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Beer School

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 28
Beer, Beer School, March 2021 E-News

What is a Gose?  A gose, pronounced go-suh, is a top-fermented German wheat beer soured through lactic fermentation and flavoured with coriander and salt.  The sourness and salinity should be noticeable but not overwhelming, as a gose should have a lively thirst-quenching acidity. Hops work in the background to provide a hint of bitterness without contributing to the overall flavour.   According to beer blogger Lars Marius Garshol, gose was first documented in 1470 but he believes the style is likely much older. Some beer experts speculate that this beer style has actually existed for over 1000 years. Goslar Gose  The origin …

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Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 27
Beer, Beer School, February 2021 E-News

What is a foeder? Foeder (pronounced “FOOD-er”) is the Dutch word for a large vertical or horizontal oak vessel in which beer is fermented. The distinction between a barrel and foeder is somewhat discretionary, but as a general rule foeder capacity starts at 600 litres or roughly three times the size of a regular wooden barrel, where larger tanks can hold thousands of litres of liquid. The world’s largest foeder in Byrrh, France, although no longer operational, once held a maximum capacity of one million litres. Barrels versus Foeder  Foeders were originally used to store wine, but have more recently …

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Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 26
Beer School, January 2021 E-News

What is Reinheitsgebot? Reinheitsgebot (pronounced Rhine-heights-ga-boat) meaning “purity order” refers to a series of regulations limiting the ingredients in German beer to water, barley and hops. Although previous purity laws exist, the 1516 Bavarian law is recognized for laying the foundation for future regulations.  By 1906, Bavarian purity laws were applied across Germany, though it was not referred to as Reinheitsgebot until the formation of the Weimer Republic in 1918. Bavarian Purity Laws  Duke Wilhelm IV enacted the 1516 Bavarian purity laws primarily as a form of consumer protection to prevent price gouging from innkeepers, and to ensure the availability …

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Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 25
Beer, Beer School, December 2020 E-News

A Brief History of Bock Beer The history of bock bier began in the 14th century, named Einbeck after the town in Lower Saxony, Germany, where the style was born. Initially brewed as an ale, it was later brewed as a lager following the discovery of lager yeast. Around the turn of the 17th century, Bavarian brewers gained interest in the Einbeck, but with their accents pronounced it as “ein bock” or billy goat. Now known simply as “bock,” beer labels to this day will often feature satirical images of billy goats. Bock Bock, meaning strong, refers to a group …

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Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 24
Beer School, November 2020 E-News

What is Kveik? You may have come across kveik while perusing your beer options and wondered what’s behind this trendy new beer style. It turns out that kveik (pronounced “kah-wike”), is not a new beer style at all, but refers to a unique family of ancient yeast strains originally used in Norwegian farmhouse ales. Kveik, a western Norwegian slang word for yeast, designates a collective of high-heat-tolerant yeast strains capable of producing clean beers at unusually high fermentation temperatures without hot alcohol flavours, medicinal or funky aromas that other ale yeasts would produce in the same high temperature range. From …

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Beer School, October 2020 E-News

A Brief History of Cream Ale  Cream ales first originated in United States in the mid-nineteenth century. In response to the large influx of German immigrants and resulting popularity of German lagers, American brewers developed the cream ale as a counterpoint to celebrated German beer. Due to local preference and cooler climates, Northeastern brewers were predominantly ale brewers. Prior to prohibition, many American brewers began producing a light bodied ale to rival increasingly popular German lagers. This brew was known as a “present use” ale, as it had a short shelf life and was meant to drink fresh. The fermentation …

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Beer School, September 2020 E-News

Old Fashioned Cocktail: A Brief History  There are many competing narratives surrounding the history of the Old Fashioned – many have been credited with its invention and many more have debated what constitutes a “real” Old Fashioned. So, here’s a brief, anecdotal and at least partially accurate account of this classic cocktail.  In 1806, the first published version of a cocktail resembling an Old Fashioned appeared as an editorial response in New York publication, The Balance and Columbian Repository. The paper’s editor described a cocktail called a Bittered Sling that was a “potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar.” Similarly, …

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August 2020 E-News, Beer School

Beer & Wine Hybrids Beer & wine hybrids have a long history in the craft beer world, dating back to at least the 1970s when Cantillon made Vigneronne, a blend of Lambic beer aged on Muscat grapes. Over the past several years, an increasing number of breweries have been experimenting with hybrids by blending wine with beer, co-fermenting wine and beer together and aging beer on wine grapes. Not only are there different ways to incorporate wine with beer, brewers may use whole grapes, grape must (freshly squeezed grape juice with skins, seeds and stems), grape juice, or pomace (solid …

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Beer School, July 2020 E-News

Pasteurization & Beer  For over 150 years, pasteurization has been instrumental in extending the storage life of food and drinks. French microbiologist Louis Pasteur developed the process in the 1860s, initially revealing that pasteurization could combat unwanted acidity in wine by inhibiting the growth of unwanted spoilage organisms. Similarly, he found that pasteurization could extend the shelf life of beer by applying heat for a short time.  Types of Pasteurization  When it comes to beer, there are two main methods of pasteurization. Bottled and canned beer can be pasteurized by passing through a long, narrow chamber or tunnel where they’re …

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Beer School, June 2020 E-News

What is a coolship? The term coolship, from the Flemish koelschip, is a large shallow vessel made of stainless steel or copper, used to cool wort. Coolships are often housed in large rooms, where they lie open to the elements allowing for airborne yeast to flow in and inoculate the beer. This type of fermentation is referred to as “spontaneous fermentation” because the microbes come at random, rather than using a controlled addition of cultured yeast strains. Predominantly used to create sour beers, a renewed interest in coolships for brewing has been inspired by Brasserie Cantillon, a world-renowned lambic producer …

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