The Beer Chick is Back!

Hey guys!

Sorry its been so long since I've posted. I've been writing articles and working on the Beer 4 Chx book! Anyway, I'm re-committed to posting once a week, so get ready to absorb a wealth of beer information. In the meantime, I'm published on www.gayot.com!

I wrote an article for their Quarterly Wine Newsletter 2007 called
"Spring is in the Beer"about the delicious spring beer style called Maibock!

Check me out. I almost seem cool.

Another Reason Not to Drink Bad Beer

Associated Press:

ST. LOUIS

A St. Louis man was shot to death by his wife after giving her a can of warm beer, police said. The shooting happened Sunday, December 3rd. Names have not been released. The woman was taken into custody.

The wife allegedly admitted shooting her husband, who was about 70 years old, in the kitchen of their home. The man was shot four or five times in the chest after giving his wife a can of warm Stag beer. The house was among thousands in the St. Louis area that lost power after a winter storm hit the region Thursday.

Reinheitsge-what? - Part Zwei

Bock: Beeradvocate.com says that the origins of bock beer are arguable. The most popular theory is that the name comes from a pagan influence that the beer was only to be brewed during the sign of the Capricorn goat and that "bock" means goat in German. Basically this beer was a symbol of better times to come and moving away from winter. Nowadays, it is a bottom fermenting lager that generally takes extra months of lagering (cold storage) to smooth out such a strong brew. Bock beer in general is stronger than your typical lager, more of a robust malt character with a dark amber to brown hue. Hop bitterness can be assertive enough to balance though must not get in the way of the malt flavor, most are only lightly hopped.

Doppelbock: Double Bocks or Doppelbocks are huge beers with lots and lots of malt. They are full-bodied in flavor and darker than other bocks with a higher level of alcohol also. The range in color from dark amber to nearly black. Dark versions may have slight chocolate or roasted characters.

Maibock: The Maibock style of beer tends to be lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a significant hop character with a noticeable alcohol around the same as a traditional Bock. Maibocks are customarily served in the spring and are oftentimes interrelated with spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May.

German Pilsener: The Pilsner beer was first brewed in Bohemia, a German-speaking province in the old Austrian Empire - now in the Czech Republic. Pilsner is one of the most popular styles of lager beers in Germany, and in many other countries. It’s often spelled as "Pilsener" and often times abbreviated as "Pils." Classic German Pilsners are very light straw to golden in color. Head should be dense and rich. They are also well-hopped, and exhibit a spicy herbal or floral aroma and flavor and distribute a flash of citrus. Hop bitterness can be high.

Oktoberfest or Märzen: Beeradvocate.com says that before refrigeration, it was nearly impossible to brew beer in the summer due to the hot weather and bacterial infections. Brewing ended with the coming of spring, and began again in the fall. Most were brewed in March (Märzen). These brews were kept in cold storage over the spring and summer months, or brewed with a higher alcohol content so they’d keep. Märzenbier is full-bodied, rich, toasty, typically dark copper in color with a medium to high alcohol content.

Note: The common Munich Oktoberfest beer served at the celebration of Oktoberfest contains only 4.5% alcohol by volume, is dark/copper in color, has a mild hop profile and is typically labeled as a Bavarian Märzenbier in style.

Rauchbier: The Rauchbier style is an old world German beer style. "Rauch" is German for "smoke." The malts used have literally been dried over an open beech wood fire imparting unique smokey qualities into the beer. The beer is typically dark in color and has similarities of the Oktoberfestbier. This is definitely an acquired taste. Imagine a smokiness so robust, so assertive that it tastes of spiced, smoked meat.

Schwarzbier: "Shvahrts-beer" is simply German for black beer. It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily heavy in body though, in fact, Schwarzbier tend to be lighter in body. Unlike other dark beers, like porters or stouts, they are not overly bitter with burnt and roasted malt characteristics that the others tend to depend on. Instead, hops are used for a good portion of the bitterness. Very refreshing beers, they are great in Summer and Winter. Especially when you are looking for a lighter beer, but one with depth of color and taste.

Reinheitsge-what? German Beers Part Eins

I was reminded last night that I rarely talk about German beers. This may seem strange as Germany is a beer country. Almost every town and village in Germany has at least one beer brewery and some have more than one. Altogether Germany has over 1300 breweries more than half of which are in Bavaria, in southern Germany. This means that about a third of all the breweries in the world....are in Germany.

The Germans don't just make and drink any beer. Like old world French wines with their distinct A.O.C rules and regulations, Germans have very rigid and particular ideas about the ingredients, quality and origin of their beer. For Germans, a beer must have been brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot.

Reinheitsgebot: (n) Literally means "purity order." In the 15th century the Bavarian court was concerned about the ingredients that were being used in beer. Brewers used to color their beers with soot or lime and beans and peas were being used in addition to grains as malt. In 1516 Duke William IV passed a law that restricted the brewing of beer and stipulated that only barley (or wheat) hops and water were allowed to be used in beer (they didn't know about the function of yeast yet in 1516.) Imagine what the Germans must think about the corn and rice used by the industrial, mass produced lagers that are pervasive in the US.

The beer styles in Germany vary greatly. They are not just the lagers and light beers that we Americans associate as German. (Sidenote: Many of us Americans associate this lightness as the German beer Heineken - which actually is NOT German, but Dutch; and is a very industrialized beer.) German's make ales and lagers and run the gamut in color from the lightest of light Krystalklar to the darkest of dark Schwarzbier.

Here are some German Styles:

Hefe Weizen: Weizen means wheat, and this beer is typically made with a 50:50 or higher ratio of wheat. The special yeast that is used in Hefe Weizen gives this beer unique flavors of banana and cloves.

Dunkel Weizen: Similar to a Hefe Weizen, Dunkel means "dark." So this is a wheat beer brewed with darker malt versions and a low balancing bitterness. The clove and fruity (banana) characters associated with Hefe Weizen will be present.

Weizenbock: A more powerful Dunkel Weizen (of "bock strength" - see "Bock" below), with a pronounced alcohol sweetness and spiciness, and bold complex malt characters of dark fruits.

Kolsch: Kolsh is a straw colored, soft fruity and sometimes sourish beer. Hop bitterness is very mild, but some dryness does exist. As of 1980, a beer can only be called Kolsch if it is brewed in Cologne.

To be Continued...

Thank you beeradvocate.com for your beer style descriptions. Go to their website if you would like to learn about more German style beers, or if you would like to learn about specific German beer style brands.

Thank You

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to the people who helped make Beer 101 such a success last night. Attendees, you were a great audience: receptive, asking intelligent questions and appreciating great beer. Ian Blackburn and the Learn About Wine crew, thank you so much for your hard work. Pouring so many beers to so many people is not an easy task. I'd also like to thank Craftsman Brewing Company, Deschutes Brewery and Epic Wines for supplying our group with some of the best adult beverages in the world. If you attended, I would love for you to drop a line to give feedback. We'll be doing more classes in the future. Right now we're thinking about doing an Oktoberfest class exploring German beers as well as a Holiday Seasonal Ales class for, you know...the Holidays. These are in the works.. so stay tuned and thank you once again. Please click on the links below to be directed to the brewery sites if you want more information on the beers that were featured at the seminar.

Sincerely,
C to the P

Craftsman Brewing Company
1260 Lincoln Avenue #100
Pasadena, CA 91103
626-296-ALES
www.craftsmanbrewing.com

Deschutes Brewery, Inc.
541-385-8606 p.
541-383-4505 f.
901 SW Simpson Ave.
Bend, Oregon 97702
www.deschutesbrewery.com

Epic Wines
P.O. Box 39
Santa Cruz, CA
800-322-3742
www.epic-wines.com

Just Like Heaven

Every once in a great great while, something is brought to my attention that I had absolutely no idea existed: something so extraordinarily wonderful, that I am astounded by my own ignorance. It happened yesterday while I was watching the Food Network.

I was preparing for my Beer 101 class and half listening to the TV when I heard "stout" and then I heard "ice cream" and then I heard "float" What? I backed up the DVR and low and behold, it was true. Using Guiness Stout instead of root beer, they were making Stout Floats.

A beer ice cream float? Shut up!

Apparently, this idea has been around for quite some time, and I can see why. Beer actually pairs beautifully with dessert. Rich full-flavored beers are needed to balance the sweetness of most desserts. According to the Brewer's Association, "Chocolate loves a dark beer. Milk chocolate is wonderful with Belgian-inspired strong dark ales...Fruit beers have an obvious affinity for fruit desserts, but they can be magic with chocolate as well."

So... back to the beer float - just imagine the possibilities: a Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream, A Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale with Chocolate Ice Cream, Haagen Daz Strawberry Cheesecake swirl and a fruity Belgian lambic. Its genius. Its inspired. Its just like heaven.

School is in Session

In partnership with Learn About Wine, I am teaching my very first Beer class and tasting! Learn About Wine is right in line with what I'm trying to do with beer. Ian Blackburn, the founder of Learn About Wine, has a list of unique classes, events and tours that remain on the cutting edge of the industry. His classes and events push aside the myths and legends and give you the information you need to advance your wine knowledge and appreciation. It's fun, friendly and great for all experience levels!

	Beer 101 - The History, Folklore, Appreciation and Much More! Learn the different beer styles, from Pilsner to India Pale Ale. Learn how to store, pour, and serve beer the proper way (yes there is a right way!) Be enticed by the stories of beer coming from centuries of brewing, drinking, and kegs of enjoyment. Learn how to distinguish the subtle flavors of beer, proper vocabulary and tasting/food pairing techinic. Sample from a variety of high quality brews such as: Mirror Pond Ale Black Butte Porter Obsidian Stout Inversion IPA Castelain Scaldis Saison Dupont Craftsman Favorites: Triple White Sage Heavenly Hefe 1903 Prohibition Lager Biere de Blanco Orange Grove Ale Location: Monsoon 1212 3rd St Promenade Santa Monica, CA 90403 Date: Thursday, Sep. 07, 2006 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Only $39 with advance ticket purchase; $49 at the door Do not wait, these tickets will sell out!
	CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS