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Some Beer Facts:
SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE is the scientific name for yeast,living organisms and members of the fungus family.Without yeast,malt,hops and water will never make beer. It is the catalyst that transforms the hopped cereal solution into a potent drink,hiding its magic beneath a living cloak of froth and foam.
"Biere de la Revanche Nationale"
Louis Pasteur was the first scientist to discover that yeast was a living organism.He was already a world-famous scientist when he started to study beer in 1871.His work was motivated by national pride in the aftermath of France's humiliating defeat by German forces in the Franco-Prussian war.He started his researches "with the determination of benefitting a branch of industry wherein we are undoubtedly surpassed by Germany",he wrote in his ground-breaking work"Etudes sur la Biere",published in 1876.
He called his resulting brew,which he went on to patent,"Biere de la Revanche Nationale"(Beer of National Revenge)
STYLES OF BEER:
ABBEY BEERS
Strong fruity ales,abbey beers are brewed in Belgium by commercial companies,sometimes under license from religious communities.They emulate the style of the surviving beers produced in monasteries,or name their brews after a church or saint.Some good examples,all carried by MARKET WINE & SPIRITS:the famed Trappists ales,Chimay Bleu,Chimay Cinq Cents & Chimay Grande Reserve,Corsendonk abbey beers and Delirium Tremens from the Huyghe brewery near Ghent.
ALES
Nowadays this is a vague term meaning any top-fermented beer.It is one of the two main branches of the beer family,the other being lager.Of the two,ale is older,dating back thousands of years.England is the country where ales are now most commonly brewed.
ALT
Alt is the German word meaning "traditional" or "old".Altbier indicates a bitter-tasting brew produced by the ancient style of brewing using top-fermentation.An excellent example of this style is brewed locally in Ipswich,MA at the old Ipswich Brewery.It is called Dornbusch "Alt".
BIERE DE GARDE
A top-fermenting "beer for keeping" from north-west France,this was originally made in farmhouses.This style produces medium to strong spicy ales:some are bottle-conditioned,and many are sealed with champagne style wired corks.Jenlain(available at MARKET)is probably the most famous example of this type.MARKET also offers a Blonde Biere de Garde called Castelain(a wheat beer)
BOCKA strong malty,warming German beer of about 6.5% alcohol,bock was originally brewed for the colder winter months.Traditionally dark in color,today it is more likely to be golden-bronze.Extra-potent versions are called doppelbocks with more than 7% alcohol,such as Paulaner Salvator.(available at MARKET WINE & SPIRITS)The word bock means "billy goat" in German,and a goat's head is often featured on the label.
BROWN ALE
A sweetish,mild ale,dark in color and low in alcohol from Engaland,brown ale was once a popular workers' drink.The north-east of England produces stronger,drier versions like the well-known Newcastle Brown Ale.
FRAMBOISE/FRAMBOZEN
These are Flemish and French names for a Belgium fruit beer made by adding raspberries to a lambic.A good example available at MARKET is Lindemans Framboise.
IPA(INDIA PALE ALE)
This strong,heavily hopped beer was originally brewed in Britain,notably in Burton-on-Trent by companies like the world famous Bass brewery.The recipe was designed to withstand the long sea voyages to distant parts of the British Empire like India.Locally brewed Harpoon's IPA is very tough to top.
LAMBIC
The wild beers of Belgium have their roots deep in history.One of the most primitive beers brewed on earth,these spontaneously fermenting beers are unique to Belgium.Unlike most other beer styles,in which a carefully cultivated yeast is used to ferment the wort,this wheat brew is left exposed to the air to allow spontaneous fermentation to happen from wild yeasts in the atmosphere.As in previous centuries,this beer is only brewed in the cooler months of the year,as the wild yeasts would be too unpredictable in summer.
PILSNER Strictly speaking,Pilsner is a golden,hoppy,aromatic lager from the Bohemium Czech town of Plzen(Pilsen in German),where this classic style was first produced in 1842.The original Pilsner Urquell is still brewed there.Czech Pilsner has a complex character with a flowery hop aroma and a dry finish.This golden classic has spawned a thousand imitators,some excellent,others pale,lackluster imitations of the original.Variations on the style now dominate the world beer market.
PORTER
Invented in London in 1772.It is a brew that combines the characteristics of strong,brown and old ales.Porters have diminished in popularity,but are experiencing a mild "comeback".Two excelent examples available at MARKET are from Anchor & Ipswich Brewing.
STOUT
One of the classic styles of ale,originally a stout porter,stout has survived and prospered ,thanks to its sharp contrast in taste & color to the ever-popular Pilsner,but also to the determined marketing and enterprise of one brewer,Guinness of Ireland.This dry black brew is made with a propotion of dark roasted barley and is heavily hopped to give its distinctive taste.
TRAPPIST
A strict designation referring only to beers from the 5 Trappist monastery breweries of Belgium & one in the Netherlands.These silent orders produce a range of strong,rich,top-fermenting ales.The Chimay,Orval,Rochefort,Westmalle breweries are in Belgium,while Koningshoeven(La Trappe) is Dutch
TRIPLE/TRIPEL
These are Flemish or Dutch terms,usually indicating the strongest brew in a range of beers,especially in Trappist or abbey beers.They are hoppy,golden brews,stronger than the darker doubles or dubbels.
URQUELL
German word meaning "original source).The term is used to show that the beer is the first or original in its style,such as Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic.Often only Ur is used.
WEISSE/WEIZEN
Wheat beers from Bavaria.They have grown in popularity in the past 30 years or so,now 25% of Bavaria's beer market.
HEFEWEIZEN
A more popular unfiltered cloudy version of wheat beer.
DUNKELWEIZEN
Dark wheat beer.
WITBIER
The white wheat beers of Belgium are also known as "Bieres Blanches" in French.These are brewed using around 50% wheat,but then a variety of spices are added,notably orange peel and coriander.
Although the main Focus at MARKET WINE & SPIRITS is on wine, beer comes in a very close second place. We will constantly endeavor to bring or introduce beers to you from all around the world.Our current selection includes beers from:THE GOOD OLD U.S. OF A.,BELGIUM,FRANCE,GERMANY,THE NETHERLANDS,ITALY,IRELAND,ENGLAND,SCOTLAND,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,JAPAN,CHINA,MEXICO,DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,THE CARIBBEAN AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC
99.9% of the above information on brews from around the world comes directly from "THE ULTIMATE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WINE,BEER & LIQUEURS" by Stuart Walton & Brian Glover
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