Comments on: Can you spot the errors in this story?

By: Scott at East End Brewing

Scott at East End Brewing — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:26:57 +0000

Wow, I’d need a week of solid study to tally up the number of errors, mis-speaks, and outright ridiculous statements in that article. It’s like it was translated to another language and then back into English – but with a really bad translator. What a train wreck!

By: Doak

Doak — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:32:55 +0000

Good heavens! Stan, I have no doubt your draft is better researched and written that that article. Thank you for pointing it out. It is good to know, in advance, the sort of misinformation I may need to respond to in beer conversations.

On the matter of the brewery’s top-ranking wheat beer being devoid of wheat, I am not surprised. As I am sure you do, I know many that do not care for the wheat flavor in beer. It just does not sit right with them. However, many also equate “wheat” with “light,” so a brewer could (does?) do well marketing a “wheat” beer that has very little wheat in the grain bill.

By: Stan

Stan — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:43:42 +0000

Rob, German tax laws require weissbiers be brewed with 50 percent wheat, so that’s not changing.

It would make a great experiment for a homebrew club, making wheat beers with 0% wheat, 10%, 20% etc. and then seeing what sort of differences a taste panel perceived.

I know of at least one brewery (sorry, can’t say) that did a taste test (not worrying about appearance) and the top-rate wheat beer had not wheat in it.

There are a bunch of things that might have been interesting to pursue if I had two more years to work on the project . . .

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:50:36 +0000

Of course, I want to ask “Then why don’t, or do they?” but imagine that’s a question I’d best wait for answered in the book, right? Can I at least chuckle at the Berliner Weisse description? You know, that “rare effervescent stand out” with “bubbles almost reminiscent of carbonation”?

Looking forward to having more preconceived notions busted at publishing time!

By: Stan

Stan — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:27:27 +0000

What’s (sorta) funny is that I asked maltsters about what’s different about the flavor of wheat. They’ll say you can taste it, but the differences are of degree.

Therefore you can brew a . . . yes . . . pilsner with a good portion of wheat (40% works better than 20% for clarity).

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:23:16 +0000

MMMMMM WHEAT PILS.