Ferment // Issue 19

24
EXPERIMENTS IN THE GLOBAL CRAFT ALCOHOL MOVEMENT ISSUE #19

description

Ferment

Transcript of Ferment // Issue 19

Page 1: Ferment // Issue 19

E X P E R I M E N T S I N T H E G L O B A L C R A F T A L C O H O L M O V E M E N TI S S U E # 1 9

Page 2: Ferment // Issue 19

2 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

Page 3: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 3

WELCOME

The rise of the UK and US as two amazing craft beer nations by Erin Bottomley.

A guide to Christmas Day drinking by Mark Dredge.

A.K.A. David Bishop.

With braised red cabbage and buttered caraway carrots by The Hungry Bears’ Blog.

Getting to grips with the GABF by Matthew Curtis.

The range of beers featured in this month’s Beer52 box.

By Melissa Cole.

Canned beer in the UK turns 80 this month by Jordan Harris.

A World of Whisky by Erin Bottomley.

By Nick Moyle.

The ABCs of beer’s ingredients: We call them Aceeeeeds by Melissa Cole.

For al l advertising and contribution enquiries, please contact Erin Bottomley [email protected] or cal l us on 0131 554 5527.Get in touch on Twitter @Beer52HQYou can write to us here at Ferment, 16/4 Timber Bush, Edinburgh, EH6 6QH, UK.

Rise of The Beer Nations

EDITOR’S NOTE

CONTRIBUTORS CONTENTS

Beers for Christmas

Mike Hughes is an illustrator based in Aberdeen, originally from Inverness. His work takes influence from skate culture and his own love of illustration. His work often has a natural chaos, blending drawing and colour to give a fresh contemporary look. When he’s not working he is spending time with his girlfriend, out on his bike or, of course, at the bar. You can see more of his work at www.m-hughes.com.

Mark Dredge is the award-winning writer of the books Craft Beer World and Beer & Food, with his third book, The Best Beer in the World, published in October 2015. Each month Mark looks in detail at a different style of beer. You can follow his boozing on Twitter and Instagram: @markdredge.

Melissa Cole Certified Cicerone® and beer & food writer Melissa Cole is one of the UK’s leading beer experts. Author of Let Me Tell You About Beer, international beer judge, collaboration brewer, sommALEier and regular festival presenter, she can be found propping up bars all over the world but she sometimes manages to be home in London.

Matthew Curtis London-based beer writer, speaker and photographer. Founder and editor of beer blog Total Ales and UK contributor for online US beer publication Good Beer Hunting. Twitter: @totalcurtis

Jordan Harris is a recently qualified freelance journalist and beer writer residing across the Severn where he is drinking his way through the great ales of Wales, is the author of The Grill & Barrel blog, dabbles in street food with his hot dog pop-up shop, Drunken Sailor, and works in the dark art of PR. Follow him on Twitter: @jordsharris

David Bishop doodles about beer in all its twatty glory, and is not an award winning artist. He lives in a small industrial town in the North of England where the use of coloured ink (and laughter) is forbidden. His dream is to have a doodle commissioned for use on novelty toilet paper. When he isn’t drinking beer, he’s poking fun at it. Twitter: @twattybeer

Hungry Bears’ Blog is run by Rich and Sal from their little flat in Welwyn. It’s a collection of recipes brought together to inspire other people with little kitchens (and little time!) to tuck into good, homemade food. Check them out: www.thehungrybearsblog.com

Two Thirsty Gardeners Nick Moyle and Richard Hood digging and swigging their way through the seasons: www.twothirstygardeners.co.uk @ThirstyGardener

Alex Haylock Beard. Pedant. Proofreader.

We have an extra special box of beer and magazine this month with treats for the incredible American breweries Oskar Blues, Ska, and Odell. Call it an early Christmas gift from us!

We would like to wish all our customers and our readers a very Merry Christmas filled with tasty beers, great food, friends and family!

If you would like to get your snap on the next cover of Ferment then send your Beer52 pics to me ([email protected]) as next month will be celebrating the best beers and Beer52 boxes from 2015 and we need your images!

Cheers,

Erin Bottomley

Twatty Beer Doodles

Festive Beer Glazed Gammon

The Great American Beer Festival

Think Global, Drink Local

Contact

What we’re drinking

Canned Beer Arrives

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Winter Beer Cocktails

Breaking Down Beer

04

06

10

20

08

11

12

14

16

18

23

Page 4: Ferment // Issue 19

4 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

Page 5: Ferment // Issue 19

RISE OF THE BEER NATIONS

T he end of prohibition in the US in 1933 was the first step towards the brewing industry as we know

it today. Brewing in the US benefitted hugely from the deregulation of the beer industry by Jimmy Carter in 1979 and made the craft beer movement possible.

The number of craft breweries has grown exponentially ever since, with the last count being 3,739 at the end of June 2015, according to the Brewers Association. This is a huge increase when you think that by the end of regulation in 1979 there were roughly 90 breweries.

Some of the most inspiring and established craft breweries come from the States, with the likes of Sierra Nevada celebrating 35 years in business this year. Their beers have been an inspiration to so many others including breweries in the UK.

One brewery which has always been keen on pushing boundaries and have been trailblazers in their field is Oskar Blues.

They have pushed their way into being one of the most celebrated breweries in the US through innovation, using it as a driving force for kicking off what they call the ‘canned beer apocalypse’ in 2002.

They focus on creative style offerings and quality as well as educating beer drinkers of the advantages of cans, while pushing the boundaries of what is expected from craft beer in a can. And hasn’t it caught on with so many breweries in the US and the UK jumping on the ‘can’ wagon!

How they keep innovating in an increasingly competitive market is incredible or as Chad Melis, marketing director, put it; ‘We don’t really sit around and create long term plans. We continue to push and pull, be nimble, ask stupid questions, do dumb shit, have fun and a general disdain

for coasting. Innovation is what gets us out of bed and to the brewery everyday so I guess we’ll just keep doing what we have been doing as long as it remains fun’. Oskar Blues have been instrumental in the rise of the US

as one of the best craft beer nations there is. But one thing they have learned is to appreciate the people drinking their beers and know that it is them who are really dictating the growth in the market; ‘They are a well-educated group that want options and aren’t settling for low quality beer or slick marketing campaigns, they want an authentic beer experience!’.

