Intellectual Ferment of a Different Kind
What do we taste when we drink a glass of beer or wine? Are we imbibing the liquid itself? Or is there more to it? What about the conditions under which we consume the beer? Are we with friends at a pub? Is the beer …
2015 is barely four weeks old, and already we’ve seen the craft beer scene light up with plenty of fireworks. Perplexingly, Tony Magee of Lagunitas filed a trademark lawsuit against Sierra Nevada, only to back down after being “seriously schooled” by the good folks on …
Brew it and they will drink. Mixed-culture fermentation has a long history in North America stretching back to the days prior to Prohibition. Brewers with British roots arriving in the great port cities of the east fanned out across the continent, some of them continuing …
I just got back to my desk with a bottle of smoked imperial porter from Tennessee to fortify me for the evening of writing. Looks and smells great, and reminds me of a welcoming fire in a log cabin on a snowy winter night. As …
A belated Happy New Year to all ye faithful Tempest readers! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with plenty of good cheer. It’s been a few weeks now, but I’m back at it after my Kentucky adventures tracking the shy and retiring …
Anyone who lives in or has been to Central Europe at this time of year has likely warmed him- or herself with a mug of spicy mulled wine (Glühwein). I remember well my first encounter with this aromatic winter elixir. The gray sky hung low …
If you’re like me, last-minute holiday shopping is a fact of life. December 18? Plenty of time! Whether you’re of the last-minute persuasion, or whether you’re still scratching your head wondering what the perfect gift might be for the classy imbiber in your life, Tempest’s …
It’s that time of year again –– time to dust off your steins and head to your nearest purveyor of fine lagers to celebrate Craft Lager Day. But where to go to find a decent lager outside of a well-stocked bottle shop? After all, not …
~Malthead Manifesto~ A spectre is haunting the craft beer world –– the spectre of Sir Maltalot. Laid low by a tsunami of IPA, the wild yeasts have set in to consume his legacy. Extreme beerists have entered into an unholy alliance with sharp-fanged sours, enlisting …
Take two engineers, a linguist, a surveyor, a school administrator, a mycologist, an entomologist, and a historian. Add a dash of homebrewing expertise, BJCP judging experience, Scotch connoisseurship, and a general love of hops and malt. Mix all of this together with a beer-laden table …