I get a lot of spam mail from a lot of people stating that they posted content that they think would be relevant to my readers, offering to “let” me re-post the information on my website. For the most part, non of the links provided are of any interest to me, let alone my trusting readers.

Today, however, I did get sent something of entertainment and interest. A random agency (who did not reveal their identity in the email) recently rolled out an entertaining infographic, illustrating some very important facts that lead up to the Volstead Act of 1920. Graphic is below (click on it for a larger version).

Thank goodness Prohibition is over. That is definitely something to drink to…

Via: Rehab International

According to its publisher, The Oxford Companion to Beer is the first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer. The 960 page book features more than 1,100 entries written by 166 of the world’s most prominent beer experts.

As you can imagine, writing such an all-encompassing, comprehensive piece of work can be a daunting, if not impossible, challenge. And sadly, because its bold assertions come with high expectations, the book has been receiving quite a bit of criticism, even being called a disaster.

When I was in college, I took two back to back Astronomy courses. In the first class, scientists discovered that Pluto had a moon. By the time I got to the second class, Pluto was no longer a planet. The moral of the story? Science isn’t perfect, history is objective, and humans make errors. People will find errors in this book, some will fight over facts, and there will be lots of opinions thrown around. However, it does not take away from the fact that this awesome book is an extremely valuable piece of work for our beer culture and society in general.

And for those of us who are technological inclined (read: dependent), Oxford University Press released a series of very short YouTube videos featuring Garrett Oliver, the primary author of the Oxford Companion to Beer, talking about some of the topics covered in the book. I found the videos quite perfect, short, sweet, to the point, with interesting and relevant content, leaving me craving more information and desiring to read the book to get more answers. And because I enjoyed the videos, I would like to share them with you all. If you have 10 minutes today, take the time to watch them. Cheers!

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What is “Craft Beer”?

Favorite Quote: “But to your average person, craft beer is beer that is particularly tasty”

The Rebirth of Beer Diversity

Favorite Quote: “What craft brewing really is is the rebirth of the diversity of beer.”

Inside the “Oxford Companion to Beer”

Favorite Quote: “Beer contains history, beer contains culture, and beer contains some of the more amusing moments of a lot of our lives.”

The Worldwide Craft Brewing Movement

Favorite Quote: “Craft beer is not really in some ways a new thing, but it is an evolving thing and it really takes in the entire world.”

The Science of Brewing

Favorite Quote: “A lot of things that you see around you became popular and necessary industrially because brewers needed it.”

Brewing in the Middle East

Favorite Quote: “Even places that no longer brew beer, like say Saudi Arabia, there was back in ancient times a beer culture.”

130-year-old Beer Tastes “Awesome”

Favorite Quote: “It tasted like a really beautiful old Madeira. It was really amazing.”

Why Beer is Better than Wine

Favorite Quote: “Beer has a much much wider range of flavor than wine does. In fact, it’s not even close. And the reason for this is actually quite simple. Brewing is a lot more closer to cooking than wine-making.”

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot, as evidenced by the seemingly endless debate over the name of one of the newest style categories of beer.

Black India Pale Ale

India Black Ale

American-style India Black Ale

American-style Black Ale

Cascadian Dark Ale

All names for what is, at its most basic, a really hoppy dark ale with North American origins. And the name is not the only thing being questioned, its exact region of origin is also something hotly debated. Depending on what side of the country you hold allegiance, or your own personal school of thought, the not-going-to-name-it-at-this-point hoppy black ale originated in either Vermont or Cascadia (a bioregion in the Pacific Northwest named for the Cascadian watersheds that define its borders). Both arguments hold weight, in my opinion. But we will go into that later…

Although the style isn’t entirely “new” and dates back to the early 90′s, the rapid rise of these beers in the marketplace and the inability for them to fit into any proper judging style category for competitions created a demand for the Brewer’s Association to name and define them.

The first official BA designated name was American-style India Black Ale, probably one of the most confusing and contradictory names in the history of beer. Criticism quickly surrounded the new name — how could something be both American and Indian? And how could a beer be both Pale and Black?

American-style India Black Ale was quickly replaced with American-style Black Ale, which, despite logical reasoning from the BA, was still widely criticized and rejected. Which is why the argument has not ended, and the style category still lacks a proper name.

And before we go into my opinions on the matter, there are two very well-written articles on CraftBeer.com that I would like to turn your attention to:

Cascadian Dark Ale: A Rose By Any Other Name

By Matt Van Wyk, Oakshire Brewing

In Defense of Language: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Black IPA

By Greg Koch, Stone Brewing

It was actually Greg’s recent article that inspired this current response to the style debate, which obviously, despite desperate attempts, has not been put to bed. Since both the Black IPA and CDA arguments have been well articulated by the two articles above, I do not feel the need to go into depth about them now.

While both my colleagues/comrades make an excellent case for each name, I cannot help but find myself supporting neither as the official style name. Now, it is important to note that I’m 100% supportive of the name Cascadian Dark Ale, which by its definition is exactly on point. However, I do not necessarily think that the name can be applied to a much more broad category of dark hoppy beers. Essentially, without going too far in depth, the CDA is a dark ale brewed almost entirely with ingredients, hops being primary, that originate in the Pacific Northwest. This style, by definition, excludes dark ales brewed with noble hop varietals and other varietals not originating from Cascadia, i.e.: New Zealand etc. So whereas the name CDA is completely legit, it is entirely too exclusive to cover an entire spectrum of dark hoppy beers.

In the history of beer, most style names were born from the region in which they were developed: Kolsh, from Cologne (Koln). Pilsner from Pilsen. Irish Red from Ireland. Scotch Ale from Scotland. I find nothing wrong with Americans taking pride in the development of a new style of beer, and naming it accordingly. After all, most if not all of these beers use native American hops — which makes the style even more distinctly American.

At its most basic, the still-not-going-to-give-it-a-name hoppy dark ale is an ale brewed with dark roasted malts and the alcohol and bittering units (IBUs) similar to that of an IPA. And although renditions of this style can be dated back to England, it is pretty much agreed upon by most that this style is, in fact, American. Which brings us to my thoughts on the matter.

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Ashley’s Argument AGAINST the American Black IPA: The name has a double contradiction, no real roots to India, and is crazy confusing. As I mention below, confusing consumers is not a smart tactic in the overall plan to convert people to craft beer.

Ashley’s Argument FOR the Black IPA: The IPA is the most brewed style and the name IPA is one that consumers find familiar. Adding the word “Black” to the name implies dark beer that tastes like an IPA — a concept which might be fairly easy for consumers to grasp.

Ashley’s Argument AGAINST the Cascadian Dark Ale: Outside of Cascadia and maybe the beer industry, most consumers do not know what a CDA is and probably don’t even know what/where Cascadia is. Confusion leads to insecurity and it is harder to convert beer drinkers to craft beer when they are confused and insecure.

