Archive-name: beer-faq
Posting-Frequency: bi-weekly

rec.food.drink.beer FAQ
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|                rec.food.drink.beer FAQ   (rfd-beer.faq)              |
|                                                                      |
|                    * posted every other Tuesday *                    |
|                                                                      |
|                Now available on the World-Wide Web via:              |
|                                                                      |
|          http://www.mindspring.com/users/jlock/rfdbeer0.html         |
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Introduction:

This is the general FAQ for rec.food.drink.beer.  It condenses a vast
repository of beer knowledge represented by the posters to r.f.d.b.  I
depend on the participants of this group to provide the feedback I need to
make this a living document.  Please e-mail comments, additions,
corrections, etc. to John Lock (jlock@mindspring.com).

The Charter for rec.food.drink.beer is posted twice every month and
available from the archives.

I'd like to thank Craig Verver and Alan Marshall for their support and
encouragement in taking on this task.  In addition, special thanks to our
other  FAQ posters who publish in-depth FAQ's on some of the more popular
beer topics.

Other individuals who have contributed information to this FAQ (either
directly or indirectly, because I plagarized them):

Jon Binkley (binkley@fafner.stanford.edu)
Dan Brown (brown@eff.org)
Doug Ferrell (ferrell@exchange.tlh.fl.us)
Rich Fortnum (?)
Brendan Halpin (halpin@vax.oxford.ac.uk)
Alan Marshall (ak200032@sol.yorku.ca)
Brendan Molloy (b.molloy@ic.ac.uk)
Ian Nottage (ian@beehive.demon.co.uk)
Joel Plutchak (plutchak@lager.geo.brown.edu)
Richard Stueven (gak@wrs.com)
Craig Verver (cverver@u.washington.edu)

And, of course, thanks to the dedicated bunch of folks who moved here from
alt.beer to advance the cause of beer as a beverage to be relished in its
myriad forms.

Cheers, Prost, Salud, Skoal, Slainte, Stineeyammous, etc!

John A. Lock (jlock@mindspring.com)

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How to Use the FAQ

This FAQ is divided into five sections which loosely encompass the variety
of Frequently Asked  Questions that appear concerning beer.  These are
preceded by a quick index section to aid in finding answers to specific
questions quickly.

The Quick Index
     A listing of the most frequently asked questions.

Definition of common terms regarding beer itself
     Some popular items are beer definition, styles, and marketing
     terms...

Definition of common terms regarding the brewing industry
     Topics such as alcohol strength, Reinheitsgebot, and CAMRA...

Beer handling and sensory issues
     Typical answers cover proper storage, serving temperatures, tasting
     methods, off flavors...

Miscellaneous topics
     Includes brewing your own and specific brand issues...

Beer resources
     Where to find good beer, the r.f.d.b. archives, and pointers to other
     Net resources...

You can search for information in a number of different ways:

First,  read  the whole thing.  You may find this entertaining, but it's
certainly not the fastest way to get an answer to a question.

Second,  you can use the "Search" or "Find" function of your newsreader or
editor to locate a specific topic.  This can be very useful since the
questions cover fairly broad topics and  your  specific answer may be
buried  inside a broader response.  For example, if you wanted to know
about serving temperatures, you wouldn't find that topic specifically
addressed in the questions. However,  upon searching for "temp" you would
find several such references.

Thirdly, there is the quick index to the questions which you can use to
jump directly to a specific question/answer, again, using your search
function to find the text.  See the Quick Index for an example.

And lastly, if your viewing the HTML version on The Web, you'll find
useful pointers imbedded throughout the document.  Just follow your nose
(figuratively speaking :^)!

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Modification history
01-NOV-94   Reformatted, converted to HTML, and published on WWW
               the ASCII version will still be maintained concurrently
            Added Coors politics Q&A
            Clarified "cold-filtering" answer
            Added "gravity" Q&A

20-SEP-94   Added Vegetarian/Kosher/Organic Q&A
            Changed mail-order beer answer to point to new FAQ
            Added Q&A for the perennial Chimay topic
            Expanded Internet beer resources
            Updated archives listing

09-AUG-94   Clarified "skunking" description

12-JUL-94   Added Quick Index
            Added city/brewpubs question and answer

28-JUN-94   Clarified filtering section
            Clarified brewpub definition
            Changed "Steam Beer" statement
            Added storage recommendations

14-JUN-94   Updated "Reinheitsgebot" section

31-MAY-94   Added beer magazine info
            Updated beer club list
            Added porter description

17-MAY-94   Clarified "Draught-flow" (tm) description
            Added additional notes to judging
            Changed r.f.d.b. archive name to rfd-beer.faq

03-MAY-94   Corrected alcohol measurement figures
            Expanded mail order beer info
            Added video tape resource info
            Added FTP by mail info

19-APR-94   Added beer description and ale/lager comparison
            Added "800" number for Microbrew To You

05-APR-94   Expanded description of "ice" beers
            Added description of bock beers
            Added pointer to beer book list

21-MAR-94   Inaugural post


rec.food.drink.beer FAQ - Index
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*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
|           Quick Index to Frequently Asked Questions                  |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*

This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions appearing in r.f.d.b. Each
question is keyed using a simple code. The answer to question #Y in FAQ
Section X is labeled X-Y and so on. To find an answer to any question
quickly, use your "search" or "find" function to find X-Y.

For example:
     To find the answer to question 2-7 "What is CAMRA?", search for 2-7
     and you will be positioned at the answer. To return to this index,
     search backwards for 0-0.

If you're viewing the HTML version of this document on The Web, just
follow the links from question to answer and back.

0-0. Top of List

FAQ Section 1 - Definition of common terms regarding beer itself

1-1. What is beer?
1-2. What are ales?
1-3. What are lagers?
1-4. How are they different?
1-5. What are lambics?
1-6. What is "bock" beer?
1-7. What is "porter"?
1-8. What are "dry" beers?
1-9. What are "ice" beers?
1-10. What are "cold-filtered", and "heat pasteurized" beers?
1-11. What is "draught" (draft) beer?
1-12. How is specific gravity related to beer?

FAQ Section 2 - Definition of common terms regarding the brewing industry

2-1. How is alcohol strength measured?
2-2. Why is beer stronger in Canada than the U.S.?
2-3.  How are "ale", "malt liquor", and "barleywine" related to strength?
2-4. What is Reinheitsgebot?
2-5. What about the new "Draught-flow" (tm) system (AKA the "widget)?
2-6. What is "Real Ale"?
2-7. What is CAMRA?
2-8. What are the categories of brewers/breweries?
2-9. What is a brewpub?

FAQ Section 3 - Beer handling and sensory issues

3-1. How do I judge a beer?
3-2. What is good/bad/skunked/spoiled beer?
3-3. How should I store beer?
3-4. How long does beer keep?
3-5. Is beer considered a vegetarian/kosher/organic product?

FAQ Section 4 - Miscellaneous topics

4-1. What is Zima and/or clear beer?
4-2. What do the different Chimay packages/colors mean?
4-3. What does the "33" mean on the bottles of Rolling Rock?
4-4. Does Coors support Nazi organizations?
4-5. Can I make my own beer....is it legal?
4-6. How do I make it?
4-7. WIMLIACLDAB? BTABFCTW!.....What was that?

FAQ Section 5 - Beer resources

5-1. Where can I get more beer info and tasting tips?
5-2. Where can I get good beer?
5-3. I'm going to "some city", what brewpubs/bars are good?
5-4. Can I get beer in the mail?
5-5. Where can I get details on making my own?
5-6. Where can I get recipes?
5-7. What is r.f.d.b. about?
5-8. Where are the archives?
5-9. What is in the archives?
5-10. I don't have ftp, can you e-mail files to me?


rec.food.drink.beer FAQ - Section 1
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*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
|          Definition of common terms regarding beer itself            |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*

1-1. What  is  beer?
     Beer is an alcoholic beverage made from malted grains, hops, yeast,
     and water. The grain is usually barley or wheat, but sometimes corn
     and rice are used as well. Fruit, herbs, and spices may also be used
     for special styles.  In the distant past, the terms "beer" and "ale"
     meant different things.  "Ale" was originally made without using
     hops, while "beer" did use hops.  Since virtually all commercial
     products now use hops, the term "beer" now encompasses two broad
     categories: ales and lagers.

1-2. What are ales?
     Ales are brewed with "top-fermenting" yeasts at close to room
     temperatures, 50-70F (10-21C). Ales encompass the broadest range of
     beer styles including bitters, pale ales, porters, stouts, barley
     wines, trappist, lambic, and alt. The British Isles are famous for
     their ales and it is a popular style with homebrewers and
     micro-breweries.

1-3. What are lagers?
     Lagers are brewed with "bottom-fermenting" yeasts at much colder
     temperatures, 35-50F (2-10C) over long periods of time (months). This
     is called "lagering". Lagers include bocks, doppelbocks, Munich- and
     Vienna-style, M&auml;rzen/Oktoberfest, and the famous pilsners.
     Pilsner beer originated in the town of Pilsen, now in the Czech
     Republic and was the first non-cloudy beer. Most popular beers
     produced by the large North American breweries were originally of the
     pilsner style. These have diverged a great deal from the original
     style and succeed now by the force of the mass-marketing prowess of
     the brewers rather than any remarkable qualities of the beers
     themselves.

1-4. How are they different?
     The differences tend to be based on tradition more than anything
     inherent to either style. The major traditional differences are a
     result of the varying lengths of fermentation and temperature used
     for the two beer types. They can also vary in style and degree of
     hopping and in the types of malt used, but these differences are very
     arbitrary and exceptions abound.

     Ales generally undergo short, warm fermentations and are intended to
     be consumed soon after completion. The result of relatively warm
     fermentation is that a lot of by-products of yeast metabolism besides
     alcohol and CO2 get left in the beer. These usually manifest
     themselves as "fruity" or "buttery" flavors which vary in degree and
     flavor with the strain of yeast used and the temperature and duration
     of fermentation. Accordingly, ales exhibit their most complex flavors
     when served at warm temperatures, around 50-60F (10-15C).

     The trick with lager yeast is that they can survive, metabolize, and
     reproduce at lower temperatures. Lager yeast can assimilate compounds
     which ale yeast cannot, fewer by-products are made, and the stuff
     that does get made drops out during lagering. The result is a very
     clean, sparkling beer. Lagers are best served at slightly cooler
     temperatures than ales, 40-50F (5-10C).

     Of course there are notable exceptions:

     California Common
          The best known example is "Steam Beer" which is a trademark of
          the Anchor Brewing Co. Employs. It employs lager yeast fermented
          at ale temperatures which gives it some fruityness usually
          associated with ales.

     K&ouml;lsch and Alt
          Ales that undergoes a cold secondary fermentation and storage
          period resulting in only a hint of ale-like fruityness.  Alt is
          also known as Stock Ale.