With recent developments, it would seem that the craft beer market in the States is just getting bought out by larger breweries and companies left, right and centre, with Firestone and Walker combining with Duvel Moortgat, Lagunitas selling a 50% share to Heineken and most recently Ballast Point selling to Constellation Brands Inc, to name but a few.

With the even bigger merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev buying SABMiller for over $100 billion, which will now control over a third of the world’s beer production, it would be fair to think that craft beer is heading in one direction only. But of course this is not the case; there are so many great new and small breweries emerging all the time.

One thing Oskar Blues never want to do is lose the grassroots, hands on feeling of running a craft brewery and, much like in the UK, communities are rallying around their local breweries. One way they have managed to keep that feeling of ‘localness’ is by opening

up smaller breweries in a number of locations to serve the local communities. Although they do look towards more exporting they want to ensure their beer is drunk in the best possible

condition which is why with Beer52 they have

worked directly with us so that the beer is shipped to us and goes straight into our boxes and won’t sit around in warehouses or on shelves losing its freshness.

When asked how we can get more of their beer into this country Chad replied ‘Hell, maybe we’ll find

a community there that we can turn into one of our locals. You have any good mountain bike trails?’ Clearly they need to come to visit Scotland!

Britain is not without trailblazers of its own, who have seen it rise into the wonderfully diverse beer nation that it is today. Our rich history of real ale and influences from Europe and the States have helped to build our very own craft beer industry that would

rival most others.

And it is a long standing historical tradition. Take Robinsons, a family

owned independent brewery operating since 1838 who are still making great beer today.

Of course there has been a huge spike in the number of breweries in the UK recently as well, due partly to the Progressive Beer Duty. This allows for smaller breweries to pay less tax on their products. In the UK if you produced no more than 60,000 hectolitres of beers in the previous year then you are entitled to the reduced rate, which has helped many new breweries get off the ground and has contributed to the fact that the UK now has nearly 1,300 breweries operating, which is the highest since the 1940s with more and more opening each year.

Breweries like BrewDog have paved the way for others to continue to innovate and make incredible beers. There seems to a movement at the moment which is moving away from the big hop bombs of the States towards other styles that traditionally haven’t been made in the UK.

One area which has really taken off here is the production of sour beers. Wild Beer Co have really made a name for themselves, making beers based around wild yeast fermentation. Mad

Hatter seem to bring out more and more incredibly inventive beers

all the time; their Tzatziki Sour has to be one of the best and most interesting beers I have tried this year.

So although the craft beer world is heading towards a more mature phase, innovation hasn’t

stopped and there are still many amazing beers and

breweries to discover as we are treated to

an ever growing world of beer, that is ours for the drinking. So onwards and upwards in the rise of craft beer nations.

The UK and the US both have rich, although very different, brewing histories. One area that has contributed to their rise as beer nations is their innovation and diversity.By Erin Bottomley

One brewery which has always been keen on pushing boundaries and have been trailblazers in their field is Oskar Blues.

We continue to push and pull, be nimble, ask stupid questions, do dumb shit, have fun and a general disdain for coasting.

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 5

Page 6: Ferment // Issue 19

Christmas turkey is my favourite meal of the year and my go-to beer is always a Belgian Dubbel or Quad. It’s got strength but doesn’t overpower, its sweetness works with the veg, there’s a dryness which is refreshing for a big beer, plus it has its own festive spicy flavours. Pick a good bottle like Rochefort 8 or 10 or a St Bernardus 12. The Quads also work with Christmas pudding, though if you want to pick something different then go for a barrel-aged barley wine or stout, as they’re just about the only beers powerful enough for figgy pudding.

Christmas Evening

Drink wisely here to bypass that sleepy post-lunch slog. Have a cheeky change-up and a glass of fizz or a gin and tonic then get serious on the beers again.

There’s no point going back to little light brews (with all that food in you just go for the big beers) and I like to go for golden Belgian ales like Westmalle Tripel or Duvel because they’re powerful in flavour yet

unchallenging (as opposed to, say, the tongue-hammering hops in an IPA).

When the cheese comes (and it always comes) then have something rich like an Imperial Stout or barley wine, which are also good picks for when you pile all the dinner leftovers into a sandwich or when you go back to the chocolates because you confuse that feeling of no longer being totally stuffed with a pang of hunger.

Christmas ales are beer’s novelty knitwear. Sure, they can be fun and make people laugh, but few people look good with a giant snowman across their chest and very few Christmas beers taste delicious. Instead, drink

old favourites, celebrate the best of this year’s beer, and enjoy a day of drinking, eating, presents and more drinking, where the best gift you can get yourself is a box of good beer (and a copy of my new book…). Have a hoppy Christmas!

S eldom does Santa’s Sack Stout deliver anything more than a sad, burnt coal-like bitterness

and Rudolph’s Red Ale is duller than Dasher, Donner and Dancer’s dark, damp noses. You see, Christmas-themed beers are the liquid equivalent of a baubled jumper and are best considered silly seasonal novelties. But Christmas is a dedicated time for dedicated drinking, giving us the chance to get jingled all the way to New Years Day, and that’s good reason celebrate.

The peak of the seasonal squiffiness, and the finest drinking day of the year, is the 25th December. No other day allows us to open a bottle before breakfast and carry on popping corks until we pass out under all the discarded wrapping paper. This is my guide to Christmas Day drinking.

Christmas Morning

Forget the presents, the first thing to be opened on Christmas morning should be a big bottle of delicious beer. I suggest one of two routes: Champagne or coffee. The sharp Champagne-like qualities of Gueuze or another sour

beer is brilliant for a livening breakfast brew, while a Saison like Brooklyn Sorachi Ace or Avec Les Bon Voeux (a fitting beer meaning ‘With Best Wishes’) gives you brightness and fizz without the sourness. Alternatively,

a Coffee Imperial Stout will give you a buzz from the beans and the booze, where Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch or Wild Beer’s Wildebeest are great options. Then sip through until lunchtime, pick some favourite brews from the last year, match them with selection box chocs and drink between peeling carrots and unwrapping presents.

Christmas Dinner

You’ll (Yule… LOL) be nicely buttered from the breakfast boozing and now you can start to take the sozzling seriously and get Christmas crackered.

