Professor Good Ales

Written by Ezra Johnson-Greenough for craftbeer.com

Much like styles of craft beer, there are endless types of fruit, from strange and exotic like mango and papaya, to classics like raspberries and cherries. Fruits have been used in brewing likely since the advent of fermentation, but fell out of favor with the rise of industrial brewing due to the increasing costs of fresh fruit and the processing they require. With the craft brewing renaissance in America, brewers and fans are turning an eye to fruit beers that are being brewed with styles and techniques both old and new.

The Fruit Beers of Old
Continue reading “Fruits of Their Labor: The Challenges and Rewards of Brewing with Fruit”

Profile by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

There was music in the background…

…no, wait, that was a saw, or a drill, or a grinder…

Maybe all three?

The air was filled with the scent of sweet hops…

Well, it will be, but on the day I visited Fat Bottom, the brewery had tanks, kettles and busy workers remodeling what had been Fluffo Mattress into Fat Bottom Brewing. Fat Bottom will sit on the south side of Main Street; probably THE major northeast conduit out of Nashville… turning into Gallatin Road a few miles from here. Yes, “Gallatin Road,” which ends up in, well, um:  Gallatin… eventually.

I’d been here before. No, not Fat Bottom. Fat Bottom was still under construction: not up and running for the public when I typed this. But a few months ago I wrote about The Pharmacy: a beer and burger place just north east of Fat Bottom… both are in a part of Nashville that’s been spiffing itself up since we moved here in the late 70s. We didn’t know. We had been mostly in “avoiding” mode since the late 70s. Back then all that lived here were grody vampires, werewolves who had been kicked out of London and an occasional visit by the Blob to wipe off excess blob-ery.

I’m joking! Let’s just say this part of East Nashville has come a long way, and places like The Pharmacy have contributed to one great “spiff,” and soon to spiff up the area even more: Fat Bottom Brewery.

Enter brewer and brew dreamer: Ben Bredesen.
Continue reading “Brewery and Brewer Profile: Ben Bredesen and Fat Bottom”

Written by James E. Brennan for buffalonews.com

SYRACUSE – Local legend has it that bartenders invented salt potatoes to make thirsty Irish immigrants buy more beer as they built the Erie Canal.

That tale might be blarney, but the truth of the matter is at various times between 1800 and 1920, the Salt City was home to more than 50 breweries.
Continue reading “Hops Spring Eternal on Beer Trail Tour”

Written by Joe Sixpack

American brewers who dabble in wheat must feel some days like William Murray.

Who?

William Murray – a mostly forgettable character from 17th-century England who had the somewhat bad luck of being the boyhood pal of Charles I. It was Charles’ father, King James I, who devised the philosophy of the “divine right of kings.”

“The state of monarchy,” James wrote, “is the supremest thing upon earth; for kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God himself are called gods.”well-deserved spanking. No one would dare lay a hand on the son of a god, right?

Instead, it was his friend, the unfortunate William Murray, who felt the lash. Charles won’t eat his veggies, William gets a beating.

Thus was born the entirely odious concept of the whipping boy.

Which only makes me wonder: Who made German hefeweizen the prince of beers?

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Written by Brandon Jones

Good news everyone! (said in a Professor Farnsworth voice). After a month off that included a wonderful vacation with my family I’ve got a great Q&A session with Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Brewing. Lauren is the “Sensory Specialist” for NB and is regarded by many people as not only one of the greatest judges/tasters/blenders in the USA, but in the world!  Since I’m a huge fan of Oud Bruin and Sour Brown beers I have to admit I was geeking out talking to the person who blends/creates one of my favorite beers in the world: La Folie. I love this interview for a few reasons, but one of the biggest is the revealing look as to how in tune with and caring Lauren is with her products at New Belgium. She gave me some great advice to pass along to aspiring home brewers and dropped some information on a few new beers that will come out this year! So let’s get the fun started…
Continue reading “Lauren Salazar of New Belgium Q&A!”

Posted by hayatnorimine at huffingtonpost.com and seattlepi.com

 

When Rogue Wire Service first blogged about a new beer made out of beard hair, the first question that came to mind was whether this was a real thing. (See my first blog post about it here.)

“It’s gotta be a joke,” White Labs Communications Director Mike White thought when he first heard about it.

Well, we’re all with him there. But it’s confirmed, folks. What started out as a joke — White Labs put Rogue brewmaster John Maier’s beard hair on petri dishes just for kicks — became a very real yeast strain perfect for brewing.

Come early 2013, look out for Rogue’s new beer called “New Crustacean.” It is, I kid you not, made out of a Rogue brewmaster’s beard.

I wish I didn’t know so I could try it in peace.

Rogue Ales and Spirits initially wanted to grow a new yeast strain out of its own hops, but the hopyard’s three samples that were sent to White Labs came back negative. White Labs then took nine follicles of Maier’s beard and put them on petri dishes; that’s where the surprise came in.
Continue reading “Beer Out of a Beard: Coming Soon”