Blogcritics Author: Nick Jurkowski

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

A Guide To Beer for Non-Beer Drinkers

Nick Jurkowski — Thu, 5 Jul 2007 03:08:40 EDT

All beer lovers no doubt have at least one friend who does not share their passion for fermented grain beverages. There are many reasons for this. Some do not drink (and while I can't condone this reckless behavior, people are certainly free to choose), while others drink, but claim they "don't like" beer. This is the group can be a tough nut to crack, and it is they who are the subject of this article. Saying that you don't like beer is akin to saying that you don't like any white food. There are simply so many types out there, there is without a doubt one that fits your taste. The "I don't like beer" crowd can be roughly divided into two groups (I've met many members of both). There are the people who don't like the bitterness of beer, and the people whose only contact with beer has been the beer flavored water cranked out by the likes of Coors and Budweiser. There is some overlap between the groups, and I'll address the latter first, since it's the easiest. This first group is generally very easy to convert, because they are simply ignorant. Mind you, they don't like being told they are ignorant -- very few people respond well to that. They must be gently shown how good beer can be. Most often, their only experience with beer has been watching it poured into tubing at a frat party. They need only to be steered in the right direction to appreciate a good brew. Often they drink wine (or perhaps they prefer cocktails), and can appreciate a good complex alcoholic beverage. If you or a friend falls into this crowd, it pays to have a tasting with several excellent, complex beers that are varied in style. Belgian beers in particular are valuable for this, since they are renowned for their interesting tastes and complex flavor profiles. Start with a small enough number that you can focus on individual beers, but a large enough sample to give an idea of the variety of beers available. Four or five should do the trick. Here's an example of what I would go for. 1. A quintessential Belgian ale. Let's say Chimay Red (Dubbel). This is a solid Trappist dubbel, and will show what I consider to be a quintessential Belgian beer. It is yeasty with interesting fruit esters, and is well balanced. 2. A good American beer-flavored beer. Give Anchor Steam a try. Anchor Steam, like the Big 3 American lager producers, has been around for a long time, and is fermented with lager yeast (though it isn't a lager, per se). It is distinctly American, and is a very "beery" beer, with a biscuity malt flavor coupled with appropriate hop bitterness. If someone isn't used to beer, they might not like this one, but at least it lets them know what good American beer tastes like.3. A Lambic or Flemish Red Ale. These beers are fruity and sour, and will push the envelope of what many expect a beer to be. I like Rodenbach Grand Cru; Wine drinkers in particular will appreciate it. The complex flavors of sour cherry, oak, and malt will, at the very least, dispel their pre-conceived notions, and more often than not it will garner surprised praise. 4. A nice dark ale. Often, people who are used to American lager haven't ever had stout or porter, and will be surprised how different ales and lagers can be. Samual Smith's Taddy Porter is a good bet. The other demographic of non-beer drinkers can be a tough nut to crack. These are people who are aware of the variety of beer out there but do not care for the taste. In my experience, these people don't care for the bitterness imparted by hops (and in some cases, roasted grain), and so must become acclimated to hop bitterness. Have a tasting that focuses on beers that are heavy on the malted side, or use other flavoring ingredients than hops. Here are some ideas. Lindeman's (fruit lambic): I know, I know. This is the soda-pop of lambics - but that's exactly why it will work. I've never known a member of the "I don't like the taste of beer" crowd who didn't like the taste of Lindeman's fruit lambic. Make sure you get a fruit that they like, and watch the look on their face when they first try it. Lindeman's sweetens their lambic, and so it is much more palatable to those who don't enjoy bitter tastes. Blue Moon or Hoegaarden Belgian White: Belgian Whites generally go pretty light on the hops, instead relying on orange-peel and coriander as flavoring agents. The grain bill is also light, so you don't have to worry about bitter roasted malts scaring people away. Blue Moon and Hoegaarden are both pretty innocuous (Hoegaarden is better, but Blue Moon is easier to find), and can help to build up a base from which a novice beer-drinker can spring to more "beery" brews. Spatin Optimator: Doppelbocks are notoriously balanced towards the malty side of things, and the Optimator is no exception. It is dark and sweet, and there are discernable caramel and toffee flavors, but as a lager it is light enough to not weigh you down. There is hardly any hop bitterness in this beer, which goes a long way towards appealing to those who don't care for bitter flavors. Pyramid Apricot Weizen: American Fruit Weizens are great beers for those who don't like beer. The subtle fruit flavors are often compelling enough to make them want to try more, and weizen yeast ferments with banana and clove flavors, which can be a real draw (assuming, of course, that your target enjoys banana and clove flavors). These are just a few examples of beers that go easy on the hops and can appeal to those who don't care for beer. Once someone finds something that they like, you can suggest beers that are similar, but continue expand their tastes. I am firmly confident that there is a beer out there for every taste; you just have to find it.