Ashley’s Argument FOR the Cascadian Dark Ale: By its definition, this is the perfect name for the beer. It is named for the region of origin, which is also the region from which the ingredients are sourced.

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So what do we call it? For starters, the word American is good.  But, for fear that the Canadian Cascadians (try saying that 5 times fast) might feel some sort of insult in using only American, perhaps the name North American would be more appreciated. It is important to note that the Brewer’s Association describes the hop character of this style as “fruity, floral and herbal from hops of all origins.” Which means that designating the style as North American does not necessarily imply that the ingredients are exclusively from the North American continent.

But before we go on, it is important to address the argument that against using the word American to signify “hoppy.” Well, let’s look at other American styles, shall we? Adding the term American in front of Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Red Ale, IPA, Barleywine etc. does in fact mean that these beers have higher IBUs than their English counterparts and that the hop profile of said beers tends to reflect the nature of native American hops. So yes, since past examples illustrate that using the term American does constitute beers that are significantly more hoppy than their European cousins,  I do believe that using the term American is appropriate in this situation.

And then there is the matter of color. The style guidelines, according the the Brewer’s Association, describes the beer as anything above 25 SRM. This means that the beer does not, in fact, have to be black. For comparison, the porter, which  is typically ruby brown in color, falls in between 20-40 SRM.

Now, since the SRM requirements are not exclusively black, and include darker brown shades, using the term black does not seem appropriate. And thus I propose the term dark as a replacement. And since the beer is brewed with ale yeast, we will go ahead and call it an ale.

In summary, I think that the name “North American Dark Ale” would be an appropriate name for the style category. It details the region of origin, without excluding all of Cascadia, speaks correctly to the color of the beer as described in the official style guidelines, and is not contradictory or confusing. And the moniker? NADA? As in niente, nada, nothing, can we please stop talking about this issue and just settle it already? Besides, I have bigger bones to pick… (do not get me started on some of the ludicrous categories judged at the GABF…)

And if NADA doesn’t strike anyone’s fancy, let it be known that my vote is for  returning to the American-style Black Ale category name.

Cheers!

Boasting an attendance of more than six million people every year, Munich’s Oktoberfest is officially the world’s biggest party.

While several other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event and held on similar dates, none rival the authenticity and grand scale of the original. Unfortunately, the closest I have ever come to Oktoberfest is drinking Oktoberfest bier and polka dancing at local Oktoberfest festivals in the United States. Needless to say, that just doesn’t cut it. Alas, I will be forced to celebrate Oktoberfest state-side until circumstances finally allow me to travel to Germany for the real festival.

Surprisingly, most people know very little about Oktoberfest — except that it is a massive festival that spans across 16 (sometimes 17) days – consisting of excessive beer & German food consumption and lots of debauchery.

This past Saturday, (September 17th) marked the official start of the 178th Oktoberfest. Store shelves and bars across the country have been well-stocked stocked with various Oktoberfest biers, and today is the perfect day to talk about the history of the world’s largest party.

According to legend and lore, Oktoberfest is the result of an extended wedding reception that followed the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Balvaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. Both were later to become King & Queen of Bavaria.

The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the post-wedding festivities, which lasted several days and concluded with a great horse race. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.

The first Agricultural Show, designed to boost Bavarian agriculture, was included in with the horse racing festivities in 1811. In the year 1812, Oktoberfest was canceled as a result of Bavaria’s was involvement in the Napoleonic war.

Carnival booths were introduced in 1816, with prizes mostly consisting of silver, porcelain and jewelry.  And in 1918, the first carousel and two swings were included into the event.

The founding citizens of Munich assumed responsibility over festival management in 1819 and it was agreed that the Oktoberfest festival would be celebrated each and every year without exception.

INTERESTING FACT: Since its beginnings the Oktoberfest has been canceled 24 times due to war, disease and other emergencies.

The first Oktoberfest parade, honoring the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, took place in 1835. Since 1850, the parade has become a yearly event and an important component of Oktoberfest. Each year some 8,000 people, mostly from Bavaria & dressed in traditional costumes walk through the center of Munich to the Oktoberfest.

The year 1850 also marks the first appearance of the Statue of Bavaria, commissioned by Ludwig I of Bavaria and constructed by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller. The Bavaria statue is a bronze-cast statue of a female figure representing Bavaria’s “secular patron saint.” She is located at the border of the Theresienwiese in Munich, Bavaria, Germany – where Oktoberfest takes place each year.

Thirst was originally quenched at beer stands, which eventually turned into beer tents in 1896.  The beer tents and halls were originally set up by enterprising landlords with backing from local breweries and have been a main staple of the event ever since.

Since 1950, there has been a traditional festival opening consisting of a twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at noon by the Lord Mayor of Munich with the cry “O’zapft is!” (which literally translates to “It’s tapped!” in the Austro-Bavarian dialect). This event is held the first Saturday of each Oktoberfest in one of the enormous beer tents. Once the barrel is tapped, all visitors are then allowed to quench their thirst and the massive party officially begins!

The year 1960 marked the end of the horse races. By that time,  Oktoberfest had already turned into an enormous world-famous festival and has since grown to become the largest folk fest in the world.

Oktoberfestbiers have been served at Oktoberfest since 1818 and are supplied by 6 breweries known as the “Big Six.” These include Spaten, Lowenbrau, Augustiner, Hofbrau, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.

Originally, Oktoberfestbiers were traditional German pale lagers called Märzen. They were brewed in March and allowed to ferment slowly during the summer months. They typically run at about 5 to 6% abv. Technically, authentic Oktoberfestbier is brewed only by the breweries within the city limits of Munich. Today, the terms Oktoberfest and Märzen are used by non-Oktoberfest brewers in Germany and the USA to market pale lagers of this strength.

THE GERMAN BEER INSTITUTE has an excellent article about this history Oktoberfestbier HERE.

I will be honest. Lagers do not particularly excite me. In fact, I tend to avoid that style of beer as much as possible. HOWEVER, I am predisposed to having a preference to Spaten – over all the other Oktoberfestbeirs.

Is it possible to have such a predisposition? YES. My father is a marketers dream. He is the king of brand preference and brand loyalty. When he finds something he likes, he becomes an obssesed man. And this is how he is with Spaten.

It did not matter where he goes and how much beer is already being provided, my father ALWAYS brings his own beer – and it is ALWAYS Spaten. At any given time, the refrigerator in his garage is loaded with Spaten. For my 21st birthday my dad picked out the keg. And guess what he chose? Yep, that’s right …  SPATEN!

Make sure to properly celebrate the season with a pint, liter, or boot of Oktoberfestbier!

CHEERS!

In the midst of throwing back some high gravity beers, poolside under the beautiful star-studded Napa sky, my one friend stumped me with the question, “Would you still drink beer if there was no alcohol in it?”

I knew that the question was designed to make me question my alcohol consumption, rather than my dedication and love for craft beer. And I had the most bizarre time trying to answer the question. For me, the answer is not black and white. And really, it is a Catch 22.

Would I still drink beer? Most likely, but not in the quantities that I do currently. I would probably treat it like Kombucha or coconut water — the only two non-alcoholic beverages that I drink regularly. Although I enjoy both, one is usually enough to satisfy my cravings. With alcohol, it is different. I would be lying if I said I didn’t like the magical little buzz one gets from alcohol consumption.

Now, just because I enjoy feeling a bit tipsy from time to time does not mean that I abuse alcohol. Sure, the nature of my lifestyle does put me at risk for alcoholism, but I respect fine beverages and never abuse them, at least on purpose. However, I will not deny that I have taken it too far in the past and that I have gotten myself into trouble from over-consumption. But those instances are rare and lessons are usually learned.

Since I found the question so perplexing, I thought I’d reach out to my social networks to see how other craft beer drinkers would react to the removal of alcohol from beer. Naturally, I found several different schools of thought on the matter.

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT #1: Strong YES: because beer is about the flavor, not the alcohol.

@thepaintedman: For me, it’s a straight yes.

@JasonKocina: yes. also, i wish more great session beers were readily available.

@BrendanFromBeer: magically non alcoholic beer that tastes as good as real beer? Absolutely, but maybe in different contexts.

@johnfoster: I like root beer. it’s as diverse a drink as beer.

@BeachBumChris: Very B&W for me. Everything I eat or drink is because it tastes good, period. If it’s not about taste, then what is it about?

@EntrePreBrewer: I would absolutely still drink beer w/out alcohol. I love the variety of complex flavors. It is nice tho to warm you up.

@ocbrewerswife: r u drinking 4 flavor or affect? I def. drink beer for flavor…so if there was no alcohol it wouldn’t matter

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT #2: MODERATE YES: If it tasted the same, probably. But in smaller quantities.

@bellacarrara: I’d probably say that I would still drink beer (or wine for that matter) if it didn’t have alcohol…but maybe just not as much of it as I currently do. Sometimes the consumption is all about the alcohol, and sometimes it for the non-sensory-dulling stimulation.

@stayhoppyaustin: Agreed, alc gives depth & flavor, aromas, etc…. If this was still achieved w/out alcohol, yes. But wouldn’t be as fun!

@CherylHarrison: if it tasted the same? Yea. But not nearly as much.

@sp1365: Depends, alcohol is part of the flavor. If the beer was the exact same just sans alcohol, then yes I would.

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT #3: NO: Non-alcoholic beer tastes like crap. And let’s face it, the alcohol is the best part.

@ AMan4AllSaisons: I have yet to drink a n/a beer that had a tenth of the flavour available in a good normal beer.

@timothydean: drinking n/a beer is like going down on your cousin. May taste good but it’s just not right ! Lol.

@RoadTrips4Beer: No. I don’t drink decaf coffee or put non-lubricating motor oil in my truck. It’s the essential property of the substance. If I didn’t want the alcohol effect, I’d drink water all the time.

@michaelwangbickler: Interesting question. I wouldn’t drink non-alcoholic wine, so I’m thinking the answer is ‘no’ for the same reasons.

@afatty: Duh… the way that you ought to feel without drinking beer. It’s similar to decaf coffee.. why bother. No caffeine.. no alcohol .. no thank you.

@baconator: Just say no and be realistic.

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT #4: The Logical Answer: Fermentation (aka the conversion of sugar into alcohol) is crucial to the brewing process and you cannot have most of the flavors in beer without it.

@steveparkes: It’s a dumb question. Beer tastes like beer because it has alcohol in it. Alcohol free beer anyone? A lot of the flavors in beer are only soluble in the alcohol fraction.

@damnbeerblogger: Well, I wouldn’t breathe air if it didn’t have oxygen in it. BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT AIR.

@webster114: Taste is key but there’s something to be said for the ‘active’ ingredient.

@BrewmanceNW: I probably wouldn’t… and it wouldn’t taste the same without it. Yeasts make many flavors, as well as the biproduct.

@52Brews: alcohol content very often gives beer its depth. tricky… If it tastes good I’ll drink it. No alcohol, though, less often =D

@johnholzer: “Beer” needs alcohol to in certain amounts, depending on the style and one’s taste. IMO, if there’s no alcohol, it’s not beer… and at that point, you’re drinking something that isn’t “beer”.

@RyanARoss: non-alcoholic beer = barley-based soda. Carbonated grain tea isn’t beer.

@thebeernut: I think that part of the flavor of beer comes from the alcohol content (some beers more so than others). With that said, I think that I probably wouldn’t drink beer sans alcohol. It just seems to me that there’s less to contrast with the malty sweetness without it…

School of Thought #4: CATCH 22: damned if you do, damned if you don’t

@sweatje: I drink beer because of the flavor, however, I know a significant portion of that flavor is from alcohol. Catch 22

@Sweasty: Catch 22. Alcohol gives depth & provides other flavors. If you can capture the full depth in NA beer, then sure I’ll drink it.

Although, I fully agree with the logical argument that beer would not be the same without alcohol, I want people to forget about that factor and think about it from a more hypothetical angle — If beer was exactly the same as it is now, same flavors and complexities, with the alcohol completely removed, would you still drink it?

For me, the question still remains impossible to answer with a confident yes or no. A confident no implies alcohol abuse and little respect for the actual beverage, while a certain yes wouldn’t be the complete truth because alcohol is indeed something that attracts me to beer.

Sigh. I suppose I will settle for the moderate yes. Without alcohol, beer would probably be a rare treat, like a milkshake or smoothie. Something with a substantial amount of calories and lots of flavor, but not something that I would feel compelled to drink more than one of. Nonetheless I do enjoy and respect the nuances and complexities in beer, and would not discount it as an enjoyable craft beverage if it had no alcohol in it. However, I believe that the culture built around beer drinking is mostly a result of the effects of alcohol and its social implications, not just its flavor. After all, how many juice, coffee or tea festivals and celebration weeks exist?

Would I still be The Beer Wench? No.

And although I love wine, I would not drink as much of it as I do if it was alcohol-free. I also love bourbon, scotch and tequila — 3 beverages that I would most certainly NOT consume without the alcohol. Heck, I don’t drink decaf coffee because, although I like coffee, I also want the affects of caffeine.

And maybe this answer, in itself, confirms that I think alcohol is important to beer.

Curious to hear more feedback… bring it on!

Judging by the title of this blog post, one can correctly assume that The Wench is about to start a, somewhat alcohol induced, rant of the, always expected, very bitchy nature.