     Cream Ale
          Alternately, an ale fermented at lager temps or vice-versa. It
          has also been made by blending a conventional ale with a
          conventional lager after fermentation. Most examples are only
          slightly more interesting than mega-brews; a touch more body, a
          touch more fermentation flavor.

1-5. What are lambics?
     Lambics are a type of ale brewed in parts of Belgium by exposing
     boiled and cooled wort (unfermented beer) to the outside air.
     Indigenous, wild yeasts settle on the exposed surface of the wort and
     begin spontaneous fermentation. They are often flavored with fruit
     and generally prized the world over.

1-6. What is "bock" beer?
     Bock is a style of lager beer which originated in Germany. It was
     traditionally brewed in the fall, at the end of the growing season,
     when barley and hops were at their peak. It was "lagered" all winter
     and enjoyed in the spring at the beginning of the new brewing season.
     Bocks can be pale (helles) or dark (dunkles) and there are
     double(doppel) bocks which are extra strong.

     Bocks are usually strong beers made with lots of malt yielding a very
     full-bodied, alcoholic beer. A persistent myth has been that bock
     beers are made from the dregs at the bottom of a barrel when they are
     cleaned in the spring. This probably seemed logical because of the
     heavier body and higher strength of bocks. From a brewing standpoint,
     this is clearly impossible for two reasons: 1) The "dregs" left after
     fermentation are unfermentable, which is exactly why they are left
     over. They cannot be fermented again to make more beer. 2) Any
     attempt to re-use the "dregs" would probably result in serious
     bacterial contamination and a product which does not resemble beer as
     we know it.

1-7. What is "porter"?
     From: The Guinness Drinking Companion by Leslie Dunkling (1992)
     Guinness Publishing; ISBN 0-85112-988-9 "In the London Ale-Houses and
     taverns of the early 18th Century it was common to call for a pint of
     "Three threads", meaning a third of a pint each of ale, beer, and
     twopenny (the strongest beer, costing twopence a quart). A brewer
     called Harwood had the idea of brewing a beer that united the
     flavours of all three. He called this beer "Entire". This was about
     1720.

     Harwood's Entire was highly hopped, strong, and dark. It was brewed
     with soft rather than hard water. Within a few years Entire was also
     being referred to as "Porter" (short for porter's ale) because the
     porters of the London street markets were especially fond of it.
     Porter that was extra strong was known as "Stout Porter", and
     eventually "Stout"."

1-8. What are "dry" beers?
     "Dry" beer was developed in Japan. Using more adjuncts (like corn and
     rice) and genetically altered yeasts, these beers ferment more
     completely and have less residual sweetness, and hence less
     aftertaste.

1-9. What are "ice" beers?
     The making of "ice" beers, in general, involves lowering the
     temperature of the finished product until the water in it begins to
     freeze and then filtering out the ice crystals that form. Since water
     will freeze before alcohol, the result is higher alcohol content. The
     ice forms around yeast cells, protein particles, etc. so these get
     removed as well; leaving fewer components to provide taste and
     character.

     This process is not new to brewing, having been developed in Germany
     to produce "eisbocks". Apparently they were produced by accident
     during the traditional spring celebration with bock beers. Spring,
     being the capricious season that it is, probably sent a late cold
     snap around one year causing some of the spring bocks to partially
     freeze. People drank it anyway and liked the change in flavor.

     In its current incarnation, the process is an offshoot of the
     concentrated fruit juice industry. It was developed by orange growers
     to reduce the costs of storage and shipping by concentrating the
     fruit juice through freezing and removal of some water.  Labatt's
     claims to have pioneered this process for brewing and most of the
     large North American brewers quickly followed suit in the usual
     marketing frenzy.

     The main difference between these "ice" beers and true eisbocks is
     taste and character. Any beer brewed using this method will only be
     as good as the brew with which you start. In other words, if you
     start with a bland, flavor-impaired, adjunct-laden beer and remove
     some of the water, you end up with a bland, flavor-impaired,
     adjunct-laden beer with more alcohol. OTOH, if you take a rich,
     malty, traditionally brewed bock and remove some of the water, you
     end up with an eisbock.

1-10. What are "cold-filtered", and "heat pasteurized" beers?
     Cold-filtering is a way of clarifying beer with a shortened lagering
     time. Beer (lager particularly) becomes clearer with extended storage
     which allows proteins and other particles to coagulate and settle out
     of suspension. The beer can then be drawn off and bottled. One way to
     reduce the time required is to chill the beer causing these molecules
     to "clump" and be easily filtered out. The up-side is that the time
     from brewing to finished product is shortened, thereby boosting
     productivity. The down-side is that cold-filtering also removes many
     components which contribute flavor and body to beer.

     Heat Pasteurized is a redundant phrase since pasteurization means
     heating to kill microbes.

     Some beers are bottle or cask conditioned, meaning that live yeast
     are still in the beer in its container. Most mainstream beers are
     either filtered, to remove all yeast and bacteria, or pasteurized to
     kill all yeast and bacteria. This makes for a more stable product
     with a longer shelf-life.

     Pasteurization is more expensive and tends to alter the flavor.
     Filtration is cheaper, leaves a clearer beer, and has less effect on
     flavor.

     The "ice" beer process (see above) enhances filtration schemes
     because more stuff can be filtered out more quickly using less
     filtration material which shows up directly on the old bottom line.

