St. Arnold's Divine Reserve No. 17

[MikePotts]

And what, pray tell, is a real beer?

IMO, beer made with only water, hops, barley and a yeast strain peculiar to the brewer.

 

[grasshopperglock]

See? That is what I mean by uneducated. I agree IPA is nasty, but it does not have Coffee or Chocolate overtones.

Curiosity. What state did come from and what's a beer education?

I've tried the premium beers. Besides pumpkin spice. That, I refuse. Personally, I don't drink beer cold. I prefer it at room temperature.

Please educate a German Texan on beer. Teach grasshopper the way.

 

[AustinN4]

Please educate a German Texan on beer. Teach grasshopper the way.

http://www.dummies.com/store/product/Beer-For-Dummies-2nd-Edition.productCd-1118120302.html

 

[grasshopperglock]

That book is $23 bucks. That's a case 16oz Miller Lite in cans.

Buy the book or buy the case?..hmmmm.

Guess my choice.

 

[AustinN4]

That book is $23 bucks.

Get a library card.

 

[grasshopperglock]

Get a library card.

You know Damn good and well it'd be checked out. I can't see beer drinking for dummies staying checked in.

 

[Brains]

Honest answer: Nothing. I was just trolling the IPA drinkers. BTW, IPA is an ale, but is made with more hops than malt. Porters and stouts are also ales, but are just the opposite - more malt than hops.

umm. right concept, but not quite. This will probably be like "yeah who cares" territory, but for those curious .... So yes there will be more hops in an IPA than in a porter, but the volumes of grain to hops are an order of magnitude off in both. Malted barley accounts for the bulk of most beers, and there are (many) other fermentable grains used based on style, but in NO beer is there ever going to be anywhere near as much hops by comparison. Even DIPA's, which are very hop forward, the grain bill will measure the hops in ounces and the grains in pounds. The most hops I've ever used in a double IPA was like 14oz. total (in the boil + dry hopping, have to check my notes) with about 18 lbs. total of various grains (again, from memory. all grain brew, made ~5.5 gal all finished). Expensive beer, nearly 100 bucks! By comparison a run of the mill amber ale may only use 14lbs. of grain and 2-3 oz. of hops.

There are really only 2 kinds of beers - ales and lagers - and it is about the brewing process, not the ingredients.

The many various styles of ales and lagers are mostly about the ingredients.

Mostly true, the biggest determining factor being which yeast strain you use. Lager strains like to ferment for a (lot) longer time at a much cooler temperature than ale yeasts. An ale could be done and ready to drink in as little as 2-3 weeks if you're in a hurry. Technically faster, but you'll make concessions. The fastest lager still takes 4+ weeks optimized for speed. Most home brewers lager for 8+ weeks.

 

[Wildcat Diva]

Love hops. So sue me haha.

 

[AustinN4]

umm. right concept, but not quite. This will probably be like "yeah who cares" territory, but for those curious .... So yes there will be more hops in an IPA than in a porter, but the volumes of grain to hops are an order of magnitude off in both. Malted barley accounts for the bulk of most beers, and there are (many) other fermentable grains used based on style, but in NO beer is there ever going to be anywhere near as much hops by comparison. Even DIPA's, which are very hop forward, the grain bill will measure the hops in ounces and the grains in pounds. The most hops I've ever used in a double IPA was like 14oz. total (in the boil + dry hopping, have to check my notes) with about 18 lbs. total of various grains (again, from memory. all grain brew, made ~5.5 gal all finished). Expensive beer, nearly 100 bucks! By comparison a run of the mill amber ale may only use 14lbs. of grain and 2-3 oz. of hops.

Mostly true, the biggest determining factor being which yeast strain you use. Lager strains like to ferment for a (lot) longer time at a much cooler temperature than ale yeasts. An ale could be done and ready to drink in as little as 2-3 weeks if you're in a hurry. Technically faster, but you'll make concessions. The fastest lager still takes 4+ weeks optimized for speed. Most home brewers lager for 8+ weeks.

Thanks for that info. Good to know and cleared up my misinformation about quantities of hops. As I read your post I was drinking my favorite brown ale, Moose Drool by Big Sky (Montana).

I do have a question: are you saying the either yeast strain can be used with either brewing process?

 

[Brains]

Moose Drool is good stuff, like that one too.

Yes, you can brew an "ale" recipe with lager yeast, or a "lager" recipe with ale yeast. The resulting beer will assume the character of the yeast strain you used. To get a little deeper, there's a ton of different yeast strains available to the home brewer, and every commercial brewer will have developed their own signature strain for each style they make. Each yeast has its own character in what it does and how it does it. All different temperature ranges, speed of fermentation, flocculation (rate at which they clump up and fall to the bottom of the fermenter when they're done working), clarity, alcohol tolerance, flavor profile, etc. Different yeast in the same exact batch of ingredients will create a different style of beer. So for instance, a lager yeast with light malt will create a pilsner, but the same malt fermented with an ale yeast will make an amber ale. A little simplified, since you tailor the amount and style of hops to match the style as well. But even keeping the grain and hops exactly the same, brewing with different yeast will result in a completely different tasting beer.

So yeast are important little buggers in the beer making process. We all know they are what consume the sugars and excrete the alcohol. But they do a lot more too. Since they are living organisms, they have their own genetic profile which governs how they interact with their environment. During the conversion they consume a lot of O2 and release a lot of CO2, and a bunch of different chemicals that affect the flavor (flavors of butter, raisins, green apple, pumpkin, vinegar, banana, and sulfur are pretty much all present at some point and in some amount). Different temperatures greatly influence which compounds are created and in which amounts. Yeast also completely change the process of how they consume sugars based on the presence of available oxygen. They are capable of both aerobic (using oxygen) and anaerobic (without) fermentation of the available sugars, and will then go into a final respiration phase where they will actually consume some of the compounds they created earlier in the process, further altering how the beer will ultimately taste. The science of making beer really is more about which yeast and their application than it is about the grain bill.

 

[AustinN4]

Brains, you have been most generous with your information and I thank you.

And I now know why I buy beer in bottles instead of trying to make my own. Way too much time and work!

 

[Brains]

I could talk beer all day long, it's another hobby lol. I may sound like I know what I'm doing, but while I love home brewing I really feel like I'm just scratching the surface.

 

[kirk10100]

And what, pray tell, is a real beer?

Does Cobra malt liquor count?


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[mroper]

The Best Beer I have ever had was Goose Island Bourbon barrel aged stout