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Brew Dog Turns 11

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The first post ever made on the Kegerator Blog over 11 years ago was to welcome home our new Golden Retriever puppy. Guess what, he is still here and yes he does love draft beer. He still doesn’t retrieve.

He has changed a little since his first appearance, but he still has the same attitude and wild personality. In hindsight I should have named him HOPS. He never sits still and literally hops on anyone who comes in the door. We all still love you Brew Dog. Happy Birthday buddy.

So what is Brew’s favorite beer? He is no craft beer snob. The dude would drink anything put in front of him. I’ve never actually given him more than a tablespoon of any beer (poor guy) but has become partial to Bowser beer. It’s a no alcohol, no hop, broth-like bev in bottle. He goes crazy for it.

Brew’s favorite travel destination has to be South Lake Tahoe where he runs and plays in the cold water of the lake, chases teet mice up trees and barks at the locals (bears, birds, rude people).

When he’s not on vacay he is busy at work assisting in the homebrew operations at Homebrewing.com and keeping the world’s supply of peanut butter in balance.

Beer of Fire: When Barley and Peppers Mix

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With the advent of the golden age of microbrews, we are constantly seeing new and inventive beers. One of these beer combinations is the mixture of beer with peppers, especially Chipotle chilis. Rogue brewery’s Mexicali or Chipotle beer, and Cave Creek’s Chili Beer are two examples of commercially produced “beers of fire”. Looking online, you can see that home brewers have been eager to take up the challenge of brewing with Chipotle and other peppers, peppering discussion forums with chat and recipes for beer of fire. Here is a new frontier for beer brewers around the world.

Beer of Fire

The best of the new chili beers that is commercially available, in my opinion, is Rogue brewery’s concoction. A delightful spiciness is added onto an already solid beer. This is the perfect example of a well crafted beer of fire. The beer was originally called Mexicali, but now the name is the more descriptive Chipotle Beer. The base of the beer is Rogue’s Amber Ale. The Amber Ale comes out a rich amber color with a medium amount of carbonation. The flavor normally has a nice maltiness to it, somewhat sweet, but in the Chipotle beer, the malt and hop flavors seem subdued. The result is your ability to really taste the Chipotle as the smoky flavor of the pepper mixes with the flavors of the malt.

Rogue’s Chipotle beer was inspired and remains dedicated to Spanish author Juan de la Cueva. La Cueva wrote in 1575 of a Mexican dish that combined seedless chipotles with beer. Rogue recommends a tasty combination on their website: blend the Chipotle beer with Rogue Chocolate Stout to create a Mole black and tan!

Cave Creek’s Chili Beer is a far lighter offering from the state of Arizona. This beer is the invention of “Crazy Ed” who claims his inspiration comes from being annoyed by yuppies. According to Cave Creek’s website:

“…in 1989, he started brewing his own beer. The town was suspicious. And became even more so when an entire brewery arrived in crates at the foot of Black Mountain, along with a German named Arnold. But after the first batch the people began to come around. The beer was good, damn good, So good in fact, the yuppies started driving in from all over to try it.  Something had to be done, So , whenever one of them whined for a "wedge of lime" Ed started putting a hot Serrano chili pepper into the beer instead. Amazingly, about 2 out of ten actually liked the stuff.”

Cave Creek’s Chili Beer is made in the small town of Tecate, Mexico, where it seems that Crazy Ed and his pals drop a jalapeno into a beer bottle and then fill it with “a fine Mexican lager beer”. The way the wording is displayed, I wonder if it is the same beer that Crazy Ed used to make….

One place where beer with chilis is not new is Mexico. For a long time, beer fans in Mexico have enjoyed a beer cocktail called the michelada. This is another way to enjoy the mix of barley and peppers. Lime juice and chili powder are added to a regular beer of your choosing to make the michelada. If you have been wondering about micheladas, and the new beers coming out with lime juice or chili and lime, now you know! Although brewing with chilis has been a successful prospect so far, I hazard to state that fresh lime juice must surpass any manufactured lime juice substitute that may be coming out in beers like Miller’s Lime and Salt beer and Anheiser-Busch’s Lime flavored beer.

BREW YOUR OWN

  1. For the home brewer interested in experimenting with Chipotle beer, I recommend first brewing a fine chocolate stout.
  2. After racking, take the stout and fill three one gallon jars halfway with your stout.!
  3. Now, prepare your chipotles. You should put them into a strainer, be sure to remove the seeds (the spiciest part), and pour boiling water over them to soften them up and sanitize them a little. Add one, two, and three chipotles to the three separate bottles.!
  4. After two weeks, strain out the peppers, bottle, and label.!
  5. You now have one, two, and three pepper rating Chipotle Chocolate Stout! See how much spice you can handle!

Beer and Oysters: Sea foods and Their Malty Counterparts

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Beer and Oysters go great together.  Beer is commonly served with seafood of all sorts.  The key to enjoying your seafood dinner is finding just the right beer to enjoy with it.   From fish and chips to sushi to raw or fried oysters, complimentary flavors can be found.  The culinary joys of beer and seafood are celebrated in festivals, such as Richmond, Virginia’s "River City Beer & Seafood Festival"; recipes, such as Oysters boiled in beer, beer-battered fish; and cultural traditions from seaside villages all over the world.

Beer And OystersMany kinds of beer work well with oysters.  Porter, Stout, IPA.  Strong flavors work well to cleanse the palate in between bites so that the fishiness of the oysters is not overwhelming.  A good, clean break in between bites is highly desirable.  In regions where beer choice is limited, beer is still preferable to non-alcoholic drinks.  For raw sea foods, a hard liquor is helpful for keeping any rouge bacteria in check.  Tequila and Sake shots especially, although please don’t mix.

If you are talking about grilled fish, grilled salmon, mussels, prawns, your best bet for a complimentary beer is a dark beer.  Porter, Schwarzbier, Stout, all go well in this setting.  I recommend the black lager especially for enjoying beer and oysters a hot or warm day.

Lighter beers have their place, too.  Certainly for broiled or boiled fish, shrimp, mussels, a pale ale, a pilsner, or even wheat beer can be quite complimentary.  Bitters and IPAs can also help break down the oily taste of deep fried sea foods (very popular).  A good idea to wash down a plate of fish and chips.  This would be my choice for raw, shucked oysters, especially when I am enjoying them on the gulf coast of Vera Cruz in Mexico.  I always like to stop for raw oysters when traveling in that region.

One place where you can sample all of this and mix and match is Richmond, Virginia’s River City Beer & Seafood Festival in June.  Over 40 varieties of beer show up among vendors, brewers, and chefs at this festival annually to celebrate the union of microbrew and seafood.  Music is provided by the festival, and samples are provided for a festival fee.  For $25, you can buy a festival sample mug to enjoy unlimited samples from the brew selection.

Another festival honoring this tradition is the Confluence Wine, Beer, Seafood & Music festival in Oregon state’s Douglas County on the Oregon Coast.  Admission is only $7 at the door or $5 in advance. Confluence means "the flowing together of two rivers or more rivers."  The festival is held at just such an intersection, at Gardiner, Oregon, just two miles north of Reedsport.  A confluence is also "a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point."  The perfect name for an event which gathers so many different aspects together under one banner.

Brewers in the land down under have found a way to express their love of beer and seafood. From Australia comes a unique beer designed specifically to enhance the flavors of seafood.  According to Blue Bottle Beer’s website:

"…[we’ve joined] American hops with German yeast, Australian barley and fused it with the cleanest water. We then added our unique ‘zesty finish’.  Bluebottle Beer ® is a seductive blend of lifted aromatics, bitterness, and a citrus sting to enhance the flavors of the sea."

This would seem to go well with broiled, boiled, or BBQ’ed fish and seafood.  The zesty citrus sting they allude to gives me the idea that some Belgian ales would also enhance a seafood meal. 

Recently, when I went to eat at San Antonio’s Water St. Oyster Bar, I encountered the particular mix of Chimay with some Arcadian style cooking, and I must say I was quite pleased!  The especially spicy styles of cooking coming from the Louisiana area need a powerful beer to balance them best.

This Fall’s Ultimate Kegerator Guide

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Make Space This Fall For These Kool Kegerators …

EdgeStar Kegerator

EDGESTAR HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED

EdgeStar Kegerator 
Under $400.00
This kegerator from EdgeStar is the most affordable full-sized kegerator on the market today. The kegerator stores up to a full sized half shell Sankey standard keg and is perfect addition to your home for fall entertaining. See Kegerator Details

 

Haier BrewMaster KegeratorHaier BrewMaster Kegerator
$529.99
This is the Honda Civic of kegerators. Durable, dependable and you will get a lot of mileage out of this machine. The kegerator will hold a full sized keg or multiple homebrew style kegs when modified with a dual or triple tap tower. The auto defrost, temperature control and cooling plate are nice features too.  See Kegerator Details

