Na Zdravi !

Beers. Mostly Craft Beers, Mostly West Coast.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Then and Now

Na Zdravi!

A 10-second take.
Not really reviews, just my way to keep track of the beers I've tried.

My mother's family is Czech. They emigrated from Bohemia and settled in Nebraska in the mid-1800's.
They were from the region that included the town Pilzen (Pilsen) where a brewery called Měšťanský pivovar Plzeň, now Pilsner Urquell (Plzeňský Prazdroj in Czech), started brewing a uniquely Bohemian-style beer we now know as pilsner.

So, as I raise a glass in honor of my Bohemian roots ...

Na Zdravi! (to your health).

Reinheitsgebot

The Bavarian beer purity law of 1512 that declared that beer can only be brewed using water, barley and hops. This has been since amended to include yeast.
It is the very basic recipe for beer.

Malts?

Malted grain, traditionally barley, is the foundation of beer. It provides the sugars (starches) that will ultimately yeild the alcohol and carbonation.
Malts can be named for the region of origin, the arrangement of the barleycorns, or the varietal of the grain.
Light or dark roast grains affect the color and flavor of the brew.

Hops?

A "hop" is the cone shaped resinous flower of the female hop plant. It is used in brewing to add bitterness, flavor, aroma, and stability depending on when it is added.

Hops are one of the 4 basic ingredients of beer although they are not esential in the brewing process. The are used simply to add flavor and complexity to the brew.
Double and even triple IPA's feature an extreme amount of hops, and an ABV to match.
Noble Hops - The traditional varieties of hops that were used to make early European beers. Medieval brewers used Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt, and/or Tettnang hops. All are from Germany except Saaz from the Czech Republic (Žatec in Czech). All are still used today.

Yeast?

The magical ingredient that makes beer ... beer. Yeasts consume the sugars from the malted grain and the waste product of this process is alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The type of yeast used divides beer into two general categories, ales or lagers.
Yeast can also impart flavors and aromas to the brew.

ABV?

ABV stands for Alcohol By Volume and is expressed as a percentage. So a beer with an ABV of 5% is literally 5% alcohol and the rest is "flavored" water. Most beers fall in the 4.5% to 10% range,
Beers around 5% (or less) are sometimes referred to as Session or Sessionable Beers meaning they are suitable for drinking multiples in one "session".

IBU?

IBU stands for International Bittering Units which measure the bitterness of beers on a zero to whatever scale, although most all beers fall in the 5-120 range. What IBUs measure are the parts per million of isohumulone found in a beer. The higher the number the more bitter the beer ... well sorta. Different styles of beer can and do have different perceived bitterness based on their formulation.

Final Gravity

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About Me

Steve: A slightly impaired baby boomer. Known raconteur, bon vivant, craft beer "connoisseur", internet curmudgeon, stroke survivor, full-time grandpa, and all-around good guy

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