. . . you see cowboy boots on bags of malted grain.
At (512) Brewing in Austin, Texas.
Details about their Pecan Porter next week. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas.
musing
Call it the wheel of beer
This is what you see when you walk through the front door of the La Cumbre Brewing Company in Albuquerque. The brewery’s grand opening party was Friday, although it began selling beer six days before.
Just a cool photo to look at, so I am passing it along. Not really related to anything in the mission statement. But a bit more about the brewery when I finish what should be the next post, “Whatever happened to ‘regular’ beer?” “A few kind words for ‘regular’ beer, OK?”
The best of beer times (again)
Given that we live in the most fantabulous time ever for beer in America, thought this might add a little perspective. Focus on the content rather than the writing style:
Statistical data show at a glance a progress in this branch of industry within a brief period, and especially in the United States, which is almost fabulous. Greatly prostrated not more than a quarter of a century ago, this interest has now become one of the leading ones, and in every respect deserves great consideration.
When was this written?
Take a guess before you peek.
It was taken from the Publishers Preface to Theory and Practice of the Preparation of Malt and the Fabrication of Beer, an English translation of a German text on brewing, somewhat modified in 1882 for American brewers.
The thought probably didn’t occur to those involved that American beer would once again be “greatly prostrated.”
Reinheitsgebot, the revisionist definition
German brewer’s in the medieval period brewed beer in its most pure form. German beer purity law of 1516 (Reinheitsgebot) prohibited use of any additives in beer. The only ingredients added in beer were malt (rice or barley), hops, yeast and water.
(I added the bold — the bad grammar and omission of the word Reinheitsgebot belongs to Buzzle.com.)
What macro brewer financed that research?
The list of preservatives in beer is not complete, but is already scary enough.
Sunday viewing (and reading)
I appreciate moving pictures as much as the next person, so for both those who like to watch and those who like to read . . .
* Jack Curtin just posted something you should know about Sam Calagione.
* Laura Deibler sent along the YouTube video of her husband, Dan, singing a variation on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” It speaks to the power of music, homebrewing and Trappist beer. Plus I really like the wink Dan gives Laura just over two minutes in.
* You think it was just chance that on the morning that Discovery channel debuted “Brew Masters” CBS Sunday Morning had a beer segment? The beer part, including Charlie Bamforth and Wynkoop Brewing, starts about four minutes in.
* Sorry, couldn’t figure out how to embed the next video. It’s from the Bloomberg The Mentor series. Jim Koch of Boston Beer provides advice to the guys from Oceanside Ale Works in Southern California. You gotta laugh when they say that Samuel Adams spills more beer than they brew in a year. At least if you are old enough to remember Jim Koch saying the same thing about Anheuser-Busch and his brewing company.
* I’m a sucker for any beer description that includes “It’s a cracker.” But throw in a Ry Cooder reference and you’re getting a link from me. Even if you are describing a Black IPA called Conqueror.