monday links

I may have exceeded my monthly quota for words last week, so showing more restraint . . .

Cask. This is a story about cask Ale’s bid for UNESCO cultural heritage status, but within there is a “hey, did you see this?” fact. “For all the headlines about American-inspired craft beer, about four times more traditional cask ale is served in the UK.”

The ink link. Jeff Alworth writes, “Credible, accurate journalism may not seem like an essential component to healthy beer culture, but I suspect it plays a bigger role than we imagine.” The importance seems obvious to me, although, granted, I am biased. I’d also suggest we should not overlook the role “brewspapers” — such as Celebrator, Ale Street News, and the Brewing News family — played in the growth of regional beer cultures.

In the woods at the edge of the city. “The bucolic setting is one thing, but what makes the Kugler Alm special is its place in the history of beer garden beverages. This beer garden is, by many accounts, where the Radler was invented. (For those who don’t yet know what a Radler is, it’s a mix of beer and lemon-lime soda—à la Sprite— that’s meant to quench your thirst without getting you too shlamboozeled. The word itself means cyclist.)”

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Okay, I lied. Here it is Monday and I have a few links for you before heading off to find some music, finishing with Piano Night here in New Orleans (lineup at the end). One reason for the unplanned post is that Ding has assembled the roundup for The Session #146. The other is these first two, because in another two weeks these so-called styles may already be resting beside Brut IPA.

Savoury IPA. In all fairness, Matt Curtis acknowledges that things did not go well for Brut IPA, and he questions the need for Cold IPA. In supporting the idea of using MSG in a beer, he writes, “Perhaps savoury isn’t the right word here. There are other, better, words I would use to describe this beer such as ‘bright’, ‘luminous’, or perhaps my favourite of all ‘resonant’. But ‘Resonant IPA’ doesn’t sound like a style that will trend well amongst the LinkedIn marketing set. Savoury though, that’s tangible and, most importantly, communicable.”

Northern IPA. Apparently Northern IPA was a subject of discussion on Bluesky and at Facebook while I was busy listening to music. Jeff Alworth found it a “real balm to the soul in these trying times. Beer, the liquid itself and the drinking of it, should be fun. Silly, even.”

RANDOM OBSERVATION NO. 1

“I’ve drunk good and bad cask beer from both independent and multinational breweries. I’ve also worked at small and large breweries. The multinationals are undoubtedly evil but then again some of the biggest cunts most awful people I’ve ever met have been running small breweries. Let us remain true to the core beliefs of our faith and venerate all beer that is pleasing to god.”

From Ed Wray in Why should I care if a brewery is independent?

RANDOM OBSERVATION NO. 2

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It might seem like a stretch to focus on links only to pleasure, but it beats reading the news. So other than a great lede (two in a row from Pellicle) and a quote, relax and forget everything else for a few links.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Yeast is by far the most important ingredient in bitter. It’s what makes someone a fan of JW Lees, but not so much of Holts, or a fan of Holts but not so much Harvey’s. Whilst there’s wonderful variation in malt characteristics and hop profiles, the yeast sets out in some cases the majority of the flavour profile, and certainly becomes a significant point of differentiation.”

                    — Paul Jones, Cloudwater Brewing
From The Evolution of Cask Bitter with a link to Cask Bitter, Refreshed for the 21st Century

LEAD OF THE WEEK

I have a simple, beautiful dream for my dotage. It entails being able to walk from my home to a brown pub that sells brown beer. I sit on a stool at the bar. Behind it, a much younger person smiles, says hello and asks how I am. They know my name.

I’ll be happy to be alive, to have my existence acknowledged, and for the froth from an exceptional ale to gather on my ’tache like the incoming tide on a tranquil beach.

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