The BeerBlogger - Ep. 5 - Gray's Autumn Ale, Leinenkugel's Baltic Porter

Drink... For Your Health

The health benefits of enjoying wine have been widely reported over the years.  But what about beer?  Well, although much of the mainstream media have ignored the amazing health benefits of beer, doctors and health professionals have been busy proving what it can do for you! 

All of these studies found that drinking beer in moderation had overall positive effects.  The studies determined that 1 beer a day was good, but 2 beers a day is better (I could have told you that!)  But the key to the study is moderation!  There were no additional health benefits to drinking more than 2 per day. 

Heart Health - Heart disease is the #1 killer in America; more people die of heart disease every year than AIDS and all cancers combined!  Ok, enough of the scary stuff!  Here's the good news; Drinking 1 to 2 servings of beer per day can decrease your risk of heart disease by 31%.  Those same 1 to 2 beers will decrease your chance of a heart attack or developing a cardiovascular disease by 25% to 40%.

Diabities - A study performed at Harvard in 2001 found that drinking 1 to 2 beers a day can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabities by 25%.

Kidneys - Swigging the suds 1 to 2 times per day can help reduce the likelihood of kidney stones by 40%. 

Brain & Memory - A 2009 study found that the magic formula of drinking 1 to 2 servings of beer per day helped lower the risk of memory decline in older patients by 20%, and those people tested 18 months "younger" on memory tests. 

Beer.  The fountain of youth.  May your cup runneth over!

So there you have it!  Beer when consumed in moderation, can do amazing things for your body.  The other important factor in these studies was to drink craft beers.  The big time breweries filter most of the beneficial ingredients out of the beer that they sell you at cheap prices.  So pick up a six pack of the stuff that retails for more than $3.99 - it's ok, you can handle it. 

Imagine how much we would spend on a vitamin or wonder drug that could do all of the things that beer can do.  Better health is just a beer away!

The Beerblogger - Ep. 4 November 2012 - Silent Edition New Glarus Imperi...

Imperial Invasion

I mentioned in my last video, Imperial Stout was brewed in England for the Imperial court of Queen Catherine II in Russia.  That was a long time ago, nowadays anyone can enjoy the dark royal brew.  If you've never tried it before; the taste could be compared to a strong flavored coffee drink from your favorite over priced gourmet coffee place.  Imperial Stout is not for the faint of heart!  It can be between 8 and 15% alcohol.  Think of that for a minute - drinking a single Imperial Stout would be like drinking 3 or 4 American "Lite" beers.  They tend to be big on dark, rich flavors.  Lots of roasty, toasty tastes - espresso, toasted caramel, dark chocolate, toffee, and currants are typical flavor profiles you can find.  Many breweries offset the dark and bitter flavors with sweet flavors like cherries or raspberries. 

When most people think of stout, they think of the stout - Guinness.  Like there are many different styles of beer; there are differnt styles of stout. 

Dry Stout - Not a lot of carbonation, a thick, long lasting head, some bitterness, virtually no hop aroma.  Guinness is a good representation of this style.

Sweet Stout - or milk stout tends to have a taste of lightly roasted coffee - Young's Double Chocolate Stout is a good example of this style.

Foreign Stout - A more hop flavored stout created specially for export, tend to have higher alcohol content.  Lion Stout from Sri Lanka is a great example of foreign stout.