The things I eat and try now that I would never have eaten 10 years ago…!  Seriously.  I’ve widely expanded my eating habits of the past few years, and I began to wonder what brought it about.  Of course, with me, everything ties back into beers, so I’m not shy to give the credit where credit is due.

It hit me the other night that my continual search for expansion in my beer palate is one of the primary reasons I am willing to try and eat so many different types of food.  In the past 5 years or so I have gone from a beer neophyte, to a beer adventurist, to an almost obsessee (“Let’s see how strangely I can shape this beer I’m brewing while avoiding buying beer as much as possible”).  I thought about this the other night while I was plucking up my former archenemy, the mushroom, and munching it down with no reservation at all.  In fact, I was relishing each and every one.  I’m tempted to argue that the love for new beers and new foods have become a mutually informing cross-discipline…but I’m certain it wouldn’t have happened without beer exploration.

I suspect that I’m not alone in this pursuit.  Actually, pairing has become much more primary within this context.  Well, am I alone in this?  I sure hope not because you are missing out…but I doubt you are.  So, please tell us how expanding you beer palate has shaped your food palate.

Wyeast 1056, aka Chico Ale Yeast, is a well know American Ale yeast.  Plenty of Pale Ales, IPAs, and even hefes in the market use this particular strain. In fact, I’ve often seen is suggested that this strain be used for a lambic as well.  The reason that this strain has such a wide application is due to the fact that it’s more “flavor neutral” than other strains (i.e. the strain does not itself produce huge esters that might be desirable depending on style).  If you are looking for a malt and hop emphatic strain, this is your guy.  At cooler temps (low to mid 60s) expect some citrus tones.

No way I would use it in a hefe but I think it’s application for Pales and IPAs is great.  It was in that context that I used this strain.

Yeast Uses: Wyeast lists a ton of uses for this strain.  In fact, and because of it’s neutrality, they assume this is a great yeast for the creation of a house strain.  Perhaps that it worth some exploration, if you are up to the challenge.  Various applications are entirely possible because of its neutrality and alcohol tolerance, which is 11%.  In my opinion, the good applications they list (and depending on what you are going for), are as follows: American Barleywine, American Amber, American Brown, American IPA, American Pale, American Stout, Spiced beer, Cream Ale, Imperial IPA.  I know that seems like a lot but look at the word preceding most of the styles.  They are almost all American interpretations of classic styles.

If you are knowingly going for the American renditions, then this is a great yeast.  The Spiced beer, Cream ale, and fruit beer are good for the same reason that I mentioned above…neutrality.  The neutrality allows good spices on a spiced beer to pop.  Cream Ales are generally smooth and have additional lagering to make sure of it, so I think the strain would work well.  In addition, fruit beer (not lambic by any stretch) because it would allow to fruit to be emphatic without ester competition.  But there are, I think, some bad suggestions they make as well.

I personally don’t think this is a good strain for the following: Braggot, Brown Porter, Dry Stout, Irish Red, other smoke beer (whatever that general statement means), Russian Imperial, Strong Scotch Ale or Wood Aged beer.  There are basically two reason I have chosen to say these are not good applications.  Either bready ester warmth or mineral tones.  I think it’s a fairly neat division but most these strains of one of those two needs.  There are yeast strains far better  and more specific than 1056 for these above qualities.  Sorry to go on like this.

Yeast Attenuation: Once again, attenuation means thinning down.  This strain has some very decent attenuation, which is why it can be so malt and hop emphatic.  It truly allows the hops to shine.  However be careful how Imperial IPA is because once you pass your 73-77% attenuation your going to have a ton of sugar left from your malt.  That could keep those lovely hops at bay. For my Pale Ale, I had 76.27% Attenuation.  I started at 1.066 and ended at 1.015, which is right toward the upper end.  My ABV was 6.7%.  Right in the range of a bigger American Pale.  My attenuation results were similar for my IPA.  Obviously, I didn’t push the ABV threshold on this one, so I can’t speak to that.

Yeast Lag: Like most Wyeast packets, there was little lag time on this beer.  I started seeing signs of activity within 6 hours and was rolling nicely shortly after.

Yeast Flocculation: The yeast flocculation given for this strain is medium to low.  This can be a problem if you want a bright beer.  Most of us can’t filter with something like DME, so we are relegated to simply being stuck with it.  However, the more from primary to a secondary can work wonders, even if you dry hop.  Also, crash cooling is a way to deal with this.  However, secondary conditioning was more than enough to give me a very clean looking beer.

Overall Performance: Use this strain for you Pale and IPA.  Also, note the other applications above.  If you want nice citrus to compliment hops, then ferment it at a nice cool temp.  This a very clean strain that takes the back seat to your hops and malts.

