Learning to Brew Beer in Franklin, TN Thanks to the wonderful owner of McCreary's Irish Pub, a group of people will head down to The Pub, one night only, for friendship, ale, and beer brewing.Come join us: Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 6 pm 414 Main Street. Tell a friend.
It is commonly assumed by beer snobs, such as myself, that rice is a no-no in beer. Well, that may be changing. Check this out from the LA Times:
"Rice is considered by many brewers what the nasty industrial brewers use to water down their beer," says Maureen Ogle, author of "Ambitious Brew," a book exploring the history of brewing in the U.S. "Craft brewers treat rice almost as if it's rat poison."
But recently, a handful of craft brewers in California, Colorado and Washington are challenging that blanket disdain for the grain by introducing complex, full-flavored rice beers. They say rice can lend subtle tropical notes and a bright finish to their lagers and ales....
Rice hasn't always had such a sullied reputation among craft brewers.
According to Ogle, the anti-rice sentiment is traceable to the early craft brewing revival in the 1980s. "It was all about, 'We're only using four ingredients, we're not like those industrial brewers making watered-down, cheap beer by using adjuncts like rice.'
"The mythology is that these giant beer makers began adding rice and corn to their beer after World War II to water it down, but that's simply not true," she adds.
The American brewing industry was built in the late 19th century by first-generation German American immigrants such as Adolphus Busch, Adolph Coors and Frederick Miller. Although these men, craft brewers themselves, initially re-created the full-bodied beers of their homeland, many Americans had not developed a taste for the malt-heavy style.
"They needed a domestic ingredient that would make the beers more effervescent, bubbly and lighter," Ogle says. "Rice and corn did that -- it was a desired flavor, not inexpensive filler."
Happy birthday to the most perfect beverage on earth: Guinness. That's right, today marks the 250th birthday of that delicious beverage. Here are a few ways to celebrate the 1759 birthdate of this glorious elixir.
Jamey Bennett reviews Rockford, Illinois’ first authentic microbrewery
I am a fan of the Carlyle Brewing Company. Every chance I have to go through Rockford, I go to Carlyle. The atmosphere is great and the beer is even better.
I haven’t had much of their food. I have had their chips 'n salsa and their pizza. The chips 'n salsa stinks. Don’t waste your money. The pizza is pretty good, though. It is a true Chicago thin-crust – cracker-thin-crust, typical of the region.
With twelve brews on tap and in a regular rotation you are bound to find something you like.
Let’s start with the Humulus Lupulus. This 5.9% IPA is deliciously hoppy. A floral nose makes this a winner, and while an IPA, the IBU’s are not overwhelming.
Next is the American Wheat. At 4.7% ABV, this is a yummy ale, but a bit too post-prohibition American for my taste. I don’t blame them, though. This makes MGD drinkers reach for the sky and order a decent beer.
The Vanilla Cream Ale is not one I’d order, but might be on your list of faves. One of my friends says it tastes like a cool summer night – I’d agree. Most of all, I think they just fermented A&W cream soda. 4.5% ABV
Their Belgian-style Trippel is fantastic. It beats the heck out of my own homebrewed tripel. At 8.5%, this high alc beaut is sweet, smooth, and enjoyable.
Carlyle has many beers that go in and out regularly, and they have a great email list. Their emails aren’t too often, and they are short, sweet, and to the point. Go to Carlyle the next chance you get and enjoy a couple pints.
Reason magazine has put together an excellent video on beer.
In 1920, the National Prohibition Act destroyed the beer industry in the United States, putting some 1,500 breweries out of business. When the "noble experiment" was repealed in 1933, beer lovers rejoiced, and the beer industry staggered back to its feet. The industry had lost much of its diversity, however, and the emergence of national brands in the 1950s and 1960s led to industry consolidation and fewer choices for American beer drinkers. By 1980, there were less than 50 breweries in the U.S.
By the 1980s, American beer had an international reputation as weak and watery as a case of Hamm's. Most breweries only produced American-style lagers, a light and inexpensive style of beer typically made with rice or corn adjuncts in addition to barley, hops, yeast and water....
"Beer: An American Revolution" is approximately seven minutes. Watch it now!
Walter Snyder looks at wine, water, and "strong drink" in the Bible
Q: I saw an article talking about the invention of beer in ancient Egypt, and it got me thinking: “Did the Israelites drink beer? What did they drink?”
A: Like you, I like to sit down occasionally to figure out what life was like in Bible times. It helps to understand the people and situations we meet on Scripture’s pages. I also like to sit down with a good beer. It helps to relax and refresh a world-weary pilgrim.
Since we Lutherans are often stereotyped as beer-lovers, it seems appropriate to examine Biblical precedent. After all, Martin Luther (probably only partially in jest) commented upon doing what he could, then having a brew and getting out of the Lord's way during the Reformation: “I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept [cf. Mark 4:26–29], or d
Beer begins in the grave. The seed from which barley springs is not meant for us, not for our nutrition or pleasure. Rather, the starch in the seed is meant to feed the seed's own rootlet. The cycle of life and death is anticipated by the seed, and its promise can only be fulfilled when the seed falls to earth and is buried, dead to the world.
Only then does germination take place. The starch turns to sugar, feeding the rootlet which breaks out of the hull and reaches down into the earth for moisture, down to set an anchor for the sprout. From the other end of the seed, the sprout emerges, probes upward, fights up to the sunlight and the air, and begins to grow, to live.
This rebirth is the miracle of spring in its simplest terms, the triumph of life over death, repeated billions of times all over the planet. And so the barley seed carries life forward. It grows and bears fruit, food for the next gener
Jamey Bennett offers up an easy homemade cider recipe
4.5 Gallons of Apple Juice or Cider - you determine your level of involvement here, but remember sugar turns to alcohol, and the better juice you get the better cider you'll have
4 or 5 cans of juice concentrate - the frozen kind, and I like to make one or two of them cherry or raspberry or something just to make it more interesting
The next time you move a batch of beer from the primary fermenter to the secondary fermenter, leave the yeast cake at the bottom of the bucket and make cider right away, like THUS:
Boil the juice for twenty minutes. Cool. (I've never done this, but decided from now on I'm going to boil.)
Pour the cooled "wort" into the fermenter right on top of the yeast cake. Yes, you are reusing yeast. This is okay to do! Add your concentrates (that is, if you didn't boil them). Ferment as you would beer. Pay close attention though, because this will be a pretty strong cider, so you want to make sure you get all that sugar fermented.
Bottle as usual. Remember, though, most commercial ciders are easy on the carbonation, so you may want to scale back your sugar to decrease carbonation. I have occasionally used a can of raspberry concentrate as my priming sugar. This works pretty well, but is less predictable. Also, I like to bottle half my batch and then add a cup of Splenda (won't ferment) to the second half for a slightly sweetened cider.
It's no Woodchuck. But it's fun, it's cheap, it's easy, and it's yours. Cheers!
Credits go to some Internet discussion forum that was roughly this recipe.
Jamey Bennett reviews one of Northern California's finest microbreweries
The San Francisco Breweing Company is the “last of the Barbary coast saloons”. Located in a historic saloon, which burned in a 1906 fire, the saloon reopened in 1907. It was restored beautifully in 1975, and further restored in 1985 as the San Francisco Brewing Company. And what a great job they’ve done!
Subterranean Ale (Seasonal) – Reminiscent of the much darker Pete’s Wicked Ale, this is a nutty ale, easy on the hops, with a delicious twist of licorice and toffee, with a sweet aftertaste. Nose? Distinctly sourdough. This beer makes me wish I was a certified judge.
Bock – Amber hues with a hoppy nip. Michelob’s Amber Bock doesn’t hold a candle to this one.
Shanghai IPA – True to a traditional IPA style – though milder than Stone’s IPA that I’ve been sipping on lately (no surprise, Stone outdoes everyone wherever possible) – the
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Jamey Bennett reviews one of Northern California's finest microbreweries
