Beverages Articles

Article / Updated 05-03-2023

Of the four main ingredients used in homebrewing beer (barley, hops, yeast, and water), barley makes the biggest contribution. Barley gives beer its color, underlying flavor, sweetness, body, head of foam, and mouthfeel. Barley also contributes the natural sugars that feed the yeast, which in turn converts the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation. Malting Before you can brew with barley, it must undergo a process known as malting. The malting process simulates the grain's natural germination cycle. Under closely monitored conditions, malting companies wet the barley kernels and allow them to sprout. As the seedlings begin sprouting, the starchy insides of the kernels (or endosperm) begin to change. This modification causes the hard, starchy endosperm to begin to break down into natural malt sugars (maltose) that brewers later liquefy, during the mashing process. One of the important features of this process is the production of the enzymes brewers later use in the mashing process. And the maltose sugars, along with proteins and dextrins, contribute the color, flavor, sweetness, body, mouthfeel, and foam in the beer. (Mouthfeel can be defined as the textural qualities of beer on your palate and in your throat — viscosity, or thickness; carbonation; alcohol warmth; and so on.) Only after the barley has undergone the malting process does it become malt, or barleymalt. Malted barley is an incredibly complete and convenient package, seemingly designed exclusively for brewing beer. Each grain kernel contains carbohydrates (which eventually convert to sugar), enzymes (which do the actual converting), proteins (which provide yeast nutrition, mouthfeel, and head stability), and a husk (which, when multiplied by thousands, acts as the perfect natural filter bed through which you can drain the unfermented beer). Very few commercial brewers — usually only the huge beer factories — do their own malting. Professional malting companies (also called maltsters) malt most of the grain for the brewing industry (including smaller commercial brewers and homebrew supply shops). Mashing In order to make beer from the malted grain, the starch within the kernels of malt must be made soluble. This liquefying process takes place during the mashing procedures in a vessel called a mash tun. The mashing process is where the natural enzymes found in grain break down the grain's starches; hot water then dissolves the starches so they leach out of the cracked grain. After you've rinsed all the malt sugars from the grain, you transfer the syrupy-sweet malt tea, called wort, over to the brew kettle, where you boil it. Homebrewers who make their beer with malt extract can avoid the mashing process altogether. Wort (rhymes with dirt) is the German word for unfermented beer. Some brewers also call wort green beer (and not just on St. Patrick's Day).

Article / Updated 04-25-2023

If you're interested in homebrewing, you're understandably concerned with how much time it takes to brew beer at home. In addition to the hands-on activities such as cooking and bottling, you also face a great deal of waiting around. Making beer at home requires patience. The hands-on part of the homebrewing process involves the Actual cooking of the wort (unfermented beer; rhymes with dirt) on the stovetop Fermentation (conversion of sugars to alcohol and CO2 by yeast) Aging (maturation) processes Bottling of the beer What most homebrewing beginners aren't aware of is the hands-off part of brewing — the stage when the brewer does nothing but wait patiently. This part not only constitutes the longest segment of the timeline, but it also represents a test of the brewer's patience and self-restraint. At the beginner level, you need at least two or three hours on brewing day to properly sanitize the equipment, brew and cool the wort, pitch the yeast (add it to your wort), seal the fermenter, and clean up whatever mess you made. You need to set aside the same amount of time on the day you bottle the beer. In between the brewing and bottling days, however, you face the little matter of fermentation. The yeast needs at least seven days to complete the fermentation cycle — sometimes more, depending on extenuating circumstances. You need do nothing more than wait patiently for the yeast to complete its task. Even after you've bottled your beer, you still need to wait patiently while your brew conditions in the bottles — two weeks is the recommended minimum length of this conditioning process. At the beginner level, if you brew on a Saturday your brewing timeline may look something like the following: 1. Brew day (S). Ferment the beer Su-M-T-W-Th-F. (That's 7 days.) 2. Bottle day (S). Condition the beer Su-M-T-W-Th-F-S-Su-M-T-W-Th-F. (That's 14 more days.) 3. Drink the beer! As you begin to employ different ingredients, equipment, and processes in your beer-making repertoire, expect the timeline to expand. Secondary fermentation (a helpful extra aging) adds another two weeks to the timeline, and advanced brewers, for example, may spend as many as eight to ten hours in a single day brewing their beer from grain. Homebrewing is a pursuit that requires a higher degree of dedication than, say, doing crossword puzzles in ink, but the rewards are considerable (and tasty!) In addition to personal gratification, quality homebrew can inspire a certain respect from your fellow brewers, awe in nonbrewers, and other intangibles that make all the effort worthwhile.

