There has recently been a patent on a new barley strain.
I feel a little weird whenever a food becomes patented. Since people need that to live, there is something that has the whiff of immorality to it.
However, it’s another tug on the ball of yarn that is Earth. Everything is connected somehow.
As we move further into a techo-centric life, Big Data is having a greater impact of everything…including drinking habits.
Here’s what I want to emphasize: when I talk about things like corporate takeovers, or racism, or other social issues on what is supposed to be a beer and homebrewing blog, I’m doing it because it all ties together. We do not drink beer or otherwise move across the time and space of Earth in a vacuum. (The Earth itself is another story).
I feel we should do our best to understand some of those very complicated forces that impact our lives, doing our best to choose the wisest path we can. Knowledge about what Big Data accrues from our habits is important, because I know that they will use that knowledge to manipulate people and only an informed citizen can truly make choices.
Of course, it’s a sour ale. When will science start giving us things that are delicious AND good for us?
The complete genome for barley has been sequenced! This could have some very cool impacts on “cereal grains” at large which, of course, means some more interesting beer.
The article has more; check it out.
Also, I just want to let readers know that I’ll be out of town for the next few days, so there won’t be a Friday or Monday post. Everything should resume Wednesday and, if all goes well, I should have some cool beers from California to talk about soon after!
I, like most other homebrewers, have been told that to make a good IPA and sometimes even a good pale ale, dry hopping is a necessary step because it offers the nose that the style is looking for. However, doing so just adds aroma, not bittering qualities so we didn’t have to worry about making the beer less palatable on the back end.
Or so we were told.
But Jeff Alworth differs on this and tells us why here. There’s science and everything!
Now, the impact of dry hopping in Jeff’s article applies a little more to commercial breweries but clearly has ramifications for homebrewers who are throwing as many hops as the wort can take. It also means that there’s a space for research into how dry hopping impacts a beer and what flavors may be produced that might be considered undesirable or even beneficial.
Sure, it leaves me with more questions than answers but at least these things are interesting!
This is an old story that was brought to my attention and is just too good not to share.
I mean, since we’re living (again) in the shadow of nukes, this might be good information to have!
This is a very cool article on a yeast being used in Norway which is just now being catalogued and shared among the brewing scientists.
I think that when stuff like this comes up and can be not only preserved but shared, that’s awesome.
