Your Comments, Criticisms and Contributions - December 2004
I stumbled across your website and had a quick question for you. I was given a 1997 Thomas Hardy Ale about 4 years ago and tucked it in the fridge. I have no experience with barley wine and never tasted a Thomas Hardy, but have heard great things.
I noticed in looking into the bottle against the light there is a great deal of sediment, in fact, it is sediment like I've never seen. Not just some powdery cloudy stuff, but lots and lots of little flakes floating around.
Is that normal? (If so, I assume that I filter that out when I pour.) Or do you think it is the case that this beer is infected or ruined somehow? (It was kept at a constant fridge temperature).
Thanks Stephen - love your site.
- Gregory Curci
The precipitate that you notice is not unusual in a beer seven years old, since it's quite normal that colour and sugar would have begun to drop out of solution in a beer of that age. However, while you say that you've stored it well in the last four years, there's no way of knowing, I presume, what happened to it during the previous three. Or in other words, it could be good or it could be bad. The only way to tell will be to taste it.
Leave the bottle at as close to cellar temperature as you can for at least 48 hours and then decant it carefully so that the sediment remains at the bottom. Then please write back and tell me what happened.
Dear Sir,
I have just had the distinct pleasure of perusing your title of 'Premium Beer Drinker's Guide'. This excellent publication fell rather casually into my hand at a book store recently while I was obediently following my beloved in her fervent pursuit of even more craft literature.
After a somewhat brief flip through its brilliantly illustrated pages, I advanced my person to the store's counter clutching this prize piece of informative literature that is so difficult to come across in this country. I thank you for your writing, as you have inspired me to drag out my kettle and mash tun, and given me a reminder of why I learnt the art of full mash brewing in the first place.
- Trevor Davis
Thank you very much for the email, Trevor. It's feedback like this that makes an old author's heart glad!
We also received a number of emails in reply to our World of Beer Update about InBev, the world's largest volume brewer and the entity resulting from the merger of Interbrew (Belgium) and AmBev (Brazil). Typical was this response:
In Finland we call Stella Artois "Interbud." Needless to say why.
It is sad to read of a Belgian company snuffing out the Belgian beer culture in order to promote conveyor-belt lager. The Finnish Beer Society's newsletter mentions Boddingtons (another Interbrew brand) is about to be axed.
- Susanna Viljanen
We're very interested in your news, notes, comments and questions, so please feel free to contact SBWoB by clicking on the link below. Or you can add your comments when you sign up for the World of Beer Update, a mid-month e-mail newsletter that brings even more of the world of beer to your computer.
