The history of beer

I have never tasted beer. Not once. The smell puts me off. But yesterday our Conestoga (Ohio history) group attended a fascinating lecture on the history of beer in the world, in the U.S., in Ohio and Columbus, and the growth of craft beers. I learned why you should never drink beer out of a bottle and why you want to have as much foam as possible when you pour it into a glass. Our instructor at the Winking Lizard was Richard Seemueller, lifelong beer enthusiast. Retired brewer of 38 years turned beer educator, he's an excellent host, presenter and author. He is a "beer ambassador" for the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. We also learned a little about the interesting architecture of brewery sites--many in Columbus which have been converted to other uses.

Now about drinking from a glass, and how to pour it into the glass. He explained that the mouth can sense 4 tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty), but the nose can pick up hundreds (it actually can detect many thousands, but there aren't that many in a beer) and so you loose much of the beer experience if you don't have it in a glass. We did that experiment with gum drops and pinching our noses closed while eating them. No flavor. And the reason you want to pour it to encourage the foam is to release the gas (carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen). He poured it two different ways, then inserted a folded paper towel in each glass to simulate eating something after the beer was in the stomach. When more gas has been expelled before swallowing, there is less bloat in the stomach with food.

http://www.mbaa.com/districts/midwest/About/Pages/District-Cincinnati-Profile---Rick-Seemueller.aspx

First beer sales are flat, then Obama happens

Poor Poland. No global warming (for a decade), and then Obama snubs them. "The Association of Beer Industry Employers, “Browary Polskie” (ZPPP), explains that the decline in beer consumption was prompted by the 13.6% increase in excise duty in March 2009, the economic recession, increases in beer prices caused by the higher costs of ingredients and packaging, and the cold weather reported at the beginning of the summer of 2009. Furthermore, the Polish beer market has reached saturation point – Poles consume 95 litres of beer per capita every year." Business Portal for Poland

HT Tom Nelson

Oregon Democrats propose 1,900% tax increase on beer

Like the cigarette taxes that hurt the poor the most to pay for the medical care of the middle class, the state run lotteries that hit the low income the hardest that are supposed to help reduce dependency on real estate to fund schools, the reasoning here is that it will save in medical costs. For whom? I'm guessing it hurts the low income beer drinker the most. I've known a lot of alcoholics, and only one was a beer-alcoholic. I've never even tasted beer. Smells like rotten grain to me. More than likely, it will be one more case of Democrats shutting down an industry that employs people so they can create more dependency on the government with unemployment, universal health care, and the government owning and operating the beer plants. Or, if you follow the lobbyist money, you might even find some very large beer companies passing out some change to Oregon's legislators so they can put the competition out of business.

Jamie Floyd, owner of Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, said Ninkasi paid $19,000 in taxes last year, and the increase would raise its taxes to $370,000. The tax increase brewers would assume would inevitably be passed on to their distributors, retailers and consumers, he said.

The economic recession already affects Taylor's, especially because its customer base is on a fixed income, Walker said, so the tax increase will only hurt business further.

"It can't be a positive thing for the economy," Walker said. "College kids are still going to do what they do, but (business) is down a little bit; it's not as busy as it was six months or a year ago." Daily Emerald