A few people in my close personal circle have heard my incessant complaints about this subject for years, but I have held my tongue (and my typing fingers) on this topic for entirely way too long.

Many things in this world piss me off, but nothing frustrates me quite like the hypocrisies with craft beer in the restaurant industry.

You see, my roots in craft beer originated in the restaurant industry. Like many lost souls who find themselves working in restaurants, I graduated college with no clear goals and aspirations. And when in doubt, wait tables… right? Unlike many front of the house employees, I developed a sincere interest for culinary techniques and the artistry behind cooking. But like most restaurant employees, I developed quite a liking of booze. However, my constant pursuit for flavor stimulation in the kitchen carried over into my beverage habits, and I began to appreciate and study the nuances of wine.

It wasn’t until I developed a love and understand of wine, that I began to develop respect for alcohol. But this isn’t a sap story about my love for wine… so let us move on.

My enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for cooking, serving, and wine ultimately landed me a job as a restaurant manager — a job that changed my life completely. The owners of my restaurant put me in charge of all things beverage — which was cool since I was studying for my sommelier certification and I loved coffee and tea. The hard part was the beer. Before then, I never drank beer. Even in college I preferred hard spirits and if I did drink beer, it was shitty-ass corporate beer, brewed with adjunct ingredients, that I purely used as a vehicle for drunkenness and debauchery.

The owners of my restaurant were focused on sustainability and making healthy choices that positively impacted the planet. One such environmentally conscientious decision was to only offer craft beer. No mass-produced yellow fizzy beers for us. Only beers brewed from the highest quality ingredients by true artists of the craft. And it was here that I learned that, not only was craft beer superior to mass-produced beer, it deserved a righteous place on the dinner table, along side all of the other fine beverages — especially, wine.

It took many, many years of denial and protestation before I was finally able to admit that beer was, in fact, the finest beverage of them all. And don’t get me wrong, I live in Napa for a reason. I drink wine almost every day of my life. I love my wino friends, wine bloggers, wine makers… but at the end of the day I am fully confident when I say…

the complexities and nuances in craft beer surpass those in wine.

And this brings us to the main topic of discussion: craft beer & the restaurant hypocrisy.

Now, there are several things about the restaurant industry that piss me off, in regards to craft beer. But my greatest pet peeves are:

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Great Restaurants with Sub-Par (or non-existent) Craft Beer Menus

I live in Napa Valley, hypothetically the home to some of the most discerning palates in the world, and yet I am constantly disappointed, if not appalled, by the lack of craft beer on the menus of our most prestigious restaurants. For most, the beer menu is an afterthought — if even a thought at all. They see beer as a blue-collar beverage, barely worthy of gracing their menu. But, they acknowledge that they need to carry it, even though it has the lowest profit margin, and end up selecting sub-par mass-produced non-craft beers.

The hypocrisy?

These restaurants fly in fresh fish, over-night. These restaurants source ingredients from only the best, most coveted, local producers. These restaurants will pay an arm and a leg for their food ingredients, because they want to provide the most fresh, highest quality and amazing tasting ingredients possible.

And it doesn’t stop there.

The wine lists are extraordinary, the liquors are top shelf. And the beer?

The beer lists are uninspired, unoriginal, underwhelming and extremely disappointing.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, turns me off more that going to a prestigious restaurant with an acclaimed executive chef, with one of the most amazing menus and wine lists in the world… and witnessing them serve mass-produced corporate beer.

When I lived in Florida, I worked at a pretty fancy corporate wine concept. The whole place was run like a tight ship. Only the freshest, perfectly plated food made it to the guests. Our wine list was spectacular. We had super high-end spirits. But the beer? Only one beer on the menu was craft, and even that beer was the best seller of the largest craft beer producer. The sad part about the entire company was that the beverage director was one of the ONLY Master Sommeliers in the world. We are talking about a man that has a better palate than 99.9% of the world. I can throw his name around the wine industry and most know of him, if not know him personally.

I cannot complain, though, for working under him. His server training program was of the utmost level. When it came to wine studies, I had everything at my disposal. My company paid for my Certified Specialist of Wine training and certification. It also offered to pay for the sommelier test, which although I never took, is pretty expensive. They wanted us to excel and were prepared to give us all the tools necessary to make it happen.

One day, during a race that our restaurant sponsored and I volunteered to help with, I approached my Master Sommelier and addressed this very issue, my biggest frustration, with him. His, oddly expected, response was that the people who would come to our restaurant and drink beer would not be interested in fine craft beer. In other words, our restaurant was a fine dining establishment and “wine bar” with a sophisticated clientele who appreciated wine, and anyone who would dare so much as drink beer, well they were blue-collared and only liked yellow fizzy mass-produced swill.

To this day, I love that man. And he was a big supporter of me after I left. But, I cannot deny my sincere disappointment.

It is not cool, no matter how much you argue the case, for a Master Sommelier, a man with one of the most amazing and most discerning palates in the world, to neglect and dismiss craft beer.

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Untrained, Uneducated Staff

Along with local, sustainable, and artisan, craft beer has become a buzz word and growing trend across the world. And although few people outside of the very small niche market actually know what the term craft beer actually constitutes, many restaurants have attempted to embrace the trend, incorporating craft beers into beverage menus.

So you got the memo that craft beer is “hot” and you went to your distributors and ordered some buzz craft beer brands and put them on your menu. And now you think you are hip and cool and trendy. Heck, you might think that you are innovative because you were the first person in your town to do it.

I see it in Napa, I see it in San Francisco, I have witnessed it in Chicago, L.A., NYC and pretty much every big city in the U.S. A great beer list is virtually useless if you and your staff are uneducated.

Now, I am not insisting that all front of the house restaurant employees develop an extensive understanding of the brewing process and the entire spectrum of ingredients and flavors in beer. It is necessary, however, to understand the basic flavor profile and a few details about the brewery for each of the beers on your menu.

Sales & Marketing 101: If you want to sell a product, you have to know your product.

The hypocrisy?

I have seen several restaurants go to extensive lengths to train employees on food menus and wine lists. Heck, I worked for a restaurant that used to test us on every menu change.  We had written exams that required us to list every single ingredient in every single dish, every single house cocktail as well as rattle off tasting notes for all the wines. But beer? Forget about it. Beer is typically the LAST priority, and using the word priority is a stretch, on most restaurant menus.

Now, I don’t expect bartenders and servers to know more about beer than me — after all, craft beer is my career, greatest passion and my raison d’etre. I do expect, however, for the person serving me to know details about the beer that they are serving. And I don’t mean being able to tell me “yeah, it’s good.” Where is the beer made? What is the style? What are the characteristics of that style? Can you give me the basic flavor profile? And even better, what food on the menu do you recommend pairing with this beer? And even better than that, why do you recommend pairing this beer with that dish?

