

alcohol absorption, whereas diet drinks don’t.

. 

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Brauerei Weihenstephan, located at Weihenstephen Abbey in what is n ow a part of the district of Freising in Bavaria, Germany, is said to be the oldest continually operating brewery in the world.  It has been making beer since at least 1040.

New Hop: Oktawia.  This variety from Poland exhibits honeydue melon, white grapes, lime, and fresh cucumber.

Beer Quiz.  Brewers use a hydrometer of refactometer just prior to fermentation to assess what important beer property?  A. Color; B. Mountfeel; C. IBUs; D. Gravity; E. Clarity                                       ans. D

Milkshake IPAs, like milk stouts, are often brewed with a dose of lactose to sweeten them.  Because many flavor hop varieties mimic sweet fruits, this can result in strawberry, tangerine, and pineapple milkshake IPAs, among others.

German Pilsner beer should be served in a tapered wine flute. Other styles that can be served in this glass include Helles lager, rose ciders, and biere de champagne, or biere brut.

Beer won't solve all your problems, but it works better than water.

A hazy beer isn't necessairyl a NEIPA.  Once can make a hazy pale ale with the same techniques of adding late and dry hops to produce hop oil haze but these beers can be very low in alcohol (e.g. wheat beers).  Ciders can be hazy too, though compounds like pectin are usually the cause there.  Polyphenols, protein, and hop oils are usually the culprits in an unfiltered beer, so don't assume it's always yeast in suspension.

The BeerNexus office wll has a placque with one of our favorte sayings: "The best beer is an open beer."

Quiz #2.  Kolsch gets its name form which city?  A. Kohn, B. Kolkta; c. Kolhapur; d. Cologne; E. both a and d are correct.                                                                         ans.: e

New Hop:  African Queen.  This South African hop variety features dank cannabis notes, blueberries, stone fruit, black currant, gooseberries, bubble gum, lemongrass, watermeo, and chilies.

Something ad - even epic - is about to happen when someone says "Hey, hold my beer and watch this."

The fact of the matter is, light beer does not make a big difference.The difference between 90 and 160 calories is not that much when you put into perspective the average 2000 calorie diet. The light beer will not have an impact unless you’re drinking like a fish every day 

Getting beer warm and then refrigerating it will not impair the taste. If your beer tastes bad it's not due to the temperature, but is instead due to the exposure to sunlight and course of time, which ruins all things. 

Quiz #3.  The science of fermentation is known as: A. Oenology; B. Microbiology; C. Zymology; D. Zymurgy; E. c and d are correct.                                                                                                            ans. e

During the Prohibition, people were prescribed medical beer. But there’s no such thing as “medical beer.” Brewers, physicians, and imbibers only made it up and used it to try and skirt Prohibition’s laws. It worked, as doctors could prescribe beer as of March 1921. It lasted until November that year when Congress changed its mind and banned it again.

Bob Hawke features in the Guinness book of records for drinking 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds whilst a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University.

In 1770 Captain James Cook brewed the first beer in New Zealand as a cure for scurvy aboard his ship. He used the needles of an indigenous spruce tree ‘with the addition of juice of wort’ and molasses. 

Kellerbier is German for "cellar" and while these lagers spend their fair share of time in cold storage, their claim to fame is freshness; often breweries will serve it directly from the tank, highlighting fresh hop and yeast character which often makes the beer hazy. Pale gold and amber versions aremost common with an ABV between 4.5 -5.5%.  The style originated in the Franconia region of Germany. 

"Whiskey's to tough, Champagne costs too much, Vodka puts my mouth in gear. I hope this refrain, Will help me explain, As a matter of fact, I like beer"     Tom T. Hall

Yuengling was established in 1829 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The first brewery inNorth America began in 1642 in Hoboken, NJ. But the first beer brewed on the continent was in Sir Walter Raleigh’s colony in Virginia in 1587.

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Brown Porter was consumed in large quantities by the London working classes in the 1700s.  So popular was this beverage that up until the 1800s brewing companies matured the beer in giant wooden vats holding several hundred barrels each.  The infamous London Beer Flood of Oc.t 17, 1814, occurred when one of the 22 foot tall vats burst killing at least eight people.

Bourbon barrel aged beers by definition have spent time in used bourbon barrels.  The barrels come directly from distilleries which by law must age their raw (62.5%) spirt in new charred white oak barrels for at least two years.  During this time the spirit gains color and flavor from the wood while the wood absorbs the spirit.  Brewers buy the barrels for agin beers such as strong porters and stouts which gives them a boost of strength and flavor.

Beer Quiz #1 -  Which beer style is typically not lagered?  A. Baltic Porter; B. Mild Ale; C. Dortmunder; D. Marzen; E. Bock                                                                                                                        ans. B

Russian Imperial Stouts took that name because they were much favored by the Russian royal court of Catherine the Great in the 18th Century.  The one we think is close to the original style is Old Rasputin from North Coast Brewing.

New Hop:  Archer. This variety from England is best characterized as having lime, apricot, peach, and floral character.  It combines classic British aromatics with a twist of citrus peel.  Useful for both bittering hop additions in the brew kettle and dry hopping.

Snifters are small glasses with a rounded, bowl shaped bottom and a narrower rim at the top.  They show off aromatics to best advantage and are the logical choice for imperial stout, barleywine, Eisbock, and BBA beers - really anything over 8% ABV.  Cupping the glass from the bowl warms the contents, intensifying aromatics, just as it does with brandy or cognac.

Beer Quiz #2 - Which sugar is the least fermentable by brewing yeast?  A. Sucrose; B. Maltose, C. Glucose, D. Dextrose, E. Lactose                                                                                            ans. e

Pastry stouts are dessert beers that use sweet, rich, creative ingredients normally associated with eating rather than drinking.  Brownie batter, cookie dough, pie, doughnuts, etc. - they've all found their way into a pastry stouts.  Some enjoy those as a fun drink.  We don't.

"Beer is not the answer, it's the question.  And the answer is yes!"   Jay Silvers

"The best blood type is IPA+"   Clay Moore

Brut IPAs try to mimic the dry, fruity, and highly effervescent qualities of champagne.  They often rely on an enzyme called amyloglucosidase to convert otherwise unfermentable dextrins and other complex sugars into fermentable glucose.  Yeast then converst that glucose to alcohol, yielding a much drier beer than would be possible otherwise.  Use enough citrus hops and they will remind you of a mimosa.  Maybe.

Budweiser, Corona, and Kirin lagers are all brewed with rice.  We prefer our rice on a plate at dinner.

Beer Quiz #3 (last chance to get one of these right)  Which pale lager beer style is most closely associated with Munich Germany?  A. Pilsner; B. Kolsch; C. Maibock; D. Helles; E. Dortmunder                                  ans. d

How do you make Cryo hops? Well, hops cones are frozen with liquid nitrogen, then the lupulin glands are separated from the now nearly completely debittered leaf, or low alpha bract. The glands that make up Cryo hops are the concentrated bittering and oil containing portion of the hops.

Brewpubs account for more than one-third of the US brewery market. The changing social culture among the youth and growing demand for craft beers and no and low alcohol beer is driving the growth in the number of brewpubs globally.

Mexico is one of the world’s top producers of beer, (and brands like Corona and Sol sell millions of bottles globally) so it’s not surprising that the current popular demand for artisan beer has engulfed Mexico, too.  Acermex, the Mexican brewers’ association, estimates that there are now over 600 independent breweries in Mexico.

The global brewery equipment market size is estimated to be valued at USD 19.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 25.6 billion by 2027, recording a CAGR of 5.9% in terms of value.

The Czech Republic was the first country ever to have a beer museum.  We however have a beer shrine.

An important contribution to the development of brewing was made by the Danish botanist Emil Christian Hansen. In 1881 he was the first person to obtain a pure culture of beer yeast, which greatly improved the quality of the product. Beer yeast developed from Hansen's technology is still being produced today 

The popular beer snack of chips, is believed to have been invented by accident. A chef named George Crum, in response to criticism that his potatoes were "too thick" sliced paper-thin potatoes and fried them. The rest as they say is history.

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Beer has been brewed in Scotland for more than five thousand years, give or take a day or two.  However hops weren't used until the end of the 19th century.  Prior tothat, beer is thought to have been bittered with herbs such as heather, myrtle, meadowsweet, and broom.  Among the tribes that brewed these formidable and intoxicating gruit beers were the Celts and the Picts.

New Hop:  Elixir.  This tropical fruit hop from France has notes of orange, tangerine and Asian pear.  From the famed Alsace region, it has cognac, leather, and tobacco notes that are particularly well suited for darker beers.

Quiz Time- Which of the following words is not one of the parts that makes up a beer cask?  A. Spile; B. Keystone; C. Head; D. Tail; E. Shive                                                                                      ans. - d

" Where there is beer laughter is never far behind"  Jay Silvers

Milk stouts or cream stouts contain an unfermentable sugar called lactose that is derived from dairy products.  Because yeast can't break lactose down into alcohol as it can regular sugars, the lactose remains in the beer after fermentation increasing sweetness and body.  Lactose is also often used in milkshake IPAs.

A mug or stein is the proper vessel for Kelerbier, Zwickelbier, Marzen/Oktoberfest.  The one-liter dimpled mug you see at Octoberfest is call a mass (pronounced "mahss").

"If someone says you're hard to shop for they just don't know where to buy beer."  Clay Moore

The states with the highest number of craft breweries are, in order, California, Colorado, New York, and Washington.

Beer Quiz #2 - Which device is typically not found in the brewhouse? A. Lauter Tun; B. Kiln, C. Fermentation Vessel, D. Mash Tun; E. Kettle                                                                         ans. - b

New Hop: Minstrel.  Another proprietary variety from English hop grower Charles Faram.  Minstrel exhibits spice, berry, orange, and herbal character.  It has a mild bitterness similar to Challenger.  Not to be confused with the French variety Mistral.

In 1883 Emil Hansen isolated the strain of cold fermenting lager yeast now used industrially in the production of lager beer.  He called it Saccharomyces carlsbergensis  after the Danish brewery he worked for at the time. In 1870 the yeast was renamed S. pastorianus in honor of Louis Pasteur. 

Beer Quiz #3 - Which of the following is not a primary sense of taste? A. Umami; B. Salty; C. Bitter; D. Astringent; E. Sour.                                                                                                        ans- d

'Juicy" refers to a pale ale or IPA with a fruity character, most often imparted by oil rich American hop varieties.  These beers are usually not bitter but rather depend on late hopping and dry hopping to ontribute high hop flavor and aroma. Some are brewed so the malt sweetness remains in the beer, adding to the perception of drinking fruit juice.

Vermont boasts 59 breweries, among a population of just 643,000 residents. That’s one brewery for every 10,900 Vermonters — the most beer makers per capita of any state in the union.  It’s as if New York City was home to 800 breweries. The Big Apple boasts only 24. 

"Beer is like life - chill for best results." - Glenn "Big G" DeLuca

Beer is a well-known part of American history. Virginia colonists brewed beer with barley, malt and hops.

Additionally, George Washington recorded a recipe for brewing beer in his notes.

Beer Quiz #4 - Which of these flavorings is typically not used in Belgian Witbier? A. Coriander; B. Grains of Paradise; C. Caraway; D. Curacao Orange Peel; E. Cumin                                                 ans.- C

NYC’s iconic purveyor of hot dogs now has its own tasty beer to wash it all down. Nathan’s Famous has partnered with Coney Island Brewing Company to create the Nathan’s Famous Lager, which is described as having a bright golden color and a light to medium body with a clean snappy finish. It is not, thankfully, made with hot dogs.

Yuengling has just won a Best New Products award for their Yuengling Light Lager from Beverage Dynamic magazine.

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

According to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) the definition of real ale is a natural product brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in the case cask from which it is served, thgrough a process called secondary fermentation. When it's good, it's really good!

How do you know if some likes craft beer?  Don't worry, they'll tell you.

The Hoegaarden glass evolved from its original use as a container for farmstead jams, honey, and preserves to the more utilitarian purpose of drinking Belgian white ale, or witbier.  It's a chunky hexagonal tumbler made of thick glass.  It is also occasionally used for Belgian lambic beers.

Beer Quiz- A compound that is often considered a defect in beer is a buttery flavored chemical called: A. Diacetyl; 

B. Phenyl; C. Humulene; D. Acetaldehyde; E. Lactose                                                answer: a

Beer.  Because you don't win friends with salad.

"Crushable" is just a buzzword for drinkability.  A beer that is light in flavor, color, and offers a good deal of refreshment is said to be crushable.  "Poundable" is a dated synonym.

Need a short vacation at a great brewery?  Head to Stowe, Vt for The Alchemist.  John Kimmich moved to Vermont in 1994 to learn to brew from craft legend Greg Noonan. Eventually he opened his first brewpub, The Alchemist, in Waterbury in 2003, then moved to a larger location in Stowe to try to meet the huge demand for his famous Heady Topper which has been named best beer in the world by several publications.

