Greetings,

In the news today there is a report on the St. Louis Today web site (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/83D7D33AC2D20BFC862574130006DB00?OpenDocument ) that, in October 2008 a new Budweiser American Ale will be introduced.

I am not surprised. This is a company that can brew a special beer for any one of its distributors who can sell the product. That was demonstrated with the Pacific Coast brand and Spinnaker on the east coast. Once upon a time in Idaho, along with two dozen other journalists and beer-press folks, I had a chance to spend a morning tasting over two dozen different beers brewed by the A-B folks as they set about introducing the "Classic" line of Michelob products. As I remember it, the "Pale Ale" was the first offering.

And now, Budweiser is going to slap its brand on an ale! Well it's about time. The brand itself has seen significant market share and sales losses over the past few years. The "craft" segment of the market has, during the same time, shown double digit increases in profits and production; and so I am not surprised that the good folks at A-B see the writing on the wall and seem to want to meet the challenge of a changing market and fix what ales them. As one who fondly remembers something delicious once called Ballentine Pale India Ale when it was brewed in Cranston, RI. That was fine inexpensive ale, worth seeking out. I only hope that they find a flavor profile that will make the product worthy of the name "Ale."

Cheers!

Peter LaFrance

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

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/ )