Professor Good Ales

Written by Matthew Larotonda for abcnews.go.com

President Barack Obama and Rick Santorum have at least one thing they can agree on: Both men chose a stout Guinness to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

The president drew his beer at a local pub in Washington, wading his way through hundreds of green-clad revelers. Meanwhile, Santorum drank his with traditional corned beef at a Missouri Irish restaurant.

The imagery of the events could remind voters of a question that seems to pop up in every election: Which candidate would Americans rather share a drink with?
Continue reading “On St. Patrick’s Day, Beer Is Bipartisan”

Image courtesy Tom Becham

Recipe provided by Leslie Green for craftbeer.com

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 20 minutes prep/20 minutes cook time

Beer:

Beer Style: Stout

Seasonality: Spring

Serves: 4 – 6

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Continue reading “Dry Stout Shepherd’s Pie”

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