http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=16&sub=2 en-US Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:50:01 UTC Beer Planet info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=19 Even though monks discovered lager, the beer the monastic tradition is most closely associated with today is the Trappist Ales of Belgium’s Trappist Monasteries. The hard-working monks who abide by the Trappist order live by the fruits of their labor alone, and that often means they need to sell their beer. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Sun, 13 Nov 2011 07:20:59 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=13 Generally you are going to open your beer (of course), pour it in a glass (hopefully), take a brief moment to reflect (maybe?) and then down she goes (definitely). This whole process is fine for your second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth beer of the night, but with your first beer, especially if you are drinking something a little more special than the buck-a-beer lager you found in the fridge, you might want to employ theme steps of beet tasting. Step 1: Use Your Eyes Don"t just see your beer – look at your beer. Drinking happens with all the senses, so take some rime to look at that freshly poured glass of beer. Beautiful, isn't it? Notice the color of the beer; different styles of beer can vary tremendously in color, but this is not to say that a certain color is indicative of a certain taste. For example, a lager like Waterloo Dark, brewed in Ontario by the Brick Brewing Company, is as black as cola, but is thin and light with a malty, sweet start and a lightly hopped finish – not at all what you expect from a first glance. Take note of the clarity of the brew; clarity is important to some styles, like Pilsner (whose trademark is a crisp, golden appearance), while a cloudy drink can also be the sign of a good wheat beer. If a beer isn"t clear, that"s okay. Many beers aren't made to be dear, and as beer judge Marty Nachel points out, clarity is often the result of modem brewing techniques – in which brewers filter the beer to remove excess yeast-and-nothing more. If you need to drink a clear beer, stick with the Molsom and Labatts of the world. Otherwise, enjoy all the different charities the beer universe bas to offer. Another thing to look for the size of the head. A good head can tell you a lot about the quality of a beer, or the cleanliness of the glass you"re drinking from. If a beer can"t maintain a head, the beer may be flat, or the glass may have residual oils from its last use that have contributed to the head breaking down. A healthy head should be about two fingers thick, or dose to one inch, with bubbles that are tiny. Ideally, beer should maintain some head down to the last sip. Step 2: The Swirl Swirl your beer gently. This will release the important aromatic properties of the beer. Be careful, though. As beer expert Michael Jackson notes, swirling in public has a tendency to look pretentious. Step 3: Use Your Sniffer Sniff away. If you don"t want to swirl for fear of rolling eyes, you can instead do some sniffing when you first pour your beer and the aromatics of it are released. Depending on the malt and hops used, you might smell a wide variety of things, from chocolate to citrus to pine needles. Smelling is a vital step of beer tasting, as much of what we taste comes from our sense of smell. Step 4: Time to Taste Sip. This isn't a chugging contest, so take a small, manageable sip that you are able to track as it cascades from the tip to the back of your tongue. Beer has distinct flavours that present themselves at the tip, middle and back of the tongue. Because of these flavours, don"t swallow your sip right away. Instead, swirl it around in your mouth once before swallowing in order to get a well-rounded profile of the beer's overall taste. Swirling marries the flavours experienced at the tip and middle of the tongue. Upon swallowing, the back of your tongue experiences the finish, which is often slightly more bitter than the tastes experienced at the middle and the tip. The finish is swallowed shortly by the aftertaste. This entire trip, from tip to aftertaste, forms the taste profile of a beer, and it is often complex. As a result, it is important to note how the beer tasted at all different regions and points of the sip. While you taste the beet as it swishes around in your mouth, also pay attention to its consistency, which is articulated by a description called "mouth feel". Mouth feel is an important factor in tasting as it helps identify whether the beer has done a good job in representing the family it belongs too. The mouth feel, like the other beer-tasting steps, is a key component in the overall enjoyment of your brew. Step 5: Make Some Notes The unofficial fifth step of beet tasting is to reflect on steps one through four. Often we are too consumed with what is going on around us to truly appreciate what it is that we are ingesting. A brief moment to collect your thought on what you just tasted will do wonders fur your beet appreciation and evaluation of future pints. Following these steps allows you to fully experience your beer and enhance your enjoyment of it. If having multiple, different beers in an evening, conduct steps one to four (and maybe five) with each brew, making sure to drink water or eat plain bread in between samples in order to cleanse the palate. Avoid greasy or salty foods: they distort the taste of beer. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:16:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=1 Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by brewing and the fermentation of starches derived from cereals. The most common cereal for beer brewing is malted barley, although wheat, corn, and rice are also widely used, usually in conjunction with barley. Most beer is flavoured with hops, which adds a slightly bitter taste and acts as a natural preservative. Occasionally, other ingredients such as herbs or fruit may also be included in the brewing process. Alcoholic beverages fermented from non-starch sources such as grape juice (wine) or honey (mead) are not classified as beer. It is the world"s oldest and most consumed alcoholic beverage, and the most popular drink overall after water and tea.Some of the earliest known writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating beer and beer parlors, and "The Hymn to Ninkasi", a prayer to the Mesopotamian Goddess of Beer, served as both a prayer and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=2 Belgian beer varies from the popular pale lager to the esoteric appeal of lambic beer and Flemish red. Belgian beer-brewing"s origins go back to the Middle Ages, when monasteries began producing beers. Belgian beer production was assisted by the 1919 Belgian "Vandervelde Act", that prohibited the sale of spirits in pubs, inducing the market to produce beers with a higher level of alcohol. The Vandervelde Act was lifted in 1983. High esteem of Belgian beer is supported by beer writers such as Michael Jackson. Although beer production in Belgium is now dominated by large international corporations, there are more than 170 breweries in the country, producing more than 1200 beers. Production limits and seasonality could affect the availability of those beer. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=6 Beer is a common alcoholic beverage that is made from barley, yeast, hops, water, and grains. Its alcoholic content comes from the process of fermentation, which converts the simple sugars (carbohydrates) in the grains and barley into alcohol. The oldest proven records of the brewing of beer are about 6,000 years old. These records refer to a group of people called the Sumerians. No one really knows how they discovered the brewing technique, but it could be thought that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment and a inebriating pulp resulted. The Sumerians referred to beer as the "divine drink" and it made them feel "exhilarated, wonderful and blissful". Beer is considered to be a social lubricant in many societies and is consumed in countries all over the world. There are breweries in Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria as well as African countries and remote countries such as Mongolia. Sales of beer are four times that of wine, the second most popular alcoholic beverage. In most societies, beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage. As time progresses, people around the world consume more and more beer. Annually, the world consumes over 100 billion liters of beer. Reports show that this value is on the rise due to an increased amount of under-aged drinkers and an increasing variety of beers. The brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. More than 133 billion liters (35 billion gallons) are sold per year—producing total global revenues of $294.5 billion (£147.7 billion) in 2006. According to Kirin Holdings Company report (2004) the greatest amount of beer consumption per capita in 2004 was registered in Czech Republic – 156.9L (see the table below). Then come Ireland and Germany with 131.1L and 115.8L accordingly; Belgium, which is considered to be the country of beer, surprisingly is on the 7th place. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=7 Yeast has been around the beer game since before beer even had a name. And the funny thing is, beer had a name before yeast did. It took a long time to figure out what was making our mash of water, barley and spices make us feel so good and tingly. In fact, without microscopes, we were hopeless to identify yeast as something from this world. So, what did we do? We attributed it to God, of course. The chemical reaction yeast caused was believed to happen by divine intervention, so the whole process that transformed our unappetizing watery mush to glorious drink was dubbed “Godisgood”. Thanks again to industrious, beer-loving Bavarian monks, brewers also know of two types of yeast that are great for making beer: one for making ale, and other for making lager. Both varieties belong to Saccharomyces species of the genus. The first, a warm-fermenting yeast (read: ale yeast) is called S. cerevisiae, the second, a cold fermenting yeast (read: lager yeast) is called S. uvarum. Today, thanks to in large part to the students of Luis Paster, brewers are well-versed in the uses of yeast and can make beer from hundreds of isolated yeast strains. Each of these strains falls into one of the two categories: S. cerevisiae or S. uvarum. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=9 Specialty brews aren’t for everyone, and they aren’t for every occasion, either. Beer, like clothing, can be tailored for the season. And so, just as you wouldn’t wear shorts outside in the winter, a pint of Guinnes wouldn’t be your first choice on a muggy summer day. Drinking seasonal brew, whether curling up with a malty, high-gravity winter-warmer in from of the fireplace or having a light, quenching wheat ale in the summer month, is a very enjoyable pastime. Here is a list of some brew styles, that you might enjoy in each season. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=10 Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains) in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt. Descriptions of various beer recipes can be found in Sumerian writings, some of the oldest known writing of any sort. Brewing takes place in a brewery by a brewer, and the brewing industry is part of most western economies. The basic ingredients of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted barley, which is able to be fermented (converted into alcohol); a brewer\"s yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavouring such as hops. A secondary starch source (an adjunct) may be used, such as maize (corn), rice or sugar. Less widely used starch sources include millet, sorghum and cassava root in Africa, potato in Brazil, and agave in Mexico, among others.The amount of each starch source in a beer recipe is collectively called the grain bill. There are several steps in the brewing process, which include malting, milling, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, conditioning, filtering, and packaging. There are three main fermentation methods, warm, cool and wild or spontaneous. Fermentation may take place in open or closed vessels. There may be a secondary fermentation which can take place in the brewery, in the cask or in the bottle. Brewing specifically refers to the process of steeping, such as with making tea, sake and soy sauce. Wine and cider technically aren\"t brewed, rather vinted, as the entire fruit is pressed, and then the liquid extracted. Mead isn\"t technically brewed, as the honey is used entirely, as opposed to being steeped in water. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=11 Best drinkers, like the rest of alcohol-drinking world, employ different styles of glassware for different types of beer. These various drinking instruments enhance the select styles of beer that are meant to be quaffed from them. This is not to say that if you don’t have a goblet you can’t drink the barley wine you just purchased, but instead, if you did have said gobbler, that barley wine could go from great to perfect. Glass varieties are numerous and often called by more than one name. To confuse things further, beer companies often release their own special glassware for their own beers. In order to simplify the already muddied waters of beer glassware, think of your options, kind of fancy or not fancy at all. (While this hierarchical labeling might irk some beer connoisseurs who are quite rightfully trying to level the beer playing field by suggesting that no one style is superior to another-because it is all a matter of opinion – it still goes without saying that if a certain type of beer is beer served in a stemmed glass, then that beer is fancy, end of story). info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=12 There are a few tricks to pouring difrerent styles of beer, and these tricks will allow you to get the suds from its packaging to the glass-properly. Pouring Craft Ales and Lagers For most craft beers, it is best to start me pour with a straight drop, right down the center of the glass to its bottom. This pouring style helps release the gas from the packaging and gives your beer a nice head. Once that lovely, rich head has formed (something that happens very quickly), tilt the glass and continue to slowly empty the rest of the contents down the side of the glass. As the vessel from which you are pouring becomes increasingly empty, slowly tilt the glass back to its upright position and add the last drops from the bottle or can. If you have to stop a few times during the pour to let the beer"s head settle a little, that"s okay. As you work out your technique, this will happen less and less. Pouring Wheat Beers This style of heer is known for its high carbonation, which results in a rich, foamy and often large head. Wheat beer needs a little more care in its pour. No drop-shots here. A good tip is ro rinse the inside of your glass with cold water before you start to pour. Wetting the glass helps control the head buildup. Take your rime pouring this style of beer. Be gentle. Otherwise you could end up with all head and no body. Pouring North American Lagers That beer is typically very carbonated and relatively thin in body. Slowly pour North American lagcrs down the side of your glass, but don"t employ the drop-shot, as the head on these beers can quickly get out of control. If by accident you are a little cavalier with your pour, don"t worry. The head you just made will dissipate quickly. Next time, just be patient and pour these beers slowly. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=14 Food and drink pairing, something that was almost exclusively the domain of wine, has become popular in beer circles. No longer it is the general rule that beer is reserved for quaffing while barbecuing. Today, many restaurants are dedicated solely to the practice of paring beer with their food. Although having a beer while standing at the barbecue is still a great pastime, you should also start thinking about which beer you are going to pair with that steak you are flipping. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=15 If you don’t feel like experimenting in food pairings with beer – or trusting your senses – here are some classic combination that win every time. Beer and Appetizers. Lambics (Belgian wild-yeast fermented brews) work well with appetizers because these generally zesty ales contain a broad range of flavours, including sherry-like notes, which make Lambics akin to more common aperitifs like fortifies wine and champagne. Beer and Salad. Nice, leafy-green salads are complemented well by North American nut-brown ales. The nuttiness in the ale brings out the rustic characters of the salad, especially if it is made with artichokes or dandelion greens, or includes nuts such as pine nuts, walnuts and pecans. Beer and Cheese. Cheese goes well with strong ales and Belgian Trappist- or Abbey-style ales. These beers have the fortitude of alcohol and flavor to cut through the most robust of cheeses. Beer and Shellfish. Traditionally, the English pair shellfish with robust stouts and porters. Marison’s of England even has a stout they call Oyster Stout. Maston’s stout does not contain oysters, but some brewers have been known to include them in the brewing process. Beer and Fish. Like white wine, golden Pilsners and North American premium lagers pair well with fish. The lighter the fish, the lighter the lager should be. Save darker North American lagers and hoppy Pilsners for tuna and other heavier varieties of fish. Smoked fish is great paired with English brown ales. Beer and Chicken. When chicken is poached or grilled, a wheat beer’s mellow character is called for. Roasted chicken calls for an Oktoberfest offering, whose amber body and spicy notes will hold up to thee heavier flavours of the roast. When eating barbecued chicken, a North American gold ale, with its light hop profile and crisp finish, will do the trick. Beer and Game Birds/Turkey. A robust beer is needed to cut through the intense flavours of game birds. Try a North American dark or brown ale with this dish, The appropriate robust profile of these ales, with their notes of nut and sometimes coffee, will stand up to the game and complement its flowers. For lighter-tasting game try a golden ale. Beer and Pork. The malt flavours and caramel notes of an amber ale or Irish ale, along with their mild hop profiles, will marry well with the succulent sweetness of pork. A cream ale, whose taste is less malty, slightly more hopped than amber or Irish ale, but still soft and smooth, will contrast nicely with pork but won’t overpower it. Beer and Lamb. A big-bodied beer is needed to stand up to the game-like, grassy taste of lamb. Belgian ales, with their high alcohol content, notes of fruit and spice and dry finish, help offset lamb’s intense flavours. In a pinch, an India pale ale with a hop profile that is not too intense will do the trick. Beer and Beef. Golden to copper-coloured pale ales carry the perfect balance of crisp, carbonated, floral/hoppy flavours to contrast against the deep, rich taste of beef dishes. These pale ales, with their light malt profile, work well in this instance, while India pale ale and golden ales can also stand in when pairing beer with beef. Beer and Pizza/Burgers and Other Barbecued Sandwiches. North American premium lager and North American red lager are perfect with these bready offerings. The carbonation, low malt profile and crisp flavours of the lager cut though the bread and don’t overpower the meat or other hopping. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=16 Louis Pasteur was a man of experimentation. It was Pasteur who by unlocking the secret of micro-organisms, dispelled the myth that life was spontaneously generated. Before this discovery, it was widely accepted that certain life forms could arise spontaneously from inanimate matter Pasteur’s work with microscopic life forms in the mid-to-late 1800s explained the magical act of fermentation that many believed in for so long and essentially stripped beer from the almighty unknown and put its science in the bands of brewers. No longer was the spiritual other, Godisgood, doing the work. Instead, invisible-to-the-naked-eye organisms called yeast were exposed as the industrious little workers transforming barley mash into beer. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=17 Walk to the Sink If there is one commonality between beer and your body (that has nothing to do with a six-pack), it is that both beer and your body are mostly comprised of water. So important is water ro the beer industry that older breweries were typically constructed near a natural water source. Beer is close to 90 percent water in its makeup, and the thought was that if the beverage contained so much water, it just seemed wise ro have some nearby. As breweries began to develop on a larger scale, a clean, reliable water source was of the utmost importance. The end result of what was onginally done out of convenience is, as we know now, that water shapes the taste and feel of a beer. In fact, within pioneering beer communities such as Pilsen, Czech Republic (where Pilsner was invented and where they use soft water), and Burton-on-Trent, England (where they use mineral-filled water), the standard has been set for style. So respected is this water treatment that ale brewers the world over “Burtooize” their water (treat their water to replicate Burton"s mineral content). It generally follows that soft water is used for lagers and harder water for ales. The more minerals in the water, the more opportunity for unique and interesting combination of flavour as the minerals influence the grain and hops. Therefore, lagers, made with softer water, are usually crisp, easy-drinking affairs, while ales, made with harder water, are normally more complex and robust in their taste, in part because the water used contains more minerals. Grain on the Brain Grain is to beer what the grape is to wine. It is as simple as that. Without grain, the production of beer is not possible. Yeast ferments the sugars from grain to create alcohol, so if yon have grain, you can make beer. Even rice can be used to make beer just ask the Japanese. Although sake is often called rice wine, it is a misnomer, as the production of sakelrice wine is really the process of creating beer. Corn, too, is often used in the production of beer. Cheaper than harley, corn is typically used in discount lagers as a cosr-cutting measure. Corn also provides brewers with a finished product that is both light in colour and taste, something big brewers advertise as being desirable. In the beer trade, corn, and any other low-cost substitute that doesn"t enhance the brew in a style-defining or altering way, is known as an adjunct ingredient. An adjunct taste is a less-than-enjoyable quality for a beer. On the other hand, there"s barley. It’s the most popular grain in beer production. Other popular forms of grain used in beer production are wheat, rye and oat. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=18 While pasteurization is widely referred to as a discovery first used in the production of milk, it is actually wine that holds this distinction. This fact shouldn"t come as a surprise, given Pasteur"s nationality. It was soon after his wine-pasteurization experiments that Pasteur began employing the process to beer and milk. Pasteur"s work, Etudes sur la Biere, included findings on beer pasteurization, or “flash heating”, which helped to kill pathogens that caused beer to spoil. To employ flash heating, beer had to remain in contact with a source of heat between 71C and 79C for a period of 15 to 60 seconds. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=20 The one million tones of premium malt barley Albetta produces for beer production is only 20 per cent of the total malt-barley production of the catire province. The remaining 80 percent doesn’t pass the righteous standard malting barley is subject to. What happens to the barley that doesn’t make the cut? It gets made into livestock feed. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=21 You can"t drink more than one beer at a time. Well you can, but it involves much more than a beer and a beer glass, and it is quite often coupled with a fraternity. So unless you are funnelling an entire six-pack, you"ll need to store your beer somewhere. Where to put it The refrigerator is the obvious choice for storing most perishable items. The temperature in the fridge (around 5C) is great for storing lagers, Pilsners, wheat beers and even light ales, but you’ll want to serve them closer to 6 or 7C. Cellar temperatures (around 12C) are suitable for standard ales, stouts, porters, Lambics and bitters. Storage areas that hover just below room temperature (around 15C) are best for high-alcohol-content brews like dark ales and barley wines. A good to guideline to follow is that the lower the alcohol content, the colder optimal storage conditions should be. If you store all your beer in the fridge, that’s okay – just try to serve each particular brew as if it had come from the right storage temperature. Beer that is served too cold will lose a lot its taste and aroma, something you don’t want deprive yourself of. That is, unless you’re chugging a can after playing hockey. That is, make it as cold as possible, please. Beer Kryptonite Beer has three big enemies: light, heat and time. All have the ability to ruin a perfectly good brew. Excessive heat and long shelf times increase the natural oxidation of beer and render it stale. Light, on the other hand, turns a beer skunky. If you have ever encountered a skunky beer you know exactly how it smells, but this description is more than just a clever term. It has been scientifically proven that the alpha acids produced by boiling the hops in the brewing process react in the finished beer when hit with visible or ultraviolet light. This reaction creates free radicals that react with proteins in the beer containing sulfur and together they create a chemical compound that is almost identical to the compound produced by skunks. To avoid having skunky or stale beer, it is important that your cold storage also be dark storage. Many brewers choose to package their beer in brown or amber glass as method of conservation, but these bottles aren’t perfect. Even worse, clear and green glass bottles, popular for showcasing the color and quality of beer, do nothing to protect the brew from light. As such, take extra care with beer packaged this way. As a general rule, beer + light = bad, and beer + heat = bad. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=22 If you are serving a beer-paired dinner party, it is okay not to serve everyone an entire bottle of beer with every pairing. It is especially true if you are serving more than three courses. The point of beer pairing is to experience the different flavor combination that are created between various beers and foods. Serve an excess of beer and your guests will be full to enjoy your mastery. Stick to beer servings of about six to eight ounces, and if your guests are up for it, polish off the remaining brew after the last course of your meal. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=23 If you go through all the trouble of researching and purchasing a nice beer glass, then you might as well care for it, too. Glass care is pretty simple. Just like you wouldn"t use vinegar in the coffee pot (you don"t, right?), you need to be careful with what you use to wash your glass. Soap can leave behind oils that emulsify with beer and break down the need, or worse, contribute to the distortion of the beer"s flavour. The same goes for grease from food and your skin. The solution? Wash your beer glass in hot water with baking soda; use a bristle brush, not a cloth, and let the glass air-dry. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=24 info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=25 info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=26 info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=27 The main ingredients in most beers are water, grain (malt), hops and yeast. The type and amount of each of the ingredients influence the flavor of beer. It’s also determined by the process of brewing used, and by any other ingredients added. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=28 info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=29 Generally you are going to open your beer (of course), pour it in a glass (hopefully), take a brief moment to reflect (maybe?) and then down she goes (definitely). This whole process is fine for your second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth beer of the night, but with your first beer, especially if you are drinking something a little more special than the buck-a-beer lager you found in the fridge, you might want to employ theme steps of beet tasting. Step 1: Use Your Eyes Don"t just see your beer – look at your beer. Drinking happens with all the senses, so take some rime to look at that freshly poured glass of beer. Beautiful, isn"t it? Notice the colour of the beer; different styles of beer can vary tremendously in colour, but this is not to say that a certain colour is indicative of a certain taste. For example, a lager like Waterloo Dark, brewed in Ontario by the Brick Brewing Company, is as black as cola, but is thin and light with a malty, sweet start and a lightly hopped finish – not at all what you expect from a fitxt glance. Take note of the clarity of the brew; clarity is important to some styles, like Pilsner (whose trademark is a crisp, golden appearance), while a cloudy drink can also be the sign of a good wheat beer. If a beer isn"t clear, that"s okay. Many beers aren"t made to be dear, and as beer judge Marty Nachel points