No, not that Michale Jackson movie.
This Michael – the late beer and whiskey writer and critic extraordinaire – has arguably done as much as any one man has ever done to further the cause of better beer in the U.K., U.S. and the entire world. His ‘The World Guide to Beer‘ is credited with basically revolutionizing the way we categorize and review beer to this day.
The beer world lost Mr. Jackson on August 30th, 2007. Looks like a film honoring his legacy will be released this year. I don’t have much detail beyond that, but here’s a trailer posted on YouTube for your enjoyment.
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Thanks to some new research out of the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis, we have yet another impressive attribute to ascribe to beer and its health benefits. It seems that beer is rich in dietary silicon, a critical component of bone health.
The lead researcher on this project was Charles Bamforth who also authored the terrific book entitled “Grape vs. Grain - A Historical, Technological, and Social Comparison of Wine and Beer.” You can purchase this book at a discount by clicking on the photo to the left, by the way.
According to Bamforth, and his colleague Troy Casey, “beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon.” The most interesting aspect of the study, for me, is the fact that Bamforth and his colleague analyzed 100 commercial beer samples – everything from light lagers to dark ales. The highest concentrations of dietary silicon were found in ales, particularly in darker ale styles and in IPAs (India Pale Ales). In fact, IPAs came out on top of the heap at 41.2 mg/L due to their high hop levels. Hops, it seems, contain about four times the amount of dietary silicon that malted grain does.
At the other end of the spectrum, wheat beers and light lagers tested at the bottom of the barrel, since they utilize much smaller amounts of malted barley and lower hop rates. Adjuncts like rice or corn – used in most popular American light lagers – don’t contribute significant amounts of dietary silicon.
So, score another one for beer. In fact, we can really be more specific and say score another one for craft beer! The use of all-malt recipes and liberal hopping rates does more than make tasty beer … it makes better beer better for you than the cheap fizzy yellow stuff you see the majority of people swilling down.
I say stick to better beer and better health!
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This batch of Weizenbock was brewed just over four months ago using a yeast cake from a batch of hefeweizen (easy way to get enough yeast cells). I wasn’t too happy with the hefe because the yeast character was too restrained, but in a big beer the same yeast strain had more character since it had more sugar to eat. The grain bill was pretty standard (malted wheat, Munich etc…), but it got its great caramel and dark fruit character from a half pound of Simpson’s Extra Dark Crystal which I have fallen in love with for dark German beers.
Weizenator
Appearance – Deep reddish brown, pretty clear. Beautiful tannish head that just won’t go away, some lacing. Good carbonation evident streaming through the beer.
Smell – Faint banana, caramel, dates, and light coffee. Nice complex blend of aromas, this yeast was very light on the banana, which I don’t mind for a weizenbock. There is a whiff of alcohol as well, not too surprising for an 8% beer, but some more age might help as well.
Taste – Many of the same elements from the aroma, caramel, dark fruit, banana, and a faint toasty/bready roasted malt aroma. Balanced to the sweet side, due to the low IBUs, but it isn’t syrupy or overly sugary. There is also some of that clove spice that is a classic part of the style, but it is restrained. There is some alcohol in the finish, but nothing that is unpleasant.
Mouthfeel – Solid carbonation, bordering on being spritzy. The body is medium full, very nice. The finish is clean, the alcohol and carbonation help make up for the lack of bitterness.
Drinkability & Notes – Really solid, this is about perfect for my taste in Weizenbocks. I might add a bit of melanoidin malt next time just to drive home the bready malt, and back down on the crystal a hair to make way for some fresher fruit character. I would also go with the Wyeast 3068 in place of the White Labs 300 to boost the banana and clove. I’ll be entering this one in a competition or two to see how it does.
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After my rant last spring about the yet to be released movie Beer Wars, I’ve been interested in actually seeing it. At that time it was released as a one night only “event” that I didn’t have a chance to attend. Luckily I finally got the chance when it became available on NetFlix a few days ago, so I took the hour and a half to watch it and write up my impression.