Article / Updated 04-17-2023

The cocktail recipes listed here are classics for a reason: They taste good. Whether you’re a professional bartender or just someone who likes to throw cocktail parties at home, you should know how to make these mixed drinks recipes like you know how to make toast. Bacardi Cocktail Bacardi cocktail is the only cocktail issued a copyright from the United States government. 2 oz. Bacardi Light Rum 1 oz. Rose’s Lime Juice 1/2 tsp Sugar 1/2 oz. Rose Grenadine Mix in a shaker with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Brandy Alexander A sweet and creamy delight. A favorite to all until Baileys came around. 1-1/2 oz. Brandy or Cognac 1/2 oz. Dark Crème de Cacao 1 oz. Sweet Cream or Ice Cream Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into a Margarita glass. Bloody Mary This cocktail is probably the most famous of the “Hair of the Dog” morning-after concoctions. 1-1/4 oz. Vodka 2-1/2 oz. Tomato Juice dash Worcestershire Sauce dash Tabasco Sauce dash Salt and Pepper Pour Vodka over ice in a tall glass. Fill with Tomato Juice. Add a dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco Sauce. Stir and garnish with a Celery Stalk. For those who enjoy their Bloody Marys extremely spicy, add more Tabasco or even Horseradish. Cosmopolitan The most popular drink of the new millennium. 2 oz. Vodka 1/2 oz. Cointreau Juice of 1/2 Lime 1/2 oz. Cranberry Juice Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Manhattan If you make this cocktail correctly, you’ll never hear your guests utter this classic line from The Simpsons: “What did I do to deserve this flat, flavorless Manhattan?” 2 oz. American or Canadian Whisky splash Sweet or Dry Vermouth dash Angostura Bitters Stir ingredients in a rocks glass. Garnish with a Cherry. Margarita A great drink for a hot summer day. 1 oz. Tequila 1 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec 1 oz. Sweet & Sour Mix or Lime Juice Shake ingredients with ice or blend ingredients with crushed ice. Serve in a salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with a Lime Wheel. Martini A simple and elegant classic. 2 oz. Gin dash Extra Dry Vermouth Shake or stir Gin and Vermouth with ice. Strain and serve in a cocktail glass straight up or over ice. Garnish with a twist or an Olive. Tequila Sunrise You will have a warm summer glow after this one! 2 oz. Patrón Tequila 3 oz. Orange Juice 1/4 oz. Grenadine Pour Grenadine into a tall glass first. Then add Tequila and fill with ice and Orange Juice. Garnish with an Orange Slice White Russian If you’re worried about calories, you can use whole milk or half-and-half rather than cream, but cream tastes better. Skim and 2-percent milk produce unsatisfactory results. The Dude in The Big Lebowski settled for nondairy creamer powder in one scene; that option is for emergencies only. 1-1/2 oz. Vodka 1/2 oz. Kahlúa 1/2 oz. Cream Shake ingredients and serve over ice in a rocks glass.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-10-2023

Quality beer is widely available and relatively inexpensive, but choosing among all the various styles can be a little confusing without some help. A little beer knowledge can turn a daunting experience into an enjoyable one. Start with a list of handy beer descriptors, along with some great beer styles and brands to try. Then check out some pointers for buying, serving, tasting, evaluating, and dining with beer.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-05-2022

When you’re brewing your own beer at home, get to know the abbreviated versions of homebrewing terms to help read your recipes and directions, keep a basic measurement conversion chart handy, and check out the hierarchy of beers chart so you know what category and type of beer you want to homebrew and possibly enter into competition.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-09-2022

Good bartenders pride themselves on being knowledgeable about cocktail recipes and proficient in the art of properly serving their guests and patrons. With a healthy repertoire of popular mixed drink recipes and the right ingredients at your fingertips, you can be the life of any gathering.

