Pump filtration of fruit liqueurs to get rid of cloudy sediment?

There are several types of filtering systems out there. I suggest a hobby level plate and frame filter. You can filter at 5 microns or less, but 5 is probably good enough to remove the sediment. There are cartridge filter systems too. But I would poke around a homebrewing or winemaking store on the web to see what is going to suit you the best.


Pronunciation of Abt (as in St. Bernardus Abt 12)

Abt is abbot in Dutch. You can hear a couple people pronounce it on Forvo, but in the States I'd just say abbot. The top two examples are German. If you scroll down there is one Dutch speaker. For anyone unfamiliar with St. Bernardus or how a monk relates to a beer, it's an abbey beer.

Additionally, the 12 in the name seems to refer to the beers gravity. In the Belgian degree system, specific gravity is converted to degrees by subtracting 1 from the number and multiplying by 100 (there's a little history on St. Bernardus if you scroll down to pg. 305). So if the final gravity is 1.012 (PDF for clone recipe), crunch the numbers and you end up with 12 degrees.


First off, I don't know if this story is in fact true, but I can shed some light on the subject which would indicate that it is certainly plausible.

Hops were first used to flavor beer around 1000 A.D., starting in Germany.  Until this time beer was flavored with a mix of herbs and spices called "gruit" which was taxed (generally by either the government or the Roman Catholic Church) and in many cases required by law, so when hops did appear, they appears in regions where the church had less control.

Hops didn't make their way to England until around 1500 A.D., and weren't universally used until around the year 1600.   Since Henry VIII reigned from 1509 until 1547, it would have been early in the introduction of hops to the region, and it is certainly within the realm of possibility that he may have outlawed them as a threat to the tax revenue stream provided by the sale of gruit.   Eventually though, demand for hops won out, and Henry's own wars with the Catholic Church may have weakened the ability to gruit rights-holders to continue to monopolize the market, and as I mentioned, by fifty years after Henry's death, hops ultimately won the war.


What kind of beer should I use when making beer & brats?

Go for lower alcohol and less hoppy.  Alcoholic drinks on meat can give great flavor, but the alcohol has a tendency to dry out said meat.  Some form of malty session beer would be great to cook with, if you had any near you.  Rauchbier would probably work well, since that smoke flavor would really enhance the meat, but drinking it with it might be too much.  If you do cook them this way, don't boil, just simmer for a while.

What would probably be pretty pimp, would be to make a beer reduction with the onions and serve that on the brats.  Sauté some onions, and right after they've started to caramelize, add some of a great malty beer...maybe a Marzen... and simmer it on medium heat until it starts to thicken up and make a syrupy sauce that sticks to the onions.


Is there a common name for a "craft" beer brewed by a major brewery?

In Wisconsin, there is not a coined term for those types of "craft brews" as produced by a global brewery.  They are generally referred to simply by describing the brew as a/an fake or impostor craft, craft-style beer, or Big Beer craft.  (The descriptors simply degenerate as the beer-passion elevates.)

This 2013 TIME article simply references "Faux Craft" and "Crafty"
http://business.time.com/2013/08/13/that-craft-beer-youre-drinking-isnt-craft-beer-do-you-care/

If it's a matter of simply communicating effectively, I don't feel the need to use a coined term (as astroturf is to grassroots).  For marketing purposes, however, it seems there is still time for a hilariously ironic name to be coined.


What is a “Boston Particular?”
First of all here is the exact quote in question:

It is almost certain that “the first Americans and Persians to interact in person” were not missionaries but “rum traders.” Even then, in spite of public pretenses of piety, Iranians were and still are great consumers of what was called “Boston Particular (rum laced with whiskey).” - What Has Gone Wrong Between Iran and the United States?

Journalists do good work, however their English is not always the best. I believe the phrase should have been phrased in the following manner: A particular Boston rum (laced with whiskey).
This is easily explained seeing the slight faux pas. In this it is quite common to age rum in Boston in used whiskey barrels. Being aged in whiskey barrels would give the rum a taste as being laced with whiskey.

Bully Boy Boston Rum

Bully Boy revives flavors of the Old World with their Boston Rum.
When Bully Boy Distillery opened in Boston, Massachusetts, they felt, given that the regions’ history, it was only fitting that one of their original spirits be a craft rum. You see, dating back to the 1600s, Massachusetts’ original distilleries were famous for their rum production. At their peak, there was about sixty distilleries operating in the state. As an homage, Bully Boy created an aged rum using blackstrap molasses, for the vanilla notes it imparts, and sweet molasses, for its cleaner, fruiter flavor. The combination give Bully Boy Boston Rum a unique, nuanced flavor.
Bully Boy instills its own “house” flavor in a sort of editing process. They include more of the front end of the “run” to get more banana and pineapple notes to compliment the molasses flavors. When their done, the rum goes into whiskey barrels, where it is aged. The time it spends in the barrels mellows the rum, while adding notes of chocolate, vanilla, oak and more layers of complexity.
It took a while to perfect this recipe, but the Willis brothers knew they were on the right track when the rum started evolving its way into their father’s liquor cabinet.


Is there evidence that drinking beer on airplane have more "kick"?

The 'kick' you are describing is being caused by a mild altitude sickness. As you can read in these medical guidelines for airline passengers the cabin pressure is contrary to popular belief, not pressurized to sea level pressure:

  On most flights the cabin altitude will be between 6,000 and 8,000 ft.
  (1,828m and 2,438m) even though the aircraft is flying at much higher
  altitudes. In other words, on most flights, it is as if you are on top
  of a hill or small mountain. This imposes two stresses on the body:
  less oxygen; and, expansion of gases in the body cavities.

The reason for feeling drunk more quickly is due to the lack of oxygen presented by the lack of pressure. Lack of oxygen, according to this source, gives rise to the following symptoms and comes to the same conclusion:

  There are various symptoms, including dizziness, lightheadedness,
  fatigue, drowsiness, weakness, nausea, unsteady gait, and a headache.
  Sounds familiar, right? Yeah, the symptoms of altitude sickness are a
  lot like the effects of alcohol intoxication.

Another interesting read can be found here.


In some of the other recipes interpreting “do.” as ditto makes sense.

It makes sense here too:

2
ditto the "glasses"
ditto the "of"
Curaçao


All malt beer is made entirely from mashed barley malt and without the addition of adjuncts, sugars or additional fermentables.

From an expert of a widely known brand beer producer in my country (Turkey), beers here must be at least 60% malt (This may be different in other countries). The rest are adjuncts, like sugar or corn or rice etc. Using adjuncts is also for decreasing the cost or to lighten the color of beer.


Yes Coffee Lagers exist.

Some call them Coffee Beer as a generic name for all styles of Coffee Beer.

  As the name suggests, this can be either a lager or ale with coffee added to boost flavor. While stouts and porters are popular base styles for coffee beer, many craft breweries are experimenting with other styles, like cream ales and India pale ales. Brewers may steep the beans in either water or beer to impart java flavor without adding acidity. Barrel-aged or wood-influenced versions may show signs of oxidation, including sherry notes and other advanced flavors.

Here is one example of a Cold Brew Coffee Lager: Saranac.


Actually, this does happen - but, perhaps 'explode' is a bit of a dramatic term to use... 'Spring a leak' is more like it; because the building pressure would pop the seal of the barrel in order to off-gas.

Check out this thread from the Homebrewing beta:
Flat beer after priming in a pressure barrel

  That's probably the main culprit (CO2 leak).

Also, this brewer describes the exact same scenario occurring during a couple of his brews due to a specific yeast:

Pressure Barrel Blues


It was likely a pear cider from the folks at Fox Barrel (http://www.foxbarrel.com/).


Which other wines taste similar to Georgian Khvanchkara?

Amarone and Valpoliccella Ripasso from Italy are your safest bet. Any wine that’s made with dried grapes (appassimento) will hold some sweetness without moving into the category of dessert wine or fortified (port). These wines should be readily available through the world and may other countries are producing appassimento styles, one I am familiar with is Mayu Carmenere Appassiment from Chile which is fantastic!
You should be able to find any of these styles in most supermarkets or wine retailers. Unfamiliar with the Netherlands but it shouldn’t be too hard to find them and if you are spending time in Italy it’s hard to imagine you haven’t came across Amarone before?


What alcohol beverage goes well with a certain type of smoking?

Smoke and drink like a pirate.

  Rum and cigars both hail from the Caribbean, so it’s no coincidence that they work well with one another. Match the spiced and sweet molasses undertones of this full-bodied dark spirit with creamy cigar, like a flavorfully nutty and cocoa-infused Casa Magna. Yes, we know there are clear rums as well but, in all honesty, most combinations with this spirit will be subpar. - Best Cigar Pairings with Beer & Alcohol Drinks

For those into E-Cigarettes here is a suggestion:

  A British e-cigarette manufacturer has a new option for those who enjoy a smoke with their favorite alcoholic beverage. London Fox recently rolled out two new e-cigarettes, the Silver and the Refresh, meant to be paired with beers, cocktails or wine. - This E-Cigarette Offers Suggested Drink Pairings.

Here is some pairings for Marijuana, for those interested and where it is legal to smoke: How To Pair Beer And Marijuana: A Match Made In Hazy Heaven.


Any Iranian rummers here? What yeast do you use?

Bread yeast is very close to brewers yeast.

There is a mead recipe you can search-up: "Joes ancient orange mead", which does specify using bread yeast, rather than specific mead yeast.  Many home brewers make this with good levels of success.

Failing that, you can grow naturally-occurring yeast from the skins of fresh and dried fruits (e.g.: grapes). We used to do this as kids to carbonate ginger beer soft drink (aka: soda).


Giving beer a decent head and why people like it?

Yes, beer is indeed generally supposed to have a head.  The foam can add to both the flavor and the texture of your beer.  It is preference for sure, and if you don't like it, then you don't like it, but I'd encourage you to try it from time to time with an open mind.  The head of a beer is quite complex, consisting of proteins that are acted on by the hops, the yeast, and the carbonation. Because of the complexity, creating the perfect recipe for foam in a beer is something the brewers spend quite a lot of time and energy on, and it's a fairly integral part of a good beer.

Note that there are exceptions. Truly non-carbonated beer, like Samuel Adams Utopias will not have a head. Hever, from what I've read, that specific example is probably more closely comparable to a fortified wine than a common beer in any case.


Should English/English-style beers be served warmer, since that is how the taste was developed?