Sounds easy, right? Well, it is. And witnessing restaurants neglect or refuse to train and educate staff on craft beer really REALLY irks me because 1. it is lazy and 2. it is disrespectful to the craft beer industry.

Would you order a cocktail from a bartender who doesn’t know the difference between a Cosmopolitan and a Manhattan? Me neither….

The greatest barrier to converting people to craft beer is LACK OF EDUCATION. Most consumers are not educated on craft beer, but most beer drinkers have potential to be converted. Education = confidence + empowerment. And a confident and empowered consumers = sales.

If you work in a restaurant that sells craft beer and has an untrained staff, but you do not know where to begin when it comes to education — PLEASE do not hesitate in contacting me. I have several tools at my disposal, as well as have developed (and currently revising) an extensive server training program.

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Improper Glassware & Serving Temperature

“Glassware is key nowadays when it comes to beer. It’s not imperative, but would you drink wine out of the bottle? No, you’re going to pour in it a glass. The same treatment and respect should be done for your craft beer. When you do that, you get the opportunity to have full enhancement of the aroma and the flavors in that beer.” — Julia Herz, Brewer’s Association

Many regions and varietals of wine require special glassware designed to enhance the wine experience. This is also true for beer, except the range of beer glasses is way more extensive than wine glasses. In Belgium, virtually every beer produced has its own glass. In wine talk, this would be the equivalent of each and every single winery in France developing its own glass for each of its wines.

I cannot express my pure and utter frustration upon being served a craft beer in an improper glass. The biggest examples of improper glassware presentation = Imperial styles in pint glasses and High-gravity Belgian beers in pints glasses. Pint glasses, in most situations, are not the appropriate or preferred vessel, especially with beers boasting high levels of alcohol and extremely complex flavor profiles.

Carrying all the proper glassware can be very daunting, expensive and time consuming. For the most part, two or three different styles should suffice for most craft beer menus, unless of course you specialize in Belgian styles. The basic glassware types, with recommended beer styles, can be found here at CraftBeer.com.

As with wine, craft beer presentation requires a properly cleaned glass.  Glassware must be completely free of oils, soap residue, and pretty much all foreign materials. Bottom-line: beer must be poured into SPOTLESS glassware. (To learn how to properly clean glassware, check out this guide from the Brewers Association.)

Sure, you can pour the beer behind the counter so that I cannot see whether or not the glass was clean. But the beer will not lie, and I will find out. Beer poured into a properly clean glass forms a proper head and creates residual lacing as the beer is consumed. There are several ways to test for a clean glass. The Brewers Association details them here.

“Temperature is actually something that many beers need to scream loud and clear about. Because if you listen to your beer, it doesn’t want to be served totally cold. Most beers, beyond light American Lager and Pilsners, want to be served warmer at cellar temperatures.” — Julia Herz, Brewer’s Association

The factor in beer presentation that is almost always neglected is beer temperature. Would you serve a Sauvignon Blanc warm or a big Napa Valley Cabernet at white wine temperatures? I don’t think so. As with wine, not all beer is created equal. If you are a restaurant that has chosen to carry special styles that require service at special temperatures, you need to recognize and honor temperature ranges.

Despite what the average beer consumer, brainwashed by admen and mega-corporation ad campaigns, think — most beer should not be served ice cold. Why would people be brainwashed into thinking this? Because bad beer tastes much better ice cold. Your taste receptors are numbed by the cold and you actually can’t get a good impression of the flavors in that beer. RateBeer.com has an excellent and comprehensive guide for proper beer serving temperatures.

Now don’t even get me started on “chilled” glassware. Unless you are serving a mass-produced light lager made with adjunct ingredients, chilled glassware is not only unnecessary, but undesirable. Not only is it an unnecessary step in beer service, it can always adversely impede the beer drinking experience. For more on this topic, visit the section on Glassware Temperature from the Brewers Association.

Not to mention, chilling glassware is the biggest cop-out when it comes to cleaning glassware.

And last but not least, my final grievance of today (and trust me, this is not all of them…)

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Improper Pouring and Poor Presentation of Craft Beer

Case Study #1: To date, I’ve had two rather disappointing experiences with beer service at a new, super trendy downtown Napa Valley waterfront establishment owned by a pretty well-known Food Network star chef (how is that for subtly?). The service there is impeccable and the food is top notch. The draft beer, although partially craft, is uninspired and typical of the area. The bottle list seems to rotate a bit more, so they have that going for them

One night I decided to order a Belgian beer in the bottle. First mistake: the female behind the bar poured it into a pint glass, almost always the improper glass for any beer from Belgium. The second mistake she made was to treat it like wine. Instead of pouring a full glass of beer, pouring straight down towards the end, allowing the CO2 to release from the beer and give it a nice foamy head… she opted to tilt the beer, slowly pouring out 1/3 of it, carefully making sure not to agitate it and allow a head to build. She placed the glass and the partially poured beer in front of me.

First of all, if you are only going to partially pour beer, then you better give me a smaller glass. Second of all, WTF. I took the bottle and I proceeded to finish it off with a nice hard pour, creating a desired amount of head.

Case Study #2: I was excited to learn that a recently Michelin-rated (but not starred) restaurant in downtown Napa had Orval, quite possibly my favorite beer in the world. And not only did it have the beer, but it had the proper glassware. Call me naive, call me assuming, but I figured that a place which not only carried ORval, but it’s proper glass, would also know how to make the proper pour.

Sadly, my assumptions were proven wrong.

For those unfamiliar with the wiles of Orval, it is a bottle-conditioned Trappist ale that gets spiked with brettanomyces (a wild yeast strand) at bottling. The bottle is specially designed with a “yeast catcher” in the neck, which prevents yeast from being poured into the glass. Orval requires a very attentive pour, which allows it to develop a large, billowy almost meringue like peak of foam which raises above the glass (but does not flow over). This pour is easily to obtain with practice, and should not intimidate anyone. ‘

Now, I can handle a sub-par pour, but what I will not stand for is the yeast to be poured into the glass, which is exactly what to obviously untrained server did. The experience almost turned me into a beer nazi. I wanted to strip them the right of serving Orval until they learned how to give it the respect it deserves.

If there is one lesson that should be taken away from this experience, it is DO NOT POUR YEAST FROM BOTTLE-CONDITIONED BEERS INTO THE GLASS WITH THE BEER. And if you are curious to know what happens when you do so, specifically with Orval, feel free to watch my video tasting with Orval where I discover first-hand just what yeast does to the flavor…

If there is one things, just one thing, on this entire list of grievances that I will encourage all restaurants to learn above all else — it is how to properly pour beer. Everything else is just gravy on the cake. A great resource is, once again, the Brewers Association.

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I wish I could say that the rant ends here, unfortunately this is only the tip of the iceberg. However, have faith in knowing that these grievances were not done in vain and that I have set out on a personal mission to change the current state of craft beer in the restaurant industry. Stay tuned.

