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Health Benefits of Organic Beer

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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.

It all started with “health food”. A trend started in the 1960’s to really look closely at how our food was made. People started to discover that most of the food at the grocery store was either sprayed with poisonous pesticides or jam packed full of weird preservatives and chemicals. The Health food store quickly became an important part of the daily routine of eating healthy. Foods found there were local, fresh, or made in a way that was “closer to nature”. As far as beer is concerned, it was the health food stores that first started to carry microbrews, and especially organic beers.

It is true that organic products cost more, and organic beer is no exception. The question is, what price are you willing to pay for food that has never been sprayed with poisons and other chemicals? There is probably no better way to spend your money than on the quality of the food you eat and the beer you drink. Buying organic supports farmers and brewers that have a commitment to making the world a better place – and not poisoning the earth or you. If you consider the grand scale of large scale commercial farming operations in this country, we are lucky that the organic food markets aren’t more expensive.

A fundamental mindset change must take place to enter organic eating into your diet. You must realize that you don’t want to die young, you want to be healthy your entire life, and you are committed to enhancing your quality of life. Organic foods are more flavorful and some studies show that organic foods carry significantly higher levels of vitamins and nutrients. Make no mistake, beer is food. The Soil Association Scotland has shown that organic produce contains between 10 and 15 per cent more phenolics (compound that may fight cancer) than non organic. In addition to being grown pesticide and chemical free, organic products also lack the preservatives and additives that many non-organic products have.

I have been a home brewer for many years, and the change to organic, for me, was an easy one. I made the change to brewing organic beer before I started eating organic. Consistently, I found that organic beers tasted much better than non-organic ones, and that the quality of water used to make the beer was also a very important factor. Luckily for me, some friends in a nearby town told me of an organic home brew supply shop where everything was organic! I quickly became friends with the collective members there and, with access to a large variety of organic malt, extract, and hops, I was well on my way towards organic brewing. The Seven Bridges Cooperative brew store has a healthy mail order business, and you can check them out and place orders for organic brewing ingredients online at www.breworganic.com.

We are lucky that we live in this golden age of micro brews, where local and even organic beer is available across the nation. Microbrew organic beer can be found at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and, of course you local health food co-op or small business. As always, drink it in good health.

Cask Ales

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As interest in ancient beers and brewing techniques is piqued, the world is seeing a proliferation of the technique of serving beer as a cask-conditioned ale. Cask-conditioned ale is also referred to as “Real Ale” in some circles, although there is a subtle difference between the drinks the two terms describe. Cask Ale is a very old and traditional technique for carbonation and serving of beer. Cask Ale is currently enjoying a revival due to the qualities it imbues on the beer that it produces.

A quick summary of Cask Ale conditioning: it is a process that affects the final stage of beer production. Cask ale is un-pasteurized, un-filtered, and carbonated with the natural action of the yeast that is used in the fermentation of the ale, and without the aid of artificial carbonation or nitrogenation. Some cask ales are served with the natural yeast included, and in others the yeast has been filtered out. If the yeast has been filtered, it cannot be called a “real ale”. The concept of “Real Ale” is promoted by an association called the CAMpaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), based in the United Kingdom. According to the CAMRA’s definition, Real Ale is: "beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide". One method that brewers and barkeeps have discovered to keep cask ale fresh-looking and clear is to add “finings” to the cask. Home brewers will be familiar with the term “Irish moss” – this is a “fining”, an addition to the beer which causes free-floating sediment to fall to the bottom of the beer. Sometimes, cask ale is served at room temperature, but it is mostly available at cellar temperature (50 or 55 degrees) in most pubs.

Barkeeps doctoring the beer you say? One historical note about Cask Ale is that it is easy for barkeeps to do just that. In older times, barkeeps would add additional hops, finings, or even illicit herbs to doctor the beer. Some unscrupulous bar owners would take ale that was going bad and water down good ale with it and put it on sale, and others would add wormwood to the concoction to make the ale seem stronger.

Many fans of Cask Ale site their beers more subtle fizz as a main selling point. The lesser degree of carbonation, they claim, allows the more subtle flavors of their beer to be enjoyed. Guinness, the famous stout, imitates this more subtle cask ale carbonation, although by the means of different technology.

