1)  The press is describing this as an “Ancient” discovery.  Ancient?  Are you kidding me?  I hardly think of the early 1800′s as ancient.  What’s mind boggling, is that this is being haled as the “one of the world’s oldest preserved beers.”  It got me excited to realize that there has to be an older beer out there and that inevitably it will be found.  Then again, the oldest beer in my collection is 30 years old, so the Finn’s have me beat as 200.

2)  Yeast.  What an amazing organism!  My Homebrewing hobby has and continues to elicit profound respect for the tiny asexual fungi that are responsible for converting sugar into booze.  In fact, the other author of this blog, Mike, and I frequently talk about the amazing character and adaptability of yeast.  To think that after 200 years at the bottom of the sea, yeast were found by scientist in those aged bottles that are still intact.  I would love to get my hands on a copy of the strain should Finnish scientists be able to revive them.  Additionally, as one of the articles states, at the time that the discovered beer was brewed, little was known about yeast and how it worked.  I am pent up with excitement to hear what type of strain was the predominant strain in the batch.

Sam Calagioni of Dogfish Head no longer has a handle on the market of analysis and reproduction of ancient brews.  If scientists are able to grow and ferment using the strain, they’d seem to have a one-up on authenticity.  BUT, will they?  All this thought on ancient yeast actually reminded me of Weihenstephan Abbey Brewery, known as the world’s oldest continually operating brewery.   The oldest known record of Weihenstephan producing beer is 768.  One has to wonder…are there any elements of the original yeast used still present in its offspring the brewery uses today?  Each time we touch a glass of Weihenstephan to our lips, we may be ingesting yeast cells that are of a much more ancient lineage than that of the cells discovered in the Baltic Sea.

Which brings me to the fulcrum of my excitement:  Each sip of beer makes the ancient past as relevant as the next day, whether it be salty acidic brew from a sunken ship, a Weihenstephan, o a beer born in my kitchen.

“To understand America, one must know beer, not baseball. The American Beer explains with wit and insight our infatuation with beer and its infinite variety.”

Sorry baseball fans.

The film was balanced.  Now, an overenthusiastic beer geek may not find the film as balanced as I did, as the film does not focus on the craft beer industry; though it does explore and aggrandize the movement, both at the stylistic level, and industry (i.e. disintegration of monopoly) level.  The film rather explores the history of beer from Christopher Columbus, to the Thomas Jefferson, to Adolfus Busch, to Fritz Maytag, to Garret Oliver.  The producer/director–Roger Sherman–is not a one trick pony. The fact that his portfolio contains films on Divorce and the environment and not just beer speaks volumes for the integrity of The American Brew.

I have often felt that the craft beer community at times unfairly regards lagers/pilsners much the way early Salem regarded the black arts.  That is; they treat it as a blight on the overall beer population that need not be associated with.  I get it.  Some big brewers use too much corn in their lagers.  However, Sherman fairly shows that German immigrants did not bring cheap fizzy yellow beer into the US, rather, they brought a rich brewing history, and a more difficult method for brewing.  In the same breath, Sherman is fair and also reveals that many of the establishments that brought the lager to the US also brought an insatiable desire for market control.

Sherman’s treatment of the Prohibition is both historically accurate, and amusing, as he slyly reveals the plebeian nature intrinsic to American/human political pandering.  He demonstrates that the temperance movement was made to be a polarizing and singular issue:  Americans disregarded EVERY other issue of a political candidates platform and focused ONLY on whether they supported tolerance.  I can’t disagree with the documentary’s supposition that this idea exists today.  Sherman shows us that prior to prohibition there was a raucous public outcry to banish beer and all other alcoholic beverages…just 14 years later the same America was filled with a raucous public outcry to legalize beer and all other alcoholic beverages.

The film explores many other beer avenues worthy of your exploration, and I would hate to spoil it, so please, rent the documentary and let us know what you think!

During my studies, I’ve come across one point time and again.  Ancients are keenly interested in the past.  In fact, many innovations (hear that with a negative tone) were automatically regarded with suspicion.  The more antiquated something was, the more legitimate.  Funny how ideas change; more often than not, we regard the newest version of something as an improvement.  I would suggest that we think very much in polar opposites to the vast majority of historical humanity.

