Author: Professor Good Ales

Written by Ashley Routson for craftbeer.com

I get a kick out of messing with unsuspecting folk at trade shows and beer festivals. When they ask me for a taste of my lightest beer, I always pour them my Stout. And when they look at me like I’m crazy, I laugh and explain that, although dark in color, the Stout is lowest in alcohol, lowest in calories and lightest in body. Often times, this gets them to at least taste it. And more often than not, I watch people have an epiphany…“I usually don’t like dark beer, but this one is good.”

Oh poor dark beer, always being judged by the color of its malt. Unfortunately, most people have the misconception that the color of beer is directly related to its weight. In the mind of most consumers, dark beers are rich, heavy and full of calories. And conversely, they think that the paler in color a beer is, the lighter it is in body, alcohol and calories. Although both are not entirely wrong assumptions, I have made it my mission to debunk the myths surrounding dark beers.
Continue reading “The Lighter Side of Dark: Debunking the Myths Surrounding Dark Beer”

Written by Bob Townsend for ajc.com (Atlanta)

For years, session beers — loosely described as flavorful lower alcohol beers — have been a hot topic among craft beer aficionados.

Malt Advocate magazine Managing Editor Lew Bryson even started a blog called the Session Beer Project.

 

But recently several companies, including 21st Amendment, Samuel Adams, Founders, Terrapin and Wild Heaven, have given a bigger boost to the cause with offerings that are rekindling the debate over the precise definition of a session beer.

According to the Brewer’s Association, a session beer is any style of beer that “can be made lower in strength than described in the classic style guidelines. The goal should be to reach a balance between the style’s character and the lower alcohol content. Drinkability is a character in the overall balance of these beers. Beers in this category must not exceed 5.1 percent alcohol by volume.”
Continue reading “Beer Town: Session beers breaking out all over”

Let it never be said there a lack of CULTURE here at PGA!!!

Note: might want to lower that temp a tad… 95 is a bit hot for yeast! Just remember that ale yeast works best around 70 and lager yeast in the 50s… though for a starter the 50 is a bit cold, yet higher temps could create yeast driven defects. This method best for ale yeast, the Professor assumes. And watch the flame on the bottle: could crack. -The Professor

Not quite “scientific,” but fairly accurate. Also: Bud is brewed from a slurry which is shipped coast to coast and most likely worldwide. This assures consistency, though certainly not up to carft beer standards.-PGA

 

Crispin Hard Cider with Irish Stout Yeast and Molasses

If ya like carbonated black strap molasses you should love this. Scribe had to dump his last glass out, it was so annoying. There is an apple background, but it’s like putting a pretty picture behind a molasses plugged commode. The yeast is even more distant: pretty much lost. Deep brown. No head. No clarity, but none expected with the molasses: especially this much. Viscosity hefty, as one would expect with carbonated molasses. A bit of a carbonic bite: there’s carbonation in the mouth, but the sea of molasses washes all away with… barf! BACK OFF ON THE MOLASSES FOOLS!

This boat rocks: Andrea, bartender at Port Jeff Brewing Co., keeps the brews flowing in the tasting room, where the bar is a boat. (Long Island Press)

Written by Timothy for longislandpress.com

A veritable local beer boom is flowing across Long Island, where the number of craft brewing companies building breweries nearly doubled in the past year, drawn from a burgeoning cottage industry of home brewers—despite negative economic news.

Long Ireland Beer Co. opened in Riverhead last summer, Port Jeff Brewing Co. set up shop in its namesake village downtown in the fall, and Great South Bay Brewery opened its Bay Shore headquarters this winter. They join Barrier Brewing Co.—poised to quintuple its bare-bones Oceanside operations this spring—by following in the footsteps of LI foamfathers Blue Point Brewing Co., Southampton Ales and Lagers along with fellow newcomers Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., founded just after the 2008 financial crisis hit.
Continue reading “Long Island’s Craft Brewery Boom Takes Off”

Floating beer pong table

Welcome to our newest writer here at Professor Goodales. We have never covered beer pong, so maybe it’s time we did!-PGA

Written by Robert Lobitz forprofessorgoodales.net

Beer pong is among the most popular games at college parties all over the world. While you may have decided that you’re definitely playing the game at your party, the difficult thing is trying to choose the best beer pong table for the party. You have to think about how many tables you need, the size of the venue, how many people are attending the party and many other factors besides.
Continue reading “Which Beer Pong Table is Best for a College Party?”

Written by Chris Furnari for brewbound.com

Craft beer sales are quickly approaching $1 billion in U.S. supermarkets and the U.S. brewery count is climbing towards 2,000. It’s no secret that 2011 was a phenomenal growth year for the craft beer industry, and now we have some year-end Symphony IRI data to back it up.

The Brewers Association reported in January that 260 new breweries came online in 2011; nearly every brewery we’ve spoken with is reporting significant volume growth.

Speaking at the “Power Hour” hosted by the Brewers Association, IRI’s Senior VP of Beer, Wine and Spirits, Dan Wandel, discussed craft beers performance especially in U.S. Supermarkets.

Here are the most important takeaways:

Craft’s dollar share in U.S. Supermarkets was up 15 percent over last year to 10.8 share, the sixth consecutive year of growth. That’s double the share it held in 2006. These numbers prove why craft beer is the number one growing beverage-alcohol segment in U.S. Supermarkets

So what products are responsible for the growth? Wandel pointed to several areas. Variety and seasonal packages, IPA’s, large-format bottle offerings, the rise of canned beer and even private label brands (see below) are the major catalysts.

Top Vendors:

Boston Beer Co. continued to lead the way as the top craft vendor, generating $173 million in sales. Sierra Nevada and Craft Brew Alliance followed with $92.1 and $77.4 respectively.

But despite impressive dollar sales growth, seven of the top ten vendors actually lost a combined 4 share points of total segment dollars, no doubt because of the numerous emerging breweries earning more space on supermarket shelves. Only Bells Brewery and Stone Brewing Co. were able to gain a collective 0.2 percent dollar share.

Styles Driving Growth:
Continue reading “Craft Beer to Reach 12 Share at U.S. Supermarkets in 2012”