AtDTdA (9): 240

[Jasper]

Very informative, thanks!  I'll have to look for that Brooklyn Lager.

Daniel Harper wrote:
>
>
> On 5/14/07, *Jasper* <jasper.fidget at gmail.com 
> <mailto:jasper.fidget at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>
>
>     ---
>
>     "the dense, warm, unaerated product known on this island as beer"
>     Lew would be used to cold, pasteurized lager brewed by German
>     immigrants
>     starting in the mid-19th Century (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Coors,
>     Stroh,
>     Schlitz, Pabst).  English beer is more often a warmer ale, brewed with
>     top (rather than bottom) fermenting yeast.  It is more aromatic,
>     fruitier, and traditionally unpasteurized.  Stronger ales are often
>     served at room temperature.  Personally I like a good stout.
>
>     http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/raley_timetable.shtml
>     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_beer
>     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_beer>
>     http://www.drinkfocus.com/beer/beer-styles.php
>
>     ---
>
>
> In my other life, I'm something of a beer geek.
>
> http://beeradvocate.com/user/profile/danielharper
>
> What you say above is accurate, but let me add a bit.
>
> Keep in mind that beers today are not necessarily what was going on 
> with beers in the early twentieth century -- nowadays something like 
> 98% of American beer sales are taken up by three monolithic companies 
> (Bud, Miller, Coors, or BMC to geeks like me), but pre-Prohibition 
> most brewers were regional, distributing only to a few surrouding 
> states. American beer culture is largely inherited through German 
> immigration, so our beer styles are most similar to German Pilseners 
> and the like, but there's some speculation that in a lot of areas your 
> local tavern would probably have been brewing their own beers with 
> whatever was available. Like cactus and other unsavory elements.
>
> Top-fermenting ales are much more common in Britain, and are generally 
> served "warm" when compared to American tastebuds. Generally English 
> Ales are recommended to be served at 45-50 degrees F, whereas American 
> Lagers are to be served at 40-50 degress F. (Snarky comment -- since 
> cold temperatures mask the actual taste of the product, most of us 
> over at BA would argue that American lagers are served at that 
> temperature specifically so you can't actually taste them.) This is an 
> important serving difference in terms of styles, but no one should get 
> the impression that these beers are served "warm", like a cup of soup 
> or even at room temperature. They are refrigerated, but not quite as 
> cold as an American lager would be.
>
> Personally, I like a wide range of styles, although a nice Russian 
> Imperial Stout is one of my faves. (Unfortunately we have insipid laws 
> in Alabama which prevent high-alcohol beers from being sold, but we're 
> working on it.) Brooklyn Lager is, for me, a nearly-perfect example of 
> what a good-quality American lager _should_ taste like (you'll weep if 
> you ever taste Budweiser again afterwards), and there are plenty of 
> fine pale ales that fit the bill if you're interested in that style. 
> English Pale ales tend to be slightly less hoppy than their American 
> counterparts, and are slightly more difficult to find fresh -- Sam 
> Adams Boston Ale (not the standard Sam Adams Lager, although that's a 
> fine beer in and of itself) is a very good example of the style.
>
> Damn. Now I'm thirsty.
>
> --Daniel