Greetings,

The following appeared in the New York Times on 18 March 2008 (The day after St. Patrick's Day - Just a coincidence?) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/science/18beer.html?ref=science

In this piece "For Scientists, a Beer Test Shows Results as a Litmus Test" , by CAROL KAESUK YOON  it is posited by a  "Dr. Tomas Grim, the author of the study and an ornithologist at Palacky University in the Czech Republic" that scientists who drink beer have less success in getting their research published. The piece ends with a quote from the good professor - "In spite of his study, Dr. Grim, who said he would on occasion enjoy more than 12 beers in a night, is not on a campaign to decrease beer drinking among scientists. Why not? His answer: "I like it.""

I have not found the actual article as published in Oikos "a journal issued by the Nordic Ecological Society and is one of the leading peer-reviewed journals in ecology" but I take immediate exception to the method of his thesis. Did he compare his results to those who drink wine? Did he compare his results to those to drink spirits? I think not. The sort of "research" that posits and then "proves" the thesis is not only counterproductive but bad science. As I understand the concept of true scientific research it involves throwing as wide a "net" as possible and then sorting the information into a coherent result. The sort of research done by Dr. Grim is as valid as the offering of the results of a "successful experiment". The essence of "experiment" is to discover the unknown. To exercise a search or to test a predetermined posit is bogus science of the worst sort.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

Greetings,

There are two styles, one is with yeast (heffe weiss) and the other is without yeast (crystal).  The style with yeast is a very cloudy, without yeast it is sparkling clear.  In either case, the wheat beer glass is designed to show off the unique aromas, as well as the colors of the beer. 

One of the more dramatic bar-events is when a knowledgeable bartender offers their customer a bottle of classic Bavarian wheat beer. Especially when poured into the classic tall slender wheat beer glass. This glass is similar to the pilsener glass in that it is tall and flutelike; however there is a major difference. It has a slightly wider mouth, and there is a bit of a "waist" to it about a third of the way up the glass and usually holds half a liter of beer. (The reason for this is that wheat beer is usually a packaged in a half liter bottles.)  Wheat beer is a visually interesting beer to serve.

Pouring wheat beer from a bottle is a bit of a theatrical effect. Take the glass and lower it down over the bottle, then slowly lifting and tilting both of the bottle and glass together, so that as the beer pours out hold the mouth of the bottle just above the developing head, by the time the tilted glass is resting on the bar, the beer from the bottle should be just fill the glass, leaving a thick rich head and an impressed consumer.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

Greetings,

This time we are going to discover the different flavors that malted barley brings to beer and ale.  To begin with, it is helpful to understand the reason for "malting" barley. 

First of all, the barley grain is not particularly suited to the baking of bread as it has far less gluten in it than its friend wheat.  However, if it is allowed to germinate, and then dried, the starches that are created in the germination process, helped along by enzymes that are already in the grain, are ideal for creating the sweet liquid that is the first step in modern brewing.  At the beginning of the brewing process. the mixtures of malts are crushed together to create "Grist" which becomes a "Mash" when the selection of different types of malted barley are ground up and added to hot water.  This allows the starches that I mentioned before, to come in contact with the enzymes, I also mention before, to create a sugary porridge. The liquid that is drained from this sugary portage is called "Wort".

As I noted before, the germinated barley is dried at the end of the process called malting. The flavor of this grain resembles an unroasted nut like character on top of the fairly full mouth feel that the starch brings to the table. This is the basic flavor of malted barley. This malted barley is then roasted at different temperatures to create different flavors that the brewer can use in creating beer and ale.  The industry uses what is called a "standard reference method" scale ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Reference_Method ) I prefer the unscientific terms of "lightly roasted.", "richly roasted.", "fully roasted", "black malt". (There is of course a great deal of difference in flavors between the first and last mentioned malt.)  The amount of roasting creates the flavors that range from slightly sweet, to an almost tannic dryness.  Some of the favorite words used to describe these flavors are: nutty, grainy, toasted, roasted, woody, caramel, sugar candy, molasses, treacle, brown sugar, and one of my favorites "burn sugar cane".  The brewers have names for the malts in the degree to which they are roasted.  A full listing of these, as far as I've gotten, can be found at my website.

To begin to fully experience the full flavor influence that malted barley has on beer, it is important to actually taste some malted barley. I suggest contacting either a homebrew supply shop, or natural/health foods store.  The homebrew supply shop should be able to supply you with a range of flavors, and the natural/health foods store should be able to supply you with the essential flavor.  As I mentioned in a previous blog many commercial breakfast cereals also include a high percentage of malt grains in their products as well.  Consult the fine print on your breakfast cereal to determine just how much malted grain is in your product.

After that first refreshing sensation of cold liquid satisfies your thirst and expectations, the first sweet notes of the malted barley should come through.  In this brief moment you have the chance to cross-indexed and categorize any remembrance of sweet that you have ever had.  A quick review of these sensations can give you the vocabulary starting points for the description of this beer or ale.  As I've mentioned before, it's helpful not to think of this as a beer or and ale, rather to think of it as a refreshing carbonated beverage.  This way you do not approach the tasting with a great deal of preconceived notions. Two things will give you a greater appreciation of the malts used in the beer or ale that you are tasting.

The first thing to remember is the temperature has a great effect on how you taste any type of flavor.  The colder something as the less flavors, you will taste.  The warmer something is the greater the chance of flavors to develop.  I offer the following example: I will admit that almost any mass-produced yellow beer is very refreshing when it is ice cold, a sip of that same beverage after it is reached room temperature is almost intolerable.  I suggest you try the experiment yourself.  The second thing to remember, or should I say be reminded of, is that most taste is actually the reaction to aroma.  By exercising your old factory capabilities to their maximum between the lip and sip allows you to fully appreciate the influence that the malts use have on that particular beverage.

It is also important to keep in mind that the impression that the hops bring to the table soon follow on the impressions that you get from the malts.  Their rush to the altar to wed, and they're hopefully happy marriage, will give you plenty of time at the ends to appreciate the influence of the hops.

But that is for another blog...

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance.

(Peter.LaFrance@beerbasics.com )

Greetings,

As I mentioned in a previous blog, you really only have three chances to experience the aromas of the particular beer or ale that you're tasting. As I noted before, the reason for this is that the first experience provides you with sensual first impressions.  After brief reflection, the second chance allows you to experience the aromas of this particular beer or ale, confirm what you first perceived and perhaps find one or two other sensations hiding beneath the initial impression.  The third chance to experience the aromas of a particular beer or ale is actually the first step in "tasting" the beer.

And so we actually began tasting the beer. During that moment between lip and sip, the aromas that you have been experiencing have started to resonate in your nasal passages.  Once you have swallowed the first sip of beer, additional aromas will be released at the back of the throat to echo the first impressions in the nasal passages.  This is why "tasting" beer is different than "tasting" wine.  The technique for experiencing wine involves what is called a "bit bucket".  This is a container for you to discreetly spit your wine after swirling it around in your mouth and experiencing the different taste and aroma sensations.  With wine, all of the essential sensations can be experienced in a sip aerate swirl and spit. To fully experience all of the flavors and aroma of beer, the beer must be swallowed. For that, beer tasters from the beginning have always been grateful.  But I digress...

And so you experience that first sip of beer.  Naturally, the first impression is one of the cool liquid.  If you are lucky and it is a well-made product, the next sensation should be a slightly prickly sensation on the tongue from the carbonation.  I hope you'll notice that so far I haven't mentioned anything about flavors.  It is important to understand these first physical sensations are present and have an effect on what you will taste.  The colder a product is the less you will be able to experience any of the flavors or aroma sensations.  On the other hand, the warmer a product is the more the faults of both flavor and aroma will stand out.  The faults would be anything that is considered to disturb the balance of a beer.  You are about to experience the second part of this balancing act. 

Now is the time that the sweet, grainy, cereal, roasted flavors should become evident.  Now it is time for the malt to show its stuff.  Here is where the brewmaster is able to play with a palette of flavors that no winemaker has at his or her hand.  Range in color and flavor of roasted malts is far too fast to be discussed here.  I can assure you that there are many websites covering this particular subject.  That said, I'll concentrate on the basic sweet flavors that "pale malt" and "caramel" malt at to almost any fermented malt beverage.

If you have never been to a professional or home brewery, I can suggest that if you wish to experience the taste and aroma of malted barley that you check on the side of your commercial cereal box and see if the words "malt" is anywhere mentioned on that label.  If it is, it is usually considered one of the most dominant flavors. For those fortunate enough to have access to an old-fashioned candy store, both the malted milkshake, and malted milk balls will give you the impression similar to the flavor found in beer.  The not like flavor as a richness and roundedness that is unique to malted barley.  (For more information on how barley is malted please check my website: http://www.beerbasics.com/ ).

In the next edition of this blog I will go further into the different flavors that malted barley bring to the beers and ales.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance.

(Peter.LaFrance@beerbasics.com ).

 Greetings,

Today I'm going to stay on the subject of aromas.  I find it amusing that the subject is called beer "tasting" or for that matter wine "tasting" when so much is involved in the olfactory sense. It has been agreed for a long time, in the culinary sense as well as a scientific sense that the actual things we taste consist mainly of variations on four themes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salt.  There are some of us who can taste more variations on these themes and there are some of us who can taste fewer variations on the same basic themes, but nevertheless, these are the basic "flavors".  It is our sense of smell that adds the incredible range of nuance to what we call "taste".

And so, it is almost impossible to begin to taste the beer without first smelling it.  Most beers, as soon as you open the bottle, give you an idea of the type of beer that they are by the aromas that give off.  (Should the beer be in a green glass bottle, there is a good chance you might experience the particularly memorable aroma of "skunk".) This initial aroma explosion is particularly true of ales.  The reason for this is that the volatile oils in the hops used in making ales are particularly pungent.  There are also a great deal more hops used in the production of ales than there are in the production of lagers.  It is also noteworthy, that the actual fermentation of lager takes approximately 31 days, while the production of ale takes approximately 7 days.  Logically, there should be more volatile oils in the ale than they would be in the lager.  Once again I digress...

Appreciating the aroma of beer begins with the understanding of the theory of "three".  You have three times to appreciate all of the different aromas that there are in a particular beer.  After that, you will have already thought about what you are experiencing and the chance to find a new flavor or a new aroma becomes remote.  You also have become familiar with some of the flavors and aromas from that particular beer and familiarity breeds less appreciation.

I would like to speak for a moment on the appreciation of aromas.  If you are lucky, or if you decide to pay attention, you should be able to ascertain the difference between the aromas of a slate sidewalk, and asphalt roadway, and the concrete sidewalk after a summer rain  For those of you who are not urban creatures, you should be able to tell by smell alone when you've crossed over from pasture or grassy area onto the plowed or bare earth.  The particular mix of petroleum and petroleum products that hover in the atmosphere when you are working on the engine of the automobile is a unique mixture of aromas.  You can say that these aromas are metallic, or oily, perhaps there is a hint of rubber, or asphalt.  All of these of the words are words that you would use to describe the atmosphere in an automobile garage. By naming particular things you call to mind, not only what they look like but what they smell like. It is this ability that is helpful to bring into mind when you are tasting and appreciating the aromatics of a beer.  In fact, I find it and interesting exercise to put words to any of aroma or flavor, of what I might experience at any particular time of the day or place I might be.  That sort of exercise doesn't help with long-term thought processes and they can send them into quite interesting directions.  But once again I digress...

And so you have three chances to appreciate all of the aromas of the beer that you are about to "taste".  How you go about executing these three chances will be the topic of the next blog.  Stay tuned...

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance.

( Peter.LaFrance@beerbasics.com )

Greetings,

For the last 25 years I have written about beer; its history, its production, it's marketing, and its flavors and aromas.  For the last 25 years I have read books, magazines and newspapers describing beer's flavors and aromas.  When of the most difficult things I have experienced and found in my reading is the ability to use words to describe beer.

The obvious words such as "malt", "yeast" and "hoppy" are all helpful if you know what these flavors taste like.  I can vividly remember one late evening walking through Salzburg Austria, in a split second I knew we were with the and at least 100 yards of a brewery.  None of the other 10 journalists that I was traveling with had any idea what that aroma was.  What made it even more interesting to me was that I knew that they were brewing smoked beer that night.  I made this observation to the tour guide he was both disappointed and pleased. He was pleased that I had recognized one of Salzburg's most interesting industries; he was disappointed because he realized he would now have to explain the brewing process to the rest of the crowd.

I have often faced a similar dilemma when organizing a beer dinner.  And so, it is a tradition whenever I do one of these dinners to begin with a very simple observation.  I tell the assembled group to do something very simple.  I tell them not to think of the beverage as beer.  I suggest that it is quite simply, a refreshing carbonated beverage.  This helps removed preconceived ideas and notions and vocabulary from their minds.  It also creates the opportunity to look for and experience flavors that might be missed.

Over the next few blogs, I hope to explore the vast vocabulary that can be used in describing beer.  I accept the challenge and hope you accept that challenge with me.

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

(http://www.beerbasics.com/ )

Recently I read an article about the rights of 18-year-olds.  The article pointed out that a person of that age can marry, serve in the military, vote but not legally buy alcoholic beverages.  Seems strange doesn't it?  If we can trust an 18-year-old with a tank, shouldn't we be able to trust him/her with a beer? 

I am 48-years-old. When I was 18, it was legal to drink.  I now  have a 17-year-old son who will be graduating from high-school this year and turning 18 in August.  Watching him and his friends brings back a lot of memories of me and my friends at that age. Thefore as an adult and a dad I have made a few observations. For instance at 18 one has quicker reflexes than someone at age 48.  The teens eyesight is better and physically most 18-year-olds are  superior to  most 50-year-olds in matters of endurance.  Based on physiology  the 18-year-old is better equipped to handle the effects of alchohol than  those of us approaching 50.