Serving temperature is, of course, a preference.  Serve it frozen or boiling if you want.  However, a few opinions are:

CAMRA says that Real Ale (aka cask ale, usually english-style) should be served at 12-14 °C (54-57 °F), which is colder than room temperature, but warmer than your usually keg beer.
Ratebeer says the same thing regardless of whether it’s cask or not.
BeerAdvocate says 7-10 °C (45-50 °F) for an english bitter.

So, if you’re looking for a rule of thumb: “cool but not super-cold” or “cellar temp” will probably get you close enough.


Limit: So, I would speculate that if you're "vaping" the same quantity of alcohol as you might instead drink, then you're facing the same risk. It's the same as drinking alcohol - the risk is cumulative and hard to define - it really depends on how much you drink and how often.

Effect on lungs: Frankly this is hard to say, as I am quite confident there have been no large scale (AKA reputable) studies (nor can I find any) performed on the effect of vaping alcohol on lung tissues. I would expect the effects to be minimal, but then again, personally, I'd probably still just stick to drinking my alcohol.

I can't provide any scientific basis to this, but I am thoroughly confident that vaping is simply a fad or novelty to enjoy - think of the increased costs and lack of accessibility compared to just drinking alcohol - you simply need a bottle of beer and a fridge, or a bottle of spirits and a glass versus a specialised glass, tea candle, vapour catching vessel and a glass or metal straw (seriously, who keeps one of them around?).


Whiskey: Year is it from distilled or bottled?

The bottle you are talking about will be 6 years old: it ages from the day of distillation and it will stop aging once it has been bottled (properties can change but for all intents and purposes it has stopped aging once it has been bottled)

I would even go on to say that it will pretty much be impossible to find a whiskey that is from this year as they will need some time to distill and bottle. I would say the earliest you will be able to get a whiskey distilled in 2016 would be about 4 years from now as whiskey takes time to make, so be patient you will be able to get a bottle from 2016 just not yet.


Does "ice-cold filtering" have additional value for a beer?

It suggests that the filtering is somehow better.  But really it's Marketing - conjuring the mental image of a delicious cold frosty beer.

The base idea is that proteins & yeasts in the beer (which cause haze) will clump together because of the cold - with the implication that somehow this provides better filtering.

The truth of it is that no beer is filtered at non-cold temperatures.

Filtering can make a very "bright" beer - that is, it is clear.  Filtering is done with different technologies, and down to different levels.  Some beer styles are not filtered at all (e.g. German Hefeweizens - cloudy wheat beers) as are many craft beers, whereas others are filtered to the point where just about all particulates - including yeasts and suspended proteins are removed.

Traditionally, lagered beers had a long time for the yeast etc. to settle out, thus producing an quite bright beer without filtering.  Many home brewers use this technique too.

Filtering can remove a lot of flavour from the beverage, but it does increase shelf-stability and product longevity.


It's incredibly easy to infuse vodka with tea - unscrew the cap, force a teabag through the neck, screw the cap back on, and put it in the freezer until you're happy with it (overnight is fine). Keep the tag outside so it's easy to pull out. Tea vodka is tasty, and also makes a great base for cocktails.

You can also infuse it with horseradish, or ginger, or any other kind of root the same way that you would with a fruit peel - slice it thin, chuck it in, and give it a day. Unsweetened cranberries are great, and cranberry vodka is very popular in Russia and Finland.

With the right infusions, you can turn your vodka into gin.


I think your friend got the wrong end of a stick :p

Wikipedia lists it as a pilsner, so does BeerAdvocate and the Warsteiner site.

I think Premium Verum is just a name.


Before going to the various types of gin, I feel it necessary to define a few terms and for simplification I am going to use Wikipedia.

What is gin?

  Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries (Juniperus communis). From its earliest origins in the Middle Ages, gin has evolved from use in herbal medicine to an object of commerce in the spirits industry. Gin was developed on the basis of the older jenever, and became popular in Great Britain (particularly in London) when William of Orange, leader of the Dutch Republic, occupied the English, Scottish, and Irish thrones with his wife Mary. Gin is one of the broadest categories of spirits, represented by products of various origins, styles, and flavour profiles that all revolve around juniper as a common ingredient.

What is a liqueur?

  A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit that has been flavored with fruit, cream, herbs, spices, flowers or nuts and bottled with added sugar or other sweetener (such as high-fructose corn syrup). Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long after the ingredients are mixed, but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.

What is a liquor?

  A distilled beverage, spirit, liquor, hard liquor or hard alcohol is an alcoholic beverage produced by distillation of grains, fruit, or vegetables that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. The distillation process purifies the liquid and removes diluting components like water, for the purpose of increasing its proportion of alcohol content (commonly expressed as alcohol by volume, ABV).1 As distilled beverages contain more alcohol, they are considered "harder" – in North America, the term hard liquor is used to distinguish distilled beverages from undistilled ones.

On the web one can see that there generally five types of gin. However Canada and the USA recognize only 3 types of gin (Genever, Gin, London or Dry gin), while the  European Union recognizes 4 types (Juniper-flavoured spirit drinks, Gin, Distilled gin and London gin).

Here are the different types of gins that can be found around the world and what makes them a certain style of gin.

  London Dry Gin is what most people think of as “gin.” They are typically very dry, heavily juniper flavored, light in body, and aromatic. To get the flowery, botanical flavor, this style of gin is typically infused with various aromatic ingredients during the 2nd or 3rd distillation process, giving each brand its own unique taste. London dry gin doesn’t have to be made in London and most aren’t. If you’re at the store, common brands include Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Beefeater. This style is great for classic martinis, gin and tonics, and Aviation cocktails.
  Plymouth Gin is a less dry cousin to London Dry Gin that must be made in Plymouth, England. Infused with more roots, this style of gin has an earthier flavor with softer juniper notes than other styles. Currently, there is only one brand of Plymouth gin produced in the world and, wouldn’t you know it, it’s called Plymouth. It can be used anywhere a London Dry Gin is used.
  Genever or Dutch gin is very different in color and taste to the other types of gins. Unlike most gins which are made with a combination of cereal grains, genever is made from a base of malt grains which gives it a darker color and flavor that is more similar to a light-bodied, botanical whiskey. Recently, genever has been revived by craft mixologists who are using it creatively in cocktails, but it is just as good for sipping straight or chilled. The most commonly available brand is Bols Genever.
  Old Tom Gin is a sweeter cousin to London Dry Gin and is appropriately names as it was the preferred gin in a Tom Collins. It’s often thought of as somewhere in between a London Dry Gin and Genever. It can be difficult to find but look for the Hayman’s brand. Old Tom Gin is most famously used in the Tom Collins and Martinez cocktails but is also delicious in a Ramos Gin Fizz.
  New American or International Style Gin is an umbrella term used to refer to all of the new styles of gin that use the same base distilling process but are predominantly infused with flavors other than juniper berries. The most common one you might be familiar with is Hendrick’s, flavored with cucumber and rose. - The 4 (and Maybe 5) Types of Gin

A sixth type of gin is the Sloe Gin and is considered by some to be a liqueur and not a liquor because of the amount of sugar added to it.

  Sloe Gin: A historic style, with neither legal nor geographic protection, sloe gin is a flavored gin, using sloe, or blackthorn, berries, along with sugar. Sloe gin is more of a fruit cordial or a liqueur than it is a true gin, and in fact, some bottom-shelf sloe gins are made not with gin at all but with vodka. - The Serious Eats Guide to Gin

More information can be found at the following:

  A Basic Introduction to Gin
  5 Types of Gin


Is Heady Topper by The Alchemist worth it?

I've had it and I would say it's not really worth going out of your way for it. It's been overhyped, in my opinion, and while it's a good beer I don't think it's really as mind-breakingly good as many others seem to think.

I believe this discrepancy arises from the fact that Heady Topper is a relatively well balanced IPA. It has the hops bitterness to it that IPAs do, and the high alcohol content of a double, however it also has more of a malty body to it that most people are unused to when drinking IPAs. So lots of people are shocked when drinking it that it actually has some balance between the body and the aftertaste, so that's part of what leads to the high reviews (in my opinion).

So if the opportunity comes up to try it, sure, go for it. But I wouldn't really go out of my way to chase after it - there are other well balanced IPAs out there that are more readily available.


Adding Spirit Essences to home brew beer

First, congratulations on getting bit by the homebrewing bug!

Yes, you can actually drop bourbon/scotch/whiskey into your fermented beer to add that flavor. Why after fermentation? To make sure you don't kill the yeast before they do their job. The hardest part is getting the right spirit to blend with the beer you're making. Darker beers tend to hold up to spirits better because of the unfermented dark roasted malts and robustness that off-set the alcohol you're placing in them. Dropping bourbon in a sour would probably be a waste of time, effort, and good alcohol.

Homebrewers more commonly use "other" ingredients to impart other flavors to beer that might not be approved for commercial use. Brew Your Own has a section called Mister Wizard that addressed a little of this in one of the responses. This should kind of give you an idea of the "mad scientist" aspect of homebrew beer additives.

  The same is true if one chooses to add oak chips to the secondary fermentation. After I got the brew where I wanted it with respect to beer flavor, oak flavor and aged flavors, I would begin to play with adding the wine or spirit component. This type of blending is always best done by preparing several samples of beer with varying levels of blended mixtures so that the flavor impact can be tasted over a range of concentrations. You may find that even a little of the planned flavor additive makes for a vile brew and you can avert a disaster.

However, the easier and more repeatable version (albeit more money than most recreational brewers will care to spend) is to buy a bourbon barrel and let your beer age in them to absorb the bourbon-y goodness. Dragon's Milk and Sexual Chocolate are two solid mentions (in my opinion).


Why Fox Grape wines (like Izabella/Isabella) are forbidden on EU market?

It's a fairly long story, but here goes...

First "Fox Grapes" are American grapes. There are several species of vitis that are used for wine production. I think in this case it's vitis labrusca.

So, here's what happened. Somewhere in the 1860s a French researcher brought grapevines from the USA to France in pots with soil. He planted them in a vineyard to study them. What he didn't know is that he brought two problems back with him, powdery mildew and phylloxera.

Phylloxera is a root louse you can barely see it with the naked eye. American grapes, having been exposed to this bug for millions of years, adapted to this bug and is now resistant (resistant to powdery mildew too). European grapes, all which are one species vitis vinifera, had no resistance to this bug. So, in a few short years it decimated almost all European grapes.