 

Beverage Air KegeratorBeverage Air Kegerator
$1,399.00
With this heavy-duty kegerator you can keep your keg cold with precision. Perfect for the serious draft beer aficionado, this kegerator comes with a stainless steel worktop and high quality refrigeration components. This kegerator would probably last a lifetime, so if you need a workhorse this is your kegerator. See Kegerator Details

 

Mini Keg DispenserMini Keg Dispenser
$159.99
Ever seen the 5 liter mini-kegs at the supermarket? Well here is a 5-liter dispenser/cooler that will keep your favorite beer or soda ready-to-serve cold. Features include an easy flow design, drip tray cover, brushed aluminum door panel and indicator light. HelmanGroup.com

 

Kenmore KegeratorKenmore Kegerator
$594.99
This kegerator is a nice full sized unit with all the bells and whistles of the Haier BrewMaster kegerator. This unit stores a half-barrel keg, so your favorite beer is always on tap. You can also store quarter-barrel kegs and mini kegs. Store pickup at Sears is a nice option for those looking to save a few bucks on shipping costs.  See Kegerator Details

 

SudsBuddy KegeratorSudsbuddy Kegerator 
$1,399.98
A truly stylish kegerator that definitely is thinking outside of the box. Made of polyethylene plastic, this kegerator is dent-resistant and weighs less than 60 lbs making it easy for portability. It even has a cigarette-lighter adapter. How cool is that?. See Kegerator Details

 

Viking KegeratorViking Kegerator 
$2,899.00
If you are an appliance snoot that only lives for the finer things in life, then I would like to introduce you to the Viking kegerator. This is the Lamborghini of kegerators. Stick this beauty next to your outdoor Sub-Zero and Wolf range to wow your guest and serve delicious draft beer. See Kegerator Details

 

Perlick KegeratorPerlick Kegerator 
$2,889.00
This ultra-slim kegerator defines luxury. It is designed with fully integrated depth to allow flush fit with surrounding cabinetry. If you are thinking of installing a kegerator into your cabinetry or you are a contractor designing a  home bar, you can’t go wrong with this ultra modern kegerator design. See Kegerator Details

 

Fridgidaire KegeratorFridgidaire Kegerator 
$1149.00
This is for all you old school beer lovers that built a kegerator when you were in college out of an old refrigerator. Well, here is a beautiful replica made by Fridgidaire. It features a freezer on the top to store cold mugs and accommodates Up To a 16-Gallon Keg.  See Kegerator Details

Imported Beers Taste Better In a Can?

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One of the great joys of the golden age of microbrews in which we live is the availability of beers from around the world. In most major cities in the U.S., you can find nearly any kind of beer. Many brands are imported from Germany, France, the U.K., Belgium, Japan, even Africa. If you can’t find it imported, the chances are that you can find an American made version of it. I will list some of my favorite imports here.

It is hard to stomach, but let me be the first to say: Newcastle in a can is better. I have always disdained canned beers ever since I started home brewing. Glass preserves the flavor, I used to say. Well it turns out that the clear glass bottles that Newcastle comes in don’t preserve the flavor as much as the opaque aluminum can. This is entirely understandable: sunlight is well known as a degrader of hop character in beer. This is why most ales of Newcastle’s quality are served in brown bottles. When Newcastle is drunk form the can, however, I must say that the taste improves. I can sense the light hop character I never before had in the beer, and it just seems fresher. Well, at least now I know: it isn’t always the container, but more what they put in it!

Of Guinness, it is always heard: much better in Ireland. There are many potential reasons for this, and I do believe it to be true, but if you live in the states, what can you do? It makes sense that Guinness at the brewery is made the same, whether in Ireland or the United States. It is my belief that from every moment after the keg of Guinness leaves the brewery here in the states, or is hauled off of the boat, it is at risk. This is partly because the beer is extremely sensitive to temperature changes. If it is not kept cool throughout transportation, it will undergo changes. If the tap system at the bar has hoses that are the wrong length, the carbonation will change. And the most obvious difference is that seemingly 99% of barkeeps in this country do not know how to properly pour a pint of Guinness! All the rest might as well be left up to chance, but it is high time that uninformed barkeeps in this country learned how to do it right. For those of you who have not been to Ireland, this is how you do it: First, pour roughly 2/3 of the pint full, at a slight angle of the cup. You then let this settle. It usually takes about 45 seconds for the initial pour to settle. Then you top it off and hand it to the patron. If you want to get fancy, you can make a leaf or such design in the foam on top, like they do with lattes. This method of pouring is the proper way, and allows the perfect degree of carbonation and proper head. If you are hazy on any of this, you should plan on going to Ireland to see how it’s really done. I recommend flying into Cork.

