Disclaimer: This is not directed at anyone in particular. Don't be self-absorbed and think that I'm talking specifically about you. I'm always critical of the person who exclusively drinks macro beer. In fact, I can be critical of someone who drinks them with any regularity. Now that I work in a liquor store, I've observed a phenomenon. Mr. Regular comes in and buys the same old beer every time. He walks in and grabs Natural Light. He knows exactly where it's at, how much it costs and has the exact change. "Put it in a bag," he says. Who can blame him? I would hide it, too. What else can he be doing but hiding the fact that he bought worthless beer for the purpose of inebriation? It can't be that he really believes that walking out a liquor store won't be perceived as buying beer, so long as he has it in a bag. This article is not really about that; let people have bags if they want to feel fancy or do it out of habit. All I can say is that if variety is the spice ...

Why are hops in beer? 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, ...

As promised, a lesson in hops is on the way.  I am breaking this into two or three sessions, since there is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to this marvelous feat of nature.  This post is going to focus on non-beer qualities of the herb.  The post(s) to come will delve into the beer history and the horticulture of the plant. While in the grand scheme and history of beer hops are relatively new convention, they have found a home in human history for far longer.  In fact, the original name for the hop, Lupus Salictarius, is credited as originating from the lips of a famed naturalist, and contemporary of Jesus Christ, Pliny the Elder, who died in 79 C.E. while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  Literally translated the Latin reads, "wolf among scrubs." Pliny the Elder was referring to the nature of the plant; that they grew wild amongst domesticated willows like wolves in the forest.   In fact there is a beer we may just have to taste on an upcoming Friday from Russian River Brewing Co. called Pliny the Elder. Hops were used and consumed by Pliny the Elder and his Roman country men for ...

There is no better way to appreciate every aspect of beer--the science, the art, the flavor, the ingredients--than to brew it yourself.  If anyone has even slightly entertained the idea, I suggest you put your complacency on the shelf and dive into this most rewarding hobby.  I posit you will soon find it to be more than just a hobby, but an addictive lifestyle.  In fact, as I sit here sipping on my beer, I am thrilled with each flavorful sip knowing that I birthed it from an assortment of ingredients.  If you have any hesitation, just wait...Mike and I intend on a future series walking readers through the major steps of the brewing process. One such ingredient, is the hop.  My next post I intend on expounding the history and qualities of this delightful herb, but for this post, I want to touch on a topic known as vertical integration. Simply put, vertical integration is self reliance typically associated with any industry or type of production.   Take for example an auto company.  After drawing up plans for a specific model of car, they need a specific style of fender.  The auto producer could outsource the part.  They could hire a ...

As I've mentioned before, hops were not always king when it came to bittering or flavoring a beer.  So, when the William's Brothers Brewing Company made their "Historic Ales" collection, it was not "historic" in the first-time sense of the word.  It was a blast from the past.  I had actually had all but this one of the five, so I was excited to try it.  Here follows an account of drinking this beer. A light golden and very active body was immediately evident when I poured the beer.  There was also a very stable head, which I'm sure was kept up by the very bubbly Ale.  Although it is a wheat Ale, and they describe it as being hazy, it was pretty clear at room temp (which is how I drink most beers).  Nose-wise, Grozet was malty and almost lagerish in its aroma, while having a slight metallic aroma (and taste).  The aroma of Gooseberries was present but not overpowering.  Spicy hops aromas were also present in the smell. Gooseberries were present in the taste of the beer, but once again, not overpowering.  There was a very slight alcohol quality that could be tasted along with a clovish hint provided by the fact ...

Citrus added to beer can taste good, be refreshing, and help you get your vitamin C.  Citrus can also ruin the experience of drinking a beer.  For the most part, wheats are more delicate than other beers especially in their floral (hoppy) aspects, unless you are drinking Gumballhead by Three Floyds or another anomaly among wheats.  So, when you add lemon, orange, or Sardinian bush fruit (whatever you might add) it automatically renders delicacies in the beer void.  Let me explain myself by way of my own experience.  I was enjoying a night on the town, when I was surrounded by nothing but average beer.  Then I saw a bright spot on the menu (of course, bright is relative when you are dealing with black holes among the beer world).  I saw Shock Top wheat, an Anheuser-Busch product, which I don't enjoy too much in the bottle but have often really enjoyed on tap (there is a difference).  I proceeded to order this grainy and wheaty beer, looking forward to its nice flavors. "Wait...what is that floating in the glass?" I thought.  "Could it be...yes, it is."  A lemon was floating atop my beer.  I politely drank the beer and asked for the next one to be  without lemon.  Apparently ...