Researchers were desperate to figure out a way to combat this bug. There was a three pronged approach. First they poisoned the soil and that works but is bad for the soil. It literally kills everything in the soil. Bugs, animals, fungus. Most of which is beneficial. This was eventually outlawed in the Europe.

Another way was to graft american rootstock to European grapes. This is the way almost all grapes in Europe are grown now. The third way was to breed American vines and European vines. This was quite popular too since it eliminated the hassle of grafting rootstock.

These newly bred vines were called "hybrids". (BTW, Isabella was not one of these newly bred grapes. They think it was a chance encounter between European grapes and American grapes in the USA as people tried to plant European grapes in the USA). Anyway, back to the hybrids. Many, many new varieties of grapes were produced and with careful breeding they could make decent wine but never quite as good as 100% vinifera.

The French, leading the charge, banned all non-French grapes from being grown in France as an act of purity. They force untold acres of grapes to be dug up and replaced with pure French grapes. This spread to other parts of the EU several decades ago and now very rare to find these old hybrids being grown.

There are new efforts at using advanced breeding techniques to breed grapes that are almost indistinguishable from 100% but have hybrid features to combat phylloxera and powdery mildew and reduce the amount of chemical sprayed in the vineyard. Hybrids are still quite popular in the USA for these reasons and also they are quite cold tolerant and can withstand much colder temperatures than what is typically found in Europe.


Brewing: Which temperature should I ferment ale beer at?

Short answer: 17-20C (62-68F) is good for ales.

The temperature of fermentation is exceedingly important for the final beer.  Too low (< 15C) can cause the ale yeast to go dormant, stalling the process.  While a high temperature (> 25C) can cause a rapid ferment, where the yeast creates excess esters and fusel alcohols.

Yeast also generate their own warmth during fermentation.  A commonly cited value is that the ferment is around 3C above ambient temperatures.

There are exceptions to this of course.  Some beers ("Saison" for example) are fermented much warmer.


I don't think there's really a good answer to this question. Beer is an ancient beverage, whose formulations and methods of manufacture have changed over the centuries. The oldest continually operating brewery is claimed to be the Weihenstephan Abbey.


This is what would be referred to as the "Light Beer" category. For the most part, this is mass-produced beer, done by the big commercial breweries in the USA (I don't know much about beer production outside North America).

If you want some good light beers, I'd suggest taking a look at lists like BeerAdvocate's Best Light Lagers


Why can't antibiotics be taken with beer?

As everything in life, it depends.... From the Mayo Clinic:

  Antibiotics and alcohol can cause similar side effects, such as
  stomach upset, dizziness and drowsiness. Combining antibiotics and
  alcohol can increase these side effects.

  A few antibiotics — such as metronidazole (Flagyl), tinidazole
  (Tindamax) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra) —
  should not be mixed with alcohol because this may result in a more
  severe reaction. Drinking any amount of alcohol with these medications
  can result in side effects such as flushing, headache, nausea and
  vomiting, and rapid heart rate.

So some antibiotics may not cause issues while others might. Best thing to do is follow the medications warning label


From the Wiki page on Sour Beer:

"[S]our beers are made by intentionally allowing wild yeast strains or bacteria into the brew. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allowed wild yeast to enter the brew naturally through the barrels or during the cooling of the wort in a coolship open to the outside air – an unpredictable process that many modern brewers avoid.

The most common agents used to intentionally sour beer are Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, and Pediococcus. Another method for achieving a tart flavor is adding fruit during the aging process to spur a secondary fermentation or contribute microbes present on the fruit's skin."


Yes, it's ok to drink. Belgian beer usually has a lot of sediment to begin with. I've aged Belgian beers for several years. Some taste quite good with that amount of age.  It's up to you if you want the sediment or not. I am a decanting guy but not everyone is. All you can do is pop it in the fridge and try it out!


Young in terms of establishments - Micropubs "traditionally" have to adhere to certain "standards":

There is only one room
Generally too small to have a bar
No Televisions
No Juke Boxes
No manufactured (think commercialized) beer
No lagers! (Literally is a dirty word - think yelling a racial slur among the people associated with that slur)
No spirits (usually just Wine, Ale, Cider - though soft drinks and water can be supplied for children and DDs)

The focus is to shun electronics (outside of electricity) focus on social interactions and ales (and maybe sometimes pub snacks).

This seems to be a very United Kingdom centered movement (as I havent heard of this in the US).


Does aging in oak barrels add the same compounds to beer as it does to wine?

You remember correctly.

(http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/age-wine-wooden-barrels/)

(Tannic acid, a tannin found in oak)

Tannins, the chemicals that are transferred from the oak barrels to the wine, are extremely good at forming hydrogen bonds (just look at the structure!), which makes them very soluble in water. Considering that both beer and wine have no shortage of water in them, these molecules are quite willing to join either substance.

As for the aeration, I believe that may actually be an undesirable consequence of using the barrels for beer. However I can't imagine the effects being very profound unless you were aging the beer like you would with wine (months or years versus weeks).


What glass shape is most commonly used for Saison's?

I don't think that there is a commonly accepted glassware for saisons in general.  Different sources point to 3 different types: the pint, the tupic, and the oversized wine (goblet?).  A prticular saison may be better suited to one of those three, depending on whether it was crafted to have more or less aromatic, or just a beer for simple drinking.


Unfortunately there's no easy way to test for this at home unless you're a chemist and happen to own a gas spectrometer.  However, white labs sells a testing kit for < $40 that will run a full series of labs on a sample of your beer and give you exact alcohol, IBU, diacetyl, gluten content, etc.  But it requires packing up a sample of your brew and shipping it to white labs in the provided box.  I don't know how long it takes since I've never done it.

As to the process I was able to find this description at homebrewtalk.com:

  A 10 mL pipet is dipped into octanol and shaken so that most of the octanol is thrown off. 10 mL of chilled beer are drawn into the pipet and transferred to a 50 mL centrifuge tube. 1 mL of 3 N HCl is added followed by 20 mL of spectrographic grade iso-octane. The tube is shaken vigorously using a wrist action shaker (though I know one guy who does this determination professionally who shakes by hand) for 15 minutes. If there is a slush in the tube, centrifuge until the iso-octane phase is separate. Pipet a couple mL into a quartz 1 cm cuvet and read against another quartz cuvet filled with iso-octane and a "minute" amount of octanol. The IBUs are 50 times the absorbtion at 275 nm.

Best bet for your home brewing is to pick one of the estimation formulas and note it on all your beers, then you can rank them relatively based on your perception of the IBUs calculated and can better target the amount of bitterness you want in the future.  Since a lot of it depends on your equipment and the alpha acid content of the particular crop of hops.

You might also want to pop over to homebrew.SE and ask if they know of any other test kits or have advice.


From what I can gather on the whiskey it is bottled at 40% which is low  for a scotch

so taking this into consideration I would have a guess at this whiskey being around the 10-12 year old mark but nobody can really be certain as all 6 of the Warrior series did not have an age on the bottle


Ratebeer has a list of bars and brewpubs. In the brewpubs you can get beer produced in the pub (or at least for the pub), which I assume is what you mean by home brewed. I really liked Durdin, which had both good food, good music, and good beer. Try their kvass! GlavPivTorg is interesting for the historical associations, and also quite good. Their unfiltered pale lager was very good.


Should not be a problem healthwise, taste could be a little different but as it was stored in a can it was protected from sunlight.


How fast do I need to finish a Hefe Weissbier Keg?

Where did you read this? I am unfamiliar with Dunkle Hefe exactly, but this is true for wooden casks.
Typically a wooden cask is served with gravity or with a hand pump to lift from a cellar. There is an opening in the top that draws air in to equalise the pressure. This air will reduce the shelf life to 3 days.
A "Donkey Pump" on the common sankey keg is similar. The beer will spoil quite fast.


Other stouts to use in a 'Guinness cake'

Guinness is in a style called "Dry Irish Stout", so anything on this list would probably substitute well.

It sort of depends on what you felt was missing from the cake.  We could work on narrowing it down to stouts that were stronger in those flavors.

Oatmeal or milk stouts as styles would be sweeter than Guinness, some stouts might play up chocolate or coffee or roast/burnt.  Porter is a really similar style that takes well to interesting spice combinations like vanilla and anise.  Bourbon Barrel aged stouts will have a wood/vanilla/whiskey thing going on.  You could make some interesting cakes.


What German beers are similar to Belgian abbey beers?

You can't find a German-style beer that is similar to Belgian beer (as Germany-style beers are low fermented ones, while Belgian beer are top fermented ones).
But recently it has become easy to find a German brewery that brews a Belgian beer, e.g. Camba, as well as some IPAs and stouts.


What if beer (opened) was left in fridge for like... months

Your question says they were opened?  I'm going to venture probably not.  You tagged this 3.2-beer, does that mean these are low alcohol session beers somewhere around 3.2% ABV?

If the beers aren't moldy, best case scenario is you now have two bottles of home made malt vinegar.  Make a balsamic, have some steaks with side salads.

If they were closed or sealed in any way, they're probably fine, though depending on the style they probably won't taste great.  Low alcohol and hoppy beers don't age gracefully.  Higher alcohol or darker beers often do better with some time on them.  But either way you have to keep them away from air, namely other microbes and oxygen or else things go downhill real fast.


How long does an open bottle of Sake last?

Split it into small aluminum containers and store it in the fridge. Fill it to the top so there is very little air in the container.  You can find kid sized 12 oz water bottles on sell for just a few bucks.  It should last weeks but best used in one week.

There is also suction pumps and nitrogen.

Temperature for drinking is personal taste.


Where can I find open APIs with wine data (such as numerical expert rating)?

The closest thing I can find (and am currently aware of) is LCBO API. This free API provides details for products sold through the gov't owned liquor retailer in Ontario, Canada. They have a fairly large selection as they are one of the largest buyers of alcohol products globally.

By providing a product's SKU code to the API, you can retrieve some of the product details you're looking for except rating, and varietal. As a consolation, it does provide details on wine type (red, white, rose, champagne etc.) and country (incl. region for some products), but doesn't provide details such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Merlot, etc.


Any recommendations on plum-based spirits?

The problem with recommendations is that it is personal. What one person finds good or excellent is to another poor and unacceptable (too strong, bitter, etc.). The variety of plums used will also make a considerable impact on the taste of a plum based alcohol product as some are tart and others are sweet and juicy.

