Author: Professor Good Ales

Written by Andy Ingram for The Republic and azcentral.com

It seems to me that this is happening with craft beer as well. And, although I like the experimental and the crazy, it’s nice to see some brewers hit the reset button and get back to what started this whole beer revolution: clean, lower-alcohol, session beer.

There’s been a little spat on the beer-geek blogs and websites about what exactly is a session beer. These folks tend to have an insatiable desire to label and categorize, to micromanage with specific alcohol ranges and distinct flavor profiles.

Maybe the idea of a session beer is lost on these people.
Continue reading “Beer Buzz: Say “Yes” to “Boring,” Low-Alcohol Craft Beer”

Written by Norman Millier for GateHouse News Service and Metrowestdailinews.com

The pair founded Boston’s Harpoon Brewery, and next month, the brewery will celebrate its 25th anniversary.

“It sounds like a long time, but it doesn’t necessarily feel that long,” Doyle said.

“It’s really incredible,” Kenary said. “This is one of those anniversaries that you really notice. I’m 50 now, and I was 25 when we started the brewery, so it’s been half of my life now.”

To celebrate the anniversary, Doyle and Kenary went into the brewhouse together and brewed a commemorative beer: Rich and Dan’s Rye IPA. The beer is part of Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series, meaning only 3,100 gallons of it have been brewed.

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Weather, commodity prices and greed are to blame for the cost of your brew going up

Written by Loren Berlin for DailyFinance and today.msnbc.msn.com

It’s strange to think that someone actually invented beer, that it hasn’t just always been there, like centrifugal force or oxygen. But it’s true: 6,000 years before Jesus even hit the scene, the Babylonians — people living in the area that is modern-day Iraq — began fermenting barley in the glittering heat of the Mesopotamian dessert, and making clay vessels in which to store the frothy brew and trade it with neighbors.
Continue reading “The Economic Forces Behind Rising Cost of Beer”

Written by Erik Schelzig for The Associated Press and Mercurynews.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—A bill to allow strong beer makers to sell their product at Tennessee breweries was given final approval by the House on Saturday and sent to the governor for his signature.

The House voted 69-15 to pass the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville. It passed the Senate 28-3 a day earlier.
Continue reading “Lawmakers OK Strong Beer Sales at Tenn. Breweries”

Profiled by Ken Carman

This is one of the most interesting lighter beers I’m had that is not dominated by spices, or darker malts, or hops. Sweetwater’s blurb claims it was a Pilsner that “blew a tire” and wound up being finished up with an ale yeast. The nose is lager yeast, but there;s something else there, just a slight diacetyl sense you might get with some ales. Not enough to be bothersome.

Pours with a nice head. Straw. Chill haze: I suspect it needs clarification except…

Mouthfeel is the first indication of something amazing that has been brewed with a simple application of two yeasts: carbonation/carbonic buzz supporting a nice firm bitter that clings to the roof of the mouth. Very satisfying. Malt low but more than adequate for all that’s going on here.

The flavor is refreshing, fruity, malt focus yet with a nice bitter background. Reminds me a bit of an alcoholic Clausthaler… an NA. This is no NA, but could qualify as lawnmower. It’s also a bit wine like, in a sense. Fruity and clean lager combine to provide almost a bubbly wine sense without the alc punch or even actual fruit” slight champagne but more a lightly carbonated Rhine wine with a slight acidic punch one might get from grapes, or lager yeast.

Impressive.

Great news from Canada who has always been a bit ahead of us, except maybe as of late… PGA

Refined palates, Canucks playoff run helping local beer industry heat up otherwise cool spring

Written by Andrew A. Duffy for timescolumnist.com

These are tough hurdles to navigate for anyone selling beer. So there’s plenty of reason to question just why Victoria craft beer brewers and brewpubs are smiling.

At this time of year beerdrinking season should have kicked off, patios should be filled with lagerswilling sun worshippers and back yards should be beer-and-burger territory.

That isn’t really happening. However, a playoff run from the Vancouver Canucks seems to be making up for some of the bad weather and driving beer sales, while the more-cultured palate of the Victoria beer drinker seems to be the biggest reason for the sunny dispositions of these brewers.

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Tourists can enjoy celebrations of a 400th anniversary.

Written by Shirley O’Bryan Smith for AP

CESKY KRUMLOV, Czech Republic — Centuries of history have earned this Czech town a designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s a Bohemian beauty, tucked into a horseshoe bend on the Vltava River, with interesting architecture, an enormous castle and a nearby national park. 

But here’s something Cesky Krumlov has that you don’t find in most historic cities: live bears in the dry moat surrounding the castle.