Has anyone ever wondered what an I.P.A. (India Pale Ale) is?  I'm going to talk about Pale Ales first because an India Pale Ale is an amped up version of the former.  I've actually already given some good information on Pale Ales when we had Samuel Smith's Pale Ale (here is a link to that article and review).  Even though I've covered some of the bases before, let me just briefly define a Pale Ale. A Pale Ale is not pale at all.  The utilization of lighter grains as compared to those used in English Porters and Stouts helped to give this beer its name.  Some of this had to do with technological advance.  I've written some stuff on grains already, so I'm not going to cover it much here (I'm providing multiple links in the articles to cover some other questions you might have).  In addition to being lighter than other Ales of the time, the beer was also more hopped than a Porter or Stout might typically be.  Rolling Rock is not actually a good example of a Pale Ale (check out the Samuel Smith's that we have reviewed on here for a more classic example of this beer type). Well, Pale Ales were great for the homefront.  But what about people ...

As the title indicates, this article will cover more ground than just a single type of beer.  However, it will deal with a singular concept, namely, the role of hops and grains in English Ales.  There will be plenty of time to cover other Ale considerations in future articles.  The particular types of top-fermented Ale covered in this article will be "Normal" English Ales, Milds, Bitters, and Extra Special Bitters (E.S.B.s).  As I mentioned above, hops are the major consideration in the variance of these types of Ales.  I'm using "Normal" to designated an English Ale that cannot be further defined by another category of Ale (i.e., it is not a Bitter, Pale Ale, Irish Ale, India Pale Ale...you get the idea).  So, in some ways it is a catch-all phrase.  I suppose these "Normal" Ales have also been called "Pub Ales" (of course, Bitters can also be called by the same name).  Hobgoblin might be a good example of "just a normal English Ale."  If you see the simple terminology of English Ale or English Style Ale, you are probably dealing with a "Normal" English Ale.  A beer that is less hopped than a "Normal" Ale is often characterized as a "Mild Ale."  ...

Last night I drank this beer that I've not had for about 4 years.  I remembered really enjoying it at the time, especially with a friend and some Davidoff cigars.  It went excellently with those smokes. Samuel Adam's Chocolate Bock is considered one of their extreme beers, if you look at their website.  They have four "extreme" beers: Chocolate Bock, Millennium, Triple Bock and Utopias (the strongest and most expensive beer in the world).  While the Utopias and company are more extreme, this one is not so much extreme as it is extremely good.  The pour:  There was a fair amount of carbonation in the brew with fair head retention.  It had a deep brown color with touches of Crimson.  The beer looked almost as smooth in the glass as it did in the bottle.  By the way, the label on the bottle might be the most beautiful on earth.  It's pewter and almost rococo label speaks to its cocoa beauty inside.  The bottle and look of the beer is truly an achievement in of itself. The aroma of the beer was floral and simply popped.  Chocolate, roasted grains, and yeast were prevalent.  The taste of the beer is really the awesome part of the brew.  Since this Chocolate Bock is put on top of cocoa, it ...

Samuel Adams describes this beer as an Intense Hop experience.  I've had it once before and remember think that they were right.  Here is the deal; the Pilsners that Americans have become accustomed to drink are an emaciated version of the original.  The original version of the Pilsner is still made by Urquell, although it is not what it once was.  A delicious version of a good Pilsner is Jever.  What changed about Pilsners?  Well, Americans do not tend to like bitters in their food or drink.  So, numerous companies reduced the hop content to meet the demands of people's palates.  In some ways, Samuel Adams is responding to this phenomena by giving some intensity back to a Pilsner.  Don't expect a normal "Pilsner" when you drink this beer.  I won't go into it too much here but a Pilsner is actually in the Lager family of beers, so there is the freshness of a Lager with a hop intensity that is not normal for a lagered beer.  If you want to know more a beer styles, stay tuned to this site as we are about to launch a series on the subject.  Hope you try this with us.