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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Message-ID: <beer-faq/part1_1084272547@rtfm.mit.edu> Supersedes: <beer-faq/part1_1082972703@rtfm.mit.edu> Expires: 8 Jun 2004 10:49:07 GMT X-Last-Updated: 1997/05/24 From: John Lock <jlock@mindspring.com> Organization: The Beer Info Source (Atlanta, GA) Newsgroups: rec.food.drink.beer,rec.answers,news.answers Subject: rec.food.drink.beer FAQ [1/3] (revised 16-MAY-1997) Followup-To: rec.food.drink.beer Reply-To: John Lock <jlock@mindspring.com> Summary: This document contains answers to frequently asked questions and other informative data about beer. It also contains pointers to other reference material and archives for further research. This is the first of three parts. Keywords: rfdb drink beer faq Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer: 7bit Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU Date: 11 May 2004 10:50:21 GMT Lines: 475 NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu X-Trace: 1084272621 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 574 18.181.0.29 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.food.drink.beer:114460 rec.answers:86959 news.answers:271092 Archive-name: beer-faq/part1 Posting-Frequency: bi-weekly Copyright: (c) 1994-1997 John A. Lock Maintainer: John A. Lock <jlock@mindspring.com> URL: http://www.beerinfo.com/rfdb/ rec.food.drink.beer FAQ (C) *************************** This is the general FAQ for rec.food.drink.beer. It condenses a vast repository of beer knowledge represented by the subscribers to r.f.d.b. I depend on the participants of this group to provide the feedback I need to make this a living document. Please e-mail comments, additions, corrections, etc. to John Lock <editor@beerinfo.com>. If your browser supports forms, you can use the feedback form. The Charter for rec.food.drink.beer is posted to the newsgroup twice every month and available on the Web at <URL:http://weber.u.washington.edu/~cverver/rfdbcharter.html> or from the archives. Cheers, Prost, Salud, Skaal, Slainte, Stineeyammous, Gan Bei, etc! John A. Lock <editor@beerinfo.com> ********************************************************************** This document is available through the following means: * Posted every two weeks to Usenet newsgroup rec.food.drink.beer * On the Web at <URL:http://www.beerinfo.com/rfdb/> * Via e-mail using the request form at <URL:http://www.beerinfo.com/rfdb/request.html> * Via anonymous ftp to ftp.stanford.edu in /pub/clubs/homebrew/beer/rfdb as rfd-beer.faq * Via e-mail by sending the following message lines to ftpmail@gatekeeper.dec.com: connect ftp.stanford.edu chdir /pub/clubs/homebrew/beer/rfdb get rfd-beer.faq quit ********************************************************************** Versions are also available at various news.answers mirrors and FAQ sites: * North America: Internet FAQ Consortium - <URL:http://www.faqs.org/faqs/beer-faq/> America Online - <URL:ftp://mirrors.aol.com/pub/rtfm/usenet-by-group/rec.food.drink.beer/ > UUNET - <URL:ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.answers/beer-faq/> George Washington University - <URL:ftp://ftp://ftp.seas.gwu.edu/pub/rtfm/rec/food/drink/beer/> * Europe: Oxford University - <URL:http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/rec.food.drink.beer.html> Utrecht University - <URL:http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-bng/rec.food.drink.beer.html> Universitaet-GH Paderborn - <URL:ftp://ftp.uni-paderborn.de/pub/FAQ/rec/food/drink.beer/> Swedish University Network - <URL:ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/usenet/rtfm.mit.edu/usenet-by-heirarchy/rec/ food/drink/beer/> * Asia: Hong Kong SuperNet - <URL:ftp://ftp.hk.super.net/mirror/faqs/beer-faq/> National Chiao Tung University - <URL:ftp://nctuccca.edu.tw/USENET/FAQ/rec/food/drink/beer/> Pohang University - <URL:ftp://hwarang.postech.ac.kr/pub/usenet/news.answers/beer-faq/> * Africa: The Internet Solution - <URL:ftp://ftp.is.co.za/usenet/news.answers/beer-faq/> ********************************************************************** REC.FOOD.DRINK.BEER FAQ POSTED TO THE NEWSGROUP EVERY 2 WEEKS ********************************************************************** Copyright (C) 1994-97 by John A. Lock. All rights reserved. This document may be freely distributed in its entirety provided this copyright notice is not removed. It may not be sold for profit nor incorporated in commmercial products without the author's written permission. CONTENTS ******** This FAQ is divided into sections which loosely encompass the variety of Frequently Asked Questions that appear concerning beer. These are preceded by a quick index section to aid in finding answers to specific questions. The Quick Index section A listing of the most frequently asked questions. Section 1 - Definitions of common terms regarding beer itself Some popular items are beer definition, styles, and