But, can anybody ‘own’ a yeast culture?

Kveik

The preservation of cultures can be tricky.

Claire Bullen wrote about Voss region in Norway, Vossaøl, farmhouse brewing, kviek and ultimately cultural preservation last week at Good Beer Hunting. I’m going to quote a couple of paragraphs, but context is important, so start by reading the whole thing. It is long. I’ll wait.

The discussion about kveik turns to acknowledging, even rewarding, “the original owner” of an individual strain, and she writes:

“‘Now we have rediscovered the kveik and then some companies […] start taking out a yeast type and isolating it and basically taking the kveik apart. So what we’re trying to do is preserve the kveik culture as it is, the asset it has been for centuries,’ said Arne Bøhmer, CTO of the Kveik Yeastery, during a recent conference call.

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More than one kind of thoroughly modern pilsner

Pilsner: How the Beer of Kings Changed the WorldA couple of days ago, Jim Vorel went on a bit about how he was troubled to find “‘IPA-ification’ creeping into one of the greatest lager styles of all: Pilsner.”

Several Twitter threads followed, including this one (scroll up and down to catch the whole discussion). In it, David Berg at August Schell Brewing has a specific request, “Define Pilsner.”

Coincidentally, Thursday the European Beer Consumers Union posted “the most comprehensive guide to the growing range of beer styles found across Europe and beyond – their origins, differences and how to spot the best.” Tim Webb is the lead author and curator.

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Recommended reading: Fingers (it’s a newsletter)

Yesterday I learned that Fair State Brewing in Minnesota has unionized.

The details: “Today is a momentous day in the history of Fair State – we just became the first microbrewery in the United States to become unionized. Yesterday morning, employees across our business – in both Minneapolis and St. Paul – banded together and requested that Fair State voluntarily recognize their union. In consultation with our member-owner Board of Directors, we quickly agreed to voluntarily recognize the union. We founded this cooperative on democratic principles, and this is the next natural step in our push to show that fair and democratic workplaces can thrive.” [Read more.]

I learned this reading David Infante’s free and highly entertaining newsletter about beery matters called “Fingers.” I am not going to continue to pass along every important thing I read there, so you might want to subscribe yourself. The “publishing schedule” to the right infers I might have a recommendation for you some Fridays. You are welcome.

Tasting notes, diversity, racism and sexism

The best read post here this year will be the same one that has been best read each of the last dozen years: “Words to describe the beer you are tasting.”

Beyond the obvious fact that people seem to struggle with talking about aroma and flavor, my excuse for pointing this out is Esther Mobley’s story yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle that asks, “How many people have actually tasted a wet river stone, anyway?”

That amusing poke aside, she examines a more serious issue, stating “it’s becoming clearer than ever that the conventional language used to describe wine isn’t merely intimidating and opaque. It’s also inextricable from racism and sexism, excluding dimensions of flavor that are unfamiliar to the white, Western cultures that dominate the world of fine wine and reinforcing retrograde notions of gender.”

This is something those who write about beer should be aware of as well.

Further reading
– A review of “Discriminating Taste: How Class Anxiety Created the American Food Revolution,” which introduces the concept of “aspirational eating.”
– “The Taste of Beer,” an essay by Zak Avery in Brewery History Number 139, a special issue in 2011 that paid tribute to Michael Jackson.

Hop harvest: Virtual and real

Hop harvest has begun in the Northern Hemisphere. Many brewers have canceled travels plans to the Yakima Valley, to the Willamette Valley, to Germany’s Hallertau region, to Kent in the UK, to Bohemia, to . . .

A “virtual harvest” may not smell the same, but the world’s largest vendors are giving it a go. Hopsteiner starts if off this week with an introduction to its breeding program. Yakima Chief Hops has multiple events planned Monday through Friday every week this month.

On a personal note, my Twitter and Instagram feeds are full of photos from harvest.

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