However, this post is not so much about a philosophy of history or the like as it is about appreciating the past.  Maybe even calling it a bent on antiquarian musings would be an accurate depiction.  Whatever we might call it, I’m simply adoring the past.

Recent news stories about old ships full of very old beer have been popping up on the various social media radars.  Does this get anyone wondering how beer tasted two centuries or two millenia ago?  When I read stories about old beer discoveries, I wonder about discovering old beer.  So, it’s not surprising to me that I was really geeked up for a few months about brewing a beer that I’ve been planning for quite some time.

This past weekend I finally brewed my 1700s style porter.  There are some limitations in that modern malts and yeast are far more predicable than way back when.  However, I did use some wood fire and cast iron.  I’ve been tasting and marveling over how the beer has changed over the past five days.  It’s my duty to be tasting it as much as possible, and I’m really excited about how it’s turning out.

I’ve made a decision to start doing (gradually) a bit more research on brewing beer in a historical fashion.  So, my guess is that I’m going to be learning some new technics, facts, and history.  I love learning about the past, and I’m planning on sharing the journey with you.  Join me for the results.  Have any of you brewed up some history?  Please do tell.

Besides elevating beer in the epicurean world as a from a low brow beverage to a fine and delicious imbibement packed with culture and history, Michael Jackson quite literally defined what beer is (The World Guide To Beer)

There is no need for me to rehash a biography of Jackson since 1) that is not the gist of this post and 2) it has already been done (in fact Wikipedia does a decent job, as does BeerHunter.com).   Simply put, I found another reason to be fond of Jackson.  I recently stumbled across a clip of Jackson on Late Night with Conan O’brien, and found it quite worthy of repeating.

The nature of beer is nicely summed up in the unpretentious, jovial, and passionate Jackson.  It is clear that while there is no aristocratic/snobby air about him, he is quite concerned with his conviction of the superiority of beer.  Since I never was given the chance to meet the man (who was tops on my list!), this clip will have to suffice.  I think that this clip answers the question “Who Was Michael Jackson” better than most encyclopedia abstracts.  Enjoy!

From the Wuxia Society website, we get some insight on the complexity of this brew:

Mike Gerhart, distillery manager at Dogfish Head’s brewery in Milton, Delaware, led the Chateau Jiahu project. “It was one of the more creative and exciting projects I’ve ever worked on,” he said.

McGovern, the archeochemist, knew the ingredients of the ancient drink from Jiahu, “but he wasn’t sure how to use them or how they would go into action,” Gerhart said.

The trick for Gerhart was to mimic the brewing process used in China 9,000 years ago.

To get the fermentation started, McGovern imported a mold cake—traditionally used in making Chinese rice wines—from a colleague in Beijing. Gerhart mashed the cake into the rice. Once that became “funky and began to grow,” he added other ingredients, including water, honey, grapes, hawthorn fruit, and chrysanthemum flowers.

“We also turned up the brew kettle much higher than we ever would today—we know back then they would have had some type of earthen pot with a fire burning directly below it—to replicate those flavors we know formed, somewhat burnt and caramelized,” he said.

To comply with U.S. federal brewing regulations, Gerhart had to add barley malt, though he said he mashed and fermented out most of the barley flavor.

Defying Description

Given the requisite addition of barley malt to Chateau Jiahu, Dogfish Head’s concoction is classified as a beer, Calagione said. However, McGovern said the beverage made in China 9,000 years ago defies description.

“We called it a mixed beverage, because we’re not sure where it fits in,” he said.

After months of passing this, I crumbled to the allure of the bottle and the story.

The Pour:

Pours a hazy thin bright yellow.  Not what I was expecting!  It almost looks like a thin belgian witbier.  I let my bottle sit for a week before drinking, as there is a good deal of sediment.  A few particles made their way into my glass.  A thin bubbly two finger head wastes no time in slinking into the body of the beer.

The Smell:

Very up front floral aroma.  Past the flowery notes the honey aroma is very apparent, as well as a white grape/white wine aroma.  In fact, it reminded me a bit of a pinot grigio.  A thin bready aroma pushes past as you swirl the glass.

