Should We Lower The Drinking Age?

Are these really the enemy?

I think the issue of the drinking age has a lot of moving parts.  Setting the drinking age to where it is today wasn’t simply picking a number out of a hat.  There were issues of health, politics, industry and even culture that went into the equation.

Health is probably one of the biggest concerns as alcohol can cause detrimental effects to the brain during key developmental periods.  The human brain doesn’t stop developing and maturing until 25 years of age and drinking and abusing alcohol can cause some long term detrimental effects.  As the alcohol content rises in the bloodstream different parts of the brain are affected: the cerebral cortex (inhibiting thought thus making it hard to think properly), then the cerebellum (making it hard to keep your balance), next is the hypothalamus and pituitary (increase in sexual urges) and finally the medulla (causing sleepiness, slower breathing and lower body temperature).  In the short-term, “blackouts” can occur resulting in memory lapses but long-term risks can lead to permanent damage such as the brain shrinking and deficiencies in the fibers that transmit information to the brain cells (HowStuffWorks).

I have been wondering whether lowering the drinking age would even help the alcohol industry all that much.  I think it would to some extent because you basically open the floodgates to a larger population but do I think that lowering the drinking age would help revive the large brewing companies like Anheuser-Busch or MillerCoors?  Not entirely but I think it could provide a bit of cash flow because kids could purchase alcohol from grocery stores instead of stealing from Mom and Dad’s fridge.  I also believe that if the large brewers thought this would help their sales then we would be hearing more noise about it (they have a lot of lobbying power).  The largest beer market segment is between the ages of 35-44 years old, who make up 23.2% of the beer drinking market (according to IBISWorld).  This means that even if the drinking age was lowered to 18, they probably wouldn’t become a large part of the beer drinking segment anyway.

I do however think that a lower drinking age would have a positive impact on craft beer and even homebrewing.  Young people would be able to buy beer that matches their palates and start developing their own tastes.  There would be no need to get the cheapest and most easily accessible beer anymore.  I also believe that homebrewing could become more of a family tradition and could be a positive teaching opportunity for parents and their children.

I feel that culture is the biggest issue with drinking in America.  Parents can sometimes make alcohol seem like the “forbidden fruit”.  This causes kids to want it more and may lead to problems of alcohol abuse.  Alcohol is supposed to enhance food and although it can sometimes serve as a social lubricant, it is misunderstood.  Parents should teach their children to respect and understand alcohol at home.  Drinking with your parents at dinner should no longer be frowned upon or something to brag to your friends about.  Having a glass of wine or beer at home should be commonplace.  I feel that this would help kids understand what wine and beer are meant for and how they can serve a purpose other than getting drunk.  Moderation and responsibility is key and if that can be taught instead of the “alcohol is evil approach” I believe we will all be better off.

Prohibition set alcohol back a long way because people during that time were simply drinking to get drunk as opposed to enjoying the occasional drink.  America also adopted this “abstinence only” educational approach to drinking.  They made alcohol seem to be the enemy and that anyone who partook in drinking (when they weren’t supposed to) were punished.  No one ever took the time to show people the attributes of alcohol and how it could enhance food.

With all things taken into consideration I believe the drinking age should be lowered to 18 or 19 in certain areas.  College campuses and military bases would be my main arguments as to where we could “test drive” the new policy.  These areas would allow for more oversight and control over the drinking process.  College campuses are rampant with underage drinking and if you were to lower the drinking to where freshman could consume alcohol with seniors it could become a much safer environment.  Instead of ripping shots and chugging beers secretly in a dorm room they can be served as adults on campus bars and regulated.  Colleges could also create on-campus bars that would allow students a place to go while bringing extra money into the school, providing a safe place for students and even provide learning opportunities for Hospitality Management students.

Kids are going to drink regardless of whether it’s legal or not (especially in college).  Why not provide a safer, more regulated way for them to do so.  No kid should ever have to worry about calling the ambulance because their underage friend is sick with alcohol poisoning.  We should try to repair the “alcohol is evil” mentality and put more emphasis on safer drinking habits as opposed to the “prohibition approach”.  Share and teach about wine, beer and spirits in a responsible way.

 

Ingredient Profile: My Love/Hate Relationship with Hops

Hops: The Personality of Beer

Hops are green flower clusters that grow on vines, also known as Humulus Lupulus (a cousin of Cannabis) and are a relatively new ingredient to beer.  The use of hops dates back only 500 years (beer has been around for almost 6,000 years).  Before hops were used brewers used other types of plants, herbs and potions to counter-balance the sweetness of the malt.  The bitterness of the hops comes from resins that are in the flowers.  The first recorded use of hops was in 736 A.D. but it didn’t become a regular ingredient until the 1500′s.  They are now included in the definition of beer.  Despite all those unique flavors, hops contain large amounts of phytoestrogens and are linked to causing male breast enlargement (don’t worry though, there’s a healthier side to drinking beer).

Hops do more than just balance out sweet beer as they also contain antibacterial properties that make beer safer to drink.  Hops also act as a natural preservative and the IPA style was born because of this property.  While British troops were in India during the 1700′s beer was sent from Great Britain and the brewers used increased quantities of hops to ensure the beer stayed fresh throughout the long sea voyage.  It is also rumored that the beer was then watered down for the troops whereas the elite officers would drink it at full strength.

Beautiful and fresh hop cones

Hops grow primarily in the northwest region of the United States (Washington, Oregon and Idaho are the largest hop producing states).  Germany remains the largest hop producing country in the world (34,438 metric tons output) with the Unites States trailing by less than 11,000 metric tons and China in third producing 10,576 metric tons.  They are typically harvested during August and September when the vines are cut, separated by machine and then sent to large “drying houses” where circulating warm air removes the majority of moisture in about 24 hours.

There are dozens of different hop varieties available, all containing different flavors and aromas.  This provides an amazingly diverse flavor profiles that brewers are able to use and work with.  These opportunities to explore and create flavors with certain ingredients is what has made craft beer so popular in recent years.

Of the four main ingredients in beer (water, hops, barley and yeast) hops are the most interesting.  I like to consider hops to be the personality of the beer because they add a complexity and character that is completely unique.  There is no other flavor profile that is even close to that of a hop; bitter, flavorful, aromatic and even citrus at times.  Hops are what make beer unique and with the wide variety of flavor compounds, beer has the ability to have more than just a malty and hoppy character.

The cross-section of a hop. The yellow spots are the Lupulin Glands where all the resins and oils are found.

Despite all of these amazing properties of hops I do have an issue with them on occasion.  Such an amazing ingredient should be used to complement the other flavors in the beer rather than overpower them.  I like to compare hops to a bass line in a great new song.  If the bass line is good and fits into the song well, it can be amazing and provide an incredibly rhythmic quality but if that bass is turned up too loud (even if the notes are perfect) it drowns out all the other instruments resulting in a distorted bass line with little melody.  In terms of beer if the hops are selected properly and used to balance the beer it can create perfect harmony.  However, if the hops are used with too heavy a hand they can drown out other ingredients that were carefully selected to provide simpler flavors.  I do love the occasional IPA and I think they could even serve as the “face” of craft beer but I don’t want to feel like I’m drinking (or chewing) hops.

As with anything, moderation is important and I can’t stress that more than when it comes to the use of hops.  This is of course one man’s preference but I think craft beer is able to contain so many other flavors than simply “hops”.  What I smell in a handful of hops should be different from what I smell and taste in my beer.  There are so many other amazing flavors present in beer, why should we limit it to just one?

 

My First, My Everything: Vanilla Cherry Amber Ale

My First, My Everything: Vanilla Cherry Cream Ale Recipe (enlarge by clicking image)

The next beer I’m going to be making is a combination of two different recipes.  The first is a Cherry Vanilla Amber I found on TastyBrew.com and the other is for a Caramel Cream Ale given to me by @Arcticz (via twitter).

The recipe is made using malt extract and steeped grains.  I’ve never used malt extract before but I hear it’s quite easy and the process is shorter and simpler (more of a “throw and go” kind of ingredient).  I may try to find substitutions for the extract though.  It just feels more like brewing when you’re working with real grains.

I will also be incorporating 3 different flavoring hops to be added with 60 minutes left in the boil as well as Yeast Nutrient with 15 minutes left in the boil and 2oz of Vanilla Extract when I remove the pot from the flame.

I will then transfer the cooled wort to the primary fermenter and add Wyeast 1272 – American Ale II yeast.  After being in the primary fermenter for 14 days I will then transfer the beer to the secondary fementer (glass carboy) where I will add 4oz of Vanilla Extract and 8oz of Cherry Extract (although I will try to also use real cherries).  I will leave the beer in the secondary fermenter for another week until I keg it.  My expected ABV (alcohol by volume) should be around 6.1%.