Beer Wars is a movie that wanders, not knowing exactly what it wants to be or who it wants to cater to. Anat Baron (writer/director) does her best job playing Michael Moore in several silly bits (including a blind taste tests to show that the average beer drinker can’t tell the difference between the light macros) and a failed attempt to get an interview with August Busch IV. Despite these forced antics for the most part the movie feels like a boring lecture about the tree tier system, store shelf space allocation, and the influence of beer industry lobby. Sadly the movie isn’t about beer (the beverage) so much as it is about beer (the business), but then what can you expect from a movie directed by someone who is allergic to alcohol and considers Mike’s Hard Lemonade to be a beer.
Other than the macros, the movie focuses on two beer brands, Dogfish Head and Moonshot. Rhonda Kallman (the founder of Moonshot) was helping to launch Sam Adams long before Sam Calagione (founder of Dogfish Head) brewed his first batch of homebrew, yet it is his brewery that is growing at 40% a year and hers that is struggling to get off the ground. The movie suggests many possible reasons for this paradox (Bud’s release of B-to-the-E,a caffeinated “competitor” to Moonshot, poor shelf position, the three tier system etc…) but fails to state the most salient reason, that a caffeinated pale lager just does not appeal to the craft beer crowd. In fact the movie is so obsessed with the gimmick and marketing of beer that there is very little discussion of beer and brewing.
There are some nice cameos from the likes of Michael Jackson, Garret Oliver, and Charlie Papazian, but none of them stick around for more than a couple quick quotes. I enjoyed the segments on Yuengling as well, but the movie gives them too much credit for their brewing tradition when their “Traditional Lager” (which accounts for most of their sales) was introduced in 1987 (years after beers like Sam Adams Boston Lager, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale).
The fact that the first “artisanal” beer mentioned at the start of the movie is Blue Moon caused me to worry. Later on they do explore the faux-craft macro beer trend, but they never mention that Blue Moon is the most successful of the category; instead Anheuser Busch’s Green Valley Brewing gets the focus, but the movie fails to even explore the issues surrounding the use of non-organic hops in “organic” beers.
It seemed that rather than a story about beer, the filmmaker was trying to make something more in the vein of the Omnivore’s Dilemma (Michael Pollan’s celebrated explorations of America’s food system). As someone who loves craft beer already I wanted to see more of the small craft brewers, rather than a (frankly) boring discussion about lobbying, shelf space, three tier system, and corporate takeovers. Those same topics take on a much more important (sinister) roll when you talk about food because there really is a health difference between drinking orange juice and orange soda, while beers on the other hand (whether craft, macro, or import) are relatively equivalent in terms of nutrition. The beer industry also does not pose the same public health risk due to pathogenic bacteria because it cannot survive in beer.
I would have liked to see a more focus on the good points of the craft breweries rather than just the negatives of the brewing industrial complex. For example they could have talked about the infighting in the macro business, compared to the collaboration beer trend in craft brewing; the manipulative use of the three tier system by the macros, compared to a brewery like Stone that acts as a distributor for other great craft beers like Russian River etc… By showing the differences in the market you can begin to get a better picture that the difference between the small and large breweries is more than just the quality of the beer.
In the end I just wanted Anat to say that Rhonda can’t blame Bud for all her woes (even as she tries to get them to partner with her). Despite having a talented/charismatic owner and some great beers Dogfish Head has taken more than a decade to slowly grow into a really successful brewery despite a frivolous lawsuit from AB over a couple of their beer names. The idea of a caffeinated pale lager won’t be supported by the craft beer movement because it is comprised of people who either are interested in the flavor of the beer or like the natural/local nature of it.
The final image of Anat turning her nose up at a big glass of (macro?) beer was indicative of someone who has no particular interest in beer other than the story of the “beer wars.” What is interesting about craft beer to me is the flavor of the beers and the passion of the brewers, not the politics (as important as they may or may not be).
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Century-old Scotch is found in Antarctica.
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A quick update to my last post regarding the current ban on alcohol sales in Carbondale grocery stores and gas stations. It seems that the Southern Illinoisan is keeping up on the issue which is a very good thing. The Southern is the largest and most influential newspaper (or media source, for that matter) in the Southern Illinois region and they can certainly help keep this discussion top of mind. I’m glad to see this story has warranted a follow up in today’s online edition.