This begins about 10 minutes before sitting down to eat because the pre-turkey tipple is one which carries you from sofa or stove through to the starter. I revert again to Saison or sourness here, a beer that gets you wanting to eat (it’s the acidity – it makes us hungry).

BEERS FOR CHRISTMAS

“ “The peak of the seasonal squiffiness, and the finest drinking day of the year, is the 25th December.

Christmas ales are beer’s novelty knitwear. Sure, they can be fun and make people laugh, but few people look good with a giant snowman across their chest

6 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

A Guide to Christmas Day drinkingBy Mark Dredge

Page 7: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 7

Phot

os: E

rin B

ottom

ley

Page 8: Ferment // Issue 19

8 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

Phot

os: M

atthe

w C

urtis

Page 9: Ferment // Issue 19

S eptember saw The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) once again return to the Colorado

Convention Centre, at the heart of downtown Denver. Each of its four sessions saw 700 brewers pour a range of over 3500 beers to 15000 attendees per session. The numbers don’t quite do justice to its scale; GABF is massive in every sense of the word.

Founded in 1982 by the Brewers Association, the country’s largest industry body, GABF is a celebration of the US brewing industry’s innovation, diversity and accessibility. It’s also very inclusive and you’ll find beers from the likes of Coors and Budweiser pouring alongside Craft Beer’s greats such as Funky Buddha and Russian River, as well as the greatest breweries you haven’t even heard of yet. Although, like any beer gathering, it’s not without a smattering of snobbery you’ll generally find that most people are here to get on with having a really good time.

Approaching a festival with this staggering volume of beers and brewers can be daunting – you’ll need a solid plan to get the most out of it. That’s if you manage to get a ticket of course. Previous

Queuing for beer can get a little frustrating because although all the beer at GABF is free it’s only served in one ounce pours. The bright side of this is that you get to taste a lot more different beer than you normally would at a festival. The downside is that after one taste of Pliny the Elder your first instinct will be to get back in the queue for another pour. Fight this, do your research before the festival and hit up the breweries that are tipped to make it big. This year I tasted some incredible beer from Societe, Five Rabbit, Verboten and Horse & Dragon to name just a few, all without having to wait in line.

Another advantage of visiting the lesser-known breweries is that the stands will often be staffed by the brewers themselves and without a queue you can chat away while they talk you through their entire range. It’s also worth noting that at GABF there are water stations every few metres so it’s easy to stay hydrated, keep your palate relatively cleansed and your glass clean. Don’t drop your glass though, not unless you want fifteen thousand people to suddenly stop what they’re doing and jeer loudly in your direction.

As well as drinking lots of water remember to eat. Trying an immense amount of beer over five hours will soon catch up with you. The food inside the hall is expensive and the lines are long, so fill up before you head in and take lots of snacks with you. Pretzel necklaces are the fashion accessory no GABF goer can do without. The same

goes for toilet breaks, a twenty-minute queue will really cut into your tasting time, so hold tight and keep them to an absolute minimum.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to enjoy yourself. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of a beer festival, especially one of this size, and to spend your five hours attempting to try as many beers as possible. Instead I’d recommend you take it easy and treat it like a big party – there’s even a silent disco if

you need to take a break from beer and dance your blues away.

So what are you waiting for? Denver’s only a nine hour flight away, start planning your trip to next year’s GABF now.

years have seen allocations sell out in less than thirty minutes, but with a bit of patience they can often be picked up on resale for around face value. Expect to pay approximately $100 (£65).

Once you and your friends have secured your passes (attempting to do the festival alone takes away half the fun, trust me) the next thing you need to do is plan your drinking carefully. You can guarantee that the most hyped breweries and beers will draw the longest queues. At this point you can make a decision: either plan to visit these breweries and prepare to stand in line, or just hover

around the unknowns, avoiding the queues in hope of finding a diamond amongst the rough.

I like to do a bit of both, breaking up the queues with a few surprises. It’s important to hit the rare beers first as those kegs will kick in the first couple of hours. Twice I’ve attended GABF and twice I’ve rocked up at the Three Floyds stand late in the session only to find they’ve

run out of beer and headed home. Don’t make the same mistake, hit them first and get on the Zombie Dust. Finding the breweries you want to visit is easy, sections are organised by State, in which each stand is ordered alphanumerically.

““

Each of its four sessions saw 700 brewers pour a range of over 3500 beers to 15000 attendees per session.

Don’t drop your glass though, not unless you want fifteen thousand people to suddenly stop what they’re doing and jeer loudly in your direction.

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 9

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL

The largest beer festival in the US can be a daunting experience, here’s how to get the best out of it.By Matthew Curtis

Page 10: Ferment // Issue 19

10 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

THIS CHRISTMAS PARTY SEASON...

W ith the Christmas party season fast approaching there will be the

inevitable office shindig or social gathering, which will lead to the obligatory ‘bring a bottle’. Instead of the usual case of lager or bottle of wine here are some tasty alternative cans that will flaunt your beer knowledge.

Now we are all familiar with the excellence of Beavertown and Fourpure, but here are some great breweries now available in cans. So why not grab a few and have yourself a crafty little Christmas.

The Beers to bring...Five PointsA shining light of the London brewing scene that has been producing stellar beers for over two and a half years. They have recently canned their fruity and zesty Pale Ale 4.4%, or if you want something that packs a punch their deceptively drinkable IPA 7.1%, if this leads to an incident with a photocopier you have been warned.

If you are lost for a party to go to head on down to...

Email – [email protected] Phone – 0207 378 9461 Twitter – @UtobeerTrade

Wild Beer CoThis Somerset outfit are simply fantastic. Their three canned brews are a triumph for beers in a tin. Bibble 4.2%, Fresh 5.5% and Madness 6.8% are a trio of deliciousness, you are onto a winner whichever one you choose.

Roosters Based in Yorkshire, these guys were one of the first non-London breweries to venture into the can beer arena. The three beers available are far too drinkable and also very easy on the eye. Your choices are; Yankee a perfect pale ale at 4.3%, Fort Smith an awesome APA at 5% and the appropriately named Baby Faced Assassin IPA at 6.1%.