The only way to find a plum based spirit that one enjoys to try and sample a few (not expensive) types of plum based alcohols and see if one enjoys them.

In this sense, I would suggest that you try one of the following and then give us back your feedback.

A Slivovitz on the lower spectrum of alcohol content (35-40% alcohol) and not that of a higher volume content. This way the true natural flavors more be more apparent to one's taste buds.

  Slivovitz, often called slivovitsa, is a plum brandy found throughout Eastern Europe. The word "slivovitz" is based on the Serbian and Croatian name for a type of plum used to create the drink. Major producers in the Balkans and in Central European nations like the Czech Republic make commercial versions of slivovitz. In rural areas, many people make homemade slivovitz using makeshift stills made from old barrels. In the Czech Republic, this kind of home distilling is now illegal, though lightly regulated community-owned stills are a legal alternative. In Serbia, slivovitz is almost always a part of important events such as celebration of a birth or a wedding reception. The liquor is usually drunk neat because it is said that the flavor of the plums is at its most noticeable at room temperature. Like other types of brandy, slivovitz has a sweet edge. Because so many varieties exist, strengths vary wildly. However, most good slivovitz is between 80 and 100 proof, though homemade versions can be much stronger than that. - Beyond whiskey: 7 exotic spirits worth a try

Pearl vodka has a plum vodka on the market based on natural flavors. Just follow the links to see if it is available in your region.

  Bursting with the sweet, luscious flavor of summertime plums. The tartness of the skin quickly gives way to the jammy flesh within. Purple deliciousness ready to make a splash in your favorite warm-weather cocktail creations (35%). - Plum

Japanese plum wine is called a plum wine or Umeshu (梅酒) in Japan but in reality is a vodka based liqueur with green plums.

  Plum Wine or Umeshu (梅酒) is a Japanese liqueur made by steeping fresh Japanese plum (ume) in shochu/white liquor [vodka] and sugar.  The sweet and sour flavors with fruity aroma is very appealing and you can make many kinds of drinks with it! - Plum Wine (Umeshu) 梅酒 – ‘Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories’

Although quite rare, real plum wine does exist and this is where I would start if new to plum drinks. For example Takara Plum Wine or Fuki Plum Wine is available in the USA.


As you said, many of the traditions like salt & lime are primarily used to disguise low-quality tequila and mezcal. If you're buying a reposado, añejo, or aged mezcal, you'll want to get the full aroma and flavor.

The colder the drink, the less aroma you get. Room temperature is recommended by most distilleries. Using a snifter glass, as Jedicurt suggested, lets you warm the liquor a bit more with your body temperature, which releases even more of the aromatics.

While I certainly know a lot of tequila and mezcal drinkers that add ice to their drinks -- I've been known to do it myself -- we'll generally add a single ice cube after taking that first big whiff to experience the aroma.

While there are mezcals that have the "worm" (it's actually a caterpillar or larva) in the bottle, they're generally the ones you want to avoid if you're drinking for flavor.


Why is Rum not affected in the same way by distillation as other alcohols like Vodka?

There is nothing different about the distillation of rum. Just like with whiskey, brandy, vodka, etc. no sugar comes off the still.

What does happen a lot in the rum industry is the post distillation addition of rum, as referenced in Eric's answer (the author at Alcademics - Camper English - has done a lot of research on sugar in rums).

Sugar can have gluten contamination if it is produced near grain processing. Depending on the rum and where the producer sources their sugar, if sugar is added, there is a slight chance of this happening.

If you want to avoid any chance of additive sugar, you can target brands that don't use additive sugar like Foursquare from Barbados or any Rhum Agricole from Martinique (additive sugar is illegal for rums produced with the AOC from Martinique).


What glasses are meant for which beers and why?

Function

Beer glassware serves a few primary purposes:

it is part of the branding of the beer (for beers with their own glass)
it presents the beer (beauty is in the eye of the beer holder) showcasing the beer's color, clarity and/or carbonation.
it influences how quickly volatiles (aromatics) are released
it influences how much beer can be consumed per sip (e.g. compare champagne flute vs. beer mug)
it can promote head retention (through the shape, plus small etchings in the base of the glass)

Some examples

A Pilsner glass is a long tall V-shaped glass. It emphasizes the
color, clarity and effervescence of the Pilsner. It's similar in
principle to the fluted champagne glass, but having larger rim,
affords larger sips.
The traditional mug is a robust glass, primarly aimed at "chinking"
glasses together and allowing large swallows of beer.
The challace/goblet can be beautiful pieces of work, designed to
showcase the beer, and also promote and maintain a large head.
The tulip glass captures volatiles (in the narrow part of the glass)
while the large opening at the top supports a large head.
The Sniffer, typically used for cognac/brandy, but also for very
strong ales, has a large base that curves up to a small opening to
capture the aromatics, and to allow for swirling to encourage more
aromatics to be released.
The Stange, a long tall glass, amplifies the malt and hop
characteristics by concentrating them in a smaller area, while also
providing a simple elegant presentation of the beer. Often used with
delicate beers.
The Weizen glass is similar to the pilsner glass, but larger
(typically 0.5l minimum) with plenty of room for the large head
typical of a wheat beer.

For more details and images, see Glassware for Beer.


Are there any bottled South Korean craft beers?

Ratebeer has list of breweries in South Korea. I see there are some in Seoul and the images show bottles, so I assume that they bottle.

Go to RateBeer and in the Brewer Search area select the country. (I would have liked to give a result link, but ratebeer hides them).


Beers (ales and lagers) are broken down into many, many different styles based on how they are brewed. Most beers have only 3 or 4 different types of ingredients. Malt, water, yeast, hops and sometimes fruit or herbs. While there doesn't seem like there can be a lot of variation, there are almost an infinite amount of ways to combine these ingredients. For the specific beers you mention, Brown Ale and Mild Ale are very similar styles. I'm not sure what you mean by "The Ale".

Mild Ale vs. Brown Ale

English-Style Brown Ale
Style Family: Brown Ales
The English-style brown ale ranges from dryer (Northern English) to sweeter (Southern English) maltiness. Roast malt tones (chocolate, nutty) may sometimes contribute to the flavor and aroma profile. Hop bitterness is very low to low, with very little hop flavor and aroma. Known for rich and advanced malt aroma and flavor without centering too much on hops, the English-style mild is extremely sessionable and food-friendly.

English-Style Mild Style Family: Brown Ales
Malt and caramel are part of the flavor and aroma profile of the English-style mild while licorice and roast malt tones may sometimes contribute as well. Hop bitterness is very low to low. U.S. brewers are known to make lighter-colored versions as well as the more common “dark mild.” These beers are very low in alcohol, yet often are still medium-bodied due to increased dextrin malts.

If you want to dig deeper into this read the Beer Style Study Guide


Lantern Brewing

  Lantern Brewing is a family-owned microbrewery in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.  We focus on creating unhurried, honest beer following the brewing traditions of Belgium and Northern France.


Tequila worms - to eat or not to eat - that is the question?

Not all types of tequila contain a tequila worm. The tequila worm or as it should be known as the Mezcal worm is normally only found in Mezcal (tequila).

  The worm is reserved for a drink known as Mezcal, which, according to some, is tequila’s big brother. But the two spirits are entirely different. Tequila is distilled from any number of natural Mexican plants and can bear the name as long as the finished product consists of at least 51% agave. Mezcal must be 100% agave. - Should You Eat the Tequila Worm?

Most people would not eat the mezcal worm, but in some cultures it is quite acceptable.

  There are no proven side effects that come with consuming a Tequila worm. While the worm is popularly called the tequila worm, it is only found on the bottom of a bottle of mezcal, a variety of tequila obtained from distilling blue agave and similar plants. The meriposa worm is grown on agave from which mezcal is made, and when a worm is added to the mezcal, it is known as mezcal con gusano.

  Consuming the worm after drinking mezcal is a popular tradition among many communities, but it is not clear where the tradition originated. Some believe that the adding the worm in a bottle of mezcal signifies the purity of the alcohol, as it hinders the disintegration of the worm. Others believe that it is merely a marketing strategy among Mexican liquor producers.

  While it's documented in media that the eating the worm causes hallucinations, this has yet to be medically proven. The worm is pickled in alcohol for more than a year and is made sure to be free to pesticides, before being added to mezcal. It is also a popular delicacy in Mexican restaurants, and is said to have positive psychological effects. - What happens when someone eats a Tequila worm?

As for myself, I think I will pass on this offer!


What is the benefit of organic red wine?

Your question is a little vague. I'm assuming by the nature of your question, you mean the health benefits as opposed to the environmental benefits. Having been growing organic wine grapes for 18 years I think I can address both issues. I might have a more controversial view than most people, but in the end I don't think it makes a lot of difference to drink Organic wine vs. traditional farming from a health perspective.

Grapes are grown, generally, in a dry and hot climate. California, Australia, Spain, Italy. Because of this, there are usually less problems with rot and mildew on grape vines. The two biggest problems are powdery mildew and botrytis. There are some insect problems, but generally they are not a big deal. Compared to other crops like lettuce, strawberries, potatoes, the amount of fertilizer and spraying is minimal.

So, what I am trying to say is that amount of chemicals sprayed on grapevines is already at a low level compared to many other foods you might consume. Here is my controversial take on Organic vs. Traditional wine making. Growers will actually spray MORE chemicals on their grapes they are just "organic" just because the Organic chemicals are not as effective. That means more tractors, more people contributing to pollution in and around the vineyard.

On top of that, in the USA, "Organic Wine" is different than in Europe. In Europe, it means that grapes were grown organically. In the USA, it means that they were grown organically AND do not use sulfites. Which the Europeans have known to help preserve wine for thousands of years and are naturally occurring during the fermentation process. (BTW, sulfites are also a nasty chemical in large amounts). There are way more sulfites on your pre-packaged salad and raisins than there are in wine.

REMEMBER, you are consuming a beverage that contains about 14% of a known carcinogen, namely Ethanol. So expecting your drink to have these huge health benefits is kind of a false flag.

You have to ask yourself why there isn't a lot more Organic wine on the market? A fellow grower told me that it doesn't make economical sense. It costs way more money to grow them vs. traditional or just grow Organic grapes and not have to do all the record keeping, which takes a lot of time and money. High quality growers, for the most part are a thoughtful bunch and really don't want to spray non-organic chemicals and winemakers use non-organic chemicals in the winery.