For a recap of the initial story, you can see my previous post by scrolling down if you’re on beerphilosopher.com, or you can visit the article right here. Marika Josephson, a fellow local beer writer, has also taken up the story and gone the extra length to provide direct links to the Carbondale city council members email addresses.
If you find this issue to be one you can get behind as a local, responsible beer drinker, please don’t hesitate to email the city council members and express your support for lifting the ban on packaged alcohol sales in Carbondale. Let them know where you heard about it, too, and maybe we can help in some small way to be a catalyst for change that’s long over due.
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If beer didn’t contain any alcohol, but still tasted the same, would you still brew/drink it?
Yes – 76%
No – 23%
With 241 responses this was one of the more popular polls I have posted to date. The votes were divided, but a clear majority like their beer with or without the booze.
If beer didn’t contain any alcohol there are some days (and times of the day) that I would drink more and some that I would drink less, but I would certainly still be a homebrewer and a beer drinker. I mean how great would it be to have a rich creamy alcohol free oatmeal stout for breakfast before heading off to work? How nice would it be to go to a tasting or beer festival and not have to worry about driving home afterward? It really is a shame that there aren’t any “good” alcohol free beers out there.
Granted there are times when some alcohol adds to my enjoyment of a beer or situation, but by and large (for me) alcohol is a necessary distraction when it comes to drinking good beer. This is especially true this time of year when the big/rich flavors of strong beers are on my mind.
It really comes down to the fact that I enjoy eating and drinking plenty of things that are non-alcoholic, so why would my love of beer change if the alcohol went away? Of course this isn’t to say I wouldn’t trade out some of the beer I drink now for wine/mead/sake/liquor, but I don’t enjoy any of them nearly as much as beer.
Happy to hear comments from those who agreed with me, but I’d be more interested to hear from the people who answered “No.”
If you are reading the feed, visit the blog to vote in the new poll.
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If beer didn’t contain any alcohol, but still tasted the same, would you still brew/drink it?
Yes – 76%
No – 23%
With 241 responses this was one of the more popular polls I have posted to date. The votes were divided, but a clear majority like their beer with or without the booze.
If beer didn’t contain any alcohol there are some days (and times of the day) that I would drink more and some that I would drink less, but I would certainly still be a homebrewer and a beer drinker. I mean how great would it be to have a rich creamy alcohol free oatmeal stout for breakfast before heading off to work? How nice would it be to go to a tasting or beer festival and not have to worry about driving home afterward? It really is a shame that there aren’t any “good” alcohol free beers out there.
Granted there are times when some alcohol adds to my enjoyment of a beer or situation, but by and large (for me) alcohol is a necessary distraction when it comes to drinking good beer. This is especially true this time of year when the big/rich flavors of strong beers are on my mind.
It really comes down to the fact that I enjoy eating and drinking plenty of things that are non-alcoholic, so why would my love of beer change if the alcohol went away? Of course this isn’t to say I wouldn’t trade out some of the beer I drink now for wine/mead/sake/liquor, but I don’t enjoy any of them nearly as much as beer.
Happy to hear comments from those who agreed with me, but I’d be more interested to hear from the people who answered “No.”
If you are reading the feed, visit the blog to vote in the new poll.
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From the kybecca blog:
As a result of Ukrop’s closing kybecca has decided to consolidate the store at 4264 Plank Road with the original location at 400-402 William Street. Ukrop’s was the anchor tenant that provided traffic and synergy, and their closing has made this location redundant. Our last day at the Plank Road store will be March 2, 2010.
The Plank Road kybecca was the closest place to my home to get good beer. The store’s closing is disappointing, but not unexpected. With closing of Ukrop’s the shopping center is without an anchor store. If recent Fredericksburg history is any indication, the old Ukrop’s location will remain empty for a long time. Good beer, wine, and cheese can still be found at the downtown location, along with the kybecca wine bar.
See the entire press release here.
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