If you are unlucky enough not to have an invite to a party we have the perfect solution for you. Get yourself down to South Pole Saloon in Brixton, everyone needs to visit a Christmas dive bar at least

once! Naughty elves, bad Santa, DJ’s and debauchery all washed down with lashings of Brooklyn American Ale and the new Insulated Lager. This will definitely get you on the naughty list!

South Pole Saloon

Twatty Beer Doodles (A.K.A. David Bishop) Follow him on Twitter @twattybeer for all the latest doodles in all their twatty glory!

Page 11: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 11

Working Miracles with Ramshackle Kit: Mad Hatter, such inventive and delicious beers coming from something that looks like a well-cleaned brewery graveyard (although if your staff could not stab themselves when they meet me next time guys, that’d be nice!)

Consistently Brilliant: A three-way tie between Wild Beer Co, Fuller’s and St Austell, don’t think that one needs explanation!

And finally, ‘Beer people are good people’ is a quote from Hunter S Thompson that has never seemed more important to cling on to than in the last 72 hours. As the atrocities in Paris unfold as I write this and I sincerely and fiercely hope that between now and the time that you read this we aren’t mourning any more.

The attacks come as I’m due to fly to Rio to judge with

a panel of international beer people, make new friends and catch up with old ones, similar to what I’ve been doing for the last few months from Antwerp to Denver and a few places in between.

None of this is a boast, it’s an acknowledgement of the privilege of what I do and my way of segueing to the fact that we have to keep living our lives and not allow these assaults to achieve their desired result – paralysing terror and social divide.

This is obviously a slightly simplistic view, as there are always multiple aims behind these attacks – and far smarter people than me will dissect them more cleanly – but I do understand this

THINK GLOBAL, DRINK LOCAL

motive a little because I had a brush with a breed of fundamentalist at university.

One of the clear aims of this kind of vicious and breathtakingly barbaric action is to segregate the vast majority of moderate, peaceful Muslims from the rest of society, to make their life so unbearable that the extremists, when they come whispering their lies and promising their paradise, sound like a very real and preferable alternative.

So please, I beg you, don’t be part of the problem that pushes otherwise peaceful people into the arms of these extremists.

Sure, you’re unlikely to sit down for a beer with a devout Muslim but it doesn’t stop you smiling as you sit down next to someone on a bus in a hijab or to publicly or privately call out friends, relations or social media contacts if they start posting anti-Muslim sentiment.

And, whilst it can be hard, it costs nothing to check the darkest recesses of your soul to see if casual racism, if there is such a thing, is creeping in… I accept that it’s hard not to give in to the fear and making sweeping generalisations and judgements by the colour of someone’s skin or their religious garb, being suspicious of the unknown is how we humans have somehow survived up until now.

But if you give in to that inner ape, that unfettered fear factor, then that, my friends, is exactly what those bastards want, so let’s make sure we don’t give it to them.

And that, in my eyes, is the best present anyone could give themselves, and the world, this festive season and I hope it’s a fabulous one full of beer and cheer for you and your loved ones.

E very time I hear what Ballast Point sold for, all I can see in my head is Dr Evil, with his pinky

perched on his lips, shouting ‘ONE BILLION DOLLARS’ and then cackling in super-villain glee.

It’s a pretty big number huh? Equates to about 657,591,930 pounds – don’t know about you but I’d be hard pushed to turn that down! And, I’ll be honest, it’s a jaw-dropping amount.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Ballast Point – apart from the Grapefruit Sculpin which has the dubious honour of being my most disappointing beer of the year, having tried it three times, I had to admit defeat. But if I owned it and I was asked if I loved it as much as a billion bucks, I’m afraid you’d have to ring my private island and ask my monkey butler for the formal statement.

And whilst I really love that people feel so passionately about the beer industry that they will wail and rend their faces about sales of businesses like Ballast Point, we do have to be honest with ourselves about the fact that whilst beer is emotive, it’s also business and this is what happens in all markets. It happened in motoring, it happened in tech and it was always going to happen with beer – thems the rules!

The other question is, how does it stop you supporting your local and domestic breweries? In our understandable excitement about great beer suddenly becoming widely available, I see too much concern about what’s happening thousands of miles away, when there are start up breweries all over the UK that need, and more importantly deserve, your support.

Now, I’m not saying that all breweries are good breweries, small does not

always mean perfectly formed, but if we’ve learned just one thing from the number of pubs closing around the UK (other than that PubCos are soulless property magnates who crush lives on a daily basis) it’s that if you don’t use it, you lose it.

So, next time you’re looking at that shiny imported beer that’s supposed to be some mega-hop bomb with a perfect score on RateBeer, just remember that if there’s a good brewery just down the road that is making something similar, it’s probably going to be fresher, better and have fewer miles on the clock.

Which brings me to one of the inevitable lists that December columns bring, and that’s a quick name check for all those brewers that have impressed me this year. It’s not hugely complete because we’d be here all day, but I really do want to big them up (and being a massive hypocrite there are some foreign names in there!).

Most Improved: Pilot – I found the early stuff undrinkably murky but with some time and refinement the beers are thoroughly delicious and I reckon these guys are going to get better and better (love the design work too).

Beer & Food: The New Zealand Craft Beer Collective for laying on one of the most successful beer & food pairings I’ve been to at New Zealand House during the rugby world cup (full disclosure, it fell on my 40th birthday so I was a ‘little’ happy) – the Peter Gordon curated menu with the NZ beers was simply superb.

“‘Beer people are good people’ is a quote from Hunter S Thompson that has never seemed more important

MELISSA COLE

Page 12: Ferment // Issue 19

12 FERMENT Want more beer? Upgrade at Beer52.com

Ska Brewing Rudie Session IPA

OdellLoose Leaf

Odell90 Shilling

Oskar BluesPinner

OdellCut Throat

Oskar BluesMama’s Little Yella Pils

A brew you can drink for breakfast. A beer to reward yourself with after a hard day’s work. Or if your hard day’s work is mowing the lawn, consider drinking on the job. Weighing in at 4.5% ABV, Rudie begins with a big fruity hop aroma of pears and watermelon candy, but is relatively low in actual bitterness, lending itself perfectly to those moments when you want to drink beer, but need to hold it together – or not.

For those epic days that start with an idea, turn into a dare and end with a great story to tell. Loose Leaf is crisp and refreshing like any respectable session ale, but a bit more hop-forward and flavorful than some. It’s the perfect beer for going with the flow.

