Friday, July 8, 2011

To Beer... or not to Beer

Beer, ice cold, a little frost on the bottle (I do not use a glass, or buy it in cans!) It’s my favorite summer beverage. So, I visited Wikipedia and poked around to see what I could learn about the goodness that goes into my bottle. Talk about a well of information, I found far too much to write about in one day; but I’ll share a little – no, I’m not sharing my beer. *smile* Here’s the first thing I find:

“Beer is the world’s most widely consumed and probably oldest alcoholic beverage. It’s the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea.”

Alulu Beer Receipt - a receipt for "best" beer c. 2050 BC
from the Sumerian city of Ur in Ancient Iraq

Wow, who knew, right?

Beer played a part in ancient mythology of many cultures including Egypt where supposedly the lioness goddess, Sekhmet, was sated after she consumed a red colored beer and became so drunk she gave up slaughter!

There are styles and types of beer, *shaking my head* which include amber ale, cask ale, smoked beer, and wheat beer. There’s live beer, dead beer, top fermented, and bottom fermented. Magic Hat #9, my beer of the moment which is brewed by the Magic Hat Brewing Company of Vermont, is considered to be a ‘fruit or vegetable beer’. Oh, fruits and vegetables are an adjunct, which are unmalted grains. Damn, now I’m not sure if I’m eating or drinking. There’s a beer out of South Carolina called Son of a Peach made with peaches by the RJ Rockers BrewingCompany. I shouldn’t forget to mention the Stone Brewing Co. of Escondido, San Diego County, California – Arrogant Bastard Ale! Here’s what they had to say about their ingredients: Nothing but the finest Barley, most aggressive Hops, clearest Water, our proprietary yeast strain and abundant Arrogance. Boy, did I LOVE it, and the bottle, well, let's just say it was huge! *smile*

Malt, barley, hops, yeast, fruits, vegetables… I’m no expert, and definitely not what would be considered a connoisseur, and I’m not even scratching the surface here. In fact, I’ve done nothing more than open a “keg of worms”! Now to open the next frosty bottle...

Enjoy your next brew with THIRSTY from Razor's Edge Press available at ARe!

Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out.-© J. Hali Steele

No comments: