This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. Ward sent me a link to a story on the Austin American-Statesman about the history of the Spoetzl Brewery. It talks about the two major figures in the history of Shiner beer, Kosmos Spotezl and Carlos Alvarez of Gambrinus:

This year, the business that eventually came to be known as the K. Spoetzl Brewery is 100, having survived Prohibition, two wars against the homeland of the founders, fickle changes in taste and the demise of the vast majority of small local breweries — once there were as many as 7,000, compared with about 1,500 today — that had sprung up in most every community. Over the century, Spoetzl has had at least two saviors, one from Bavaria and another, almost eight decades later, from Mexico.

It's an interesting read, and interesting for me as someone who has only known Shiner as The Texas Beer (screw that Lone Star crap). It chronicles Shiner's history from its founding, to Prohibition, to its acquisition of an identity in Austin, to its purchase by Gambrinus in 1989, which led to the brewery's expansion and the transformation of Shiner into what it is today.

Labels: News, Spoetzl Brewery

There's an article about Dogfish Head and "Extreme Beer" in last week's "Food" issue of the New Yorker. The article is long, and focuses mostly on Dogfish Head, and some of the more unusual brews that they they produce. There's also a good bit of brewing history, from the Reinheitsgebot, to the decline of American brewing after prohibition, to the craft beer resurgence.

There's too much to distill it down to a few quotes. I recommend reading the whole thing. It's also nice to see press for craft beer.

Labels: News

There's a nice article in the Washington Post called Another Kind of Red, about Flanders Red Ales. It starts by mentioning Rodenbach Grand Cru and later mentions other Belgian and American versions like Duchesse de Bourgogne and La Folie. It does a nice job of describing the style:

Don't be intimidated by the sharp, almost vinegar-like aroma, a common trait of the Flanders sour red ale style. You'll find these beers complex, thirst-quenching and food-friendly. They're remnants of an earlier era when brewers aged their beers in unlined wooden vessels; microorganisms residing in the wood, particularly lactobacillus and wild yeasts, joined in the fermentation and made their own flavor contributions.

Flanders red ales are fruity, with cherry being the most common descriptor. You might also detect a little sour apple, raspberry or cranberry in the Rodenbach. Those flavors come from fermentation byproducts called esters and from acedic acid and lactic acid (also a component in yogurt). A wild fermentation can be unpredictable, so brewers try to achieve consistency by blending the contents of different vessels.

Specialty malts are responsible for the ruddy color, which ranges from deep amber to burgundy, and add a caramely sweetness. Hopping is minimal in these beers, but contact with the wood results in a dry, mouth-tingling tannic taste.

It's nice to see mainstream coverage of beer, and especially to see coverage of wild/sour beers.

Labels: Flanders Red Ale, News, Sour Beer

In "Scents and Sensibility" from the March 10th issue of The New Yorker John Lanchester reviews "Perumes: The Guide" by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. How does a review of a book of perfume reviews relate to beer? While the review never mentions beer, it does mention sensory evaluation of wine, which was enough to get me thinking about beer.

People who review beers (and wines) tend to use a common array of terms in their descriptions. Malty characters have their own set of descriptors: caramel, bready, chocolate, roasted and so on. Hops can be described as: resiny, citric, grassy, piney, et cetera. The meanings of some of the terms are clear, but what the hell does "resiny" mean? Some of the characteristics that these descriptors refer to can be unclear until we try a beer or wine in which their presence is so singular that we have a sensory epiphany. In the first few paragraphs of his review Lanchester discusses this phenomenon:

For years, ever since I started taking an interest in wine, I’ve been annoyed by the word “grainy.” It’s a word that mavens use in relation to red wines, and refers to certain types of tannin—the chemical that cures leather, is present in tea, and makes the mouth pucker. Tannin is a preservative and an important factor in the way wines age. Still, how could a liquid be “grainy”?

Then, a few nights ago, I opened a bottle of wine I’d been given, a Languedoc red called Le Pigeonnier, from the European heat-wave year of 2003, and, without concentrating very hard, took a sip, noticed something odd about the mouthfeel of the wine, and suddenly realized—bam!—that it was grainy. I’d found the famous grainy tannins, and the term actually made sense, because the wine definitely had a particulate, almost sandlike texture, not unpleasant, but distinctive. What’s more, in tasting it I realized that I’d encountered versions of it—milder, more restrained versions—before. Now I knew what grainy tannins were.