From Scotland, we have a true treat: in the ancient tradition of Heather Ale, Fraoch! This is a hop-less, or Gruit-style ale that is a little expensive, but well worth it! This craft ale is made in Scotland by Williams Brewing Company, and represents an elusive tradition of brewing that goes back 2,000+ years. The beer itself is a malty and rich amber with unusual bouquet. The beer is infused with both Heather and Sweet Gale, and imparts a lively inebriation to the imbiber. If you are a beer fan, you must drink this ale before you die! If you are a home brewer, try making some just to keep a 2,000 year old brewing tradition alive. The Fraoch website has some great reading materials on the history of heather ale viewable at: http://www.fraoch.com/history.htm

As delightful as it has been, I must now be off to dream further dreams of ales imported from the land of Morpheus. Until next time, drink it in good health!

Guide to Texas Beers

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Texas Beers

Texas has a long history in beer – both drinking and brewing. In addition to the long-standing Spoetzl Brewery (the makers of Shiner beers), and the ubiquitous (if watered down) Lone Star, new micro-brews are taking the state by storm. With solid traditional and inventive ales, newcomers like Saint Arnold and Real Ale Brewing Company are challenging the old hands to do better than what they’ve done. This battle seems to be playing out to the benefit of Texas beer fans.

The great history of Texas beer starts with the building of the massive Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio in 1884. Adolphus Busch, of Anheuser-Busch, started the enterprise along with some local San Antoners and created the first large mechanized brewery in Texas. But Lone Star beer came much later (1940), and the brewery first pumped out bottles of Sabinas and Champions.

While San Antonio was busy brewing for the local populace, a group of brewers in Shiner, Texas had big plans. This group started one of the most enduring breweries in the nation, Spoetzl Brewery. The brewery first started operations in 1909, and changed hands in 1914 with the coming of immigrant Kosmos Spoetzl. Spoetzl had studied for three years the art of brewing in Bavaria, and served out his journeyman-ship in Cairo, Egypt, making beer for the Pyramid brewery there. Making his traditional family recipe, Spoetzl garnered a following, and then prohibition hit. The brewery somehow managed to survive by selling ice and “near beer”, and weathered the storm from 1919 until 1935. Although prohibition was hardly enforced in Texas during this time, due to fierce controversy, it affected large breweries greatly, and Spoetzl was able to avoid much trouble by dealing strictly with locals in a 70 mile radius and selling his near beer. The Shiner website points out that Spoetzl was very forgetful, though, and sometimes would forget to remove the alcohol from his beers. Tsk, tsk.

Starting in 1994, Houston’s Saint Arnold Brewery opened their doors, and is widely acknowledged as Texas’ oldest craft brewery. Named after the patron saint of brewing, St. Arnold is a brewery that has always had a mind towards the utmost quality. With a hard working staff of only seventeen people, St. Arnold still pumps out ten varieties of beer every year – five varieties continuously, and five seasonally. Even though they’ve been in business for over 13 years, St. Arnold’s maintains it’s dedication to serving their local beer drinking community.

Other micro-breweries started popping up throughout Texas around this time. As early as 1993 in Austin, Texas, the Waterloo Brewpub began selling it’s beers in half-gallon growlers, fighting against laws that inhibited microbrewery operations. Sadly, this brewpub is now closed due to rent increases, depriving Austin of it’s first micro-brew-pub.

In 1996, the Real Ale brewing company opened up in Blanco, Texas, not too far from Austin in the hill country. Although Real Ale is not, by international standards, “Real Ale”, by U.S. beer standards, who can hold it against them? According to the U.K.’s CAMpaign for Real Ale, Real Ale can only be used when describing beer that is "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". Although the Real Ale Brewing Company uses the finest ingredients, it certainly cannot be held to CAMRA’s standards.

Possibly as a response to these breweries and others, such as 512 Brewing, Live Oak, Independence, and Rahr & Sons, all micro or craft breweries, Shiner has recently produced a small batch craft brew to celebrate 96 years of brewing. A little known style of beer called Martzen, the Shiner 96 is much stronger than most offering from the company, weighing in at 5.8%.  Traditionally Martzen, which is German for March, is a beer brewed in march and enjoyed during the autumn months. According to the Shiner website, this ale was drunk at the royal Bavarian wedding ceremony that started the Oktoberfest celebrations.

