Kegerators Blog

Beer has circled the globe more than a few times. One of the great treats a beer fan can enjoy is sampling the great variety of flavors that the beers of the world provide. In the U.S., beer fans have had the great pleasure of being served the beers of the world right here in our own country. Thanks to the rising popularity of fine ales, many of the beers traditional to Belgium, Germany, and the Nederlands are even being made by micro-breweries in the states. In the world of beer, there are still many as of yet unexplored brews from unexpected corners of the world. Here I will discuss a sampling of unique beers from 5 different countries: Africa (Palm beer), Brazil (Manioc), Tibet (Chang), and Scotland (Heather ale), all of which are described in Stephen Harrod Buhner’s book Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers.

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As the world we live in becomes more and more toxic, eating (and drinking) organic is the most fundamental change towards health that we can effect in our daily lives. With new poisons in the air and the water every day, it only makes sense to cut down on the poisons in any way you can. For those of you new to the concept of Organic foods, it is food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. If it is food that contains many different ingredients, such as beer, then chemical additives and preservatives are also excluded from the product. Organic food and beer help your body to process that food and drink more efficiently - with less of these toxins involved, your liver functions more smoothly. A healthy liver is something that every beer fan should promote in their lifestyle. Although organic products cost a little more, the health benefit – and the taste – is well worth it.

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Third beer is an intriguing and new kind of beer being brewed in Japan today. Third Beer is a category of beer, which uses vagarious malt substitutes such as vegetable protein as a raw ingredient in manufacture. These new beers are mostly a product of the Japanese beer tax, which increases dramatically with the amount of malt content in the ingredients. As a result, a whole slew of beers are flooding the market, some with less than 25% malt content. But is this Third beer any good?

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Beer has a history of being prescribed as a tonic remedy for illness. Since the days of Ancient Egyptian civilization, beer has been a healthier alternative than drinking from possibly polluted water supplies. The beer we drink has come a long way from back then. Beer is now available with such fortitude that many beers are considered a meal in and of themselves. We are seeing a trend in beer marketing that labels beer as a “healthy” drink. One modern day beer manufacturer is even fortifying their ale with the vitamins to promote their “health” beer. Others are determined to produce only organic beers. There is some scientific support for this claim, but does the evidence justify all the hubub? I propose that the real keys to gaining the health benefits of drinking beer are simple: quality, and, most importantly, moderation.

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It may be a surprise to you, but in ages past, beer has been considered to be food, a benefit to health, and even a proper medicine for ailments.  This notion seems at odds with how we see beer today.  To look further into this seeming contradiction, we must look without the scientific and ethnocentric (and entheogencentric*) disdain that many hold toward ancient practices.  To put it bluntly, what we think of today as beer is not what these ancients thought of as beer.

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