The degree of carbonation in Cask Ale is actually controlled via a device called a “soft spile”. Once the cask reaches the brew pub, the barkeep hammers this soft spile into the corked hole in the keg known as the shive. By judging the flow of foam through the soft spile, the barkeep eventually takes out the soft spile and replaces it with a hard spile, which allows no more seepage. Once this process is complete, the Cask is ready to be served, via a gravity feed.

Cask ale is becoming more and more popular in the United States, where it is still uncommon to find. The New York Times reported that one beer distributor, Union Beer Distributors, has had their accounts more than triple for cask ale sales in 2007. UBD is the leading cask ale distributor for the New York metropolitan area, and a strong indicator that cask ale is a fast growing trend, at least in New York City. Let us keep in mind that New York City sets trends internationally. Keep your eye out for cask ales at your local brew pub, you may be pleasantly surprised by this taste of the past.

Guide to Drinking Songs

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Little goes better with drink than song. Especially songs that you can sing along to! Drinking songs exist the world over (many made up right on the spot), and enhance any get-together, whether folks are drinking or not. Well, it is probably better if folks are drinking. Some genres of music specialize in the drinking song. Genres such as Irish ballads, Cowboy music, Country music, Old-tyme, and even Klezmer all have a great selection of drinking songs. The best drinking songs for each occasion are the ones that are familiar to the majority of the crowd, or, are easy to pick up – so you must judge each crowd differently, whether you are playing the music on an instrument or on the stereo.

The biggest variety of drinking songs and the most well-known come from the Irish and the Irish-Americans. From many types of beer to whiskey, grog, to Poteen (Irish moonshine), this genre covers a lot of the different drinks out there. Any one interested in drinking songs should pick up the album Irish Drinking Songs – a split album with Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners. It contains many of the Irish ballads that are the best known, such as Finnegan’s Wake, All for me Grog, the Jug of Punch, Whiskey You’re the Devil, and, of course, Whiskey in the Jar. I learned many songs from these recordings, and I recommend this album as a good listen, and as a good starting point for those musicians interested in building a repertoire of drinking songs. Most of the songs are 3 or 4 chords, making the easy to learn, and are traditional songs (no copyright issues). These songs are all popular examples of the tradition of the Irish drinking song, and there are many more of equal rousing quality, although lesser known, as I discovered on my travels through Ireland.

Here is a drinking song I learned from my friend Sean, whom I met in the town Ennis in County Claire. This song is a fine example of an Irish drinking song, sung at a medium-fast pace a cappella or with accompaniment. It is a song about Puchin, which is Irish moonshine:

The Hills of Connemara (traditional)

Gather up the pots and the old tin cans
the mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising, Barney!

Turn to the left, and turn to the right
the tall, tall men are out tonight
Drinkin’ up the tay in the broad daylight
In the hills of Connemara!

Gather up the pots and the old tin cans….

A gallon for the butcher, a quart for Tom
A bottle for the poor old father John
to help his poor old soul along
in the hills of Connemara!

Stand your ground, it is too late
the tall tall men are at the gate
Glory be to paddy, but they’re drinking it, Nate
In the hills of Connemara!

Gather up the pots and the old tin cans….

From the realm of Irish music, we see some crossover into the genres of Bluegrass and Old-Tyme Music. Songs such as Whiskey for Breakfast, and Rye Whiskey are examples of drinking songs from these genres, both with and without words. With tunes like these under your belt, you can liven up almost any party. You may not recognize Rye Whiskey by it’s name, but it is a very common tune, and only one of a few songs that share similar lyrics:

Rye Whiskey, Rye Whiskey, Rye Whiskey I cry, If I don’t have Rye whiskey I surely shall die!

You might hear this verse in a different musical circle, played with the same melody:

Oh moonshine, oh moonshine, how I love thee, you killed my old father, but, ah, you try me!

