Welcome to your weekend - Maps and Charts Edition

We are going to nerd out a little bit for this one. First off I love maps and charts. Second I love seeing information cleverly presented. Places like Griff's Graphs, Indexed, and Comments on the Social Graph are all cool sites to visit to see ways to present information in interesting context. (There are many, many more out there.)

But we are here about beer. So here are a couple of cool maps and charts with interesting beer information.  

Relative Number of Tweets containing the terms "church" or "beer" 

aggregated to the county level, June 22-28, 2012

Original on floatingsheep.org

Bars vs. Grocery Stores

Original on floatingsheep.org

2009 vs. 1970

Original found on GeoCurrents.info

Original found on GeoCurrents.info

The Very, Very Many Varieties of Beer

Find and buy the original on Pop Chart Lab

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Independence Day Safety: 7 Non-Alcoholic Beers

This is soda masking as beer.

Skye: Every so often we step away from the craft scene and look into the smaller niches and crevices to explore spaces the might not be looked at. Last time Rudy and I looked at gluten-free beers, this time we take a gander at those misjudged, unloved children: non-alcoholic beer.

Rudy: For the longest time in my drinking career those two words made about as much sense to me as decaffeinated coffee….What? Most of us see them daily or at least every time we pass the beer isle in the back of the store, hidden from view. If you happen to be in one of the bigger grocery stores with a large liquor selection they will segregate the Non-alcohol from the alcoholic beverages. You might be asking why…well the first thought is that demand for non-alcoholic beer is obviously less than the main stream high octane craft brews and commercialized beers that we have come to know, love and consume. One might think that, but actually there is a strong surge in non-alcohol beers and you might be surprised at the brewery’s that are making very good, (I hate to say it), beers.

I chose three beers to taste, from the high to the low end of non-alcoholic beers. First up was:

Clausthaler Premium
Imported from Germany.

This beer comes in two distinctive varieties “Premium” and “Golden Amber”, both of these beers are very good. They have distinctive color and taste, a bit skunky, [ed. note: skunkiness may be attributed to the time of import, agitation in transit or light pollution from sitting on the shelf] but full bodied and very smooth.

St Pauli N.A. Malt Beverage
Imported from Germany.

Yes, another German malt…I loved this beer in my youth, one of the all time go to beers in the fridge. I have to say, at first taste it was the same and then after a couple more swigs I began to feel like something was missing. It was very distinct in contrast and flavor, but it was like drinking your favorite pop, (soda) and it only has some of the syrup. It is good and you can drink it, but you could also wait until they fix it.

If you want a beer that tasted the same without the alcohol this one nailed it!

Kaliber, Malt beer
Imported from Ireland.

Guinness is a great brewery and this beer has a great color and mild caramelized overtones. I think it is a little muted and watery, but not bad. I am not saying that I would trade this for a real Guinness, but if I was the designated driver and all they had from the brewery were Guinness and the non Guinness…I would still hold one in my hand and be jealous all night long.

Skye: I choose four different brews. Three of them I found in my local Total Wine and the last I stumbled across in a small English Tea Shop here in Virginia. In my view the point of a non-alcoholic brew is to be a decent simulacrum to it's alcohol-based brother. It needs to look like beer, smell like beer, act like beer, and most importantly taste like beer. One thing to note, if you want good NA beer you are going to pay a bit of money.

Shandy Bass:
Imported from England.

Looks like beer - Yes, dark on the pour
Smells like beer - No, very little smell actually
Acts like beer - No, way to fizzy and noisy on the pour
Tastes like beer - No, definitely not

The can tells me that this is made with real Bass beer, so at least it has that going for it. It poured like soda, a lot of fizziness and noise. The head disappeared very quickly. It's sweet, slightly flat, a clear amber color. It's a refreshing beverage something you could drink in place of a soda if you wanted to.

Drink your Beck's NA while enjoying
a bratwurst and you won't be
dis

Verdict: This is a soda version of a shandy with some beer flavoring. Enjoyable but definitely not beer-like at all.

Beck's Non-Alcoholic
Imported from Germany.

Looks like beer - Yes, nice golden color
Smells like beer - Yes, smells like a cheaper Euro lager
Acts like beer - Yes, pours with a fizzy head that dissipates but never
Tastes like beer - Yes, tastes fairly malty but there is a bit of hops to balance things out.

