159 Years

I know this is merely beer adjacent but watching an expert try a port made from 1863 is pretty cool.

Just Something To Chew On

I sometimes think that America has a too-casual relationship with murder.

Then stories like this come up and I’m certain of it.

Absolutely no reason at all I’m getting these thoughts up today, of course.

The Next Wave?

This article from Beervana is useful for a couple things, I think.

First, of course, it provides information about the strides that the industry is making with malt and malting, to change how beer tastes.

But I also think it is a window into what brewers will play with next: hops have gotten the limelight for nearly 30 years and scientists have been playing with yeasts forever.

I’m looking forward to what they do with new malting knowledge!

Inevitable

Reading this article on the latest wave of craft brewery acquisitions was…depressing.

It makes some sense, at least: the people who started these companies in the 80’s and 90’s are looking to retire and selling their business off is a hell of a way to do it.

But it signals to me a way that the world is just getting smaller, the options restricted: Corporate Daddies making sure that their investments produce on time, and deviation isn’t to be welcomed.

Not that I’m supporting hate tourism by any means. What kind of knucklefuck goes into an establishment just to pour a beer out?

But I can’t say I’m thrilled to see the Great Consolidation of breweries come about.

(Edit): published this a day early but hey, day early content!

How To Utilize Bud Light

For science, of course!

Seasonal

This article on Sierra Nevada’s Celebration ale is fascinating to me.

First there’s the historical elements, about how the beer was built. I didn’t know that Celebration was a fresh hop ale, for example.

However, the interviews also go into the nuanced parts of making the beer, about how hops will change over time (I didn’t know this) and how getting them at a particular window can have a big impact on flavor. Even changing the hopping process by a day has an impact.

Finally, it’s just an enthusiastic account of how they made and now make the Celebration. It’s great to see people still thrilled to make a beer that so well established, now.

Where Yeast Comes From (Sorta)

Here’s a really neat post, talking about how they’re using gene sequencing to find out where yeasts that make beer originated geographically.

Using ale yeast makes sense-beer is a centuries old food, and humans would have an interest in utilizing it, much in the same way that we kept avocados around. So being able to trace it can help fill in bits and pieces of our ancient history-which I think is cool.

Really Local Brewing

In Portland, making a beer out of completely local ingredients is pretty easy-the Yakima Valley is one of the biggest hop producers in the world-but when you do it in Brooklyn?

That’s a horse of a different color. And pretty neat!

On Malt

Sometimes friends ask me about malt and this video goes into explaining and even making malt. It taught me a couple things and I hope you’ll enjoy it, too!

Less Is More

People may have been observing the rise of low or no alcohol beers.

I can’t help but see this as a good thing but this article also digs into the history behind America’s brewing scene, and talking about the changing landscape of tastes in the craft brewing arena.

Neat stuff!