I ran across this great article on Discovery news, and thought I should share it with you.  In essence:

• Beer contains a nutrient that can strengthen bone.
• In moderation, beer can contribute to a healthy diet.
• Wine isn’t the only alcoholic beverage that does our bodies some good.

As always, MODERATION is the key.

UPDATE - Here’s practically the same article, word for word, on The Guardian:  Drinking beer can help prevent weak bones.  Interesting.  (Thanks, and a shout out to De McArthur)

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Let me try and set the scene…

I’m sitting in a pretty much round room, looking out a huge curved window at palm fronds swaying in the island breeze.  My attention is torn between the beer sitting here on the desk, and the beautiful water in front of me, swirling in light and dark patterns as gentle swells wash the sand of the lagoon.  Some of the palms lean far out over the water, looking like they might just drop over.  Over on the side of the building are four full-sized replicas of moai monoliths (you know, those big, creepy-cool Easter Island heads).  If I look out a side window, I see one staring back at me.

To say that the beauty here is surreal would be an understatement.

Add to that, the radio behind me is playing this really odd, yet catchy dance song, with a clearly mechanical robot voice chanting “disco dance in your sexy panties” and “wear your sexy pants just for me.”

I tear my eyes away from the view, pop open the beer, and walk out to the porch with a pad of paper and a pencil.

It smells like molasses and vodka.  Now, that may not sound like a good combination, but in this case it is.  It smells interesting, and I mean that in a positive way.

I take the first sip, tilt my head back and savor it.  The first thing that hits me is the taste of well toasted oats and barley, aerated by light but satisfying carbonation.  It finishes off with a nice bitterness that reminds me in an odd way of the charred skin on barbecued chicken. 

Later, the bottle empty, it leaves me satisfied and happy.  In all, the flavor is well balanced, and I enjoyed so much I’m awarding it the status of Holy Beer Contender and rating it 2.3 on the Holy Grail Scale.

This review transcribed from handwritten notes taken in 2009.

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I have reviews to post here.  Really.  I do.  But they’re on paper.  I actually have to type them out, which is why you’re not reading them.

In the meantime I thought some of you might like to see this:

Beer Calculus: homebrew recipe calculator.

I’m not a home brewer … yet … so I have no idea how good this thing actually is, but it impressed me enough to share it.  It’s an online beer brewing calculator.

Let me know if it’s any good.  I’ll probably be trying it next spring.

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It’s Saturday evening, far warmer than usual in the Chicago area.  My windows are open, and I’ve been typing on my newest manuscript on and off most of the day.  I’m currently recovering from the Swine Flu, which didn’t hit me very hard.

Anyway, I decided it’s time for a break, and so I’m going to crack open this Baltic porter and do a quick review.

I pop the top and take a sniff.  It smells sickeningly sweet and yeasty.  Suddenly I wonder if I should be drinking a beer while coming down from the Swine Flu.  Hmm.  Oh well, here goes nothing.

Zero carbonation, but the flavor isn’t bad.  It would be better if it didn’t seem so flat.  Seriously.  It’s like it’s been open in the refrigerator for two weeks.  Not stale, mind you, but utterly devoid of carbonation.

The taste is fruity and oddly light while at the same time as being dark and heavy.  Hard to verbalize.  I taste a strong molasses and coffee mixture, with a hint of wheat bread.  There’s a dark chocolate aftertaste that I really like.

It’s not bad.  Give it some fizz and it would be even better.  I’m not going to proclaim it as a groovy brew, but I won’t steer you away from it if you like Baltic porters.  It’s worth a try.

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…no matter what species he is.

Photo from here by way of here.

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Here’s an excellent article with recipes about cooking with beer.

I used to BBQ steaks with beer – it tenderizes them.  I’ve also experimented with adding it to sauces, etc., with mixed results — but I’m not what you might consider a good cook.

With these recipes though, I just might be able to fake it.  (Thanks to Tim for sending this to me!)

via Cooking With Beer : NPR.

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I have a confession to make.

I’ve had to cut back on my beer consumption.

Overwhelmed by the endless variety of beers and ales I now have access too, and having found a one that came very close — if only for a while — to being the Holy Beer, I over-indulged and the weight I’d been quietly dropping over the last four years came stampeding back.

