Professor Good Ales

Picture of War Horse silo before the name of the brewery changed.

Profiles by Ken Carman

Expect a more current picture and further information about this hard to find brewery in an upcoming Brew Biz column.

Riesling Ale
War Horse India Pale Ale
War Horse Black Lager

I had these beers at the brewery and bought them for the second, Labor Day weekend, beer tasting I do every year at Beaver River Station.

I’ll start with the only disappointment: the Riesling. After being impressed with the other two, I found the Riesling too mild with only slight hints of the Riesling juice Custom Crafters puts in this as they brew it for War Horse. Slight. I have been rarely been impressed with anything CC does, and the other two are so much better. That fruit sense could just as well be the fruity nature of the ale itself. Should be better. But that caveat aside it is a light ale; sans hop sense. The fruity nature replaces the hops sense quite well. Somewhere between pale to mid-copper-ish. If I had some now I’d do a better job but my tasters greedily devoured all three. All three were well loved.

The IPA? Perfect. The BJCP needs to consider this as a classic of an American version of the style.
Continue reading “Beer Profiles: War Horse”

One American beer that no serious bar in the capital appears able to do without is Brooklyn Lager.

Written by Will Hawkes for blogs.independent.co.uk

British beer is enjoying a remarkable renaissance. There are now 767 breweries in the UK, more than at any time since the Second World War. According to Camra, 78 new breweries have opened in the past 12 months (and although a fair few have closed, too, there are still 56 more now than this time last year). Last month’s Great British Beer Festival was bursting at the seams with interesting ales and happy drinkers. Beer lovers in this country have never had it so good.

Maybe, maybe not. The growing popularity of American beers in the UK suggests that things are not quite so rosy. The innovative, hop-heavy character of Yank beers is clearly filling a gap in the market, a gap that British brewers have failed to fill.

Continue reading “British beer: Booming or Boring?”

Written by Bob McClay for KTAR.com

PHOENIX — A study by AEI-Brookings Joint Center shows 1 in 10 drivers on the freeway are talking on their cell phones and actually are more impaired than if they had been on a drinking binge.

The study used a driving simulator to test the effects of cell phone use vs. the effects of driving while intoxicated.

When taking into account driving conditions and other factors, drivers on cell phones were more impaired than those who had been drinking. Using a hands-free device did not make a difference.
Continue reading “Cell Phones More Dangerous Than Beer Behind the Wheel?”

Without intent, I have collected well over 1,000 beer bottles since the early 70s. When something finally had to be done about the cheap paneling in this old modular, I had a choice. Tear down the walls while, oh, so carefully, replacing the often rotted 1X3s. Or: cover them with… The Bottle Collection.

Written by Ken Carman

Scanning the web, I was glad to see that Shipyard seems to be still brewing Chamberlain. It’s been many years but I remember it being a pale ale with a nice hop undercurrent and balanced a bit more towards the malt: for an American version of the style. Nice copper tone, plenty of rocky head and a nose of malt and hops spells out taste before a single sip. Clarity is nice and I’m guessing there’s enough cara-malt in here to provide a bit “chew” to the texture.

The sites I’ve scanned as I wrote this seem to find more of a hop focus. Though I admit I am doing this from memory, after that caveat I still think I would disagree. But I have been more heavy hop focused than some for quite a while. After falling in love with IBUs well over 100 at a brewpub south of Cinci in the early 90s, and then enjoying my taste buds being whacked by The Hop Tyrant’s beer in my Nashville hombrew club, maybe it just takes more to impress me enough to suggest a beer is “hop focused.”

I haven’t seen it in the stores… of course Yankee Spirits is my main New England source, but that may change by next year. Stay tuned.

If the picture remains on site, the bottle below isn’t as nice as mine. I have a green labeled 22oz brown bottle, also pictured below. Named after a famous Civil War hero: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who famously defended Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

Written by Jay Brooks for realbeer.com

NPR’s Science Friday had a show last week devoted to The Science of Smell. If you’ve ever taken tasting beer seriously, you know how important smell is to the flavor of beer (and everything else). Host Ira Flatow discussed Olfaction with research scientists Stuart Firestein and Donald Wilson. The show’s only a little under 18 minutes but is pretty interesting.

Continue reading “The Science of Smell”

Posted by Beersage @ beernews.org

Each year, Boston Beer Co. holds the Samuel Adams Longshot Competition in which homebrewers compete with various recipes to see whose will appear in a mixed six-pack to be released the following spring. The finalists were apparently announced a while ago but I just discovered them so here they are:

Continue reading “Samuel Adams Names 2010 Longshot Finalists”

Written by J.M. HIRSCH for Savannahnow.com

My search for a tender, juicy and flavorful breaded chicken sandwich took me to the place where so much great thinking begins – the beer aisle.

After playing with various ways and ingredients for imparting flavor and moisture to this most ubiquitous of bird meats, I discovered that a beer bath had the biggest payoff in terms of big flavor with almost no effort.

Continue reading “Beer Bath Works Wonders for Chicken Sandwich”

From staff reports @ dallasnews.com

If Big Tex looks a little glassy-eyed this fall, blame it on the Fried Beer. Fried beer is one of the eight finalists for the Sixth Annual Big Tex Choice Awards competition. The contest is a big deal for concessionaires at the State Fair of Texas.

Booze is generating a buzz for the State Fair of Texas, as fried-alcohol dishes made the list of top new fair foods announced Wednesday.

Eight imaginative contenders are vying for the Sixth Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, with the winners getting plenty of publicity – and long lines of eager fairgoers willing to gobble up the fried goodness.

But have your ID handy for the Fried Beer and Deep Fried Frozen Margarita – you must be 21 or older to partake.
Continue reading “Fried Beer?”

Written by Lisa Larsen for gardenguides.com

Overview

The idea of using beer as plant food has been around for decades. For many it is believed to be the perfect pick-me-up for their garden. However, there are those who consider this just another old wives’ tale. There are ingredients in beer that seem useful to plants, such as yeast and carbohydrates. However, upon closer examination, these two items aren’t of much benefit to plants.

Ingredients

There are only four ingredients used in the beer making process. They are water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Ninety percent of beer is water.

Fact

Beer doesn’t contain any ingredient, other than water, that is truly helpful for nurturing plants. There are some who believe the carbohydrates in beer act as food for plants. However, plants need complex carbohydrates in order to thrive, not simple sugars such as those found in soda or beer.

Fiction

Because beer contains yeast, many gardeners consider it a benefit to their plants. However, yeast is a fungus, and not only produces an unpleasant odor, but will also begin to grow around your plants. The fungus will eventually die, contributing nothing to the plants.

Uses for Beer in the Garden

Although beer is not useful as a food for plants, it can serve a purpose in the garden.

Continue reading “Beer as Plant Food”