1-11. What is "draught" (draft) beer?
     Technically speaking, draught beer is beer served from the cask in
     which it has been conditioned. It has been applied, loosely, to any
     beer served from a large container. More recently, it has been used
     as a promotional term for canned or bottled beer to try to convince
     us that the beer inside tastes like it came from a cask.  See also
     "Real Ale".

1-12. How is specific gravity related to beer?
     Specific gravity is a measure of the density of a liquid. Distilled
     water has a specific gravity of 1.000 at 60F(15C) and is used as a
     baseline. The specific gravity of beer measured before fermentation
     is called its Original Gravity or OG and sometimes its Starting
     Gravity (SG). This gives an idea of how much sugar is dissolved in
     the wort (unfermented beer) on which the yeast can work. The range of
     values goes from approximately 1.020 to 1.160 meaning the wort can be
     from 1.02 to 1.16 times as dense as water (in British brewing the
     decimal point is usually omitted). When measured after fermentation
     it is called the Final Gravity (FG) or Terminal Gravity (TG). The
     difference between these two values is a good gauge of the amount of
     alcohol produced during fermentation.

     The OG will always be higher than the FG for two reasons. First, the
     yeast will have processed much of the sugar that was present, thus,
     reducing the gravity. And, second, the alcohol produced by
     fermentation is less dense than water, further reducing the gravity.
     The OG has a significant effect on the taste of the final product and
     not just from an alcoholic standpoint. A high OG usually results in
     beer with more body and sweetness than a lower OG. This is because
     some of the sugars measured in the OG are not fermentable by the
     yeast and will remain after fermentation.

     Here are some rough guidelines:

     Some Bitters, Milds, Wheat beers, and most "Lite" beers have an OG
     ranging from 1020-1040. The majority of beers fall in the 1040-1050
     range including most Lagers, Stout, Porter, Pale Ale, most Bitters,
     and Wheat beers. From 1050-1060 you'll find, Oktoberfest, India Pale
     Ale, ESB (Extra Special Bitter). In the 1060-1075 range will be Bock,
     strong ales, Belgian doubles. Above 1075 are the really strong beers
     like Dopplebocks, Barleywines, Imperial Stouts, and Belgian trippels
     and strong ales.


rec.food.drink.beer FAQ - Section 2
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*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
|      Definition of common terms regarding the brewing industry       |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*

2-1. How is alcohol strength measured?
     Most of the world measures alcohol as a percent of volume (abv). In
     the U.S., alcohol in beer is measured by weight (abw). Since alcohol
     weighs roughly 20% less than water, abw measures appear 20% less than
     abv measures for the same amount of alcohol.  In Europe, beer
     strength tends to be measured on the basis of the fermentables in the
     wort.

     Britain uses OG (original gravity), which is 1000 times the ratio of
     the wort gravity to that of water. Thus a beer with an OG of 1040 was
     4% more dense than water, the density coming from dissolved sugars.
     You can generally take one tenth of the last two digits to estimate
     the percentage alcohol by volume once the dissolved sugars are
     fermented. In the example used, the abv would be approximately 4%
     (40/10 = 4%)

     Continental Europe tends to uses degrees Plato. In general, the
     degrees Plato are about one quarter the last two digits of the OG
     figure. Hence, in our example above, the beer would be 10 degrees
     Plato. To get the expected alcohol by volume, divide the degrees
     Plato by 2.5.

2-2. Why is beer stronger in Canada than the U.S.?
     This is just folklore that results from the way alcoholic strength is
     measured. The alcohol content of mainstream U.S. beers is measured as
     a percent of weight (abw). Canadian beers (and most other countries)
     measure percent alcohol by volume (abv). A typical Canadian beer of
     5% (abv) will be about the same strength as a typical U.S. beer at 4%
     (abw).

2-3. How are "ale", "malt liquor", and "barleywine" related to strength?
     The U.S. regulations about the labelling of beer products were
     antiquated, but they are changing rapidly. Until recently, it was
     illegal for brewers to print the alcohol percent on labels. Coors
     recently challenged this law in federal court and won.  Some Coors
     beers are now appearing with percent alcohol on the label. Some
     states have regulations that require certain beers to be labelled
     ale, even if they are lagers, due simply to their strength. Texas is
     one example. Similarly, "malt liquor" is the appellation attached to
     strong beers in other states, such as Georgia. Barley wines are
     strong beers, typically at strengths comparable to wines (8% alcohol
     by volume and over). However, this is not an arbitrary term for
     strength but the actual name of the beer style.

2-4. What is Reinheitsgebot?
     This is the German (originally, Bavarian) purity law that restricts
     the ingredients that can be used to make beer to being water, barley
     malt, hops, and yeast. In the 1516 version of the law, only water,
     malt and hops were mentioned, because yeast was not isolated until
     the 19th century by Louis Pasteur. The Reinheitsgebot is actually
     part of a larger document called the "Biersteuergesetz" or "Beer Tax
     Law" which defined what beer was and how it should be taxed according
     to strength.

     "Rein" means clean or pure; "-heit" means "-ness"; so "Reinheit"
     means "cleanliness" or "purity".

     In 1987, the Reinheitsgebot was repealed by the EC as part of the
     opening up of the European market. Many German breweries elected to
     uphold the Reinheitsgebot in their brewing anyway out of respect for
     their craft and heritage.

     The full text of the Reinheitsgebot, as it existed before 1987, is
     available via anonymous ftp in English or German from the archives
     (see later).