It is about freaking time, eh?

For over a year now, I have been guest brewing at various breweries around the country. I have helped collaborate on two different recipes and brewed beer commercially for events — but oddly enough, I’ve never actually homebrewed. What can I say? I’m an overachiever.

People have always questioned my decision not to homebrew in the past. This is because I’ve always been missing a *key* part to the homebrewing process. Knowledge — check. Brewing skills — check. Interest — check. Home — oooooh, about that. Since August of 2008, I have lived in eleven — yes kids, I said eleven — different residences. Some were only a few week stints until I got on my feet, others lasted a few months. Most of my earthly possessions never even left boxes. My career path and work experience was as equally unstable and spontaneous. Needless to say, without really knowing where I would be at any date or time and having no real vision of the future, I never had enough stability to start a homebrewing operation.

Until now.

Although still very much painfully unemployed, I have finally found myself in a place that I can truly call home. And that place? Napa, CA — home to one of the best food & beverage cultures in the world. But it is more than wine and food that makes Napa feel at home. It is the people. I know that the Sonoma folks will try to fight me on this, but there is something here in Napa that lacks on the Sonoma side. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and it definitely is not evident on the surface — but Napa has a deeper layer to it that most people do not know about.

But that is neither here nor there, since I’m sure you could care less about my recent love affair with Napa, let us move on to the real purpose of this post. Not only did I start homebrewing, but I also started a homebrew club. As of now, we are calling it the Napa Homebrew Project — because that is precisely what it is. However, we are not exclusive to Napa — anyone and everyone is welcome to join.

I must be clear from the beginning, we are NOT the first homebrew organization in Napa. And I am not trying to form a separate elitist organizations from the existing clubs. I just have a different vision and different goals for my homebrewing operations. That, and I want to force my friends and roommates to learn more about beer.

There are lots of exciting plans for this homebrew club, which will all be revealed in time.

Pardon my ADHD. Let’s get back on track. Last week, we brewed the inaugural beer of the Napa Homebrew Club. In the true overachiever nature of The Wench, I enlisted the help of brewing veteran and brewmaster/founder/owner of Bison Organic Beer, Daniel Del Grande. He was kind enough to provide us with a kit to brew his Organic Chocolate Stout as well as fresh yeast — big plus. He also provided guidance and education for all involved in the operation — which included my roommates (at various stages), my good friend (the Vice President of the club) Jill Dever, Daniel (official CFO of the club) and myself (the President and Director of Awesomeness).

Not gonna lie, and this is NOT snobbery by any means, but homebrewing was pretty easy and fairly lax in comparison to commercial brewing. Now, we didn’t exactly take the “easy” route and brew strictly with extracts.

Go big or home. That should be the motto of our club.

For our first batch, we did a partial grain mash. Aka, we used both malt extract and grains. Although we used a very basic homebrewing system, I still was able to get the “gist” of the process. Mashing in = steeping grain in water (that had been brought up to boiling temperature). Sparging = Pouring the steeped grain through cheese cloth into the boiling pot of water + malt extract and then adding hot water occasionally to get all the sugar in the pot. The boil was essentially what a boil is — we added hops and cacao at this stage. The transfer/ heat exchanger stage was done by pouring the wort onto filtered ice in a bucket. Once the ice was completely melted and the beer cooled down, it was transferred through a funnel into the carboy with the yeast.

And I am proud to announce the the beer took to fermentation immediately. It is currently bubbling away underneath my kitchen table — almost ready for racking, kegging and then a week or fermentation in the keg.

Oh, but there is one thing I forgot to mention. I look a little less than a gallon of the wort and put it into a separate super professional fermenting vessel — okay, an old apple juice jug. And what I did next… might horrify you. Actually, no. It will most likely excite the uber beer geeks inside.

At first, I wanted to pour the bacon grease leftover from brunch into the wort. But, that would have been disastrous seeing as how many people have been struggling with how to get actual bacon into beer without killing the carbonation with the fat. The inspirational moment came from Russian River Brewing Company’s Sanctification — a 100% brettanoymces beer. You see, I have an obsession with wild yeast… and brett in particular. In fact, I wrote about said obsession a few years back. And it has only intensified since then. Every time I talk about collaborating on a commerical beer recipe, the first thing that comes out of my mouth is brett. Call it word vomit. I am in love, and his name is Brett. I can only imagine a personified version of Brett, looking all James Bond0esque, saying “The name is Brett. Brett–Anomyces.”

Enough with that. I dumped the bottle conditioned yeast from the bottle of Sanctification into the apple juice jug. The fermentation didn’t take right away. In fact, it didn’t take for a week or more. Then … one day… the bubbles started and the beer became … ALIVE…. ahhhh, it’s alive.

Super stoked about this new project that I’ve created. Speaking of project, I think I’ve just re-branded the name to “The Napa Homebrew Project”! Works for me.

Stay tuned for more homebrewing adventures from Napa! CHEERS!

There are many reasons why I don’t review and rate beers (or wines for that matter). On a professional level, I know how to analyze and evaluate beers — something that is important for quality control, barrel-aging and blending, detecting off-flavors, etc. But on a personal level, I do not think that my impression or opinion is important enough to share with the world. Now, before some of you try to find ways to call the kettle black, I will admit that I frequently sing praises about beers on Twitter and Facebook. And why not? I love to share my positive beer experiences with people. But personally, I don’t feel comfortable with reviewing and rating. After all, my palate is my palate, and I don’t expect anyone else to have the same tolerances and thresholds.

I am excited by the huge increase of beer websites in the past few years, but at the same time I find myself getting slightly annoyed. Whereas I have no qualms with beginners and amateurs sharing their beer experiences with the online community, I do wish that most of them would dedicate time to educating themselves on beer and learning how to properly taste and evaluate it.

This brings us to this current post, which was originally published March 2010. It is a bit out of date, but still very relevant. Hopefully, it does not insult anyone and brings insight to those seeking it.

Cheers!

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March 2010 – Despite what many people may think, there is an actual science to the proper tasting and evaluation of beers.

Now yes, I understand that experiences with and  individual perceptions of beer does vary from person to person. Some people prefer to have an emotional connection with beer. They tend to review beer using expressive and artistic descriptors as opposed to scientific terminology.

Don’t get my wrong though — the emotional method of beer evaluation is by no means “unprofessional.” There is no real or wrong way to experience beer. After all, beer is in the eye of the beholder.

However, it is important to note that there is a universally recognized and accepted language in the beer industry. Whereas describing a beer in an artistic format makes an excellent visual for readers and consumers, I guarantee if you tell a brewer that her beer takes like rainbows and butterflies she will look at you like you have three heads.

So exactly how does one learn how to “speak beer”? Learning proper beer terminology can seem daunting at first. But have no fear, its not like learning to write code. In fact, most of beer terminology already exists in our language.

