Beer News (May 4–11)

BWJlogoAlright, let’s start with a couple “listicles” (articles that are really just a list). The website Hiconsumption gave what it felt were the 15 best canned beers. Yahoo Travel listed 5 cities in which to find a perfect pint. And finally, Buzzfeed presented a list of breweries “that you should know about.

Craft Beer Week

It’s Craft Beer Week! So, uh . . . carry on, I guess. Here’s the announcement from craft beer.com. Of course, lots of local news outlets have picked up on the story. As an example, here’s one from New Orleans. (Google “craft beer week” and your town for what’s happening near you.)

Just in time for craft beer week, USA today has published their story on trends in craft beer. Texas public radio asks if craft beer — or at least the definition of it — is getting water down. And sticking with Texas for one more news item the San Antonio Current reviews the state of craft beers in San Antonio. Lastly, Conservation Magazine has a piece on sustainable practices in craft brewing.

 

Hop Prices Up

CNBC reports that hop prices are up.

 

Science!

Cornell students toast to better beer foam. Two week’s ago, you might remember that we linked to an article about Jim Koch’s claim that he can drink all night and not get drunk by eating dried active yeast. Needless to say, this attracted quite a bit of attention. A couple websites even attempted to test this claim, although their approach was not very scientific. Here’s one article and another. Even Snopes got in on the commentary.

Now, if there’s two things James and I like, it’s science and drinking beer. So we decided to test this on our own, with a little bit better-designed experiment. We are going to pick two nights, at least a couple days separated, and try the following procedure:

In his explanation of his method, Koch says that he stirs 1 teaspoon of dried yeast for each beer he plans to drink into yogurt and eats it. So, one night James and I will simply eat the yogurt, and drink three or four beers. We both have portable breathalyzers, so we will test our blood alcohol levels before we start and then each subsequent half hour. A few days later, after following roughly the same sleeping and eating patterns as we did leading up to the first experimental night, we’ll repeat the test, but include the yeast with the yogurt. As best as we can manage it, we’ll try to make the two drinking sessions as similar as possible, with the only thing changing being the experimental variable — the yeast. By comparing the two curves – blood alcohol over time — from our two experimental nights, we should be able to see a difference if this method works. And, with the use of our breathalyzers, our data will based on actual measurements, not simply our own estimation of if we feel intoxicated or not. (When, exactly, we do this is still up in the air.) If you have your own breathalyzer, and want to join in the experiment, let me know and I will send you a detailed write up of our experiment on protocol (in a few days). Note that consuming brewers yeast is not recommended for people with gout, kidney disease, or arthritis. (Also, be prepared to be a bit gassy the next day.)

 

Chinese Brewery Launches “Airpocalypse” Beer

And finally, on a lighter note — unless your lungs reside in China — a Chinese brewery has released a beer “celebrating” the horribly polluted air of China.

 

 

Related Articles

Last Week’s Beer News 

 

 

Comments

  1. Herb Meowing says

    – Hop Prices Up –
    When an articles’ 1st five words are “An ice-cold craft beer…” you know right away the writer is full of sh1t.

  2. Just to chime in on your experiment design – make sure you eat similar meals within a similar time frame in relation to your drinking session. Amount and type of food in your GI system will have an effect on alcohol absorption over time.

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