Predetermined Expectations

I had an interesting conversation last night with two people who expressed their love of beer, but thought wine was more sophisticated. Though I have a whole blog devoted to this "Beer v. Wine", I still wanted to touch on another related note: predetermined expectations.

What I hope is that when you consume something (food/beer/wine/etc), really try to pay attention to all aspects of flavor/color/aroma/texture. Use as many senses as seem necessary. At least for the first couple tastes. You will be suprised at the complexities of whatever it is you are tasting. We are somehow conditioned to merely consume in this country, and need to pay attention to what it is we are consuming.

One person I spoke with thought Belgian Ales were the best beers in the world, and cited the largest breweries in Belgium (Chimay/Duvel) as the cream of the crop. Though I agree these are fine beers, they are, in my mind, not the best the counrty or the world has to offer. Dig a bit deeper to find the Westvleterens or the De Regenboogs. These are truly remarkable beers. And this person thought the former beers didn't go well with food. I disagree, and urge everyone to try the beers with cheeses and shellfish (shrimp). You will be suprised.

Also, per another discussion, beers in cans are not from the bottom of the tanks or lower quality beers. Canning is, at this point, better for beers than bottles (no light, no headspace to stale beer, easier/cheaper to transport, easier to produce and recycle). There are some great examples of beers in cans that we got to try at a blind tasting not too long ago (Dale's Old Chub Scottish Ale and Sly Fox Pilsner to name a couple) and found to be quite tasty with no preceived tin character (cans are lined now, so unless you are driking right from the can, you should not have aluminum uptake in flavor).

At any rate, pay attention, taste, and enjoy.

I need more beer for this

A friend of mine recently suggested I start this blog. "People are interested in what you have to say", he said. "People like talking to you about beer", he said. Ok, so I started this blog. Problem is, this server (Yahoo!) is a little wonky, and it appears I have to be a computer programmer to modify my backgrounds, graphics, visuals, or whatever. Can't seem to get a simple, crisp screen. And at Kelso, we're all about simple and crisp. Let that be a lesson to you--stick to what you know. Again I find myself over my head. Last time was website design. Before that, logo design (clearly). Any computer/graphic types out there willing to work for beer? It helps. . .

Since writing this a couple days ago, I moved the blog to a Google server. Much easier to use. So, nevermind.

Beer v Wine

I’ve frequently been asked if beer is better than wine for pairing with food, or if beer can match the complexity of wine. So. . .

Beer, in my view, is more versatile than wine. Not only does beer rely on differing varieties of malted grain (barley, wheat,etc), but also different varieties of hops, yeast, and water supply. Barley, for example, can have dozens of varietals grown around the world, each varietal dependent on soil/weather conditions. Then the grain goes to the maltster, where it is handled in a way to bring out is strengths and reduce its shortcomings. We, as brewers, have an array of grains/malts to choose from, ranging from English Pale Malts, German Lager Malts, to locally grown barley and wheat. Wine makers do not have this flexibility, and their product can suffer from it.

Now, hops, also, are a plant that grow around the world. New Zealand organics, German Noble, and even good old US native hops all lend different nuanced flavors to a beer, or even texture if you dry hop.

Water chemistry plays a huge part in beer production and flavors. Simply put, local water supplies can determine if a beer will be richer/fuller or somewhat light and sweet. The chemistry affects how hop bitterness works, how mashing the grain works, and how the yeast performs. All these play together to make the subtle nuance of each raw material work together to achieve the ultimate balance .

Different yeasts provide different aromas, flavor, and texture to a beer. Some are fruity and robust, some are more subtle, some crisp and clean, some minerally and some more round and smooth. We can even blend yeasts to get different effect, and can filter/age/or change fermentation temps to get the yeast flavor just the way we want.

Synopsis: Beer is the oldest recorded recipe and has been around civilization as long as bread has. Every society in the world has a form of locally made beer, and has had this form since society became, well, a society. Beer comes from grain, and has many of the characteristics of grain, so in turn pairs nicely with any dish (when have you had a dinner without some form of grain?) Wine is a nice treat. Beer is a staple.

Does beer help blog?

We’ve been using the slogan "Beer Helps" for over a year, and have gotten a lot of positive comments and feedback from people of all backgrounds, young and old, tall and short. People seem to truly feel that beer helps in every sense (except the “beer helps drive home” sense, of course). I thought it would be a good place to start blogging. With the economy tanking and people less sure than ever about the the future, perhaps now is a good time to get back to basics, sit down, take a breath, and have a beer (not 5 or 6). Pale ale, perhaps? Or a nice, crisp Pilsner? Which is your favorite beer for releasing stress?