Features
Beer as Good Food
Traditionally, beer has been viewed as a nourishing household product like bread, based on grain. One style, doppelbock, was even dubbed “liquid bread” by the monks who relied on it for sustenance during Lenten fasts. In earlier times, beer was the healthful mealtime beverage for young and old alike and a source of valuable nutrients.
Hemp Gets a Reprieve
Hemp beer—is anyone out there still brewing this style?—remains legal as of this writing, as a result of a court challenge to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
On the Road with Beer and Fat
New Belgium Brewing Co.’s Tour de Fat is not a single bicycle “tour” across the West, but it sure would make an interesting beer trip. Start in Lawrence, KS, angle down into Texas Hill Country, head north through the Rockies, on to Seattle, then back to Montana, and down through Colorado to Flagstaff, AZ.
Everybody Wants to be a Brewer
Dan Carey knew early on that he wanted to be a professional brewer when he grew up. He remembers family car camping trips from their San Francisco home north to Victoria, BC. They would stop at the Olympia Brewery in Tumwater, WA, an expansive lakeside red brick brewery with church-like windows. Inside, the glistening equipment, […]
What’s It Take to Become a Brewer?
As the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch obviously offers plenty of employment opportunities. “We look for specific things, some science background, life sciences or engineering,” Mitch Steele said. “You have to have the ability to learn to brew. We look for people who are passionate about brewing and interested in learning how we do things.”
A Tale of Three Brewers
If Mickey Finn’s Brewery ever invites its brewing alumni back to Libertyville, IL, for a reunion, one can only guess how many brewers there will be. And will they all have as much in common as the first three, including the fact that they have all won Great American Beer Festival medals in the German […]
You’re Better Off With Beer: Beer and Your Health
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” So said Benjamin Franklin. Happy? Certainly. But healthy as well? Maybe.
The Art of Aging Gracefully: Vintage Beers at Belgium’s Beer Cafés
Aged beer? The very concept of deliberately aging a beer contradicts everything we hear and see in beer ads. One megabrewery touts its “born on date” to encourage people to buy its beer. Local micros stress that fresh beer is the best beer.
Travelling to Belgium?
Belgian cafes: Afspanning ‘t Waagstuk, Stadswaag 20, Antwerp. Tel: (03) 2250219, fax (03) 2263370. Open 10 am-2 am Mon-Thur, 10 am-4 am Fri, 2 pm-2am Sat, and 2 pm-2 am Sunday. About 80 beers. Le Bier Circus, Rue de l’ Enseignement/Onderwijsstraat 89, Brussels. Tel:(02) 2180034. Open Mon-Fri noon-2:30pm and 6 pm-midnight, Sat 6 pm-midnight. More […]
How Does Beer Change?
What is the effect of time and good cellaring on a beer? There are two ways to find out. One is to lay down a number of bottles of a promising beer: sample one each year, keep comprehensive notes, and hope you have a good, consistent palate.
Getting a Handle on Your Hobby
In the period after Prohibition, many taverns engaged in a classic bait-and-switch: They would advertise a particular brand of beer but serve a lower grade. To stop this practice, many states passed laws calling for taverns to identify the beer being served on draft.
Columns
The Essence of Steam Beer
According a noted brewing text of the late 19th century, steam beer wort is boiled as soon as the bottom of the kettle is covered, and after the kettle is filled. Boiling is continued for one to two hours. The wort is then pumped to the surface cooler, and then over the Baudelot cooler (a […]
Fritz Maytag, Father of the Craft Beer Revolution
Sometimes it is good to examine a success story and see what really happened. This is just one such story.
Departments
Ode to Köln
A beer may not make a city great, but certainly it can enhance its identity. In the Rhineland of Northwest Germany, this is especially true, as many such cities are known for the specific beers they produce. Dusseldorf (albtbier), Dortmund (Dortmunder), and Köln (Kölsch) all have a style they call their own.
Beer Talk
Mad Hatter Ale
New Holland Brewing Company Holland, MI Available: MI, IL A combination of Cascade and Centennial hops is used in both the kettle and an ample amount for dry hopping. This beer also has an abundant malt bill to balance out the hop character. The beer was first created on the 10th of June and is […]
Castle Lager
South African Brewery South Africa Imported by: S.A.B. USA, LLC Laguna Niguel, CA Available: AL, CA, CO, KY, OH, OR Castle Lager has been brewed since 1895. The original recipe and the art of brewing has been passed through generations of brewmasters. Alcohol by weight: 3.98 Color: n/a Bitterness: n/a Gravity: n/a
Organic Amber Ale
Eel River Brewing Company Fortuna, CA Available: CA, ID, NV, OR, WA This brewery is the first certified organic brewery owned and operated in California. Their amber ale is brewed using certified organic Pacific Gems and Hallertau hops, imported from New Zealand. Alcohol by weight: 3.82 Color: n/a Bitterness: 20 Gravity: 1052
Bhagwan’s Best IPA
Big Time Brewing Company Seattle, WA Available: WA This beer comes from the Seattle’s original and oldest brewpub. Bhagwan’s was among the first of the northwestern IPAs. It is brewed with 5% Munich malt, a little bit of crystal, and a lot of Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial hops. Alcohol by weight: 5.6 Color: 7 Bitterness: […]
Doppel-Hirsch Bavarian-Doppelbock
Der Hirschbräu Sonthofen, Bavaria, Germany Imported by: HDT Importers, Inc. Portland, OR Available: AK, CA, ID, MT, NJ, NY, OR, WA Der Hirschbräu Brewery is one of the oldest privately owned breweries in Bavaria, situated in Sonthofen in the Alps. This doppelbock is brewed with Hallertau hops. Alcohol by weight: 5.4 Color: n/a Bitterness: n/a […]
Fairweather IPA
Moose’s Tooth Brewing Co. Anchorage, AK Available: AK Named after the sheer granite peak in Denali National Park, this brewery has grown from a 7 bbl system to a 30 bbl system in six years. Each 30 bbl batch of the IPA contains over 60 lbs. of 6 varieties of hops, and is only available […]
Finger Lakes Nut Brown Ale
Ithaca Beer Company Ithaca, NY Available: NY This ale is brewed with a combination of roasted malts (Munich, Victory, and Chocolate) and balanced with Northodown and Fuggles hops. Alcohol by weight: 3.7 Color: 35-40 Bitterness: n/a Gravity: 1050
Dead Horse I.P.A.
Brewery: McNeill’s Brewery Place: Brattleboro, VT Available: MA, VT This beer is bottle fermented aged one year in their cellars and can be kreuzened or conventionally carbonated. At the pub, the beer is served “cask” via beer engine. McNeill’s Brewery is housed in a 19th century fire station, which then became the town offices and […]