Home Brew Society

Raise Your Beer Mug To The World Or How To Say Cheers! In Zulu

The Moguls did it. So did the Vikings. “A mouth of a perfectly happy man is filled with beer.” After coining that phrase, you don’t think this anonymous Egyptian from 2200 BC kept it to himself. I can see him raise his drinking vessel to his Nile-side neighbors while repeating the words.

Every country in the world has some sort of traditional drinking toast, often dozens. Usually one or two words, common toasts are not in the same league with toasts to the bride (which can drone on for hours), or to the retiree who’s been with us for 30 years but would rather get to his food while it’s hot. All of these really should be briefer, especially if a meal is being served. The everyday, no black tie, corner pub toasts exist in every culture and the vast majority simply mean ‘I wish you good health’. Not surprisingly it is the English who have strayed from the norm. ‘Cheers’, ‘Down the Hatch’, ‘Bottoms up’ and many more. I always assumed the latter referred to the bottom of the glass, however the Hawaiians have taken this literally. ‘Okole Maluna’ means ‘buttocks up’. I am including a list of multi-national toasts to impress your friends and use as a sign of respect when in the company of people from different cultures.

Here’s a bit of etiquette to go with your cosmopolitan language skills. It is customary to toast the first round, and let the host go first. There is some controversy over the clinking of glasses. It is said that the tradition started as a sly way to test the authenticity of the host’s crystal. Whether the Vikings clinked wooden goblets or not, it is considered more civilized to ‘touch glasses’ rather than bash together in a resounding crash. And while you’re about it, serve on the left and remove from the right!

Toasts From Many Lands

This is just a sampling of simple drinking toasts from around the world. Some are impossible to find in language dictionaries as they are colloquial phrases, slang or in dialect. I apologize in advance for spelling mistakes: I’m no linguist. Meanings have been included when I could find them. Fill in the blanks if you can. Some are just a general ‘cheers’. If you were making a bet on possible translation, you wouldn’t lose money by suggesting that every one of these toasts is wishing the recipient continued health and general well being. My spell check is about to go wild!

za vashe zdorovye (Russian)
slainte duine a ol (Irish) to your health
genatzt (Armenian)
a sua saude (Portuguese) good health
a votre sante (French) to your health
banzai (long life) (Japanese)or
kanpai (dry glass!) (Japanese)
bud mo (Ukranian)
cin cin (chin chin) (cheers) (Italian) or
alla salute (in good health) (Italian)
proost (Dutch) cheers
vivat (Polish) revival, survival
tervist (Estonian) general greeting
skal (Danish) cheers
here’s looking at you (kid, optional) (American/Bogart)
kia ora (Maori) all purpose greeting
egeszsegedre (Hungarian) to your health
Iechyd da (Welsh) good health
I sveikas (Lithuanian) your health
kippis (Finnish) cheers
le’chaim (Jewish) to life
na zdravi (Czech) to your health
noroc (Romanian)
prosit (German) here’s to you (and your health of course)
wen lie (Chinese)
salud (Spanish)
bahkt tu kel (Romany/Gypsy) good luck and health be on you
Here it is folks – oogy wawa (Zulu)
(wawa means ‘fell’, oogy wasn’t listed, any ideas?)

We should all feel well cheered and healthy after all that!

About the Author - Heather Moffat is a contributing writer to Excalibur Communications, the company that created The Beer Home Page visit thebeerhomepage.com

Things To Remember When Home Brewing Beer

Home brewing beer can be very exciting and at the same very challenging. Yes, home brewing beer may take time and effort but once you really get the hang of it, you will have so much fun doing it that you will not really pay much attention to how much time and effort you put into producing a few bottles of beer. Besides, the satisfaction that you get when you finally get your bottles of beer is really something.

Getting Started

When you do decide to brew your own beer, you must make sure that you get the right equipments and ingredients. For your ingredients, you will need water, malt, hops and yeast. If you like you beer to appear light and taste light, you will need to buy some light colored malt and hops with a low alpha number.

Malts and hops with high alpha number gives out stronger flavor, so avoid that one if you have no desire of producing strong beer. On the other hand, if you are interested in getting a more assertive type of beer, go for hops with higher number but use only less than 2 ounces at the beginning of the boiling process otherwise your beer will taste too bitter.

