BEER AND WINE LINKS 03.26.18
Something’s Brewing in the Lab: Beer Without Hops.
Industrial brewing yeast engineered for the production of primary flavor determinants in hopped beer.
I’ve written a bit about this in the next Hop Queries newsletter (which goes out Tuesday), so just three quick points. First, we’re not talking hopsless beer. The full report (second link) has the details. Second, the researchers have focused on two key compounds (linalool and geraniol), but hops contain more 500 compounds and scientists have not identified what (if anything) they all add to aroma and flavor. It is one thing to create a “hoppy” flavor. It is another to replicate Citra (not that folks aren’t trying; Hop Queries also digs into blending research this month). Third, genetically modified yeast.
Glitter Beer: The Full Report.
Glitter Beer Sparkles as Spring’s Craft Beer Trend.
Those who said “this too shall pass” about juicy/hazy IPAs may want to brace themselves. Jeff Alworth gives it the full Beer Bible treatment. A lot more details, for instance, about glitter here than sahti in his book, which allows for considerable comment about the food safety factor. This is not to suggest that breweries are adding anything that will harm you, but it reminds me that far too many brewers are casual about filing the proper government paperwork when a beer will only be sold on draft. They are legally required to obtain formula approval when adding any ingredient that is not on the TTB approved list. Some I have talked to think it is necessary only when seeking label approval for packaged beer.
This is not the best example, but one I can provide off the top of my head, so pardon the lack of glitter. Wild ginger, which is different than ginger, contains Aristolochic acid, which in large doses can lead to kidney failure. Chinese herbalists have prescribed potions steeped in wild ginger for centuries without killing people because it is barely soluable in water. Infused in alcohol, that’s another matter, and potentially much more dangerous. I understand why brewers feel frustrated with the formula approval process and want to see it streamlined. But when a brewer a talks about how brewer b wanted to add wild ginger to a collaboration beer, and fortunately didn’t because brewer a knew a bit about it, then a bit of bureaucracy as another layer of food safety seems in order.
The ‘weediest’ beer of them all.
The Hemperor HPA (Hemp Pale Ale) is here and it’s far and away the weediest beer I’ve ever had the pleasure to try. For years brewers have exploited the similarities in the characteristics between hops and pot to create beers that exhibit some level of ‘dankness,’ but New Belgium has hands down come the closest in my (relatively extensive) experience.”
Hemp is on the way.
How short is the shelf life of a NEIPA? A (kind-of) scientific study.
Pair this with the news that the Brewers Association added categories for three (3!) hazy sorts of beers in its 2018 beer style guidelines.
After even a month on the shelf you notice a substantial decline in quality, and after 3 months even a top shelf NEIPA is pretty much ruined.”
Eight myths about lambic debunked.
In their enthusiasm for lambic, some writers have spread the weirdest tales.”
Craft Beer’s Post-Snob Era Is Here.
We’re Beer Nerds, Not Beer Snobs.
Point and counterpoint.
I prefer to hang out with people who aren’t snobs, who value others based upon their character, who are good-natured, and enjoy each other’s company, regardless of what they choose to pour in their face.”
Creativity Drives The Homebrewing Community.
What’s Old is New: Retro Cookbooks on the Rise.
In an earlier age, homebrewing was all about filling beer’s blank spots with flavor, creating alternatives where none existed. Nowadays, brewing is in many ways more personal, powered by a propulsive thrust of ingenuity, community and meticulousness, trying to match—and maybe best—the beers available at your local store.”
I somehow missed Josh Bernstein’s feature about homebrewers last month, so here’s the link now. It’s adapted from his new book out next month, Homebrew World: Discover the Secrets of the World’s Leading Homebrewers. I’ll be there to read the narrative, but it also includes 30 recipes. You write a book about brewing, you include recipes. Those are the rules. I thought about this when I saw the article on retro cookbooks. Could we see revived interest in Dave Line’s books. Alan McLeod would be pleased.
MORE BEER; JUST THE LINKS
– A disruption in the force.
– Tracing women in brewing: a historical research project!
Too which I will include this tweet from the Midwest Archives Conference last week.
Political archives are largely white and male – Megan Mummey highlights public policy archives "wall of dead white men" #mac2018
— Emily ?? MAC 2018 (@thelastofem) March 24, 2018
– We’re Boak & Bailey and we write about the history of British beer and the English pub. Ask us anything!
– New Belgium founder Jeff Lebesch shares insights on life after beer.
– Dealing in Lifetimes — Fuller, Smith & Turner in London, England.
– Talkin’ Beer & Art with Lervig’s Art Director, Nanna Guldbæk.
– My Favorite New Gadget Is This Machine That Puts Pictures on Beer.
WINE
Laube versus Suckling — their scores differ, but what does that mean for us?
If the scale does not have the same meaning for any given pair of people, then the numbers cannot be validly compared, because they have different meanings. Not only would we be comparing apples and oranges, we would be comparing different (but unknown) numbers of apples and oranges. What is the point of that?”
And when you aggregate those scores — and yes, I’m returning the conversation to beer and popular rating sites — there’s a point?
FROM TWITTER
We heard this was a thing. Are we doing it right? ????????? pic.twitter.com/JTtAfHHgW1
— 10 Barrel Brewing (@10BarrelBrewing) March 23, 2018
“You write a book about brewing, you include recipes. Those are the rules.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Want to write more than 30 profiles on homebrewers around the globe? You best include recipes. It’s publishers’ immutable directive.
“A lot more details, for instance, about glitter here than sahti in his book…”
Ouch!
At least I was paying attention.
I am interested about where you are going with the need for Glitter Reg. 3921/90 but is there any book on food safety and brewing that a brewer would use? Maybe just the government’s regulatory guide? Seems that sooner or later one of these fun additives is really going to hurt folk. Not all are as obviously bad as cobalt: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/how-quebec-beer-and-tv-s-dr-house-solved-a-medical-mystery-1.2526403
Brewers can start with the FDA’s GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list. If something isn’t on there then he or she will need to do a little research.