This particular song also enters the genre of Cowboy music. By “Cowboy music”, I mean old trail songs – the songs actually sung by cowboys back when driving cattle across the wide-open range. These songs differ from country music because they are songs of the people, of the workers. Cowboy songs are a mixture of folk songs and early country, but lack the fundamental principles of popular music which are an essential part of country music. Which isn’t to say that country music doesn’t have its fair share of drinking songs – it certainly does.

If a country song isn’t about being broken hearted, or even if it is, it is probably about drinking. Early country music greats Jimmie Rogers, Hank Williams, and Ernest Tubb all have a good selection of drinking songs, a tradition which has extended to nearly every country music musician since. Some modern names in country music to look out for are Lucky Tubb, and Hank Williams III.

One genre that contains drinking songs that is often over looked is that of Klezmer, a folk music which comes from the Jews of Eastern Europe. Jewish culture has no problem with drinking. Especially on certain Holy Days, one is expected to drink as part of the ceremony. The song “L’chaim”, from Fiddler on the Roof, isn’t the only Klezmer drinking song. There are quite a few songs from the Chassidic culture and Shabbes tunes as well. One well known tune is called Ma Yofus, or "Der Rabi hot geheisen freilich sein" (Avrom Goldfaden copyright 1912), which translates from the Yiddish into “the Rabbi has been drinking liquor instead of wine”.

This quick overview of drinking songs from different genres of music barely skims the surface of the variety and flavor of the world of drinking songs. Visit your local library and search online to find many more of these interesting tunes, fun to learn and to simply enjoy hearing. Cheers!

The Brew Scholar

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Brew Scholar Diploma

Brewing today is more of a science than ever. With advances in the specialty fields of micro-biotics and plant biology, this science is now receiving praise – and the degree programs – from the highest level of academia. The golden age of microbrews we are living in is giving more and more respect around the board to brewmasters, and has created a whole new field of academia – the brew scholar.

With more and more inventive and daring microbrews being created every year, we are seeing the ancient art of brewing given more and more attention. With a better understanding of what happens on the cellular level during each process of brewing – malting, mashing, fermenting, and kegging – efficient short-cuts and better ways of cleaning and sanitizing are becoming apparent. The advent of science of genetic engineering may provide even more efficient ways of fermenting beer as well. Already on the market is the product known as turbo yeast, which ferments quickly and more efficiently than most regular yeast strains. Alcohol fermented by the use of turbo yeast is used primarily as a fuel source or for distillates.

The use of Ethanol as a fuel source is growing rapidly. In Brazil, ethanol production is high, and new “flex” cars are being manufactured, which can run on either Ethanol, Gasoline, or a mixture of the two. U.S. president George W. Bush even visited there in March 7th of 2007, where he signed agreements with Brazilian president about importing alternative alcohol based technology from Brazil to the United States. The rise in value of Ethanol as an easy fuel to turn to has only increased opportunities for the Brew Scholar. After all, alcohol is most easily manufactured through the art and science of fermentation.

Speaking of which, there is a book by brew scholar and professor of brewing technology at U.C. Davis Charles W. Bamforth called Beer: Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing. This book goes into scientific detail about all aspects of the brewing process, with a mind to a layperson’s understanding of the topics. This is an excellent book for those interested in the details of the process of making beer. This is a good place for a starting home brewer or beer fan to learn more about what they are drinking. Professor Bamforth also gives lectures from time to time, so keep an eye out for his name in your neck of the woods.

One interesting development in the birth of the brew scholar is that many respectable Universities are now offering degrees in brew science. The U.K.’s University at Nottingham has offered since 2006 a master’s course which is open to graduates as well as current brewery employees. Class topics include yeast efficiency, brewery design, and more.

At U.C. Davis, in northern-central California, malting and brewing are taught as part of the bachelor of science degree in Food Science or the master’s degree of science within the Food Science Graduate Group. This is where Professor Bamforth teaches. There are three tiers to the Davis brewing program. First is Introduction to Beer and Brewing, which gets the student familiar with the importance of beer as an international industry, and a basic understanding of how industrial breweries operate. Next is the theoretical class Malting & Brewing Science, which familiarizes the student with all aspects of industrial beer production from growing grains to the point of sale. Thirdly is Practical Malting & Brewing, where the student learns “hands-on” in the brewery and at the lab about analyzing beer and the links of that analysis with production methods.