Nick Jurkowski works for a wine site, Savor Each Glass, as a beer commentator, which, while a bit paradoxical, is a lot of fun.

The Seattle International Beerfest: From Oak Aged Stout to Chili Mead

Nick Jurkowski — Thu, 5 Jul 2007 02:26:27 EDT

This past weekend saw one of the best events there is for a beer-lover in Seattle: The Seattle International Beerfest. While I have been to festivals with more individual beers (there were about 125 here), I have never been to a festival that offered more geographical diversity or obscure styles. Looking around a festival is a little overwhelming; there are just so many beers that looked so intriguing (Traditional Norse Moonshine beer, anyone?). I knew I wanted to try some bier de garde, as its rare to find this style. I also wanted to try some meads, as well as any style I was completely unfamiliar with. I present here, in chronological order, my notes on most of the beers I tried. My notes devolved in depth somewhat as the evening wore on, but I hope they get the point across regardless.St. Sylvestre Gavroche Strong Ale: This was the first bier de garde I tried, and to be honest, I was expecting more. There isn't a particularly complex aroma to it - just a little malt with some sourness, and the taste was a bit thin - some toffee flavors from the malts coupled with a bit of a winey sourness. Not too much hop to this, but there are some floral hops on the end that made a nice addition. Deschutes 2006 Mirror Mirror Barley Wine: American breweries are certainly in the minority at this festival, and as I typically like Deschutes, I figured I'd give this one a try. I'm quite pleased overall with this, and will have to look for it. The aroma is sweet and malty, and the taste pleasantly complex. Caramel flavors mingle with esters of pear and dark fruit (plum?), while the hop bitterness provides an excellent balance. This is thick and delicious, with a lot of alcohol warmth. Mountain Meadows Agave Mead: After the barley wine, I am ready for something less viscous. I don't really know what agave tastes like, so I'm having a hard time finding the flavor in this mead. It has a bit of a white grape aroma, as well as some slight spice to it. The alcohol warmth comes on the end. It's medium sweet and tasty, but it lacks some of the complexity of really good purely honey meads. Still, a good find.!Qhilika African Birds Eye Chili Mead: This one might well take home the "What the F---?" prize. It's a very interesting beverage that smells like a spiced mead but tastes like a cayenne pepper. Spiciness dominates the nose, but gives way to other honey notes towards the end, and is actually surprisingly complex. This would be excellent to drink or to use as a practical joke.Eisenbahn South American Pale Ale: From the Eisenbahn Brewery in Brazil comes this unique pale. The aroma is yeasty and fruity in an almost Belgian way. The flavor was yeasty and a little sweet, but with a biscuity malt character to it. There is a touch of apple and cinnamon, and minimal hop bitterness. It reminds me very much of an English pale crossed with a Belgian. My favorite thus far.After this, I sat down with some friends at a conveniently placed hookah bar and took a break. After an hour and a half of apple tobacco I got back to the beer, though the smoke (and the fact that the meads finally caught up to me) made my subsequent notes a little less coherent.Haand Bryggeri Norwegian Wood ("Traditional Norwegian Moonshine Beer!") - Not sure what to expect with this one. Smells malty and a bit smokey like a scotch ale. The taste is similarly malty and smokey, without a lot of bitterness to offset. Some juniper flavors make this nicely complex. To Valhalla! Kerkom Bink Bloesem: This is supposedly flavored with cherry blossoms, and smelled a bit like honey and flowers (the cherry blossoms, I'd wager). The taste was very light, a bit fruity, and not particularly impressive. Still, it'd make a nice summer beer, or beer for someone who doesn't like beer.Spaten West Dinkelacker Dark: A less malty, slightly hoppier version of Spaten Optimator (Doppelbock). Tastes like a dark lager. All those beers must be dulling my taste buds. Big Sky "Ivan the Terrible" Bourbon Imperial Stout: Wow - you can smell the bourbon. This beer is really something. Lots of cherry, raisin, and dark caramel. The bourbon flavor isn't too profiund, but comes through in the aroma quite well. I have to try another one of these. At this point, I started to feel the effects of the alcohol more profoundly. My notes lose yet more coherency.Big Sky "Ivan the Terrible" Bourbon Imperial Stout: Hmmm - yes. A very interesting beer. 8.3% ABV, apparently though it doesn't necessarily taste like it. There's more bourbon this time. The fruitiness is almost overwhelming, but....wow...that's a raisiny beer.Rodenbach Grand Cru: I know this beer pretty well, and had to have a glass. It tastes like cherries! There aren't any cherries in it, but it tastes like cherries! Isn't that something?!Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout: Aaagh! A yeti!That was the last of my notes, though I had a few more samples before my girlfriend arrived to give us a ride home.All in all, I had a fantastic time at the Seattle International Beerfest, and was able to try a bunch of beers that I would never have tried otherwise. My palate was expanded, and good times were had by all. The Portland International Beer fest is coming up (in mid July, I believe), and will offer many of the same beers, so anyone in the area would do well to look into it.