"An American walks an average of 900 miles per year and drinks an average of 22 gallons of beer.  That's about 41 mpg. Almost better than a Prius."  Jay Silvers

Cream ale does not contain any dairy or milk sugar.  It is an American style first crafted in the mid-1800s as an answer to pale lager beers, but fermented with ale yeast.  Cream Ales usually incorporate a small amount  of corn or rice to lighten the body.  Most go through a period of cold conditioning to smooth out their light, slightly sweet flavors.

New Hop:  Barbe Rouge.  This is a French variety that brings strawberry, raspberry, red fruit, kumquat, lime and orange flavors.  Rouge is a strong hop with an unusual, sweet and fruity character.  The low bitterness means it's best used as a flavor and aroma variety.

Beer Quiz #2 - The property of beer that corresponds to milligrams per liter of isomerized alpha acids is more commonly known by this acronym: A IBU; B. SRM; C. ABV; D. EBC; E. IPA                                answer: a

The nonalcoholic category remains small in comparison to overall beer sales, with its market share accounting for less than 1%of all beer purchases in the U.S., according to Brewers Association.  We're not surprised.

Joseph L. Owades, the son of working-class Jewish immigrants, developed a revolutionary process for brewing full-flavored beer with fewer carbohydrates and calories. He created Miller Lite the first national light beer.

Cantillon Lorek 1998 holds the record for the most expensive bottle ever sold at $2,583 in 2014, according to Ale Sessions.  This particular type of beer was only brewed once.  The brand has a reputation for making some of the best beers in the world. 

The hot new drink is "Pool Beer".  The drink is simple to make. Shave some ice into a large metal bowl, then scoop into a pint glass. Next add a cold can of your favorite beer (Tecate works especially well).  As you pour the beer over the mound of ice, it will become an instant beer slushy.  Add a wedge of lime.  It's not craft but fun.

Albert Einstein once worked at Munich's Oktoberfest. Theoretical physics apparently wasn’t paying the bills, so in 1908, at age 29, Al worked at the festival as an electrician’s assistant. His job? Screwing in lightbulbs. By himself.

Waiters and waitresses at Oktoberfest can routinely carry 10 BEERS at one time (which is about 50 pounds!). Oliver Struempfel, the world record holder for this feat, managed to carry an astounding 29 beer-filled glass tankards (weighing in at almost 300 pound) at the required distance of 40 meters.

Hops are poisonous to pets so keep a sharp eye on your pellets if you’re homebrewing. 

Brewers are known for being passionate and surprisingly superstitious. We know of a brewer overseas who dropped a screwdriver into his first brew by mistake. Now he drops it in every time. 

Since 1873, the year 1978 had the fewest breweries on record in the U.S. There were only 89 breweries. 

The process of beer brewing used by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia resulted in what we now call “beer-bread”:  half baked bread was soaked in water to create a fermented brew, which was often flavored with honey and herbs. Since it had the same basic ingredients as bread, it was considered to be an equally nutritious food resource. 

By the mid 19th century, the beer boot made its way to Germany and became very popular. The tradition of drinking beer from a boot started in the military as a hazing ritual. Young men were initiated into their troop by having to drink an entire boot of beer from the literal boot of a fellow soldier.  We've only tried the glass ones.  More sanitary.

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Guinness contains high levels of folate, which is a B vitamin we all need. And good news, since there's a lot of unmalted barley that goes into Guinness, it's got some of the highest fiber content of all the beers. And fiber helps keep blood sugar and cholesterol in check,  Guiness also, has less calories than Sam Adams, Budweiser, or Heineken, and a lower alcohol content. So, next time you reach for a light beer, reach for Guinness.

American Standard Lager (Bud, Coors, Miller, etc.) is made with 30% to 50% rice and or corn. Ironically, many craft brewers who once disdained the style have recognized the skill required to brew a god one, and now make their own versions.

Understanding a beer label - OG stands for Original Gravity, while FG is Final Gravity.  These terms are based on the Specific Gravity scale of wort density (wort is the sweet, sugary malt and hop solution that's boiled and cooled before it's fermented into beer).  Water has a specific gravity of 1.000.  An average strength beer would have an OG of 1.050 before fermentation, and a FG of 1.020.  Other density scales include Balling, Bris, and Plato.

New Hop Varieties - Jester is a proprietary variety from English hop grower Charles Faram.  It exhibits flavors of grapefruit, lychee, and black currant.  It's most useful for late additions to the brew kettle or as a dry hop. It is considered more like a high oil, fruity America variety. At first people laughed when told it was of English origin, thus the name.  Jester's "daughter" is the ystic hop bred for disease resistance, yield, and aroma.

Quiz Time #1 -  A method of mashing during which a portion of the slurry of grain and water (the mash) is boiled is called:  A. BIAB; B. Fly Sparge; C. Decoction; D. Infusion; E. Percolation                              answer: c

Chalices are similar to goblets, but usually a bit taller and narrower.  Because they are a bowl-shaped glass that tapers to a narrower rim, they are great for concentrating beer aromatics.  Belgian tripel works well in this glass, as do meads and ciders.  It is ideal for evaluation and analysis.

New Hop Varieties - Solero is a new German hop that has Cascade and an unnamed hop as parents.  It give tropical fruits, mango, and passion fruit flavors.  With its high alpha acids, it can be used as a dual prupose hop, useful for adding bitterness as well as flavor and aroma.

We really like cask/real ales served via a beer engine.  A beer engine is a manual pump with a large handle used in traditional pubs especially in the UK to draw beer from the cask. No CO2 needed.

Quiz Time #2 - Which of the following terms is NOT related to beer texture according to beer judging guidelines:

A. Body; B. Viscosity; C. Volatility; D. Mouthfeel; E. Phenolics                                               answer: e

Recent studies have shown that it's common to feel that the same beer you're drinking at home tasted better while you were on a sunny, beachside holiday. Not only does your body's ability to taste change depending on the environment that you're in, but colors, music, and ambiance all play a role in how a certain beer tastes.

"There are better things in life than beer, but beer makes up for the fact that we don't have those other things." JS

Double dry hopping (DDH on a beer label) can mean a couple of tings.  Usually it just means the brewer had doubled the amount of dry hops normally added to a given beer, but it can also mean that one charge of dry hops is added, allowing aromas and flavors to absorb into the beer, then those hops are removed and a second dose is added for a similar length of time.

In Germany a Schnitt.is a small pour of beer — perhaps two or three gulps — served as the last glass before heading off after a dinner or lunch at a Biergarten

Mistral is a French hop characterized as delicate, with notes of rose, melon, and lychee.  Used in the kettle as a bittering hop it adds a very clean, smooth bitterness.  As a flavor and aroma hop, its melon and citrus character comes across as sweet and fruity, with uscat grape, and even pear flavors.  Often used for dry hopping.

Beer Quiz #3 - Which of the following states is not aong the top five US commercial hop producers?  A. Idaho; 

B. Washington; C. California; D. Oregon; E. both A&C are correct.                             answer: c

We recommend you always try a flight first when visiting a brewery.  Why?  A flight of beer can be more satisfying than a larger glass of a single brew.  Consider that the first sip of beer is always the best sip and a flight allows you to have several first sips instead of just one. 

"Beer is the perfect temporary solution to any problem."  Clay Moore

"NEIPA" stands for New England India Pale Ale.  That's a lot of geography for a single beer if you ask us.  Basically, it's a hazy, sometimes opaque brew that smells and tastes hoppy without the bitterness of a West Coast IPA.  It is often richly textured with lots of hop oils in suspension.  It gives the impression of an easy to drink, fruited ale.

 Beer Quiz #4 - The bubbles that make most beer styles fizzy come primarily from this gas: A. Nitrogen; B. Oxygen; C. Carbon Dioxide; D. Nitrous Oxide; E, a blend of C and D.                                          answer: c

Augustiner is Munich’s oldest brewery, founded in 1328. Of Munich’s six major producers, it’s the last not to be owned by a multinational company or, as in Hofbräu’s case, the state government.

=================

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Mexican Lager isn’t a recognized beer style according to the Beer Judge Certification Program.  It was German and Austrian settlers who came to Mexico and brought their own brewing techniques which included early variations of lager and pilsner. That evolved into today's (unofficial) style called Mexican Lager. 

Best Bitter or Special Better has more flavor than Ordinary Bitter but still rarely exceeds 4.7% ABV. Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter is usually 4.8% or higher.

We both support efforts to save the earth.  After all, it's the only planet with beer.

In the US, beer color is measured on a scale called SRM, or Standard Reference Method which passes a blue violet light with a 430 -nanometer wavelength through a 1 centimeter beer sample to measure the light's attenuation.  The European Brewery Convention measurement is similar with values roughly double SRM.

New Hop Variety:  Magnat.  This high alpha bittering hop from Poland has a floral, lilac aroma.  Its pedigree is a cross between Lubelski and a Yugoslavian male hop. A high linalool content is responsible for the floral character, making it useful for adding aromatics as well as bitterness to beer. 

Quiz Time!  Which of these styles is not a type of Lambic?  A. Oud Bruin; B. Faro; C. Peche; D. Cassis; 

E. Gueuze                                                                                                                  ans.:A

Because beer is mostly water, many breweries talk up their water source.  While good water makes a difference, most breweries simply filter their municipal supply, then add brewing salts such as calcium sulfate and calcium chloride to adjust the water's ion content depending on the style being brewed.  All this proves water is still water.

"The most important meal of the day isn't breakfast.  It's the mean you eat before you start drinking beer, so you can pace yourself."  Clay Moore

Standard shaker pints are very common in the US for all kinds of craft beer since they are cheap to manufacture and easy to clean.  They aren't the best choice fo helping beer show off it's finest attributes, however; they are better suited for their intended purpose of shaking cocktails with ice. 

New Hop Varieties (yes, another one)- Southern Tropic.  This tropical, fruit heavy South African hop variety exhibits mango, pineapple, bubblegum, citrus, passion fruit, guava, pineapple, bubblegum, citrus, lemongrass, and coconut flavors.

Bottle conditioning is a packaging technique where by the beer still contains live yeast, as well as just enough sugar usually in the form of maltose, to carbonate the beer.  This has the advantage of ensuring the beer is fresh tasting and free of staling oxygen since the yeast uses up an O2 present during the final conditioning fermentation.  The live yeast also means the beer will last longer and has B vitamins if you wish to consume the sediment.

Quiz Time #2.Granulated hop matter and grain proteins that form in the brew kettle during the boil, and again as the beer is cooled, are collectively referred to as break, or by this German name: A. Zwickel; B. Kraeusen, C. Trub; D. Hefe; E. Lauter                                                                                      ans.:C

"Never depend on someone else to make you happy.  That's what beer is for. "   Jay Silvers

A coupler is a device attached to a keg to allow input of gas (usually CO2) and output beer.

New Hop Variety (the last one): Triumph.  This is a public hop developed by the USDA in Corvallis, Oregon.  Triumph's parentage is a blend of classics: Nugget, Brewer's Gold, East Kent Goldings, and Halllertau Mittelfruh.  It's described as "prominent peach, lime, and orange, followed with suggestions of spice and pine."

Beer foam is about 10% beer so next time you thing you got a short pour with too big a head it's not as bad as you thought.

The 2022 release of Russian River's Pliny the Younger generated $6.1 million in economic impact, a record for the brewery and $1 million (+20%) increase compared to 2020, the last year the famous IPA was released.

For most of human history, if you were going to serve beer in anything other than the jug it was made in, a glass bottle was how you did it.  That changed in 1935 when Gottfried Krueger Brewing of Newark, NJ began selling their beer in cans.

Beer terms - Contract Beer.  Beer made by one brewery and then marketed by a company calling itself a brewery. The latter uses the brewing facilities of the former.   Hefe: A German word meaning "yeast". Used mostly in conjunction with wheat (weiss) beers to denote that the beer is bottled or kegged with the yeast in suspension (hefe-weiss). These beers are cloudy, frothy and, refreshing.  

The bubbles of carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages aren't buoyant in a weightless environment so they remain randomly distributed throughout the fluid, even after swallowing.  This means that carbonated beverages including soft drinks and beer may become a foamy mess during space travel.  Because of that we're not going.

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

New Hops - ZIBI.  This Polish hop variety has peach, mango, Mirabelle plum, and pine character.  It is a very promising "new wave" dual purpose hop, great for bittering in the kettle and for dry hopping.  More planting acreage is planned as demand for this variety grows.

Eight glasses of water a day seems impossible, but eight glasses of beer is easy.

Hard seltzer is as popular as ever.  Truly actually grew 31% in retail dollar sales last year, more than twice the rate of the hard seltzer category as a whole (+14%), itself well above the rates of other alcohol categories.