I was reminded of my "Aha!" moment with Brettanomyces. Brettanomyces is a genus of yeast sometimes used in fermentation. They were once prevalent in giving stouts, and are of primary importance in the production of "wild beers" such as lambic, Flanders Red Ale and Flanders Brown Ales. Brettanomyces is also used to bottle condition Orval.

I first became aware of Brett after reading The Brewmaster's Table by Garrett Oliver. In his description of Orval, Oliver uses the term Goût d'Orval which describes the characteristic aromas and flavors contributed by Brettanomyces. The more common and perhaps more descriptive term was coined by Michael Jackson: "hop sack". What exactly does a hop sack smell like? I'd had Orval and other beers fermented with Brett before, but I didn't really appreciate what hop sack meant until I tried a bottle of Orval that was several months old. I wish that I'd stressed this more in the original blog entry. There were aromas that were similar to hops, but distinctly different: slightly more mellowed, and different in a way whose description still eludes me. I like the term aged hop aroma although, this still isn't completely accurate.

Has anyone else had moments like this with beer?

Labels: Brasserie d'Orval, News, Reviewing

Evan Rail has a new article in The Times about German beer that does a good job of discussing various regional German beers including those from Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig and Bamberg.

There's this mouthwatering description of Berliner weisse:

She was right: it was bitingly sour, partly from the unusual use of lactobacillus in fermentation, the same type of bacteria that produce yogurt, in addition to the regular brewer's yeast. After a very light sweetness in the mouth, there was a sharp, yogurt-like sour finish that made the drink surprisingly refreshing.

There's also Kölsch in Cologne, including a bit about the history, culture and German law behind the beer:

By German law, only beers brewed in Cologne may be called Kölsch, and they must be served in the tall, cylindrical glasses called stange. The Kölsch waiter, known as a Köbes, is almost always clad in blue and is universally known for a sharp tongue. (Request a glass of water instead of beer and your Köbes will probably ask if he should bring soap and a towel, too.)

I managed to get my first Kölsch without much hassle, handed over by a burly Köbes swinging the traditional round tray called a kranz, or wreath. The beer was not unlike a Pilsener in color, but the taste was much less bitter, with a nice grassy note in the mouth and a delicate fruitiness to the finish. I had more trouble getting the second, and when it came, I noticed the Köbes brusquely called me “du,” the informal word for “you” that an adult might use to address a child.

Leipzig is home of a style called Gose, "a deep orange brew flavored with salt and coriander," which has only been revived in the last 20 years.

The Gose was amazing, with a mild taste of salt immediately noticeable in its thick, mousse-like head. Its body was light and slightly spicy followed by a remarkably bright finish — more crisp than the most crisp riesling, sharper than the sharpest Chablis, and a better match for tricky citrus and vinaigrette than any wine I'd ever encountered.

In Bamberg there's the smoked-malt rauchbier:

Swooning from the intense flavors even more than the alcohol, I tried to catalog the tastes: caramel, acacia and notes of smoked meats ranging from ham to Alaskan salmon and sweet unagi, Japanese eel. It was liquid bacon, sure, but it was also as peaty as a fine single malt — Ardbeg came to mind.

It's an interesting, well-written article that really makes me want to go to Germany.

Labels: News

There's an article in the Prague Daily Monitor about a Czech beer style called Speciál, which I hadn't heard of before.

Although speciál is just a single term, it actually signifies a vast category that includes a variety of golden, half-dark and dark beers of various strengths. According to Czech regulations, anything brewed with a percentage of initial sugar greater than 13 — denoted 13° — is considered a speciál.

It's an interesting read, and definitely something to keep in mind for the trip to the Czech Republic that my friends and I have been talking about taking.

Labels: News

While I'm blogging about beer articles I'll point out this one by Stephen Beaumont in Saveur about one of my new favorite styles, Lambics. He spends a good deal of time talking about Brasserie Cantillon, my favorite Lambic producer.

