I am not sure why taking an exam is so traumatic. Just when you think you know everything you need to, the instructor asks you a question that you never even considered! We'll see what grade I get!
This is our last week of wine classes. Today we talked about beer and beer & food pairing (not exactly something I'VE thought about, lol).
The history of beer goes back to 4300 B.C where you can find reference to beer fermentation on Babylonian tablets.
Beer has four ingredients:
1. Filtered water (water gives beer it's own terrior)
2. Malted Barley (malted = sprouted,gives flavor, aroma, balance and color)
3. Hops (which gives flavor, aroma, appearance, preservative)
4. Yeast (which adds flavor, aroma, appearance and mouthfeel).
The brewing process includes:
1. Malting-this sprouts the grain
2. Kilning-this dries the barley
3. Milling-this cracks the grains, helping them absorb more water
4. Mashing-heating up the liquid to emit sugar/starch allowing the beer to be fermented
5. Brewing-heating the beer up to a boil
6. Cooling-the cooldown after the boilin
7. Fermentation-adding yeast to the ferment
8. Maturation (racking) in the conditioning tank
9. Finishing-refining/filtering/putting the brew into kegs/bottles/cans.
We discussed beer styles-ALES and LAGERS, did the beer taste testing--just like wine. Can't say I'm much of a beer person but I did taste them all!
We walked to Wynkoop Brewery and had lunch, after which they gave us a tour of their Microbrewery. Wynkoop is a local brewery and also the largest microbrewery in Colorado. We got to see the different barleys they use as well as the Hops. They showed us how they put beer into cans-all by hand!! (They just started doing it this year.) We also learned that many things can go wrong when making beer which can give the beer a funny taste.
Food and beer pairing is much the same as wine and food pairing. You can power match beer and food, pair like with like, consider cause and effect, and seasonality.
Hops, Roasted malt, Carbonation and Alcohol balances sweetness, richness and fat. Sweetness or Maltiness balances/emphasizes spiciness and acidity. Hops emphasizes spiciness so take care when pairing with spicy Thai or Mexican foods.
We got out early today so I came home and baked Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies. Bailey says she can always tell when I bake-it smells really good! Carl is hosting a reception on Thursday. I'll be heaping out and will bake a few more things for the reception. Very cool!
"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." --Dave Berry
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