musing

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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Random Friday post that has nothing to do with beer. This is what happens when you are taking a picture that your phone says will take 3 seconds and somebody behind bumps in to you. Cyril Neville on the bongos during “Life is a Carnival: The Last Walz Tour ’24” at Mission Ballroom in Denver.

You should read all of“Beer-Flavored Beer Can’t Save the Category on its Own,” but I am focused on the term beer-flavored beer and Dave Infante’s kicker:

“People like to drink stuff that tastes good, and beer can taste good even if it isn’t marketed as such. Convincing people to want beer-flavored beer is a vocation; brewing them the flavors they want in a beer is a business.”

I confess to typing beer-flavored beer in the past, and perhaps speaking the words out loud. And 13-plus years ago I when I hosted The Session I made the topic “Regular Beer,” a synonym for beer-flavored beer. (Those were the days. Three dozen bloggers chimed in on the topic. Warning: clicking on a link within that post often leads to a broken link.)

I was wrong to use the term. It can be used to exclude, wielded as a weapon by drinkers who imply they know something others do not. “I can appreciate beer-flavored beer, the complex flavors that result from the interaction of malt and yeast in a simple helles. You are not worthy.”

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