I had this with bratwurst and spaetzel and it stood up very well. It does a lot of things fairly right for a lager, it's hopped fairly well, decent carbonation. The hops are there in the nose and on the taste, but it doesn't have the crisp bite. I found that body wise something was not quite right, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The malt extract is big enough to provide some cover.

Verdict: Overall this is a decent simulacrum of beer, easily drinkable and was surprising decent with the bratwurst. 

Paulaner ThomasBrau
Imported from Germany.

Looks like beer - Yes, nice golden color
Smells like beer - No, smells like a malt extract bomb
Acts like beer - Yes, but the head disappears really fast
Tastes like beer - No, tastes like light malty water…that is not a good thing.

When I purchased these I had high hopes for this since Paulaner tends to brew decent, quality brews. Needless to say I am sorely letdown. This is not very good at all. There is no body to it, it doesn't taste at all like beer instead going for an overwhelming but weak malt taste. There is little hop presence and what is there makes no impression. The aftertaste is a faint blah of malt extract. The only thing it has going for it is decent carbonation but it made me burp which only served to remind me how poor this was. It is a constant reminder that you are not drinking a real beer.

Verdict: Avoid. If this is the only thing in the cooler drink a soda instead. If you are dying of thirst in Death Valley and this is all that is left then yes drink it, but it will still taste like disappointment.

Buckler

Imported from Holland.

Looks like beer - Yes, nice golden straw color,
Smells like beer - Yes, but it is more faint, with a mild hoppy smell
Acts like beer - Yes, great fizzy head on the pour
Tastes like beer - Yes, but it is lighter on the taste

This is a light beer equivalent for NAs. It is does have a decent bite on the drink, but not much body to it at all. A decent hop presence and good carbonation, there is some maltiness but it is more background noise, no real aftertaste to speak of other than a very faint bitterness. This is decent if unremarkable, but it is a refreshing brew and would go well on a hot summer picnic.

Verdict: If you want a lighter tasting NA then go get the Buckler.

Rudy: I am happy to say that, although Skye has once again given me a challenge that I was not too sure I was going to enjoy… I did have fun finding out about the new beers that are out there on the back shelves hidden from the lime light, but are still useful and desired by those who can not participate in the consumption of real honest to goodness alcoholic brews. Today’s brewers have found new and inventive ways to give us the full bodied taste, smell and color that embodies the alcoholic beverage without the alcoholic substance.

Skye: If you need to take one for the team you don't have to be miserable while you do it. Hopefully these recommendations help point you in the right direction when choosing a non-alcoholic brew. This shows that you don't have to sacrifice taste and enjoyment. Happy Independence Day and remember to be responsible and safe out there!

Want a different point of view? Then check out this huge 11 NA beer taste test!

Iceland Beer Saga: Borg Brugghus Interview Part 3 - Updated

Before we dive into the final part of the interview I want to take another moment to say thanks to Stulli and Valli for taking the time out of their busy schedules to talk to me and share some of their tasty beer. It was a privilege. Now onto the thrilling conclusion!

Part 1
Part 2

Part 3

What particular beer do you feel best represents what you are doing here at Borg? What has been your best success to date?

Valli: I think it is no question that it is Úlfur, the IPA, it put Borg on the map. 

Stulli: Yes, it is definitely best all around sales. It really surprised the marketing department. 

Valli: Ulfar is the first IPA in Iceland much to my dislike because I wanted to be the first one to bring it at Ölvisholt. 

Stulli: I had this goal, this dream for many years to produce the first IPA in Iceland. I had told you a couple of years before that I was going to bring it. (laughs)

Valli: It is the first IPA and it came out in 2010.

Stulli: Early 2010

Valli: It is the first American style IPA on the market in Iceland. We had a couple of imported English IPAs, more like bitter ales.

Stulli: And really beat up Liberty Ale. 

Valli: Yes, just a couple months ago some guys started importing BrewDog and Mikkeller and you can now get those down at Micro Bar. 

We talked a little bit about how you are walking that fine line between craft brewing and that you have an industrial brewery backing you. How do manage that and still be able to produce these diverse, for Iceland, brews? 

Valli: It has been a process really. 

Stulli: It has been a steep uphill battle and getting the right people in the right places has really helped. 

Valli: We have managed to build up a reputation and people have finally realized that it is best to allow us to do what we want. 