The Taste:

If you are bored with your beer life, pick up a bottle of this tonight.  From the description, one does not expect it to resemble beer.  But it does.  The malt body is much clearer in the taste than in the smell, but is not the prominent flavor.  In fact, the honey is a bit in your face.  The floral notes fantastically balance out the sweet honey blast.  White grapes, a mild cider flavor, acidic citrus, and a saki-esque (saki yeast was used) rice flavor hides beneath the surface.  A wild sour note sticks to the tongue.

Overall:

A satisfying drink, this thin beer goes down quickly and smoothly.  In fact, the beer actually quenches ones thirst.  I would definitely buy this beer again, as the off the wall flavor is slightly addicting.  I suggest introducing this brew to the beloved wine-snob in your life who considers you a barbarian for prizing malts over grapes.   You may have a young covnert on your hands afterwards.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other Ancient Chinese Brews: ★★★★★ 

“Aaaaagggghhhh.”

That was me breathing a sigh of relief of not being guilted into heading down to the Hallmark shop to buy a card for my secretary (as if I had one) or reproduce a picture of my pooch for my vet simply to belong as a cog in mass consumerism.   Rather, it is a relief to participate in a holiday I believe in (not to be trumped by Christmas, Easter, or my wife’;s birthday, mind you!).

Yes, there are many holidays.  Too many in fact, but this one resonates, because someday Mike, myself, and many of you (Big Tex, for one) hope to be recognized as one of the 1500 craft brewers in the US, who daily struggle to work to produce a fine bubbly beverage that eases the burdens that have accumulated on the weary shoulders of Americas working class.  I for one, pledge to drink fine craft beer for the duration of this fine holiday, and I suggest you, dear reader, do the same.  Pouring a handcrafted, cool brew night after night for six consecutive days will be tough work, but gentlemen (and ladies?), we owe it to the beer.

This holiday is even more special, as I recently learned (via the Brookston Bulletin) that my favorite right-of-center political funny man took special note of our favorite week.  No, it wasn’t “The Sky Is Falling Glenn Beck” (he’s on the wagon, right?)…it was the most honorable, Stephen Colbert!  For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy the clip below with a cool glass of patriotic craft brew in hand! Cheers!

Brewed in Scotland since 2000 B.C. heather ale is probably the oldest style of ale still produced in the world. From an ancient Gaelic recipe for “leann fraoich” (heather ale) it has been revived and reintroduced to the Scottish culture.

Into the boiling bree of malted barley, sweet gale and flowering heather are added, then after cooling slightly the hot ale is poured into a vat of fresh heather flowers where it infuses for an hour before being fermented.

A light amber ale with floral peaty aroma, full malt charachter, a spicy herbal flavour and dry wine like finish.

I believe that the use of Sweet Gale and the Heather Flower is not just for flavor, but also for preservation, as hops don’t (or at least didn’t) grow in Scotland.  The Hop addict had better steer clear of this brew if he is looking for a fix!  Coming in at a modest 5% ABV, this unique beer, classified as a Scottish Gruit, is a treat.

The Pour:

Pours a crisp golden/orange color with a bright white one finger head that dissipates slowly.  There is not much carbonation activity, just a few lazy bubble making their way to the surface.  Nothing remarkable going on here.

The Nose:

Since the pour was semi-boring, the beer finds redemption in the aroma.  The wafting floral aromas are unavoidable and pleasant.  It reminds me of lilac and perfume.  There is a thin malt smell that, combined with the herbal/flora odors, produces peach and orange notes.

The Taste:

I was a little nervous to taste this based of strong perfume aroma.  Have you ever been around a guy who finds his manhood in the application of half a bottle of Old Spice to his neck and found yourself not just smelling but tasting his cologne?  This is what I was afraid of.  It was unwarranted.  I found the beer to be fairly balanced.  The heather flower does indeed impact your senses the second the beer fills your mouth, but is immediately subdued by both the sweet gale, that leaves a sort of pine/green tea flavor, as well as the mildly honey-sweet malt that has a crisp bitter finish.

Be warned:  The after taste of this brew is slightly floral, but many, including myself, will enjoy it.