And visiting the town of Cesky Krumlov this year offers an extra benefit: It’s the year of the Rosenbergs, who reigned over southern Bohemia for around 400 years. The family’s last male heir died in 1611, and special exhibitions and events are planned all year to honor the family, including tours of Rosenberg sites, museum exhibits and extended festivals.

THE CASTLE

The castle is one of those Rosenberg sites. A huge two-story arched bridge connects parts of it with Baroque gardens, a terrace and a rococo cascade fountain.

But there is no water in the moat surrounding the place to keep away advancing enemy hordes. Instead, there are the bears. Legend has it that

Cesky Krumlov: Helpful websites for travelers include www.ckrumlov.cz and www.krumlov.com. For information on the castle, visit www.castle.ckrumlov.cz. Park and lake information: www.sumava.com and www.lipnolakeresort.cz. Websites in Czech have English language tabs.

Getting there: Buses run regularly from Prague (110 miles or 180 kilometers) and from Vienna, Salzburg, Linz and Hallstatt in Austria. Train service via Czech Railways will deposit you north of the main square. From there you can take a taxi or walk about 15 to 20 minutes to the city. By air: Fly from Ruzyne-Prague Airport or the Linz-Horsching Airport in Austria, then take a bus or shuttle.

Currency: The Czech Republic is not in the euro zone. It still uses the Czech crown, or koruna. Although many places will take euros, the rate isn’t always favorable. Any change you receive will be in crowns.

Accommodations: Lodging includes a variety of hotels, guest houses, pensions (smaller less expensive hotels), apartments, bed and breakfasts, even camps and camping sites. Locations range from the historic part of town to outside of town, near the water or in the countryside. They run from less than $50 to more than $300 (less than 35 euros to more than 200 euros, or in korunas, less than 830 korunas to more than 5,000 korunas).

Food: Wide variety of restaurants offer local specialties such as pork dishes, potato dumplings, fried cheese, sausages, cabbage, goulash, schnitzel and delicious soups, breads and desserts, as well as pizza, chicken, steaks and vegetarian dishes. In addition there are coffee houses, pubs, pastry shops and street vendors. Prices are very reasonable.

they were given to the Rosenberg family because of their relationship with the Italian Orsini family. Since “orsa” means she-bear in Italian, the Rosenbergs adopted the animals as shield-bearers on their coat of arms. Today the moat bears are a much-loved part of the community. The animals get their own birthday parties and a big Christmas Eve bear festival where children bring presents and food for them.

Continue reading “Czech Town Offers History, Castle, Beer and Bears”

Some consider it “swill,” some “hip.”-The Professor

Written by Julie Wernau for The Chicago Tribune

Pabst Blue Ribbon: the breakfast of Chicago hipsters. Old Style: beer of the Chicago Cubs. Schlitz: “The beer that made Milwaukee famous.”

Continue reading “Move to Los Angeles Could Tap Pabst’s Character”

This post is part of a blogging series by economics students at the Presidio Graduate School’s MBA program. You can follow along here.

Written by Millie Milliken for triplepundit.com

In the early part of the 20th Century, beer drinkers had only two choices when it came to quenching their thirst for a delicious frothy beverage: draught beer or bottles. It wasn’t until the 1930s that canned beer arrived on the scene. Initially, tin cans could not withstand the carbonated pressure and burst. Eventually, technological developments and the introduction of a vinyl liner proved successful in containing the pressure. Then in 1935, Kruger’s Brewery of New Jersey introduced the first canned beer–Kruger’s Finest Beer–to the market, revolutionizing the beer industry. The canned versus bottled beer debate has raged ever since, and now the emerging mircrobrew trend is putting a new spin on the topic.

The traditional debate has centered on factors including taste, convenience, and cost. Beer is a sensitive beverage and exposure to both light and oxygen results in off-flavors. The caps on bottles are not completely airtight, creating a chemical reaction between oxygen and the hops, whereas cans are impervious to both light and oxygen, protecting the flavor, reducing chances of creating a “skunky” amora, and extending the shelf life. Although proponents of bottles have remained steadfast in the claim that cans produce a metallic taste, there has been little empirical evidence to support the claim. Additionally, the lightweight and portability of cans often prove to be more convenient than bottles for both consumers and producers. In regards to shipping efficiency, the longneck design on bottles wastes packaging space, while cans are able to be efficiently packaged and weigh less, which allows more to be shipped at less cost.
Continue reading “The Great Canned vs Bottled Beer Debate 2.0: Craft Brewing Weighs In”