At Cantillon, as at all traditional lambic breweries, scant attention is paid to the rules of modern beer making. Whereas other beers are fermented with carefully controlled yeast strains, lambics owe their fermentation to a wild party of airborne microflora that includes more than 100 identified yeast strains and 50 kinds of bacteria. Since virtually everything in the brewery is thought to have the microbiotic potential to affect this spontaneous fermentation, there is a certain endearing grubbiness to Cantillon. The air inside the brewery makes for an olfactory adventure, perfumed as it is with a musky potpourri of damp wood, wet grain, and a heady mix of barnyard aromas known collectively and affectionately as "horse blanket".

The article is definitely worth a read, and has given me a craving for a nice sour Lambic. I may have to splurge for a bottle of St. Lamvinus tomorrow.

Labels: Lambic, News, Sour Beer

I don't normally get the Sunday Times, but one was delivered to my house this morning for whatever reason. There's an interesting article by Evan Rail about beer travel in the Travel section.

Rail briefly talks about the idea of beer travel, and how many breweries are now building tasting rooms and even hotels to capitalize on this enthusiasm for beer.

Going to the source is an emerging pastime for beer lovers. The wine trails of Napa, Bordeaux and Piedmont need no introduction. The same, however, cannot be said for the beer trails of Bohemia and Moravia. And yet, in recent years, amateur beer hunters have begun carving their own paths through these ancient Czech kingdoms, tapping into the same passion for local hops and barley that drives oenophiles to cross the globe for zinfandel and nebbiolo.

[snip]

Around Europe, a handful of beer trails have already emerged, like the lambic breweries of the Senne Valley in Belgium, the seven Trappist monastery breweries of Belgium and the Netherlands, and the dozen or so Kölsch beer makers of Cologne.

He then goes on to describe his four-day beer trek around the Czech Republic. The article is fairly lengthy, but worth a read if you're interested.

Labels: News, Travel

Travis Poling at the San Antonio Express-News reports on his Brew Notes Blog that Pierre Celis will be returning to Texas to brew at Real Ale Brewing. Great news for Texas brewing and for Real Ale.

For those of you unfamiliar, Celis revived the Witbier style in the 1960s with Hoegaarden. In the 1990s he moved to Austin Texas and began brewing beer under the Celis name. The Celis Brewery in Austin was fully acquired by Miller in 2000, and was promptly closed. Michigan Brewing Company bought the rights to the name and produces several "Celis" beers.

Real Ale makes some great beers. Whenever I'm back in Texas I try to have a pint or two of Fireman's #4 or Full Moon Pale Rye Ale. If I'm really lucky their Shade Grown Coffee Porter is in season.

Labels: News

There's an interesting article (registration required) in today's New York Times about the popularity of hoppy craft beers. The article mentions IPAs and Double IPAs from breweries like Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory.

The article does a good job discussing different varieties of hops and the characteristics that they impart to beer. There's also an interesting bit about the origin of Cascade hops.

All this experimentation began with an unsuccessful effort to please the giants of the brewing industry.

In the 1960's and 70's, Schlitz, Pabst, Anheuser-Busch and other big breweries that depended on Cluster were looking for a more bitter hop so they could use less. Hop breeders in the Pacific Northwest, where virtually all American hops are grown, responded with Cascade.

But while Cascade's bitterness was more intense than Cluster's, its shelf life was considerably shorter, so it was little used until the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company introduced its Pale Ale in 1981.

The article also mentions newer hoppy pilsners from DFH and Victory. There's a great quote from Sam Calagione about DFH's "imperial" pilsner.

"We are launching this big, super-hoppy beer to remind people that the pilsner style used to have a lot of flavor and a lot of hops before the big breweries and their half-billion-dollar advertising budgets ruined it," he said.

It's an interesting article, and well worth the read.

Labels: Hops, News

Appellation Beer links to this article in the New York Post about Aviram Turgeman, New York's first beer "sommelier." The newly opened Cafe D'Alsace in The Upper East Side has over 100 bottled beers, and Turgeman focuses on pairing beer with food. Turgeman says, "Beer can pair just as well with food as wine. We have the variety and selection here to show people how to do just that."