Always remember that timing and proper measurement is very important when home brewing beer. If you put in too much stuff into your concoction, you will ruin the taste of your beer.

The first thing that you will need to do when home brewing beer is to boil your malt extract for 30 minutes. Stir the liquid occasionally and then add the hop pellets 5 to 10 minutes before you finish the boiling process. Make sure that you do not over boil your liquid or else your beer will not really taste as good as it should.

When home brewing beer, it is very important to pay close attention to cleaning and sanitizing of equipments especially the ones that you use for fermenting and storing your beer. Always remember that cleaning is different from sanitizing. Just because you have washed the utensils and containers with soap and water, that doesn’t mean that these things are already sanitized.

After cleaning your utensils and containers, you need to apply some bleaching or sanitizing solutions to your equipments to kill whatever bacteria that may be in them. Don't forget that bleaching agents and sanitizers often leave some odours on the equipment, so you will need to rinse the utensils and containers thoroughly. In case you don’t want to use sanitizers or bleaching agents, you can sterilize your containers and utensils by boiling them for about 15 minutes.

About the Author - Ann Marier has written many articles about the house and garden providing helpful tips and advice. Her latest articles are all about home brewing and the intoxicating fun you can have with this hobby

Beer Gifts For A Beer Lover

At the risk of sounding stereotypical there is one thing that most men enjoy and can't get enough, beer. Now this isn't to suggest that the majority of males have a problem with alcohol, just that we all enjoy a nice cold brew once and a while. It might be a Belgian white, an Irish stout, or a good German ales there is something for all beer lovers. With the increased popularity in microbreweries and different types of beer, something else has grown in popularity, beer gifts. More or less anything related to beer, mugs, steins, trinkets, and of course beer itself.

A wonderful place to pick up some more trinket like beer gifts is your local Spencer's Gift's. You should have one in your local mall, stop in next time you notice it. They have a vast array of beer related gifts to tickle any beer lovers fancy. From mugs, to novelty gifts it's a great place to find items for a beer lovers office, or den. Now most beer lovers will agree the best beer gift you can give someone who loves beer is beer itself. There are so many microbreweries opening these days, it's pretty impossible that anyone has tried them all. Visit a specialty store in your area and see what specialty beers you can find for that beer lover in your life.

It's strange to say but beer is becoming almost on par with wine for variety. You can get beer in almost any flavor, and from every part of the world. While it will never be as elegant as wine, beer lovers can talk for hours about how their favorite draft is made, and always enjoy trying something new.

If you really want to find original beer gifts for that special someone take the time to search on the Internet. It's probably one of the best places to find original beer gifts, and at a fantastic price. For antique and original mugs, and glasses why not check out ebay. You might even find old advertisements and signs from a favorite beer brand. For more conventional beer gifts there are lots of retailers online that sell mugs, key chains, and the life. Again you'll never go wrong with a fine selection of ales themselves for, but these are all great ideas to get that perfect man or women who can't get enough beer for that special occasion.

German Beer

Throughout Germany, beer is very popular with the culture. Germany contains well over 1,000 breweries, which is more than any other location in the world. All beer that is manufactured in Germany must follow the purity law, which lets manufacturers know what ingredients can and can’t be used. Basically, the only ingredients allowed to make beer in Germany are water, hops, and barley malt

Due to the strict purity requirements, you can easily notice German beers by their overall level of quality. They have a distinct taste, with little to no aftertaste. Some styles of German ale include Koelsch, Weizen, and Altbier. Some types of German lagers include Bock, Pilsener, Dunkel, Helles, and Maerzen. Keep in mind that the taste, aroma, and color can vary, although all can be identified as being true German beers.

The German beer Altbier is a very common dark ale, that is top fermented in the lower regions of Germany. The beer proposes a yellow color, with a taste that is rich in hops. Another ale, Rauchbier, is known to have a smoky flavor with a smoked color. These beers taste great, and happen to be very popular throughout the regions of Germany.

