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New Zealand International Beer Awards 2006
I’ve just returned home from Nelson where I tasted almost 200 beers in just three days! But before you accuse me of reckless alcohol abuse I should probably explain that it was strictly business: I was a member of the judging panel at the 2006 New Zealand International Beer Awards. Working from nine in the morning until after six at night the seven of us - four New Zealanders, two Aussies and an American - sighted, sniffed and slurped our way through no less than 196 beers in forty or so style categories. By the end of the week we’d...
ADVANTAGES OF HOPPED BEER
Beer was the one drink that had been sterilized and was safe to drink. Prior to hops, the stronger (more alcoholic) beer was, the longer it kept. The addition of hops is a preservative, thus allowing beer to be weaker and still keep longer. Hops allowed you to produce more beer from the same amount of malt. Reynold Scot, in A Perfite Platforme for a Hoppe Garden, states"whereas you cannot make above 8-9 gallons of a very indifferent ale from a bushel of malt, you may draw 18-20 gallons of very good beer." Hops also aid in clarification as well...
