Professor Good Ales

To the novice, Belgian beers are thought to be by turns “heavy” or “rich” and “full-bodied”, but such descriptors believe the fact that Belgium’s beer tradition—in addition to many a very big brew—includes super-refreshing, lighter styles, too. Miguel Silva, Beverage Director of Villains Chicago, a soon-to-be-opened craft-focused beer bar in the Windy City’s Printer’s Row area with 40. handles and deep bottle list, got into these full-flavored brews (among others) in the 1990s, exploring the famous lists at places like The Map Room. Ditching his career as a mortgage lender in June 2007, he was soon working in craft beer around the clock and taking trips into Michigan’s brewery- and beer bar-dotted Upper Peninsula. Smart moves.

What’s your favorite summer beer style? Tell us below.

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Slight over statement at one point. Yes, Genny Cream was the “standard” but with many new Creams, or even just Sleeman’s, saying “THE” and “all others” is a tad far in the professor’s opinion- PGA

Gary Geminn was in high school and just approaching the old New York state drinking age of 18 when his father, Clarence Geminn, is said to have declared on the floor of the Genesee Brewing Co.’s brewhouse, “I think we have a winner here.”

The winning beer in question? Genesee Cream Ale, which debuted in 1960 and became for a time the best-selling ale in the United States, with some 1 million barrels annually rolling out of the Rochester-based regional brewery—no small feat, given it was then barely distributed beyond the Northeast. The elder Geminn, Genesee’s brewmaster since 1959 and an assistant brewmaster there for eight years before that, had spearheaded the beer’s creation.

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Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Twelve years off and on in Ithaca, NY, has given me plenty of time to observe the beer, wine, and food scene of the Finger Lakes region change and evolve. Wine has been going strong for the past few decades, craft beer has enjoyed an impressive growth in popularity, and the occasional craft distillery graces the landscape. Add to that all the local honey, fruit, bread, meats, cheese, and the like, and you have a veritable moveable feast to take with you as you explore the lakes of the region.

And now we have something new to add to our picnic baskets: artisanal cider. Or should I say new again. Cider was a staple of the early U.S. colonies, and enjoyed a three-hundred year run before Prohibition put a cork in the jug. Sound familiar?

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Beer yeast courtesy wiki. Article from a press release via EurekaAlert and University Wisconsin-Madison

 

MADISON, Wis. — The crucial genetic mashup that spawned the yeast that brews the vast majority of beer occurred at least twice — and both times without human help — according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study published Aug. 11 in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Lager yeast, a hybrid that thrives in cold temperatures, is used in lager beer production, which accounts for about 94 percent of the world’s beer Continue reading “More Details on Origin of America ‘s Favorite Beer Making Microbe”

Image courtesy http://wnycraftbeer.com, the rest is a press release-PGA

Continue reading “Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation to Lift Burdens on Craft Breweries, Distilleries & Cideries”

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Wine has been going strong in the Finger Lakes for the past few decades, and craft beer has enjoyed an impressive growth in popularity. Add to that all the local honey, fruit, meats, and cheese, and you have a veritable moveable feast to take with you as you explore the lakes of the region.

That, and fish ’n chips –– or, as they call it in the region, fish fry. The most famous of them all is Doug’s Fish Fry, and we finally got a chance to make the pilgrimage to this seafood shrine in Skaneateles. With its stately boulevard and lakeside mansions, Skaneateles is also one of the most beautiful of the Finger Lakes towns.

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Fred Eckhardt, arguably the most influential person in the history of Oregon beer, passed away today. He was 89 years old.

Echkhardt rose to prominence as the author of A Treatise on Lager Beers, a homebrewing guide published before the practice was officially legalized in this country. In 1989 he published his masterwork, The Essentials of Beer Style.

A longtime contributor to Celebrator beer magazine and the namesake of Hair of the Dog’s flagship beer, Fred, he was known, liked and respected in the Portland beer scene and around the world. His many contributions to craft beer culture include popularizing cheese as an ideal pairing partner to beer and increasing American awareness and appreciation for sake.

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