Brand New Beer

There was a quirky band on the 1980’s Boston Music scene: Ed’s Redeeming Qualities. Among their great tunes was a ballad titled “The Boy I work with.” The opening stanza tells of a hotheaded co-worker upset when a pigeon landed on his Brand New Beer. Frankly, I don’t blame him for being upset. And, today is a day we celebrate what was spoiled for the young man in the song, for it is New Beer day. Is there anything else as enchanting for followers of the zymurgic arts? Of course, it’s not the only beer related holiday. One must appreciate the directness of Septmber’s “Drink beer day“, for example. But, this one comes at a time that really should be the start of the calendar. It falls right after the vernal equinox, when life is budding all around us. New beer, new day, new growth. So simple, and, so satisfying.

And, the best part about it is the celebration. While Christmas has tinsel and toys, Easter its eggs and bunnies?, Passover’s matzoh, Ramadan’s fasting; New beer day has what we all really need: Beer. Water, grains, and hops, blended into an elixir that dates back to pre-biblical times. Sure, there have been innovations in beer over the centuries. But, the basic concept still enchants and delights. The most popular beers are relatively simple. But, they can become more complex. American style lagers please the masses, while the more adventurous delve into a variety of ales, porters, stouts, lambics, and more. Today we celebrate them all, from Bud to Gambrinus. Drink your old standby or take a chance and try a brand new beer. It’s all good on this wondrous New Beer day!

Stick to the old or try a Brand New Beer

Your college frat boys and the football crowd think of beer as a pale golden liquid with a relatively generic taste, best consumed in copious quantities as fast as possible. But, this misses the nuances of what beer can be. Light, cold lagers have their place. But, there are over 100 classifications of beers. And, within each of those classifications lie endless possibilities limited only by the imagination and creativity of the brewer. And, this variety drives brewers and connoisseurs alike. For some it’s the quest for the holy grail: the perfect pint. But, for many of us, it’s more like reading a book. It’s the journey, not the destination that fuels the drive. For, there is no such thing as the perfect pint. Every individual has different tastes. And, our palates change and develop over our lifetimes.

The Philosopher Heraclitus, famously, said “No man ever steps in the same river twice. For it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” This holds true to beer as well. The first beer I had struck me as a bitter, almost nasty thing. But, over the years, I developed a taste for it. And, I branched out into different flavors. Now, much like food, the type of beer I prefer at any given moment is dictated by a multitude of factors: the weather, occasion, time of day, what type of food it accompanies, mood, etc, etc. As with most things, context is everything. A taste of beer may be the best thing in the world after 8 hours of heavy labor. But, a taste of beer is drastically different after 8 hours of heavy drinking. And, it may have some unwanted effects at that point, too.

Grow your palate

So, as we age, we explore new things and develop different tastes. Today is the perfect day to try a brand new beer. And, there are plenty of options out there. When I was younger, your choices of beer in most bars or restaurants were Bud, Miller, Heinekin, or Becks. If you were lucky, they might have a Guinness or Tsing Tao. Basically, it was all lager. Then, a magical bar opened: The Sunset Grille. They had well over 100 taps and about 500 bottled beers to choose from. Sorry, they are no longer in business. My friends and I were like kids in a candy shop. They had frequent drinker cards. My best friend got his name on a bar stool for filling out over 12 of them. I wasn’t far behind.

We discovered a whole world of possibilities when it came to beers and ales. And, we developed the ability to distinguish various grain, hop, and yeast variances. Between this wonderful drinking hole and our own experiments in home brewing, the world of beer became our own. Sure, people would accuse us of over doing it. But, it was about this time that Jimmy Tingle remind us beer is food, pretty much the same ingredients as bread. His response became ours: Nah, I’m just hungry. But, honestly, it became less about the buzz and more about the flavors. If I wanted to get drunk, there were plenty of cheaper alternatives. We used to joke with the owner of the Sunset about how he must love the new car and boat our patronage bought him. So, he got a yacht, we got a refined beer palate…

I want to be classified

Another song from the ’80’s: “Suburban Home” by the Descendents comes to mind when I think of all the different types of beer. The refrain of “I want to be stereotyped, I want to be classified” repeats in my head (maybe because of all the nights at the Sunset). But, that’s what people do with beer. Friends and acquaintances who only drink light beer would stare at me and so, “you drink that weird beer or that dark stuff?” They miss the artistry that is beer. I suppose they think of beer as something to get buzzed on, and not what it is: food. So, for all the doubters, and those who just want to know, here is a brief outline of how beer is classified.