With the golden age of microbrews going strong, it will be a wonder to see what these new brew scholars can do with beer. We are sure to see more interesting varieties and more efficient beer production thanks to these new degrees. Blue-collar workers finally have something to thank academia for!

Dieting and Beer

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The first thing that a dieter needs to know about beer is: beer is food. It is not a beverage you can guzzle down and not feel the caloric content of. Darker beers are, naturally, higher in caloric content than lighter beers. So if you are trying to lose some weight, start by lightening your brews – and limiting them. Mixing dieting and beer drinking is simply a question of where you put your priorities. Suddenly, a hamburger and a pint aren’t going to mix anymore.

Let’s look at the hard facts – your average beer has about 148 calories per twelve ounces. Assuming your average daily caloric intake is 2,ooo calories, this means that a couple of beers already counts as one of your meals for the day. I recommend skipping dinner.

If you are drinking darker beers, you may be in even more trouble. Some stouts rank as high as 220 calories. Compared to a light beer’s caloric content of 70-99. Surprisingly, Guinness is one exception to the dark calorie rule. Guinness ranks at a moderate 125 calories for a 12 ounce pub draught, whereas many stouts and porters are around 210. If you are not sure about how your favorite beer ranks, you can contact them and find out. Sadly, this is one area where microbrews are outperformed by the bigger brewing companies. Those microbrews just have so much flavor – and it shows in their caloric breakdown.

Now for a word about dieting. Dieting, as most people consider it, is not the healthiest way to lose weight. Suddenly changing your eating (& drinking) routine, then reverting back to the old ways a couple weeks, or a month later, is not as effective as permanent and slight changes to your routine. These changes become your permanent diet – not your two-week miracle diet. They are changes you can live with – for good. Rules are made to be broken. Most people are more likely to listen to suggestions to themselves than follow rules they make for themselves.

There are a lot of “beer diet” books going around right now. I dare say that many of these books are using the word beer just to get people to buy them. Beer has carbs, it has calories, and must be considered carefully if it is to be taken during a period of effective dieting. While beer is nutritious, it would be ludicrous to assume in any way that a beer only diet could be healthy or effective. One of the biggest difficulties facing the dieting beer drinker is just knowing which beers are high in calories, and just how much starch and carbohydrates are in each variety of beer. Fortunately, there are many calorie counter websites and books out there, and if you are unsure about the nutritional information of the beer you are drinking, it is advised to call the brewery during business hours and find out.

Being well informed is the best weapon you have in your arsenal if you want to drink beer and diet to lose weight. Adjusting your beer diet towards lighter beers with less body is an important step. Realizing that beer is food is another important step in configuring your diet. Moderation and daily routine changes are key to becoming who you want to be.

Beer Trends in 2007: a summary

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Beer Trends

2007 has been an exciting time for beer. With a public increasingly interested in craft brewing, we have seen a greater variety and tendency towards experimentation from brewers. Even big brewers are now desperately trying to get a piece of the quality beer market. At a time when craft brewers are upgrading to micro-breweries, and some micro-breweries are selling so well that they can’t be called “micro” any more, the abundance these brewers are enjoying is sparking a creativity in brewing that is at an all-time high.

One unforeseen benefit of this golden age of microbrews is the revival of older, or even ancient traditions of brewing, such as cask-conditioned ales. Cask ales have increasingly come to the fore in increasingly craft-brew oriented bars from coast to coast. According to the New York Times in their article Power in the Cask: New Beers, Old Ways, one beer distributor, Union Beer Distributors, has had their accounts more than triple for cask ale sales in 2007. UBD is the leading cask ale distributor for the New York metropolitan area.

