Entries tagged with “Beer” from Malt & Barley Chronicles

The Oatmeal demonstrates how printed infotainment should be done... this time with a handy guide to beer.

(Proper reviews will resume soon, including my Oct. 2009 tasting sessions in Portland, OR and the winter 2010 business trip to Berlin.)

Courtesy of Strange Maps, here's a peek at which beverages are most prominent across Europe. 

The closest equivalent I know in the US is the classic "what word do you use to describe a carbonated, sugary beverage" map.

The Scots have done it again.  I've already talked about how much I love scotch ale, particularly McEwan's.  I have not reviewed the Kelpie seaweed ale because I had it only once... but it was fantastic.  And now there's the happy accident of a beer aged in bourbon oak casks... amen.

Characteristics: Clear orange-gold color, medium carbonation, light-to-medium body, and a slightly nutty clean taste (reminiscent of Bass Ale) punctuated by the bubbles and then mellowing out through vanilla flavors to a bourbon-tinged finish.

Minor Gripes: The aftertaste can run a bit sweet -- when I burped, it smelled like a Beam & Coke. And it's deceptively strong, at 6.6% ABV (compared with the standard 5% ABV).

Bottom Line: This is best seen as a sipping beer, and a fantastic brew for a lazy evening near a fireplace. I'm not a big fan of bourbon, but I can certainly endorse this use of bourbon casks.

Rating: 8 / 10

Proving I'm not always behind the times:

• Behold the iBeer, a paid version of the Carling-branded iPint (a free promotional download from the iTunes store, which makes for painful link experiences) (HT: BoingBoing Gadgets).

And reverting to my usual lack of timeliness:

• Happy belated birthday to the Reinheitsgebot. May you remind us of the principles of quality brewing for another 400+ years.
• Two items combining two of my recurring interests, trademarks and beer:
  • The backstory on Collaboration Not Litigation Ale.
  • reflections on the Ballantine's logo (read through the comments!).
• Two suggestion tools, courtesy of LifeHacker:
  • Beer Suggest for days when you aren't reading the M&B Chronicles.
  • Beer Menus, to find a favorite brew in NYC.
• Glassware follies:
  • HIK! Glasses made from recycled beer bottles (HT: Treehugger).
  • certified imperial pint glasses (HT: BoingBoing Gadgets).
• Entertaining entries on beverages from sites not necessarily known for that angle:
  • Salon.com founder Scott Rosenberg
  • English digital radio maven James Cridland
• And wandering into the world of malted barley without hops, a not-so-existential discussion on whether Scotch is still Scotch when bottled outside Scotland (HT: IPKat).

Finally, from the enviro-front, a/k/a Treehugger:

• As previously noted here, the prices of raw materials are apparently climbing due to global warming, causing upheavals among many brewers...
• and to ease your enviro-guilt, try a 100% Carbon-Offset beer (at least until it's shipped to your continent of choice from Australia...).

An occasional feature a/k/a "emptying my 6-month-old clippings pile of beer-related ephemera and gadgetry"...

Robots and Gadgets:

• Opening and Pouring Beer
• Futurama's Bender Brewer
• R2-Beer2
  
• The Gamerator (1, 2), an arcade game cabinet plus kegerator
  
• A counter-top kegerator (of limited utility unless you really, really like Heineken)
  
• A far-more-useful Mac G3 Tower
• Make your own LED, pressure-sensitive coasters (1, 2)
  

The Ecology and Science of Beer:

• Pumpkin brewing (as opposed to pumpkin brews)
• A beer-powered battery(?)
• The physics of beer bubbles
• Recycling beer waste for cattle feed
• Question the environmental impact of your beer
• Consider breweries that are already green (1, 2)
• Learn about new supersonic brewing methods
  

Media:

• Songs and Videos curated by WFMU's Scott Williams, proprietor of the now-concluded 2:40 Podcast (1, 2)
• The ever-popular holiday editions of Barstool Mountain and Big Rock Candy Mountain, currently preparing for the birthday of patron saint Shane MacGowan
• Musings on a Zappa-inspired beer
• Maria Callas-inspired opera gowns, woven from beer and soda cans
• And sadly, the UK legal system is open to banning international satellite feeds in pubs (The case isn't over yet, so I may come back to this one over at Deadly Tango in the new year...)
  

Concerns and Predictions for 2008:

• There's a hop shortage!
• There's a barley shortage!
• High prices may not decrease demand!
• Science is spending time on virtual beer instead of improving what's already on our shelves!
• Brewers are too generous in their reward offers for lost laptops (1, 2, 3), leading to a rash of thefts!

And with that, happy new year to all... and look forward to some travel reports (and related beverage reviews) in January.

A collection of items tangentially related to the Chronicles that I've been gathering for some time ...

• Courtesy of the BBC: Irish pubs are dying out in the homeland.  And the reasons cited for the decline?  The nationwide workplace smoking ban and stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws.  Talk about unintended consequences...


• Courtesy of BoingBoing: History Magazine's article on mealtimes throughout the ages. Note the quality "nuntion" or "nuncheon" offered to peasants in Shakespeare's time...


• Various sources report on the fallout from the unfortunate death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock.  The Milwaukee Brewers decided to uphold the principle of personal responsibility by continuing to permit alcohol in the clubhouse -- not necessarily surprising, but still notable when the Cardinals, owned by the Busch family, took the opposite action.


• Next time I'm back in Milwaukee, I need to stop by the Comet Cafe for a Wisconsin Cow Bomb (scroll down almost to the bottom).  Guinness, Jameson's, chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream.  Sounds like a fantastic dessert to me, but then again I prefer to chase my Jameson's shots with Guinness anyway.


• Eric Asimov of The New York Times continues his occasional substitution of beer for wine in  the weekly "[Beverages] Of The Times" feature... recently hitting brown ales and bocks.  I still think the reviews run a bit to the snooty side, but at least he's making an effort to level the playing field.


• Staying with the NYT, the Travel desk offers a lovely vacation idea of touring Germany looking for the unique regional beers.  I take exception to only one remark, that of never finding rauchbiers again outside of Bamberg.  I've sampled the Schlenkerla Rauchbier a few times from my local specialty store (in a half-liter bottle) and enjoyed it greatly, even agreeing in large part with the reviewer's take.


• From Gizmodo, a heads-up that the annual Crumpler "Beers for Bags" event is coming soon to New York and Toronto. If you're in the market for some kind of messenger bag, this might be a fun way to pick one up.
  


• Finally, courtesy of Gridskipper: As if we need another reason to love Seattle, one of its state legislators has proposed allowing dogs in the bars. I'm all in favor of this change, having spent a fair amount of time on outdoor terraces and even low-key dog-friendly bars in Milwaukee.