The ceramic stein often comes with a traditional metal lid.  These vessels are used to serve Vienna, Munich, and bock lagers.  The lid was originally designed to keep insects (and any diseases they might be carrying out of the beer.

Quiz Time:  The type of enzyme in mated barley mainly responsible for conversion of starches to fermentable sugars is:  A. Protease, B. Amylase, C. Lipase, D. Deaminase, E. Carbohydrase                                 ans. B

ABV stands for Alcohol by Volume and is expressed as a percentage.  It is determined by measuring the Original Gravity of the beverage just prior to fermentation, traditionally with a floating glass cylinder called a hydrometer.  Fermentable and unfermentable sugars in the beverage contribute to its density, or gravity, which decreases during fermentation as they are converted to alcohol by yeast.  After fermentation, the Final Gravity is measured, and by calculating the difference between these numbers one can estimate ABV.  

Imperial or Double beers are roughly twice as strong as the original style.  Dopplebock, for example comes in at 8-9% ABV, about twice as strong as regular bock beer (though traditional bock is usually around 6%). Imperial Stout got its name from the Russian imperial court, which favored the style in the 1700s, but it's basically a double strength black ale.  The descriptor "Imperial" was later applied to to her styles, eventually becoming synonymous with Double.

"If your doctor tells you to watch your drinking find a taproom with a mirror".   Jay Silvers

"We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second pint of beer."  Clay Moore

New Hop - DIAMANT.  This is another hop bred at the Hull Hop Research Center.  It was derived from the Spalt hop and carries the same fine an spicy herbal character.  This dual purpose hop has noble characteristics  but still has good bittering potential with its high alpha.

Quiz Time #2.  After mashing to convert starches to sugars, brewers do this to rinse those sugars into the kettle for boiling:  A. Lauter, B. Decoct, C. Whirlpool, D. Infuse; E, Underlet                                   ans. A

Sometimes it's difficult to identify a sour beer from its label.  Just check the style.  Anything labeled Gose, Berliner Weisse, Lambic, Flanders Red, American Wild Ale, "Mixed Culture", or "Mixed Fermentation" is likely a sour.

You've got a long wait if you want hard seltzer to go away.  Hard seltzer is as popular as ever.  Truly actually grew 31% in retail dollar sales last year, more than twice the rate of the hard seltzer category as a whole (+14%), itself well above the rates of other alcohol categories.

"If you first you don't succeed, try a bottle opener,  It probably wasn't a twist off."  Clay Moore

The first beers were brewed by the Sumerian people, who lived in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia in what is now southern Iraq.  The earliest known written beer recipe was written on a stone tablet around 3,900 BCE.

Nigeria is Guinness’s second largest sales market in the entire world, and Guinness has fourteen breweries on the continent of Africa alone.

In 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease for the space that would be, and still remains, the Guinness hub. The lease is no longer in effect, as the brewing company now owns the land outright.

Looking for a "beercation" stop?  Try Tampa, Florida to check out Cigar City  which first opened back in 2007.  It's best know ale is the fruity citrus-heavy Jai Alai IPA.  If you in the area it's a must visit.  They have several taprooms. 

If you're in Oregon you should visit another cornerstone of the American craft brewing movement, Rogue Ales which started way back in 1988.  They have eleven location throughout Oregon, Washington, and California.

"I only drink a little beer, but when I do I turn into another person, and that person drinks a lot of beer." Jay Silvers

As sophisticated as ancient brewing practices were, there was still a chance for sediment to end up in a drinker's pint, so Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians were known to drink beer with straws made of reeds or gold, depending upon one's social class, 

Yeast can only survive alcohol concentrations of 14% to 18% which is the max for traditional "beer".

Not all “malts” contain gluten. Many people think that a malt is a gluten-based product, but any grain can be "malted". Gluten-free grains included maize, sorghum and rice, amongst others.  For the record we have never had a gluten free beer we really liked.

Although beer is notorious for leading to developing a few more inches around the waist, some beers are actually diet-friendly. Drinking 12-ounces of an average beer has fewer calories than drinking the same amount of 2% milk or apple juice. 

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

It's hard to believe but a ripe banana contains as much alcohol as many beers legally classified as non-alcoholic, up to 0.5% ABV.  To get it up to 1% you'd have to eat 20 cases.  That's okay since bananas are good for you.

"Harvest Ales" usually refers to the hop harvest in the fall.  Many use a technique called "wet-hopping whereby hlp farms skip the usual drying (or "kilning") process to preserve hops for storage.  They are added straight from the field to provide a particularly intense, fresh flavor.  It's best to drink these beers as fresh (under a month) as possible.

Thistle shaped beer glasses are used to drink all kinds of Scotch ales.  The thistle is the national flower of Scotland.

Most craft breweries are moving away from bottles and using cans which has caused occasional can "shortages".  Cans are lightweight compared to bottles which reduces shipping costs and they protect the beer from UV light harm.

Pahto hop was released along with Sabro back in 2018 but is only now gaining popularity. This super alpha is a bittering hop with English parentage designed to deliver clean, hot side bitterness.  Its character is described as herbal, woody, and earthy.

"Dry-hopped" means hops were added to the beer after fermentation.  The beer absorbs aromas, flavors, and to a lesser extent, a certain perceived bitterness from the raw hops.  Aroma hops with high oi content are often used for dry hopping, as those oils are alcohol soluble.

Quiz Time -  Brown Porter originated from which European city?  A. Dublin; B. London; C. Edinburgh; D. Munich;      E. Vienna.                                                                                                                               ans. B

A standard shaker pint holds 16 ounces.  A standard growler holds 64 ounces.  A "crowler" (basically a large can) holds 32 ounces which many tap rooms fill and seal for patrons to bring home.  A normal person can hold....well that varies.  Just do it in moderation (we had to say that).

Lambic is an ancient beer style that was once served to the masses from simple stoneware or terra cotta pitchers.  You can find examples of the same sort of vessel in paintings from the mid-1600s,  Many bars in Belgium still serve it that way.

A new, popular hop is Olicana, a Charles Faram proprietary variety with mango, grapefruit, and passion fruit flavors.  This dual prupose hop is great for bitterness or flavor/aroma.

"Friends bring happiness into you life.  Best friends bring beer."    Mr. Brewski

For most US drinkers a session beer comes it at 5% ABV or less.  Almost any beer style can be brewed to a lower strength although session IPAs are the most popular.  An English Mild is one of the original session beers with lots of flavor.  Give it a try and you won't be disappointed.....unless you wanted a real beer.

"Carlifornia Common" is fermented with a lager yeast but at warmer temperatures.  A number of brewers produced the amber beer along the coast of CA in Gold Rush times.  Perhaps the best known example available now goes by the trademarked name of Anchor Steam beer.  And remember the brewery's name is Anchor, not Anchor Steam.

Quiz Time #2 (easy).  Which of these beer styles is always made with cherries?  A. Kveik; B. Gueuze; C. Gose; 

D. Framboise; E. Kriek                                                                                                                   ans. E

Hopsteiner has just released a new proprietary hop cultivated in the US but it carries German noble floral characteristics of light pear, green tea, and lemongrass.  It's a cross between Fuggle and Cascade and is best used for delicate Pilsner beers.

Heroic brewery you never heard of: The Lion Brewery of New York City closed down in 1942.  Two years later it made the ultimate sacrifice.  Over three thousands tons of structured steel was recovered from it and used by the War Production Board to make ships that helped the US win WWII.

The introduction of the beer can in 1935 triggered the start of the no deposit/no return packaging revolution.

Why a six pack of beer? After Prohibition women did much of the purchasing of beer for the household.  Studies indicated that six was the right weight a woman could easily carry.  In addition, Coca-Cola was being very successfully in packs of six.

By the 1890s there were at least four major US breweries producing what they each called "Budweiser".  Needless to say, lawsuits by Anheuser-Busch won the day.  The last one to go down was DuBois Budweiser of PA when in 1970 the courts gave the exclusive right to the name in the US to AB.

In the last1930s some breweries began to promote the addition of vitamins to their beers.  Most common were the vitamins of B and G.  Within a decade the Federal Alcohol Commission ruled that no mention of vitamins could be made on a beer label since it might lead some to think "the beer had curative powers."

"Hangover” in Norwegian is directly translated to “carpenters in the head”. 

Adding some beer to your marinade is supposed to soften the meat. The acids in the beer go to work on the proteins in the meat, whether it’s cooked or uncooked.  We don't know if it works on Tofu but it's worth a try for vegetarians.

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Weizen glasses are tall and wider at the top than at the base.  The design is to hold the large amount of foam produced by these highly carbonated wheat beers.

The federal tax American brewers pay on each gallon of beer they produce is called the Federal Excise Tax.  Some brewers have another word for it usually four letters long.

Quiz Time:  Beer haze is often measured in: A, NTUs; B. IBUs, C. ABVs, D. EBCs, E. Degrees of Lovibond

ans. A

Organic beers are simply beers that have been made with one or more certified organic ingredients.  Malt, hops, and flavor additions such as fruit can all be sourced organically for the brewing industry. We can't understand why they never tastes as good as the non-organic beers.

Know your hops: Zappa.  A neomexicanus variety, Zappa has been described in very broad terms, including words like: spicy, tropical, citrus, and savory.  It has even been compared to Fruity Pebbles.  We say that's a good thing.

Nitro beers refer to the presence of nitrogen gas, usually blended with 25% CO2.  There are nitro beers available in cans and bottles,  They used to contain a device called a "widget" that spayed  a stream of this pressurized gas blend into the beer. upon opening.  Recent innovations have allowed for widgetless Niro beer packaging, using careful manipulation  of nitrogen on the caning or bottling line. Jay says it gives him gas.

Speaking of gas, a device called a gas blender supplies both carbon dioxide and nitrogen at dispense to all some beers such as dry Irish stouts, to be poured with an exceptionally thick, creamy layer of foam.  It's always fun to watch those beers cascade.  Best part is there's no cover charge for the entertainment.

Hop name change:  Denali is now called Sultana.  Hey, don't blame us, we're just reporting it.  The hop is described as having characteristic West Coast traits of citrus, pineapple, and pine.  This proprietary hop from Hopsteiner first was named "06227", a catchy name for sure.  That number was derived from parentage of 50% Nugget, 25%Zeus, and 25% of a USDA male.  It was first released in 2019.

Beer Quiz part 2:  This Franco-Belgian beer style is often malty, strong, bottled, and intended for long cellaring.  Which is it? A. Belgian Pale Ale; B. Gose; C. Biere de Garde; D. Kottbusser; E, Helles

ans. c

SMaSH is an acronym for Single Malt and Single Hop beers.  One kind of malt, one variety of hop.  This simple recipe can result in a very complex beer if the ingredients are fresh and of high quality.

Destination Stop recommendation from Clay:  Hill Farmstead Brewery, Greensboro Bend, VT.  Shaun Hill started this brewery in 2020 after learning to make beer for a high school science project and later picking up home brewing in college.  After professional training in the US and Denmark he started the brewery.  RateBeer.com named in Best Brewery in the World eight times from 2023-2020.  It's on a hilltop and hard to find but worth the effort.

Destination Stop recommendation for Jay: New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO.  Founders Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan started New Belgium in the basement in 1991 and it became one of the largest craft breweries in the USA. It became 100% employee owned in 2012 and opened a second plant in Asheville, NC in 2016.  The brewery was eventually sold to Kirin Holdings Co.  It continues as one of the leading environmentally sound breweries in the world

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy beer, and that's kind of the same thing."  Clay Moore

Teaaker hops are an unusual variety with a full pleasing aroma but an low alpha acid content meaning they have almost no bitterness.  Because of their natural antimicrobial quality these hops are sometimes used as an additive to chicken fee.  That may explain why we don't like any beer made with them.

Germany's Starkbierfest, held for three weeks each year in Munich, celebrates strong flavored beers including stouts, porters, dopplebocks, and more.  "Starkbier" is more about strong flavors than high alcohol.  It usually takes place just in time for Lent.  Many call it Oktoberfest without the tourists.

A goblet is the best glassware choice for German bock beers, Belgian Dubbels, and strong ales.  It's also approrpiate for English winter warmers and Brliner weisse.  It is not good for Pepsi or Coke.

A yard of ale, or yard glass, is a tall, narrow, and about three feet long as the name suggests.  There is a skill involved in drinking form one without wearing its contents.  It is still seen as a rite of passage for many college students in the UK.  The glasses hold around three imperial pints or 60 ounces.

"Keeping beers" are those meant to be consumed a year or more after they were bottled.  These beers are usually well over 7% ABV,.  They include "wild" or "mixed culture" beers with Brett, sour beers, and bottle conditioned beers.  Note - though some high octane IPAs should be consumed fresh.  Always check the bottling date.  No date, no buy!

