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Beer School

Beer School, June 2021 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 31

What is a Roggenbier? Roggenbier, directly translated from German to mean ‘rye beer’ is an ale made with large portions of malted rye rather than barley or wheat. In modern versions, rye often represents the majority of the beer’s grain bill, but it may make up as little as one quarter to one third of the total grain. Rye is known for being the most assertive of all the cereal grains and infuses beer with a spicy, peppery flavor, reminiscent of rye or pumpernickel bread. During the brewing process, rye absorbs more water than other grains and higher proportions of …
Beer, Beer School, May 2021 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 30

What is Escarpment Labs? Escarpment Laboratories is an Ontario-based yeast lab that offers a wide range of liquid yeasts for craft brewers and homebrewers. Lab co-founders Richard Preiss, Angus Ross and Nate Ferguson initially met while working in a wine yeast lab at the University of Guelph. They soon realized there was a void for domestically produced liquid yeasts and in 2014 they opened Escarpment Labs – the first yeast lab of its kind in Canada.  Yeast has a huge impact on the overall flavour of beer, so high-grade healthy yeast is incredibly important to creating a tasty brew. Escarpment …
April 2021 E-News, Beer School

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 29

What are hard seltzers?  A hard seltzer is a light refreshing drink that combines alcohol, sparkling water and flavouring. The term hard seltzer encompasses alcoholic beverages made with a clear malt base, as well as those with a brewed sugar base where all fermentable sugars are from a non-malt base. Hard sparkling water that uses a separately distilled spirit as its base may also be marketed as a hard seltzer. For the purposes of this mini article, I’m focusing on craft hard seltzers made from a brewed sugar base.  White Claw  It’s almost impossible to deny the massive impact the macro …
Beer, Beer School, March 2021 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 28

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 …
Beer, Beer School, February 2021 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 27

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 …
Beer School, January 2021 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 26

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 …
Beer, Beer School, December 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 25

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 …
Beer School, November 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 24

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 …

Beer School, October 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 23

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 …

Beer School, September 2020 E-News

Leah’s Beer School: Lesson 22

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, …