Category: Front Page

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Wondering about the differences between Märzen, Oktoberfest Beer, and Vienna Lager? Check out “Autumn in a Glass: Märzen, Oktoberfest Beer, and Vienna Lager” before cracking open your first beer in this four-pack of Central European beers.

a) Märzen

Märzen is a malt-lover’s dream. Depending on the brewer, the malt character can run the gamut from toast and what I’d describe as a “Munich malt fruit” character (dark cherry-like) to dates, dried figs, autumn honey, malted milk, malt balls, and Swiss milk caramel.* My partner in crime nailed the style: It’s like a Rolo, she said.

*Swiss milk caramel is a descriptor I use often for beers like this, and requires some explanation. When I was a kid, my grandma used to send us a parcel at Christmas that had all kinds of chocolates and sweets that we never saw in Canada. She always sent along a box of caramels that were quite a bit different than the ones we used to get while out trick-or-treating at Halloween. They were much lighter in colour and had a pronounced creamy taste that brought the caramel flavour down a notch. So when I mention Swiss milk caramel, think of a very light caramel aroma and flavour with fresh cream.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito has suggested that the US explosion in craft beer brands may be nearing an end, saying that consumers “get a bit tired of choice”.

Brito, whose company has corralled a selection of leading craft brewers into its distribution network, also said retailers have realised they they cannot keep pace with the continued enlargement of the craft beer category. “There’s only so much shelf space that you can share and cold box that you can spilt,” Brito said.

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I’ve heard this line for years: Homebrewers worry too much about water. However, there is a reason that more and more brewers “worry” about their water… it makes a profound difference to the resulting beer. Read on to understand why this is a worthwhile step in your brewing practice.
Water is the largest component in beer and its quality can affect the other beer components: Malt, Hops, and Yeast. While it’s true that you don’t want to brew with bad tasting water, how the water tastes cannot assure good beer. You actually need to do a little more to promote your beer’s success.

Ions such as sulfate, chloride, sodium, and magnesium make a difference in beer taste. But the aspect that brewers need to be most concerned with is the pH of their wort. pH influences beer quality and perception in a major way.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

As the leaves in the beer gardens begin to don their autumnal attire and the evenings hint of the harvest, my beer preferences turn to the kinds of beers whose colour reflects my surroundings. These gold, amber, and russet beers of autumn also have just enough added alcoholic warmth to stave off the evening chill –– the perfect transit point between the lighter beers of summer and the heftier beers of winter.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Nearly 40,000 people headed out to the horse race just beyond the Munich gates on that first Oktoberfest day in 1810. Families and groups of friends staked out places to sit on the meadowland heights surrounding the track and began tucking into their bread, sausage, and beer as the races began. The mood was festive at this Olympic-style race, and the event was a resounding success. After all, Munich at the time numbered 40,638 souls, and most of them came out to enjoy the race (Eymold, 327). It wasn’t long before plans were laid to repeat the event annually on what soon became known as the Theresienwiese (Therese’s meadow), named in honour of Crown Prince Ludwig’s bride, Therese Charlotte Louise von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Try saying that even once after you’ve had a few Maß of beer on today’s Theresienwiese.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

It’s that time of the year again when the leaves start to turn and the National Hockey League season begins. It’s also the time of year when thousands of thirsty craft beer enthusiasts converge upon Denver for that annual pilgrimage known as the Great American Beer Festival.

Equal parts serious beer connoisseurship, Bacchanalian revelry, and street carnival, the GABF may not be as large as Munich’s Oktoberfest, but it boasts a truly impressive cross-section of American breweries and an array of beers to match.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

On 17 October 1810, 40,000 people converged on a field beyond Munich’s Sedlinger Gate to watch a horse race staged by the Citizens’ Militia (Bürgermilitär) in honour of Crown Prince Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The numbers were impressive, given that the population of Munich at the time was only 40,338 inhabitants. It seems no one complained when the next edition of the festival rolled around the following year on the Theresienwiese, ushering in what rapidly became a hallowed annual autumn tradition.

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I’m getting mightily SICK of our ongoing glorification of this industrially produced, foreign-owned, cheesy example of the American dumbing-down of a great beer style – the Czech Pilsner – that became, for 100 years, ALL we had to drink in this country under the term “beer”. I read a repost on Facebook, titled “ The Girl who drinks Coors Light is the one that’s right“? Forwhom, exactly? One of those swaggering, posturing, cowboy wannabe throwbacks who live in the ‘burbs and drive pick-ups so they can pose as “country”, when they’re actually about as “country” as Woody Allen? This prefabricated grain-water is what we came to equate with “manhood”. For a century, we were told that drinking watered-down, sweet, piss-beer was somehow, inexplicably, linked to both manliness AND patriotism…and, until that day in 2008, when Anheuser Busch was sold to a huge Belgian beer conglomerate, and then bought out both Miller and Coors last year, the patriotism argument had SOME merit. Now, NONE of those largest-selling beers is American-owned. NONE…OF…THEM.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Most every beer enthusiast I know has his or her mythical geography of the beer world, a mental landscape dotted with legendary breweries and drink-before-you-die beers. This topography might also consist of wild yeasts residing in the rafters of old farmhouses, or historic hop kilns concealed along country back roads. Cities themselves stand out like beacons: Munich, Portland, Bamberg, Brussels. A large part of what sustains this mental geography is the excitement of the quest. Sometimes we manage to satisfy of our desires relatively quickly; sometimes the quest may take years.

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Image courtesy Huffington Post

 

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Angela Caddell started struggling with her Christianity 14 years ago when she came out as gay. But a gathering at a bar to talk faith over a cold beer once a month is helping her feel more connected to her religion.

“If you’re an atheist you are welcome. …. I’m a lesbian, I’m totally welcome,” said the 32-year-old from nearby Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, at a recent gathering.

“Tonight we’re talking about scapegoating. There is no scapegoating that happens here.”

This event is called “Jesus & Beer” and it’s part of an effort by some Christian groups throughout the country to recruit parishioners, connect with people struggling with faith or provide a relaxed outlet to talk religion.

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