In addition to cask ales, recipes for ancient beers have been re-surfacing in the commercial market as a trend. While some varieties have been on sale for many years, such as the Trappist Ales from the monasteries of Belgium and the Netherlands, each year we are seeing more and more ancient recipes on the shelf. Fraoch, the Gruit-style Heather Ale of Scotland was perhaps the first of these ancient recipes to be re-born in a commercial venue. One of the most ancient recipes being re-created recently is Dogfish Head Breweries’ Midas Touch Golden Elixir. This beer is made from the oldest as-of-yet discovered beer of the ancients. According to the Dogfish Head website, their Midas Touch Golden Elixir contains:

“…the known ingredients of barley, white Muscat grapes, honey & saffron found in the drinking vessels in King Midas’ tomb! Somewhere between a beer, wine and mead…”

Both of these ales exemplify a distinct brewing trend apart from that of ancient beers re-incarnated, and that is hop-less ale. Hops have dominated the brewers arsenal for about 700 years, and it is only now that we are seeing the return of un-hopped ales. Before hops took over the scene, the most popular herbs used in beer were part of a concoction known as Gruit. Gruit was outlawed during the 16th to 18th centuries throughout most of Europe, but may see a resurgence, despite its euphoric, aphrodisiacal, and cerebrally stimulating properties.

Gluten-free ale is another innovation which is satisfying a niche market the world round. From Belgium comes Green’s, a brewing company that specializes in such ales in many varieties and flavors. In 2007, Green’s gluten-free ales hit the U.S. market with their blend of sorghum, rice, and millet replacing malted barley in their ales.

With all of these innovations in beer, and the new market that is popping up as a result, we are seeing even big brewing conglomerates attempting to jump on the band wagon. But big brewing companies are in a tight bind when trying to enter the high quality beer arena that has traditionally been the domain of micro breweries. Some are trying to market the same old rice padded malt beverage as a micro brew with some tricks: like adding blue food coloring to ale to try and sell their “blueberry” ale. Others are increasing their malt content for their “select” line of beers – but the slow degradation of mass produced beers has reached such a point that many people (myself included) simply cannot believe that these big corporations are capable of putting out a decent beer. One rule of thumb I have always followed is this: any beer that claims to be “best”, or a “premium” beer most certainly ISN’T. It is especially amusing to me when malt liquor is advertised as “premium”. The big brewing corporations that put out such beer have lost all credibility in the eyes of many beer fans.

It will be interesting to see how these trends develop in 2008. Will big beer corporations be able to get in on the beer-of-quality market? Will more ancient beer recipes be commercially available? Will gluten-free beer technology usurp barley? Will Gruit return to the world? All I can say is, our intentions create the world we live in.

Cooking with Beer Gaining Popularity Among Chefs

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Cooking With Beer

Cooking with wine is a commonly known culinary technique, but cooking with beer is rapidly overtaking this field. While cooking with beer is traditional in many countries – Ireland, Belgium, Germany – it has just started becoming popular in the U.S within the last generation. This is a likely result of the many new varieties and flavors of beer now available in this country. In this golden age of microbrews, where more and more innovative and flavorful beers are being made commercially available, it is easy to see that cooking with beer is a growing field of the culinary arts.

My father taught me how to cook – and taught me well. I can remember the day we had sauerkraut and polish sausages for dinner. This was the first time that he showed me how beer can be used to enhance a meal, by pouring half a bottle of Pale Ale into the sausage pan and covering it. The sizzling smell of sudden maltiness added to the savory aroma of a fine quality organic sausage was – almost – intoxicating. Actually, that was probably all of the alcohol evaporating within the first 2 seconds of being poured into the hot cast iron pan.

Cooking with beer is a concept that is getting more attention. Recently, on NPR.org, Brian Miller expounded upon the use of beers of quality for cooking purposes:

“The point of adding beer is to flavor the surface and the sauces or cooking liquids (as in a stew): the stronger the beer, the more flavorful the liquid. For example, adding a Budweiser would be like pouring in tap water.”

I agree with Brian’s basic principle, but I have found, through my experience, that even a fairly light beer adds considerably more flavor than tap water.

Case in point: it was thanksgiving, and, being the predominant meat eater in our household, I took it upon myself to provide an alternative to the tofurky the vegetarians demanded for the holiday. My good friend Oops the Clown took sympathy on my plight after giving me a ride in the pouring rain after my early morning tofurky mission, and bought us a turkey on Thanksgiving day (I don’t know where she found one!). Thawing was a bit of a rush job, but turned out fine – the real problem was during cooking that I had a pan but no cover for the bird. Some of you turkey rosters may know that this is a recipe for a dry as heck bird, especially considering that I was barbequing the mother.