Nick Jurkowski works for a wine site, Savor Each Glass, as a beer commentator, which, while a bit paradoxical, is a lot of fun.

A Seattle Belgian Beer Excursion And Review

Nick Jurkowski — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:21:34 EDT

The Pacific Northwest is a great place to be if you love great beer, and Seattle has one of the best spots for Belgian beer that I've ever seen: Brouwer's. With 25 Belgian beers on tap at any time (and literally hundreds more in bottles), you can pretty much find any style of Belgian that you please. I headed there with a few friends, and we had quite a few beers, all quite good, some delicious. Here are my reflections of my favorites (at the time, jotted down hurriedly on my hand or menu):1. Foret Saison: I'm currently in the middle of brewing a saison myself, so I wanted to try a few authentic examples of this style. The Foret was a cloudy straw color, with a citrusy spiciness that dominated the aroma. The beer tasted of citrus and yeast on the nose, with sweet malt undertones. Towards the end, I could taste a subtle horsey funkiness coupled with moderate hop bitterness. This was an excellent beer with very distinct flavors that I thoroughly enjoyed.2. Gulden Draak: Gulden Draak is a dark trippel that I've had bottled a few times, and it never fails to impress me. The color is a dark, almost opaque brown. I could smell the alcohol in the aroma - though I don't know the exact figure, it has to be pushing 10% ABV. The taste is dominated by a malty sweetness at first, which settles a bit into notes of plum and raisin. It had a very low bitterness - the taste was mostly the molasses-like maltiness with some fruit and yeast. This is always a good beer.3. Duchesse de Bourgogne Sour Red Ale: This was my favorite beer of the night, and one of the cheapest we tried (only $6.00! -- WooHoo!). A great example of the Flanders Red Ale style, Duchesse is a brilliant dark crimson color, and has an aroma dominated by sour cherries. The taste is a little sweet with marked sourness, and tasted of cherries, apple, and a little sweet mustard. The taste finished with a slight alcoholic warmth that was most pleasant. This is one of the most wine-like beers I've ever had, and one I would get again and again. 4. Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek '04: A real lambic - none of that sweetened Lindemans stuff. This lambic was a cloudy, dark red, and smelled of sour cherries and apple. The taste was initially a punchy sour, which mellowed out and gave way to a very slight sweetness. The cherry flavor lingered in the background, with the sourness and Belgian funkiness at the fore. I wouldn't want this all the time, but I can certainly imagine being in the mood for it.5. Koningshoeven Quadrupel: This is actually from the Netherlands, and was interesting to taste side-by-side with the Gulden Draak. A dark brown, this one smelled a little sweet, with some apples and something else (soy sauce?). The taste was moderately sweet and fruity with a low bitterness. There were toffee-like flavors from the malt mingled with apple and raisin - all around this was very pleasant.6. Ommegang Hennepin Saison: Ommegang, actually an American company, produces quite a few excellent beers, so I was anxious to try this one. Different from the Foret, it was less bitter, with more coriander and subtler fruitiness. It may have been because this was the last beer of the evening, but the flavors seemed better blended. They are both excellent, but I prefer the Ommegang, by a nose.Well, there you have it - there aren't too many places you can go to have all of those beers on tap at one place, so I have to hand it to the folks at Brouwer's. Drop by if you're ever in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.