"Never party with sober people.  They'll remember everything you say."  Jay Silvers

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Dark beers tend to have the most antioxidants, which help reverse cellular damage that occurs naturally in the body. A recent study also found that it has higher iron content compared to lighter beers. Iron is a part of all cells and does many jobs including carrying oxygen from our lungs throughout the rest of our bodies.  Order us a stout, please.

Our motto of the day:  More beer.  Less whine.

A Pilsner glass, or Pokal, should be used for Bohemian and Czech Pilsners; American, Japanese, and Dortmunder lagers; dark lagers such as Schwarzbier and Munich dunkel, Vienna lagers; and Gose.  No shaker pints...ever.

Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were all accomplished home brewers.  Ironically it was President Jimmy Carter, who has never homebrewed, who helped make the practice legal in 1978.

Quiz Time (we know you like these)- What traditional brewhouse vessel collects wort from the lauter tun before it flows to the kettle for boiling? a. Hot Liquor Tank; b. Bright Tank; c. Mash Tun; d. Grant; e. Whirlpool                ans-d

The French, who drink lots of red wine and have the highest per capita alcohol consumption, actually have one of the lowest rates of coronary heart disease mortality.  Imagine how healthy they'd be if they drank more beer.

"No matter what life throws at you, a cold beer will always help."      Steve Allen

Northeastern-style IPAs range from hazy to cloudy to opaque, with an appearance similar to orange juice.  Often, there is sediment settled at the bottom of the bottle or can.  This isn't necessarily yeast.  The majority of hazy IPAs' sediment comes from hop oils, polyphenols, and/or unmalted grains.

If you see the word "vintage" on a beer label the beer is usually strong, such as a barleywine.  They are intended to be cellared for up to several years.   As they age, the alcohol mellows, the hops grow less bitter, and sherry-or wine- like flavors can emerge.  Fans love having barleywine vertical tasting sessions to compare one year to another.

"Beer is made with hops, and hops are plants, so technically beer is salad. I'm having salad for lunch."    Joe E. Lewis

Beer direct-to-consumer interstate shipping is currently only available to 14.8% of the 21+ U.S. population, versus 96.7% of the 21+ population for wine.  Unfair to beer drinkers! Time to complain to your representatives in Congress.

German Pilsner and Czech pilsner are similar styles, though the former tends to be hoppier and drier than it's maltier, softer Bohemain cousin.  Pilsner gets its name from its city of origin, Pilsen, in what is now the Czech Republic.  It was frist brewed in 1842 by Josef Groll.

We're not done with pilsners yet - American pilsners ride the middle with malt and focus more heavily on the hops. And fairly recently, the Italian pils has become known for its light body and the addition of a dry-hopping process that imparts subtle European hop character.   Now we're done.

New Hop - Hort 4337.  This New Zealand experimental variety has a tropical fruit character of pineapple and passion fruit, as well as peach and grapefruit.  All it needs now is a real name.

Advice for our younger readers: it's time to start thinking about your future.  Buy two cases of beer instead of one.

Need a recommendation for a "beercation"?  We suggest Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware, Sierra Nevada Brewing in CA, and Allagash Brewing in Maine.  And remember some great places might be near your home.  Support your local brewery!

Quiz Time #2: First commercial brewery in the United States was built in 1632 by?  A. Plymouth Bay Puritans; B. United Brewery of The Royal Colonies; C. Virginia Brewing Collective; D. Dutch West India Company.          ans. D

In 2001, some Belgian elementary schools began serving low-alcohol beer to schoolchildren at lunch as a healthier alternative to soda. Interestingly after that policy was implemented most students had perfect attendance.

Aristotle claimed that drinkers of wine and other intoxicants fall in random directions, but beer drinkers always fall on their back.  That insight shows us that as a scientist he was a great philosopher.

Tradition holds that St. Patrick kept a brewer in his household in 5th century Ireland. There is no truth to the rumor that the brewer's name was Arthur Guinness.

Why do they never serve beer at a math party? – Because you can’t drink and derive.  Did we hear you say "one more?"  Okay, here goes.  A Roman walks into a bar  He holds up two fingers and says “give me five beers.”  

That's it, we're quitting while we're behind.

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Since Prohibition, the year with the fewest breweries in the US was 1978.  There were only 89 breweries in opertion that year.  As of Jan.1, 2022 there were more than 9,000 despite setbacks caused by the pandemic.

Grodziskie is a historical style of beer from Poland that is made with oak-smoked wheat malt.  It is usually clear, golden, highly carbonated, and low in alcohol - generally 2.5 to 5% ABV.  At that ABV, why bother?

The classic Nonic pint evolved from straight sided glasses that tended to chip or nick when they were washed.  Nonic pints feature a bulge near the top that solved the problem.  They are good for most (not all) beer styles.  The 20 ounce Imperial pint was adopted by British Parliament in 1824 and has been the pub standard in GB since the 1960s.

Know Your Hops: Godiva.  This is a Charles Faram proprietary variety with tangerine, gooseberry, and spice characteristics, and a sweet and smooth bitterness.  This aroma hop excels when used as a late or dry hop.

Beer Quiz:  The compound mainly responsible for bitterness in beer is called:  A. Iso-Alpha Acid; B. Phenol;

C. Beta-Farnesene; D. Terpene; E. Bracteole; F. all of these                                                            answer: a

Know Your Hops:  Lotus.  This proprietary hop from Hopsteiner, formerly called Experimental #06297, has a diverse parentage including Eastern Gold, Apollo, and Cascade among others.  It's described as having orange, vanilla, berry, and tropical fruit flavors (just think orange creamsicle.

Cheers to President Jimmy Carter who on Oct. 14, 1978 signed a bill that allowed brewing at home for personal consumption.  This effectively legalized home brewing at the federal level and exempted it from taxation.

"There are two kinds of people.  Those who love beer, and the rest of you poor saps."  Leo Gorcey 

Beer Quiz 2.  A fermentable ingredient in beer that is not malted is often called: A. Alembic; B. Attenuator; C. Agaric; D. Adjunct; E Enzyme                                                                                                                  answer d

An oversized red wine glass is perfect for beers with especially complex aromatics like Belgian saisons, Trappist or Abbey beers, honey ales, and Belgian IPAs.  No shaker pints please.

The best way to tell if a beer is fresh is to simply check the date.  It's usually a canned on date or a best by date. We always follow the rule - no date, no buy and strongly recommend you do too.

IBUs are International Bitterness Units.  These units express parts per million of isohumulone, a compound  from hops that cause bitterness in beer.  Hop oils that are heated to more than 185F while submerged in wort (the sweet liquor that becomes beer after fermentation ) contribute to perceived bitterness.  Note that a light, dry beer with 50 IBUs is going to taste a lot more bitter than a heavy, sweet beer with the same numbers.

Namibia has the second highest per capita beer consumption in the world behind the Czech Republic.  The southern African nation was colonized by Germany in the late 1800s, and the German love for beer left its mark.  On average, each Nanibian drinks 108 liters of beer per year.

Know Your Hops: Medusa.  A low proprietary hop from CLS Farms.  Described by the hop breeder as "guava, melon, apricot, and citrus fruit."  If you look at the raw hop you will not turn to stone.

Beer Quiz #3 - a chance to redeem yourself with an easy question.  Which beer style is the lowest in alcohol? A. Irish Dry Stout; B. India Pale Ale; C. Oktoberfest; D. Maibock; E. Belgian Dubbel                                     answer: a

Hangovers are caused by an excess of acetaldehyde in the liver.  Your liver metabolizes alcohol by breaking it down to acetaldehyde.  The more alcohol you have the more of it accumulates in toxic amounts.  Our best advice to deal with a hangover is to rehydrate, rest, and eat a meal high in potassium, complex carbohydrates, and a bit of fat. Example: wheat tortilla, and egg, avocado, and a glass of water.

"Thank Heaven that in a world of much stress and turmoil there is still so good a thing as ale."  Rafael Sabatini

Benedictine monks founded the Weihenstephan Abbey brewery in Bavaria, Germany in AD 1040.  It is widely regarded as the oldest continually operating brewery in the world.  Take that Budweiser!

One more Know You Hops for the road: Zappa.  It's named for musician Frank Zappa.  It's sweet, grape-like aromatics is like a purple Skittles.  It still hasn't caught on with most brewers but there are many examples out there that we try to avoid.

In ancient Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi regulated the sale of beer and the legalities of beer commerce.  One part said that any bartender who watered down beer should be executed.  We think that should also apply to bartenders who give you a bad pour.

Ultraviolet light (part of sunshine) can alter hop compounds in beer causing them to smell skunky.  Put any clear bottle beer in the sunlight for a couple of minutes and taste what happens.  Brown bottles block more UV light than green bottles but can block them all.

A man staggers through the front door of a bar and orders a beer.  The bartender says "Sorry, sire, you've had too much already."  The man leaves, then comes lurching through the side door.  The bartender refuses him again.  He leaves and then crashes in through the back door, only to be denied service a third time.  Astonished, the guy ask the bartender, "How many bars do you work for?"

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Head brewers working in small brewpubs, on average earn a yearly salary of $46,000, and in larger brewpubs, they average around $51,000 per year. Brewers who work in small breweries make an average of $42,500 a year, according to a recent survey

Unlike blind-tasting wine or spirits, it’s important to swallow beer. Swallowing is the best way to experience retronasal olfaction—the smells you get at the back of your throat, where you’ll pick up aromatic compounds.  Taste, along with aroma, also lets you pinpoint off-flavors.

Hops are poisonous to dogs.  They cause a potentially life threatening body temperature increase.  Symptoms include panting, vomiting, agitation, and an increase in heart rat.  Hop toxicity is treatable, so if you dog ingest hops, call your local animal hospital ASAP.  Fortunately humans are not allergic to hops.  Whew.

A dirty glass with oil or residual soap can decrease head retention regardless of style. 

Heineken developed a special kind of beer bottle that could be reused as a glass block building material for low-income housing in 1963.  No stone throwing was allowed.

"I'm an old fashioned guy....I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at at lake or something."  Johnny Depp    He should have added "while reading the Here and There column. 

The Carlsberg brewery built Danish physicist Niels Bohr a house and a pipeline to the brewery that supplied him with a lifetime's supply of beer after he won the Nobel prize.  It's the least they could have done.

"Blessed is the mother who gives birth to a brewer."  Old Czech saying.

Know your hops:  Delta.  Hopsteiner first offered this Fuggle-type hop to Boston's Harpoon Brewery where it was used for their single hop ESB.  Somewhere between Fuggles and Willamette, it has a similarly mild, slightly spicy aroma with melon and light citrus.  Great in any pale ale if you are looking for a classic tasting hop without wild tropical or dank character.

A neutron walks into a bar.  The bartender brings him a beer. "How much do I owe you?" ask the neutron.  "For you," the bartender says, "no charge."  He turns to a neutrino that's just entered.  "Areyou going to be wanting a beer, too?" The neutrino replies, "No, just passing through."

"Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health."  Thomas Jefferson

Fear of an empty glass is called cenosillicaphobis.  Needless to say, there is no word for fear of a full glass.

File under great beer names with the same title of a great Jackie Chan movie - Drunken Master IIPA from Melvin Brewing, Alpine, NY.  The brewery plays kung fu movies on it's taproom screens and this beer (9%) can floor you faster than a roundhouse kick.

Quiz time:  International beer day is celebrated on: A, 1st of May; B. 3rd of July; C. 1st of August. D. First Friday of every August                                                                                                            answer: d

Hot Springs, Arkansas, known worldwide for its famous thermal spring water. But instead of bathing in the hot springs, she’ll be drinking it at Superior Bathhouse Brewery — the only brewery in the world that makes beer using thermal spring water.

Beer makes your farts smellier because of the sulfate in it.  Drinking beer releases carbon dioxide gas which builds up in your gut. Beer consumption results in bloating and excess gas because it causes yeast overgrowth in the intestinal tract. 

Of course we know that hops is the main ingredient that makes beer bitter but what you might nott know is that hops is a type of flower! Because of that we think they make a great Valentine's Day bouquet.

Quiz time #2:  The color of a beer is measured using which of the following?  A. Style (ie. Honey Brown, Porter, Light)

B. SRM - Standard Reference Model; C. RCM - Relative Color Matching; D. Degrees of Lovibond; E. None of the these.                                                                                                                       answer: b

In ancient Mesopotamia, beer was associated with religion and ritual and was believed to have magical powers. That's true today too.  It magically makes us happy.

The saying "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" is falsely attributed to Benjamin Franklin so trash those t-shirts you have.. He did say something similar in a letter to Abbé Morellet, but the subject was wine, not beer. 