So, here is my recommendation. I really don't think there is a huge environmental or health edge for Organic wine. High volume, low priced wines will generally have more chemicals in them. If you can find an Organic red wine that you like and you can afford, got for it. If you can spend a little more money, say $20 or more for a bottle of wine, those wines probably came from grapes that were babied way more than a box wine grapes and probably have less chemicals in them in general. In fact as you go up the price curve it's generally known they have less and less chemical inputs. So, the more you can spend, the less chemicals will probably be in your wine.

(And to blow your mind, many wines are not vegetarian! And you have no way to find out.)


Some people serve wine at the ambient temperature without knowing that some wines are better served at a specific temperature.

Which temperature should be recommended in serving wine?

  Light dry white wines, rosés, sparkling wines: Serve at 40°F (5°C) to 50°F (10°C) to preserve their freshness and fruitiness. Think crisp Pinot Grigio and Champagne. For sparklers, chilling keeps bubbles fine rather than frothy. This is also a good range for white dessert wines; sweetness is accentuated at warmer temperatures, so chilling them preserves their balance without quashing their vibrant aromas.

  Full-bodied white wines and light, fruity reds: Serve at 50°F (10°C) to 60°F (15°C) to pick up more of the complexity and aromatics of a rich Chardonnay or to make a fruity Beaujolais more refreshing.

  Full-bodied red wines and Ports: Serve at 60°F (16°C) to 65°F (18°C) — cooler than most room temperatures and warmer than ideal cellaring temperatures—to make the tannins in powerful Cabernet or Syrah feel more supple and de-emphasize bitter components. - How to Serve Wine 101: Tips on the Perfect Serving Temperature


Allowing red wines to breathe for a short time allows the wine to oxidize, soften the flavors and release aromas. doing this is a proper wine glass is best.

Allowing wine to breathe has the following information on this subject:

  Allowing a wine to “breathe” is simply a process of exposing it to air for a period of time before serving. Exposing wine to air for a short time, or allowing it to oxidize, can help soften flavors and release aromas in a way similar to swirling the wine in your glass. Young red wines, especially those that are high in tannin, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, most Red Zinfandel, Bordeaux and many wines from the Rhône Valley, actually taste better with aeration because their tannins soften and the wine becomes less harsh. Another method of aerating a young, tannic red wine is to roughly decant it into another container, which exposes more of the wine's surface to air than simply removing the cork from the bottle. Uncorking a bottle and letting it sit undisturbed for period of time actually does very little to let the wine breathe as only a small percentage of the wine is in contact with air. A much better suggestion is aerating the wine in your glass or in a wine decanter. A decanter is defined as any vessel other than the original bottle that will hold the contents of the wine and allow for air to mix with the wine within. Usually, these are broad-bottomed glass or crystal containers.

  Wine and air may have a negative effect on each other. To simplify, let us consider the following:

  • Wine poured from a bottle into a glass and swirled is positive since the air mixture allows aromas to be displayed

  • Wine that has had a brief exposure to air is positive since it allows wine to breathe similar to stretching its legs after being cooped up in the bottle for so many years. This exposure has a positive effect on the wine after 25 to 30 minutes. Intensely tannic or younger reds may need up to a few hours. In general, most red and white wines will improve within the first half hour of opening the bottle.

  • Extended exposure to air has a negative effect on the wine. After a day, the wine may obtain a vinegary smell or taste. Red wines and sweet white wines may last a little longer due to the natural preservatives of tannins and sugar. Refrigeration may be used to extend the life of white wine.


How to open a beer without a bottle opener?

Almost anything can be used to open a bottle of beer. What we used as university students: spoon (fork, knife), key, table, park bank, fence, another bottle of beer.

My preferred way (when there's no bottle opener) is to use a spoon (I hold the spoon differently but this way is also worth consideration):

Using another (closed) bottle:

If you are outside you can use any hard surface. Place the bottle as in picture and push on it or hit slightly. Keep in mind that wood can be damaged by a bottle cap.


What is the best alcoholic drink for gout patients?

The answer to this question is going to differ from person to person, since gout sufferers react differently to both diet and alcohol. For some individuals alcohol increases pain in gout sufferers, while in others it decreases their pain. One has to know how to micro-manage their personal diets and alcohol consumption.

  For those who want to micro-manage their gout diet, you should know that there is never a single best alcoholic beverage. You know that your overall diet needs change at different times in your gout treatment plan. This applies equally to alcohol.

  You should know that the affects of alcohol are different for every gout sufferer. For that reason, I urge you to get a personal gout management plan from your doctor. - What Is The Best Alcoholic Beverage To Drink With Gout?

Gout attacks rise with when your diet is high in purines. Purines are found in high-protein foods, and they are also found in some drinks.

  “Beer contains a large amount of purines and has a strong association with gout attacks. One study estimated that patients who consumed a 12-ounce serving of beer daily were 1.5 times more likely to have gout compared to those without alcohol consumption,” says Dr. Sloane. Beer is especially bad for you if you tend to get gout symptoms because it is high in alcohol and brewer’s yeast, both of which may trigger gout pain.” - Gout and Alcohol

It seems that wine, whiskey or scotch may be a reasonable substitute for beer if drank in moderation or small amounts.

  “In a study published in The Lancet medical journal this spring, researchers followed over 47,000 male medical professionals with no history of gout for up to 12 years. By the end of the study, close to 2 percent of the men had experienced attacks of gout. Men who drank the most alcohol daily had twice the risk of developing the disorder as men who did not drink. Beer drinkers increased their risk by 50% for every daily serving, while those who drank hard liquor increased their risk by 15% for each drink. Men who drank wine did not appear to increase their risk for gout, although few men had more than two glasses of wine daily so these results are less conclusive. - Gout and Alcohol

The Lancet Journal "interprets" their findings as such:

  Interpretation

  Alcohol intake is strongly associated with an increased risk of gout. This risk varies substantially according to type of alcoholic beverage: beer confers a larger risk than spirits, whereas moderate wine drinking does not increase the risk.

Even though this study is in favor of drinking wine for gout sufferers, all alcohol consumption must be done in moderation and prudence as individuals react differently to alcohol and different types of alcohol.


Is it normal for Black Haus Blackberry Schnapps to taste like acetone?

Certain spoilage bacteria can give an acetone like flavor. I’ve personally had a batch of homemade wine turn out with this flavor after being improperly sanitized beforehand. However, the wine itself was perfectly safe to drink, and I’ve gone though many bottles of it no problem. In my experience, most liquors simply get a bad taste when they spoil, and aren’t actually unsafe to drink due to the high alcohol content. Of course I can’t tell you 100% if it’s safe to drink, butch it was freshly opened, it’s likely just the way the liquor tastes. And if not, even then, it still likely won’t make you sick, just have an off flavor.


Cream liqueurs curdle because of their high dairy content. Dairy products (such as milk or cream) curdle in the presence of an acidic liquid. Acids have a very low pH, which lowers the overall pH of the mixture. As the pH drops below 5.5, the casein proteins in the dairy ingredients begin to curdle. That’s what you called “spongelike texture”. To safeguard against this avoid mixing cream liqueurs with high-acid mixers such as citrus juices and soft drinks (most soft drinks do not taste sour, but they do contain high levels of citric and phosphoric acids and they have the same effect due to the pH levels).
If you enjoy a mixed drink with cream liqueurs try coffee, hot chocolate, other cream liqueurs, or milkshake-style cocktails (in which the dairy enhances the smooth mouthfeel of the ice cream). Cream liqueurs are also delicious served alone on the rocks.


They are probably dessert wine glasses for sherry or port.
Today they usually have a longer stem, especially mondern designs, but in the past, there were quite a few short stem sherry glasses and often also with such a knob in the stem (see attached images)


Order what you like.  Drink what you like.  Life is too short to drink what someone else wants or expects you to.  If people care what you're drinking at this bar, then I question why you'd want to be there.


Going to go with Guinness- $16 million in 2007. Several websites state that  Guinness spent $60 million dollars on there 80th anniversary (birthday) in 2007.

  Moving back to beer and safer ground, Guinness celebrated their 80th birthday in style with an estimated $16 million spend on a TV advert.

  That figure is slightly surprising when you appreciate that this advert doesn’t contain any celebrity endorsers. What it does include, however, is a rather precarious domino system of items through an Argentinean village leading up to a pint of Guinness made up of books.

  It hurts just trying to work out how many takes it would have required. - Four of TV’s Most Expensive Adverts

The 10 Most Expensive TV Commercials Ever Made has this to say about the TV advertisement:

  When celebrating your birthday, you are allowed to be a little extravagant, right? Well, Guinness took its 80th birthday celebration to a whole new level; by spending $16 million on a commercial. With the slogan “Good things happen to those who wait,” the commercial that was shot in Argentina shows a whole village waiting for the revelation of Guinness beer after thousands of objects together with dominoes have to knock each other down one by one. Some of the objects in the sequence include cars, tires, padlocks, suitcases, crutches, chairs, and almost anything that can be found in a village. The commercial does not feature any celebrities, but the concept, the setup, and the use of all the resources is what must have pushed up the cost to $16 million.

The Guinness commercial can be seen here on YouTube: Guinness Dominos Commercial - Tipping Point.


What cocktails would be good mixed with Nanaimo Bar Cream?

One idea may be to make an affogato with the liquor poured on a mild-taste ice cream portion, for example cream (fior di latte) or custard ice cream.

An affogato or more traditionally known as "affogato al caffe" (Italian for "drowned") is an Italian coffee-based dessert. It usually takes the form of a scoop of fior di latte or vanilla gelato or ice cream topped or "drowned" with a shot of hot espresso. Some variations also include a shot of amaretto, Bicerin, Kahlua, or other liqueur.
Variety of Affogato
Though restaurants and cafes in Italy categorize the affogato as a dessert, some restaurants and cafes outside of Italy categorize it as a beverage. Whether a dessert or beverage, restaurants and cafes usually serve the affogato in a tall narrowing glass, allowing the fior di latte, vanilla gelato, or ice cream melt and combine with espresso into the hollowed space in the bottom of the glass. Occasionally, coconut, berries, honeycomb and multiple flavors of ice cream are added. A biscotti or cookie can also be served and enjoyed along side this beverage. Affogatos are often enjoyed as a post-meal coffee dessert combo eaten and or drank with a spoon or straw.
While the recipe of the affogato is more or less standard in Italy, consisting of a scoop of vanilla gelato topped with a shot of espresso, variations exist in European and American restaurants.
In French, it is known as "gelato al fior di latte" with the translation to English "flower of milk". Typically the ingredients in the ice cream includes dairy, starch, and sugar. It is popular in countries where they dress it with chocolate syrup, cantuccini, or biscotti to provide extra flavors.