Stulli: What we want is to introduce consumers to the wonders of beer and what the top floor sees is that we are increasing the positive reputation of the company.

Valli: We are building up the name Egils and that is one of the many roles of Borg. For example we came out with a 12% imperial stout and it sold out in one day. 

Stulli: The beer culture being the state that it is, it is a prime opportunity to introduce to the people fresh beer in the style it is being approached in American and Europe. The small breweries, interesting styles, high gravity beers, and doing that in the best way possible so that the consumers get the best quality product as possible. 

How collegial is the craft beer community around here or are you all still just a small band of rebels?

Stulli: Uh, I don't know (laughs).

Valli: For example Einstok is actually not intended for the Icelandic market. It is actually a brand owned by Americans. So it is basically just contract brewed up north in Iceland...

Stulli: …and we are lucky enough to get some of it in the market here because it is brewed here.

Valli: There are four types of Einstok being made and we can't get one of them on a regular basis. 

Stulli: Yes, it is a contract brewing gig, Americans approached the people at Viking about contract brewing for them. 

Valli: But this actually also shows the quality of the brewmaster they have. He is working a very big system, well in comparison, and manages to pull out these beers with no experience producing anything like this before, so they can do it domestically if they want it. 

Stulli: Well they just marketed it in cans as their summer ale. 

Valli: Right, the white ale, he apparently made two different types of batches of it and the one that the Americans didn't pick Viking sold as their summer beer. 

This is where the magic happens!

What do you want people to know about Borg?

Valli: Basically that we are making different types of beer.

Stulli: We are trying to brew the best beer we can make, trying to make honest products, having fun.

Valli: The big goal is to introduce different types of flavors. Get people to try new stuff. Essentially the easiest thing in Iceland is to be on the forefront of this movement because no one has done anything.

Stulli: So it sort of makes it easy for us to introduce a lot of things because people just don't know any better, so when I say make things as honest as possible I mean we are trying to make proper styles, proper beers, proper flavors, and not necessarily to style but make interesting things and be honest about them. It's about quality. 

Beer links for Freedom!

It’s July and we have a holiday smack dab in the middle of the week. Happy Independence Day everyone! I prefer my holidays adjacent to the weekend, but I’ll gladly take a midweek break this time of year. 

In the News!

Top Ten Beers To Have At A July Fourth Barbecue (San Francisco Chronicle)
It's a bit New York biased, but to each their own.

Best Beer in America Results: Hoppy Beers Continue to Reign + California Brewers Clean Up (LAWeekly.com)
Someday we will get over the hop craze and equilibrium of flavor will occur.

(original found here)

Ala. Brothers Bring Award-Winning Beer Back Home (Manufacturing.net) 

I wonder if Alabama legislators realize what they are missing out on regarding craft brewing.

Beer makes a better ethanol (Western Farm Press)
Interesting article on several fronts, environmental, energy, and our favorite beverage.

Patron’s toast new Mississippi beer law; alcohol limit raised (Jackson Clarion Ledger)
It's official, a little bit of light has crept in. 

Illinois beer consumption drops (The Southern Illinoisan)
Check out the numbers for the other Midwest states.  Thirsty folks.

American craft beer finds burgeoning market in Europe (Public Radio International)
Do you think we are keeping old guard brewers awake at night?

Get beer qualified: Experiment by pairing favorite beer and food (Army Times)
Next time I go to Fort Benning I will be going to the Cannon!

Could Pakistan beer take edge of relations with India? (Los Angeles Times)
Beer diplomacy? I will say I really want to go to Pakistan and interview these guys.

To make beer, MillerCoors helps farmers save water (MSNBC)
Smart business move. Water conservation will be crucial for continued brewing success.

World’s first self-chilling beer cans to hit UK markets (India Today)
What's the over/ under on how fast this fad fades away?

New Va. Law allows breweries to serve beer by the glass (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Yay! This is rather exciting!

In Site News!

We were trucking along pretty well until we got smacked around by the storm of Friday night which put a kibosh on all the power in my house. Power is back so you can expect the conclusion to the Borg Brugghus interview tomorrow.

Since Independence Day falls on Wednesday excessive partying may not be in the cards but we have you covered since Rudy and I have sampled an assortment of non-alcoholic beers and will have our report out on the morning of July 4 to let you know if any of them are worth your time.

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Got something you want us to check out? You can now email us: beerfirst@beerfellow.com