| "Here and There" by Clay Moore and Jay Silvers Only a couple of hours drive north of San Francisco, CA, on the banks of the Russian River is the town of Hopland with a population of 755. The town was so named because it's main economic enterprise is the production and processing of bitter hops. The town is also home to the Mendocino Brewing Company. If you're really bored try a beer scavenger hunt. Every player brings a six pack, breaks it up, and hides the individual cans/bottles.. The searchers then assemble and try to find the beer. Once you find a beer you return to the starting point and drink it before looking for your next one. The first one to drink six beers wins. Beer terms to know:- Firkin - most common size of cask; Alpha acids- the main component of hops that make them bitter; Lautering - the process of extracting the wort from the grain after mashing; Bomber - a 22 oz. bottle of beer. "You think mankind needs rule, he needs beer. The world does not need morals, it needs beer!" Henry Miller Before Prohibition lagers in America were far different from today's Budweiser, Coors, and Miller brews. Pre-Prohibition beers had significant amounts of hop bitterness often from the use of noble hops. The closest we've tasted to those classic beers is Brooklyn Lager. "I don't even like talking about alcohol content in my beers. It's like asking a butcher to measure his steaks in terms of percent fat. Alcohol to me isn't important. When I brew beers it about flavor." - Dan Carey, New Glarus' brewmaster. Schwarz means black, but don't confuse Schwarzbier with stout. Biggest difference are yeast and fermentation temperature. The flavor profile of a Schwarzbier is primarily roasted malt with some hop bitterness for balance. Classic example is Kostritzer Schwarzbier from German. Good American version is Sam Adams Black Lager. The Busch family held onto Anheuser-Busch for six generations before being bought by InBev in 2008. Yuengling is the only comparable brewery still going strong in its seventh generation of brewers. Whenever a Busch Brewery heir was born his father would put five drops of Budweiser beer in the baby's mouth from and eye dropper. Each Guinness beer tap is fitted with a five hole restrictor plate which gives it a turbo-charged kick of nitrogen. According to Guinness, the perfect pint of their beers takes exactly 119.5 seconds to pour. Graf Vienna is a somewhat obscure beer style made popular by Mexican amber lagers like Leon and Negra Modelo. It is generally under 6% ABV and has a reddish amber hue. It features a malty base, rich body, and dry finish. Barley Wines can range from very hoppy to fruity, with alcohol levels ranging from 8 - 15%. In general, again a barley wine will mellow the bitterness and bring out the fruit. It should be served about 50 - 55 degrees F. The Russian River Brewing Company is owned by Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo who bought the brewery from Korbel Champagne in 2003. Staying true to their dedication to quality over quality they've pulled out of markets to satisfy the high demand for their brews closer to home. Yes, they're the guys who make Pliny. The most common vessel for serving beer—the shaker pint—was never actually intended to serve beer. The iconic pint glass came to power more as a matter of chance and convenience than actual design. Shaker pints are stackable, durable, and perfect for their intended purpose: shaking cocktails. File under Believe It or Not - every 14 hours a new brewery specializing in craft beer opens in the U.S. About 44 percent of drinkers in their mid-twenties today have never tried Budweiser, according to the brand’s parent company Anheuser- Busch. Christopher Columbus brought his own Sherry on his voyage to the New World. He did not share it with the crew. Bourbon, not beer, is the official spirit of the United States by act of Congress. The drink takes its name from Bourbon County in Kentucky. Many of the health benefits of drinking beer or other alcohol in moderation are reduced if it isn’t consumed often enough. Daily works for us. A survey found that British men were twice as likely to know the price of their beer as the size of their partner’s bra. That begs the question who would want to survey that in the first place. •When a young Tiriki man wants to marry a woman, he offers beer to her. If she then spits some of it into his mouth, she has accepted his proposal they are engaged to be married. Seems like a waste of good beer to us. "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning." Clay and Jay See you next month! |
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More From Moore - nothing but beer here.....
| Clay Moore dedicates this page to his and Beer Nexus' favorite band, Lunch Hour- Six Pack "beer for the ear" |
It's time for more ......TALES OF ALES
