Basics in zymurgy
Today, I learned a little about bitterness. Not enough to change my view of mankind, though. And the measure is quantifiable. Science. All because of a holiday.
I’m not at home, so my shout out to Mom will have to be, handled by telecomm, but there is a mother (and children) here. Off to dine, and the choice follows with filial devotion. “Mom, come to my restaurant”. And so, we did. A chance to enjoy someone else’s kitchen and then sit back for a basic lesson in zymurgy. Without ever handling a hop (or a skip or a jump), the lesson began.
Beer is mainly water. There’s so much more, though. Malt; caramelized, or roasted. Barley. Or wheat. Filtration. Crucial contact with live yeast. And hops. I didn’t know, before today, that there was so much variation in the little flowers. Flavouring. And bitterness, measured in IBU. No idea how it gets tested, but the brewer does have a baseline for each variety, and with some calculator math a specific value can be assigned (and repeated). Science at work.
Enough numbers. The taste test is where things get interesting. Today, I was an interested bystander, as a sampling of six 120 cl glasses was delivered to the table. Six very different concoctions. Each with a history, a colouration, an aroma. Wine lovers, sit back and relax. Beer is in the house. The six sorts weren’t equally appreciated, so the brewer brought out some extras. Tapped directly from the vats, with flavours touching on grapefruit and passion fruit. Who knew?