out, clarity is often the result of modem brewing techniques – in which brewers filter the beer to remove excess yeast-and-nothing more. If you need to drink a clear beer, stick with the Molsom and Labatts of the world. Otherwise, enjoy all the different charities the beer universe bas to offer. Another thing to look for the size of the head. A good head can tell you a lot about the quality of a beer, or the cleanliness of the glass you"re drinking from. If a beer can"t maintain a head, the beer may be flat, or the glass may have residual oils from its last use that have contributed to the head breaking down. A healthy head should be about two fingers thick, or dose to one inch, with bubbles that are tiny. Ideally, beer should maintain some head down to the last sip. Step 2: The Swirl Swirl your beer gently. This will release the important aromatic properties of the beer. Be careful, though. As beer expert Michael Jackson notes, swirling in public has a tendency to look pretentious. Step 3: Use Your Sniffer Sniff away. If you don"t want to swirl for fear of rolling eyes, you can instead do some sniffing when you first pour your beer and the aromatics of it are released. Depending on the malt and hops used, you might smell a wide variety of things, from chocolate to citrus to pine needles. Smelling is a vital step of beer tasting, as much of what we taste comes from our sense of smell. Step 4: Time to Taste Sip. This isn"t a chugging contest, so take a small, manageable sip that you are able to track as it cascades from the tip to the back of your tongue. Beer has distinct flavours that present themselves at the tip, middle and back of the tongue. Because of these flavours, don"t swallow your sip right away. Instead, swirl it around in your mouth once before swallowing in order to get a well-rounded profile of the beer"s overall taste. Swirling marries the flavours experienced at the tip and middle of the tongue. Upon swallowing, the back of your tongue experiences the finish, which is often slightly more bitter than the tastes experienced at the middle and the tip. The finish is swallowed shortly by the aftertaste. This entire trip, from tip to aftertaste, forms the taste profile of a beer, and it is often complex. As a result, it is important to note how the beer tasted at all different regions and points of the sip. While you taste the beet as it swishes around in your mouth, also pay attention to its consistency, which is articulated by a description called "mouth feel". Mouth feel is an important factor in tasting as it helps identify whether the beer has done a good job in representing the family it belongs too. The mouth feel, like the other beer-tasting steps, is a key component in the overall enjoyment of your brew. Step 5: Make Some Notes The unofficial fifth step of beet tasting is to reflect on steps one through four. Often we are too consumed with what is going on around us to truly appreciate what it is that we are ingesting. A brief moment to collect your thought on what you just tasted will do wonders fur your beet appreciation and evaluation of future pints. Following these steps allows you to fully experience your beer and enhance your enjoyment of it. If having multiple, different beers in an evening, conduct steps one to four (and maybe five) with each brew, making sure to drink water or eat plain bread in between samples in order to cleanse the palate. Avoid greasy or salty foods: they distort the taste of beer. info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu/index.php?cnt=17&artID=30 Best drinkers, like the rest of alcohol-drinking world, employ different styles of glassware for different types of beer. These various drinking instruments enhance the select styles of beer that are meant to be quaffed from them. This is not to say that if you don’t have a goblet you can’t drink the barley wine you just purchased, but instead, if you did have said gobbler, that barley wine could go from great to perfect. Glass varieties are numerous and often called by more than one name. To confuse things further, beer companies often release their own special glassware for their own beers. In order to simplify the already muddied waters of beer glassware, think of your options, kind of fancy or not fancy at all. (While this hierarchical labeling might irk some beer connoisseurs who are quite rightfully trying to level the beer playing field by suggesting that no one style is superior to another-because it is all a matter of opinion – it still goes without saying that if a certain type of beer is beer served in a stemmed glass, then that beer is fancy, end of story). info@beerplanet.eu (Beer Planet) Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Weblogs Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: News and Media Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Homebrewing Recreation: Food: Drink: Beer: Brewers: Associations Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:36:42 GMT Fun with beer or around beer from Beer Planet