Beer School

Prior to technological advancements in the mid-nineteenth century, all beer was to some degree, sour. Poor sanitation and naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria were to blame for infecting beer, giving it an undesirable sour quality. The advent of pasteurization and refrigeration really changed the beer game, allowing for clean, crisp beers to take the main stage. Although it’s a time-honoured tradition in Belgium, the demand for sour beer is a relatively new concept in North America. In craft brewing today, sours are generally made through a process called mixed-fermentation. As opposed to single-culture fermentation, where a single strain of yeast …

In the mid 2000s, brewers became obsessed with making the most bitter and palate crushing IPAs possible. This style of American IPA, or West Coast IPA, is a hoppy beer that primarily showcases hop flavours and bitterness. The East Coast IPA was created in part to offer a softly bitter, more palatable alternative to its West Coast contemporary. Born in Vermont, the New England IPA began as a series of ongoing experiments between John Kimmich and Greg Noonan in the mid 90s. In 2003, Kimmich opened the Alchemist Pub and created Heady Topper, considered by most to be the original …

In North America, craft beer is ubiquitous and local distillers are also carving out their niche in the craft spirits world. As consumers, we want to support local craft products, but why? What does it mean to be a craft brewery or craft distillery? Microbrewers make beer in single batches to ensure that each recipe is achieving the most desirable characteristics of that one beer. By contrast, macrobrewers almost always make a high gravity beer where alcohol content is elevated (closer to that of wine) and then is cut with water until desired alcohol level is reached. A high alcohol …

Trappist and Abbey Ales are an elusive group when it comes to classification, as neither term denotes a single style. In general, categorization is based on amount of malt and relative strength – Single, Dubbel, Tripel and Quadruple where the Single is has the lowest ABV (below 6%) and the Quadruple has the highest (8-12%). Trappist v Abbey Ales The real distinction between Trappist and Abbey ales came about in 1962, as a result of a ruling where Biere Trappiste or Trappistenbier became a legal appellation. In accordance with the rules, a Trappist beer must be brewed by monks, or …

So, I’m chatting to the brewer at The Old Harbour brew pub (sadly, now closed) in San Juan PR. You could easily tell he was the brewer; he was the only one wearing Wellington boots, along with shorts and jazzy shirt. “Ah, Señor, I see you ‘ave our Cervezia Kofresi. Waddayou think of our stout?” he asks, with a proud, expectant smile. I sip again, then hesitate before I answer. His smile drops a little. “Wandering towards a porter, I’d say?” His head starts to lower a little, “Si”, he says looking slightly embarrassed. “- but it is hard to …

It’s finally December and ‘tis the season for roasty, malty, creamy, dark, delicious porters and stouts. But what’s the difference between a porter and stout? The history of the porter goes back about three hundred years, where it was brewed as a full-bodied beer made using moderately kilned brown malt. Stronger versions of porters were referred to as “stout porter” or a “stout” for short. Initially, the word stout was used to describe any strong beer regardless of style, but as the popularity of the stout porter outstripped that of a regular porter, the word stout became synonymous with strong …

A relative newcomer to the beer scene, the Brut IPA is one of the biggest beer trends of 2018. But, what does it mean to be a Brut? Borrowing its name from the wine world, the term “brut” describes a style of beer that is both extremely dry and highly carbonated. Unofficial style guidelines suggest that it should also be pale in colour and present clear hop aromas. So, what’s the Brut secret? According to San Francisco’s Kim Sturdavant, it’s all in the enzyme. This special enzyme, called amyloglucosidase, works to break down otherwise unfermentable starches into fermentable sugars. In …