90 Shilling is Odell’s smooth and complex flagship beer. A medium-bodied amber ale with a distinct burnished copper color and a deeply pleasant aroma. The name 90 Shilling comes from the Scottish method of taxing beer; only the highest quality beers were taxed 90 Shillings. They think you’ll find this original ale brilliantly refreshing, and worth every Shilling.

PINNER Throwback IPA, at 4.9% ABV and 35 IBUs, is a very drinkable IPA that uses several varieties of hops to target the ever-evolving flavour. With tropical fruits, citrus juices, pineapple and spice berry up front in the aroma and flavour, the biscuit & toasted bread at the back balance out all the hops and make a great finish, to go on to your next can of PINNER. It’s the perfect beer for a little sip, sip, give.

Not quite a stout but definitely no lightweight, Cutthroat is smooth and robust taking inspiration from classic London porters. Odell use dark roasted malts to create a deep, rich colour and flavour that hint at chocolate and coffee. And while they love and respect the London porter, they made sure to give it a little Colorado twist by naming it after their state fish.

Oskar Blues’ Mama’s Little Yella Pils is an uncompromising, small-batch version of the beer that made the town of Pilsen, Czech Republic, famous. Unlike mass market‚ ‘pilsners‚‘ diluted with corn and rice, Mama’s is built with 100% pale malt, German speciality malts, and Saaz hops. While it’s rich with Czeched-out flavor, its gentle hopping and low ABV make it a luxurious but low-dose refresher.

. %4 5

. %4 5. %5 3

. %4 9 . %5 1

. %5 3

WHAT WE’RE DRINKING...

Page 13: Ferment // Issue 19

Want to be on the cover of Ferment?

or at least your best beer snaps?

Then share your beer moments with us to be in

with a chance to have your pic featured as part of next

month’s Ferment.

@Beer52HQ

Want more beer? Upgrade at Beer52.com FERMENT 13

WHAT WE’RE DRINKING...

Robinsons 9 Hop IPA

Howling HopsRiding Ale

MendocinoRed Tail

Panda Frog ProjectPandazilla

Gypsy IncGyp Wit

Meet 9 Hop IPA, a full-bodied, 6% ABV India Pale Ale. Crafted from a blend of 9 different hops, it’s an intense, complex beer that’s packed full of flavour. This British style IPA benefits from the flavours of earthy and floral British hops.

A session strength pale ale brewed with Columbus, Cascade, Galena and Nugget hops. Light but flavoursome session IPA contradicting its low strength with wonderful full flavours of citrus and pine.

Red Tail is Mendocino’s flagship brand. It is brewed in the traditional ‘old world’ manner, using premium two-row malted barley, hops and their own special proprietary yeast strain. It is an amber ale with a rich, complex refreshing flavour and a crisp dry finish. Like good wine, Red Tail Ale is a perfect complement to fine dining.

Bold, complex and individual 7% Cascadian dark ale, over toned by coffee, grapefruit, liquorice, chocolate, tobacco, soy sauce and blackberries before a finish becomes more roast grain, cocoa and lingering inky dark fruit.

Gyp Wit is a bright and floral witbier brewed with flaked wheat, curaçao orange peel and coriander. This array of fresh ingredients catalyse the citrus and fruity flavours from the American and European hops. A true thirst-quenching summer Wit. It’s perfectly refreshing after a long day of hard work.

. %6 0. %3 0

. %6 0

. %7 0

. %4 7

Page 14: Ferment // Issue 19

14 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

T rends come and go. Think space hoppers, flares, yo-yos and platform boots. They’ve

all burst onto the scene and become the next hot topic before slipping into the abyss… or at least the back of your wardrobe or under your bed. Occasionally however, they’ll dust themselves off, rear their heads and become the hottest ticket in the playground once more.

The beer industry is no different and for quite some time now, no brewery has wanted to be seen in the industry playground without a craft can in its arsenal.

Once confined to the crowded train carriages on match days or reserved

for the park bench, canned beer is no longer the realm of the big boys of brewing, churning out vast quantities of high strength lager as cheaply possible.

With the likes of Fourpure, Beavertown and Vocation restyling the can to appeal to craft beer drinkers, and with some brewers discarding bottles altogether, cans are once again on trend. It is exactly 80 years since the humble can was introduced to the UK market, thanks to Wales’ oldest brewery.

Conceived in the early ‘30s and born in December 1935 to Felinfoel Brewery, who are widely believed to be the first brewery in the UK

to can and sell its beer, following America’s Krueger just a year earlier and France’s Brasserie Vezelise a year before that (although other contenders include the Isle of Wight’s Mew Langton Brewery who were experimenting with screw capped tins as early as World War One).

The great-Grandfather of the cans that we now know and love is Felinfoel’s oddly shaped prototypes, rather than their American counterparts that today’s cans descend from.

The cans’ launch was far from smooth however and the road to success proved bumpier than Pavarotti’s belly in a leotard.

As well as initial teething problems, that left the beer within tasting like canal water drunk from a hobo’s boot due to the tin the can was crafted from, Felinfoel weren’t the only brewery pioneering new brewing ground, and a local rival was a constant thorn in their side.

With nearby Buckley’s Brewery going public with the news that they too were exploring the canning frontier in October 1935, the race was well and truly on.

On top of this challenge there was little, if any demand.

Despite pub-goers supping ale from pewter mugs for centuries, consumers

CANNED BEER ARRIVES

Canned beer in the UK turns 80 this month and Jordan Harris headed to South Wales to investigate the origins of the can.

Page 15: Ferment // Issue 19

Running a triple headline to announce the news that ‘Canned Beer Arrives,’ the local weekly paper recorded the milestone but the pages of the publication also bore a large advert from their rather green brewing neighbours proclaiming that, ‘The canning of beer was accomplished at Buckley’s Brewery bottling stores on the 3rd December, and samples may be seen at the brewery and at displays in the town. However, until the directors are satisfied that canned beer has the same estimable qualities as their bottled product, the process will be in the nature of an experiment, and for the time being, the canning process will be conducted experimentally with persistence and caution.”

