Author: Jeff Alworth
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The Beer Bible Blog -
Classic BeerAyinger Celebrator: Rich, Warming and Hopeful
May 1, 2016 - Jeff Alworth This beer style, bock. It is old and slightly odd, usually sporting a block-printed goat on the label and a title in gothic script. It conjures the mood of wood-paneled libraries and leather chairs. And what about that “–ator” suffix that seems so common, like Optimator, Maximator, Animator? One of the most famous Bavarian bocks... View Article -
Brewing FeaturesHop Shift
May 1, 2016 - Jeff Alworth Last spring, former Harpoon brewer Steve Theoharides was talking about the brewery’s new session IPA, Take Five. It’s a well-done example of the style, vividly hopped but not bitter, low in alcohol but not thin. Developing the beer had been a challenge. Theoharides was working with potent American hops, and they were contributing too much... View Article -
The Beer Bible BlogThe Lock-in and Other Irish Idiosyncrasies
April 27, 2016 - Jeff Alworth [Full Disclosure. The following post came as a result of a visit I made to Dublin to the Guinness brewery. The folks at Diageo, Guinness’ parent company, paid for the trip and put me up while I was in Dublin. Guinness is also a sponsor of my personal blog, Beervana.] Dublin, Ireland’s reputation for beer-drinking... View Article -
The Beer Bible BlogThe Next Big Thing: Tart IPAs
April 13, 2016 - Jeff Alworth I have seen the future—or tasted it—and it is the tart IPA. (The future may need help with names, because “tart IPA” is terrible—but more on that in a moment.) Over the past decade, IPAs have been in near-constant motion, but they’ve been heading in the same direction. Taking their cue from the key ingredient—American... View Article -
The Beer Bible Blog - Web OnlyQuirks of Brewing: Kettle Souring
April 4, 2016 - Jeff Alworth The islands of wild and sour ales are, like Borneo or Madagascar, exotic and remote. For most drinkers, they exist on the periphery, little worlds that can be safely enough ignored. For those who delight in a buffet of entirely different and interesting flavors from most beers, though, they are worth a small expedition. But... View Article -
The Beer Bible BlogBreweries are the Mark of a Thriving Community
March 15, 2016 - Jeff Alworth The writer James Fallows and his wife Deborah spent three years working on a project for The Atlantic called “American Futures.” They traveled around the country to small and midsized towns in a single-engine airplane, hoping to get a different view of American life than we normally see reflected in the media. It culminated in... View Article -
Brewing FeaturesAttempting to Understand the Reinheitsgebot
March 11, 2016 - Jeff Alworth In 2016, Germans—and beer drinkers everywhere—will stop to celebrate the 500th anniversary of that most famous of brewing laws, the Reinheitsgebot (rhine-heights-geh-boat). To put that time frame into context, the Reinheitsgebot was born a year before Martin Luther tacked the 95 Theses to a Wittenberg church, sparking the Protestant Reformation. It has survived the rise... View Article -
The Beer Bible BlogWho Is This Brett and Why Is His Name on All These IPAs?
March 8, 2016 - Jeff Alworth In the ever-expanding universe of beers labeled IPA is a newcomer that confuses just about everyone—the Brett IPA. Casual drinkers will wonder who or what Brett is and, tasting the beer, shrug and smile. Nerdier beer fans will recognize the name as a shortened nickname for Brettanomyces, a wild yeast strain. But that’s confusing, too;... View Article