marketing terms... Section 2 - Definitions of common terms for the brewing industry Topics such as alcohol strength, Reinheitsgebot, and CAMRA... Section 3 - Beer handling and sensory issues Typical answers cover proper storage, serving temperatures, tasting methods, off flavors... Section 4 - Miscellaneous topics Includes homebrewing and specific brand issues... Section 5 - Beer resources Where to find good beer, the r.f.d.b. archives, and pointers to other Net resources... Section 6 - Acknowledgements Section 7 - Maintenance History FINDING INFORMATION ******************* You can search for information in a number of different ways: First, read the whole thing. You may find this entertaining, but it's certainly not the fastest way to get an answer to a question. Second, you can use the "Search" or "Find" function of your newsreader, browser, or editor to locate a specific topic. This can be very useful since the questions cover fairly broad topics and your specific answer may be buried inside a broader response. For example, if you wanted to know about serving temperatures, you wouldn't find that topic specifically addressed in the questions. However, upon searching for "temp" you would find several such references. Third, there is the quick index to the questions which you can use to jump directly to a specific question/answer, again, using your search function to find the text. See the Quick Index for an example. And last, if your viewing the HTML version on The Web, you'll find useful pointers imbedded throughout the document. Just follow your nose (figuratively speaking :^)! ********************************************************************** QUICK INDEX TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ********************************************************************** This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions appearing in r.f.d.b. Each question is keyed using a simple code. The answer to question Y in FAQ Section X is labeled X-Y and so on. To find an answer to any question quickly, use your "search" or "find" function to find X-Y. For example: To find the answer to question 2-7 "What is CAMRA?", search for 2-7 and you will be positioned at the answer. To return to this index, search backwards for 0-0. If you're viewing the HTML version of this document on The Web, just follow the links from question to answer and back. 0-0. Top of List FAQ Section 1 - Definitions of common terms regarding beer itself 1-1. What is beer? 1-2. What are ales? 1-3. What are lagers? 1-4. How are they different? 1-5. What are lambics? 1-6. What is "bock" beer? 1-7. What is "porter"? 1-8. What are "dry" beers? 1-9. What are "ice" beers? 1-10. What are "cold-filtered", and "heat pasteurized" beers? 1-11. What is "draught" (draft) beer? 1-12. How is specific gravity related to beer? 1-13. What does "Dubbel" mean on a beer label? FAQ Section 2 - Definitions of common terms in the brewing industry 2-1. How is alcohol strength measured? 2-2. Why is beer stronger in Canada than the U.S.? 2-3. How are "ale", "malt liquor", and "barleywine" related to strength? 2-4. What is the Reinheitsgebot? 2-5. What about the new "Draught-flow" (tm) system (AKA the "widget" or "smoothifier")? 2-6. What is "Real Ale"? 2-7. What is CAMRA? 2-8. What are the categories of brewers/breweries? 2-9. What is a brewpub? FAQ Section 3 - Beer handling and sensory issues 3-1. How do I judge a beer? 3-2. What is good/bad/skunked/spoiled beer? 3-3. How should I store beer? 3-4. How long does beer keep? 3-5. Is beer considered a vegetarian/kosher/organic product? FAQ Section 4 - Miscellaneous topics 4-1. What is Zima and/or clear beer? 4-2. What do the different Chimay packages/colors mean? 4-3. What does the "33" mean on the bottles of Rolling Rock? 4-4. Does Coors support Nazi organizations? 4-5. Can I make my own beer....is it legal? 4-6. How do I make it? 4-7. WIMLIACLDAB? BTABFCTW!.....What was that? 4-8. Is Guinness good for you? 4-9. Where are Sam Adams beers made? 4-10. Why does American beer suck? FAQ Section 5 - Beer resources 5-1. Where can I get more beer info and tasting tips? 5-2. Where can I get good beer? 5-3. I'm going to "some city", what brewpubs/bars are good? 5-4. Can I get beer in the mail? 5-5. Where can I get details on making my own? 5-6. Where can I get recipes? 5-7. What is r.f.d.b. about? 5-8. Where are the archives? 5-9. What is in the archives? 5-10. I don't have ftp, can you e-mail files to me? FAQ Section 6 - Acknowledgements FAQ Section 7 - Maintenance History ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: DEFINITIONS OF COMMON TERMS REGARDING BEER ITSELF ------------------------------ Subject: 1-1. What is beer? Beer is an alcoholic beverage made from malted grains, hops, yeast, and water. The grain is usually barley or wheat, but sometimes corn and rice are used as well. Fruit, herbs, and spices may also be used for special styles. In the distant past, the terms "beer" and "ale" meant different things. "Ale" was originally made without using hops, while "beer" did use hops. Since virtually all commercial products now use hops, the term "beer" now encompasses two broad categories: ales and lagers. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-2. What are ales? Ales are brewed with "top-fermenting" yeasts at close to room temperatures, 50-70F (10-21C). Ales encompass the broadest range of beer styles including bitters, pale ales, porters, stouts, barley wines, trappist, lambic, and alt. The British Isles are famous for their ales and it is a popular style with homebrewers and micro-breweries. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-3. What are lagers? Lagers are brewed with "bottom-fermenting" yeasts at much colder temperatures, 35-50F (2-10C) over long periods of time (months). This is called "lagering". Lagers include bocks, doppelbocks, Munich- and Vienna-style, Maerzen/Oktoberfest, and the famous pilsners. Pilsner beer originated in the town of Pilsen, now in the Czech Republic and was the first non-cloudy beer. Most popular beers produced by the large North American breweries were originally of the pilsner style. These have diverged a great deal from the original style and succeed now by the force of the mass-marketing prowess of the brewers rather than any remarkable qualities of the beers themselves. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-4. How are they different? The differences tend to be based on tradition more than anything inherent to either style. The major traditional differences are a result of the varying lengths of fermentation and temperature used for the two beer types. They can also vary in style and degree of hopping and in the types of malt used, but these differences are very arbitrary and exceptions abound. Ales generally undergo short, warm fermentations and are intended to be consumed soon after completion. The result of relatively warm fermentation is that a lot of by-products of yeast metabolism besides alcohol and CO2 get left in the beer. These usually manifest themselves as "fruity" or "buttery" flavors which vary in degree and flavor with the strain of yeast used and the temperature and duration of fermentation. Accordingly, ales exhibit their most complex flavors when served at warm temperatures, around 50-60F (10-15C). The trick with lager yeast is that they can survive, metabolize, and reproduce at lower temperatures. Lager yeast can assimilate compounds which ale yeast cannot, fewer by-products are made, and the stuff that does get made drops out during lagering. The result is a very clean, sparkling beer. Lagers are best served at slightly cooler temperatures than ales, 40-50F (5-10C). Of course there are notable exceptions: California Common The best known example is "Steam Beer" which is a trademark of the Anchor Brewing Co. It employs lager yeast fermented at ale temperatures which gives it some fruitiness usually associated with ales. Koelsch and Alt Ales that undergo a cold secondary fermentation and storage period resulting in only a hint of ale-like fruityness. Koelsch is usually associated with the city of Cologne, Germany while Alt is indigenous to Duesseldorf. Cream Ale Alternately, an ale fermented at lager temps or vice-versa. It has also been made by blending a conventional ale with a conventional lager after fermentation. Most examples are only slightly more interesting than mega-brews; a touch more body, a touch more fermentation flavor. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-5. What are lambics? Lambics are a type of ale brewed in parts of Belgium by exposing hot wort (unfermented beer) to the outside air. Indigenous, wild yeasts and other microorganisms settle on the exposed surface of the wort as it cools and begin spontaneous fermentation. They are often sweetened with fruit flavorings and generally prized the world over. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-6. What is "bock" beer? Bock is a style of lager beer which originated in Germany. It was traditionally brewed in the fall, at the end of the growing season, when barley and hops were at their peak. It was "lagered" all winter and enjoyed in the spring at the beginning of the new brewing season. Bocks can be pale (helles) or dark (dunkles) and there are double(doppel) bocks which are extra strong. Bocks are usually strong beers made with lots of malt yielding a very full-bodied, alcoholic beer. A persistent myth has been that bock beers are made from the dregs at the bottom of a barrel when they are cleaned in the spring. This probably seemed logical because of the heavier body and higher strength of bocks. From a brewing standpoint, this is clearly impossible for two reasons: 1) The "dregs" left after fermentation are unfermentable, which is exactly why they are left over. They cannot be fermented again to make more beer. 2) Any attempt to re-use the "dregs" would probably result in serious bacterial contamination and a product which does not resemble beer as we know it. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-7. What is "porter"? From: The Guinness Drinking Companion by Leslie Dunkling (1992) Guinness Publishing; ISBN 0-85112-988-9 "In the London Ale-Houses and taverns of the early 18th Century it was common to call for a pint of "Three threads", meaning a third of a pint each of ale, beer, and twopenny (the strongest beer, costing twopence a quart). A brewer called Harwood had the idea of brewing a beer that united the flavours of all three. He called this beer "Entire". This was about 1720. Harwood's Entire was highly hopped, strong, and dark. It was brewed with soft rather than hard water. Within a few years Entire was also being referred to as "Porter" (short for porter's ale) because the porters of the London street markets were especially fond of it. Porter that was extra strong was known as "Stout Porter", and eventually "Stout"." ------------------------------ Subject: 1-8. What are "dry" beers? -- "Dry" beer was developed in Japan. Using more adjuncts (like corn and rice) and genetically altered yeasts, these beers ferment more completely and have less residual sweetness, and hence less aftertaste. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-9. What are "ice" beers? The making of "ice" beers, in general, involves lowering the temperature of the finished product until the water in it begins to freeze and then filtering out the ice crystals that form. Since water will freeze before alcohol, the result is higher alcohol content. The ice forms around yeast cells, protein particles, etc. so these get removed as well; leaving fewer components to provide taste and character. This process is not new to brewing, having been developed in Germany to produce "eisbocks". Apparently they were produced by accident during the traditional spring celebration with bock beers. Spring, being the capricious season that it is, probably sent a late cold snap around one year causing some of the spring bocks to partially freeze. People drank it anyway and liked the change in flavor. In its current incarnation, the process is an offshoot of the concentrated fruit juice industry. It was developed by orange growers to reduce the costs of storage and shipping by concentrating the fruit juice through freezing and removal of some water. Labatt Breweries claims to have pioneered this process for brewing and most of the large North American brewers quickly followed suit in the usual marketing frenzy. The main difference between these "ice" beers and true eisbocks is taste and character. Any beer brewed using this method will only be as good as the brew with which you start. In other words, if you start with a bland, flavor-impaired, adjunct-laden beer and remove some of the water, you end up with a bland, flavor-impaired, adjunct-laden beer with more alcohol. OTOH, if you take a rich, malty, traditionally brewed bock and remove some of the water, you end up with an eisbock. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-10. What are "cold-filtered", and "heat pasteurized" beers? Cold-filtering is a way of clarifying beer with a shortened lagering time. Beer (lager particularly) becomes clearer with extended storage which allows proteins and other particles to coagulate and settle out of suspension. The beer can then be drawn off and bottled. One way to reduce the time required is to chill the beer causing these molecules to "clump" and be easily filtered out. The up-side is that the time from brewing to finished product is shortened, thereby boosting productivity. The down-side is that cold-filtering also removes many components which contribute flavor and body to beer. Heat Pasteurized is a redundant phrase since pasteurization means heating to kill microbes. Some beers are bottle or cask conditioned, meaning that live yeast are still in the beer in its container. Most mainstream beers are either filtered, to remove all yeast and bacteria, or pasteurized to kill all yeast and bacteria. This makes for a more stable product with a longer shelf-life. Pasteurization is more expensive and tends to alter the flavor. Filtration is cheaper, leaves a clearer beer, and has less effect on flavor. The "ice" beer process (see above) enhances filtration schemes because more stuff can be filtered out more quickly using less filtration material which shows up directly on the old bottom line. ------------------------------ Subject: 1-11. What is "draught" (draft) beer? Technically speaking, draught beer is beer served from the cask in which it has been conditioned. It has been applied, loosely, to any beer served from a large container. More recently, it has been used as a promotional term for canned or bottled beer to try to convince us that the beer inside tastes like it came from a cask. See also "Real Ale". John <URL:http://www.beerinfo.com/>