Now one proper recipe! For four cups.

4 egg yolks
4 spoons of sugar
2 spoons of flour
2 spoons of potato starch
700 ml of milk
100 ml of Nanaimo Bar Cream
cocoa powder

Meanwhile milk gets to boiling temperature in a pan, beat properly the yolks with the sugar, then add the flour, the starch and stir and mix well. Then add the Nanaimo Bar Cream to the mixture. Pour the mixture in the milk pan on low heat and carry on stirring until the cream get dense.
Pour into four cups and cool at room temperature first, then in the fridge. When cooled, sprinkle cocoa and serve!


What is a comparable beer to Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier?

You can find a discussion about it here.

A couple of US brewed beers that arise from it are Sierra Nevada Kellerweis and Sly Fox Royal Weiss; but if you'd prefer a more easy-going (and usually cheaper solution), I'd go with Gösser Dark - although it's not make in the US (but in Austria) it's widespread across the country.


Why are Enkel trappist beers not sold publicly?

The Dubbel/Triple/Quad designations are totally separate from the Trappist label.

The Trappists are an official Catholic religious order that follow the rules of St. Benedict, one of which states "for then are they monks in truth, if they live by the work of their hands".  The monasteries all make goods, most commonly beer and cheese, that they sell in order to fund themselves.  Several of the monasteries form the International Trappist Association in order to prevent anyone who's not actually a part of the order from using the name Trappist on their products.

But Trappist ale isn't really a style, it's a commercial seal like "Organic".  Both Dubbel and Tripel originated as names of specific beers brewed by Trappists at the Westmalle abbey.  Dubbel coming to use in the 1850s and Tripel (1950s) being a renamed and slightly hoppier version of what the monks used to call Superbier (1930s).  Quadrupel is a brand of La Trappe made at the Koningshoeven abbey, which was probably introduced some time in the 1990's. Koningshoeven Also used to market a beer named Enkel, but stopped production in 2000.

In all cases the popularity of the beers led to imitation by other brewers which sort of turned their brand names into loose stylistic designations.  It'd be like if people started imitating Stone's Arrogant Bastard and started producing their own Arrogant ale.


What are the pros and cons of "Non Age Statement" Whisky

It would seem like you hit the nail on the head:

The main benefit would be that distillers can put out whisky that's younger and still charge a higher price.

In the Scotch market age isn't just a sign of quality, it's also a sign of status. Rich people will spend a lot of money on bottles that are as old as 25 to 50 years, even if there is a very minimal difference in the actual flavour of the tipple. This means that an age statement can lend itself to a lot of profitability, or lack thereof.

By excluding age statements that allows distillers to put out product faster, and not have to correlate their pricing model with age necessarily.

The cons to a distiller would be very minimal as the average consumer doesn't think too much about this type of thing, knowledge about whisky is typically very low. The only real con is to a consumer that may be getting fleeced by marketing tactics.


The calories in beer come mainly from the alcohol and the carbohydrates in the beer. By reducing either or both of these, the beer will become lighter. As well as being lighter in calories, light beers are typically lighter in taste also.

Alcohol is reduced by starting with a lower amount of sugar in the wort (lower OG.) By fermenting less sugar, less alcohol is produced. The carbohydrates in beer are so-called residual sugars. These are reduced by reducing the amount of non-fermentable sugars, such as by adjusting the recipe to avoid malts that contain unfermentable sugars (such as Cara/Crystal malts, and highly kilned malts). Also the brewer can adjust the temperature that the grains are mashed to produce a more fermentable wort with less residual sugar.

To see how alcohol and carbs affect the calories in beer, here's an excerpt from this table that lists the % abv, grams of carbohydrates in a 12.oz serving:

Name        Brewer          abv     cal.    carbohydrates
Busch Ice   Anheuser Busch  5.9%    169 12.5g
Busch Light Anheuser Busch  4.1%    95  3.2g

The light beer has considerably less calories than the regular beer. In fact, around 80% of the calories in that beer come from the alcohol:

1 g of alcohol = 7 kcal.

1 g of carbohydrate = 4 kcal.

Volume of beer is 12oz. x 28.6g = 343ml.  Volume of alcohol is 4.1 % x
343 = 14 ml

To convert alcohol volume to weight, divide by 1.25. Weight of alcohol
is 14 / 1.25 = 11.2g

So

  Energy from alcohol is 11.2 x 7 = 78.4 kcal. As percent: 78.4/95 =
  82%

  Energy from carbs is 3.2 x 4 = 12.8. As percent: 12.8/95 = 13%

(The total is less than 100% - the data doesn't account for protein, which is typically about 1g/12oz, which is about 4 kcal.)

By brewing the beer with an even lower %abv, the beer would be even lighter in calories, but possibly at the expense of flavor.


To be honest, I think drinking carbonated (with CO2 at least) beer from pewter is asking for trouble if you do it regularly.  The tang you feel is dissolved metal and a component of that, depending on the pewter, may be lead (or could be copper, tin, bismuth, antimony, etc).  A major factor in that is acidity, and both hops and carbonation contribute.

Acidic solutions react with metals to produce hydrogen gas and dissolved metal salts.  So carbonic acid from carbonated beer will react with the tin to produce hydrogen and tin carbonate, and the same basic process with other metals.  The specific metal that reacts will depend on the pewter.

There are some ways around this.  You could, for example, coat the inside of the vessel with bees wax.  This can then be washed by hand with hot tap water and soap (and is a common method in making drinking horns).  This has the pro/con (depending on your taste) of imparting a slight honey taste to everything you drink out of the vessel.


They just don't ferment to create any alcohol in the first place. Pretty sure it is just aromatic waters. Distillation to intensify some flavors.


Extracting oils and flavours before fermentation

Actually, yes. Though usually not with essential oils. In most cases, as an infusion.

For low-alcohol beverages: punch, some dry-hopped beers, vermouth

For spirits: liqueur, gin, rumtopf, Chinese paojiu

Compound gin is an example where essential oils might be used.


What is the difference between carbonation drops and priming sugar?

Carbonation drops are just premeasured doses of priming sugar.  Sometimes they'll be a mix of glucose and sucrose, or just a single sugar depending on the brand.  But otherwise they're exactly the same as priming sugar, so no chemical or taste difference.

They're probably being recommended by the instructions since they're pretty much impossible to mess up, which is great for new brewers since it's one less thing to worry about.

I had heard a rumor once that the drops that came with hopped extract kits like Coopers or Mr. Beer also had Maltodextrin, which increases body and head retention since extract kits often have deficiencies in those departments.  However, I've never found any actual sources to back this up so it's probably just be overhearing the guy at a home-brew shop talking out of his butt.


What are the true origins of the yard of ale?

I found a blog post where the author has (most thoroughly, in my opinion) gone in search of some primary source of evidence for the origins of the yard glass. Unfortunately, they seem to have turned up nothing definitive.

On one point, the post is quite consistent: there isn't any real evidence to suggest that the story of the stagecoach or mailcoach driver drinking from the yard-glass is true.

It mentions sources on the history of glassmakers:

  The same absence of evidence occurs in specialist books on drinking glasses. The history  of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, published in 1898, has a drawing of the Eton  “long glass”, but no coach drivers.

And also the history of coaches:

  Specialist books on coach travel also fail to supply references to coach drivers and ale-yards.

The coach explanation appears to be wholly made-up:

  The earliest reference to the coach driver legend I have found is from 1952

And, inferring from previous evidence provided by the author, this is almost a century after coach travel has been superseded by steam trains.

The author also makes an interesting point; a coach driver was almost certainly not handed a yard of ale from the alehouse window, because the risk of breaking the glass (which would have been expensive) was too great!

Most of the evidence of the post tends to suggest that the yard of ale was originally intended as a bit of a joke, and attempting to drink the whole thing without spilling a drop was a fun game to play.

  When air reaches the bulb it displaces the liquor with a splash, startling the toper, and compelling him involuntarily to withdraw his mouth by the rush of the cold liquid over his face and dress.

To summarise, in one final quote from the most-excellent article:

  But with all that, I hope you’ll agree, we have found no evidence that
  the yard of ale was originally “designed to meet the needs of
  stagecoach drivers” in a hurry. In fact, there is no evidence that the
  yard of ale was ever used to refresh coach drivers at all (and if it
  had been, it certainly wouldn’t have been handed up to the driver
  through an inn window, which would be an excellent way to either spill
  the ale or smash the glass). Instead, I think, it seems clear that the
  yard of ale was (1) produced as something of a show-off, for the
  glassmaker and the owner, and (2) primarily or almost solely supplied
  and bought as a “forfeit glass”, for use in drinking games and
  contests of skill, just as it is today.


What are the difference between a dubbel and a tripel?

It's often a misconception that one comes forth from the other, this is incorrect. The name was used to indicate the strength of the Westmalle beers. Originally there was the Enkel, Dubbel and Tripel. It is said that they represent the holy trinity. Later quadruppels were added. Both Dubbel and Tripel as name were first used by the Trappist brewery of Westmalle.

Westmalle produced the first dark beer in 1856 named "Dubbel" (the recipe was changed in 1926). Dubbels are dark in color, and tend to have malt flavors dominating over hops. Whereas the Quadrupels have more of a fruit presence, the Dubbels tend to be a bit spicier with strong caramel flavors. They tend to have an ABV of 6.5-9.0%.

Some examples:

Chimay Red
La Trappe Dubbel
Ommegang
Westvleteren 8
Rochefort 6
Westmalle Dubbel

Tripels are lighter color, often blonde. They are generally a lot fruitier and lighter in flavor. The name Tripel originally was first used in 1956 by the Westmalle brewery to name their strongest beer (originally produced in 1930 and named Superbier, it was renamed to Tripel). The ABV is a lot higher than the double,  8.0-12.0%.

Some examples:

Tripel Karmeliet
Westmalle Tripel
St. Bernardus Tripel
Leuvense Tripel
Chimay Cinq Cents Tripel


What are the differences between mead and beer? Where can I try one in the US?

Mead is not considered a style of beer, since the sugars in mead come from honey, not from the starch of a grain. Hops are sometimes added to mead for flavor and as a preservative.

