There are various reasons a beer may be stronger than others.  In our modern time, the catalyst making a stronger beer has often been the desire to make the strongest beer.  That was the one and only goal.  This led to making beers that went beyond the formerly strongest beer called Samichlaus (which means Santa Claus...merry Christmas indeed).  Samichlaus hovered around 14%.  Samuel Adams (i.e., the Boston Beer Company) made a beer called Sam Adams Triple Bock, which was the first in the extreme beer category.  The beer weighed in at 17.5% alcohol.  Even more amazingly, Sam Adams makes a beer called Utopias which is upward of 25-26% alcohol.  All the qualities and merits of these beers cannot be fleshed out here.  However, let it be said that these beers have their own merits and great (albeit robust) qualities.  Before the "extreme beers" there were just really strong beers. Why were some beers made stronger than others?  It seems that, for the most part, practical considerations were the real driving forces behind stronger beers.  Whereas we in our modern life often drink to escape misery, sadness, or reality (a.k.a., emotional pain).  I realize that this is not all of us, but that is the nature of a generalization.  ...

Is there a difference between drinking a beer in the bottle vs. on tap?  I think so.  On numerous occasions I have noticed a significant difference between the two.  Why is this the case?  Well, for one thing, beers on tap are carbonated (most of the time) by nitrogen.  Beers in the bottle are often given extra dextrose (corn sugar), yeast, or other forms of sugar to create carbination.  The beer on tap often tends to be creamier, thicker, and retain a better head.  So, which is really better?  It depends on what the beer is meant to do.  I've often found that I prefer most beers on tap vs. their bottled counterparts.  This is especially true of Stouts.  A great example is Guinness.  I do not like it in the bottle but love it on tap.  This is also true of a beer like Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  With beers like the above, this is a decent rule to go by.  It is also true of most beers that are already matured at the time of drinking.  But there is another category to consider. If you didn't know already, some beers are meant to be conditioned or aged in the bottle.  Some beers ...

Hopefully there are more people drinking it "with us Friday."  A special thanks to you, Dave, for sticking to our "regiment."  Here are my impressions of the beer.  I started with the pour, which produced a rich light brown and creamy head.  What is nice about this is that the head stuck around.  I noticed that the carbonation bubbles were very fine in this beer.  Although the beer appeared to be brown, it had some gorgeous deep amber tones, which match the colorfully dark label on the beer.  It got on swimmingly with the glass (I actually drank it out of my Unibroue glass).  Next I smelled the beer.  Delicious.  There was a definite grapish/wine smell to the beer.  No doubt (the expression, not the group), the beer got this quality from the lees.  It also had a sweet, malty smell with little noticeable hops qualities.  There were tons of wine characteristics in this beer, not only in smell but also in taste.  The smell reminded me of ripe fruit (as the bottle suggests).  Pinpointing the fruit was not easy, but I caught cherry or strawberry.  (Unibroue actually makes a cherry driven ale called Chose.)  I suspect that the yeast helped promote ...

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy..." So said Benjamin Franklin. Histories and religions never develop in isolation (in my humble opinion).  Whether the former affects the latter more or viceversa is certainly a matter opinion. Beer history is no different.  As long as there has been beer, there has been some deity or saint so associated.  In the days, months, and years to come at THFB, we intend from time on discussing the various intertwining of the draught and the divine.   While posts of this nature will not be linear by any means, there is no better place to kick things off than at the beginning. Some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago nomadic humans began settling down as they discovered the joys consistencies of agrarian living.   Most likely there first crops were grains. The earliest known records of intentional beer brewing are found amongst the Ancient Sumerians.  Originally this happened by chance...maybe one of these primitive farmers left a wet piece of bread out, it fermented, and was eaten and accompanied by a desirable side effect.  Beer was discovered. Imagine what that ancient man thought, supposing it were a piece of fermented bread. He ...

Here is the "drink with us Friday" beer...Trois Pistoles (three towers).  Look for it in a four pack or a 750 ml bottle.  The 750 ml bottle might run around $7.99, so share it with a friend.  The four pack may run you about $9-11.  The 9% ABV is plenty for you both.  This beer from Canada (Quebec) has a reputation for brewing its ales on lees, which are grapes used in making wine.  For a good apologetic on why their beer costs what it does (or any good beer costs what it does) check out Unibroue's website.  Their main page wil also allow you to read about their beers and methods.  I've had the pleasure of having multiple beers of theirs on tap (including this one).  Leave it to a French Canadian brewery to use grapes and come up with a delicious result.  I can't wait to drink this.  We may feature another one of their beers before too long. P.S. I want to encourage those who try this beer to try it with one or multiple friends.  I'm actually excited because I'm planning on drinking this locally with some people from work.  YUM!