When people think of beer there rarely include things such as sorghum-based African opaque beer, Japanese sake (which is technically not wine, but a rice beer), Russian kvass made from bread, and corn-based South American chicha.[4] We think that's quite understandable.

The Guinness Book of World Records was conceived of by Hugh Beaver, the Managing Director of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, as a way to settle pub disputes. 

Many early temperance movements that frowned upon the consumption of alcohol limited their restrictions to hard liquor, exempting beer and wine as healthy alternatives. During American prohibition, however, beer was out too. 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was once called the "Beer Capital of the World," as it was home to four of the largest American breweries: Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, and Blatz, as well as a large German population and a vibrant drinking culture.  Let's drink to Milwaukee right now!

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Know your hops: Amarillo.  This American hop varietal is both good for bittering and has strong aromatics, making it a versatile, dual purpose brewing ingredient. Commonly added to all types of IPAs from American to Belgian and Imperial IPA’s, An alpha acid range from 8% to 11% presents a moderate bittering quality while lush floral and orangey citrus aromas add fresh flavor. 

It's often said that the Pilgrims made an unexpected stop at Plymouth Rock because they were out of beer.  Their trip from England to the New World took roughly 2 months by sea. If you were stuck on a wooden dingy with 120 other starving, smelly Puritans… wouldn’t you get upset if you ran out of beer too?

A barrel of beer is about twice the size of a keg which means a lot of us have been partying wrong all this time. Barrel-stand anyone?

In 1935 the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company of Newark, New Jersey showed the world a brand new way of doing things. They began selling their beer in cans.  By the end of the year, 37 breweries followed their lead. Proving once again that there is one ultimate truth about human beings: we’ll drink our beer out of literally anything. 

Drinking 12-ounces of an average pale ale has fewer calories than drinking the same amount of 2% milk or apple juice and it's much more fun.

Quiz Time - Which state has the most craft breweries?  A. California, B. New York, C. North Carolina; D. Texas,        E. there are no craft breweries in any state (if you pick this you have to give up beer for a week).        Ans: A

The amount of alcohol in beer can be measured in terms of the percentage weight of alcohol per volume of beer, i.e., 3.2% alcohol by weights equals 3.2 grams of alcohol per 100 centiliters of beer. (It is approximately 20% less than alcohol by volume.)  

Beer terms: cask.  A closed, barrel-shaped container for beer. They come in various sizes and are now usually made of metal. The bung in a cask of "Real" beer or ale must be made of wood to allow the pressure to be relived, as the fermentation of the beer, in the cask, continues. 

Three Beer slogans we like:  “If I wanted water, I would have asked for water.” Labatt Blue /  “It looks good, it tastes good, and by golly it does you good.” Mackeson's Brewery // “It’s what your right arm’s for.” Courage Brewery

Malt provides the sugar source, the starch source, and is the main carbohydrate for the yeast. It is the backbone of labor for the beer, without it there would be no alcohol.  Thank you, malt.

Beer was not officially classified as an alcoholic beverage in Russia until 2013. Previously, anything beverage that contained less than 10% alcohol by volume had been classified as a “foodstuff” and was therefore controlled as such. It was move by Russian leadership to curtail alcohol consumption in the country, 

Why do they never serve beer at a math party? – Because you can’t drink and derive.  What do you never say to a policeman? “Sure let me grab my license. Can you hold my beer?” It's ok  to pretend you never heard those before and laugh.

"Many things can be preserved in alcohol. Dignity is not one of them "  Walt Disney

Quiz time #2:  Which of the following beers is not an ale? A. Brown,  B. Stout, C. Porter, D.  Bock      ans. D

The best way to get rid of excessive foam on top of beer (the head) is to stick your fingers into it. The natural oil on your fingers breaks the surface tension of the bubbles. This collapses them.  We strongly recommend you only use clean fingers.  

Early research show that Silicon, found in beer, might help to help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Silicon helps to prevent aluminum absorption in the brain, which is thought to help prevent this terrible disease. 

Did you know that beer is made with fungus?  It is since that's what yeast is.  Yeast is added to sweet wort to start the fermentation process. Billions of yeast cells absorb sugar molecules and convert them into CO2 and alcohol. Yeast also produces a variety of flavor compounds, which have a significant impact on the flavor profile of a beer. 

Many craft brewers got started with homebrewing. Icons like Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, Jim Koch of Sam Adams, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head each got started with humble roots.  Maybe there's hope for us yet.

A fact sure to cheer you up: n 1983, there were 49 licensed breweries in the United States; by the end of 2021, there were 9,000.  We'll drink to that!

About 90,000 people  in the US are directly employed by brewers and beer importers, and when you include additional jobs generated by the beer industry, the number reaches nearly 2.5 million.  So drink a beer and feel good that you're doing something to create jobs and help the economy.

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Lawson's Finest Liquids (Vermont) is rebranding Knockout Blonde and Maple Nipple because 'they could be viewed in a different light, particularly today,' according to a statement just released.  The new names are still to be finalized.

The NHS says that men and women should be having no more than 14 units of alcohol a week. To put that into perspective, one unit is a small glass of wine, while a pint of low strength beer is two units.  Are they kidding?

Know your hops -  Styrian Celeia Hop is bred in Slovenia.  It has great agronomic traits, so it's very sturdy and reliable to grow.  It can be used for classic old style beer that usually rely on Golding hops' marmalade flavoring.  Celeia is prized for its floral, citrus, earthy notes, and resinous grapefruit peel.

Recently Boston Beer Co. sent 72 pounds of hops into space.  The cost of sending one pound of hops into space at around $5,000, meaning the entire hops cargo cost them about $361,000 to put in orbit.  We really don't care.

"I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet brown wall of the glass...the foam on the corners."  Dylan Thomas

Thanks to spiking sales for its Voodoo Ranger line of IPAs, New Belgium added almost 100,000 barrels of production during its first year of ownership by Kirin in 2020, and has surpassed 1 million barrels of production this year.  We prefer to guy beer from our local brewery.  And besides, we don't believe in voodoo.

Quiz time - Countries other than the USA have imposed Prohibition on their citizens at some point in their histories. Which, if any are they?  a. Canada & the Faroe Islands; b. The Russian Empire and Finland; c. Iceland and Norway, 

d. all of these; e. none of these.                                                                                                           Ans.:  d

The Beer Institute published an estimate of domestic tax paid shipments by beer brewers for November 2021.  The estimate is 14,800,000 barrels, a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to last year.  Yawn...we don't know why we included this tidbit.  Maybe it's because we're getting paid by the word.

"Beer culture is a part of the world of food and drink.  It's not just a commodity in cans and bottles, but has a value as an agricultural product with good ingredients."  Michael "Beer Hunter Jackson

A duck walks into a bar and orders a beer.  The bartender asks, "Just how are you going to pay for this beer?"  The duck ways "Just put it on my bill".   Ah, get it?  His "bill".  Is it too late to edit this joke out of the column? 

You've probably heard about the new Samuel Adams beer using space-flown ingredients.  They're not the first to do that. In 2009, the oldest brewery in Japan, Sapporo, used barley grown from seeds flown to the International Space Station to create an ale. Five years later, the Oregon-based Ninkasi Brewing Company launched yeast aboard a commercial suborbital spaceflight to make "Ground Control," an imperial stout.

The Lotus Hop was formerly known as X06297.  No wonder he changed it. Its aromatics are orange and vanilla followed by grape candy and tropicial fruit.  Alpha acids are high (13% to 17% so it is often used for bittering as well as flavor.

"Hartnell's Pub was for drinking.  And you could get any drink you wanted as long as it was beer"  Andy Weir

Quiz Time #2 - Fill in the Blank:  1. Which is the most sold beer in the United States? _____;  2. According to the 1516 German purity law, beer can only contain three ingredients. What are they? _________; 3. one sovereign state consumes more Guinness than the Irish. Which is it? _________; 4. ‘Reassuringly expensive’ was the advertising slogan for which beer?  _________;  5. Which brewery is claimed to be the oldest in the United States?  ______

Ans.: 1. Bud Light; 2. Malt, Barley, Water; 3. United Kingdom; 4. Stella; 5. Yuengling

A new report says the color of your beer might impact the nutrients inside. It said darker beers may have a higher antioxidant content than brews that are lighter in color thanks, in large part, to malt.  Hey, you're reading it on the Internet so it must be true.

Why did the bartender call his stockbroker?  He was looking for a good tip.  (I can't believe we wrote that).

A session beer should have an alcohol content of less than 5% ABV, allowing people to enjoy a larger amount before feeling intoxicated. We prefer an Imperial Session.

Tradition holds that St. Patrick kept a brewer in his household in 5th century Ireland.  We don't believe it.  It's a tale most likely made up by the people at Guinness.

"I'm gaining weight the right way, I'm drinking beer."  Millions of people during the pandemic.

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• There are now so many breweries in the USA that if you started visiting a different, brewpub, microbrewery, or regional brewery every day of the week, it would take you twenty five years to see them all.

• "I'm a beer man.  I tried to drink whiskey and Scotch, but I don't get it.  It smells like a girl who didn't shower and 

just splashed on a lot of perfume."   Mads Mikkelsen

• Know Your Hops:  Styrian Aurora hop is bred in Slovnia from English Northern Brewer and a Slovenian variety.  Aurora has great agronomic traits, so it's sturdy and reliable to grow.  Aromatics are similar to German Perle hops, with mellow tropical tones, lime, pine, bergamot, lemon, anise, and some sweet floral character.

• Know Your Hops 2: Comet hop isn't new but it keeps finding new audiences and appeals to lovers of it's unique grapefruit peel and newly mown grass aromatic.  Once spurned by breweries as being too raw and pungent, it's now being sought after for the same reason.  Sierra Nevada's huge selling Hazy Little things features it

• Ancient Native Americans had some medicinal and alcoholic drinks that they partook in well before the arrival of Europeans. This drink was generally made from boiling roots, particularly of the sassafras tree, though perhaps also birch tree and others.

• Yuengling, established in Pottsville, PA, 1829, is the oldest brewery in the United States.  It was originally called The Eagle Brewery.  It is still considered a "craft" beer by the Brewers Association.

• " I drink beer because I want to share good ideas with real people.  You cannot be real and wise if you don't drink beer."   Owen Barbarson

• Know Your Hops 3 - Cashmere was first released in 2013 by Washington State University, this citrus and stone fruit hop is now more popular than ever. Melon, peach, and cantaloupe add to the hop's sweet and fruit appeal.

• Now that's we're deep into Fall (at least in the northern hemisphere) the weather is cool enough to resume activity for many home brewers.  As for professional breweries expect to see darker, more flavorful styles befit autumn and cooler temperatures.  Goodbye low taste, light summer brews.  Hello to serious beer!

• Here's what we do when we age a beer - 1. Store it upright in a cool, dark area.  2. Only age high alcohol beer. 3. We always buy two of each beer we age so we can taste the fresh one, take notes, then later compare to the aged one.

• "I just want to tailgate, drink beer, and hang out in the middle of nowhere in a pickup truck.  That's my ideal date." Ronda Rousey, martial artist, professional wrestler, actor.

• Quiz Time -  In the brewing process the fermentation step turns sugar into alcohol and what else?  A. nitrogen;

B. Carbon Dioxide; C. Malt; D. sucrose; E. a little of each of these ; F. none of these                                          answer: B 

• My girlfriend crashed the car again today.  She told the police the man she collided with was on his mobile phone and drinking a can of beer. The police said he can do what he likes in his own living room.

• Ancient Native Americans had some medicinal and alcoholic drinks that they partook in well before the arrival of Europeans. This drink was generally made from boiling roots, particularly of the sassafras and birch trees.

• "People first settled in communities mainly because of a powerful desire to brew and drink beer, which could only be indulged by staying in one place."   Bill Bryson

• Quiz Time (again) - Which of the following is the most important criteria when distinguishing between ales and lagers? A. type of yeast; B. where it's made; C. number of additives; D. type of hops used.                    answer: A

Bonus Question - Which is older, ale or lager?                                                                             answer ale

• "The natural dynamic is to rink less but drink better.  There are no longer masses of workers exiting factories and mines ready to wash away the day's work with cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon and the like.  Most workers sit at computer screens.  They still get thirsty but they want something better tasting than PBR."  Michael Jackson

• In modern day Iraq, a 5,000-year-old Sumerian tablet was recently uncovered that was revealed to be a paystub. What was interesting is it appears that the worker was paid in beer. Though it may seem like low pay to us, in the third millennium, food and metal currency were scarce, so goods and services were often “as good as gold.”

• What did the bottle write on the postcard? Wish you were beer!  //  They say you can’t find happiness at the bottom of a beer. No kidding, who’s happy when their beer is done? //  Life and beer are very similar. Chill for best results. 

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Aristotle wrote that those intoxicated by wine tended to fall in random directions, whereas those

 intoxicated by beer always fall on their backs.

