I know that, as part of the craft brewing wave, exalting the works of craft breweries on all the levels that they do work to make a better product is important.
But. When the big corporations do something right, let’s give them credit. And this? This is something they did right. (It’s also super interesting to me and a little sciencey so it hits all those notes for me).
While the article’s tone is a little too clever with pop-culture references for me, and it definitely veers off the subject near the end, the underlying information is pretty interesting: how do you produce food on a planet that isn’t Earth? How do we use science to produce better beer?
I’ve always been of the opinion that anyone who really loves a thing would understand that they need to do things to protect it and ensure that it survives. Hunters should be conservationists, for example. If there aren’t protected wild spaces, nobody wins.
As such, drinkers should also be environmentalists. Because we need water. Without it, there are a LOT of problems but for the sake of staying on track let’s get to the most relevant one: we don’t have more beer.
And that’s one reason, amongst many, that we should pay attention to climate change.
Some people, however, are only motivated by the cold hard realities of cash. Well, I got an article for you, too.
This is extremely cool. If hop flavor can be imbued into beer without or with significantly less hops then that is a huge boon for everyone. Less water for hops means more water for other necessary things, like more beer.
However, my friend at the Traveling Yeti has a wiser and more nuanced take on things that keeps my enthusiasm in check.
I liked reading this article on yeast GY7B. The quick recap: this is a yeast that naturally produces the acidity for sour beers, meaning that it could drastically reduce brewing time.
But that’s the short version: I think the long one is worth checking, showing the value that science holds for us and the yet-to-be discovered knowledge in the universe.
This neat article from OSU discusses how scientists are engineering barley to elevate its status as a flavor producer in beer. Good news for anyone who likes beer-but who likes the maltier side of ales, especially.
I just discovered this video series on the chemistry of beer. While I think the delivery is a little dry, the content lines up well with what I’ve learned so far and could serve as a good refresher or a great introductory piece for those who want to know how beer is made.