German lagers are also very popular, and happen to be popular in other areas of the world as well. Pilsener is one of the most popular and most familiar of all German beers, providing you with more hops and less malt. Pilsener can be found for sale all over the world, and happens to be very popular throughout North America as well. Several bars serve it as well, as it happens to be one of the most popular dark lagers out there.

Throughout Germany, there are several different companies, produce over 4,000 different brands of beers. Some of the more well known and larger companies of north Germany are Beck, St. Pauli, Warsteiner, and Krombach. In the southern region of Germany, there are more breweries, although most of them are smaller, as they are locally owned and operated. Southern Germany also contains the Benedictine Abbey, which is one of the oldest breweries in the world. This brewery started producing beer in 1040 - very impressive indeed!

Germany is also home to Oktoberfest, which is held every year in Munich. Oktoberfest starts in late September and carries on for two weeks, ending in early October. During Oktoberfest, beer drinkers from all over the world will travel to Germany and celebrate German beers. Each and every year, over 5 million people attend the event, making it one of the biggest beer celebrations in the world.

During Oktoberfest, local breweries in Munich are the only breweries allowed to serve beer in the bigger tents. There are six breweries in total, producing a variety of different beers. By attending this yearly event, you can learn more about German beer, sample the different varieties, and enjoy the rich bold flavors that make German beer so very popular.

Due to the success Oktoberfest gets each and every year, other cities around the world try and mimic this event. Even though they have success, their level of success isn’t near as much as the original Oktoberfest - Germany. German beers are very popular around the world, with Oktoberfest helping to prove that very claim. If you drink beer but have never experienced what beers from Germany have to offer, you really should give them a try. Once you do, you’ll quickly realize why German beers are so very popular - and why the taste simply can’t be duplicated with any other beer.

It's all in the taste

Knowing how to taste beer would help you evaluate a beer's taste and flavor and would enable you as well to know what to look for in a beer.

In pouring beer, gently pour it at the side of the glass to minimize the foam. You can judge your speed at pouring based on the head formation. Target two finger heads. For beers that have sediments of yeast visible at the bottom of the bottle that is meant to be drunk with the beer, stop pouring and leave a small amount of beer on the bottle. Swirl the remaining amount of beer before pouring it to lift the yeast.

Observe the appearance of the heads on whether they are thin or dense. Note the head's color which can be white when pilsen and on certain stouts and porters light to medium brown. Examine the beer against the light and note whether it is clear or cloudy in appearance.

Smell the beer on whether it primarily smells of malt or hops. In general, it will smell like hops when it comes to light colored beer and darker colored beer will smell like malt, coffee or roasted chocolate. Ales have a spiciness or fruity flavor smell from the yeasts. Take a few good whiffs or smell of the beer before making your first sip.

During the first sip and as the beer enters your mouth, think about the first sensation that you will feel. You may find it sweet or bitter and the taste can somewhat be complex as you will note a difference of taste between the first and the finish.

Sense the texture of the beer inside your mouth. It can feel dry, thick and chewy or fizzy and thin. A very important characteristic of beer would be its texture.

For the finish, think about the lingering flavors of the beer inside your mouth. It could be bitter as a result of the hops or sweet from the malt.

Varying beers have different styles. It can be different as to whether the yeast should be poured with the beer or left in the bottle or other issues like whether the beer should be cloudy or clear. A few tips would be not to taste new beer with food or right after eating as the flavors of the food can affect your impression on the beer. Drink water to cleanse your palate. Cheese and crackers are good to pair with beer but you have to bear in mind that these can also affect the beer's taste and flavor in your mouth. When tasting a number of beers it is ideal to start with the light colored ones then on to the darker ones.

Beer Ingredients

The main ingredients found in beer are water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. There are other ingredients such as flavoring, sugar, and other ingredients that are commonly used. Starches are used as well, as they convert in the mashing process to easily fermentable sugars that will help to increase the alcohol content of beer while adding body and flavor.

Water

Seeing as how beer is mainly composed of water, the source of water and its characteristics have a very important effect on the character of the beer. A lot of beer styles were influenced by the characteristics of water in the region. Although the effect of minerals in brewing water is complex, hard water is more suited to dark styles, while soft ware is more suited to light styles.