Having done some reading and thinking on the subject, I wanted to post something about beer in the good ole U.S of A.  These are just a few facts to consider.  As I stated before, prohibition really changed the beer culture in America.  Just after the Civil war there were literally several thousands of breweries in America.  Given that refrigeration had not been perfected yet, lagers (which require cooler fermenting temps) were not king in the world.  The lack of refrigeration also prevented the keeping and storage of beers (weaker and often lighter beers, that is).  So beers were often provincial in nature.  Therefore, a beer would be popular in one area/location, and this would sustain the brewery.  (This does not mean it a given beer could not be enjoyed a day or two away from where it was made, yet it does mean that a beer could not always be enjoyed across the nation or world.) Events like the advent of refrigeration (or the earlier version known as the "ice houses") had an effect on the beer culture in America.  The trend moved toward consolidation of breweries but also to the lager becoming predominate in the culture.  Prohibition came along ...

Das Beer! That's about all the German I know, but all I need. As I poured Spaten's Oktoberfest into my goblet, I was a little surprised.  I was expecting to see a clear golden lager but instead a beautiful clear amber brew filled the glass with minimal head.  I believe in the past Spaten has put out a more pale Marzen, which may have lead to my presumption.  It was almost copperish in color.  without even trying I could smell the malt, as Mike predicted.  It was a sweet malty smell, slightly spiced/herbal smelling. As it hit my tongue it was a little drier than I expected, but as I concentrated on the beer the sweet malty flavor takes over.  It had a slightly bready taste.  As the beer washes down a hoppy (but very subtle) metalic flavor remains for a pleasent aftertaste.  The beer had a bitter quality that was quite nice that was present from the first smell to the finish that complimented the sweetness well. Overall, I enjoyed the beer.  I liked the warmth in my mouth, the roasted malt flavor, and the bitter finish.  Until we put together a grading scale here at THFB (this weeks project) I will say ...

Per "DryGuy's" request, here is an article about N/A beers.  Usually, for me, the N/A stands for not applicable when it comes to non-alcoholic beers, but this was very applicable for many during prohibition.  As you might have guessed, N/A beers got their start during prohibition when alcoholic beers were banned in the USA.  One could obtain whiskey and other spirits via a doctor's prescription, but for all intents and purposes, alcohol was illegal.  Consequently (and tellingly), this caused organized crime to flourish in the U.S. (not a very good trade off in my opinion). Because of the ban on alcoholic beers, "near beer" was created.  A popular and pithy saying during prohibition was, "Near beer sold here."  However, where there was "near beer," there was always real alcohol for sale in close proximity.  For this reason, another popular slogan was created, "Near beer sold here, real beer sold real near here."  Near beer and other malt products were the brewery's way of trying to stay afloat during the era.  One more thing ought to be mentioned.  Prohibition also choked out many smaller breweries in the U.S.  This happened to such an extent that we Americans got used to the inferior beer ...

Should the legal drinking age in the US be amended?  How young is too young? The recent hullabaloo sparked by over a hundred college presidents suggesting that teens are mature enough to make wise consumption decisions certainly has the authors of Thank Heaven for Beer thinking.  In fact, consider this post a segue for a future discussion on the topic.  But until further notice consider this story, hot off the press from Oklamoma City. An Oklahoma City woman, Rosa Adame, has been arrested and accused (accused...not convicted; innocent until proven guilty)  with putting beer in her child's bottle. Usually such a scenario (beer+baby bottle) is limited to a silly frat party drinking game.  If only such were the case! Apparently Adame was so intoxicated she was unable to stand up (we here at THFB suggest not [caption id="attachment_158" align="alignright" width="250" caption="ahhh...this is more like it"][/caption] drinking as much beer as Adame).  The police had apparently been called when someone noticed beer in the child's bottle.  Adame's four children have all been placed in protective custody.  There is no need to rehash what has already been written, so go HERE to read the story for yourself. While we may still be making up our minds on whether ...

Here is Friday's beer.  You may be able to find it in a single bottle.  In all likelyhood, you will have to buy a sixer.  Find a friend or two to split the cost and share the experience (and website) with.  I have not had this beer lately, but I'm sure that it will be more on the malty side.  If you want to know a little about Oktoberfest click the link.  We'll be posting a review and hope you do, too.