Archive for the ‘Beer’ Category

Beer pairs better with food than wine…

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

…or so says Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver.  As Wine Tasting Guy I naturally have to disagree, but I can’t completely diagree…

I have been hearing commercials on the radio with Bewmaster Oliver making his beer pairing proclamation.  It seems the brewmaster is a bit of a beer & food aficionado, and hearing his position regarding beer & food pairing (over and over again), I really got to thinking.

I’m excited about the approaching warmer weather for so many reasons.  While most of them are obvious, one reason I’m excited is that I will be drinking more chilled beverages outdoors.

Sure some of the chilled beverages I’ll be drinking will be beer, but a lot of it will also be wine.  And the exciting part is that I’ll be drinking a lot more white wine in the coming months.

So what does my white wine drinking have to do with beer being a better pairing for food than wine?  Well, though my favorite overall wines are red, I do believe that white wines … pair better with food than red wines.

There I said it.  I can’t take it back.

And beer is more similar in style/freshness to white wine than it is to red wine.

Spicy food, tart foods, creamy foods, fruits, veggies, etc – all better with white wine (or beer) than red wine.

Sure there are some fresh, acidic, low tannin red wines that can pair with the aforementioned foods.

There are also weighty white wines – wines that have been barrel aged or have undergone malolactic fermentation.

But as a whole, light, fresh, crisp, acidic white wines pair better with foods than red wines do.  As do, beers…

Happy food & wine (or beer) pairing!

WTG

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Good news beer lovers…beer is good for you!

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

A quick news story to report.  University of California Davis has released the results of a story that says beer is good for your bones!

http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/beer.jpg

An analysis of 100 commercial varieties found that beer is a good source of dietary silicon, which is important for bone health and could help prevent diseases like osteoporosis.

“Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon,” said Charles Bamforth, the lead researcher.
“Choose the beer you enjoy. Drink it in moderation. It is contributing silicon (and more) to your good health,” Bamforth added.

Happy healthy Beer chugging!

WTG

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How COOL is your beverage?

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

When looking to chill your favorite beverage, what temperature do you choose? How vague is it to say serve at “room temperature”? What is room temperature? 70 degrees (21 Celsius)? 75 degrees (24)?

Most people are familiar with the adage that one should drink red wine at room temperature. Given today’s central heating (and cooling as the case may be) this room temperature rule of thumb is simply not accurate.

I bring up temperature as I have been trying to give my reds some chilling time before serving lately and many people are surprised by this. I’m not as good about doing this in the winter time, but in the summer, drinking a HOT red wine is just NOT FUN (not that hot wine is fun in the winter, but…).

I have seen countless articles the past few weeks about beating the heat with cool beverages.

wine beach
(more…)

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Beer is out, wine is IN!

Friday, June 27th, 2008

beer bottle melting

The second part of the blog title is a little editorial on my part, but according to the UK based Harpers, worldwide beer sales has now fallen below 50 million hectoliters annually (or roughly 15,000,000,000 glasses of beer). This amounts to its lowest level since 1975

Also of note, is consumption of beer PER COUNTRY according to Wikipedia. The US is way down the list at #14 with about 80 liters per person per year. The Czech Republic & (shockingly) Ireland are one & two respectively at 156 & 131 liters.

I’m not certain how accurate these numbers are, but according to NationMaster.com, the US is #18 on the list of wine consuming countries per capita with a measly 7 liters per year. I had heard that the most recent numbers had the US in at around 30 liters per year (about half of the approximately 60 liters consumed in France & Italy).

Finally, Winebiz.com.au has some interesting stats here about wine. Of note is that while they do not list the US in their top 20 wine consuming nations PER CAPITA, in terms of total consumption per COUNTRY the US ranks 3rd, behind only France & Italy.

What does all this mean? Truthfully, I have no idea. But it sure seems to indicate that the popularity of wine is increasing at the expense of beer.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Wine Tasting!

WTG

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States weigh lowering drinking age

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

I know, I know, I still have older posts I promised to finish soon, but as a kid who once possessed a fake ID how exciting is this news???

So the news comes from a USA today report that talks about some states (Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina) that want to lower the drinking age for military personnel. On the one hand if they can fight in a war then they should be able to drink, right? On the other hand what are we saying, non-military don’t deserve a drink like those in the military do? Or are those who did not enlist less mature? Seems strange.

Missouri wants to lower it for everyone over 18. At least that makes sense to me.

Then you have South Dakota that says 19 & 20 year olds can buy low alcohol beer.

And the one that makes NO sense is Minnesota where they are pushing to allow 18+ to buy alcohol in bars but not in stores. Yeah, because the bartenders will really keep the kids drinking in control. HELLO – what about DRUNK DRIVING???!!! If they buy it in a liquor store at least they will be drinking at home and shouldn’t have to drive anywhere before passing out.

America…what a country….

Happy drinking all you young-ins…

WTG

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Beer drinking dogs

Monday, December 24th, 2007

Yes, this is supposed to be a WINE related blog. But this story was too funny not to blog.

Now giving pets of any type alcohol is NOT funny (ok, maybe it is but I certainly do not condone it), but this “RESEARCH STUDY” left me with images of drunk dogs stumbling around a lab. Here is the piece…

GUINNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU

Remember that old advertising slogan “Guinness is Good for You” on signs? New research supports that claim. A pint of Guinness a day may work as well as an aspirin to prevent heart clots that raise the risk of heart attacks. Drinking regular lager does not yield the same benefits, experts from University of Wisconsin told a conference yesterday, although alcohol of any type does help reduce clots.

 

The Wisconsin team tested the health-giving properties of stout against lager by giving it to dogs who had narrowed arteries similar to those in heart disease. They found that those given the Guinness had reduced clotting activity in their blood, but not those given lager.

 

The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness taken at mealtimes. They believe that “antioxidant compounds” in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

 

 

 

You know the famous painting of the dogs playing poker?  Now take those same dogs sitting around a table and picture them each with a pint of Guinness.

 

BRILLIANT!!!

 

Happy Holidays everyone…

WTG

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