Article / Updated 07-26-2022

Although vintage wines and aged spirits can boast of a long companionship with haute cuisine, beer — until recently in some places — is often relegated to the backyard barbecue. But that’s wrong. Beer is only for thirst quenching as much as computers are only for number crunching and sports are only for boys. Get with it, folks; beer is for dining, too! Although it may have taken restaurateurs, gourmands, and culinary artistes forever to catch on to the concept of beer and food pairings, now that they have, it’s a hot ticket. And why not? Beer is considered the world’s most popular beverage, with craft beer increasing in popularity every day. After far too many years, the outlook for beer drinkers is rosé, or... rosy. Thanks to the enthusiasm of brewers, restaurateurs, and consumers of flavorful craft-brews, beer has reclaimed its rightful place on our dinner tables. Good craft-brewed beer can be much more interesting than wine. It’s cool and refreshing and, depending on the style, can be much richer, more complex, and more flavorful than wine. Plus, if you have an average person’s budget and capacity, you’ll find that tasting several different beers during a meal is preferable to tasting several different wines. Guessing at general guidelines Within the sometimes intimidating world of wine and food, even the neophytes can lean on the old red meat–red wine axiom in a pinch. But beer drinkers have no such axiomatic, general guideline to fall back on, because none exists. And few people have a good enough grasp on the various beer styles and flavor profiles to easily make choices. Actually, you’ll find it hard to go wrong when matching beer and food. What’s fun is trying to do better than not going wrong. Every kind of food, conceivably, has an appropriate beer to accompany it. The beauty of beer is in its versatility. You can usually find a beer style that’s a natural match for a given food. Beer even works better than wine with some dishes, such as especially spicy or sour ones. And slightly acidic beers are great foils for rich foods. Substituting beer for wine The lager beer category is the white wine equivalent. When compared with ales, lagers have the following characteristics: Generally lighter in body and color Narrower flavor profile and a high degree of drinkability (that is, tend to appeal to a wider audience) The ale category is the red wine equivalent. When compared with lagers, ales have these qualities: Typically darker Rounder, more robust and expressive Wider flavor profile and, thus, a lower drinkability (that is, tend to appeal to those with a more experienced beer palate) Just to keep you on your toes, keep in mind that these guidelines are really general — dark and full-bodied lagers exist just as surely as do light and mild ales. Next time you’re about to go grape out of habit, consider a brew instead. This table offers a few good ideas. Beer Substitutions for Wine Wine Suggested Beer Substitute Dry white wine Blonde Ale, Kölsch, or German Pils Dry red wine Fruit Lambic or Flanders Red Beer Champagne Light and spritzy Witbier, Lambic, or Berliner Weisse Brandy Spirituous Barleywine or Old Ale Port wine Intensely flavored Russian Imperial Stout Keep in mind that these suggested substitutions aren’t trading taste for taste but style for style. In other words, don’t expect the Imperial Stout to taste like a port wine; it’s simply serving the same enjoyable purpose as a rich and spirited after-dinner libation.

Article / Updated 05-04-2022

Most beer drinkers tend to drink just a couple different beer styles without straying too far off the beaten path. But to fully understand and appreciate the wider spectrum of beer styles, here are a few types of beers that every beer drinker should taste at least once: Belgian Fruit Lambic: Well-aged ale with surprising, effusive fruit aroma and taste; intoxicating fragrance Doppelbock: Strong, dark, and caramel-like Bock Beer with two times the flavor and body of Bock (doppel your pleasure, doppel your fun) Imperial Stout: Dark, rich, and creamy Stout with complex grain flavors; a brew to chew Rauchbier: Oktoberfest beer made with a portion of beechwood-smoked malt; delicious and unique but takes somewhat of an acquired taste (great with smoked cheese or sausage) Witbier: Perfumy Belgian Wheat Beer made with orange rind and coriander seed; like nothing else in the beer world Certain brands of beer have become synonymous with distinctly different flavor profiles. The following short list includes some of the more famous brands along with a couple others that are still cultivating a following. True beer lovers should taste all of them at least once. Guinness Stout (Ireland): Dark, dry, smooth, and roasty, with a creamy head; the perfect sipping pint Pilsner Urquell (Czech Republic): Crisp and hoppy with a touch of malty sweetness; the original, classic Pilsner beer Rodenbach Grand Cru (Belgium): Sharply sour but refreshing, with fresh fruity notes; beer masquerading as Burgundy wine Samichlaus (Austria): Incredibly malty-rich and spirited; a terrific tipple for the Christmas holidays Samuel Adams Utopias (United States): Throat-warming malt complexity with hints of oak, like no beer you’ve ever had; that’s why you sip it like a brandy

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-17-2022

Making wine at home lets you explore your creative side — from choosing the perfect grapes to learning the lingo of wine-speak. Making your own wine is also a great way to unleash your inner science geek. You need to calculate conversions, understand wine chemistry (including sugar and pH levels), and regulate temperatures, all while paying attention to the basic laws of home winemaking.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-14-2022

Food and wine pairing isn’t a matter of life or death. But isn’t life a little better with a good taste in your mouth? Starting with wine you like (and food you enjoy, too) is ground zero. All the other delicious considerations that lead to outstanding moments of tasting pleasure come after. To make your food and wine pairing memorable, start with a versatile wine — one that agrees with a wide range of foods — and things won’t go far wrong. Then consider a handful of taste, texture, and aromatic elements, and you may just find some magic.