An Irishman is sitting at the end of a bar. He sees a lamp at the end of the table. He walks down to it and rubs it. Out pops a genie. It says, “I will give you three wishes.”The man thinks awhile. Finally he says, “I want a beer that never is empty.”
With that, the genie makes a poof sound and on the bar is a bottle of beer. The Irishman starts drinking it and right before it is gone, it starts to refill. The genie asks about his next two wishes.
Back in Packs a Punch, I withheld from my friend that my Guinness was less potent in alcohol than his Bud Light. If I didn’t, he would then have asked me how can that be? … No, actually he wouldn’t care, or wouldn’t believe me. But why is it that the darker, thicker, sweeter, stronger tasting beer has less alcohol?
To understand how alcohol is made in beer, you have to understand a little bit about yeast. I ask you… how much do you currently know about yeast? Try this yeast trivia questionnaire by A.B. first and see how you do…
Well, you don’t have to know all of the details about how yeast works, as yeast is a very complicated critter. Basically, yeast eats sugars, divides (and thus multiplies), and produces in turn carbon dioxide and ethanol (alcohol).
So, the amount of alcohol content in beer is dependent on the amount of fermentable sugars available in the wort. Those sugars are present from the mash process of the malted barely during brewing. But wait, there’s more! There are other factors, too, which make it more complicated than just that. For example, the more roasted a malt is, the less fermentable sugars it will produce during the mash. Plus, the environment needed for fermentation to take place has to be just right. For instance, there are enzymes needed as a catalyst for the process. Temperature, oxygen, and other things contribute to how efficient the yeast works.
Fermentable sugars are key. Remember back in Part 3 that specialty grains do not contain all, or as much, of the enzymes needed for fermentation. Also, specialty grains do not contain as much potentially fermentable sugars, but they certainly bring a lot of flavor and color to the party. (ok, I admit, I’ve been watching too much Good Eats)
Bud Light uses rice (genetically engineered) to create more fermentable sugars without adding any taste, but still provide alcohol. Guinness uses lots of roasted malts for taste and color, much of which does not ferment and, thus, produces less alcohol while still packing a punch of flavor.
I don’t know about you, but I have a thing for Rube Goldberg devices. Maybe it’s all the dominoes I toppled in my youth. Or perhaps it was all of the Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons.
From the moment Guinness used a Toucan to promote its dark stout, the brewery’s adverts have always been iconic.
Its latest and most expensive one, which will be shown tonight for the first time, is no exception.
Shot in an Argentinian mountainside village, it features a game of dominoes which escalates to include suitcases, tyres, oil drums, fridges, wardrobes and cars.
I think I’m going to give up on trying to keep track of what I should and shouldn’t be drinking. It seems like every time I turn around, something everyone thought was bad for you is now good, and vice versa.
The latest case in point: Guinness. According to scientists in Wisconsin (how appropriate), 24 ounces of the stuff with a meal may work as well as aspirin at preventing blood clots that can lead to heart attacks. Lager doesn’t have the same affect.
The Wisconsin team tested the health-giving properties of stout against lager by giving it to dogs who had narrowed arteries similar to those in heart disease.
They found that those given the Guinness had reduced clotting activity in their blood, but not those given lager.
(Lucky dogs.)
Guinness had to drop their advertising touting the health effects of the stout years ago, and Diageo, the beverage conglomerate that owns the brand, has no plans to bring it back. Not that they could; there is currently legislation is being drafted in the EU to outlaw any health claims for alcohol in advertising in Europe.
It is never too early to plan for your St. Patrick’s Day party so I thought I would start a discussion with Al and our readers about what types of beer selection you think are best to have on hand to please the crowd on March 17th.
All good hosts would want to be able to please a wide variety of drinkers. Some guests may not even *gasp* drink beer! If it were my party, I would try to meet three basic factions: 1) the occasional beer drinker, 2) the serious, megabrew junkie, and 3) the serious, real beer, drinker. (I fall into this last category.) I would love to suggest all sorts of beers, but some are just so hard to find, I will try to stick with varieties that most people can get.
The occasional beer drinker I’m defining as is the kind of person who might prefer wine over beer; or, one who doesn’t drink beer often but likes quality and interesting beer when they do drink. For this person, you might seek out something like Southampton’s Irish Red or Sam Adams Cream Stout.
Do I have to define the megabrew junkie? This is a crowd I would suggest Killian’s Irish Red for. Killian’s is made by a megabrewery (Coors) and is a weak attempt at a craft beer, but it might be different enough for your megabrewery junkie to feel a little more in with the real beer drinkers. (and a little more Irish)
I think Guinness is a must, whether that is all you drink, if you have just one, or if you plan to make some black and tans. Guinness is true to the Irish Dry Stout style, it is sure to please the true Irishman, and it makes for a darn good breakfast the next morning as well.
For that real die-hard craft beer snob (kind of like me) I suggest seeking out something different and don’t be afraid to draw outside the lines, especially if the Irish part of St. Patrick’s Day is not as important as the social beer drinking aspect. For these few people, seek out a couple big bottles of Smuttynose Scotch Style Ale or Middle Ages Brewing Blackheart Stout. Or, because I’m familiar with the products, a growler of 120 Shilling Ale (Lake Placid Brewery) for those in upstate New York, or Willy’s Wee Heavy (Long Valley Pub and Brewery) for those in New Jersey.
Maybe none of this matters to you in making your beer selections for St. Patrick’s Day; if not, tell us!
I think I’m going to give up on trying to keep track of what I should and shouldn’t be drinking. It seems like every time I turn around, something everyone thought was bad for you is now good, and vice versa.
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