Features
Collecting in a Winter Wonderland
by Dave GausepohlA few years back, the state of Ohio banned a 12-pack carton of Bud Light that featured Suds Mackenzie riding in a sleigh and wearing a red hat trimmed in white. The reasoning was that this Santa-like image might influence children. Immediately, I began to acquire any type of beer item designed to celebrate Christmas.
A Year of Beer
by Julie Johnson BradfordFor nine out of ten people, beer is mainstream lager—a single, pale yellow beverage. It is pleasantly thirst-quenching, predictable, universally available, and a very safe choice if you’re traveling in countries with dodgy water supplies. But, in all honesty, it’s not very exciting.
How Is Beer Made?
by Steve HolleFresh barley undergoes a process called malting, in which the kernel is steeped in water and allowed to partially germinate. This softens the kernel and develops the natural enzymes that will break down the raw starch in the grain into sugar. This process is stopped by heating the barley malt in a kiln.
Craft Beers: What Sets Them Apart?
by Steve HolleSomeone unfamiliar with craft beer might ask, “Is there really a difference between beer from a craft brewery and beer from one of the ‘national’ brewers like Anheuser Busch, Coors, or Miller? What’s all the fuss about? Beer is beer, right?”
A Beer Lover’s Guide to Holiday Entertaining
by Pete JohnsonWhat better authority on holiday spirit could there possibly be than Charles Dickens? With A Christmas Carol, a short piece dashed off in a matter of weeks, so they say, he forever changed how we think about the holiday season. Sowing the seeds of good will and good cheer that are so much a part... View Article
Classic Beer Under Siege
by Roger ProtzIf you appreciate fine beer and you plan to tour Europe, then the Czech Republic will be high on your list of places to visit. You had better hurry, though, for the entire European brewing tradition is under threat at the hands of global brewers.
Columns
Departments
Coming Through the Rye
by K. Florian KlempRye is not a commonly used grain in brewing, but beers that do use it are distinctive and noteworthy. Rye is employed for a variety of reasons. Remnant farmhouse brews, like Finnish sahti or Russian kvass, include small amounts of rye as a matter of tradition, stemming from necessity. Bavarian rye beer, known as roggenbier,... View Article
Portland, East Coast-Style
by Paul RuschmannIf you’re a beer traveler, Portland, OR, ranks high on your must-see list. But have you been to Portland, ME, America’s other beer Mecca? This port city on Casco Bay turns out a dazzling range of craft-brewed beer.
Beer Talk
Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale
by - -Founders Brewing Co. Grand Rapids, MI Available: MI, IL, OH, MA Alcohol (wt.): 6.6 Alcohol (vol.): 8.3 Color: n/a Bitterness: 35 Gravity: 1076
Schwelmer Bernstein
by - -Brauerei Schwelm Schwelm, Germany Imported by: Schwelmer Beer Imports North America Inc. Brooklyn, NY Available: MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, GA, FL, WI, IL, WA The main building of Brauerei Schwelm was already a local fixture by 1701, and today is one of the oldest buildings in the area. The brewery dates from 1830.... View Article
Full Moon Pale Rye Ale
by - -Real Ale Brewing Co. Blanco, TX Available: TX This 15-barrel brewery is located on the Blanco town square near the Blanco River, in the scenic Hill Country of Texas. Alcohol (wt.): 4.5 Alcohol (vol.): 5.6 Color: 21 Bitterness: 41 Gravity: 1054
Horniblow’s Tavern American Ale
by - -Edenton Brewing Co. Raleigh, NC Available: NC, PA Horniblow’s Tavern stood in Edenton, a small town in coastal North Carolina, in the 18th century. It was owned by Joseph Hewes, signatory to the Declaration of Independence and first secretary of the U.S. Navy, who has also been commemorated in the name of an Edenton beer.... View Article
Twilight Ale
by - -Deschutes Brewery Bend, OR Available: OR, WA, CA, ID, MT, AK, NV, HI, AZ, CO, WY Deschutes Brewery was founded in 1988, initially as a brewpub and later as a distributing brewery. All Deschutes’ bottled beer is filtered and then kraeusened—a traditional brewing process in which a small amount of actively fermenting beer is added... View Article
Rye Pale Ale
by - -Terrapin Beer Co. Athens, GA Available: GA Terrapin Rye Pale Ale is brewed with 2-row pale, Munich, biscuit and honey malt; malted tye, and hopped with Magnum, Fuggles, East Kent Goldings, Cascade and Amarillo hops. The founders shared a love of beer, the environment and music Alcohol (wt.): 4.2 Alcohol (vol.): 5.3 Color: n/a Bitterness:... View Article
Thomas Hooker Oktoberfest Lager
by - -Troutbrook Brewing Co. Hartford, CT Thomas Hooker founded Hartford in the early 17th century. This traditional Oktoberfest-style lager is brewed with Moravian 2-row, Munich Light, Carapils, Caramunich I and II, Vienna and wheat Malts, with Tettnang and Saaz hops. Alcohol (wt.): 4.7 Alcohol (vol.): 5.9 Color: 5 Bitterness: 16 Gravity: 1057
Trumer Pils
by - -TrumerBrauerei Berkeley, CA Available: CA, NM, OK, CO, WI, IL, DE, SC Trumer Pils is brewed at sister breweries, one in California and the other in its original home in Saltzburg, Austria. Alcohol (wt.): 3.9 Alcohol (vol.): 4.9 Color: 2.7 Bitterness: 26 Gravity: 1044