What is a Kolschbier (Kolsch)?

Kolschbier is a popular “warm weather beer” and German classic.  The name Kolsch (pronounced “kelsch”) is derived from its location… Koln, Germany (or Cologne for us Yanks).  The name indicates that the beer was brewed in the traditional style of that particular city.

In order to officially called a Kolsh, the beer must be brewed by a member of the Koln Brewers Union.  Much like the name “champagne” in the snobbier world of wine, the name Kolschbier is protected and controlled by the Union and may not be used by anyone else.

What is Beer?

I think Ben Franklin gives us the best definition of what beer is….

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

If you need to know more than that.. read on.

Simple Definitions

According to Webster’s online dictionary, "beer is a fermented alcoholic beverage brewed from malt and hops."  Other definitions have expanded on this slightly by discussing other ingredients (yeast, water, etc.), but the simple definition above is accurate.

Wikipedia (as you would expect) has a more detailed definition that I rather like:

Is there formaldehyde in beer?

This question was recently submitted by a reader, and to tell you the truth I did not know much about the formaldehyde in beer issue.  My initial reaction was "of course there is not formaldehyde in beer", but as I dug deeper into the research I began to grow concerned.

Now when I hear "formaldehyde" I think of preserving corpses… not exactly getting me in the mood for a cold one.  So to start off I figured a definition of formaldehyde was in order:

What is a Steam Beer (or California Common)?

History of Steam Beer

The steam beer, or california common, is an American original and was first produced in California during the gold rush (late 19th Century).  The style of beer is very much tied to the west coast and in particular San Francisco.

At its height, this style of beer was brewed by as many as 27 different breweries in California.  Today, "steam beer" is a trademarked term, and can only be brewed under that name by Anchor Steam Brewing Co. in San Francisco, CA.  Other brewers now use the name "california common" for this style.

What is a Porter?

History of the Porter

The porter has a very interesting history and a fair amount of disagreement on what it is and should be. Originally, a "porter" was not a single beer at all but a combination of beers mixed together based on customer requests.  The British have a custom of mixing cheaper and lighter beers with heavier more expensive aged beers (i.e. a black and tan). The combining of these beers would create what was called an "entire beer".

What is the Reinheitsgebot (”German Purity Law)

Well, the first step is to learn how to say Reinheitsgebot…. “Rine-Hites-gaBoat” is the best pronunciation I could find.  Of course some native German speaker will probably correct this, but its pretty darn close.  So now that we can pronounce the word, lets get into what its all about.

The Reinheitsgebot, or “German Purity Law” as many call it, literally translates to “purity law” or “cleanliness law”.  An early version of the law was proposed in 1487, but the version most speak of today originated in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt on April 23, 1516.  Introduced by Duke Wilhelm IV, the original intent of the law was three fold:

What does the “33″ mean on the Rolling Rock Label?

This is one of those great beer conversations where everyone has an opinion and there doesn’t seem to be a clear provable conclusion.

There are several different versions of this legend which we have been able to discover.  We have listed these below in reverse order of likelihood (from least likely to most likely) according to our extensive research and our best guess (not quite throwing darts at a list of possibilities, but close).

Rolling Rock “33” Theories

There were exactly 33 steps from the brewmaster’s office to the brewing floor.

What are the main ingredients in beer?

** This question was asked by an individual looking to brew beer at home. Even though it is geared towards brewing, it is still a good description of the main ingredients of beer.

In its most simple form, beer is made of four basic ingredients:  Water, yeast, Malt and hops.

Water

As is the case with the human body, the most abundant ingredient in beer is water. Over 95% of your brew is made up of water. With such a large amount of your final product coming from a single ingredient, you can imagine how important it is to use good water.

What is that one quote about beer by you know who?

This is a fairly common question.  Instead of having like 120 posts about beer quotes from random people spread throughout the FAQ, we have decided to create an entire page of our favorite quotes about beer.

You can view the entire page at Famous (and not so famous) Beer Quotes.

You can also leave a comment on that page if you feel like we left out your favorite quote about beer.

What is meant by beer styles or beer types?

Understanding beer begins with understanding the idea of “style” (beer style or beer types).  As we shall explore, it is not always as simple and straightforward as one might think.  Some people have compared the wine drinker’s use of grape styles to that of the beer drinker’s use of classifying beer styles.  While this may be a convenient device for the discussion of wine, it is wholly inadequate when discussing beer. 

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