Most craft beer drinkers know Kolsch is a clear, pale ale with with a bright golden color and hop bitterness between pale ale and lager.  Many don't know that "Kolsch beer " denotes a beer made in Cologne, Germany and is strictly regulated by the Cologne Brewery Association's Kolsch Convention. Kolsch beer has a protected designation of origin and must come from Cologne.  Others can legitimately only call themselves "Kolsch-style".

King Gambrinus is to many a patron saint of beer.  His rallying cry - "beer brings enjoyment to the world!".  No one is quite sure who he really was - he may have been in Charlemagne's court, an invention of a German poet, or even a Duke in the Netherlands.  Myth says he was the King of Flanders. Whatever the truth may his legend live on.

Two eggs and a slice of bacon walk into a bar.  The bartender yells "Hey, we don't serve breakfast here."

Here's an old English ditty that points out when you buy beer you get exactly what you want and nothing else.

"He that buys land buys many stones; He that buys flesh buys any bones, He that buys eggs buys many shells, 

but he that buys good ale buys nothing else." 

Quiz time (easy)- match the word with the definition.  1. Bomber; 2. Bottle Conditioning; 3. Grist; 4. Lager; 5. Mouthfeel. // a. ground malt and grains ready for mashing; b. a 22 oz. bottle; c. any beer brewed with bottom fermenting yeast at cold temperatures; d. when beer continues to carbonate within the bottle as wort or sugar added during packaging ferments; e. how the drinker perceives the weight, carbonation, warmth, and astringency of a beer.

Answers: 1.b; 2. d; 3. a; 4. c; 5. e

In 1963 the first pull-tab beer cans were test marketed for Pittsburgh Brewing's Iron City beer.  People loved not having to use a can opener but the sharp metal tabs were a nuisance until 1975 when Falls City Brewing of Louisville, Kentucky introduced the first fixed - tab beer can.  It's been that way ever since.

Sabro hops have a high-oil aroma and pineapple / coconut flavors.  Short fo sabroso (delicious or tasty in Spanish), Sabro was released in 2018.  It is bred more for its fresh fruit and tropical notes than dank, resin and pine flavors.

Here are just a few songs we like that mention beer - In Heaven There Is No Beer" by Soggy Bottom Boys, "Chug-a-Lug" by Roger Miller, "Fancy Beer" by The Two Man Gentleman Band, and "John Barleycorn" by Traffic.

In the year 1900 there were more than 1,800 breweries in the USA.  There are now more than 8,800.

"It's a growing process.  You can't just like beer.  You have to start somewhere and learn the different flavors."

Isaac Hanson

Mead is honey wine but because honey varieties are nearly unlimited, it has a lot more in common with beer

 than grape wine. Also there is a mead-beer hybrid called braggot.

Sierra Nevada, a pioneer of the craft movement, was also an early adopter of solar electric power and made the upgrade back in 2008.  Its original Chico, CA facility has a massive 2,500 kW array.

Bet you'll never guess the top two states for growth in craft beer from 2015 to 2021.  It's New Jersey tied for first place with Kentucky.  They had a 43% growth rate.  Congratulations to these upcoming brewing hotbeds.

Hard seltzer is legally classified as a flavored malt beverage (FMB), which is within the broader beer category, 

and thus is also taxed at the same rate as beer.  We don't like it so they can tax it as much as they want.

An Oklahoma man who took a beer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the January 6 protests has finally pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense. A public Facebook post shows him pulling a bottle of Corona Light from a mini refrigerator.  We thing that for picking that beer he deserves a another charge.

The origins of “Oktoberfest” go back to October 12, 1810, and the Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria’s wedding to Princess Theresia of Saxonia. Munich’s citizens still call the Oktoberfest “die Wies’n” (the Meadow). And the area where it is held is fondly known as the “Theresienwiese” (Meadow of Therese). In 1950, mayor Thomas Wimmer, introduced the “O’zapft is!” (It’s tapped!) tradition, the official tapping of the very first Oktoberfest beer barrel precisely at 12,00 o’clock of the first day of the fair. 

Dark beers typically have the most antioxidants and higher iron content when compared to light beers.. Craft beers typically have more hops and polyphenols that can play a role in lowering cholesterol. Also beer typically contains more protein and B-vitamins than wine.

Why do they never serve beer at a math party? – Because you can’t drink and derive. 

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

Want to make a faux beer ice cream ?  Take a beer, any style will do, (we particularly like it with Irish stouts), and pour it into a glass.  Whisk the beer to get rid of the carbonation.  Do not use too much beer otherwise the ice cream won't freeze.  Add to slightly thawed ice cream and mix thoroughly.  Freeze until firm and enjoy.

Feel the need for a beer bath?  YOu can find good ones in Bjorbodin spa in Iceland, Starkenberger Castle in Austria, the Misugi Resort in Japan, The Beer Spa in Budapest, Hungary, and at least six in Prague, Czech Republic.  You can try it at home since all you have to do is fill you tub with beer.  We recommend Coors Light.

"Some people wanted Champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs."

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Calypso Hope is a high-oil alpha variety, with 12-14% alpha acits allowing it to be used for flavor and bitterness. A soft, floral aroma gives way to dried apple, pear, and citrus, and then a unique host of flavors, including lemon, cherries, black pepper, bitter orange, mint, and tropical fruit.  It's particularly good in pales and barley wines.

The German "boot of beer" is a glass boot shaped vessel found at drinking halls nd it usually holds 2 or 3 liters.  The tradition allegedly comes from German soldiers in WWI who would drink beer from their own boots.  We recommend you start with the "half boot" size which are available online in plastic.  Plastic saves money and breakage.

The first lager beer brewed in America was in Philadelphia in 1840.  Brewer John Wagner brought lager yeast from

 its region of origin: Bavaria.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Quiz Time: What is the process of separating the wort from the solid remains of the mash called?  

A. Running; B. Mining; C. Draining; D. Lautering; E. Dispersal            

The United States national anthem, The Star Spangled Banners, was originally set to the tune of an old English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven."  

"Write drunk, edit sober"  Ernest Hemingway

Rich, sweet, delightful, and smooth milk stouts don't actually contain milk chocolate.

Mesopotamian clay tablets indicate that brewers of that ancient civilization were highly respected, 

and most were women.

Prohibition in the USA lasted thirteen years, ten months, nineteen days, seventeen hours, thirty-two minutes, and thirty seconds (but who's counting).  President Franklin Roosevelt was partly elected because of his campaign promise to end Prohibition.  We're going to write him in the next time we vote as a belated thank you.

"Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much sol and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer."

Tom Robbins

We are big fans of pairing beer with cheese.  Here are a few of our favorites:  goat cheese with German pilsner, Belgian strong ales, tripels, or saison.  Stilton and Gorgonzola cheeses go well with imperial IPAs, barley wines, and Baltic porters. Brie or Caembert are perfect with a Bohemian pilsner and classic Cheddar with an Irish Red.

In the Middle Ages when a beer got "skunked" it was assumed to be the work of the devil.  Later, brewers thought an illness had infected the beer.  In the last 180s Louis Pasteur and Emil Hansen changed that.  Pasteur laid the groundwork through his heat treatment  process (Pasteurization), but it was Hansen who realized that only certain kinds of yeast were good for brewing.  He then isolated those yeasts as brewing material though single cell cloning.

Quiz Time #2 - Which if these must be kept steady to protect the flavor of beer:  A. Color: B. Temperature, 

C. Water level; D. Yeast Flow; E. Stirring                 answer: b

English Bitters are nowhere near as bitter as many Americans think.  They use English hops over the American varieties more common in IPAs. The bitter is also not to be confused with the extra special bitter or English special bitter, a darker, maltier and more robust beer that has seen a bit of a resurgence in recent years.

Ancient Sumerians were brewing beer from twice-baked barley loaves. Kvass, meanwhile, is a traditional low-alcohol beer typically made from rye bread in Russia, the Baltics, and other Eastern European countries.

The El Dorado® hop, with its high alpha acids and total oils, array of aromas, and accessibility, is grown by 23 licensed growers, distributed by 18 dealers, and used by thousands of brewers. This tropical hop elicits aromas of hard candy, stone fruit, citrus, cherry, lemon, and melon. El Dorado® would become the No. 7 most used hop variety.

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• The earliest chemically confirmed barley beer was discovered at Godin Tepe, in the Zagros mountains

 of Iran. It dates back to between 5,000 and 5,400 years old, give or take a day.

• "Do you know what hammered means?", I asked.  "Something to do with drinking your American beer out of a hold in the side of a can"  Dave reached over and slapped him on the ack, "Close enough"

Jennifer Rardin, Bitten To Death

• Do you know the Denali Hop?  It was once called experimental hop 06277.  It is also referred to as "Nugetzilla".  Pineapple, grapefruit, and pine are the biggest sensory markers.  Its unique and powerful aromas make it a popular addition to pale ales and IPAs.  Average alpha acids are high at 14% so it's easy to make a beer with a lot of bitterness with this variety.

• Super Power - open a beer bottle with a piece of paper.  It's easy. Fold a sheet of paper in half, then in half again in the other direction until you can't fold t anymore.  Then bend it in half lengthwise so it look like a U. That's it!  You can use it as a lever to pop off the cap.  Go ahead, amaze your friends.

• The oldest know recipe for any food product was one for beer found in an ancient Sumerian poem honoring Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing.  It shows how to make beer from barely bread.

• Maui Brewing Co. and New Belgium Brewing finished one/two in the annual Brews From The Sun competition open only to breweries who get the majority of their power needs from solar panels.  Hopefully that doesn't mean the beers were skunked too.

• All in on solar -  the Denver Beer Co. reports their rooftop solar system produces more than100% of the brewery's power needs.  They also have energy efficient hot water heaters and cooling systems, LED power in 90% of the brewery and stagger their power usage throughout the day to avoid peak usage times. Kudos to them, but is their beer any good?

• "Across the troubled maelstrom of time, people always need a beer:"

Ellen Kushner

• Beer joke - we think you might have heard it before but we've never put it in one of our articles so join us in pretending it's new.  An old brewery employee trips on a walkway, falls in the fermentation vat, and drowns.  The foreman tells the widow the sad news.  Between sobs, she asks "Did he suffer"?  The foreman replies, "I don't think so.  He got out three times to use the restroom."

• Do you know the Meridian Hop?  It delivers a mix of tropical, berry, and lemon with a hint of spearmint.  Meridian was a chance discovery.  It's a great finishing hop for IPAs but can also be used in Belgian white ales, farmhouse ales, and saison.  These hops average 6.7% alpha acids so they are best used late in the boil or as a dry hop.

• Do you enjoy a highly carbonated beer?  If so, we suggest you try a Bavarian weisse, a Berliner weisse, 

a fruit lambic, or a Belgian pale.  Foam fans, you'll love them.

• Quiz time:  We knw you probably don't drink them but out of Bud Light, Amstel Light and Miller High Life Light, which beer has the lowest alcohol content? Answer -Amstel Light 3.5% ABV, Miller High Life Light  has 4.1% and Bud light 4.2%. 

• D.G. Yuengling & Son. Based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Yuengling, began brewing beer in 1892, and has been operating out of the same building since 1831! 

• George Washington was a known lover of beer. In the New York Public Library you can find a recipe he hand wrote describing the process to make  Small beer. Small beer traditionally have an alcohol content of 0.5% to 2.8%.  Now that's really small.

• Quiz time 2 - With over 2,000 beers on sale, Delíríum Café is said to have the most varieties of beer commercially available in a venue. In which city can you find this establishment? A. Berlin, B. Brussels,     C. New York City; D. Paris; E. Montreal     Answer- B

• Originating from Germany, the yearly celebration of Oktoberfest has been certified as an official Filipino fiesta by the Department of Tourism. The fiesta is now the longest-running beer and music festival in the Philippines. It was established by San Miguel, the leading beer company in the Philippines.

• The Pilsner’s name came from the Czech city of Pilsen (Plzeň) where it was first brewed in 1842 by Bavarian brewer Josef Groll. Thanks to him, the city of Plzeň still produces the first and original Blond Lager up to this day 

• A uniquely American styles created over the years, steam beer among them. Brewed with special lager yeast that works well at warmer-than-usual lager temperatures, this beer was once common up and down the West Coast, especially in the Bay Area. It had all but died out when Anchor Brewing revived it in the 1960s. Now many other breweries make that style under the name California Common.