Beer Alchemy was the program I chose to use when creating this recipe.  It was pretty straight forward even being a fairly inexperienced brewer and knowing the ingredients I wanted to put in before hand made it even simpler.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to put in the perfect water treatment settings because all of the preloaded locations were in Europe.  It did seem very suitable for both homebrewing beginners and experts.

Eventual Song Pairing: You’re The First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White

A full bodied song for a hopefully full flavored beer.  I figured this song would be the perfect song for the first beer recipe I cooked up myself (with a little help from my friends).  Might have to take a page from Teo Musso and play this song to my yeast during the fermentation process.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!  I will continue to update this post as I make changes to the recipe.

Changes:

• Increased the Czech Saaz and German Tettnang hop addition by half an ounce.  Bringing the final expected IBU to 30.5
• Switched to Wyeast 1056 – American Ale
• Removed lactose and making the beer steer more towards an Amber Ale
• Adding 1tsp Irish Moss with 15 mins left in boil
• Changed to all grain: 6lbs UK Pale Ale Malt, 3lbs Amber Malt, 1lb US Caramel 40L Malt, 1lb Belgian Caramel Munich Malt 40

 

Why You Should Drink Craft Beer

With so many brands to choose from how could you not find the one for you?

Drinking craft beer is like joining a happy family and although it may be dysfunctional at times you love it just the same. This family is also the most welcoming one you will ever join and rarely judges you for what you drink (as long as it’s “craft”).  The craft industry is large, expanding quickly and full of excited people on both sides of the beer.  The line between producers and consumers is blurred because of the amount of homebrewing being done by consumers and the amount of consuming done by the producers.  Craft beer is more than just an industry or extreme of an already existing product, it’s about people who love what they drink and care about it during every step of the process.

The first (and probably most important) reason to drink craft beer is because it tastes good.  Of course being a fan of beer in general will make the transition to craft beer easier but even if you are new to beer there are plenty of exciting flavors to start with and choose from.  Also knowing that craft brewers take pride in making their beer with traditional ingredients (hops, yeast, water and malted barley) as opposed to the large companies (that sometimes  cut costs by brewing with rice or other adjuncts that act as cheap substitutes) makes the product more special.  Choose full flavor and passion over pale lifelessness.

Craft beer, for the most part, is more expensive than the bigger brands but I have always felt that it’s worth the investment.  We have arrived at a point in time when people are care more about what they put into their bodies and why should beer be exempt from that transition?  It’s like choosing between a McDonalds hamburger and a kobe beef burger from a high end restaurant.  If price was no object which would you rather eat?  Some may be perfectly content eating the same old McDonalds hamburger everyday but I feel that the palate deserves more, even if it is at a higher price.  A 12 pack of Bud Light or a 4 pack of Dogfish Head?  This is a question we ask every time we go to the supermarket but if I had the choice between the greatest tasting beer for $20 or a watered down excuse for a beer for $10, I’ll spend the extra money every time.  It’s an investment that gives back through passion and flavor.

There has been a huge push recently to buy “local.”  Many towns and cities are struggling because of the current economy and the benefits of buying from local markets and companies cannot be overstated.  Beer should not be the exception.  It’s incredibly rewarding to buy from someone who’s nearby because you are not only supplying yourself with good beer but helping the community in the process.  It’s also a really special thing to be a part of the actual brewing process and by showing your face at your local brewpub or brewery you can talk to the brewers face to face and give them your input.  Instead of giving your money to mega-rich CEOs and board of directors who care more about the profits than your beer, go to your local craft brewery and talk to the brewer and see their passion first hand.  There are over 1,500 breweries in the United States so there’s bound to be at least one near you.

Brewers are some of the most fascinating people I’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to because they are just like you and me.  Normal people, living normal lives.  That’s one of the reasons this industry is so special.  Sure, head brewers tend to have formal training but if you are dedicated enough there’s no reason why you can’t be one.  It’s not like being the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or an electrical engineer.  Brewers are as normal as your next door neighbor.  According to Charlie Papazian (author of Microbrewed Adventures), brewers “add their passionate spirit for flavor and diversity to every beer they create for the pleasures of their friends, family and beer drinkers everywhere.”  The owners and head brewers also tend to care more about the customer experience as opposed to how much money you are giving them (despite the cost of craft beer).

Another reason to love craft beer is the fans.  It’s amazing when talking to true lovers of beer.  Their eyes light up as you discuss different styles, brands and flavors.  I have never really found passion like this in any other industry.  Even the music industry, where it’s something made directly from emotion and passion, I don’t see the kind of community I do when I look at craft beer.  Also, there’s no requirement that you need to be a “beer snob” to drink craft beer. Drinking and loving craft beer simply means that you’re willing to try something different and break out from the “average” beer world.

Craft beer is what you make of it.  It could be a weekend BBQ occurrence only, or a passionate hobby or a career.  It’s time to care about what you drink and where it comes from.  Drink craft beer.

 

Raspberry Wheat (Kegging)

After a long wait (or what felt like one), kegging day was finally here. I had never used a keg before so I was excited to see how the process worked. When I purchased the keg about a month ago the salesman showed me briefly how to set it up and use it properly (of course I remembered only bits and pieces of what he said).

While my beer was in the secondary fermenter I made sure to watch plenty of kegging videos on youtube and read the instruction manual I found online (the keg itself only came with a one page of instructions).  The manual was called the “Homebrew Heaven’s Cornelius Kegging System Setup & Maintenance Guide.”  The guide was incredibly helpful about the different parts of the keg, how to properly sanitize the equipment, how to check for leaks, how much pressure to apply to the keg, etc.

The first step was to sanitize everything.  I made sure to take apart the keg and fill it half way up with warm water and 1.5oz of iodine.  I capped the keg and swirled the solution around inside.  I then took out any additional parts (such as the rubber fitting that attaches to the top of the keg clasp) and rinsed it in the solution by hand.

The second step was putting together the CO2 tank.  I attached the gauges and washers, making sure to follow the instructions very carefully.  After that I hooked up the input hose from the CO2 tank to the keg with the iodine solution.  I then locked the keg, attached the outgoing hose and turned on the pressure to about 13PSI, opened the valve, waited until there was no more “wooshing” noise and shut the valve.  Then I drained the iodine solution from the keg through the outgoing hose. I rinsed the keg with cool water and repeated the process.  During this time I also used water to pour over the keg to check for any leaks or loose fittings.  Luckily there were none.

Now that my least favorite part of the homebrewing process was over (sanitizing) I could move on to more interesting things such as the actual kegging.  After gargling with some gin (always fun), I manually siphoned the beautiful looking beer from the secondary fermenter (glass carboy) into the sanitized keg.  I filtered the remaining sediment from the raspberries and yeast through a strainer before putting it in the keg.

This was the first time I was able to taste the beer.  It was really fantastic (in my opinion).  There was an amazing fruity aroma that permeated the entire downstairs of my house and it tasted of malt and raspberries.  There was definitely alcohol present which was a relief to me because this meant it fermented properly.  The color was this gorgeous golden red color.  I can’t wait to try it carbonated.  It will be the perfect summer beer.

After the keg was just about filled I pulled the siphon out and capped and locked it.  I then attached the CO2 once again, adjusted the pressure in proportion to the temperature of the beer (around 70 degrees) and opened the valve.  The CO2 took a little while to fill but once it did I turned the valve off and unhooked the CO2.  Now for more waiting.

 

Raspberry Wheat (Secondary Fermentation)

This is the book I have been using for my clone brews

Today was secondary fermentation day in the Goldstein household.  I decided about a week ago that I would rather use real raspberries (or as many as I could) as opposed to just using the extract that was given to me in the kit.  I went out this morning and got 2.5 lbs of raspberries from a local farm which came out to be around $40.  I was originally planning on only using real raspberries (5 lbs) and no extract but I decided today to go half and half because of the cost.

I washed the raspberries thoroughly with water and then pureed them with a bit of lemon juice in the hopes of killing any bacteria that may have formed.  I wanted to avoid boiling them because I figured the beer would not come out tasting of fresh raspberries but of boiled fruit.

When I opened up the primary fermenter,the beer (to my pleasant surprise) had gotten considerably lighter in color.  The siphoning of the beer went smoothly but I guess things tend to go well after rinsing your mouth out with some gin (to prevent bacteria from getting into the beer).  As the siphon was transferring I dumped in the raspberry puree.  The raspberries imparted a beautiful red color to the already light golden beer.  It’s not bubbling incredibly hard right now but hopefully it will soon.

I’m planning on getting a digital camera to document all of this so the next beer I decide to brew will have pictures of every step throughout the process.

Kegging will be the next endeavor in about 3 weeks.

 

Random Question

Large and small brewers are often intrigued to make the latest unique beer. Is it easier for a large brewer to do this or for a microbrewer or for a homebrewer?

This question was asked on my final essay test for the Executive Program of the Brewing Process offered by the Siebel Institute.  Most of the course exams were simply spitting back information that we had learned previously through videos and slides.  When I got to this final question I was excited that I could actually apply my knowledge of brewing with what I’ve learned in the course and do some thinking for a change.

I went through each of the scenarios comparing the costs and benefits for the different sized brewers to find “the latest unique beer”  and after some careful thinking, this is what I came up with:

Microbreweries have the advantage in making the latest unique beer.  They  are able to brew it in smaller batches which makes them better suited for recipe formulation and revision.  Also, the customers of smaller breweries are more open to change and would be more willing to spend money on  a unique beer as opposed to those who only drink “large brewery beer” (Bud Light, Coors, etc).  Even though large breweries are able to spend an incredible amount of money on R&D and marketing strategies, they would be more focused on the general population as opposed to small niche markets, which is where the latest unique beer is likely to fall under.

Now, homebrewers are able to brew in even smaller batches than microbreweries but they would have a harder time getting their hands on the freshest and newest ingredients and it would be very difficult to ever get this beer to market (unless they opened up a microbrewery).  Also, there has to be a lot more “trial and error brewing” because the majority of these brewers aren’t trained brewmasters, chemists, or recipe specialists.

I got full credit for my response even though my teacher thought homebrewers would have the easiest time.  Guess that’s what makes the world go ’round.

 

The Most Important Ingredient?

Yeast.

That’s my simple answer.  Yeast is the living organism that feeds on the sugars that we get from our malted barely to create alcohol, CO2 and eventually “beer”.  If yeast does not do its job properly we can be left with unfermented wort or bad flavor compounds.  Despite this, many feel that water is the most important ingredient because it makes up 95% of beer.  Even though this is true, water can be changed and altered to meet specific mineral requirements for brewing specific types of beers and although there are different types of yeast, you cannot change the organisms themselves or how they interact with your wort.

You could have some of the greatest water, malted barely and hops the world has ever produced but if the yeast is bad or does not interact with the nutrients in the wort properly, you basically just wasted great raw ingredients.  The yeast is able to create many different flavors within your basic hop and malt varieties.  In Germany many early brewers kept their yeast strains a secret, feeling that this is what kept them apart from the competition.  Brewers would exchange pleasantries when it came to the grains and hops they used but would never give away their yeast.

With all of that said the most important step in the brewing process would have to be the boiling of the wort.  This is where the wort is sterilized, enzyme activity is destroyed, protein and protein-tannin complexes form together to create flocs, the color is increased and the hop effects are established.  The boiling process ensures that the yeast has a stable environment to thrive in and is able to reproduce and feed on the fermentable sugars.

Every step and ingredient is important, so a lot of time and effort should still go into choosing your ingredients carefully.  Just when it comes down to it (in my experiences), yeast is what can make or break a beer if it’s not carefully taken care of and utilized fully.

 

The Beginning

I can’t really say how I got interested in the beer industry.  Maybe it was the four years attending Syracuse University and getting bored of Keystone Light and Miller High Life every night, or maybe my family’s obsession with nutrition and my need to rebel, or my Beverage Operations Management professor who taught me that beer isn’t going away and has a wonderful place in this world.  Whatever the reason I can’t seem to get away from it.  Beer is a magical drink that brings people closer together in an instant.  Whether you’re a craft fanatic or just a casual Bud Light drinker you understand its power.  Beer is not something to take lightly and and I’m really done with people who think I’m interested in craft brewing just to drink beer all day.  Our tasty, deliciously malty and hoppy substance confuses people.  They don’t understand that beer can be a hobby or even a job (sometimes a lucrative one).  I hope to change that.

Brewing is part science, part art and part close your eyes and hope for the best.  It’s not perfection but it’s sometimes the imperfections that make it great.