Scottish Beer History:

I would hate to see any reader miss out on the fascinating history of Scottish beer.  Click on this entire paragraph to go to Fraoch’s website to discover ancient beer history.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other Scottish Ale's that I've had: ★★★¾☆ 

When I poured this beer and began looking at it, I immediately thought that it looked more like a porter than a stout in color. I’m personally used to Oatmeal Stouts being pretty black. However, there was a nice creamy, light brown head on the beer (even if it was a little lighter than I’m used to).

Some nice grains and chocolate came through the beer, as well as having some touches of oat. Other than that, the beer wasn’t overly complex.

Tasting the beer was the only way to see if it was what I expect out of an Oatmeal Stout. It wasn’t! I think the dark roasted grain flavors and slight chewiness were just not enough for me. I like my oatmeal Stouts to be very full and rich. I love it when they are very oat driven. I did think that the grains had a nice chocolate quality to them. The beer was not bad, but it certainly didn’t live up to what I expect out of an Oatmeal Stout.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Oatmeal Stouts: ★★★¼☆ 

Among other Stouts ★★★☆☆ 

On the drive to work today I tuned into a radio station based out of Detroit.  I listened as the DJ’s hailed St. Patrick’s day as “the best holiday all year ’cause we can drink beer for breakfast!!!!”  They were on sight at some pub–I didn’t catch the name–and were putting down green brewskis at 7:30 in the morning.  One of the DJ’s walked around the “pub” (it was one of these pubs) asking guys and gals alike to share there greatest sexual fantasy publicly.  Keep in mind this is being broadcast to millions of listeners in Detroit, Northwestern Ohio, and Windsor Canada.  Are you serious!?!?  Were the historical St. Patrick to visit us from his eternal resting place today, he would weep at how his name and work is being honored!

I was disheartened, and quickly tuned the dial to talk radio.

Anyone who reads this blogs knows that I never discourage intelligent beer consumption, but today’s holiday removes the “intelligent” from beer consumption.  What kills me is the historical disregard concerning St.Patrick’s day…a day set aside to honor an upright and moral man who spent his entire life doing good works.  Even if you are one who is not-so-spiritually minded, you must admit; this holiday has grown into an excuse for licentiousness.

On St.Patrick’s day do you consider the origins of the holiday:  Good works, the love of your brother, God, forgiveness (St.Patrick sought to save past his oppressors) or do you wake up with nothing but green beer on your mind?  The point is, why are we so obsessed, as a culture, with belligerent partying?

Odds are I’ll enjoy a brew tonight.  But odds are I will also tell my kids the real story of St. Patrick, which can be found here.

The simple answer is, “It’s the law.”  Sort of.

You see, the earliest example of regulatory action taken on a food industry was in Bavaria in the 1490′s, demanding certain standards purity and excellence in food preparation and distribution.  The law, Reinheitsgebot, was expanded in 1516 to include beer, for which only the ingredients of water, malted barley, yeast and hops were allowed as ingredients.  Namely the reason was preservation…the acid content in hops keeps beer from spoiling as quickly as if they were absent.

But clearly, 1516 is not the magical date in which hops were introduced into the beer industry.  In fact, it is nearly biblical.  Jewish written history tells of hops being used in beer while they were held captive in Babylon.  They write of a strong drink made from hops that was known to cure leprosy.  There are also obscure references of hop usage in beer as far back as 10,000 years in Asia.

Hops probably began to gain popularity as the Europeans began integrating the herb into their brew in the hear 1000′s.  In 1079 AD  Abbess Hildegarde of St. Ruprechtsberg writes,  “If one intends to make beer from oats, it is prepared with hops.”

We’ve already touched on the properties of hopped beer here–What’s Your Beer Made Of Part IV–so I want to hit on my theory as to how hops really caught on.

Money.

It makes sense to me, that while there were other natural preservatives used before the hop, none had such a preservative and antiseptic quality as the hop.  Prior to the hop beer was brewed with much higher alcohol levels to keep the beer.  Higher alcohol required greater quantities of grain.  Greater quantities of grain require greater quantities of money.  Hops, an easy and abundantly producing plant was much cheaper.  With the introduction of the hop, more beer could be brewed at a lower cost rendering a much healthier profit margin.  And I suppose, we all (including me) have a quired a taste for it!