Friday, June 26, 2009

How to Identify the Best Beer For You

Generally there are minor variations on beer styles from brewery to brewery. There are three terms to distinguish in between the flavor of beers. Now you have to take time to learn these flavor characteristics and decide what balance of these traits suits you, thus you'll be consistently ordering a perfect enjoyable beer bottle for you. Please have a look at these three terms as listed below:

Fruitiness - Most of the Pale ales have a fruity flavor within them, but the fact is there is actual fruit at all in the beer. This fruity flavor is actually a by-product of the yeast fermentation in the brewing process.

Malt Beer - This is the most widely used Beer style. Actually malt is derived from barley and wheat, and is the part of the beer that is fermented. You will find many varieties of malt, with varying flavors. Many people also find a malt flavor to be somewhat sweet.

Hops Beer - It is widely know for its bitter flavor. Actually hops are a plant that is also added to beer, and they give beer a bitter flavor. Pale ales are generally the hoppiest beers available in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Australia.

Now you have to know about the beer styles. There are two widely used categories of beer styles known as bottom-fermenting beer and top-fermenting beer. Top-fermenting beers or Ales are more complex with fruity characteristics and include wheat beer, stout, porter and ale. While bottom-fermenting beers or lagers possess a cleaner finish and include bock, Oktoberfest, pilsner, American lager, and malt liquor. Bottom-fermenting beers are very light in color, light bodied and usually have little to no malt or hop characteristics.

So now that you have the idea of beer styles and know all the basic flavors that are present in beers, you can explore the different varieties of beer and find the best one that suits you and your palate.

The author of this article is Beer of the month club. If you want to explore more about beers then please feel free to visit Monthly beer club.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Beer - What Goes Well With It?

If you ask John Michael Montgomery what goes good with beer, he'll tell you the following:

It goes good with beer and the Friday night atmosphere. Of this cross-town bar where the cars all get steered to. And it goes hand-and-hand with my crazy buddies and this three-piece band, An' the pretty girls and the games we play and the smoke and mirrors: Yeah, troubles come, but they go good with beer.

Well, this probably isn't what you expected to find when looking for something that went well with beer, but the truth is, a lot of things go good with beer and not just food.

Yes, of course there are the foods that we love to eat that go good with beer. You've got your classic beer and pizza combo. Can anything even come close to the taste of an ice cold beer and a hot slice of pizza? For that matter, even a cold slice of pizza and beer is pretty good. For some guys, that's pure heaven.

Then there's peanuts and beer. That's why they sometimes call them beer nuts. You can walk into your corner bar, especially if it's one of them home town doggie places, if you know what I mean and just ask the bartender for some beer and nuts. He'll know just what you want. Or, if you're too lazy to leave the house, just have a jar of those Planters nuts laying around, open up a nice cold brew and have yourself a picnic. For some guys, that's all they need.

But beer is not just about what you eat with it. Beer can be used as a very useful tool for picking up women. A typical scenario is you're at a bar, you order your drink and there's a cute gal sitting two stools over. You turn to her and in your most macho voice you say to her, "Can I buy you a beer?" Now if you were a real sophisticated guy you'd probably ask her if she wanted a drink. But offering her a beer is so much more manly and raw-at-home-boyish.

Then of course there is the beer as used for a prop when playing pool. You're standing there with your pool cue in your hands while you're buddy is running the table on you and the last thing you want to do is look like a loser of a dork, so you kind of lean on your cue stick, cock your body to one side, pick up that nice cold long-neck bottle (has to be long-neck) and take a nice, slow, long guzzle. You'll look so cool, people will think you're winning.

And finally, beer is just great for sitting in front of the TV and watching your favorite episode of NYPD Blue. Has to be a manly type of program. None of that girl stuff. While you're doing this, you lean back, spread your arms across the back of the couch and let out a good loud...Well, you get the picture.

Beer. It goes well with just about anything.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Beer

Homebrew Beer is Easy, Fun and Delicious

If you've ever had a homebrew, or eaten in a brewpub - you know those restaurant/bars that have the giant brass holding tanks on display as a part of their decor and where everyone loves to hang out - you've probably wondered what it would take to create your own beer at home.

Now obviously, most of us have no where near the space needed for that kind of operation, but actually, it doesn't require anything like that kind of investment of space, equipment or even the time in order to brew your own homemade beer.

You can get started with as little as a six-gallon fermenter jar with an airlock, and some ready-made malt with hops. Malt extract has become easy to find in the can, so there's no longer a reason to worry about the difficult and messy task of malting your own grains just to get a nice homebrew.

It can be as easy as mix, brew, bottle and enjoy.  Mixing is done in the fermenter - all you need is hot water, a malt kit, cold water added for volume, and the right yeast.  The whole process is even easier than making bread - and the results are just as spectacular!  The fermenting happens as the yeast eats the sugars, all while you sit back and take it easy.  Once the fermentation is finished, you can bottle your liquid gold and soon after you'll be enjoying that first delicious sip.

It's easy to make your favorite types of beer at home - and you can add your own special ingredients as you develop your own recipes.  Not only is it easy and fun, but you can save a lot of money over buying the boutique commercial brands in the grocery stores.  You'll be pleasantly surprised to discover you can brew up to six gallons of your own homebrew for only about $20-30.

If you've ever tried a homebrew, you know how much fresher and more flavorful they can be than what you buy in the store.  Why do you think the brewpubs do so well?  Their microbrewed beer is definitely a cut above the commericial brands.  And homebrew easily competes with the microbrewery beer - especially when it's made by you!

Ready to get started brewing your own delicious beers the easy way? Get your free guide to homebrewing 13 easy and tasty recipes for ales, lagers, stouts, and other great beers. Go to http://EasyHomebrewTips.com

Friday, June 19, 2009

Avoid Lagers in Britain

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If you're planning a holiday in the United Kingdom then you may well be planning a visit to a traditional British pub. It is, after all, something that seems peculiarly British.

As a local, I'd certainly recommend that you do indeed head for a few pubs during your stay. You'll notice that they vary quite considerably in appearance, atmosphere and character.

We all have our own favourite pubs, from the friendly local that's hidden away in a back street to the pub that remains popular thanks to its considerable beer garden.

I live in a town that is popular with tourists and hence see many wandering in to local pubs. It's always interesting to watch their faces as they take in the scene. It must be great to look at scenes such as this for the first time.

You can often see how thrilled they are to be part of a real British establishment. They then walk up to the bar and order a lager.

At this point I often begin to feel sorry for them. Britain has been flooded by cheap imported lagers in recent years but these are by no means the taste of a real British pub.

Far from it. They often lack any taste or character. Don't make the mistake of ordering a lager at a pub in Britain - you'll find it far more enlightening to try one of the local brews.

Traditional British beers and ales have been making a resurgence. While lager sales fall, ale sales have been performing more strongly, with more and more locals remembering what is so great about beers that actually taste different.

It's a great opportunity for many of us to celebrate local beer production and it's also a chance for visitors to enjoy the best of British.

Take a look at beers that have been made locally - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

You can find out how to make beer by reading further articles by Keith Barrett

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

English Beer

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.