Random Beer Roundup

Here's a few new and old beer related articles I've run across in the past couple days.

MSNBC declares Belgium "Malt Disneyland" - "American craft brewers may boast about their innovative ways: bourbon-barrel-aged beers, wild ingredients, formulas that tip the alcohol content well north of 10 percent. Guess what? The Belgians were there first."

Can microbreweries revive Germany's lagging beer sales? - "There used to be 100 breweries in this neighborhood alone," Lemke said. "They died out in the 1970s with the trend toward mono-breweries. The big breweries -- for example Warsteiner or Licher – said: ‘We're only going to make one sort of beer, a premium pilsner, and we'll market it nationwide.' And that inevitably leads to a dead-end. At some point, even the world's biggest idiot notices that there's virtually no difference between a Warsteiner and Licher."

I'm guessing Anheuser Busch products lead to sensory underload - "Menus laid out seven courses of haute cuisine: coconut shrimp and Michelob, beef tenderloin and caramelized onions with Michelob Amber Bock, and Caesar salad with Budweiser in pilsner glasses.

Brewmaster and host George Reisch stood by, explaining how a Ray Hill's American Pilsner — brewed by A-B in New Hampshire — would "open up" the taste buds to savor the oils and creams of the tenderloin and balsamic vinegar."

Diners "don't ever forget this," he said. "It's sensory."

Speaking of forget, forget what I told you yesterday: In yesterday's post about English and American Barleywines, I confused the samples. Bell's Thrid Coast is an American Barleywine (not English), and Brooklyn Monster Ale is an English Barleywine (not American). I've corrected the post now. In case you're paying attention, that means I've had something wrong twice in just three posts. Next time someone else is typing up the notes.

Corrections to "Back to School with Real Ales and Firkins"

I should have paid a little more attention in Beer School. A couple helpful readers have chimed in to let me know that I was mistaken in writing the following in our "Back to School With Real Ales and Firkins" post.

"real ale never leaves the container in which it is fermented before it makes its way into your glass."

Not true.

According to reader Paul:

"Once beer is fermented it is then placed into a cask or bottle, and without getting too technical, this is where a secondary fermentation takes place. The beer is live in the container and when it is served. Dead beer like most lagers are given an injection of CO2 to give it an over the top amount of fizz."

Another reader who failed to leave her or his name added:

"Paul is right. The initial round of fermentation would leave too much yeast slurry and hop residue (sludge from hop pellets or leaf particles from whole hops) and that wouldn't lead to very clear beer. Once initial fermentation ceases, the beer is racked (aka transfered) into the cask or bottle and it has had a certain amount of priming sugar added to let it do a final fermentation that causes that lovely carbonation we do so enjoy. Bell's beers and Dark Horse beers are bottle conditioned, that is why you decant them into a glass and leave the yeast sediment behind. The yeast is still there and makes the carbonation, thus the beer is alive."

I'd like to thank Paul and Annonymous for their quick corrections to the post, and I apologize for my mistake. Hopefully it'll be the last.