Tastes in beer are changing – for better or for worse – as Melbourne’s CUB workers found out recently, when they got switched from super to super-light ale at knock-off. Drop in at a pub later in the evening and former stalwarts of local draught are busy discussing the latest `boutique beer’ to be turned on tap. There are cherry beers, rauchbiers, bocks, pilsners, pale ales, lagers, bitters, weissbiers, stouts, olds, news, lights, heavies and draughts. These are served in any number of pots, schooners, glasses, middees, butchers, ponies, pints, halves, yards, steins and tankards. Whoever said that beer wasn’t as complicated as wine? Today you even need multilingual skills as well, for beers from Austria, Germany, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, New Guinea, the United States, France, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Italy, the Phillipines, China and Australia can all be found in local outlets. The changes in the beer market all reflect the single premise, that people are drinking less, but drinking better. These changes in consumer drinking habits result from increased taxation on the product, a general trend towards more expensive drinks, and the alcohol-driving relationship. It looks like the guzzlers have become the bibbers – demanding quality, rareness, uniqueness and even social status in their beer – and are prepared to pay for it. Some of the beers around today fetch nearly four dollars a bottle (375 mL) at take-away outlets, and even more on-premises at hotels and restaurants. The proliferation of small or `boutique’ breweries, frequently on-site at hotels in our capital cities, has led this demand for real or `authentic’ beer. 0Authentic beers are those which have been made from one hundred percent malted grains, water, yeast and flavourings (usually hops) with no artificial additives. Many are made by the tiny boutique breweries scattered around the world, which produce up to 50,000 cases per annum, or by micro-breweries which will produce up to two million cases, and most of which are family-owned businesses. With all this new interest in beer, it is as relevant to talk about its manufacture as it is to discuss the flavour of wine as a consequence of how it is made./ Authentic beer is made like this. First you malt barley, or allow it to sprout, then grind it and mix it with warm water. Leave it stand for a few hours and the enzyme activity induced by the sprouting breaks down the starch in the grain to sugars, which you can ferment. This watery extract, given the evocative name of `wort’, is then separated from the mix and boiled with hops. This stops the enzyme action and extracts the flavour from the hops. Take the hops away,, put the wort in a fermenter and `seed’ it with yeast. Mutter the correct magic words and the resultant fermentation will produce carbon dioxide (the fizzy gas) and alcohol, without which the whole exercise becomes rather a waste of time, I think. Mature the beer if you don’t want it to taste green and pose a serious threat to your tender constitution. Then into the bottle for consumption. You may call it `beer’ if you made it by fermenting a grain. If you’d prefer whisky, distil it! And what of the difference between ales and lagers, in the world of real beer? Lagers are generally fermented in sealed vessels, by yeast that settles to the bottom of the tank at the completion of fermentation. `Lager’ is the German word for storage, and this is what happens next. The `green’ immature beer is aged for several months in cold tanks, to allow its flavour to develop and become more complex. Lagers make the best aperitif beers and can be used to accompany lighter foods. Ales are more heavily flavoured, having less of a fizz, but quite often more of a kick. Are you with me? Usually a darker colour, the are to beers what heavier reds are to wine. Ales have more hop flavour and aroma and consequently can be served with richer grub. Ales are top-fermented beers, for they are fermented with a yeast which rises to the top of the beer – allowing it to be skimmed of the top of the open vat. The beer is bottled post haste, when the rest of the fermentation is finished. So ales are made with an open fermentation followed by a bottle fermentation and many improve with a little age. Next time you cuddle a Coopers shake the bottle up some more and glance at all the haze and sediment. It’s only all the dead yeast. Don’t worry, they can’t kill you. Beer like Coopers is almost a meal in itself, but that aside, many people are no experiencing the pleasure of combining beer with food, for the first time. In the United States, which has seen a strong trend towards light beer for health reasons, many people are drinking fuller-bodied styles of beer with their meal. Modern food isn’t so laden with rich sauces and dressings, so the diet-conscious Yank isn’t so worried about the calories in the beer. Many American restaurateurs observe that the wine trend has been eclipsed by authentic beers, many of which sport glossy, jazzy, elegant labels and come in a variety of bottle shapes and sizes. The skill of the marketers is only to be admired. One of these people, Charles Finkel, has set up an arrangement through his world-wide distribution company, Merchant du Vin (yes, wine sparked his interest in beer), and Simon Seward’s House of Hops, based in Melbourne. The result is quite staggering. House of Hops are opening up in other states. Finkel has acquired the distribution rights of beers from almost every conceivable source, and has even created four beers which are brewed to his exact specifications – the Celebrator Double Bock (`bock’ refers to the kick of a goat – this one is meant to have the effect of two kicks…) from Bavaria, Kaiserdom Smoked Rauchbier also from Bavaria, MacAndrew’s Scotch Ale from guess where hooo, and Brasseurs Biere de Paris from France. Finkel has designed the beers, drawn the labels, photographed the emblems, written both the publicity material and several books on beer, and appears to have more up his sleeve. The Celebrator Doppelbock (spelt korrectly here) is very strong, rich and dark and like other Bavarian double bocks, is served as a winter warmer. While not as smoky as the rauchbier, it has a smoky dryness at the finish. The Rauchbier is very dark and smoky, deriving this flavour from the malts being kilned over beechwood. They style originates from Bamberg, in Franconia, where they serve it as an aperitif with smoked Bavarian ham. The Biere de Paris is copper-coloured and medium-strong. It is big and malty, rich and spicy and has a clean, smooth finish. Big enough to accompany highly-flavoured foods, Finkel recommends it with crepes…and even tortillas. The MacAndrews finishes them all off – it is the nightcap. Like other Scottish ales, it is more malty and full-bodied, and less hoppy and dry than the English equivalents, with a tawny colour and a chewy palate. Why kid yourself that you’re always going to be able to successfully match food with wine? With my energetic, but limited experience, I’d suggest that you look around at beers like these. At the end of the day you mightn’t agree, but you’ll enjoy the experiment.