It's nice to see a restaurant that emphasizes quality beer. Most of the nicer restaurants I've been to in Boston focus on wine, and serve the standard alleged premium beers (Heineken, Amstel Light, Corona, etc.) with maybe one or two truly good beers thrown in. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Labels: Beer and Food, Links, News

I found this interesting article about my favorite organism, both personally and scientifically, from RSBS. The article talks about the commercial importance of yeast in making beer, bread and wine. It also talks about the hypothesis that yeast may have played a large role in our civilization.

Yeast, it seems, might even have prompted the beginnings of modern civilization. According to some historians, humans gave up their nomadic ways and settled in villages to grow grain for baking and brewing after they discovered the benefits of yeast, namely fermentation and leavening.

One of the most interesting parts of the article, for me at least, was the yeast collection of the late Herman J. Phaff at UC Davis.

The university’s Department of Food Science and Technology houses one of the world’s largest collections of yeast, with more than 500 species and 6,000 strains, including heirloom wine yeast from California and Europe.

Much of the collection was gathered by professor Herman J. Phaff, who has been called the Indiana Jones of yeast.

On expeditions to Japan, Argentina, the Caribbean and Mexico, Phaff gently scraped samples of yeast from tree branches and fruit, cactuses, flowers and rotting stumps. He brought the prizes back to UC-Davis, where he worked for decades.

There is mention of a few ways science done with yeast benefits humans. However, both of examples are applied science. As a yeast researcher I get annoyed that basic research in yeast (and basic research in general) gets short shrift in the media. For example, an article I read about genome sequencing in Wired several years ago listed yeast as commercially important, but not scientifically important.

Yeast research has been tremendously important in our understanding of basic biological problems. Studies of the yeast cell cycle paved the way for studies of the mammalian cell cycle. The 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was given for cell-cycle work. Two of the three recipients won for their work in yeast. Leland Hartwell for work in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Sir Paul Nurse for his work in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The end of the article has some quotes from bakers and brewers, and talks about the use of yeast commercially.

The brewery [an Anheuser-Busch plant in California] can produce 136 million gallons of beer each year. But all that Budweiser depends on the well-being of the yeast, a secret strain used by Anheuser-Busch since 1876.

It's too bad that this secret yeast strain is used largely to create such bad beer.

Labels: News, Yeast

There's a story in The Prague Monitor that says "Doctors say moderate beer drinkers age slower." I've seen a mention of this on almost every beer news site I've read today. The reactions have been exclusively enthusiastic. I haven't read the study, so I don't know if the 'beer slows aging' angle is present in the study, or if it's just sloppy reporting.

One hundred middle-aged Czech men were screened for normal kidney and liver function prior to the study. They abstained from alcohol for one month, and then had two glasses a day, totaling 0.8 liters for two-months. From the article it seems that they were then subjected to blood tests. At the end of the study the men had lower levels of "dangerous blood lipids", increased levels of good cholesterol, improved antioxidant protection and lower levels of free radicals (I'm not sure how you test for the last two). As a negative side effect the men gained weight.

This is a short study funded by a coalition of Czech brewers (take with a grain or two of salt), which finds that moderate beer consumption has a positive effect on levels of blood fat, and good cholesterol levels. However, according to the article:

A study conducted by doctors who monitored nearly a hundred middle-aged men over the course of three months revealed that the moderate consumption of beer slows aging and reduces the likelihood of heart attacks and arteriosclerosis, the daily Plzensky denik reports today.

This study only lasted three months, which is too short a time to accurately assess long-term changes in the likelihood of heart attacks, arteriosclerosis, or aging (granted there is a positive correlation between the effects observed and reduced risk of heart disease). So either the study or the journalists overstate their conclusions. Either it's misleading science or sloppy journalism. One should also take into account that the men drinking beer experienced weight gain, which in the long-term could negate any benefits of drinking beer.

What this study is:
A small study that shows that moderate beer consumption may help reduce the amount of fat in the blood, and raise levels of good cholesterol.

What this study isn't:
A long-term epidemiological study that conclusively proves that beer reduces the risk of heart attacks or heart disease.

The moral:
Don't expect beer to be a fountain of youth. Also, take most science journalism with a large grain of salt.

Labels: News