It wasn’t until many years later that Buckley’s were actually able to publicly sell their canned beer, leaving

only one name in the history books of British brewing; Felinfoel.In the years that would follow, Felinfoel would go on to publicly sell their canned beer on 19th March 1936, as well as becoming a major supplier

of beer to the British armed forces fighting abroad in the Second World War. After all, what better way to motivate the troops than a can of beer?

Not only have they since become the brewers of the ‘National Ale of Wales,’ they are an institution in British brewing. Although they may not be the edgiest brewery, and although they may not be the most appealing to a craft palate, one thing is for certain; Felinfoel’s innovation paved the way for canned beverages.

Felinfoel has secured its place on the Hollywood Boulevard of brewing and while trends certainly come and go, Felinfoel’s name, and cans, will live on.

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 15

CANNED BEER ARRIVES

were sceptical about imprisoning their ale in a metal vessel. They were used to drinking their beer from wooden casks or glass bottles and a can was out of the question.

“I am not convinced that there would be any demand in this country for beer in cans,” exclaimed Sanders Watney of London’s Watney, Combe and Reid brewery in the World Press Review in 1934.

It wasn’t solely out of a desire to snub the naysayers or to pip Buckley to the post however, Felinfoel were eager to innovate out of a need to revitalise one of their other business interests.

‘As well as being brewers,’ Felinfoel’s current managing director Philip Lewis told the BBC earlier this year, ‘the family who owned Felinfoel were also Llanelli tinplate masters, an industry which had taken a battering during the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s.’

With South Wales dominating world tinplate production and Felinfoel having their fingers firmly in this

metallic pie, they were able spend the money formerly allocated to bottles on tin from their sister business, allowing it to recover from the Depression.

Additionally they were able to use their ties to tin to finally beat Buckley’s to the finish line.

Just a year after Watney made his claim, the brewery (named for the village that has housed it for well over a century) would achieve what many

thought impossible, and cemented their place in the brewing hall of fame in the process.

Canned on an adapted bottling line, crowned with a cap rather than the pull tab that is all too familiar today and lined with wax to counteract the taste of tin, the conical cans landed in Llanelli on December 3rd 1935.

“ “

Conceived in the early ‘30s and born in December 1935 to Felinfoel Brewery, they are widely believed to be the first in the UK to can and sell its beer

Felinfoel has secured its place on the Hollywood Boulevard of brewing and while trends certainly come and go, Felinfoel’s name, and cans, will live on.

‘I am not convinced that there would be any demand in this country for beer in cans,’ exclaimed Sanders Watney of London’s Watney, Combe and Reid brewery in the World Press Review in 1934.

Phot

os: F

elin

foel

Bre

wer

y

Page 16: Ferment // Issue 19

16 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

T he Scots are known for many things but possibly most famously for their whisky. When

it comes to talking about whisky, they can wax lyrical about scotch until the highland coos come home. But there is no better place to talk about and sample uisge beatha (water of life) than at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS).

Founded in 1983, the SMWS have worked with over 132 distilleries and offer the widest selection of single cask, single malt whiskies. Each whisky is one-of-a-kind, ensuring rarity and superbly high quality but once it’s gone it’s gone. Perfect for the ultimate whisky enthusiast, the Society is entirely focused on flavour, with 12 unique flavour categories and a mysterious distillery coding system, ensuring drinkers look beyond the age, region and distillery to what the whisky really offers.

As Whisky Magazine’s Independent Bottler of the Year, the Society has three venues in the UK across Edinburgh, Leith and London. 19 Greville Street in London and The Vaults in Leith are exclusively for members, however their flagship venue 28 Queen

Street in Edinburgh is now open to the public, offering malt enthusiasts the special opportunity to sample some of the finest scotch whisky from over 250 rare cask bottlings. The Society’s 28 Queen Street venue, spread across 4 floors of its Georgian Townhouse, is a warm and welcoming place – perfect for getting away from the howling gales of Scotland’s windy city. Visitors can relax in the whisky bar, treat themselves in The Dining Room restaurant or splash out with a luxurious dining and whisky experience in a private room.

One thing that is clear when you first step foot inside the majestic ivy covered entrance arch, is that everyone there is so passionate about whisky which extends to their enthusiasm in sharing their knowledge with every single customer; whether you are new to the world of whisky or a connoisseur, they are happy to talk you through the rare single casks on offer and find exactly what you are

looking for. So whether you know the style you normally like and are looking for something similar or a complete surprise, or just want something to suit your mood, they will find exactly what you are looking for.

As this is the only SMWS venue open to the public as well as members, the staff work hard to make your visit an experience. In the past they have held some incredible interactive campaigns; they developed 12 whisky ice cream flavours with local ice cream gurus S. Lucas to match to their established 12 flavour categories for their whisky (See box for details). What’s not to love about whisky and ice cream? They then held cinema screenings of cult whisky-themed films with their ‘12 Tub Cinema Club’, where guests could relax and enjoy the show with their preferred whisky ice cream and popcorn.

Similar to when you head into some of the best craft beer bars, it’s all about striking up a conversation about the beverage on offer and to feel part of a community bigger than just the liquid in front of you. It’s about engaging in a journey, and the staff are more than happy to join in along the way.

A visit to the SMWS is a voyage into the unexpected; all of bottles are labelled and bottled by the Society without disclosure of the distillery. When you first arrive you will notice how all the bottles at first glance look the same. It isn’t until closer

inspection that you see they have a numbering system, which to the untrained eye may look complicated but in reality it allows for the customers to really appreciate the whisky they are sampling. It is so all customers reserve judgement on the whisky as many of the malts don’t hold the typical characteristics of their regions or distilleries by nature of them being from a single cask. It also

allows the customers to stray from their go-to safe whisky distillery and allow the liquid to speak for itself. The first number represents the distillery the whisky is from, the second represents the number of single casks that have been bottled from

that distillery. As each whisky is single cask, offering a limited number of bottles, the Society releases on average 20 new casks on the first Friday of each month to keep members satisfied and replenish its offering. This ensures that each month, there are exciting new whiskies to discover when visiting SMWS.