During one of my increasingly rare beer outings yesterday, I ordered a beer in the bottle because it was the best beer they place had.  The bar tender brought me a glass.  Just as I was about to pour my beer, I asked the bar tender for another glass…dirty.

After I asked for a new glass, I turned to my friend and stated, in no uncertain terms, that it wasn’t a matter of germs at all.  Do you ever have those moments when you find yourself somewhat comical based on something you do?  I do.  This was one of those moments.  I realized something sort of zany about myself that has been occurring in the past year or so.

Perhaps “militant” could describe my attitude about drinking after others and their germs ridden glasses; at least that was my attitude a few years ago.  These days, I really don’t think much about it.  Maybe I’ve developed less discretion about drinking after people, have changed attitudes about germs, or just haven’t gotten a wicked case of mono but I pretty readily tipple after someone else these days.

So, the funny thing about my statement was simply based on the fact that I was indifferent about the germs and more concerned about the appearance of the brew and the head retention (I’ve written on this topic before).  Called it a case of misjudged priorities, call it obsession, just don’t call my glass dirty because that would hurt me a little too badly.

Now that it’s getting cold out…cold enough for here…how about some warm beer?  I visited Idaho over Thanksgiving and am still fighting off the bone chills.  When we got back, I got some brew and decided to warm it up a bit.  People mull wine all the time.  Why not beer?

A few years back I bought some cherry beer by Unibroue, and they suggested warming it up to drink.  Turned out that it was better heated than cooled.  So, I decided to start heating up some beer in the winter.  Typically, mulling has to do with that addition of some spices, but I’m calling heating it up as good enough for government work.

At any rate, I’m going to play with heating up various brews during the cooler months and think it’s a worthy pursuit.  If you try it just keep in mind that 173°F or more is too hot because the alcohol will evaporate.  I’d try something like 140°F or 150°F…that should be plenty.

What about you?  Have you mulled beer?  Would you?  I think a good stout, spiced beer, or fruity beer would be nice.

Hello!  Yes, we still exist.  Yes, I plan on making some time to write.  Does it sound too prideful to assume people want to read something we have to say?

Well, plenty has been happening for the past two months, so there has been a slowing of posts here on thankeavenforbeer.  I’ve been brewing every weekend for the past month or so.  I’ve realized something recently.  I rarely buy beer anymore.  I just love brewing and drinking my own brew.  However, I am a bit saddened by the fact that I really don’t have much of a pulse on what is happening in the beer world.

Seriously, I knew when Popskull was coming out on Dark Lord Day and I was excited.  But I just saw today that Three Floyds and Dogfish Head came out with the another beer with similar name.  It is really is true that I don’t know what’s going on in the craft beer world…funny.

Maybe you ladies and gentlemen can tell me what’s happening.  What’s coming out?  What are you excited about?

Unfortunately, beer is still regarded as a slovenly drink consumed by low brow, knuckle dragging meat heads.  Personally, I believe this stereotype has it’s roots in the prejudices of the past and in modern marketing.  When waves of poor immigrants (i.e. German or Irish) came to the United States, out of necessity, they built breweries so they could easily enjoy their favorite beverage. These immigrants were typically viewed as crass and unintelligent.  Modern marketing tends to portray beer as stupid but fun.  Think about it:  When’s the last time you saw a Bud Light commercial that portrayed a handful of chic and attractive mathematicians enjoying each others’ company, attempting to solve an impossible equation, and sipping on a Bud Light?  No?  Silly frogs croaking BUD – WEIS – ER?  Bingo.
We all know the stereotype is far from true, but nonetheless, our hearts warm when we see beer act as a facilitator to some of the deeper aspects of life.   I became giddy this past week as I stumbled across such an example at Schlafly’s News and Events portion of their website that broke the “low brow stereotype” and a few others.  The event is “Theology at Bottleworks.  Instantly, having majored in Theology, I was interested.

The event seems simple.  From the website:

This forum meets the fourth Wednesday of each month and discusses the tough issues of our day. Free and open to all perspectives. Come grab a brew, give your view, and lend an ear to others. 7:00-9:00 p.m. More info at www.midrashstl.com.

From the Midrash website the event is further defined:

Theology at the Bottleworks is a monthly event where we discuss issues relevant to the culture we live in, including topics that range from the economy and global warming to beauty and evil. Depending on the topic and the time of the year, attendance can be anywhere from 40 – 140 people.

THEOLOGY AT THE BOTTLEWORKS – Wednesday, November 24th 2010 -”Death Penalty On Trial”
This is the most diverse and lively public discussion in town. Our topic is “The Death Penalty on Trial.” We’ll discuss the latest legal and ethical developments on capital punishment as well as the fundamental issues involved, including individual rights, state’s interests and moral, ethical and sociological ramifications. Come grab a brew, give your view, and lend an ear to others’. Free and open to all views and perspectives. Join us on Wednesday, September 22nd 2010 from 7-9 pm at the Schlafly Bottleworks.

