Tiny Bubbles

In April of 2002, my fiance and I were married. Like a lot of weddings, we were on a budget. Finding florists, decorations, DJ's, etc. on a shoe string was taking some imagination. What made it really imaginative was the fact that I would be taking all of the photography. I was a part-time professional photographer at one time, trained in-part by George Delgado. $orry George, we could not afford you. But even more imaginative was the making of our own wedding brews (3 to be exact).

My selection of brews were:

1. A Golden Lager
2. A Hefeweizen
3. A Porter

In November of 2001, I had to start the porter. My porter recipe calls for 6 months cask conditioning only and no forced carbonation. I like small bubbles. I do not like large Coke-like bubbles in beer, so I rarely force carbonate. The Hefeweizen was begun in February of 02 (cask conditioned) and the Lager in March of the same year. Spreading it out over time helped me focus on other things too like the photography, my real estate and oh yea my bride to be.

Our good friend Irma was there to take these images while I was behind the camera.

People loved the wedding, the food, the music, but I must say that the beer made it more fun.

After it was all over, we honeymooned in Queensland AU.

We had the time of our lives there.

"The government will fall that raises the price of beer."--Czech Proverb

Hops (Humulus lupulus L.)

I have an uncle who lives in Germany who, like most Germans, believe that they have a handle on Beer. That's all a matter of taste, I think. Let me know if you agree.

My uncle had come to visit several times from Germany over the years, and I was always anxious to go to Stoddard's, or the LGBC (Los Gatos Brewing Company) with him to show off a few American wares of beer. Well, we did frequent these places, and I have to tell you that Claus was not very impressed with the taste of the Ales. "Too much hops," he said. Now, saying that to a guy who has been to and enjoyed the Hop Fest in Pleasanton CA where 20 IBU's--a high hop content in beer, is a commonplace, I was inclined to disagree.

As an American, I am somewhat biased and believe that we Americans like to think of ourselves as improvers or inventors of ideas. After all, the airplane, phone, Internet, to name a few were invented in the good old USA. I was a bit taken a back at the "too much hops" comment even though we did not invent the IPA as you will see.

But then I realized that he had his perspective too. In Germany, they use a semi-modified grain a lot when they brew most of their beers. What I mean is, the barley is only allowed to germinate just a bit before drying it up and making it ready to brew, and most of the seed is still a seed. They take great care in carefully converting that very starchy grain into a sugar. Being a bit proud of this accomplishment, I believe that they then want to keep it as--pardon the expression "virgin" as possible, and only adding to the finished beer a few hops so as not to deter the flavor of this care-taking conversion of malt. A lot of their beers end up being quite good.

So, where did all the hops come from? The stereotypical hoppy beer is the IPA (India Pale Ale). Well, India around the early 1770's, became a semiofficial agency of the British government. And the British soldiers were allowed to consume a decent amount of ale per day. So, how did Britain bring the ale's over to India? They had to stow it in their ships. The problem was not carrying it into cooler regions of India, but the hot, tropical ones. In short, the heat created a problem with the beer and a concentrated form of beer needed to be created in an attempt to keep it stable; then added together with water again. After several techniques were attempted over the years, it was discovered that high alcohol and high hops were key in preserving the golden ware across the sea. There is a great deal of history involved, but again, the short of it was introducing hops and a boost in the alcohol (concentrated wort) that made it all possible.

The IPA proved itself as a viable market to both the troops and nationals alike. In Germany, it is felt that adding too many hops allows for error compensation--covering up the true nature of the beer, according to Claus. So, although Claus may not like the hops in many of our brews, we do.

"He was a wise man who invented beer"--Plato

Don't Be Too Hasty

As a brewer of all grain beer recipes and a lover of beer, I tend to get into many discussions about beer and as a result, I hear a lot about how Coors and Bud are not really beer, but water--especially from my relatives in Germany when they express their scrutinizing whiffs of a Coors so everyone can see.

I say, "don't be too hasty" for several reasons. First of all, most of the time my specialty beers that I myself brew finish differently from the last batch in a way, some subtle, and some not so subtle. Scratching my head a bit then resting my hands on my hips, I ponder. I used the same grains, hops and yeast, but still they differ somewhat. All good mind you, but different none the less. Is there a quality found in consistency? There is. I mostly brew in 5 gallon batches like a lot of home brewers, and a lot can happen between 5 gallon batches. If you brew in metric tons, like Budweiser (US), you can rely that your truckloads of beer will be consistent with the last truckload every single time. They are extremely consistent. That's a quality too. It has to be. When someone opens a Coors, it better taste like a Coors. So, praise them for their consistency. Second, Bud and Coors are less expensive. $8.99 for a six pack of Bass! Ouch.

Another thing to consider right off the top. Yes, Fat Tire tastes much heartier than Bud Ice, but remember that the style or categories of beers range greatly like wines do. Buds and Coors fall into the Lager/Pilsner type, lighter beers that require a softer water to begin with. Porters and Doppelbock like to be made with a harder water with more dissolved solids in the solution and so on. Furthermore, some German/Austrian brews are not that great in comparison. Traveling to both Germany and Austria, I tried many a beer, and some stood room for improvement in my opinion. Augustiner Bräu, on Lindhofstrasse 7, the oldest working brewery in Austria, wow, could have had a better Pilsen. Just say'n!

Do not misunderstand either, some beers really are awful, but let's not be too hasty when it comes to the big guys. So the next time you're offered a Coors or a Bud do not sniff contemptuously, but rather tip your glass and salute the chemists in the back of the lab who ensured it be the same year after year.

In my next blog, I will write about why German beers are not very hoppy. Is there a reason?

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."--Frank Zappa

Thanks Ben

I must tip my glass to the writings of Brewmaster, Garret Oliver when he wrote in his article featured in AllAboutBeer.com, Matching Beer And Food. I was about to embark on a similar article of my own, but after reading Oliver's... Why reinvent the wheel.

Although the article is a bit in depth, Oliver's suggestions are many and some I have not even thought about. For example, a porter and venison, Kriek with duck, mmm...

Well, whatever pairing you come up with, I would like to know. After all, I believe it is safe to say that pairing beer with food is one of our inalienable rights to bear (of all things), beer.

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."--Benjamin Franklin.

Thanks Ben.