Fortunately, Chris the tattooed man came over with Katzen the Tiger Lady and their son Felix, and Chris always brings a 12-pack to the party (did I mention that I work in the circus sideshow?). So, religiously, every ½ hour, as the bird was cooking, I opened up a Tecate that Chris brought over and poured it over the Turkey. After 4 hours, the bird had drunk more than anyone else had, and as a result was moist and flavorful even without a cover to keep the juices in. Even a light beer can add body and flavor to a dish, and in this case, beer truly saved the day.

While beer is primarily used to flavor meat dishes, it can also be used as a glaze over grilled veggies, as an admixture to BBQ sauce or to stew. For more ideas about cooking with beer, you might want to peruse Jay Harlow’s Beer Cuisine (1991 Harlow & Ratner), Stephen Beaumont’s Brewpub Cookbook (1998 Siris), or The Brewmaster’s Table – Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer With Real Food (2003 HarperCollins).

The Color of Beer

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The Color of Beer

The color of beer is a vital sign of the quality of the brew. As most of us know, Beer comes in a rainbow variety of earth tones, from the blackest brown to perfect amber to pale gold. It is the color of precisely controlled levels of malting, roasting, and infusion. For centuries, to keep beer clear and pristine, brewers have developed their own special admixtures which help keep their beer free of sediment. All this invention and experimentation has produced a technology that is not only inebriating, but also flavorful, exact, and beautiful to behold in light bright or dim. The color of beer is, for many, the first indication of what it may taste like.

Many new and different beers are hitting the market, we are seeing a whole new section of the color spectrum pouring forth. With this change, a change in the way brewers judge beer color is also going to have to change. The modern brewing technique for producing the desired color of beer is called the SRM, or Standard Reference Method. This method assigns degrees of darkness varying from 2 degrees for Pale Lager to 70 degrees for Imperial Stout, and is comparable to the older Lovibond degree system. These systems measure the darkness of the ale, but not the color spectrum. Most color charts using this technique show a spectrum from black-brown through pale yellow. With the many variations modern beers offer the adventurous beer fan, the SRM is likely to be challenged by redder beers, dyed with goji or raspberries, and even Blueberry-infused ales, such as BluCreek (from Maine), Blueberry Ale from Atlantic Brewing Company (Maine), and even Sea Dog’s Blueberry Wheat.

In order for beer brewers and breweries to maintain consistent results, color management systems and formulas are going to have to change with the times. Right now, a decisive system has not been developed for measuring colors outside the normal beer spectrum, but I’m sure we can count on this happening soon – and I’m sure it is already happening in the laboratories of the breweries that are producing ales with non-traditional colors.

Dark beers are known around the globe for their rich, indeed, nutritious taste. Popular for drinking during the colder months and in colder climes, stout, porter, and barley wine aficionados carry amongst themselves the remark of “the darker the better”. The quality of the head also makes a difference to the discerning beer fan, especially in darker beers. The trick of perfect carbonation and pouring can really bring out the head in a beer. The perfect match for a dark beer is a cream colored head, approximately 1/4 – 3/8 of an inch thick. Also, the texture of the head should lean towards creamier rather than foamier. A Porter carries a SRM degree of 57, and stouts vary from 69-70. Barley Wines are usually, but not always, on the darkest side, from 57-70.

The next stage of lightness is the brown or nut brown ale. These beers are good for those who like dark beers but cannot abide by the dense nature of stouts and porters. Brown ales are part of a long standing tradition in England, where Samuel Smith’s brewery has been producing such ales since 1758, with a verifiable trademark yeast culture since 1900. Brown ales have a broad range of middlin’ color tones, SMR 23 – 39.

Lagers, Pale Ales, IPAs, and ESBs rank among the lowest degrees of SRM, from 20 down to 2 degrees.