I’ve always been one to choose quality over quantity, but what happened is I found myself with a great quantity of quality.  I went from 2-3 gourmet beers a week to 2-3 (or more) a day.

That had to stop.  And so I put rules on myself, and so far they seem to be working, and the weight has begun to slowly evaporate.

Funny how fast you can gain it, but how slow it is when it’s leaving you.

Anyway, my new rule is, when I’m out I can drink my brews freely … which is self-limiting, as they’re way more expensive, and also I need to be mindful of being able to legally drive afterward.  If I’m at home, I can’t have a beer unless I’m going to review it.  That also puts limits on me.  I can still have as many beers as I want … as long as I write a review for it.  Which also means I have to photograph it and actually sit here and write it.  Obviously I’m not going to do that three times a day.

Anyway, here is the first one I’ve actually popped the top off of in over a week.  Obolon “Deep Velvet” from the Ukraine.  It smells like … heaven.  Sweet and slightly sour malt, a touch of honey-scented yeast, but no hint whatsoever of hops.

Tipping it back to my lips, I take that first sip.

Mmmm!  Interesting!  Tangy, yeasty, and with some nice rich and – I have to agree, velvety, sweet maltiness – but then it fades to a mild bitterness, and that in turn fades to a slightly metallic aftertaste which is not completely enjoyable.

No matter, another swig solves that.  The original blossom of flavor erases the metallic tang, but only for a bit.  Which means this beer is urging me to keep drinking.

And so, in not too much time, the half liter is gone … leaving me without beer.

Sadness.

I hesitate to proclaim this one as groovy.  It’s interesting, and maybe worth a try – you might like it much more than I did.  If I’ve learned anything since starting this site, is there are as many different tastes as there are beer drinkers.

To someone, somewhere in this world, this is their favorite beer.  But not mine.

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I didn’t get the chance to sniff this one after popping the top because I experienced a foam episode. 

You know … the dreaded foam episode.  Followed by paper towels and the changing of a shirt.  And that spot on the rug that’s now going to smell of stale beer for a few weeks.

Speaking of smelling, I now finally give the post-foam bottle a few sniffs, but this brew doesn’t have much of a scent – it’s very subtle, just a mild aroma of hops and a tiny hint of light maltiness.  But the taste – wow!  Very different.

The first thing I noticed was that it’s tangy, followed by an odd, wet bitterness, subdued but still prominent.  That settles while the hops take over, but it’s not just hops … I suppose it’s the chipotle I’m tasting.  It must be. 

I’m at a disadvantage because I’m not really sure what chipotle tastes like.  I’ve never stuffed any in my mouth all by itself.  (Why does that bring to mind a horse standing there, chewing on a mouth full of hay?  Chomp, chomp, chomp – that would be me with a mouth stuffed with chipotle.)

MMMmmm, chipotle, put some in my ale.

Actually it seems to go very well with ale.  Also, in reading the bottle, I’ve discovered it contains smoked jalapeno peppers.  Interesting!  So that’s what chipotle is … I didn’t know that.

There’s also a dedication:

“Dedicated to Spanish author Juan de la Cueva, who, in 1575, wrote of a Mexican dish that combined seedless chipotles with ale.

“This ale is deep amber in color with a rich malty aroma, and delicately spiced with smoked Jalapeno Peppers to give it that extra bite!”

It definitely has that!  This beer has a wonderful bite to it, but it’s not, you know, hot – not like you’re drinking Tabasco sauce, or something like that – it’s actually very refreshing as in that it’s different, but yet still very good.

I’m going to proclaim this as a groovy brew, but not a holy beer contender.  What it is really good for, I think, is to shock you out of a slump when you’ve started getting jaded in your brew tasting adventures.  I don’t think I’d drink this every day, and I don’t think I’d drink one after another — just one every so often.  I can see that being a good thing.

And very groovy.

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“You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline – it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."

- Frank Zappa

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Rest your eyes.

You can listen to this review.

It’s the first ever GroovyBrew podcast!

Brought to you by Lagunitas Brewing and the Firesign Theater, not to mention the Zoom H2 Recorder, and featuring music by TranceVision.

Just for the record, this is one wildly groovy brew, and also a solid Holy Beer contender.

It rates a 7.77 on the Holy Grail Scale.

It’s most definitely a groovy brew.

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