[SOC] Bottles

[JMcAulay]

At 01:46 PM 06/16/2003 +0100, "Paul Bartlett"
<paul@fulking.freeserve.co.uk> wrote a remarkably cogent commentary on
beers on both sides of the pond:

>I have to differ here Bill. English beer is *not* served warm; it is served
>cool. American beer (possibly an oxy-moron) is served chilled. As far as I
>can ascertain, this is to avoid the vague chance that you might actually
>taste it.

Most Americans I've known have never tasted real English beer.  Likewise,
most Brits I've known couldn't tell most American beer from a Marmite
sandwich, except one ls more liquid than the other.

>On a (slightly) technical note, it's been observed that a beer is best=
 drunk
>at the temperature at which it was fermented.=20

A curious observation, unfamiliar to me, but one which at first blush makes
sense.

>English bitters are fermented
>using 'top fermenting' yeasts which form a mat at the top of the wort and
>are brewed at around room temperature (say around 15C).=20

I recall my first visit to England, during which I found most pubs to have
an evening ambient temperature of something like +10=B0C.  Of course, it was
May, and the weather had begun to turn warm.  A colleague there,
instructing me on the fine art of English beer consumption, suggested I
have a pint of bitter and light.  And I did.  Imagine my surprise -- having
heard so much about "warm" beer -- to find that it was not warm at all, but
rather room temperature.  Which felt to me, of course, damn near freezing.
Anyway, I loved the beer.

>German lagers on the
>other hand (which I believe most American beers bear some kind of
>resemblance to) are brewed using bottom fermenting yeasts which thrive best
>at cooler temperatures. Lager means 'yard' or storage area in German (which
>I'm sure you knew already). The name reflects the fact that the brewing
>occurred outside.

Every reference I've seen advises that "Lager" refers to stored beer,
originally in cool caves.  Some hops do not develop proper flavor in the
beer without fairly long-term sitting around.  This is the origin of my
amusement in the recent Anheuser-Busch advertising in the US, proclaiming
"Fresh beer tastes better!"  Well, I'd agree partway.  Fresh *CHEAP* beer
tastes better, because the flavor of lesser hops becomes most unfortunate
after a long while in the container.  Wow, Marketing Departments can come
up with some real drivel.  So Budweiser now has a "Born On" date (I'm not
kidding) emblazoned on every container, presumably so the consumer can be
sure to drink it long before a fine Lager would even begin to taste good.
I used to make most of my own beer (one of my very few non-SOC practices),
and I recall one batch made with truly fine hops (largely Hallertauer) that
tasted awful until it was over six months in bottle.  After a year, its
flavor was still excellent.  Unfortunately, inadequacy of sample size
conspired against any truly long-term research. =20

A British author, Dave Line, penned a lot of material on making your own
beer.  One of his books was titled, *Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy*.  I,
instead, was much more interested in buying beers like the ones I brewed.
I preferred a low-alcohol dark beer (red) with my own selection of hops.  I
packed it in reused Champagne bottles (great for beer), and I used to drink
four or five of those in an evening.  Any other beer makers out there?

American beers are not all made with adjuncts such as rice (proudly
revealed as an ingreadient on the American Budweiser label).
Unfortunately, for several years I have taken medication for diabetes which
precludes my enjoyment of beer (not such a great idea for a diabetic to
drink beer, anyway).   But before then, my favorite American brew was San
Francisco's Anchor Steam Beer.  Next time you come to California, I suggest
you drink some.  On draught if possible, but the bottled version is very
close.  Anchor Steam is really hoppy, dark, and is made of only water,
malted barley, hops, and yeast.  Primary fermentation is in large open
vats, in the coolness of just plain San Francisco climate (The City's
year-'round temperature is conducive to making both excellent beer and
sourdough bread).  "Krausening" is practiced, where some of the latest
actively fermenting wort is added to the batch headed for secondary
fermentation, so that carbonation of the beer is naturally generated, not
injected after fermentation is completed.  Closed refrigerated secondary
fermentation vessels are used, and the product is never pasteurized.  For
bottling, it is run through very fine sterile filters, so live yeast cells
are filtered out.  Thus there is no fermentation in bottle.  For those so
inclined, they also brew Porter and  Stout.

>I also have a couple of 807s squirrelled away somewhere. The proper English
>name for these devices is 'valves' but the informal name is 'bottles'.
>Appropriate.

Quite.

I also agree that a good SOC title for beer in small metal containers would
be proper.  And no, beer in glass and metal do *not* taste the same.  So
there.

73
John WA6QPL  SOC 263