With advances in beer brewing technology, we are entering into a stage where lighter beers are able to have more body. We are seeing very malty versions of SRM 8-25 beers, most notably the infamous Arrogant Bastard ale, and even Stone Breweries Barley Wine, Old Guardian, which usually has an SMR of around 38. As beer technologies advance even further, we are sure to see even more variety in the beer spectrum in the coming years.

Stay Healthy By Drinking Beer

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Stay Healthy By Drinking Beer

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.

Beer has been used medicinally throughout its history. Who hasn’t heard of the Irish tradition of giving an anxious child a sip of porter to help them sleep? In his book Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers, author Stephen Harrod Buhner has published numerous recipes for which our ancestors have used certain herbal beer to treat specific illnesses, from Horehound (for coughs) and Wormwood ale (for fevers) to even Borage ale and beer made with the fresh sprigs of the spruce tree. The use of beer medicinally has largely fallen off in the modern age. Scientific studies regarding such arcane recipes are not likely to come forth, but I put some stock in the technology of a time when people were closer to plants and the earth. Still, one must “use all the tools in the tool box”. So what does modern science say about drinking?

Specifically, when do we draw the line, in terms of health, when drinking beer? Certainly, beer is not healthy for everyone. Those people suffering from Hepatitis-C and other conditions that debilitate the liver, drinking alcohol of any sort is strictly unadvisable. According to the Wall Street Journal (Healthy Brew: Studies Show Beer May Be Good for You August 13, 2002) binge drinking (drinking 6 or more beers a day) can put people at risk for obesity, cancer, liver failure and stroke. But for those that drink less than that, the risk of stroke and heart disease is lessened. From the American Heart Association comes the following recommendation of moderation: according to their Dietary Guidelines, the definition of moderation is two drinks a day for men and one for non-pregnant women (a drink being defined as 12 ounces of regular beer) From this we can gather that having an average of 1-2 pints of quality beer a day might be good level of moderate drinking – enough to stimulate health in the heart without going overboard.

Some commercially produced beers in this day and age are even produced with health benefits in mind. One new brand of “healthy beer” comes from a company know as Stampede. This company’s innovation is vitamin fortified beer. With such vitamin fortifiers as Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pyridoxine, Folic Acid, it will be interesting to see if beer drinkers are going to go for the so-called “healthy” alternative. Blu Creek’s “Zen IPA” is another product advertised with the “healthy beer” campaign. Their IPA is brewed with green tea, which contributes anti-oxidants to the brew.

Organic beers are probably your best bet for attaining real and lasting health benefits form your beer. Organic beer is made, every step of the way, with ingredients that are grown without the use of pesticides, additives, or preservatives. The result has people talking. Some friends of mine have claimed that organic beers practically cancel out the possibility of a hangover. I know, from my experience, that the taste of organic beer is superior to non-organics of the same type in many instances. But, are these ales really more beneficial for health? Or is the notion of “healthy beer” merely an advertising ploy? Either way, new and interesting brews are surfacing under the banner of “healthy beer”.

One aspect of beer drinking that contributes to moderation is the knowledge and respect of the craft that comes from home brewing. The hard work and diligence that goes into brewing beer gives the home brewer a deeper understanding of the nature of alcoholic inebriation. If you are interested in the afore-mentioned ancient healing beer recipes, home brewing is certainly the only way to try them out. Although the author of Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers is required to make the disclaimer that the recipes in his book are for “educational and historical” purposes only, I, personally, have had a great deal of enjoyment from re-creating these ancient recipes. Although I must also state that I do not advise the making, use, or ingestion of any of those beers by the reader.

The health benefits of drinking beer do seem to outweigh the negatives, for most people. Just a few beers can tip the scale, however. To stay healthy by drinking beer, remember to moderate your drinking, and have respect for the power of alcohol. Try to drink only good quality beer, organic, if you can get it, and as always, drink it in good health.

A Nutritional Guide to Beer

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Beer has always been a source of nutrition for it’s drinkers.  The most common problem people have with beer is that it is too nutritious to be considered a mere beverage.  Beer is food, and must be considered as such in order for the avid beer drinker to maintain health.  Too much beer – just like too much food – and not enough exercise has been the downfall of many a beer fan.  The body of a beer has a great effect on it’s nutritional value, and so does the yeast used in the brewing.  First let’s look at some of the overall nutritional qualities of beer.