Malt

Among malts, barley is the most widely used due to its high amylase content, and a digestive enzyme that facilitates the breakdown of starch into sugars. Depending on what can be cultivated locally, other malts and unmalted grains can be used, such as wheat, rice, oats, and rye.

Malt is obtained by soaking grain in water, allowing it to germinate, then drying the germinated grain in a kiln. By malting the grain, enzymes will eventually convert the starches in the grain into fermentable sugars.

Hops

Since the seventeenth century, hops have been commonly used as a bittering agent in beer. Hops help to contribute a bitterness that will balance the sweetness of the malts. They also contribute aromas which range from citrus to herbal.

Hops also provide an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over the less desirable microorganisms. The bitterness in beer is normally measured on the International Bitterness Units scale.

Yeast

Yeast is a microorganism that's responsible for fermentation. Specific strains of yeast are chosen depending on the type of beer produced, as the two main strains are ale yeast and lager yeast, with other variations available as well.

Yeast helps to metabolise the sugars that are extracted from the grains, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide as a result. Before the functions of yeast were understood, all fermentations were done using wild or airborne yeasts.

Clarifying agent

A lot of brewers prefer to add one or more clarifying agents to beer that aren't required to be published as ingredients. Examples include Isinglas finings, which are obtained from swim bladders of fish and Irish moss, which is a type of red alga.

Since these ingredients can be obtained from animals, those who are concerned with either the use or consumption of animal products should obtain detailed information from the brewer.

About the Author - If your into great beer then visit my beer blog mybeerjournal.com

Finding A Good Beer

Finding a good pint of real ale is not always easy. Here are a few pointers to make life a little bit easier in finding a satisfying pint.

1) Having too many beers on draught can be a bad sign. This leads to beers that are not fresh due to some of the less popular beers being on tap for too long. Unless the pub is known for good ale. It would be advisable to stick to the well-known beers that would presumably sell quicker. Thus guarantying a fresher pint.

2) Always watch how the beer is poured. Serving real ale takes time. The swan neck hand pump works on gravity and has a piston inside. It takes a few moments for the piston to fill up after each pull. If you don't wait, air gets into the system. It leads to a poor head and adds oxygen into the beer which spoils the flavour of the beer. Brewers go to great lengths not to add oxygen to their beer as it leads to infection and beer spoilage.

3) The appearance of real ale should be clear unless stated to be a cloudy wheat beer. Also make sure there are no foreign bodies in the beer (if there are it could mean they don't clean their lines). In most cases the beer should also have a good head. A good tip is if you stick your finger in the head. There should be a nice amount of the head stuck to your finger. There are some regions where they do not like much head on the beer. A great beer will almost have a shine to it due to the crystal clarity.

4) As with wine, the aroma of the beer is also key. It can tell you a lot about the beer before tasting it. It can tell you quite simply if a beer is bad. If you detect vinegar or T.C.P. take the beer back as it's "off". You are looking for floral, fruity and resinous notes from hops. From the malt you should detect nutty, malty and caramel notes.

5) When you finally taste the beer you are looking for beery qualities. A good beer will have what we call a start, middle and end. A good brewer picks his/her ingredients so that there is story to the beer. Generally you get the malt flavours coming through first. You may get a smoky flavour and some sweetness. As the beer passes over the tongue the bitterness of the hops will come through. Finally you will get a warming feeling and sometimes a little sharpness from the carbonation. Flavours you are not looking for are metallic and sulphury.

6) As you are savouring your ale. It will warm up as it is in your hands and from the ambient temperature of the surroundings. The flavour of the beer may change accordingly. It will make a bad beer more obvious to spot as the warmer the beer the more flavour can be detected. A good beer will often get better as it gets warmer as the flavours of the malt and hops become even stronger.

7) Finally if you start with a good head on your pint and it continues always the down the glass. It is a very good sign. It means the beer has been brewed without too much agitation in the process. The more processes a beer goes through the more it is moved generally leads to less head in the finished beer.

A good beer does need to be treated well. A good pub/bar will go through set procedures to serve a good pint. In the UK there is now a volunteer mark system. It is called The Cask Marque System. Bars/Pubs volunteer to have their pubs assessed by independent auditors with good public houses receiving a pass and accreditation.