Nick Jurkowski works for a wine site, Savor Each Glass, as a beer commentator, which, while a bit paradoxical, is a lot of fun.

The Next Step in Beerphilia: Homebrewing

Nick Jurkowski — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:30:33 EDT

Like many people, I enjoy beer. I enjoy learning about beer, I enjoy talking about beer, and, of course, I enjoy drinking beer. For those of you in a similar situation, there is one hobby that will allow you to do all of those things at the same time: homebrewing.Many people seem to have the idea that homebrewing produces bad beer, or is difficult, or expensive. The fact is, brewing good beer at home is remarkably easy, and can be as expensive or cheap as you want it to be (most people start with a minimal set-up, and invest in further equipment as the obsession takes hold). The bottom line is that it’s very easy to make great beer. How exactly is it done?The easiest way to get started homebrewing is to head to your local homebrew supply shop. There, you’ll find helpful folks who can walk you through the strange apparati and vats of grains to what you’ll need to get your first batch of beer going. Namely:1. A food-grade plastic fermenter or six gallon plastic carboy with airlock. This will be where the magic happens. You will also need a length of tubing or (even better) an autosyphon. Either option is quite inexpensive. 2. A beer kit. Kits contain a syrup that will form the base for your first batch of beer. They are very easy to use, don’t require long boiling times or a huge pot, and are really pretty foolproof. You’ll probably also need some dry malt extract to supplement the kit (check the kit’s instructions or talk to the homebrew guy). There are kits in all kinds of styles of beer, from stout to IPA.3. Some cleanser and sanitizer. There are numerous methods for cleaning and sanitizing (not the same thing!) I like Star-San sanitizer.4. A capper, some caps, and bottles. Cappers and caps are pretty cheap. For bottles, you can always do what I did starting out: keep all the bottles from all the beer you drink. One batch will make 50-60 12 oz. bottles of beer. Not too shabby, eh?5. A thermometer and a big spoon. All you’ll have to do is follow the instructions on the kit, and a few weeks later you’ll have ice-cold, frosty beer – that you made (assuming you have a refrigerator). Essentially, you will add the contents of the kit, some dry malt extract (if needed), and five to six gallons of hot water. Stir it up, pitch the yeast once the mixture (called “wort”) is at the right temperature, seal it off, and wait for about a week. You can then bottle it (adding some more DME at bottling time to carbonate) and drink it after another week. It’s very simple, but there are some pitfalls. Here are some of the things that can trip you up.1. Bad water. If your area’s tap water is foul tasting, it will make for foul-tasting beer. Even excessive chloridation can end up affecting your beer’s final flavor. Invest in a filter, or just buy a big jug of drinking water.2. Sanitation. If your equipment isn’t well cleaned (meaning all the gunk is removed) and sanitized (meaning that you’ve removed any evil wild yeasts or bacteria), then you can easily wind up with funky, evil-tasting beer. If you’re meticulous about your equipment’s cleanliness, there is nothing standing between you and excellent beer. 3. Temperature. Depending on the type of yeast you use, optimal fermentation temperature runs from around 45 degrees F (for lager yeast) to 75 degrees F (for certain Belgian ale strains). It is vitally important to be sensitive about your particular yeast. I’ve ruined batches of beer by letting them get too hot in the summer (ending up with truly bizarre, estery tastes), and there is no worse feeling than being unable to drink a beer that you’ve worked hard to make. Beyond these pitfalls, there is little to trip you up. Your first beer, while perhaps not being spectacular from an objective viewpoint, will taste like the best beer that you’ve ever had. Your friends will also readily agree that it is good, because you are giving it to them for free. Soon, you can graduate from kits to extract brewing, and from there to all-grain (crafting your own recipes is one of the most fun aspects of the hobby, I think). You can invest in expensive gadgets and doo-dads, or keep it simple and cheap – it all really depends on how much of a gear-head you are. The sky is the limit for how far you want to take homebrewing.