It is good to see larger breweries getting back to their roots, and embracing the folk lore that is rightly their heritage. This seems to be a growing trend in brewing: brewers highlighting the social context and history of the beer they brew. Beers that get too big seem to lose their character – both taste-wise and lore-wise. Shiner is doing a good job of maintaining both. They just needed a little prodding from the (little guys) competition.

Beers of the World

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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.

Beer tends to be defined, in common parlance, as an alcoholic beverage made with hops, barley, yeast, and water. When talking about beers of the world, we must be ready to broaden our definition of the word beer to encompass that which is at hand. Grains of different types are used, from wheat to millet, rice, and even corn. In some place in the world, barley and hops are not available or simply do not grow there – and so, people make do with what they have.

For example, as we learn from Buhner in his book Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers, in Brazil, one native beer is known as Masato, or Manioc Beer. This beer has been made for approximately the last 4,000 years from a root called Manioc, which is also used to make tapioca. The Manioc root grows quickly, and attains a weight of up to 30 pounds within just a few months. It is used for food as well as to make the Masato. Traditionally, the root is chopped, boiled, and the starch to sugar conversion is catalyzed with human saliva. The women of the tribe chew the root pieces and then put them back in the boiling pot. Wild yeast is allowed into the wort to start the fermentation process. The Manioc plant is deeply ingrained into the cultures of the people who make it still, with it’s own mythology. You can read more about Manioc in Buhner’s book.

Another beer of the world made with unconventional ingredients (at least to the western world’s beer fan) is Palm beer. According to Buhner, palm beer is made with the unrefined sap from a variety of palm trees: date palms, coconut trees, moriche, sago, and palmyra being the most common. For many indigenous peoples throughout Africa, South America, and even India, Palm beer is an important part of life that transcends the physical world. Thus, it is often shared with the ancestors and used to help communicate with their spirits.

Getting back to more familiar ingredients, we shall look at Tibet. There, a brew called Chang is made mostly from Barley. Millet and buckwheat are used in some cases when barley is unavailable. What really makes this brew different from others, as we learn from Buhner, is the use of ginger-root-based yeast cakes for both the starch to sugar conversion and to start fermentation. Yeast cakes are made by crushing dried ginger root and mixing it with rice or barley flour. The mixture is then moistened and formed into cakes that are added to the boiled barley, rice, or millet that are being used to make the drink.

Heather Ale is an interesting beer of the western tradition that encompasses the herb heather as an admixture. The making of heather ale goes back to the culture of the indigenous Pictish tribes of the British Isles. In addition to numerous literary and folkloric assertations about the history of heather ale and mead, Buhner sites, in his book, an archeological dig on the Scottish Isle of Rhum. This dig discovered a pottery shard dating 2,000 years B.C. with “traces of a fermented beverage containing heather.” Heather ale has recently become commercially available in the U.S. as Fraolich ale, brewed in ???.

These five beers are just the tip of the iceberg. There are innumerable beers in the world, some still hidden away in remote corners, making the world of beer a very interesting place. New varieties of herbal beer are popping up among beer fans on the U.S. as well as inventive new micro-brews containing herbal admixtures, re-creations of ancient recipes, and brand new ideas in brewing. Keep your eyes open for the next invigorating (and inebriating) discoveries among the beers of the world.

Holy Beer; Brewed for God: Spiritualism Surrounding Sacred Beers

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Grains used in fermentation the world ‘round have always been associated with being holy. In many cultures, the freedom from the rational mind that comes by drinking is seen as a way to become more open to spiritualism and the spiritual world. In the western world, during medieval times, it was thought that ale must be blessed by the priest in order that the miracle of fermentation could begin. Even today, there are monasteries whose main focus is brewing holy beer to sell and benefit the church. But, as always, for some, the beer brings them closer to their god, and for others, it brings them closer to their own demons.

Sacred grains such as barley, millet, rice, and even corn, have been well-respected for their ability to give the gift of inebriation to humans throughout history. Indigenous cultures have developed many different traditions surrounding the act of fermentation. One Viking tradition was to yell and scream at the wort in order to make the spirit within it angry, and therefore more potent. Other cultures sing around the beer to ensure the connection between the spirit of the plant(s) involved and the people. Some monasteries use a “blessed spoon” to stir the wort and excite fermentation, and other cultures have used rune carved oak staves which are dipped in the wort.

Everyone loosens up a little after having a drink. In many cultures, this loosening up has spiritual connotations. As noted in Stephen Buhner’s book Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers, the fermented sap of the palm is considered to help people’s spirits to detach from the material world.