The process for making mead is more similar to wine making than brewing beer. There's no brewing (boiling) stage necessary in making mead. All of the fermentable sugar comes from the honey in mead, so you just mix honey with water (and whatever spices you want) and go directly to the fermenting stage. Mead also has a higher alcohol content than most beers (8 - 20%, which is more similar to wine, or even brandy).

  ...would it be reasonable to think a brewery I like may make, or consider making mead as well?

Not really. At least not in the U.S. Beer is much more popular than mead, and the process for making mead is different, so relatively few brewers are going to make it. I tried mead once at a specialty beer & wine store, which is your best bet for finding it in the U.S. You may have to ask around to see if a store can order some for you.


if it is local brew may I suggest sending a message to the brewer and asked about it. for any more advice, I do think it is still good but if you want to be safe just message them for why this 1 can feels so light.

edit

after the comment of  Eric Shain

"Even if it is safe, if it is underfilled it should be replaced. – Eric Shain"


Does adding honey to bottled wine increase the alcohol content?

Highly unlikely that the alcohol went up. Four reasons.

The alcohol already in the wine is a barrier for the yeast to re-ferment.
The sulfites in the wine could inhibit refermentation if it hasn't dissipated yet.
The cold temperatures that will also inhibit fermentation.
Many commercial wines are sterile filtered so yeast counts are zero to very, very tiny.

So, in 24 hours it's highly unlikely that it fermented again. Your perception of alcohol may be enhanced by the sugar that you added. High alcohol wines routinely taste "sweeter" to many people even though sugar levels are low. You might have tricked yourself into thinking sweet wine = higher alcohol.


Why are wine bottle volumes in centiliters not in liters or milliliters?

Part of the answer is in the marketing system used in a particular country or region and part of it would be about the size of bottle being purchased.

In Canada and the USA, in a standard bottle of wine, there are 750 millilitres (ml), 75 centilitres (cl) or 0.75 litres (l). Wine bottles aren't quite litre-size, but the average wine bottle will contain 750ml of wine.

I see only 750ml bottles in the area where I live. I am fine with that. A bottle of wine marketed as 0.75 liters seems less appealing than wine sold in a bottle marketed as 750ml. And one marketed with a 75cl label seems less traditional in this neck of the world and may not sell as good as one sold with 750ml marked on the label. It is sold in a more positive light so to speak. It is all marketing.

I am sure there are other reasons, but take a look at Difford's Guide to mandatory bottle sizes around the world. It is an eye opener to say the least.

However there is more to the Subject:

  When glass bottles become popular though, it is surprising to see that both continental Europe and Great Britain had glass containers of a similar size. The British had an official glass-container size of a fifth of their Imperial (UK) Gallon at around 900ml, while other Europeans' bottles gravitated around 700ml to 800ml. The US officially adopted the 750ml bottle as a standard in 1979, as a metric equivalent to the fifth of a US Gallon (757ml). - Standard Bottle

Alcohol measurement in bottles has undergone several revisions in the last few decades as Difford's Guide point out for the USA mandatory spirits bottle sizes (January 1, 1980) and the European Union mandatory spirits bottle sizes (January 1, 1990).


The only wine that I could find undergoing a similar process today is a sweet passito Vino Santo (like this: "TADDEO" VINO PASSITO AFFUMICATO) from Umbria, a small region in central Italy. However in this case it is not the wine to be smoked, it is the grapes: they are stored in smoke filled loft while waiting for them to dry. As I said this wine is sweet and probably quite intense, so I am not sure it would go well with your salmon. It is also quite rare to find, you would have to search well even if you are in Italy.

Maybe you will have more luck using an earthy Pinot Noir from Burgundy, even a Marsanny Rosé could go well with its flintiness. If you really want something smoky you could try a Syrah from Northern Rhone, but it could be a bit too powerful for what you want to pair, so maybe you should choose a basic AOC like a Crozes-Hermitage from a good producer (for example Paul Jaboulet Aîné).

"TADDEO" VINO PASSITO AFFUMICATO


If you want to make a small amount of mead, you can follow those directions, but you will need modern equipment. A carboy and an airlock is basically all you need. Actually, you will probably need two. One to ferment and one to age the mead.

Mead is pretty simple to make. Water, honey and some yeast. Most people get filtered water. Then boil it with the honey to sterilize the honey (especially important if you use unfiltered). Then let it cool off and add yeast. I would also add yeast nutrients since honey lacks the nutrients to really work good. Also, use wine yeast since it's adapted to higher alcohol levels than beer yeast.

Once it's cooled off you pour it in a fermentation vessel. You will need some space between the level of the fermenting mead and the airlock for foaming. After fermentation has stopped, then you need to have it almost to the top of the bottle so there is no oxidation occurring.

I am not sure about the sun exposure, in fact I would keep it out of the sun unless you need to warm it up, which is what they may have been trying to do in ancient times.

It will look something like this during fermentation (this is someone's picture of some cider fermenting):

This is what it looks like aging and clearing:


Any advice on good breweries near São Paulo - Brazil?

São Paulo has seen a big rise in the craft beer scene through the last years (as does the whole country), so you'll probably find what you're looking for. The city doesn't have an actual (physical) brewery of its own (besides brewpubs, which are only a few, the most relevant being Cervejaria Nacional), once most of them are in the countryside of São Paulo state.
Anyway, you won't be disappointed with beers available and bar options - Pinheiros region being the place where you'll find the best ones.
Keep an eye open for Jupiter, Urbana, STP, which are gypsy breweries born in the city, and have a lot of modern styles (Black IPAs, American Wheat, Brown IPAs, APAs, etc). Urbana has a very good Belgian Strong Golden Ale called Gordelícia, by the way.
Bamberg is a brewery dedicated to german styles, with some state-of-art german style reproductions with tons of international awards. Colorado is one of the oldest breweries in the country and, although it doesn't have a wide portfolio, its beers are easy to find at supermarkets, affordable and still very good. They have a very good english-american-hybrid IPA with 'rapadura' (a candy made of molasses). Invicta is one of my favorites from here, having from humble Weizenbiers to Imperial American IPAs, all very good.
Don't miss Empório Alto dos Pinheiros (EAP), the best craft-beer bar in the city, with 30+ taps and excellent food at a fair price. Ah, well, prices overall here aren't very good. Actually, even though the whole craft beer scene is growing faster and faster, taxes and other aspects of the market aren't doing it more affordable to people, but the opposite, unfortunately.
Besides all that, you are certainly going to find beers from all over the country here, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed with many of them. If you like belgian styles, your best bet is Wals (not from São Paulo, but widely available over here), nowadays probably the best brewery brewing belgian traditional styles in the country.
PS: Off course we are not USA. You won't find six-packs here, nor even a 12oz Imperial IPA bottle for 3 bucks. But, willing to spend some money and knowing what to go for and what not, it's possible to drink good beer.


What are reasons to not sell alcohol free beer to minors?

Alcohol free beer is not non-alcoholic, it does still contain some alcohol. It often contains around about 0,5%. A beer can be called alcohol-free from 1%.

To specifically respond to your situation I could not find any source saying that the Netherlands have an age restriction on alcohol-free beer. On the contrary the following sources indicate the opposite.

Sources (Dutch of course):

Ik ben 17 jaar, mag ik alcoholvrij bier kopen?

Mogen jongeren onder de 16 alcoholvrij bier kopen?


Using barrels for aging Whisk(e)y - preparing the barrel?

The barrels are pumped out at the winery. The barrels are probably rinsed with hot water until it's free of the gunk from the wine making process. Then left to drip dry for a while for a few days. If they are going to be used for spirits, the barrel head has to be taken off and then the barrel is charred on the inside. Otherwise, you won't get any of that smokey flavor. Wine barrels are toasted, not charred. Wine barrels go easy on the toasted oak flavor, where as whisky/scotch barrels go completely burned to almost charcoal on the inside that's how the flavor gets in there. If they just used wine barrels without doing anything, it would have a fairly weak flavor profile.


Draft beer is another name for Draught beer, it means that the beer is served from a cask or a keg.

When you see this term plastered on beer cans, then it means that it's a Canned Draught.   The can contains a widget. This widget was invented by Guinness in order to let consumers drink a Draught beer at home. This differs from a typical can in that the beer is usually carbonated by forcing CO2 directly into the bottle/can or intermediary vessel, or by "bottle conditioning" (leaving live yeast in the beer and adding something for it to eat, creating CO2 and more alcohol).

Everyone on this site should be thankful for Guinness for having invented the widget!


Most likely - Yes, it is safe to drink it.

Your beer is almost guaranteed to be safe to drink for humans. No pathogens like alcoholic beverages. If you have bacteria in your beer, you will just have another style of beer (see Sour Beer).

Your beer could taste bad, but 1 year over expiration date is usually nothing serious. A lot depends on the type of beer + alcohol percentage + earlier exposure to oxygen + present bacteria in the beer.

When I brew Blondes, wheat beer or beers with belgian yeast, I'd rather have them condition in the bottle for several months before I drink them. Maybe your beer has become even better and more conditioned.

Good luck tasting!


Does beer suffer from being warmed and then rechilled?

TL DR; No.

Beer flavor changes over time (hops fade away, oxidation takes hold, etc.), and this process happens more quickly at warmer temperatures than colder ones. But there are no additional chemical reactions caused by temperature changes, so warming to room temperature and re-chilling multiple times is not going to have any added effects on the beer. Assuming you are drinking it within a few weeks, you won't notice the difference with bottled or canned beer.

I think this myth took hold from left-over kegs after parties: A half-empty keg that was dispensed by pumping air into it will start to oxidize much more quickly since oxygen is being added to it. When it warms the oxidation speeds up and it tastes stale within a day or two. Keeping it cold slows that down a bit, but even cold it won't last very long. A keg being dispensed using CO2 is a different story: that will last as long as bottled beer and can be warmed and rechilled without ill effects.

In all of this, I am referring to room temperature. Beer left in a car in the sun for hours will start to stale much more quickly, even if bottles are protected from the sunlight. You won't get the skunky flavor caused by the light, but it will taste stale.


Common brands off the top of my head are:

St Pauli N.A.
O'Doul's
Kalibur
Clausthaler

There are actually plenty of others, a few of the major brewers like Miller and Coors also produce a non-alcoholic version and a few other German brands you might be able to find come in non-alcoholic.

