Speaking of Beer

The waning days of the year are crammed full of activity for most folks, and we here at Cervesa Locution Studios are no exception. As a result, the release schedule of the podcast will alter slightly over the next few weeks. Show #19 will come out in about a week, and it will center around some classic holiday sippin’. Show #20 will be released three weeks after that, between Christmas and New Year’s, and cross paths with the “cocktail” crowd in time for the Big Ball Drop. Two weeks after that, we’ll be back on the regular schedule, with great brews, interviews, recipes, info and beery fun coming your way on a bi-weekly basis. Look for special guest contributions, a new Interbeer segment, and lots and LOTS of Speaking of Beer in 2007!

Some beers to find between binge eating and binge spending:

Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome 2006 – 2007 [alternatives: a malty "winter warmer" like Red Hook's Winter Hook or Young's Winter Warmer]

and

Anchor Christmas Ale (AKA “Our Special Ale”) 2006 [alternatives: a spicy dark beer like....Full Sail Wassail, maybe? This one's tough...]

‘Tis the season to watch animatronic caribou look from side-to-side in your neighbor’s yard. Let’s drink like it!

Prebeer Preamble: Beers made from ingredients free of chemical additives (pesticides, fertilizers, etc.) are increasingly popular among beer enthusiasts. With assistance from SoB co-drinking stalwart Eric, I try to figure out what’s going on here. Sure going “green” is good for your health, your conscience, and the environment, but is it good for the beer?

Beer #1: We begin our quest for understanding with an English beer, Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Ale. It’s a drinkable style from a long-standing, even iconic, brewery, but does its organic nature add anything to the drinking experience?

Interbeer Interlude: Beer As Folk. “Roots Brewing Company.” Portland, Oregon, is home to this all-organic brewpub, situated at the heart of America’s premier beer city. I talk to head brewer Chip Holland about the challenges and rewards of being on the cutting edge of the organic beer phenomenon.

Beer #2: Here’s where the rubber really meets the road in our exploration of the organic beer phenomenon. Eric and I dive into North Coast Brewing Company’s Old Plowshare Stout, an organic brew from California. But first, we sample some Old No. 38 Stout, a non-organic beer in the same style from the same brewery. How does the “green” beer old up in this side-by-side comparison?

Beer Geek Moment: “Barley.” Organic or not, the backbone of beer is this cereal grain from the Middle Eeast. Botany, chemistry, and history all come together in this three-minute information blast, for your entertainment pleasure.

Postbeer Postscript: Eric and I ponder and score the beers of the day. Did our organic experience enhance our drinking enjoyment? Tune it and find out!

 

 Show #18: An Organic Exbeerience: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3517)

Some listener-submitted images:

Thanks to Greg M. Shoger for this lip-smacking photo. That’s Leinie’s Oktoberfest in the glass…

Also, a blast from my past:

I think there may have actually been a time when I was simultaneously watching “Dr. Who” and drinking Foster’s. Ahhh, memories…Thanks for the nostalgia trip, Scott from Tucson!

This week’s beer quest is a little more complicated than usual. First up, there’s

Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Ale. [alternatives: Butte Creek Organic Ale, Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale, Bass Pale Ale]

Beer #2 is actually TWO beers:

North Coast Brewing’s Old Plowshare Stout (available through Whole Foods) and/or Old No. 38 stout. Ideally, both stouts are the way to go, though the Old Old Plowshare is the “official” beer #2.[alternatives: Three Floyds Black Sun Stout, Shipyard's Blue Fin Stout, and--if you insist--Guinness]

I won’t be coy, the theme is organic beers. So if a local brewery does an organic pale ale and/or an organic stout, that’s plan A.

Prebeer Preamble: As autumn turns to winter, beer enthusiasts’ tastes tend to go dark. Well, I’m here to accomodate, with a couple of black brews and a whole lot of dark beer talk. I’m joined by Michael R. Mennenga, fellow Farpoint podcaster, beer cuisine afficianado, and fan of stouts, porters, and all beers black as we tour the Western Hemisphere through glasses darkly.

Beer #1: Mike and I start off in South America with a little Xingu Black Beer from Brazil. It seems like an obscure style from a country that’s not exactly a brewing powerhouse, yet it’s pretty widely available throughout the world. Are we talking a cult gem, or is it pandering to the lowest common palate denominator?

Interbeer Interlude: Burpin’ Legends. “Guinness: King of Stouts?” The most famous and best-selling dark beer in the world, a dry stout called Guinness, is the stuff of legend in the beerniverse. But is this dark emperor really wearing any clothes? With a look at some relevant data and the help of a roomful of volunteer tasters, we dive into the myth that is Guinness.

Beer #2: Mike and I now move on to Colorado to try an English style originally brewed for Russian nobles. That would be Avery Brewing Company’s The Czar, an Imperial Stout. We’re talking black, we’re talking strong, we’re talking….hitting our tongues with hammers??

Beer Geek Moment: “Beer Color.” So just where does beer get its color from, and how do brewers measure and predict the hues of their brews? If these questions vex you, you’ve come to the right place!

Postbeer Postscript: Still sipping our Czars, Mike and I go through the scoring on these beers. It’s a dark day for one of these black beers, but which one? Take a listen and find out!

[For help with the taste-test, special thanks go out to Evo Terra, Sheila Unwin, Michael and Lorrie Mennenga, Mr. and Mrs. Doug Kress, Jack Mangan, Sterling the Southern Gentleman, Chris the Cheesecake Lady, and Debbie DaMoodyMom. Also, thanks once again to Jack Mangan for lending his talents as the Voice of Wikipedia.]

 

 Show #17: The Wort of Darkness: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3946)