Paul’s Brewsletter

By Graham Williams

Belgium beer is one of the most varied collections of beer in the world. Beer making in Belgium has its origins in the Middle Ages when monasteries produced beer. Belgian beer often has a higher alcohol content than other beers. This is due to a law that prohibited the sale of spirits in pubs, causing them to make beer with higher alcohol content so they would no longer be classified as spirits. The law was lifted in 1983; however, many breweries still produce beer with an alcohol content between 6% - 8%.

Beer experts have a high esteem for Belgian beer. There are 125 breweries that produce about 500 different types of standard beer.

Trappist beer is a top-fermented beer, which is brewed at a monastery. In order to qualify as a Trappist beer the entire brewing process must be overseen by or carried out by Trappist monks on the monastery site. There are only 6 monasteries in Belgium, which qualify for this categorization.

Lambic beer is unique to Belgium. It is produced using spontaneous fermentation using wild yeasts, which are found in abundance near Brussels. This is the only beer to be produced this way. The fermentation process takes place over a rather long period of time, from 3 - 6 months for some to over 2 or 3 years for others.

Fruit beers are a variation of Lambic beer. Fruit beers are made by adding fruit or fruit concentrate to Lambic beer. The most common type is Kriek, which is made with cherries. Other common fruits used are raspberry, peach and black currant. The fruit is used to trigger a second fermentation in the brew.

White beer is made with wheat hops and contains spices. Typically it is made with orange peel and coriander and is often served with a slice of lemon. Flemish Red is a strong fruity beer that is a reddish brown color. Other Belgian beers include Dubbel, Tripel, Blond, Brown and Amber. Each has its own specific brewing method and ingredients which cause a distinct flavor. Each type of beer has its own specially shaped glass. The Belgian pubs are called cafes, and they use these beautiful different glasses.

Graham Williams is the owner of http://www.gw-ebooks.com this site is full of books that are about hobbies such as Brewing your own beer, Camping, Bird watching, Beekeeping. While your there don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter and you will receive monthly discounts in any new book that is added each month you can visit my site here http://www.gw-ebooks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Graham_Williams
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beer-Making-In-Belgium-Has-Its-Origins-In-The-Middle-Ages&id=795943

Hello and Happy Holidays! I hope you’re having a great time and are getting ready for Christmas - it is fast approaching!

Countdown to Christmas 2007:

I finished off my holiday beer for 2007: Czech the Halls…get it? It is a Czech style pilsner similar to Pilsner Urquell. The alcohol content on this batch came out at 3.89% by volume, which is just fine for me. I typically don’t like to overload on the alcohol content with beer.

Are you still shopping for gifts? I created a page on Paul’s Brewsletter to give you some ideas. Take a look:

http://www.prhsolutions.com/brewsletter/beer-gifts/

You might find that beer related item you’ve been looking for that beer nut in your life…or maybe for yourself!

I’ve also added a Beer search engine on the brewsletter homepage. Check it out!

I haven’t tasted the Czech the Halls yet…will probably do so Christmas Day for my family’s huge get together. Will let you know how it goes!

————————————————-
Find a wide selection of beer gifts at http://www.prhsolutions.com/brewsletter/beer-gifts/

By Graham Williams

Beer has been a staple in England for centuries, dating back to the days of Chaucer. The most popular type of beer in England is ale. Ale is a type that is brewed using hops and malt, making it strong and rather bitter. The English prefer ale (darker beer that uses more hops) to lager type, which is popular in America.

In England, beer has traditionally been kept in the cellars of the many pubs. Although not refrigerated, the temperature is cooler than room temperature. The English prefer their beer to be only slightly cool, while those in the United States drink beer as cold as possible.

English pubs also sell a good amount of stout and porter. Stout is a darker, heavier hopped ale that has a creamy head when poured into a glass. Porter is a dark beer, which was often known as the workingman’s drink.

In the past, English pubs were tied to specific beers because they were owned by that brewery. In recent years the laws have relaxed, allowing pubs to offer many types of beer. Still, many of the local pubs are owned and operated by breweries. The most popular of these are Whitbread, Bass and Guinness.

In England the term “light beer” is used to refer to a pale beer, such as a light colored lager. Beer is made using hops. The dried flowers of this plant are used to impart a slightly bitter flavor to beers and ales. In England, hop shoots are widely available and are cooked and served as a vegetable.