Hmmm…an intellectual discussion on the morality of corporal punishment, lex talionis, and the death penalty facilitated by good craft beer, hosted at a craft brewery?  Hardly low brow.  Additionally, the events shows how beer can positively bring peace to touchy subjects.  Try discussing global warming amongst a diverse group without the beer and see what happens.  Tempers flare, feelings are hurt, indignation rises…But, when each interlocutor has the common bond of a cherished beer in hand, camaraderie accommodates a more calm and effective discussion.

The event also shows that beer and religion are highly compatible, and that, unlike the proponents of the prohibition (and many neo prohibitionists of today), all men/women of faith are not sticks in the mud on a mission to sling judgment as the stroll past a bar (or Schlafly’s Bottleworks).

I wish something like this existed here in Kansas City! Perhaps our own Boulevard would open up their tasting room?

Part of the reason I love to brew so much is that I love to cook; and vice versa.  I especially love to cook certain dishes that involve aspects of fermentation.  So, you’ll notice that I have posted occasional articles that are food related.  A few hits of the past have been calzones, Murphy’s Irish Stew, and sour beer soup, just to name a few…oh! and the glorious Belgian Dubbel pork chops.

Recently, I’ve been making some Ethiopian food and have been making authentic injera (that spongy flat bread) to eat along with my Doro Wat.  Perhaps this is the largest role that fermentation has played into any food I’ve made to this point.  It’s been fun and instructive.  Also, it got me thinking about some future fodder.  I am going to redouble my efforts to make fermented foods and cook with beer more.

I’m proposing an ongoing set of articles that deal directly with this very question.  I’m excited about more beer in my life…I’ve been really deprived.

Nearly every time I share a homebrew with someone–after they bow down at my feet and praise me for making such a glorious creation–inevitably, they ask me:  “How do you determine how much alcohol is in this work art?”  Seriously, I am posed this question at least monthly.  As I explain and begin throwing out essential terms such as Original Gravity, Hydrometer, and Flux Capacitor, I often see that deer in the headlights look.

In fact, I have spoke to several home brewers who, while familiar with the terms, have no clue what they mean, or how to properly use a hydrometer.  I know I didn’t some years ago!  So, let’s clear it up.

What is gravity when we talk about beer (and other liquids)?  Specifically, what is specific gravity?  Simply put, it is the density of water:  a measurement of the density of water.   Just like there is a scale to determine key temperatures of water (120 degrees Fahrenheit/ 100 degrees centigrade) there is a scale for density.  The specific gravity of water at a given temperature is (i.e 60 degrees)  1.000.

Obviously beer is not just water, and neither is pre-beer (or wort, un-fermented sugar water).  If a brewer is making beer, starts with water (1.000 on the scale) and adds sugar extracted from malted barley, the specific gravity of the water (now a solution) will rise.  But how does one know how dense this new solution (wort) is?  That’s where the hydrometer comes in.

I once spent half a summer in Hawaii.  I spent nearly everyday in the Pacific, surfing, swimming, snorkeling, and practicing my underwater dance routine.  After 6 weeks of bliss, I headed home.  With an overnight layover in LA, I took a dip in the hotel pool.  Unaccustomed to swimming in water that lack salt, I sank like lead.  Why?  The Pacific ocean was more dense than regular H20 and had provided my body with buoyancy.  A hydrometer is like my body, only much less sexy.  It is placed in a solution like wort, and, depending on the density of the solution it will float lower or higher.  There is a scale on the hydrometer that the brewer observes.  If the surface of the wort crosses the 1.040 mark on the hydrometer, the brewer knows that his/her beer has a potential for 5.1% alcohol after fermentation.

But a beer never ferments back to 1.000, and thank God…that would be one nasty beer.  There would be no residual sweetness left to balance out the bitter hops.  So after fermentation the brewer takes a second reading.  Why a second reading?  Well, fermentation is basically the consumption of sugar by yeast with alcohol as a byproduct.  After fermentation, the wort gets closer to density (gravity) that the water was before sugar was dissolved in it.  Let’s suppose the wort fermented down to 1.010.  The brewer can see that there is approximately 1.030 of alcohol in the brew (3.6% ABV).  A more detailed formula is used by many:  1.040 – 1.030 =.03 X 129 = 3.87% ABV?  Ive met a couple of home brewers (and one mead enthusiast) who assumed that the first reading of the hydrometer equaled the final ABV of the product.  The mead brewer (who brewed his stuff ridiculously sweet) was sorely disappointed to learn that his mead wasn’t as boozy as he’d assumed.

Make sense?  I hope so.  I tried to make this simple and easy to understand, knowing full well that I could write a chapter on measurements of alcohol in beer, scales, tools used, etc.   Cheers!