Nick Jurkowski works for a wine site, Savor Each Glass, as a beer commentator, which, while a bit paradoxical, is a lot of fun.

A Newbie's Guide to Hops

Nick Jurkowski — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:14:54 EDT

Within the community of beer-drinkers (and therefore, almost certainly, among the community of non beer-drinkers), there are an alarming number of people who are completely unclear about the role that hops play in beer. Many people are unclear as to what a hop actually is, and many others believe they are what beer is fermented from(!). Clearly, there are misconceptions that must be dispelled.What's a Hop?Broadly speaking, hops are the flowers of the hop plant. It is in the same botanical family as hemp, which has predictably led numerous resourceful idiots to try to smoke it. If you live in a hop-producing part of the world, you can drive out to the fields and see this unique, vine-like plant soaring majestically into the air while you fantasize about all the great beers they will help to create. During the brewing process, hops are boiled, and their bittering alpha-acids extracted. There are also a variety of compounds that are found in the hops which add flavors and aromas, though these will dissipate if boiled for too long. For that reason, brewers will add hops in stages: bittering hops at the beginning of the boil, and aroma hops at the end. A brewer can also “dry-hop” a beer, which generally entails adding a fistful of hops to the secondary fermenter. These hops are therefore not boiled at all, and so contribute only aromatic and mild flavor qualities. Hops add no fermentable sugars - they are strictly a flavoring agent.Hop HistoryHops, while a beer staple, didn’t get their start until fairly recently in beer’s history. Long used as a folk remedy for all manner of ailments, they are first documented as a flavoring agent in beer in 736 AD, but at the time, they were only one of many herbs, spices, and botanicals used to flavor beer, and were in the company of spruce tips (delicious), ginger, wormwood, and sage. Hop use became widespread in Germany by the middle 1500s, but they didn’t become wildly popular in England and other areas until later yet. Many find the bitterness that hops impart unpleasant; this bitterness is probably why so many non beer-drinkers make a sour face when they have a sip of beer. It is an acquired taste, and the best way to develop a liking is to start with beers with very low hop bitterness - brown ales and doppelbocks, for example. From there, you can develop your palate and move to more hop intensive beers. Hops became popular with good reason: their bitterness is perfectly suited to counteract the sweetness of the malted grains - they really do help to create a perfectly balanced beer. There are dozens of varieties of hop, each with its own distinct flavor. Here are some good ones to be familiar with.German HopsThere are four so-called “noble” hop varieties: Hallertauer, Saaz, Spalter, and Tettnanger. All German or Bohemian in origin, these hops are high in aroma and flavor but with a low alpha acid content, and are used predominantly in European-style lager. They generally have an herbal or spicy flavor, but (especially the case with Hallertauer) can have wide ranging tastes depending on where they were grown. Saaz and Spalt have more subtle, delicate flavors and aromas, which make them favorites in Pilsners and other pale lagers. British HopsBritish hops are generally newer cultivars. Goldings was developed in the late 18th century, and is quite popular in English pale ale. They are earthy and herbal, with low-moderate bittering potential and a hay-like flavor. Fuggle is the other “main” British cultivar, and is lower in alpha acid content and has a woodier flavor and aroma than Goldings.American HopsAmericans have been spearheading hop development lately, creating cultivars that are both delicious and uniquely American. A reflection of the people that created them, our hops are bigger, more assertive, and far more bitter than the more genteel European varieties. American hops are generally hybrids between the classic European varieties described above and lesser-known types. They are often marked by strong citrus and floral characteristics, and many are fiercely bitter. Cascade might be the quintessential American pale ale hop, and if you drink American microbrews (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, for example), you’ve almost certainly tasted it. It is actually relatively restrained as far as alpha-acid content goes, but its related cultivar, Centennial, contains more than enough to make up for it. Chinook is another high-alpha acid variety that was originally grown from Goldings, and these super-bitter varieties are often the main bittering agents used in American IPAs. Also keep and eye out for Willamette, another important American variety, originally bred from Fuggle, which replaces woodiness with citrus flavors. There are a lot more varieties of hop than those that I’ve listed, but these will do to get you on the road to being a hop connoisseur. The best way to get to know different hop flavors is to drink a lot of beer, paying attention to where the beer was brewed and what style it is (microbrewers will often list the hops used right on the box or bottle, as well). If you're anything like I am, I’m sure you’re up to the task.

