Arrowine

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

It has been fun these past few weeks going over some of the basic styles and examples of those styles. I feel like it’s time to start exploring other parts of the world and maybe get a bit more specific when it comes to styles, beers, history, etc. The next few weeks of this column are going to be dedicated to exploring Belgian beers. There are many misconceptions and assumptions made by those unfamiliar with the beers of Belgium, and while I certainly won’t be able to clear ever one of them up I hope to at least clear a path for you to find an interest in what is historically the most interesting of the ‘big’ beer-producing nations.

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

I try in these columns to stay away from directly relating the topic to a particular beer that may be arriving in the shop or that I might be featuring that week. I probably should, to be honest, but I enjoy going through one style at a time and trying to give you, the reader, a nice introduction and some good examples of each. There is something coming in this week, though, that made me think of a style that is largely unknown to the public at large but is starting to gain importance: gluten-free beer.

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

While there are classic Old World versions to be found, today Amber Ales are most associated with America and the American craft beer movement. Amber as a style denotes varying amount of caramelized malt (usually crystal malt) used to add sweetness and fruit to a beer (typically though not always an Ale), along with color ranging from pale copper to deep, fiery red. Today we’re going to take a quick look at some of the variations on the Amber/Red Ale theme as well as take a little bit of the air out of the importance of style designations.

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Okay beer fans, let’s get into one of the great conflicts within modern craft beer today: the lack of support for and supply of quality Lagers out there. Worldwide, Lager is everywhere; by far, it’s the most popular style of beer on the planet. The ubiquitous Pilsners and Light Lagers that dominate the market are poor representatives of their style, though — so poor that the raison d’être of the craft beer movement was to create beers that were their opposite. As a consequence, many craft beer drinkers (and brewers for that matter) shy away from Lager. But there are many great Lagers to be found, both traditional in style and not-so-traditional. Let’s get into what Lager is and then find some examples of different styles that best express what Lager’s really all about.

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway).

Continuing our “Beer 101” series discussing what you really need to know as you begin your journey into the world of craft beer, let’s take a look at dark beers. Today we’ll be covering the basics: Brown Ale, Porter, and Stout. While tackling malty beers might seem simple, the generality with which their style names have been used both in the past and the present can lead to much confusion. As we have over the past couple of weeks, let’s break these down into simple rules to remember:

Our “Beer 101” session continues this week and I felt that we should address the big issues first so let’s start with hops. Hops are a critical element in what we know today as beer, but have had a difficult relationship with American beer drinkers over the decades. Now, I could wax academic about the history of hops and their cultivation and use, but I feel like we should focus on what you need to know as you enter the wild world of craft beer. Here are the basics:

1. Hops make beer bitter. Yes, hops contribute bitterness to beer. Before hop usage became commonplace in the 11^th century, various herbs and spices were used in an attempt to balance the inherit sweetness in malts. Hops however proved to have the required acids to not only balance malts, but to add a refreshing backbone to beer. Hops were also found to be a natural preservative for beer; in fact, when British colonists found that their Pale Ales were dying on the long trip to India, they added extra hops to the barrels making the long trip. This stronger, more intensely hoppy style became known as India Pale Ale, or IPA (see — beer is history). Throughout the 20th century, in the Age of the American Macro Lager, the bitterness associated with hops was played up to the public at large as a flaw. This was a pure marketing move; an attempt to establish any ‘bitter’ beers as flawed and inferior to their plainer, lighter product.

It’s a fair question: What exactly is beer? Strictly speaking, the conversion of starch to sugar to alcohol constitutes beer. But sake isn’t beer (though technically it could be considered such); so what is it? Well, beer is the third most popular beverage in the world after water and tea and has been such for hundreds if not thousands of years. In modern terms, beer is the fermentation of the basic cereal grains (malted barley, oats, and wheat) with the addition of hops as a natural preservative and for the purposes of adding bitterness to the brew. Everything else in beer is under the discretion of the brewer, and this is where beer gets interesting. For a nerd like me, beer isn’t just a beverage; beer is history.

When water was untrustworthy, there was beer. Where an army stood victorious, it’s beer at the very least shared credit for its victory. Agriculture, religion, enlightenment; where major shifts in thought or power have gone over the centuries, beer has followed or led the way. There are a great many misconceptions about beer these days; what with the rise of microbreweries and the idea of artisan beer as some sort of luxury or oddity. The basics of beer however are enduring and absurdly simple.