Stout is a dark beer that originated in the British Isles. Stout has a strong hops smell and is made with dark-roasted barley which gives it a deep dark color and slightly bitter taste. Pale Ale is also common, which is a slightly lighter in color. The darker the color of the beer the more hops and barley have been used in the brewing process.

Beer does not age as wine does and is best consumed as fresh as possible. Beer is usually low-alcohol, typically less than 5% by weight. Water makes up most of the beer or ale, so the taste of the water used will make a distinct difference in the taste of the finished product. This may explain why people often prefer the beer brewed closest to their home.

Graham Williams is the owner of http://www.gw-ebooks.com this site is full of books that are about hobbies such as Brewing your own beer, Camping, Bird watching, Beekeeping. While your there don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter and you will receive monthly discounts in any new book that is added each month you can visit my site here http://www.gw-ebooks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Graham_Williams
http://EzineArticles.com/?English-Beer&id=795949

By Gregory McLaw

The homebrewer has two types of yeast to choose from; liquid yeasts or dry yeasts. For some this argument is similar to a “taste-great less filling” debate or “Ford versus Chevy” discussion and is just a matter of preference while others are very passionate about their preference. Good beer can be made from both dry and liquid yeast and both have their advantages and disadvantages. While many homebrew enthusiast claim that dry yeasts are a poor fermenter and can produce undesired flavors since they are not as pure a culture as a liquid yeast others favor the convenience and lower cost that dry yeast offers.

Dry yeast is inexpensive, convenient, hardy and does not require a starter. However most experts agree that a starter would be beneficial when using a dry yeast. A simple starter to rehydrate your dry yeast is available right in your brew kettle. A starter will create a larger number of yeast cells that are added to the wort resulting in a more efficient the fermentation process. A more efficient fermentation results in a better quality beer with less likeliness of contamination. To create a starter simply remove 1 cup of wort 30 minutes before the end of the boil and allow to cool in a covered container. Add the dry yeast and allow 10-30 minutes to proof. After this time the yeast should be visibly churning and/or foaming, and is ready to pitch. I also find the addition of a good yeast nutrient to your wort to be very beneficial. The best nutrient is actually dead yeast cells in the form of Vegemite or Marmite yeast extracts. The addition of a yeast nutrient to wort promotes a healthy and hearty fermentation resulting in a beer with a lower final gravity. You can use the trub from your kettle as an excellent yeast nutrient.

Dry yeast also stores easily and it is hardy. Dry yeast tends to produce a more solid yeast cake making racking easier and producing a clearer final product. Also, dry yeast is much cheaper than liquid yeast. Liquid yeast can run 25% of the total cost to brew. Fermentation with dry yeast starts quickly and helps prevent your beer from getting an infection due to lag time. Since dry yeast can be stock-piled you won’t find yourself running out to your local brew shop to pick some up if you accidentally forgot to purchase it.

However, the selection of good dry yeasts is quite small, and therefore limits the range of possible beer flavor profiles you can get with the yeast. Liquid yeasts are pure cultures or blends of pure cultures and come in a extremely wide range of choices allowing a lot of possibilities when it comes to affecting the flavor profile of your beer (and if you want to make a lager, liquid yeast is your only option). There are a many wet yeast strains available. Each produce a distinct tasting beer. There are only a few dry strains available. Simply put, all of the subtle flavors offered by wet strains are simply not available in dry form. Some of the most popular ones are, but certainly not all. With liquid yeast you can propagate, split, and reuse wet to get your costs down, if you are careful about sanitation and want to take the time to do so. You can split, and re-split to get the cost on a per batch basis to less than half that of dry yeast. But, this takes a lot of time and effort.

For the absolute best beer, there is no question that liquid yeast is a superior product and worth every bit of the extra cost. But like so many things, we have time, money, and quality from which in many cases we can only choose two. If you want high quality and want to save time, buy a liquid smack pack with a higher price tag. If you want high quality and want to save money, propagate from a liquid smack pack which takes a lot of time. If you want to save time and money, buy dry but recognize the fact that you probably won’t get all the subtle flavor choices you desire and possibly a lower quality, but nevertheless a good, beer.

About the author
Gregory McLaw is a regular contributor to www.makebeerathome.info
and enjoys brewing and drinking his own beer. For homebrew related supplies try www.brewbuddies.com or www.perfectbrewing.com.

————————————————-
Find beer gifts at http://www.prhsolutions.com/brewsletter/beer-gifts/