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• Samuel Allsopp brewed his Artic Ale in 1857 for an expedition to the North Pole.  The beer was 

supposedly strong enough that it wouldn't freeze.  A bottle sold at auction in 2015 for the equivalent 

of $4,500.  It wasn't a good deal because we think the beer was state

• "Ale, man, ale's the stuff to drink.  For fellows whom it hurts to think:  Look into the peuter pot 

To see the world as the world's not".  A.E. Housman

• We like beer better than wine for a lot of reasons.  Here are just three of them.  One: foam.  Beer's sticks around.  Sparkling wine foam falls flat.  Two: mood: Beer makes you happy.  Wine makes you moody.  Three: variety.  Wine is broken down into only a few basic types: red, white rose, and sparkling.  There is nearly an endless variety of beer styles, and creative brewers are formulating new ones every day.  Sorry wine drinkers - beer is just better!

• Did you ever wonder if the bubbles in Guinness were going up or down?  Even if you didn't we have the answer.  The are doing both.  They buoyancy of the bubbles makes them rise in a central column to the surface, where they then part ways, head to the side of the glass, and sink back down to the bottom.

• Strata hops came about as a collaboration between Oregon State University and Portland hop 

merchant Indie Hops.  It is often described as passion fruit meets cannabis.  Once known only as 

                                                            X331 it's often used in hazy IPAs.

• By the mid-1700s coffee was a common and popular drink much to the dismay of Frederick the Great,

 King of Prussia.  He spoke against the caffeinated drink, saying, "Everybody is using coffee; this must be prevented.  His Majesty was brought up on beer and so were both his ancestors and officers.  Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer.  Drink beer, not coffee!"

• If Viking warriors made it to Valhalla when they dies, it was said they received beer as an eternal reward from a source that never went dry.

• Quiz Time -  What is the technical name for brewers yeast?  A. saccharomyces; B. accormycecea ;

C. zymurgy; D. zygotica ; E. none of these                      answer: S

• Beer was part of everyday life in the Middle Ages because it did not carry the contamination and disease of many water sources.  People of all ages and social status drank beer all day, every day, as a matter of necessity.  We do it now because we simply like it.

• The Lemondrop Hop offers a unique lemon-citrus character, with a bit of lemongrass, mint, melon, 

and green tea,  There is also a hint of lemon candy which inspired its name. 

• Porters and stouts bear a number of similarities and many dispute whether there is even a demonstrable, consistent difference. One commonly touted difference is that stouts tend to make use of unmalted roasted barley, whereas porters rely on black patent—for practical purposes, we don't care.

• A traditional British shandy is a mixture of beer (usually a lager) and lemon soda, most commonly a 50/50 ratio. If you like more beer, you can add less soda  The largest selling Shandy in the USA is Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy which has increased 13% year-to-date.  It's not our cut of lemon.

•  An emaciated dog left abandoned and dying in the parking lot at the Kentucky Humane Society has just bee named Busch Beer’s chief tasting officer/advertising star for its specially formulated dog brew.  The job comes with a $20,000 salary, pet health care coverage and free Busch Dog Brew. We don't normally drink Busch but will buy a six pack to thank them and to toast it's newest employee!

• Quiz time #2 - There are a few different tales of the origin of Pilsner, some say a Monk smuggled some lager yeast out of Bavaria in 1840. But in what country was the larger yeast taken to and combined with Saaz hops by Bavarian brewer Josef Groll?  A) United Kingdom;  B) Austria; ; C) Czech Republic; D. USA; 

E.  Austria; F, France                                        answer: c

• Ninkasi was worshipped as the goddess of beer, and the "Hymn to Ninkasi" was a worship song-

slash-beer recipe thought to be passed down orally. 

• Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians were known to drink beer with straws made of reeds or gold, depending upon one's social class  Considering our salary we'd probably use straws from rejected recycled paper.

• Fuggle and Golding have defined British Ale since the Victorian Era. Fuggle brings the base notes, bitter herbs, and a crisp, cool freshness, while Golding gives honey. Their direct descendants—the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren—include Citra, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Nelson Sauvin, and so many others, meaning that almost every beer you drink will have something in it that leads back to these two hops.

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• A single shot depends on where you are. In most parts of the US, a shot is 30-35ml or 1-1.5 fluid ounces. In the UK, a single shot varies between 25-35ml. That means 100 shots of beer is between 2,500ml and 3,500ml total. Or 2.5-3.5 Liters. If you want ounces, 100 shots of beer is 84.5-118.3 fl oz.  And for the record we don't endorse playing the 100 game - 100 shots of beer in one hour, having one a minute.  We don't.  Really. It's okay to play with water though we don't see the point. 

• "Abstainer: A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure"

• Quiz time!  Match the word with the definition.  1. Oast house; 2. Punt; 3. Racking; 4. Turbidity; 5. Zymurgy.  Definitions - A. the process of transferring beer from one vessel to another; B. the hollow at the bottom of some bottles; C. the branch of chemistry concerned with fermentation processes; D. the facility where hops are dried and baled; E. the amount of sediment in suspension.   

• Answers -       no peaking: 1.D, 2.B, 3. A, 4. E, 5. C 

• The best pretzel is one you eat with beer. These humble bread sticks have been around since AD 610 when Italian monks are said to have nade the from leftover bread dough.  The shape supposedly symbolizes arms folded in prayer. In Bavaria, bretz'n, the huge, soft pretzel are always a familiar sight at Oktoberfest.

• On Bavarian Beer Day more than 270 gallons of beer are donated to fill the Munich beer fountain in downtown Munich.  The public is invited to dip a mug for a free tasting.

• "There is only one game at the heart of America and that is baseball, and only one beverage to be found sloshing at the depths of our national soul and that is beer."  Peter Richmond            

• The Black Velvet Beer Cocktail was created in 1861 in the wake of the death of Britain's Prince Albert. The layered drink was intended to invoke the black armband worn by mourners.  No need to wait for such a tragic event so you can try one now.  All you need is Champagne and Guinness.  Pour the Champagne into a flute then carefully pour Guinness over it. To avoid the two mixing pour the Guinness over the back of a spoon.  We really enjoy it.

• The Aramis Hop is a cross between Strisselspalt and Whitbread Golding.   It brings flavors of green tea, spicy pepper, kumquat, orange, and lime.

• China has the highest total beer consumption of any nation in the world.  That's not unexpected since it has the most people.  The largest beer consumer per capita is (and has been for years) the Czech Republic at 142 liters per person per year.

• Only four other countries can boast of a per capita beer consumption of a hundred or more liters per year.  They are in order: Seychelles, Austria, Germany, and Namibia.  If your country isn't on the list you're probably not doing your share so go have a few pints now.

• "My God, I have a beer belly."  Christy Turlington, Supermodel

• The Elixir Hop is a cross between Strisselspalt and Cascade.  This hop's flavors include gentle grapefruit peel, bitter lemon, lime, and background notes of bergamot, citronella, ginger, and dill.  We prefer good old straight Cascade .

• Prohibition officially ended on April 7, 1933.  What people don't remember is that beer had to be under 4% ABV.  .

• Collectors of beer bottles are known as labeorphilists and collectors of beer mats are known as tegestologists.    

• The famed Alchemist brewery in Waterbury, Vt uses solar panels to create  100% of their electrical needs with any excess solar credits being donated to the local senior center to help offset their utility bills.       

• Abstaining from beer can be a good thing for some people as long as it's practiced in moderation.

• A snake walks into a bar and the bartender says "I'm sorry but I can't serve you"  "Why not?" asks the snake. "because you can't hold your liquor."   Thanks (?) to reader Jamie Watson for sending us that one.

• Last Quiz - in one of the brewing processes, combining grains with water then heating the mixture is called “Mashing”. Name the liquid that is extracted from this process? A) Wort,  B) Heat. C) Yeast, D. Beer       Answer: A

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• Until the craft beer movement started in the early 1980s American beer was made with a high percentage of rice and/or corn.  These starchy adjuncts make beer light and refreshing, as nearly all of it is converted to ethanol during fermentation.  They also made American beer the laughing stock of the drinking world.

• "But if at church they would give some ale / And a pleasant fired our souls to regale / We'd sing and we'd pray all the live long day / Nor ever once from the church to stray."    William Blake

• Most beers have a "pull by" date which tells the store when to take the beer off the shelf.  That date is usually 180 days after bottling despite the fact that most IPAs will be broken down in three months or less.  Some beers have a canned on date indicating when it was packaged so you can decide for yourself whether you think it's fresh enough to buy.  Our rule is one month for IPAs and if there is no date on the can we don't but it.

• Orval Day celebrates the century old tradition of one of the finest authentic Trappist ales available - 

Orval Trappist Ale.  In 2021 Orval Day fell on Saturday, March 20.  We love this beer!

• Speaking of "days" we think St. Patrick's Day should be called Irish Stout Day.  No matter where you are in the world you should be able to find at least one brand of this magical black elixir.  There's Murphy's Irish Stout, O'Hara's, Beamish, and of course the great Guinness with their Draught, Extra Stout, and Foreign Extra Stout.  And you local brewery may have their version of an Irish Stout available too.

• "I've read that the ancient Chinese art of feng shui can bring a sense of peace, well-being, and positive energy to a home - same as beer."   W. Bruce Cameron 

• HBC 431 is somewhat a mystery hop as its mother was an unknown variety and it was bred through open pollination meaning we don't know who the father is either.  It grows with straight up-and-down bines producing heavy amounts of tight little cones that smell of tobacco, fresh cut lumber, and mixed fruit. It is now being used by many breweries which means it will soon have a name.  How about "ClayJay"?

• A Roman walks into a bar, holds two fingers in the "peace" sign.  The bartender gives him five beers.

Thanks (we think) to reader Chas McGovern for sending us that one.

• One hop growing in popularity is Styrian Wolf.  It has dominant strawberry flavors with hints of passion fruit, mango, anise, and citrus.  Brewers use it for bitterness or aromatics to create unique IPAs and pale ales

• "Mother's in the kitchen, washing out the jugs / Sister's in the pantry bottling the suds / Father's in the cellar, mixing up the hops / Johnny's on the front porch, watching for the cops."  Prohibition song 1926

• William Keith Kellogg developed Corn Flakes and Charles William Post created Grape-Nuts.  Those and many other cereals use barley, oats, and wheat but we think the best way to enjoy those ingredients is to drink them as beer. Can there be a higher calling for cereal?  Of course not.

• Yards of ale are difficult to drink from, particularly the last pint or so at the bottom, without spilling.  Skilled drinkers often swirl the last of the ale to control its exit from the glass.  Sorry, we'll have our beer in pints.

• Beer should be enjoyed with the right mixture of abandon and restraint."  M.F.K. Fisher

• Quiz time:  Which is not an ale?  A, Pilsner; B. Stout; C. Porter; D. IPA   answer-A

• Quiz Time #2 : Why do many beers lose flavor when served cold? A) Cold temperatures dull your tongueB) Cold dissolves sugars in the beer C) Cold kills the yeast in the beer D) Cold makes the bubbles start to oxygenate

answer: A

• The beer industry in the United States turns annual profits of well over 100 billion dollars. 

• Adolphus Busch, one of the founders of Anheuser-Busch, emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1857. "It is my aim to win the American people over," he said, "to make them all lovers of beer."  

======================

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

Jay & Clay

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• The Barbe Rouge Hope is a fairly rare, delicate aroma hop native to France, and features red current, raspberry, and strawberry.  Background notes are of cherry and bubble gum.  Think super fruity  beer juice.

• One of the reasons the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock was because they were out of beer.  They  had originally planned to travel farther south to find a warmer climate.  The lesson is always carry extra beer with you.  

• Americans drink more than 7 billion gallons of beer per year.  States that drink the most beer per capita are New Hampshire at 40.6 gallons per person per year (probably because the state doesn't tax alcohol. Montana at 39.4 and North and South Dakota at 38.3 and 38.2 respectively.  

• Margaritas mean tequila but when you think tequila you should be thinking beer.   Some of the most favorable craft beers made today are aged in barrels that previously held the liquor.  We recommend just about any such beer.

• Just the other day we overheard heard our friend Glenn say to the bartender  "this beer is skunked.  I can't drink it.  Call the manager."  The bartender replied "it's no use talking to him, he won't drink it either."

• If you want to wean a wine drinking friend off the stuff and over to beer try these - Two Roads Sauvignon Blanc Gose, Dogfish Head Mixed Media, Allagash Victor, or Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castelton because all are fermented with grape must.

• George Washington insisted members of his Continental Army each receive a quart of beer as part of their daily rations.  I guess that makes us historical reenactors.

• "He drank as though his beer was medicine, without pleasure, intent on the result." -  Robert Galbraith

• Gruit was a popular alcoholic beverage made with herbs, before hopped beer became popular.

• Quiz Time- . In the brewing process the fermentation  step turns sugar into alcohol and what else? A.  Malt; B. more Sugar;  C.  Nitrogen D.  Carbon Dioxide  Ans. D

• Some historians claim the famous Bavarian Purity Law of 1516 which required beer to be made with  hops, was an effort by the church to enforce chastity in the masses, since hops are soporific rather than a stimulant.