Be forewarned that none of them are generally regarded as "good" when compared to full-strength beer.

If your interest is just to not get completely obliterated after drinking several beers, I'd investigate a category called "Session" beers, which are regular beers brewed without artificially removing any alcohol but are designed to be flavorful at 3-4% ABV rather than the common 5-6%+ that many craft beers tend to be.  Full Sail session lager, Stone's Go To IPA, and Founder's All Day IPA should be pretty easy to find, but investigate more local and regional breweries to see if they make any.


What’s the drinking game with thumb on the bar?

I believe in the U.K. there is one called “Tom Thumb”, basically:

someone is allocated as the “Thumb Boss”
everyone in the group must watch them
when they place their thumb on the bar everyone must follow suit.
The last person looses and has to take a good measure of drink.
Usually this person then becomes the “Thumb boss” and they start over.

I never found it especially fun, other more subtle games were more entertaining.

There is a better description available here.

I would also add there are other games with fingers involved, usually everyone touches the table/bar and the first to move their finger looses etc (basically the reverse).


Is there any meaningful difference in acidity level between beer styles?

Sure, there are major differences in acidity. Unsurprisingly, the sour beer styles can have very low pH levels. Here's an example of someone measuring the pH of sour beers and finding that even within that category there are significant differences. Here's a short presentation showing that expected pH ranges from 3.2-3.4 for Berliner Weisse to 4.5-4.8 for pilsner and bock. So, yes, there are definitely major differences, and they do matter to the perception of the finished product. At the most obvious level, low-pH beers actually taste sour. There are also indications that smaller pH variations matter to how people perceive the flavour.


Bourbon is a type of whiskey, whereas not all whiskies are bourbons!

  Bourbon is a type of whiskey that gets its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky, where it originated. Bourbon tends to be amber-colored, and a little sweeter and heavier in texture than other whiskeys.

What make a bourbon a bourbon and not just an ordinary whiskey? The following is from Men's Journal: What, Exactly, Is the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey?

  The most popular form of American whiskey is bourbon, which has its own specific definition.

  "Bourbon needs to be produced in America and made from 51 percent corn, and whisky does not," says Maker's Mark Master Distiller Greg Davis. Bourbon also needs to be stored in new charred-oak barrels, whereas whiskey barrels do need to be oak but not new or charred. "Lastly, to be called bourbon, the liquid needs to be distilled to no more than 160 proof and entered into the barrel at 125." For other whiskies the liquid must be distilled to no more than 190 proof. David notes that this isn't just common practice — "it's actual bourbon law."

  What Makes a Bourbon: A Cheat Sheet

  •Must be made in the United States.

  •Must contain 51 percent corn.

  •Must be aged in new oak charred barrels.

  •Must be distilled to no more than 160 proof and entered into the barrel at 125 proof.

  •Must be bottled at no less than 80 proof.

  •Must not contain any added flavoring, coloring or other additives.

The following is taken from Bourbon vs. Whiskey:

  Somewhat like champagne isn't champagne unless it's made in Champagne, France, Bourbon is not actually "Bourbon" if it is made outside the USA, even though other whiskeys may adhere to the same recipe and distillation guidelines.

  Tennessee Whiskey

  The legal requirements for whiskey to be called Tennessee Whiskey are that the whiskey should be:

  -distilled in Tennessee

  -made from at least 51% corn

  -filtered through maple charcoal, and

  -aged in new, charred oak barrels.

  This is the process by which Jack Daniel's is manufactured. The company is the largest whiskey producer in Tennessee and wields an outsize influence on liquor laws in the state; they lobbied the state legislature to create such stringent requirements for labeling Tennessee Whiskey. Other whiskey producers in the state, including UK-based Diageo that owns Tennessee's No. 2 whiskey distiller George Dickel, oppose these criteria and are lobbying to have them loosened.

Some consider Tennessee Whiskey a Bourbon, while most do not. The fact remains that both Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel's are filtered through maple charcoal making them a different product.

Addendum

What is scotch?

  The main difference between scotch and whisky is geographic, but also ingredients and spellings. Scotch is whisky made in Scotland, while bourbon is whiskey made in the U.S.A, generally Kentucky. Scotch is made mostly from malted barley, while bourbon is distilled from corn. If you’re in England and ask for a whisky, you’ll get Scotch. But in Ireland, you’ll get Irish whiskey (yep, they spell it differently for a little colour).

How long should Scotch Whisky be aged?

  It is not possible to lay down any precise age as being the best for a particular whisky. Generally speaking, Malt Whiskies require longer to mature fully than Grain Whiskies. UK and EU law insist that Scotch Whisky should be at least three years old. However, it is the practice of the trade to mature for substantially longer than the legal minimum.

What is rye?

  Rye whisky, like its name suggests, is a whiskey that is distilled from at least 51% rye. What is rye? Rye is a type of grass that is a member of the wheat tribe and closely related to barley.

Canadian whisky is simply a rye whisky.


A black lager, or perhaps a schwarzbier, really is a lager.  Aside from the difference in the fermentation process, there will be some difference in your base ingredients, as a schwarzbier will focus less on the chocolates or coffee flavor of a stout.

I suspect you may find significantly more information in homebrew.stackexchange.com, as hunse suggests.  We would love to go into all sorts of detail over there!


Belgian Lambics are probably the most notable beers brewed with wild yeast. They are fermented in open vats, and wild yeast strains specific to the area contribute a very distinctive flavor to these beers. Lindeman's is probably the best known commerical example in the US, although these beers are sweetened and are not usually considered a true example of the style.

There are strains of wild yeast that have been cultivated for commercial use such as Brettanomyces. Breweries use this yeast to produce sour flavors via lactic acid production. Brewers will use it both in primary fermentation, and by aging their beer in barrels that have been "infected" with it.


Vinometer reads 16% while SG says that can't be possible

Vinometers don't work on beer or wine with residual sugars. You need to use a hydrometer. Vinometers only works with dry wine.


Is there anything I can do short of leaving a glass out on the counter to mitigate overcarbonation?

You can decant the beer between two large glasses or pitchers - the agitation will cause the CO2 to come out of solution quickly and also not raise the temperature too much.

Sample after 4-5 decants to see how much the carbonation has dropped, and repeat as necessary. You will end up with quite a bit of foam, hence the need for larger glasses or a pitcher.


Flights!

I didn't know much about beers until I moved to San Diego, where I was introduced to beer flights:

Somehow, I'd never heard of or seen them!

A flight is 4 or 5 small servings of beer, typically in 4.5- to 5-oz. glasses, usually served on a "paddle." At least in San Diego, a flight costs as much as a pint on draught, so often it's a no-brainer to get flights if you want to taste a variety of beers. When you order a flight, you of course get to choose what 4 or 5 beers you'd like to have. I often select similar beers—a set of stouts and porters—or a bunch of IPAs (and doubles)—so I can really get a chance to taste what distinguishes specific brands and subtypes.

When a friend of mine flew in from New York (also never having heard of flights), he was enthusiastic about getting two flights and sharing all 10—doing blind tests on one another. He went from saying, before we got to the bar, "All beer tastes the same to me—I can only taste dark or light," to, "Oh man, I didn't know I was even capable of tasting such little differences!"

So, beer flights are an effective yet casual and fun way to get yourself or anyone to appreciate the multifarious tastes of beers.

I think trying to start with all the ingredients, brewing processes, and the (dizzying) gamut of terminologies for all the subtle tastes, might be like teaching someone to drive by starting with the difference between torque and horsepower—they can't fully appreciate the meaning of words until they've experienced the sensations they describe. By contrasting beers side-by-side, we build an internal, as-of-yet-wordless "vocabulary" of tastes, e.g "This beer has more of... that thing, whatever it's called, than this one," and then we learn terminology (and ingredients and processes) as a means of filling those voids in words for senses we've experienced. Otherwise, we're storing abstract definitions, which we don't retain very well.


What are the differences between an IPA and its variants?

This is a broad question, notably regarding the differences between IPAs and Double IPAs, but here's an overview focusing on the naming (and misconceptions thereof) and brewing of variants.

Double IPA vs. Imperial IPA (IIPA)

First, the Double IPA is also known as an Imperial IPA (IIPA). You can think of the "double" as referring to the two letter I's :-) but the name actually owes itself to the beer having "double" the strength / hops.

IPA vs. Double IPA

The Double IPA generally uses more hops (though not literally "double"), lengthier brewing processes (e.g. Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA, which is boiled for longer than its 60 Minute variant), sometimes secondary fermentation, etc. It has higher alcohol content, IPAs stopping around 7.5% ABV, while Double IPAs can soar to above 10%.

Double IPAs are claimed to have been started by the owner of the Russian River Brewing Company, famed for its flagship brew, Pliny the Elder, a Double IPA itself.

American Pale Ale (APA) vs. American IPA

The APA and American IPA are not synonymous. American Pale Ales are a derivative of (regular) British Pale Ales, deriving their own flavor from American hops, e.g. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale. American IPAs, meanwhile, are, of course, derived from actual (British) IPAs, and possess greater bitterness and higher alcohol content—examples include Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale and Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA. The line between APAs and IPAs blur (as do between many variants of ales), but categorically speaking, APAs are not IPAs.

IPA vs. Black IPA

The black IPA (also known by American Black Ale—and yes, a subset of the American IPA) uses dark roasted malts (used in porters and stouts) to achieve the color, while preserving hops characteristics. Some consider the black IPA more of a hoppy porter instead—and don't believe the style will be formally recognized (e.g. by the Brewers Association).


Are brown bottles sufficient to protect beer from skunking?

Certain wavelengths of light are responsible for skunking beer. I believe these are mostly in the blue and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum. Brown bottles do the best at blocking out the UV rays. This is why you can get an occasional Rolling Rock that tastes off. I've never heard of a UV reflective coating before, but it makes sense.

What follows is probably only relevant if you want to be nit-picky about this:

If it is not in direct sunlight, I'd say your pretty ok. I don't know what your lighting situation is, but I know most incandescent bulbs mostly give off infrared light (I'm not sure if infrared light has been correlated to skunking) and the modern CFL bulbs mostly give off light in the visible spectrum. I'd say both however give off some sort of UV light.

If you are really concerned, you could tint the cupboard glass. Vehicle window tint is designed to block out UV rays that can damage the interior of cars. Your level of protection depends on how dark you want your tint. If you want the highest protection though, I'd recommend a wooden cupboard.