All of the whiskies selected go through a rigorous Tasting Panel. The Society Panel is made up of a whole array of different nosers, from whisky experts to foodies, musicians and members of their own staff from each of their venues. They only select whiskies

THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY – A WORLD OF WHISKY

“There is no better place to talk about and sample uisge beatha (water of life) than at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

“A visit to the SMWS is a voyage into the unexpected

Wandering in from the cold and into the wonderful world of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.By Erin Bottomley

Page 17: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 17

Phot

os: E

rin B

ottom

ley

which will either entertain, intrigue or delight. Although the number system may seem a little unusual at first, their joyous tasting notes on each of the bottles begin to explain the personality of each of the whiskies. Fun, intriguing, but ultimately conjuring up and evoking a sense and flavour of the liquid inside before the glass has even been raised; they really are a wonderful read.

Similar to the craft beer world, whisky is all about the experience. It’s more than just a well-made and skilfully crafted drink, it’s about being able to savour and enjoy it in an environment that enables you to learn and feel part of the bigger community. And with the biggest whisky list of the year released in November with 43 rare malts and spirits, now is the best time for a visit. That is what 28 Queen Street offers and more.

Smws.co.ukwww.facebook.com/thesmwsuk@SMWSUK

If you would like to experience this and have a complimentary wee dram from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society then just pop into 28 Queen Street, Edinburgh or 19 Greville Street, London and mention Ferment and Beer52 between now and the 1st of February and they will give you a complimentary dram and a chat about the Society and, of course, the whisky.

12 Flavour Categories:Young & SpritelySweet, Fruity & MellowSpicy & SweetSpicy & DryDeep, Rich & Dried FruitOld & DignifiedLight & DelicateJuicy, Oak & VanillaOily & CoastalLightly PeatedPeatedHeavily Peated

Page 18: Ferment // Issue 19

18 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

F or many folk, the act of combining with any other drink is one of

man’s greatest crimes against booze, and the phrase ‘beer cocktail’ is likely to send them into a hop-headed rage. But people have been mixing beer with other drinks for as long as beer has been around and, for more open-minded

Michelada

Mexicans have taken to beer mixology more than most and the michelada is one of their finest creations. Rumoured to be a fine hangover cure, it’s a winning mix of beers, sauces and spices that lifts you from a winter slumber until you’re ready to party. Various flavour combinations can be deployed, with some folk spiking their drink with a shot of tequila, but we prefer this more straight-laced tomato standard.

Method

Chill a bottle of lager and tomato juice in the fridge then pour 250ml of each into a jug. Add a 25ml squeeze of fresh lime juice, a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and ½ teaspoon of Tabasco (or more if you’re feeling frisky) then give it all a gentle stir. Wet the rim of a glass with water or lime juice and rub with chilli flakes. Pour in the drink and serve with ice and a chunk of lime.

WINTER BEER COCKTAILS

guzzlers, the chance to try out completely new flavours otherwise impossible to create in a barrel is worth risking the purist’s wrath.

Now that winter is sinking its cold talons into weary bones, a bit of warmth and spice can seriously improve the mood, and a good malty base for a

cockle-warming cocktail is ever more tempting. And with the festive season bearing down upon us, now is the perfect opportunity to go stirred-drink crazy.

You may wish to save your Beer52 box beers for drinking as the brewers intended, but we can heartily recommend

seeking out some other suitable brews for these cocktails. And if you really are opposed to customizing a beery brew, we’ve thrown in a hot cider recipe for good measure…

By Nick Moyle

Page 19: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 19

Weissky Mac

Like haggis and sauerkraut or a deep fried black forest gateaux, this cocktail is a joyous combination of Scottish and German flavours (or Irish and Belgian if you’re feeling rebellious). A whisky mac is a popular booze tonic combining whisky and ginger wine. This extends the supping time by adding wheat beer and can be served hot or cold as the perfect pick-me-up at the end of a hard day’s Christmas shopping.

Method

Put a shot of whisky and a shot of green ginger wine (around 25ml each) into a tumbler. Fill with wheat beer. This drink is best served cool, not cold, or you can make a hot alternative by heating the beer first.

Phot

os: N

ick

Moy

le

Hot Cider ToddyThis hot brew is perfect for anyone outside on a chilly evening waiting for their chestnuts to roast, and it also doubles up as a cure for winter colds (we can’t guarantee it works but nothing else is more comforting when you’re under the weather). This recipe is taken from our book, Brew it Yourself.

Hot Buttered Stout

Adding butter to hot alcohol goes back to medieval times, but lately it has been the coffee hipsters who have revived the technique for a sober alternative. We say it’s time to put the butter back into booze. Fat and alcohol comfort cold joints in a blanket of warmth like nothing else, with a hearty stout providing the best method of delivery.

Method

Drop a decent knob of butter (around 25g) in a pan and gently heat until it melts. Add pinches of ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and 330ml dark ale or stout (not too hoppy). Stir in two tablespoons of dark sugar and continue to heat until the liquid is hot but not quite boiling. Pour into a mug or heat-proof glass, leaving room for a shot of rum or brandy (25ml), which is stirred in before supping.

Method

Pour 500ml dry cider into a pan with two teaspoons lemon juice, three teaspoons brandy, four cloves, a cinnamon stick and a generous teaspoon of grated ginger. Warm gently for a few minutes until it’s hot but not boiling (too much heat burns off the alcohol). Add two tablespoons honey and stir until dissolved. Keep on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the spices to time to release their aromatic goodness. Pour through a strainer into mugs or heat-resistant glasses, inhale deeply and begin supping.

Page 20: Ferment // Issue 19

20 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

W ith the festive season well and truly upon us, it’s only right that our minds have

begun wandering towards thoughts of roasted turkey, homemade sausage rolls, mulled wine and mince pies. There is no other season so clearly defined by food and flavour than Christmas.

Heady smells of cinnamon and the deep, rich scent of oven roasted game are likely to be aromas that bring back memories for most of us. As friends and family gather to celebrate the

FESTIVE BEER GLAZED GAMMON WITH BRAISED RED CABBAGE AND BUTTERED CARAWAY CARROTS

Phot

os: H

ungr

y Be

ars’

Blog

season or to welcome in a new year, whether it’s nibbles or treats, slap-up dinners, or flutes of champagne, good food adorns every table and becomes the centre of attention at any gathering.