There are, technically, 3 types of beer: Top or bottom fermented, or what are described as hybrid containing elements of both. See the periodic table of beer below for an idea of the difference. For more on the chart and to interact with it, visit The craft brewing business website where this comes from.

But, the list branches out greatly from the 3 classifications. Depending how nitpicking you want to be, you can come up with hundreds of categories. But, to simplify things here is a listing of Broad categories with many subcategories:

Brand new beer categories:

• Ale: Top fermented at room temperature. Includes a wide variety from IPA to stout
• Beer: Bottom fermented at lower temperatures. These tend to be crisp, clean, and often paler in complexion. But, darker versions are available. Think lager, pilsner, and Bock beer, plus many more
• Wheat beers: While most beer and ale rely on malted barley, wheat beers add or substitute wheat. The result is a light and effervescent ale or beer. Many of the great Belgian ales are wheat based. And, American ales like Celis and Blue Moon also adopt the style.
• Fruit beers: These are ales or beers infused with fruit flavors, like blueberry, Pumpkin, and a host of other additives. Lambics are a time tested variation.
• Dubbel or Tripel: Belgian ales brewed specifically to have higher alcohol and more body. Dubbels are darker, but tripels have a higher alcohol content.
• Saison Ales: Another Belgian invention: These are lighter highly carbonated ales distinguished by their unique yeast strains. Related: sessions ales are lower in alcohol and very drinkable.
• Dark ales: Stouts, porters, bocks, etc. You would think these are different than other ales. But, they are actually just derived from darker roasted malts. There is some difference in the brewing process to create a tighter head. But, the heavier flavors really come from a deeper roasting, just like a dark roasted coffee or espresso.

where does it end?

We could make the list longer. But, as you can see from some of the descriptions, there is already some overlap. The big difference is top fermented at higher temperatures vs bottom fermented at lower temperatures. Within each category are countless variations. If you look at ale, for example, there are dozens of styles just by region or country of origin. Think IPA, pale ale, brown, heavy, old, ESB, Gold, wheat, dubble, trippel, Quadrupel, whitbier, sour, saison, the list goes on and on. And, there are countless variations within each of these categories as each brewer makes their own interpretation. While some of these styles are centuries old. Some newer versions developed in recent years, especially with the explosion of micro breweries in America.

Styles like Hazy IPA’s are newer developments. And, many fruit variations and sours are recent developments. Also, some of the hybrids are thanks to the artisan world, like IPA lagers incorporating Traditional IPA flavors into cold fermented bottom yeast beers. They are all variations on a theme. But, the flavors, and experience of drinking modern ales is a whole genre unto itself. I have friends who travel to otherwise unremarkable locations just to try a local brewer’s offerings. And, the availability of home-brewing supplies allows us to experiment ourselves. I once made a chocolate mint ale using Ande’s candies. It was disgusting when I first opened the bottles. But, I aged some and it turned out fantastic.

Your Quest: Find a brand new beer:

So, you know what you need to do today. It’s new beer day. Go out and try a new beer. Break out of the habit of ordering your regular. And, if you aren’t a beer drinker, give it a try. Maybe try a Lambic or lighter fruitier style. And, if you are feeling ambitious and have the time and access to equipment, why not brew a batch yourself. Granted, you’ll have to wait at least 4 weeks for the final result. But, when’s the best time to start? Now. If you don’t have the equipment or space, fret not. There are multiple facilities where you can go and meet aspiring home brewers and brew in a class type atmosphere, where you get to try each other’s brews. You go for the initial brew session, then return for each fermentation phase, bottling, and the final reveal when brewing is complete.

No matter how you do it, make today about beer. And, the beauty is, you don’t have to be Belgian, British, Irish, German, or any other nationality to enjoy the life sustaining suds of the heavenly elixir known as beer!

Slainte!

And, if you do want to brew, her is a recipe for a may ale that will be ready in May.