Monday 19 November 2007

Bubbles in my Beer

I grew up drinking cask ale. (At least in beer terms. In childhood I grew up drinking water.) Bubbles have never been that popular with me.

I don't mind the odd bit of carbonation. But rising bubbles are the sign of the devil. That's why I always try to remove as many as possible before my first sip. I've just been de-gassing some Maredsous 8. It's almost ready to drink. . . . sound of swizzle stick twirling in beer . . . No, still too gassy . . . . twirl, twirl, twirl . . . Much better. The texture of Tetley's Mild, that's what I aim for. Univac-served, of course. That whacks out almost all the dissolved CO2.

Carbonation in pub-served beer is more problematic. I don't always have a suitable de-gassing stick. I sometimes use my finger. Not the most hygienic solution. Especially after a shit-throwing session.

Some of the best beers I've ever had were barely carbonated. Several Courage Russian Stouts. A couple of Harvey's Imperial Stouts. There's another beer that stands head and elbows with those two: RIP. I probably shouldn't say this. But I'm nototriously indiscrete. I was recently at De Molen, having a chat with Menno, the brewer. He let me try a freshly-bottled version of Rasputin he's developping. Fan-blooming-tastic. Though he apologised for the lack of conditioning, I thought that it went well with the style. Beer always tastes best when served by the brewer.

"The squat is a lower body exercise used in strength training. It is also a competitive lift in powerlifting and an essential movement in the sport of weightlifting."

I understand that. I do know squat. It's the rest of my knowlege that's woefully inadequate.

4 comments:

Alan said...

I once had to assure a brewer that I did not post to what he called HateBeer before he would speak to me when I visited. I know many interesting folk who use it regularly but the casual but hearty rudeness that some there use makes me wonder what else counting the number of different beers you have sipped does to a person.

Stonch said...

I like carbonation, just not the type you get with top pressure keg beers forced through the lines with gas cannisters.

Anonymous said...

Barring a misanthrope or two people there were largely positive about you Ron, good job! That sort of internet behavior is the typical 'internet a**hole syndrome' whereby folks hide behind psuedonyms and snipe at anyone who actually produces some work. Take it as par for the course and keep on producing!

Anonymous said...

a 5ml or 10ml plastic syringe works quite well too - suck up a bit of beer, shoot it back in, repeat a few times. though of course it does throw up a big head onto the head at the same time as knocking out the carbonation, which may or may not be a good thing. and you have to be careful to ensure it doesn't billow over and then you break a tooth trying to quickly drink the spillover. i sometimes use it on my homebrew if i have overcarbonated a batch. easy to carry if you want to take it to a pub (although might get odd looks). Ed