One of our favourite things about this time of year is the humble roast, which gets a festive upgrade in winter to include things like pigs in blankets and homemade stuffing or, if you’re unlucky, overcooked sprouts. Rather than looking at the traditional turkey, our recipe looks to add that extra zing to another classic, roast gammon. We

all have our own Christmas traditions and for Rich, Christmas morning wouldn’t be the same without a chunky slice of gammon topped with a perfectly fried egg. Studded with cloves and basted in beer, this recipe produces a gammon joint with the traditional salty taste but is also infused with flavour from the beer and orange. To accompany it, we’ve taken my favourite side – braised red cabbage – as well as whole baby carrots, seeped in butter and caraway seeds. It truly is a delight for the eyes as well as the stomach!

If you give our festive roast a go make sure you send us a pic and let us know how it tasted!

Tag us on Instagram @thehungrybearsblog and @beer52HQ, or send us a tweet @hungrybearsblog and @beer52HQ. For more recipe inspiration head over to our blog thehungrybearsblog.com.

Page 21: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 21

Recipe:

Prep time: 30 minsCook time: 2 hrsTotal time: 2 hrs 30 minsServes: 6

Ingredients:

For the gammon:

1kg – 1.5kg joint of gammon1⁄2 bottle of 90 Schilling1 white onion, peeled2 bay leavesCloves for studding

For the glaze:

1⁄2 bottle of 90 Schilling2 tbsp demerara sugarJuice of 1 orange

To Serve:

For the Braised Red Cabbage:

1 large red cabbage330ml Mama’s Yella Pils1 red onion2 apples2 tbsp demerara sugar1 tsp ground cinnamon2 tbsp flaked almonds

For the Buttery Carrots:

600g baby carrots2 tbsp butter2 tsp caraway seedsJuice of 1⁄2 orangeSalt and pepper for seasoning

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the gammon joint in a large saucepan, fill up with cold water half way up the side of the joint. Set on a medium heat with the lid on the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a low simmer and continue to cook for 30 mins. Whilst boiling skim off any white residue from the top of the water.

2. Drain the water from the pan and place the gammon joint onto a chopping board fattiest side up. Score the top of the gammon with diagonal scores so that you create a large diamond pattern. Stud the gammon with cloves, placing the stalk end into the meat.

3. Finely chop a red onion and place in the bottom of a large roasting tin, along with the bay leaves. Place the gammon joint on top of the onion and pour over half the bottle of beer. Cover

Phot

os: H

ungr

y Be

ars’

Blog

the joint with foil making sure it is well sealed around the roasting tin. Bake the gammon for 1.5 hours.

4. Whilst the gammon is cooking, prepare the red cabbage by roughly chopping the cabbage, onion and apple. Add all to a pan, plus the beer,sugar and cinnamon. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer gently for 45 mins, check to see if the liquid has been absorbed into the cabbage. If any liquid remains, cook uncovered for a few minutes to cook it off. Before serving, add flaked almonds on top for an extra crunch.

5. To create the glaze for the gammon, pour the rest of the beer into a pan. Add the juice of one orange plus the sugar. Set on a medium heat and simmer until sugar has dissolved and the glaze has thickened. Remove the gammon from the oven, discard the foil and pour the glaze over the top.

Place back in the oven uncovered for an additional 30 mins or until glaze is golden.

6. To prepare the carrots, place the whole baby carrots into a pan. Boil for 10 mins until cooked through. Drain the water from the pan then add the butter, caraway seeds, orange juice, salt and pepper, stirring through on a low heat for a couple of mins.

7. Once gammon is cooked, remove from the oven, cover in foil and leave to rest for 10 mins before serving with the cabbage and carrots.

8. If you like your gammon with gravy, you can use the onion and beer residue from the bottom of the roasting tin. Remove the bay leaves and then scoop the onion mixture from the bottom of the tin and add to a jug before mixing together with a stock cube and boiling water to make a gravy packed full of flavour.

Page 22: Ferment // Issue 19

22 FERMENT Discover craft beer at Beer52.com

Page 23: Ferment // Issue 19

Discover craft beer at Beer52.com FERMENT 23

BREAKING DOWN BEER

N ote to the confused whipper-snappers of today who are reading this column: the

smiley face far pre-dates emojis and was the symbol of acid house music, which mostly involved dancing to heavy beats and random beeps in a warehouse somewhere, wearing tie-dye clothing and taking vast quantities of mind-altering substances (but that’s a story for another day children!).

However, I am not employed by this august title to lecture you about the music and poor fashion choices of my youth, because this issue’s column is about the role of alpha acids in beer.

So, let’s start slinging the science shall we (and I don’t mean in a Breaking Bad kinda way!) and find out what exactly are alpha acids? Well, put simply they are what give beer its bitterness, however it is so much more complex than that.

The ABCs of Beer’s Ingredients:We Call Them Aceeeeeds!By Melissa Cole.

To discuss alpha acids we really need to know: what’s in a hop?

Hops come in three species, only one of which is of any interest to the brewer, Humulus lupulus, which is part of the Cannabaceae family, meaning the strain of hops used in beer are closely related to cannabis and hemp (yep, the drug references just keep on coming!).

The hop is a complex climbing plant that grows on a bine, with awesome sounding parts to it like ‘bracts’ and ‘strobiles’ but, rather uninspiringly, the only bits the beer

world is interested in are the female cones.

The reason for this, is that the cone is the part of the plant that contains something called the ‘lupulin glands’ which contain the compounds the beer makers are after – hard and soft resins, hops oils and polyphenols.

We’ll concentrate on the soft resins, because that’s where the all-important alpha acids come from and which, at this point, aren’t intrinsically that bitter.

The bitterness is a result of the boiling process

in the brew, where the alpha acids become isomerised and turn into iso-

“What exactly are alpha acids? Well, put simply they are what give beer its bitterness, however it is so much more complex than that.

alpha acids, which are bitter – not to mention being antibacterial and also help to keep a head on your pint.

Beta acids, however, are slightly more of a problem child; they don’t isomerise and their bitterness doesn’t come into play until they start to break down in the presence of oxygen, which can cause some of the unpleasant harsh bitterness that can be associated with oxidised beers.

So, you can rest easy, wrapped in your new found knowledge of alpha and beta acids… not to the mention the fact that the yoof amongst you reading this now know there was a life pre-emoji; don’t say I don’t ever teach you anything! *winky smiley face*

Page 24: Ferment // Issue 19