• A yard of ale is a long glass with a bulb at the end, said to be used by publicans in England so they could easily pass a glass of ale up to a seated coachman stopping in for a drink.  Well, it could be true.

• After New Belgium came out with a very popular beer called "Sunshine Wheat", MillerCoors, through its Leinenkugel brand, came out with a beer called "SunsetWheat".  They claimed it was just a coincidence.

• The Mistral Hop is a cross between Strisselspalt and Cascade.  It imparts juicy fruit flavors of pear, passion fruit, melon, and mango, with background notes of kumqua and lychee.  Sounds good but  we'll take good old Cascade any day.

• Our friend Brian told us he's a smart shopper.  He went into a bar that had a sign on the window that  said "all the beer you can drink for $1" and immediately ordered $2 worth.

• "Thirstily he set it to his lips, and as its cool refreshment began to soothe his throat, he thanked Heaven that in a world of much evil there was still so good a thing as ale."   Rafael Sabatini, Fortune's Fool

• Quiz Time: Who owned a private brewery? a. Jimmy Carter and his brother, Billy b. FDR; c. Abraham Lincoln; d. George Washington  ans. d

• "It was my Uncle George who discovered that beer was a food, well in advance of modern medical thought."  PG Wodehouse

• Andre the Giant allegedly could drink 119 beers in six hours (for most of us, quite an impossible feat, but for this 7’4”, 529 lb goliath of a man, just another day at the office).  Let's hope he never passed out.  No one could move him.

• The speed record for beer drinking was once set by Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke (2.5 pints in 11 seconds). He gets our vote anytime he wants.

==============

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• The Super Bowl just doesn't have the beer power it used to have. Beer sales for this year's game were 28.3% lower than they were the previous Super Bowl Sunday.

• Colorado's award-winning brewery WeldWerks estimates that it disposed of 350 barrels of beer during the past two years, because of dissatisfaction with the taste, carbonation or quality. That's nearly 11,000 gallons. We would have gladly accepted (and drank) their rejected beer as a public service.

• The well known Mike's Hard Lemonade folks are introducing what else, Mike's Hard Lemonade Seltzer. Just another thing for usto ignore on the shelf.

• The term dubbel is a Belgian Trappist beer naming convention. The origin of the dubbel was a strong version of a brown beer brewed in Westmalle Abbey in 1856, which is known to have been on sale to the public by June 1861. In 1926, the recipe was changed, and it was sold as Dubbel Bruin.

• More about Dubbel Beer - Originally as the majority of people in Belgium were illiterate, there was no specific words used, but rather X’s to represent alcohol content. X represented a single, XX a double, XXX a triple and XXXX a quadruple. It s believed that over time the labels morphed from X’s to the terms themselves..

• Beer is the third-most popular drink on Earth, after water and tea. I guess we're simply not drinking enough.  Time to start working to make beer #1.

• These are tough times so we say, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may cancel your American Express card.

• In 1963, Heineken developed beer bottles that could double as glass bricks to build houses. The goal was to eliminate waste and provide a cheap building material for low-income areas.  It didn't quite work out. You know about those glass houses.

• "I don't drink beer. I don't like it. It makes me feel good."   Oscar Levant

• Quiz Time- . Which country consumes the most beer per capita? A. Germany  B. Czech Republic;  C.  Russia; D.  England  Ans. B

• Brewing terms you should know: Dry Hopping - Hops that are added to the beer during fermentation, adding even more flavor and aroma.  Bottle Conditioning - how beer is naturally carbonated. During this period the yeast consumes the priming sugar creating co2 and should be done at room temps.

• Strange but maybe true:  A.  6 minutes – is how long it takes for the brain to start to react to alcohol.  B.  48% of people worldwide, aged over 15, claim to have never drunk alcohol. (you know that can't be true or they lied)

• The hops that give beer both its bitter taste and fruity aroma are also powerful cancer-fighters. Hops are a better source of cell-damage-fighting antioxidants than red wine, green tea and soy products.  The bad news is that you'd have to drink about 118 gallons (450 liters) of beer a day to see a health benefit from the antioxidants in hops. We think it's a challenge but worth it for the benefits.

• The pandemic has cost many jobs in the beer industry.  Interestingly Anheuser- Busch (AB InBev) a global beer-making conglomerate still employees more people than the entire craft beer industry and that doesn't even include the hundreds of its employees that are horses.

• File under -they get funnier the more you drink - 1. Overheard at the beach. "Did you see Charlie over there?  He can't swim a stroke but knows every dive in town." 2.  He doesn't wear glasses, he just empties them.  3.  He spends so much time drinking beer his teeth are bottle-capped.

• Hops contain trace levels of substances called phytoestrogens, which are chemicals that work in a similar way to hormones.  As such. some people believe beer will increase breast size.  Science says that is not true.

• In the Middle Ages, the hearty clinking of robust beer tankards supposedly established that their contents had not been poisoned; the assumption being that the merry clonking of tankards against each other would lead to beer spilling from one vessel into the other – it was a way of insuring that your drinking companions weren’t harbouring evil intentions and trying to kill you

• Lady Astor to Winston Churchill after a disagreeable exchange - "Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink."  Churchill replied, "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."

                                                                       ==============

"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers

• Before hops get a name they have a number.  One new hop, XJA2/436 is ready to break out. It's from South Africa and has tropical fruit sweetness, notably papaya.   It is gaining traction for use in juicy IPAs.

• One of our favorite beers on a cold winter day (and most other days) is St. Bernardus Abt12. It features a luscious caramel, toffee, chocolate, and raisin notes.  Give it a try especially with some quality cheese. Gooooood!.

• Still got some fruitcake left over from the holidays?  Here's tip to make it palatable.   Soak it for an hour or two in a strong ale.  We like Old Jubilation for this but most any high ABV dark ale will be fine.  Bourbon barrel wine also works.

• Try this beer cocktail when you want something different that's still has beer - take 1.5 oz. of your favorite Irish Whiskey, over ice mix in 1 oz. of lemon juice, a tablespoon of honey, 4 oz. of any strong pale ale, and a dash of bitters. Top with a

• layer of the ale.  Finish the can if any is left over.

• We've really gotten into double or imperial IPAs lately.  The terms refer to any IPA over 8%.  It's merely a term to designate strength and maybe combined with other tpes of IPA so you may see things like double rye IPA, imperial white IPAs, or

• double black IPAs.  There are even triple IPAs out there.  Be aware that to get this higher alcohol content the brewer uses more malt so the beer might be a touch sweeter than your regular IPA regardless of its IBUs.

• A "Tut" is the weakened center of a cask keystone, designed to be punctured by the tap or spigot when the cask is tapped. If the keystone is plastic the tut is made of thinner plastic. If it's wood, it is precut to facilitate the taps' punching through.

• “Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.”    Thomas Jefferson

• Acetaldehyde is a chemical and bi product of fermentation that is perceived as green apples in both aromas and flavor. If you taste this off flavor send the beer back.  If it's in a homebrew  be nice and tell the brewer it was "interesting".

• A friend of ours doesn't wear glasses.... he just empties them.

• Quiz Time- . What is the process of separating the wort from the solid remains of the mash called? A. Lautering;  

B. Draining;  C.  Running; D.  Mining              Ans. a

• Macro lagers use adjuncts. They are unmalted grain or other fermentable ingredients. Adjuncts used are typically rice or corn, and can also include honey, syrups, and numerous other sources of fermentable carbohydrates.

• Did you hear about the little boy who came home and smelled beer on his mother's breath?  He said, "Why, Mother, you're wearing Daddy's perfume". (Thanks- we thin-to reader Sven Goolenn for sending us that.)

• The first modern American IPA was Anchor Liberty Ale.  It's a single-hopped, dry- hopped West Coast IPA before there was such a thing as West Coast IPAs (it was first released in 1975),  Liberty Ale still features Cascade hops. Perhaps the only

• way the beer's changed in the last 40+ years is that it's currently available in cans.

• The pandemic has cost many jobs in the beer industry.  Interestingly Anheuser- Busch (AB InBev) a global beer-making conglomerate still employees more people than the entire craft beer industry and that doesn't even include the hundreds of its employees that are horses.

• These get funnier the more you drink - 1. Why do they never serve beer at a math party? – Because you can’t drink and derive. 2. What do you never say to a policeman? “Sure let me grab my license. Can you hold my beer?” 3. They say

you can’t find happiness at the bottom of a beer glass. No kidding, who’s happy when their glass is empty?

• In the 1980s, a beer-drinking goat was elected mayor of Lajitas, TX..  Voters said he was slightly less dishonest than all the other people running  Combined.

• Sumerians worshipped  Ninkasi as the goddess of beer, and the "Hymn to Ninkasi" was a worship song-slash-beer recipe thought to be passed down orally. In recent years, modern scholars have recreated the ancient brewing process

based on a clay tablet that recorded the hymn – and apparently, it wasn't half bad.

• “Beer he drank – seven goblets. His spirit was loosened. He became hilarious. His heart was glad and his face shown.” – from the Epic of Gilgamesh, 3000 B.C.

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                                                      "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month! 

"Here and There"

by Clay Moore

and Jay Silvers 

We just enjoyed a bottle of Dogfish Head’s King Midas. Brewers there used a chemical analysis of a 2700 year old vessel purportedly from the tomb of King Midas to create the "beer".  It’s special to sip something that is nearly identical to the beverage enjoyed by a semi-mythical despot from 5000 year ago.

We're not sure how (or why) "Dry January" started but for those trying it Brooklyn Brewery will launch the next offering within non-alcoholic beer line Special Effects. It's an IPA to go along with their Hoppy Amber. Good luck with that.

"Ullage" is the headspace above the ale inside a cask.  It can be air if the cast is intended to be emptied in a day or two but not any longer since oxygen can spoil the ale. During conditioning (when the ale is primed with sugar and left to ferment again in the cask) the ullage is carbon dioxide which helps preserves the beer.  A cask breather can replace the ullage with CO2 as it's emptied to keep the ale fresh.

Say goodbye to Pabst Brewing Company's Captain Pabst Pilot House, its Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based brewery, taproom and event space, has permanently closed.

You can also say goodbye to Russian River’s Pliny the Younger in 2021. The brewery announced that the onsite portion of its annual Pliny the Younger release in 2021 would be canceled due to the COVID-19 however It still will be in retail outlets

Quiz time! Why do many beers lose flavour when served cold? 

A) Cold temperatures dull your tongue; B) Cold dissolves sugars in the beer; C) Cold kills the 

yeast in the bee; D) Cold makes the bubbles start to oxygenater                    answer A

Bullion is a hop that recently has received new interest from many brewers.  It dates back to 1919 and is favored in British pale ales and IPAs for its subtle spice and dark fruit flavors.  It is essentially a bittering hop with high alpha acid levels.

Tips on Cooking With Beer -  The residual sugar in beer plus a spike of alcohol

adds wonderful flavor to food. We say reserve the IPA for drinking. Bitterness — the

signature quality of an IPA — can spoil some foods, like fish, especially after

cooking a beer down into a concentrated sauce.

"Beer - a high and mighty liquor.."  Julius Caesar

Another cooking tip - For sautéing or deglazing a pan, use a pilsner, kölsch, saison or a wheat beer instead. If using sour beers think of them like wine. They are complex and acidic and best used for marinating, sautéing, and steaming.

Did you hear about the Roman walks into a bar. He holds up two fingers and says “give me five beers.”

Quiz Time- part 2. .Beer was first available commercially in bottles in what year? A. 1925;  B. 1890; 

 C.  1850; D.  1815     Ans. c

Hyper-strong beers are sometimes created through a process called “fractional freezing” which is used to create Eisbock beers. The beer is chilled to a temperature that freezes the water but not the alcohol.

Rye IPA is a highly hopped ale that's brewed with malted or unmalted rye.  Rye has its own distinct 

flavor and goes very well with the flavor and bitterness of hops, particularly hops with pine and 

intergreen flavors.  It also adds heft and viscosity to beer much like wheat does.  Rye IPAs are 

most often pale or reddish in color.

Already, about 70% of the metal used in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV’s beer cans in North America is recycled. The brewer says it will further reduce emissions by introducing low-carbon aluminum produced by metals giant Rio Tinto, whose smelters in Canada are powered by hydroelectricity.

Beer Cocktail - Moore's Madness.  This one is simple but effective.  It brings out the malty, bready character of the beer while drying it a bit.  Fill a glass with ice and add 1 ounce bourbon and 1 ounce of brandy.  No brandy handy? Two ounces of bourbon work just as well. Add a pale ale and stir gently.  Good stuff!

Now that the new year is upon us we recommend planning for the future - Buy two cases of beer

 instead of just one.

"Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles called electrons, that you cannot see with 

the naked eye unless you have been drinking a lot of beer."    Dave Barry

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"You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning."

See you next month!