Thoughts on Beer

Over the weekend, our close friends, for our wedding, chipped in to get my fiance and I a really nice gas grill.

Where am I going with this?  Well, the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board recently posted some summer grilling recipes that I plan on taking advantage of with the new grilling setup.

I am especially looking forward to the BBQ Sauce using Millstream Brewing’s Windmill Wheat Beer.  Do you have any good beer and grilling recipes?  I’d love to hear about them!

Reinheitsgebot, pronounced ryn-hyts-ga-boat, is Germany’s world famous “purity law”.  This came about in the 1400’s, in Bavaria, and after it was put into law in 1516 was originally used to reduce the usage of chemicals or additives to beer and to reduce competition with bakers for wheat and rye.

According to the law, it was illegal to use anything in beer except water, barley, and hops (yeast was added to the list after Louis Pasteur determined that yeast was responsible for fermentation).  Because of this law, many popular beer styles arose, including doppelbocks.

According to the law, the bearer of questionable beer would have the kegs confiscated without compensation.

Some of the adjuncts that would be illegal according to the purity law would be sugar, rice, corn, fruit, and even wheat, although the law was expanded in 1993 to allow wheat and sugar additives.

What do you think?  Should reinheitsgebot be followed, or do you like your wheat and/or fruit beers?

So, I had a chance to sample the Caramel Apple Tart beer this evening, in preparation for this weekend’s get-together.

It was really good.  I increased up the carbonation a bit to make it light and refreshing, and the hint of caramel balances the sour apple flavor and aroma.  It doesn’t have as much body as I would have liked, but it’s going to be great on the warm day.

I had my tasting panel tell me that it was top 5 beers I’ve made.  So, for my experimental beers, that makes 2 of 2 that turned out great.

The answer to that was explained by Devil Canyon Brewing Company, and it may surprise you!

Cinco de Mayo has grown into a fairly large celebration in the US, thanks to several major beer producers.  However, it’s not Mexico’s independence day.  Instead, it was the victory of the weak Mexican Army against the stronger French Armies, and the holiday is quite minor in Mexico, except in the city of Puebla, where the battle took place.

In America, we will celebrate tonight as the people of Puebla do, with Spanish music, and authentic food and drink.  Right now, there is no shortage of imported Mexican beer to choose from.  Most people know about the Mexican Lager or Island Lager, such as Corona, but what you may not know is that Mexico revived a beer style that at one point was almost gone: the Vienna Lager.

The Vienna Lager was developed by Anton Dresher in Vienna in 1841, but the style never caught on in Europe.  Instead, it was revived in the late 1800’s by several Austrian brewers who emigrated Mexico, and has been popular since.

Great examples of the style include Negra Modelo and Dos Equis Ambar, and it is classified by being caramel-colored, being a bit sweeter malt flavored, and being light in body and smooth.

Enjoy Cinco de Mayo, and let me know how your night goes!