An effect of the craft beer revolution has been the revitalization and popularization of ancient, little known styles. Recently gose, a salty, sour German wheat beer, has become a big hit with brewers and drinkers all over America. The story of gose (pronounced go-zuh) starts in the town of Goslar, in the province of Saxony. […]
Brewing in monasteries is a practice that dates back to the Middle Ages. As noted before, some monks brewed to produce a beverage to sustain themselves while abstaining from solid food during fasting. Some brewed to produce a safe beverage, as unsanitary water was common in those times. Another reason comes from a rule laid […]
As I talked about last week, I poured at a local beer festival this past Sunday. It was a fantastic experience, with live music, lots of beer, and plenty of great conversations about the beer! Japan has a lot of beer festivals, but any one city may only have one or two a year. (Tokyo […]
Taking its name from the enigmatic spiritual advisor and supposed faith healer for the House of Romanov, Old Rasputin from the North Coast Brewing Company is the feature of this week’s review. Old Rasputin is a Russian Imperial Stout, a big, black, and bold style originally from England. North Coast started in 1988 as a […]
In Japan a trip to a beer festival can be a great way to both get your hands on hard to find beers and enjoy a day out with friends. Here in the States its easier to find good beer, but there is still plenty of appeal in having a large array of different brewers […]
Our beer this week comes from a brewery that has played an important role in popularizing craft beer in the U.S. Like many other craft breweries, the Lagunitas Brewing Company has its origins in homebrewing. From a humble kitchen setup in Lagunitas, CA in 1993, founder Tony Magee worked his way up to a 15-barrel […]
Last month I started work as a “Beer Smith” aka bartender at Fiction Beer Company, one of the many local nano-breweries. It’s been great being involved in the actual industry, and is a nice chance to learn and chat about the processes of brewing and serving craft beer. As befits the name everything in Fiction […]
The region of Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, Germany has the highest number of breweries per capita in the world with some 200 independent breweries located within its borders. Nine of those breweries can be found in the town of Bamberg in the southwest, including Schlenkerla and today’s featured brewery, Kaiserdom Privatbrauerei. The history of […]
I have never hid my love of hops. The complex aromas and flavors that waft off of a good hoppy beer are unparalleled. However, there are three primary ingredients to beer, and I am starting to give barley malt a bit more credit. Without doubt malt is the backbone of beer. One of the first […]
