beer

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

Continuing our look at the many beers of Belgium, this week’s column features one of the most common and varied styles of Belgian beer—the Golden or Blonde Ale. For the sake of this column we’re going to put Golden and Blonde Ales under the same umbrella. Outside of color, the common thread through many Golden Ales is the use of Pilsner malt and bottle conditioning, either through the beer being unfiltered (and left to condition in the bottle) or by adding yeast to a filtered beer causing an extra fermentation. Golden Ales tend to strike a fine balance between their bright, slightly citrusy notes and their alcohol level (which can range anywhere from 6-9% ABV and up).

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

Our first Belgian style spotlight is going to be on Witbier (“white beer”). If you set aside the ubiquity of Stella Artois (a Pilsner), it is more than likely that Witbier is the most popular Belgian beer style in the United States. Much of this is due to another mass-produced and mass-market Ale, the MillerCoors-produced Blue Moon. Through the proliferation of Blue Moon, interest and demand for Witbiers has skyrocketed and craft brewers have stepped up with amazing examples of the style to rival the classics.

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.