(Oh yeah…if you know anything about the first picture in this article, you will know that the brewers behind that beast must have had a really big hydrometer.  I wonder if it’s true what they say about brewers with big hydrometers….)

I suppose a book, much like a pint of beer, belongs partly in the realm of “subjective” as we all have different stylistic leanings.  However, much like a pint of beer, a book can be empirically held to a standard.  Think I’m wrong?  Then why do you prefer that fancy craft beer in your fridge to a Natty Light?

Anyhow, having just come off of a great read, I decided to search the library for a beer book.  Since the book on the history of the prohibition I had hoped to garnish was sadly checked out, so I ended up leaving with Tom Robbins, “B Is for Beer”, a self described “Children’s Book for Grown-ups” and/or “A Grown-Ups Book for Children.”   It looked amusing enough.

Immediately, I had to switch my brain to “less intelligent mode,” since the last book I’d read was a bit more heavy…but that’s ok, the book is intentionally written like a book my seven year old would read.  The gist of the story (don’t worry, no spoiler alert needed here) is that of a young five year old Gracie Perkins who develops an interest in beer; and interest that is coddled and developed further by strange philosophically bumbling Uncle Moe.  As the story runs its course, Gracie drinks a few too many, has a birthday, observes parental strife, meets the Beer fairy, explores a brewery or two, and beats up a drunk dude.  That is as far as I plan on delving into the plot…I myself hate it when an abstract blows the plot of a book I intend to read, and I would hate to make the same blunder for your sake!

So let me just say what I thought of the book.

The first few chapters were a doozy…and not in a good way.  I’d be willing to bet that there were at least five “humorous” metaphors per page.  It got tiring, and did not elicit any chuckles from this reader.  I know the author was intending to write the piece in story book fashion, but the humor hinted of the “trying too hard variety.”  After the fourth or fifth chapter I was not sure I could continue.  So, like I do with beers that initially offend my palate, I set the book aside for a week or two (which cost me a late fine at the library) and came back.

The book got better.  While the plot wasn’t intricate enough to make it as a Lifetime flick, it was entertaining and I found myself wanting to read to the finish to discover the fate of the young heroine, Gracie.  Speckled throughout were glimpses of the author’s personal takes on subjects like politics and religion.  Some might get irritated with such insights, especially when they don’t line up with their own ideologies, but Robbins kept it light enough and besides…isn’t that the point of writing…to convey an opinion?  By the way, I am so sick of all these undocumented werewolves running for senate positions, aren’t you.  Just kidding.

Overall, the book was fun enough and can be read in an evening.  I don’t think it would fare well outside the realm of beer enthusiasts, but I could be wrong.  If a friend asked me, “Nate, is this a must read?”  I would have to say no…there are many other “must reads” in the realm of beer, BUT I would say, once those are out of the way, “Go for it!”

Have you read the book?  If so, what did you think?

Being in an incendiary mood on occasion can get me in trouble.  However, this is our site and we know our readers well enough that I’m comfortable with writing this type of post.  So, without further ado, here is what I have to say.  How dumb are Bud Light drinkers really?

During the course of the World Cup (sponsored by Budweiser), I’d seen a multitude of Bud Light commercials.  The commercials are certainly ubiquitous, some are a little funny, others are amateurish and others are flat out stupid.  The funny part is, they assume the low-brow intelligence and humor of people who support their beer.

Admittedly, this is a rant and I’m characterizing the commercials a certain way but I’m attempting to create some actual humor and criticism of the product via the commercials themselves.  Essentially, I’m breaking-down the commercials and making fun of them.  If you are interested, read on.  Also, I’ll have the reader note that if they are bothered by the characterization of Bud Light drinkers as idiots, then perhaps it should be taken up with Bud itself.

Two commercials are particularly filling my mind.  Maybe those of you reading this have seen the commercials…here is the first.   The first involves a plane wreck on an island.  In the commercial, a woman finds the airplane’s radio and offers hope to the people of the plane crash. Essentially, she tells the other island members that she thinks this will get them off the island.  Right as she is wrapping up her good news, another person states that he has located the plane’s beverage storage and, guess what, it’s full of Bud Light.  At this point in the procession, people decide to abandon the hope of rescue for the hope of a few beers apiece (perhaps it’s the hope of re-hydration with water).  So, what’s the implication?

It appears that these morons are so shortsighted that a few free beers is better than rescue.  Aside from being cheapskates, don’t they realize that they can buy much more of their crappy product once their not under the oppression of death?  I get the implication.  The beer is so good that one would abandon the prospect of rescue for it.  However, what possible auspices would cause the denial of life for a vapid brew.  Furthermore, the idea of the commercial is counter-intuitive to the idea of consuming responsibly…something the brewer is eager to promote.  Instead, the party animals on the island forsake rescue because they love pounding them back so much.  I can almost hear the conch blowing in the distance.