Most beer fans have heard of the beer brewing monks, but they are, in actuality, an uncommon variety. While being famous for brewing, the Trappist monks actually have only seven brewing monasteries out of 171. It is estimated that by the year 1,000 as many as 500 monasteries were brewing in the western world. The reasons behind the church sanctioned brews were many – according to trappistbeer.net, the beer was made to provide healthy drinks for the monks, and attract new followers.

Around this time, it was common practice for brewers to seek out a priest to bless their brew with the power of god. In exchange for this service, the priest was allowed to drink the beer for free at the local pub. Eventually, this became a blessing from which a tax was collected by the church. Finally, the priests wound up giving their blessing “from afar”, and the church still collected the tax. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before brewers started thinking ill of this “hands-off” blessing technique, and this process halted during the 18th century, along with other church reforms.

With the coming of the industrial revolution, and the French revolution, many of the monasteries stopped selling their beer to the public. It became difficult for the low-tech monks that were left to make any kind of profit using their old world craft brewing techniques. Many monasteries still made beer for their own population, and kept the recipes alive through the difficult time that followed.

After two world wars, three, really, counting the cold war, and numerous competitive knock-offs falsely claiming to be monastic brews, the holy beer still kept flowing. Today, there are seven beers recognized by the International Trappist organization: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren, and Tilburg (La Trappe). These are the officially recognized Trappist ales available today.

Holy men and women, monks, nuns, alchemists, and shamans still pursue the holy beer through ancient rituals and subtle manipulations the world over. Some seek out new plants to learn new brews from, and some recreate ancient recipes from their own culture or from that of others. Given the trials and tribulations the Trappists managed to brew through, I am sure that Holy beer will always be a part of human existence.

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.

Beer Book Review

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With the rise in popularity of craft, micro, and home brewing, a slew of books have come out in recent years on these subjects. Some focus on cultural aspects of beer, some on nutritional aspects, and some focus on recipes. I will go over a few of the more popular titles on the shelf today, and relate them to my personal experience.

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, in 2003. 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. This book may be a bit simplistic for the home brewer or beer fan that is already intimately familiar with most aspects of beer production. Still, if scientific terms speak to you, it is a worthwhile read.

Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher contains a cultural overview of beer, an amusing embellished timeline of the history of beer, and many recipes. Just to give you an idea of the breadth of beer covered in this book: Corinthian Steinbier, An English Bragot, c. 1500, Juniper Rye Bock, Black Pepper Porter, and Mister Boing Boing Cherry Barley Wine are all represented, for better or worse. The book also contains recipes for beverages other than beer, such as Finnish Sahti, Mead, hop-less Gruits, and wine. Randy’s writing is one of the most palatable ingredients in Radical Brewing – witty and full of humor. I recommend this book to any brewer. Even if you prefer traditional brews, this book is sure to open your eyes, and due to the amount of recipes, a keeper as a reference manual.

The book Wild Fermentation by Sally Ellix Katz is a wild foray into a subject which, for brewers, seems very dangerous. Most brewers do not want to mess with wild yeasts, due to the ease and commercial availability of good quality ale yeasts. But this book covers much more than just beer. It covers a wide variety of foods made with the assistance of fermentation, such as vegetable ferments, dairy ferments, and even ventures into the realm of vinegar making. The book does have chapters on beer and wine as well. This book is a little much for me to handle. The chapters are compelling and informative, but it is all just too much for me to handle at once – it is like learning 5 different trades in one workshop. I recommend this book to those who are capable at multi-tasking.

My favorite book about beer, by far, is Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers by Stephen Harrod Buhner. This book is a gem containing a well-referenced codex of ancient beers from around the world. The poetry and humanitarianism with which Buhner delivers into our hands the wisdom, folklore, and recipes of the ancient brewers is both astonishing and informative. Buhner makes one particularly thrilling correlation between a beer trend that is 700 years old and political maneuvering of the protestant movement in Europe – but I won’t reveal it here because I’m not that kind of person. Buhner also writes from a fairly neutral viewpoint, taking in with deep understanding the cultures about who’s brew he is writing about. This book has been dearly loved in my home brewery, where ever it has been, and my first handed-down copy had so much wort spilled on it that I had to buy a new copy recently. This book goes over the cultural aspects of beer primarily, and also contains some bizarre recipes from the ancients – some of which taste quite good! If you are a home brewer or a fan of beer history, you must get this book.