Gather round and you shall hear the tale of unknown beers.
Although many of us drink beer on a regular basis and think nothing of it, there are some dark, harrowing secrets. Few have been brave enough to seek the truth about these beers. Until now.
Today we uncover the history and mystery of beer.
Consider one of the most popular brews: Budweiser. Everyone is familiar of this beer and its tyrannical reign as king of all brew, just as they are familiar with the "Beechwood Aged" tagline always tacked on to its labels. Well, what exactly is beechwood aging? Unfortunately, no one can be told what the beechwood aging process is, you have to see it for yourself.
Just kidding, all you have to do is get the Drinking Buddies to see it for you.
Beechwood is merely an extra ingredient in the normal fermentation cycle of beer. If you were to scuba dive in one of Budweiser's extremely large fermentation tanks, you would find the bottom of the tank is lined with the special bark chips about the size of your foot. The advantage of this technique, so Budweiser tells us, is the beechwood gives a large and yummy surface area for the yeast to cling to, and since the yeast is a lager yeast (fermenting from the bottom up), the bed of bark sits right in the heart of the yeast.
With more area to spread, the yeast ferments faster and more complete. After about three uses, the beechwood is turned into mulch for farmers, but a bit dissolves into the beer. So, if you're a tree-hugger and a beer lover, you might have to decide where your loyalties lie. Note to any left-over riot police: We apologize in advance for any "Don't Drink the Trees" protests.
If Budweiser is in opposition to nature, then this next beer is as back-to-nature as you can get. The Belgian Lambic ale is virtually left in nature's hands. All Lambic beers are brewed in an area south of Brussels, Belgium, that covers roughly 15 square miles. They are brewed using an open fermentation system where the beer is allowed to ferment without the confines of a sealed environment.
Most brewers are weary of this system because of its high potential to become contaminated by airborne bacteria. But, the rebellious and slightly drunk brewers of this region actually do this to encourage airborne particles to enter their concoctions. Adding no yeast of their own, Lambic brewers rely on the airborne wild yeast spores, microbes, and whatever else might be floating around to "spontaneously ferment" the ingredients.
The unique air mix in that region keeps true Lambic beers from being brewed anywhere else. Scientists have measured a mixture of 86 microorganisms in the air, but no one really knows what falls into the beer at any given moment. Some are sour, some are mixed with fruit juices and have an almost wine taste to them. Just be careful when you sample one because, like a University of Michigan sorority girl, you don't know where its been.
Moving back stateside, we examine the history of steam beer. Before refrigeration, beer would become skunky during freight trips across the country. West-coasters were left high and dry until the innovation of steam beer.
"It was the first true American style of beer," says Tom Buchanan, of Jamesport Brewing Co. in Ludington, Mich., one of the few brewers to revive the practice.
It was largely abandoned after prohibition when refrigeration was available. It's really a shame because the steam beers we've tried were excellent. Probably the most popular and widely available steam beer is Anchor Steam Beer from Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. This is available at Goodrich Shop-Rite, 940 Trowbridge Road. According to Anchor's Web site, "The brewing methods of those days are a mystery and, although there are many theories, no one can say with certainty why the word 'steam' came to be associated with beer."
And finally, we travel back to Belgium to bring you on a magical journey. We are, of course, talking about gnomes. Legend has it that gnomes used to occupy the town of Achouffe and go about their friendly little chores. This included brewing a masterful batch of beer.
Now, there have been no confirmed reports of gnome brewers lately, and we are not quite equipped to go hunting around Belgium for mythical creatures, but a local Belgian brewery has picked up where our pint-sized pint makers have left off. Brasserie D'Achouffe proudly displays its gnome logo and sports quite a loyal following; and it's available at Big Ten Party Stores West Oades located at 314 S. Clippert St. in Lansing. Do the brewers use the same magical techniques as our teeny-tipsy technicians? Probably not, but they are just as cute.
E-mail us at drinkingbuddies@beer.com.
