Craft’s Trending Eastward
Written by Peter Teske for lagniappemobile.com
Everyone I’ve spoken with in the craft beer industry seems optimistic about its passage. Needless to say — knock on wood, throw some salt over your shoulder, say your prayers, etc. — it will be, and may already have been, a great day for Alabama when it passes!
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Score Sheet Comments: “Beautiful, Creamy, Off White…”
Beer Buzz Would Get a Big Boost from GOP bill
Written by Alan Johnson for The Columbus Dispatch
Ohioans could buy beer with a whopping 18 percent alcohol content under a provision in the state budget proposed yesterday by Senate Republicans.
After holding the line on alcohol content in beer for 69 years, lawmakers might be poised to increase it for the second time in a decade. The limit was increased in 2002 to 12 percent from 6 percent, where it had been since the end of Prohibition in 1933.
The alcohol boost in 2002 was promoted by a coalition of statewide distributors and microbrewers.
This time, state Sen. Jimmy Stewart, R-Albany, proposed the amendment after talking to the owners of Jackie O’s Brew Pub in Athens.
“They as well as other small breweries would be very excited about making some products on a limited basis with a higher alcohol content,” said Stewart, noting that Athens also features a number of Ohio-brewed beers at its annual Beer Week each July.
“This is a very small niche market and very expensive craft beers that are more for the aficionados.”
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Brewing Up a Home Pub
Written by Cindy McNatt for the Orange County Register
When Brad Daniels told a scientist friend of his that he was going to start brewing beer, the friend replied, “I hate when people say they’re going to do something and then don’t.”
Daniels came from a long line of nonstarters, so with determination and a passion for microbrews, the retired engineer began some serious brewing. And he eventually built the pub to go with it.
Daniels transformed only a part of his 1924 Anaheim garage into a brewery/pub.
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Say “Cheese!†Isovaleric Acid in Beer
From beersensoryscience.wordpress.com, writer not attributed. Posts as BeerSensor
Cracking cheese, Gromit!
Have you ever smelled cheese in your beer? How about dirty sweatsocks? It’s more common than you may think. If you’re a homebrewer and you don’t use your hop supply as fast as you should, or if you store them improperly, you may be familiar with this aroma. This is isovaleric acid, and it’s a short-chain fatty acid commonly found in cheese, the valerian herb, foot odor, and sometimes beer. Now that’s an interesting selection of sources!
The commonly accepted threshold for isovaleric acid is about 1ppm, but like most other aromatic compounds, this can vary greatly depending on your genetics. This brief article gives some information about the genetic component of isovaleric acid receptors, exploring some of the sources of variability in how subjects perceive this compound. One of the more interesting things mentioned is that its detection threshold can apparently differ between individuals by up to 10,000 times. Personally, I think my nose has what I call an “acquired anosmia†to this compound. To be anosmic to a particular compound means you can not detect it at any concentration. While my case isn’t that dramatic, I think my sensitivity has dropped due to being frequently exposed to the purified compound when I spike it into my samples (despite using a fume hood and taking protective measures, it’s still possible to get it on you). If you get this stuff on your hands, you’ll stink for the rest of the day, if not longer. For this reason, I often have a hard time being able to tell if my spiked samples are at an appropriate level for the panel. Many times, I have to trust my math more than my nose.
So, how does isovaleric acid get into beer?
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Beer Gardens Everywhere
Written by Alan Feuer for The New York Times
THERE are some who thought, prematurely, that 2010 was New York’s summer of the beer garden, what with the World Cup and the opening of a half-dozen outdoor, German-style drinking establishments. But not unlike some genetically altered superweed, these ale-and-oompah joints have continued even this year to crop up everywhere you look. They have grown so thick, so fast, that certain neighborhoods (Astoria in Queens and Williamsburg in Brooklyn come to mind) could, with the proper vantage and the help of several pilsners, be mistaken for Bavaria.
Beer Profile: Scottish Stout by Bellhaven
Profiled by Ken Carman
The nose: roasted malt with a hint of peat. Appearance: obsidian black… what else did you expect? It even looks thick. Now the mouthfeel confirms the malt bill is a lot more complex than your typical Stout, and the OG a bit higher. Nice, moderate lasting, deep-tan head.
Not much in the hops arena, but with all this going on it would take a lot of hops to over come this. 
The mouth is filled with malt, chocolate, caramel: both in the dark; less sweet sense. Not a high abv quaff. About 4? There is some sweetness to it, but that seems more from unfermentables and, yes, that hint of smoke or peated malt.
A definite Scottish version of Stout, less “foreign extra,” more just an 80 turned stout-ish.
Very enjoyable: a recommend.
Maui Brewing
Restaurant pictures courtesy various posters at Yelp.com
Written by Tom Becham for Professor Goodales
When a friend calls you and says, “I’m booking a week in my time share on Maui. If you and your wife can meet me there, you’ll have a place to stay,” what do you say? You bloody well say “YES!”
That’s how Kim and I came to be on Maui very recently, and visit the Maui Brewing restaurant and pub.
I really wanted to love Maui Brewing. I wanted to title this piece something like “Heavenly Beers in Paradise”. I mean, how could you be on Maui and not be incredibly positive about everything?
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The Thrill is Gone
Part of the beauty that lies in beer is the discovery. There are a plethora of styles, a barrage of nuances,and a myriad of contexts in which to discover the king of beverages. When the would-be beer drinker starts the quest of exploring a fresh world of beer, it seems as though the sky is the limit. Bottles are purchased, locations are scouted, rumors of rare bottles become fictive hopes…
And then it happens.
One day, the beer drinker becomes aware that the thrill for discovery is a little less thrilling. Searching for the rare bottle takes a back seat. The 100 tap handles do not seem as awe inspiring. As Scott from Manland once told me, the kid in the candy store feeling is not there any more.
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HERE
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