2-5. What about the new "Draught-flow" (tm) system (AKA the "widget)?
     This device has recently appeared in canned beers in an attempt to
     mimic the taste and appearance of a true draught beer. It employs a
     small plastic bladder filled with a mix of nitrogen and beer at the
     bottom of the can. When the can is opened, the mixture is forced out
     through small holes in the bladder causing considerable turbulence at
     the bottom of the can. This results in a lovely foaming head of
     creamy bubbles. While not true draught, this method has come awfully
     close to its intention and is the subject of much debate.

2-6. What is "Real Ale"?
     "Real Ale is a name for draught (or bottled) beer brewed from
     traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the
     container from which it is dispensed and served without the use of
     extraneous carbon dioxide"....from CAMRA's handbook.

2-7. What is CAMRA?
     CAMRA is the CAMpaign for Real Ale. It was founded in the early 1970s
     in Great Britain to preserve Britain's beer traditions. It is used in
     marketing courses as one of the most successful consumer movements of
     all time. It is now concerning itself with the preservation of beer,
     the British pub, and brewing traditions worldwide.

     Anyone can join CAMRA by writing to:

     Campaign for Real Ale
     34 Alma Road, St Albans
     Herts AL1 3BW, UK.

     Or, you can use Visa/MC and join by phone: 44-0727-867201

2-8. What are the categories of brewers/breweries?
     Most large, national and international brewers, are simply called
     brewers, although some would dispute the use of that term for most of
     them ;-). The next category down are regional brewers, which will
     generally have only one or two sites.  Micro-brewers are smaller
     still, having a restricted capacity at a single site. Pico-brewer is
     a term used to describe brewers so small that distribution is limited
     to pubs and bars in the immediate area. Different jurisdictions have
     different regulations defining the size and capacity of these
     different categories. To complicate matters their are contract
     brewers. These companies develop a recipe and then "buy" excess
     capacity at a large brewery to have their beer made for them. They,
     then, market and distribute the finished product.

2-9. What is a brewpub?
     A brewpub is, generally, a combination brewery/restaurant. The beer
     is made on-premises for consumption by the restaurant patrons.
     Various regulations govern the ratio of beer/food sales to prevent
     brewerys from serving token food items while selling mostly beer.
     Very common in Europe and the source of a growing industry in the
     North America.


rec.food.drink.beer FAQ - Section 3
------------------------------------

*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
|                Beer handling and sensory issues                      |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*

3-1. How do I judge a beer?
     Much has been written about wine tasting, and that technique and
     vocabulary apply quite nicely to beer, as well. Of course, beer is a
     more complex beverage and its evaluation covers some additional
     ground, but the concepts are the same. The biggest change most
     drinkers must undergo is warming up their beer. Ice cold beer numbs
     the taste buds and doesn't allow the beer to develop its full flavor
     potential. In general, pale beer is best served at cooler
     temperatures than dark beer, and lagers cooler than ales. Start with
     40-50F (5-10C) for the cooler beers and 50-60F (10-15C) for the
     warmer ones.

     Beer should be evaluated using four senses: sight, smell, taste,
     feel. Always drink beer from a clear glass to fully appreciate it.
     Look at it and note the color and clarity. Hold it up to a light if
     necessary. Take a good sniff from the glass to get the aroma or
     bouquet. Taste it, swishing it around in your mouth, and notice its
     body and flavors. After swallowing, notice any aftertaste or finish.

     You should be noticing things like:

          Was it golden, amber, black?
          Clear or cloudy?
          Did it smell sweet, malty, flowery, alcoholic?
          Did it taste bitter, sweet, tart, smooth, "zingy"?
          Did it feel "thick" or "thin" as you swished it around?
          Did it leave a buttery taste, nutty, fruity?

     With additional experience and some reading you will begin to develop
     not only a sense of what you enjoy, but what marks a truly good beer
     from a bland or mediocre one.

     Also, it is usually a good idea to try a beer more than once. Get it
     from different sources, try it when your in a different mood or
     setting, wait for a full moon, whatever. Many factors will affect
     your overall perception, so be flexible. Be aware, as well, that
     tasting many beers at once is not a good idea. The taste buds begin
     to tire and send confusing impressions.

3-2. What is good/bad/skunked/spoiled beer?
     In the most ideal sense, there are no good or bad beers. The
     enjoyment of beer is a highly subjective and personal experience.
     However, in this very real and flawed world, various camps develop
     and embrace their favorites while denouncing all others. This is
     illustrated by "The best/worst beer in the world is...." posts.

     The best approach is to appreciate what beer is about and how to
     recognize the outstanding qualities of a fine beer (see previous
     question).

     Bad beer can be easily identified, however, when it has been damaged
     or spoiled. The two most common occurences are:

     "skunking"
          When beer has been exposed to strong light, either natural or
          artificial, certain components in hops alter and produce these
          acrid flavors. AKA being "lightstruck". This is why beer should
          be bottled in brown bottles. Clear bottles offer no light
          protection and green is only slightly better. Technically, light
          of wavelengths from 400 to 500 nm can cause photochemical
          reactions in hop resins, resulting in a sulfury mercaptan which
          has a pronounced skunky character. 400 to 500 nm is blue to
          blue-green.

     "spoiled"
          This is a more vague term and often refers to beer that has not
          been properly stored or handled allowing oxidation (a cardboard
          taste) or other off-flavors resulting from contamination,
          overheating, etc. Also referred to as going "off".