The most nutritious aspect of beer drinking is probably the least considered – not the malt, hops, barley, but the yeast.  Yeast sediment is uncommon in most commercially produced beers, but that doesn’t mean that the yeast isn’t there – it is.  Floating unseen in the body of the beer are the remnants of the magical creature that transforms sugar into alcohol.  Yeast remains accountable for the addition of B-complex vitamins, protein, and minerals to brews.  Most commercially produced beers have the yeast sediment rigorously strained out of it – but it is still there.  In “real ale” “live ale”, or “cask-conditioned” ales, you are likely to find a higher yeast content, as the beer is less processed.

One testament to the nutritious qualities of beer is the use of beer in certain food dishes.  In Belgium, a land where beers are many and varied, they make a dish called Carbonnade.  This is basically a beef stew, but it is made with beer instead of water!  Irish stew is another likely candidate to be spiked.  Beer is also found occasionally as a marinade (for kielbasas), as a moisturizer (beer can chicken), and is even claimed by some to tenderize meat.  I have even seen beer-based desserts on the menu at mid-scale restaurants – the most common being the Guinness Ice Cream Float.  Furthermore, the study “Effect of beer, yeast-fermented glucose, and ethanol on pancreatic enzyme secretion in healthy human subjects” conducted in 1996 suggests that the non-alcoholic part of beer, yeast fermented glucose, stimulates pancreatic enzyme production, helping the body to absorb nutrients from it’s meal.  It is likely that beer is not only nutritious, but also helps the body process other nutrients in the digestive system as well. 

Beer for desert, anyone?

To understand how beer can fit into our dietary regimens, let’s look at the nutritional qualities of a few types of beer.  Different makes of beer have different nutritional values, so we’ll have to be specific here.  We are going to select three champions from three different fields of brewing.  For the dark beers, we will choose Guinness as a popular representative.  For the amber ales, New Belgium’s Fat Tire, and for the Pale ales, Sierra Nevada’s Wheat Beer. 

Twelve ounces of Guinness have roughly the same nutritional value as a baked sweet potato with no toppings: Sodium 20 mg. vs. 22 mg. in potato, carbs 10g vs. 12.4 g. in potato, and 40 calories worth of carbs vs. the 50 cal. sweet potato.  Guinness also has 82 cal. from alcohol (making a total of 122 cal.), and 0 g. fat, whereas the potato has 5 cal. of protein and 1 g. of fat.  As we can see, if you add a little butter, salt and pepper to the potato and the extra 4 ounces to the pint, they will come out roughly the same (although the potato will probably have more fat; the Guinness is actually quite lean).  This is a good way to look at the number of drinks you are having – a pint of Guinness is about like eating a lightly topped baked potato – but quite a bit tastier after the 2nd one.

New Belgium’s Fat Tire Amber Ale is well known for it’s full body and malty flavor.  All of that flavor does add up to more slightly more calories and carbs.  Fat Tire has a total of 155 calories and 14.7 grams worth of carbs, bringing it’s nutritional value up to that of a slightly larger baked sweet potato.  The good news is that you can easily work those extra calories off by bicycling to the bar and back!

Sierra Nevada’s Wheat Beer is a light-tasting alternative as far as beers go – but the flavors of this beer add up to more calories than Guinness!  With the same sodium content(20 mg.), and also more carbs (13.1g.), more protein (1.6g vs. Guinness 1g.), and more Alcohol 95 cal. than Guinness.  This goes to show that color isn’t everything.  Although Guinness is certainly the lightest beer, in terms of calories, from the field of Stouts.

We can see that different beers have a wide variety of nutritional values.  The one guideline I can suggest to figure out the nutritional qualities of your beer is that the more maltiness and body of the ale, the higher the caloric content is likely to be.  Keep all this in mind and keep a tally of the potato equivalent you are drinking each night.  This will help you to get the most out of your beer without getting too much!