The key is learning what terms to use when.

One does not have to go out and buy books on the science and engineering of brewing in order to learn this language. There are several resources on proper beer analyzation that can be more easily  ”digested” than hitting the “big kid” textbooks.

My favorite resources for proper beer analyzation are as follows:

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TASTING BEER — An Insider’s Guide to The World’s Greatest Drink
by: Randy Mosher

Randy Mosher is a public speaker, teacher, writer, and enthusiastic promoter of traditional beer styles. He is the author of The Brewer’s Companion and Radical Brewing, as well as many articles and columns for All About Beer, the country’s leading beer magazine. His book, Tasting Beer, also serves as one of the primary resource for the Certified Cicerone Program.

From the back cover:

Everybody knows how to drink beer, but few know how to really taste it. Tasting Beer is a lively exploration of the culture, chemistry, and creativity that make craft beers so wonderfully complex. Heighten your enjoyment of every glass with an understanding of the finer points of brewing, serving, tasting, and food pairing.

Enough said.

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THE BEER FLAVOR WHEEL

The Beer Flavor Wheel is perfect or both budding beer connoisseurs as well as professionals. It breaks down the entire tasting experience in general categories. Each category gets further brown down until you reach the “scientific” conclusion.

For example, I get “vegetal” characteristics in a beer. Now let us break vegetal down: is is resinous, grassy or nutty? Let’s say I get resinous. Let us break it down further: is it woody or piney.

Naturally, one needs to have a semi-decent palate and educational background that predisposes them to understanding this wheel. However, with the help of google and a significant amount of time tasting with learned professionals — the information on this wheel becomes second nature.

And for those of you who do not understand every term on this wheel, do not feel overwhelmed or inadequate. Developing a palate doesn’t happen overnight … or even over a decade. It is a constant learning process. My palate is admittedly novice. But that does not stop me from trying to advance it, ya feel me?

If you want a good glossary of proper terms to use, this wheel is definitely a top resource.

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THE BEER JUDGE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM STYLE GUIDELINES

For some time now, I have been following the BJCP format of reviewing beer. Why? Because its system is well-established and internationally recognized. Even more badass? BJCP has a FREE, yes free, iPhone App … with ALL of its style guidelines. Yeah, go download it like now.

Why have style guidelines?

Styles are a convenient shorthand for discussing beer. They allow all those who are tasting and describing a beer to use a common framework and language. Style Guidelines are designed to assist organizers, entrants and judges participating in beer, mead and cider competitions by providing a standardized set of descriptions of beer, mead and cider styles.

The style descriptions are based on currently acknowledged world class examples, historical references to styles no longer brewed, and writings of noted beer researchers and journalists.

One of the purposes of the BJCP is to promote beer literacy, which includes understanding more about the world’s great beer styles. The BJCP has been operating since 1985 and has been publishing guidelines for much of that history.

The BJCP has spent considerable time researching world class beer examples, visiting renowned breweries, talking with noted authors, and searching key reference materials for information on beer styles. It has collected this information into its guidelines as a way to reduce the amount of time, effort and variability in learning this knowledge.

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Of course, there are more than three major resources on the proper tasting and evaluation of beer. But these three happen to be my particular favorites. Each contributes to beer education from a different aspect of the spectrum — and together, these resources are golden.

Wanna “speak beer”? Check out the resources above and you are well on your way to understanding the (not-too) cryptic language of beer.

For more indepth knowledge, check out:

• Siebel Institute of Technology
• Cicerone Certification Program
• American Brewers Guild
• UC Davis

Cheers!

Disclaimer: In addition to being a craft beer professional, I am a creative writer. I am in no way insulting those who chose to describe beer in more artistic and expressive terminology.

]]> http://drinkwiththewench.com/2011/01/tools-for-proper-beer-analyzation/feed/ 1 http://drinkwiththewench.com/2009/03/the-wenchs-library/ http://drinkwiththewench.com/2009/03/the-wenchs-library/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:05:13 +0000 The Beer Wench http://drinkwiththewench.com/?p=1076

My friend Josh Christie and his blog “Brews and Books” has inspired me to write a post about my personal “library.”

Growing up, I was definitely a book geek. On my 10th birthday, my parents gave me 50 books. I woke up to a trail of books from my bedroom door, down the stairs … and into the living room. I was ecstatic. (Especially since a good number of them were R.L. Stine’s Goosebump books.)

My love for reading has never stopped, although my habits of reading have changed quite drastically. Instead of burying my nose in a book, I now find my eyes glued to the computer screen. In order to write my blog, I must read. I do almost all of my research on the Internet and, from time to time, I get a small percentage of information from books.

I am obsessed with all things food and beverage. Food, beer and wine consume my life. So naturally, my current book collection almost entirely involves food & beverage.

My newest toy is  “What to Drink With What You Eat.” I wanted it so bad that I bought it for full retail price (which is odd for me because I usually try to buy my books used online).

Product Description
The most comprehensive guide to matching food and drink ever compiled, by the James Beard Award winning author team of Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, with practical advice from more than seventy of America’s leading pairing experts

In a great meal, what you drink is just as important as what you eat. This groundbreaking food and beverage pairing reference allows food lovers to learn to think like a sommelier, and to transform every meal – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Wench’s Description
This book is ridiculously fun. As someone who knows food & beverage extremely intimately, it is  a great reference tool. But more than that, this book helps to confirm and support my own beliefs and decisions about pairings. I do not find myself using this book for suggestions, but more as a checks and balances for my own personal ideas. Sometimes I use this book to give my pairing suggestions. However, sometimes instead of creating a pairing menu based on the information in this book, I turn to the contents of this book to defend my decisions.

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Another book in my library is Michael Jackson’s “Great Beers of Belgium.” This book was given to me by one of my best friends, ironically another guy named Josh (having the name Josh might be a predisposition to drinking good beer.)

Product Description
Many a beer sophisticate is surprised by the diversity, individuality and ubiquity of Belgian beer. Here, beer expert Michael Jackson enthusiastically discusses the history and inner workings of this quiet, quirky brewing behemoth of Belgium. He explains the origins of manstic brewing, the good fortune of spiders on Lambic breweries, the reasoning behind using orange peels, coriander seeds and stale hops in the brewing process. Thorough tasting notes are oncluded, providing a reference point for the reader’s own beer hunting. Fully revised with a brand new layout and 300 more photographs than previous editions, this book contains a list of addresses of the most important Belgian brewers, plus all the practical information on brewery visits, overnight accommodation and local restaurants and eateries.

The Wench’s Description
It is no secret that The Wench admires “The Beer Hunter” … aka Michael Jackson. In fact, I am rather obsessed with him. And I strive to be the female version of him. I understand, however, that his knowledge of beer is not something I can acquire overnight. Heck, it will take decades of studying beer, making beer, traveling the world … to gain even a quarter percentage of his knowledge. However, reading his books is a good starting point.

Plus, I love Belgian beers. And this book is the FOREMOST resource on Belgian beers. Hands down.

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The last book that I want to mention (I don’t want to bombard you with my entire collection of food, wine & beer books all at once!!!) … is “Brewing Up A Business”by Dogfish Head Founder, Sam Calgione.

Product Description
Entrepreneurial dreams do come true! Starting with nothing more than a home brewing kit, Sam Calagione founded Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and made it America’s fastest growing independent beer. This unconventional business story reveals how Calagione found success by dreaming big, working hard, and thinking differently-and how you can do it too.

The Wench’s Description
When I first started reading this book, I was in a huge crossroads in my life. I had left a job in the industry that I loved more than anything itself to pursue what I thought was a more prestigious career in business. Don’t get me wrong, it was a GREAT job with an AMAZING company and WONDERFUL people. But my love for all things food & beverage haunted me every day. I knew that I needed to do something different. But I needed the courage to move on.  Reading this book did not help me find my path in life or help me realize who I wanted to be or what I wanted to do and accomplish in my life. BUT it did inspire me to follow my passions. And so … I did.

Not to mention, Sam Caglione is one cool (and very good looking) dude. His approach to entrepreneurship is both refreshing and inspiring. I love his style of writing and the way he speaks to his readers. Regardless of your love for beer, this is a great read!

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This is a just a brief peek into my personal library. I hope that some of your will find these books as important and useful as I have and continue to every day.

For more on Brews and Books, check out Josh’s blog!

Cheers!

This post is dedicated to my Ma, for reasons you shall discover later on…

I am sick and tired of hearing people bitch and complain about calories, carbs and fat.

Okay, I understand that these things exist. However, there are more important things in life to obsess over …

When it comes to health, beer has a bad rap.

“Belly Belly” … “Beer Gut” … Beer makes people fat, right?

NO!

Allow me to present an arguement in regards the caloric content of beer. Please note that there is no “scientific evidence behind my assertions. All of my observations are …  well, just that. Observations. And my conclusions are neither “credible” nor “official.”

However, I am not exactly uneducated … so there may be truth to what I have to say.

If you know nothing about nutrition, know this: not all calories are created equal.

Some calories are readily transferred into energy, while some are stored as fat.

The 100 calories in a glass of coke are NOT digested and processed the same as the 100 calories in a plate of vegetables.

Once upon a time, monks in Belgium started brewing ”bread water” [aka Trappist ales] as a way to sustain themselves throughout fasting. To this day, Trappist beers are produced with only the best and highest quality ingredients. Said monks were able to sustain themselves on this “bread water” for several days at a time. Why? Because the beer that the monks brewed was full of readily digestible matter. AKA … it was actually nutritious.

Truth be told my mother inspired this blog.

She responded to my post: “Please Put Down The Budweiser.” In her comment, my mother said: “ So here’s your newest task, Wench. Find me a less caloric, tasty, crafted beer.”

DEAR MOM: YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER! And I say this with love.

My mother is a brilliant woman: She’s a vegetarian (her choice, NOT mine), a liberal, a feminist, an environmentalist … and the list continues for miles. But the point is: my mother is UBER healthy and ridiculously conscientious.

(No offense, Ma … well then again, you are a New Yorker born and raised … so you, more than anyone, should be able to handle the truth) …

So why the hell is my intelligent mother drinking crap like Michelob Ultra Light? (Aka … this beer sucks, has virtually no nutritional benefits WHATSOEVER and tastes like watered down piss)

Because she is a CHICK. And like most chicks, she fears gaining weight. And most people equate drinking beer with being fat.

NO ONE WANTS THE “BEER BELLY”. Trust me, even those who have it don’t want it.

Try this experiment: Ask people who have these “Beer Bellies” and “Beer Guts” … what beer do you drink the most? And your response will be something like “Bud, Coors, Corona, Miller and so on and so forth.”

Hmmm COINCIDENTALLY, people who brew and drink craft beers are less likely to have these things that people call “beer bellies” or “beer guts.”

Evidence? Well , I drink beer and seem to be relatively healthy and of a “decent” size.

My friend and renowned beer writer, Stephen Beaumont, is virtually stick thin.

Another chick beer blogger, The Beer Babe, is anything but fat and absolutely STUNNING.

1WineDude drinks almost as much beer as he does wine … and he is as fit as a fiddle (and cute as a button).

And then, of course, there is the founder of Dogfish Head Brewery. Sam Caglione is definitely a hottie (… ummm I mean an extremely attractive gentleman whom I respect emmensely).

Bottom line: the higher quality shit you put in your body (whether it be food or booze) … the more likely your body will transfer the calories to energy as opposed to FAT. Stephen Beaumont wrote an excellent article entitled “Beer Makes You Fat, or NOT” that, very eloquently, argues this very same issue. “I’ve said it before and no doubt I’ll say it again: Beer is as dignified and sophisticated a beverage as any other, and in and of itself, does not make you fat or lazy or stupid or boorish. And stereotypes suck.” - Stephen Beaumont’s A World Of Beer

When it comes to the caloric content of brews, one must ALWAYS consider ABV – aka Alcohol By Volume.  Most people need to drink 2 or 3 “so called lite beers”to reach the same ABV of the “heavier beers.”

Need further proof? Let’s play the math game.

Coors Light= 104 cal/ 4.15% abv

Bud Light= 110 cal/4.2% abv

Miller Lite= 96 cal/ 4.2% abv

IN CONTRAST …

New Belgium Trippel Ale= 215 cal/ 7.8% abv

Dogfish Head Midas Touch= 309/ 9% abv

Dogfish Head 120 Min IPA= 450/ 18% abv

And with the few examples we have, let us play math …

In theory, one bottle of Dogfish Head 120 min IPA is equivalent to FOUR and a half bottles of any of the corporate light beers on the market.

One more time, I will CLARIFY this to all you calorie obsessed kids.

ONE WHOLE bottle of Dogfish Head 120 IPA … also known as one of the best damn beers on the planet … is equivalent, both in caloric and alcohol content, to FOURwhole bottles of ANY FREAKING Joe Schmoe lite beers on the market.

It is like telling you that you can have one scoop of the most decadent ice cream made from the most amazing ingredients in the entire world … or 4 scoops of sugar-free, fat-free … wanna-be ice cream made of chemical ingredients.

Hello, what is the point of ice cream without cream?

FLAVOR … is the most important factor to all things consumable, including beer.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBJECT YOUR PALATE TO BEER THAT TASTES LIKE … hmmm bad stuff.

Instead, drink craft beer … and know that your calories are being converted into something other than FAT.

Yes, I have opinions. I am The Wench. Cheers.