3-3. How should I store beer?
     I general, beer should be stored in a cool place. In warmer climates
     this often means refrigeration and you get used to letting your beer
     warm a little before you drink it. Cooler climates often use cellars
     to store beer which works quite well. As long as temperatures are
     kept between 35F(2C) and 60F(15C) you're probably OK. Keep in mind
     that storing at the warmer end of this scale will increase any aging
     effects since any yeast remaining in the beer will be more active.
     This is a Good Thing if you're aging a barleywine but will cause
     lower gravity beers to go "stale" sooner.

3-4. How long does beer keep?
     To quote Michael Jackson: "If you see a beer, do it a favour, and
     drink it. Beer was not meant to age." Generally, that is true.
     However, some beers that are strong and/or highly hopped must age to
     reach their full flavor potential.

     How a beer is conditioned and handled has a great affect on its
     shelf-life. Beer conditioned in the bottle or cask still contains
     live, active yeast and should be drunk as soon as possible. Most
     larger scale, commercial beers have been filtered or pasteurized to
     remove/kill the yeast and stabilize the product for the longer
     storage times encountered in the retail world. In any case, stored
     beer should never be exposed to heat or strong light.

3-5. Is beer considered a vegetarian/kosher/organic product?
     It depends on how you define each of those terms and what your
     particular values are. Rather than try to make a broad
     generalization, I'll describe the products and practices that are
     usually called into question regarding these topics. You are then
     free to apply these facts to your own system of beliefs and make an
     informed judgement. Also, I have ignored the fact that beer is an
     alcoholic beverage. This should be taken for granted. Read labels
     carefully and call the brewer if you need specific information about
     ingredients or processing since labeling laws allow the brewer to
     omit a great deal.

     Finings
          Finings are substances sometimes added to beer during
          fermentation to help settle out particles and yeast, leaving the
          beer clear. It is important to note that finings are not present
          in the finished beer in any significant quantity. Their purpose
          is to settle out of the beer, not stay in suspension. OTOH, if a
          careful chemical analysis were to be performed, there would
          probably be a few molecules of a fining agent still to be found.
          Also, many brewers do not use finings at all, but filter their
          beer to clarify it. That said, these are the common fining
          agents:

          Isinglass
               Made from the dried swim bladders of sturgeons. Used a
               great deal in British brewing.

          Irish Moss
               Also known as carragheen, a type of dried seaweed.

          Gelatin
               The same stuff used to make Jello (tm). Made from animal
               (mostly cow) hooves, skin and connective tissues.

          Polyclar
               A brand name for PVP (polyvinylpyrdlidone), a man-made,
               plastic substance.

          Sparkalloid
               More commonly known as diatemaceous earth.

     FYI, beer brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot (see related Q&A) is
     not prohibited from using finings since it was generally assumed that
     finings were not present in the finished finished product.

     Adjuncts
          These are products used to alter the flavor, color, or body of
          beer. They are used in addition to the "Basic 4": malted barley,
          hops, yeast, and water. They do not settle out and can be
          present in beer in significant quantities.

          Corn
               Used a great deal by the mega-brewers as a cheap way to
               make huge quantities of beer since corn is cheaper than
               malted barley.

          Rice
               Same as corn.

          Wheat
               Used in some beer styles to produce a lighter-bodied beer
               with a tangy flavor.

          Honey
               Used as another fermentable sugar in addition to malted
               barley to impart different flavors.

          Lactose
               Also known as milk sugar because of its dairy origin. Used
               to increase sweetness and body of certain beer styles such
               as cream stouts.

          Molasses
               Another form of sugar used to flavor some dark ales.

     Heading agents
          Various products added to a beer to increase its ability to form
          and hold a head. Used most often in beers made with large
          quantities of corn and/or rice. Pepsin is a common heading agent
          and is often derived from pork. Beers using only malted barley
          or wheat don't need heading agents.

     Organic ingredients
          To be truly organic, a beer would have to be made from barley
          and hops cultivated using accepted organic practices. Most
          brewers do not make this claim, but a few are appearing. Those
          that do clearly label their products as organic. It is also my
          understanding that organic does not mean no animal products.

     Other ingredients
          Many other ingredients are used in brewing beer to give it
          unusual character or marketing appeal. As such, these items are
          often clearly indicated on the label. Some of the more common
          examples are:

          Oatmeal, Pumpkin, Potatoes, and all sorts of fruit
          Also spices such as: Ginger, Licorice, Coriander, Cinnamon, and
          Spruce


rec.food.drink.beer FAQ - Section 4
------------------------------------

*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
|                       Miscellaneous topics                           |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*

4-1. What is Zima and/or clear beer?
     Clear beers are malt-based beverages that have had all their
     character removed completely leaving one to wonder "What's the
     point?" Clear beverages like Zima are not beers, and are discussed in
     their own newsgroups like rec.food.drink or alt.zima.

4-2. What do the different Chimay packages/colors mean?
     Chimay is the best known of the famous Trappist ales from Belgium and
     the Netherlands. Two package types are used: a 33cl(11oz) bottle with
     the standard metal crown and a 75cl(26oz) "Bordeaux" bottle which is
     corked. Three beers are produced by Chimay which differ in character
     and alcoholic strength. They have different names, but are often
     referred to by the color coding of the crown, cork seal, and labeling
     as follows:

     Chimay Red, Rouge, Premiere - 7% abv
     Chimay White, Blanche, Cinq Cents - 8% abv
     Chimay Blue, Bleue, Grande Reserve - 9% abv

4-3. What does the "33" mean on the bottles of Rolling Rock?
     There a couple of explanations:

     The first is that it is the number of words on the label which a
     Rolling Rock employee wrote down before sending it to the
     artist/printer and it stuck. The second is that "33" is the year
     prohibition was lifted. The guys at Latrobe (the company that brews
     RR) love it: "Who cares what it means as, long as people continue to
     ponder it while drinking a cold Rolling Rock."

4-4. Does Coors support Nazi organizations?
     The Adolph Coors Co., as a publicly held US corporation, does not.
     Nor is it likely they could do so and succeed in the US market. The
     Coors family supports the Coors Foundation which donates funds to
     several politically active organizations. Whether these organizations
     can be considered Nazi, right-wing, or even conservative is not an
     appropriate topic for this newsgroup since it doesn't affect the
     brewing, distribution, or marketing of Coors beer.  This policy is
     stated in the r.f.d.b. Charter.  These discussions can take place in
     soc.politics or talk.politics.misc.

4-5. Can I make my own beer....is it legal?
     Federal regulations state that an individual can brew up to 100
     gals/yr for personal consumption or up to 200 gals/yr per family
     without being subject to taxes. State laws often override the Federal
     tax law with more stringent regulations or ban any homebrewing, so
     check locally. In any case, you cannot sell your homebrew. Also, be
     aware that the presence of homebrew supply stores does not imply that
     homebrewing is legal in your state. More often, in a strange quirk of
     law-making, it is legal to sell the supplies, but illegal to make
     beer with them!?

4-6. How do I make it?
     Making your own can range from quite easy to very complicated
     depending on how much of the science you want to absorb. At its most
     basic, you can make beer following these steps:

     1.  Mix together malted barley extract, hops, and water and boil to
         produce what is called the wort.

     2.  The wort is cooled, placed in a fermenter and yeast is added.
         Fermentation will take place converting the sugars in the wort to
         carbon dioxide (which is vented out) and alcohol.

     3.  When fermentation is complete, the new beer is mixed with a small
         amount of primer (made from malt extract or corn sugar) and
         placed in sealed bottles or kegs. The primer will provide just
         enough additional fermentation to carbonate the beer.

     4.  Wait until the beer has properly aged and drink! The aging time
         depends on beer style and can range anywhere from 2 weeks to 1
         year.

4-7. WIMLIACLDAB? BTABFCTW! What was that?
     This is a very old, very tired beer joke attributed to Monty Python.
     I'll spell it out for you:

     Q: Why is making love in a canoe like drinking American beer?
     A: Because they are both f*cking close to water!

     But don't ever repeat this on the Net or the following will occur:

     1.  You will be scorched to a crunchy black by some excruciatingly
         creative individuals.
     2.  You will receive a number of "corrective" e-mails.
     3.  Your family/relatives will be visited by "Guido", a large,
         ill-tempered man with hairy knuckles.

     ...in that order!


rec.food.drink.beer FAQ - Section 5
------------------------------------

*----------------------------------------------------------------------*
|                           Beer Resources                             |
*----------------------------------------------------------------------*

5-1. Were can I get more beer info and tasting tips?
     Look through the rec.food.drink.beer archives (see next section).

     Also, check out Usenet group alt.beer with archives at ftp.cwru.edu
     in /pub/alt.beer.

     Join the Virtual Pub on the World-Wide Web (WWW) via
          http://lager.geo.brown.edu:8080/virtual-pub/index.html

     Other WWW pages with numerous pointers to other resources:

     Dan Brown's Beer Page
          http://www.eff.org/dan/beer.html

     Spencer Thomas' Beer Page
          http://guraldi.itn.med.umich.edu/Beer/index.html

     Eric Wooten's Beer & Homebrewing Page
          http://pekkel.uthscsa.edu/beer.html

     Watch for and participate in the beer tastings posted every so often
     by Joel Plutchak (plutchak@lager.geo.brown.edu).

     Michael Jackson (not the pop star) is an acknowledged authority on
     beer world-wide and has written several books:
          The New World Guide to Beer
          The Beer Companion
          Simon & Schuster's Pocket Guide to Beer

     Also look for:
          The Beer Enthusiast by Gregg Smith
          Evaluating Beer from Brewers Publications
          The Essentials of Beer Style by Fred Eckhardt
          Beer Cuisine by Jay Harlow

     Magazines:
          All About Beer - 800-977-BEER(2337)
          Beer, the magazine - 800-646-2701
          Beer Magazine - 613-737-3715 (Canada)
          What's Brewing - comes with CAMRA membership (see above) (U.K.)
          Get beer.mags.Z from the archives or see the WWW page
          http://www.mindspring.com/users/jlock/beermag0.html for a
          complete listing.

     On video tape:
          The Beer Hunter with Michael Jackson
          Call 800-262-4800 - $34.95 + t/s/h.

          Beer and Ale: A Video Guide
          Call 800-546-5034 - $24.95 + t/s/h.

5-2. Where can I get good beer?
     In most parts of the world, just go to any place that serves beer and
     ask for it. In North America, micro-breweries and brewpubs are the
     best places to get freshly brewed, finely crafted beer. But they
     aren't everywhere, yet.

     Many bars and restaurants are beginning to offer high quality beers
     on tap and in bottles. Don't fall into the trap of asking for an
     "import" when you want a good beer! The market today is such that you
     could easily end up with a very disappointing import while missing a
     truly wonderful domestic. Always, always, always ask to see a beer
     list. Servers are not always educated in beer lore and may
     misinterpret what you are looking for in a good beer.

     Most liquor stores carry a good selection of bottled beers. Many
     major grocery chains are also beginning to carry remarkable
     selections.

5-3. I'm going to "some city", what brewpubs/bars are good?
     A comprehensive list of brewpubs and good bars is available via
     anonymous ftp to sierra.stanford.edu in /pub/homebrew/docs. The file
     is publist.Z. Caution: I don't think this is being updated. There are
     some other regional guides stored in the archives.

5-4. Can I get beer in the mail?
     Yup, monthly subscriptions just like a magazine. These services send
     a selection of beers each month until you tell them to stop. For an
     up-to-date list look for the Beer-by-Mail FAQ posted the 4th Tuesday
     of every month on r.f.d.b or you can ftp it from the archives (see
     below).

5-5. Where can I get details on making my own?
     Brewing discussions are held in the rec.crafts.brewing newsgroup. The
     FAQ for that group can be obtained via anonymous ftp to
     sierra.stanford.edu in /pub/homebrew/docs in file rcb.faq. Also,
     check out "The Homebrew Digest" posted daily in rec.crafts.brewing
     and available by mailing list.

     On the World-Wide Web (WWW):

     Spencer Thomas' Beer Page
          http://guraldi.itn.med.umich.edu/Beer/index.html

     Eric Wooten's Beer & Homebrewing Page
          http://pekkel.uthscsa.edu/beer.html

     Anonymous ftp from sierra.stanford.edu in /pub/homebrew/docs the
     following guides:
          beginners.Z
          how_to_brew_your_first_beer

     Good books to read are:
          The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian
          The Complete Handbook of Brewing by Dave Miller
          Brewing Quality Beers by Byron Burch

     Magazines:
          Zymurgy - comes with membership in American Homebrewers
          Association (AHA): 303-546-6514
          Get beer.mags.Z from the archives or see the WWW page
          http://lager.geo.brown.edu:8080/virtual.pub/beermag0.html for a
          complete listing.

     On video tape:
          Home Brew with Charlie Papazian - Call 303-546-6514 - $29.95 +
          t/s/h

5-6. Where can I get recipes?
     Check the same sources above plus look in the sierra.stanford.edu ftp
     site in /pub/homebrew/recipes.

5-7. What is r.f.d.b. about?
     rec.food.drink.beer is a newsgroup dedicated to serious discussions
     concerning beer.

5-8. Where are the archives?
     The rec.food.drink.beer archives are available via anonymous ftp from
     sierra.stanford.edu in /pub/homebrew/rfdb. As a secondary site and
     for Virtual Pub users, they are also stored at lager.geo.brown.edu in
     /pub/virtual-pub

5-9. What is in the archives?
     rfd-beer.charter - The charter for r.f.d.b.
     rfd-beer.faq - The plain text version
     README.camra.Z - CAMRA info
     beer.mags.Z - Subscription info about some beer magazines
     beer_book_list.Z - Library of Congress list of beer-related books
     beer_by_mail.faq.Z - List of Beer-by-Mail companies and services
     beer_capacity.faq.Z - Measures of Capacity FAQ
     beer_guinness.faq.Z - Guinness FAQt and Folklore
     beer_learning.faq.Z - Alan Marshall's beginners guide
     beer_no_calif.faq.Z - Guide to Northern California brewpubs
     beer_ontario.faq.Z - A Beer lover's guide to Ontario
     beer_records.faq.Z - Beer Records FAQ
     bfest93.faq.Z - 1993 Beer Festivals FAQ
     bfest94.faq.Z - 1994 Beer Festivals FAQ
     camra.books.Z - Listing of books offered by CAMRA
     reinheitsgebot.deutsch.Z - German beer purity/tax law
     reinheitsgebot.english.Z - English translation of above

     The files ending in .Z are stored in a compressed format. If you use
     ftp to "get" them, leave off the .Z from the file name and sierra's
     ftp daemon will uncompress the file before sending it to you. If you
     transfer the files using some other means, remember to treat them as
     binary and use the Unix "uncompress" utility to expand them before
     reading.

5-10. I don't have ftp, can you e-mail files to me?
     Thanks, to Doug Ferrell for providing this "FTP-BY-MAIL" service!

     To get a file, send mail to "ftpmail@exchange.tlh.fl.us". In the body
     of the message, type GET FILENAME where FILENAME is the name of the
     file that you want. For example, to get rfdb's FAQ, type: GET
     RFDB.FAQ in the message body. The system will then send it back to
     you in your Email message. These are standard "DOS" files with
     linefeed/carriage returns at each line. Note the files are NOT case
     sensitive as in Unix.

     If you want more then one file, send a seperate message for each file
     with the "GET" statement.

     Files available:

          BEER.NDX - Index of files available from THE EXCHANGE!
          ALT_BEER.FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for alt.beer
          BEERMAGS.TXT - Text file of Beer Magazines
          CAMRABOK.LST - CAMRA Book List
          BEERBOOK.LST - Beer Book List from Library of Congress
          BFEST93.FAQ - Beer Festivals of '93
          BFEST94.FAQ - Beer Festivals of '94 (so far)
          BRECORDS.FAQ - Beer Records by Alan Marshall
          CAPACITY.FAQ - Measures of capacity
          GUINNESS.FAQ - Guinness FAQt and Folklore
          ONTARIO.FAQ - Best places to drink in Ontario by Alan Marshall
          RFDB.FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for
          rec.food.drink.beer

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        John A. Lock (jlock@mindspring.com)