Nick Jurkowski works for a wine site, Savor Each Glass, as a beer commentator, which, while a bit paradoxical, is a lot of fun.

Beer: A Primer

Nick Jurkowski — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:35:21 EDT

Beer is an ancient and important beverage, enjoyed by everyone from the ancient Egyptians to medieval Europeans to modern people worldwide. Since prohibition, however, American beer has been so traditionally homogeneous that most Americans had only a vague awareness that there was an entire beer world outside of the standard rice- and corn-based brews of companies like Annhauser-Busch, Miller, and Schlitz. Imports were really the only way to try unfamiliar ales or lagers, but they were often prohibitively expensive or had slogans too imposing for the average American beer drinker (Tuborg Gold:The Golden Beer of Danish Kings!). Since the mid 1990s, however, the microbrew revolution has been in full swing, and you can find fantastic American and Canadian-made beers in any style you could choose, and many American breweries successfully compete with their European counterparts in international competitions. Beer is once again reasserting itself as a beverage that can be savored and appreciated rather than simply guzzled to enhance one’s sexual appeal. To really understand beer, one has to understand the four basic ingredients that make beer.Here comes the science:What's In My Beer?Water: Water does much more for beer than make it liquid (though admittedly this is fairly important). Minerals in the water used in beer making will give different flavors to the final product. The mineral content of the water from famous brewing cities is so integral to the flavor of certain styles that minerals must be added to brewing water in order to create authentic examples of the style. For example, the brewing water of Dublin is rich in calcium and sulfates, so when brewing an Irish Stout, gypsum (calcium sulfate) is added if the maker doesn’t happen to have a large amount of Dublin water on hand.Grain: Malted grains provide the fermentable sugars that will be turned into alcohol, as well as the non-fermentables that will give "body" to a beer. Traditionally, this has been barley or wheat, but American and Asian beers often use rice or corn (which contribute a lot of fermentable sugars but not a lot of flavor), and oats are popular in certain styles, such as in oatmeal stout. Any “malty” flavors in a beer will come from the grains, and certain grains can give beers their most distinct characteristics – for example, roasted barley in stout.Hops: Hops are the flowers of the hop plant, and contribute bitter or floral flavors and aromas in beer. The first use of hops in flavoring beer is documented in the 11th century, but it didn’t become widely known throughout Europe until the 16th (actually relatively recently in beer’s long history). When a beer is described as being “hoppy,” it generally refers to bitterness imparted by hops. Specific styles of beer are known for specific types of hops – for example, Czech Saaz hops are often associated with Pilsner, while Northern Brewer hops are a hallmark of California Common (Steam) beer. Yeast: Yeast are the magic fungi that turn sugar into alcohol, making possible the miracle of beer. There are two basic kinds of brewing yeast: ale and lager. Ale yeast is known as “top fermenting,” because it ferments at room temperature and forms a foam at the top of the fermenting beer. Lager yeast is characterized as “bottom fermenting,” because the beer is fermented at cold temperatures and the yeast tends to sink to the bottom of the fermenter. These two different yeasts provide the two basic styles of beer: ales and lagers. The fermentation process also produces esters and phenols, which provide for many of the fruity or spicy (respectively) flavors you might taste in a beer - especially a Belgian (note that beer can also have fruit added to it for an authentically fruity taste). Different yeasts will produce wildly different flavored beer, which is why breweries often guard their yeast strains carefully.This should provide a basic understanding of beeriness. While other adjuncts (generally spices or fruits) can be added to beers, the beverage as we know it is really just these four simple ingredients. When you drink a beer, you're not only enjoying a tasty, refreshing, mildly intoxicating liquid, you're enjoying a tasty, refreshing, mildly intoxicating liquid that has been a staple of civilization for thousands of years. And that's pretty cool.

Nick Jurkowski works for a wine site, Savor Each Glass, as a beer commentator, which, while a bit paradoxical, is a lot of fun.