What the 18-year-old lacks however is good judgment.  When I was 18, I often overestimated my abilities to handle alcohol and opted to drive drunk.  Statistics show that when the drinking age was lowered from 21 to 18, the death toll dropped substantially among the 18 to 20 crowd.  Simply put, young folks think they are indestructible--I consider that mental attitude one of the blessings of youth.  Also, most Americans age 18 to 20 either own or have access to a car.  Mix inexperience, a car, a feeling of being invincible with too many beer and catastrophe  will result.

Now back to the military folks.  I think it is fine for an enlisted person to drink on base (assuming no driving).  If we are asking our young soldier to risk their lives, I do believe they deserve the right to enjoy a cool libation.

What do you think?   

Oh the political fun keeps on coming.  As most of you know Obama lost the Nevada primary.   He was reaching out to the African Americans, the young progressives and the independent voters.  Hillary targeted white voters, Hispanics, and older African Americans.  Obama was ahead in the polls, so what happened?

Apparently, Obama made light of a very important political group and they opted not to vote for him as payback.  Who are those folks?  Here is a hint; they are men, women, poor, rich, educated and illiterate.   Give up?  It was the beer drinkers. Obama said "this election is not about who you want to have a beer with".

Ouch!! Well, as a result many beer drinkers who were planning on voting for him did not.  I think this proves that beer drinkers need to be considered a special interest group.  Move over Women's Rights, Gay & Lesbian and Animal Lover groups, the Beer Drinkers of America have arrived.

Perhaps, instead of a "chicken in every pot" we can be promised a Budweiser in every refrigerator.

What do you think? 

Many in the Republican Party feel the only chance of keeping the White House is for Hillary Clinton to win the democratic nomination.  In my humble opinion the DEMS on paper should control house, senate and the presidency based on the poor job the republicans have done.  However, the savior of the 2008 elections for the GOP may in fact be Hillary Clinton. 

Obama is giving her a run for the money. He is articulate, likeable, and seems to have a grasp for the social issues that are important to many Americans.  Since his rise to prominence he is increasing under attack by the Clinton machine.  The Clinton strategy seems to be to divide the party by playing the race card.  Obviously Hillary and gang are too smart to simply say he is black, inexperienced and therefore unelectable.  Instead they have there cronies make statements referring to his drug use as a young man and questioning his electability.   Mr. Hillary (Bill) referred to Obama’s run for president as a “fairy tale”.  The result is predictable, whites are gravitating to Hillary and blacks are rallying around Obama.  I am a registered Republican.  I do not plan on voting for either Hillary or Obama.  Yet, when I watch the innuendos being levied at Obama, I wonder how the Clinton camp can sleep soundly at night.

The good news for Republicans is that if Hillary wins the nomination she will not only polarize the Republican Base, but she will have alienated many black voters because of her unwarranted attacks on Obama’s personal life and past. Go Hillary!!

To prevent this from happening in the future let’s disqualify anyone from running for office that has ever tried drugs, tried alcohol while underage, broken any laws or said anything that can be considered racist, bigoted, or sexist.  I suspect the 3-year-old we choose will do a much better job of running the country than most.

What do you think?  Comment back.

I love this election year.  Hillary won in NH despite being behind in every pole conducted in the entire civilized world.  What does this mean you ask?  It means that it is still the voters, not the pollsters who matter.

I am a political junky.  I am also a registered Republican.  However, I am following both parties closely at this time.  Who do I think should be the next president? At heart, I am also a South Georgia redneck so I always ask if the person would make a good fishing buddy.

Well, on the republican side I'd have to go with Huckabee or McCain.  Both would make good fishing buddies, likely they have some good stories and I am sure both drive a truck from time to time--a little redneck in the mix.  Mitt is too preppie.  I suspect he would hire someone to do his actual fishing and then take credit for the fish caught.  Rudy only wants to talk about his role in 9/11 (though it was important).  I am afraid I would become board with him in a hurry.

On the democratic side, Hillary is too high maintenance to take fishing—however husband Bill would have some great stories! Obama seems nice, but is more theory than experience.  I suspect he would likely try and form a committee to determine where to fish, how to fish, and if the fish could be kept or must be released.    That leaves Edwards and Richardson.  Edwards is a southerner, but seems angry at everyone.  Fishing with him wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience.  Plus, if he slips in the boat, he may sue.  Richardson on the other hand seems down to earth. 

In conclusion, I'd support Huckabee, McCain or Richardson.  

What do you think?  Comment back.