Beer Types
It’s the Beez Neez
By Rocky | April 30, 2008
Over 4000 years ago ancient civilizations like in Babylon and Egypt celebrated by adding honey to their beer brew. In fact the word honeymoon can be traced back to these times when the bride’s father would fill his new son in-law full of the honey mead which would give him all the energy he would require for his after wedding celebrations. It was believed the honey mead was an aphrodisiac. Today there are quiet a few honey flavored beers entering the market and Beez Neez from Matilda Bay in Australia is one of the best. It has a very tasty blend of premium malted barley and malted wheats forming a pale ale and the addition of some light honey added to the kettle. The beer is delicious remarkably fresh tasting with a distinct honey taste. The Matilda Bay Brewing Company started in the Western Australian town of North Fremantle, just outside of Perth in Western Australia, today it is part of the huge Australian Fosters Group. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Australia, Beer Types | No Comments »
Pumkin Ale - trick or treat?
By Rocky | April 19, 2008
The German Purity Laws state that beer should only be made from Water, malted grain, hops and yeast- well it looks like the American have their own rule, make it with anything- how’s this one- Pumpkin Beer. Yes that’s right beer made out of pumpkins. Going back to the olden days the colonial brewers couldn’t afford barley so they thought we have plenty of pumpkins and Halloween is a few months away so lets turn them into beer. They roasted them up and made them into mash and presto pumpkin beer. It wasn’t so bad and with some spices like nutmeg and cinnamon the flavour jut got better. The beer is today brewed by several boutique and smaller breweries and is quiet popular. A few tasty varieties we have tried are Buffalo Bills and Smuttynose, we have heard there is another popular one called Dogfish Head but we haven’t been able to get our hands on that one yet. Both of the ones we tried have a sweet and pumkiny taste - as you would expect and are quiet nice. The hops and the spices give them a real fruity kick well worth a try if you see a bottle. Don’t give up after the first mouthful, the second and third gets better, once your mouth come accustomed to the different spicy taste. It’s not the beer you would drink every night after a hard day at work, but it sure is a tasty drop to have once in a while- Not bad indeed.
Topics: Americas, Beer Types | No Comments »
Pizza + Beer = Pizza Beer
By Rocky | February 6, 2008
We did a story a few weeks back for a pizza recipe using beer in the pizza bread, but now we have found something even more special - Pizza flavored beer. Sprecher Brewing Company which is near Milwaukee in the USA is making a special batch of Pizza Beer which will go on sale this month. They are brewing up 40 barrels just to see how things go and if it takes off, who knows it might be the next big beer taste. The beer isan ale and it is brewed with oregano, basil, tomato and garlic. There is no news whether they are planning an anchovy version or even a ham an pineapple - we can only hope. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Americas, Beer Types | No Comments »
Organic Beers
By Rocky | February 1, 2008
Like most food products many beers contain artificial flavors, preservatives, colorings and other chemicals and additives and many of the grains used are fertilized or protected from pests using some nasty chemicals. It’s no wonder organic beers are starting to take off, they not only usually taste better than the processed beers but they have got to be better for you. Many microbreweries are popping up all over the world offering fresh clean organic beers. With no added chemicals the beers ferment better, they are free of many of the allergies and nasty tastes beer can have and they really leave your head feeling better in the morning compared to normal beers. The only downside, is with no chemicals the beers need to be drank sooner (as if that’s a problem) and they require refrigeration. Some of the larger breweries are starting to see the benefits and the commercial rewards of organic brewing, one example is the huge US based Anheuser-Busch, which is now produces two organic beers Wild Hop lager and Stone Mill Pale Ale which are being sold to test the market and doing quiet well.
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mmmm chocolate
By Rocky | November 7, 2007
Ever wonder how brewers get that rich brown chocolate flavor in some of their stouts and dark beers- well many of them actually use chocolate. The brewers use dark roasted malt which acquires a rich chocolate flavour and then they mix in small amounts of real chocolate or cocoa. Some breweries are even having success using such things of coffee in their brews. Belgium as you would expect the kings of beer and chocolate have had some pretty good brews mixing chocolate with their dark beers and there are dozens of microbreweries in the United States who have a choclate stout as their signature brew. The secret is to add dark chocolate to the brew while it is boiling and then add some rich chocolate essence to the brew after filtration.
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